Sapphire Battersea by Jacqueline Wilson

Sapphire Battersea is the second book from the exhilirating trilogy of Hetty Feather. Hetty sets her foot out of the founding hospital for the last time to start work as a maid. For the first time Hetty realises that life isn’t as simple as she thought. Fired from her job, Hetty sets out to find her mother, also working as a maid. Hetty meets many new and profound characters on the way. This impossible to put down book is recommended for 11-15 year-olds.

–W4T guest review by Emily

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant is an exciting series about a living skeleton detective trying to stop the Faceless Ones from coming to the Earth. It is a very fun and exhilarating series. I recommend it to anyone aged 11 – 15 years old.

About Skulduggery Pleasant

“So you won′t keep anything from me again?”

He put his hand to his chest. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“Okay then. Though you don′t actually have a heart,” she said.

“I know.”

“And technically, you′ve already died.”

“I know that too.”

“Just so we′re clear.”

Stephanie′s uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn′t fiction.

Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source – the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard.

When all hell breaks loose, it′s lucky for Skulduggery that he′s already dead. Though he′s about to discover that being a skeleton doesn′t stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there′s anything Skulduggery hates, it′s torture… Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing′s for sure: evil won′t know what′s hit it.

To find out more about the Skulduggery Pleasant series and to read the first chapter for free, go to www.skulduggerypleasant.co.uk

–W4T guest review by Catherine - age 12

Zombies in the Library

Friday 13th January saw the horror-loving teens of Mosman come together to appreciate all things Zombie.

The winner of our Zombie Fashion Show, Jack, already fighting bonding with his new Plants vs Zombies plushie

Zombie fashion finalist, Luisa, laments her loss. I think we broke her heart.

A little known factoid: The Zombie’s second-favourite snack is the putrid eyeball.

For more photos of the Zombies in the Library event, head over to the Mosman Library Flickr Stream to check them out!

Also, there’s another two Friday 13th’s in 2012 (yet another positive sign for the impending apocalypse) and they’re BOTH in the school holidays!

Friday 13 April
Friday 13 July

We’ve done Zombies now, but what other creepy themes would you like to cover this year? Let us know in the comments!

How to Draw Manga

If you haven’t visited www.summerreadingclub.org.au yet, then now’s the time to do it!

Not only does it have an interview with the incredible writer, John Marsden, a Choose Your Own Adventure story and some cool games …they also have a super special weekly blog showing you how to draw manga in 5 easy video lessons!

Here’s the first video to get you started:

The 2012 Zombie Apocalypse has come to Mosman Library!

2012 is the National Year of Reading and, according to the Mayan calendar, the end of the world. This is almost certain to feature a Zombie apocalypse. It’s going to be a big one.

The Zombie Party on Friday 13th should help us prepare ourselves, but to truly understand our zombie foes will require in-depth study. As such, we’ve put together a short book list to assist you in your survival efforts.

Do you have any books to add to the list? Let us know in the comments!

Zombies Vs Unicorns

Edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

It’s a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths—for good and evil—of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

Bad Taste in Boys

by Carrie Harris

Someone’s been a very bad zombie.

Super-smartie Kate Grable gets to play doctor, helping out her high school football team. Not only will the experience look good on her college apps, she gets to be this close to her quarterback crush, Aaron. Then something disturbing happens. Kate finds out that the coach has given the team steroids. Except the vials she finds don’t exactly contain steroids. Whatever’s in them is turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless, flesh-eating…zombies.

Unless she finds an antidote, no one is safe. Not Aaron, not Kate’s brother, not her best friend…not even Kate…

It’s scary. It’s twisted. It’s sick. It’s high school.

The Enemy

by Charlie Higson

When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician – every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry.

Only children under fourteen remain, and they’re fighting to survive.

Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city – down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground – the grown-ups lie in wait.

But can they make it there – alive?

Zombie Blondes

by Brian James

From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong.

A lot of houses were for sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah’s first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders—the most popular girls in school.

The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale.

But Hannah wants desperately to fit in—regardless of what her friend Lukas is telling her: If she doesn’t watch her back, she’s going to be blonde and popular and dead—just like all the other zombies in this town…