Get Excited--It's time for YAVA 2015!

On Wednesday, October 21st the Richmond Public Library will be host to a celebration of best-selling, award-winning Virginia authors of books for middle school age and young adults. Now in its third year, YAVA, which stands for Young Adult Virginia Authors, is more than an event—it is also an award.

The Richmond Public Library YAVA Award will be presented to the winner and two honorable mentions during the 2015 YAVA Book and Author Party. The selection process included open reader’s choice voting and final selection from the top 3 winners, is made possible with support from the Richmond Public Library Foundation. The selected list of 14 titles was narrowed down to three by popular vote. From those three the winner will be decided by this year’s judge, Secretary of Education Anne Holton, life-long advocate for children and families and former first lady of Virginia.

YAVA attendees will be able to meet and mingle with 14 celebrated Virginia authors: Gigi Amateau, Tom Angleberger, Anne Blankman, Bill Blume, Martina Boone, Lana Krumwiede, Sara McGuire, Jodi Meadows, Sara Raasch, Madelyn Rosenberg, Wendy Shang, Steve Watkins, Kat Spears, winner of the 2015 YALSA award for Best Fiction, and this year’s Newbery Honor recipient Cece Bell.

The event is free and the public is invited to enjoy an evening of music, refreshments, lively discussion, book sales and signings, prize raffles, and more.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

6 – 8:30 pm

Richmond Public Main Library

101 East Franklin Street

Breakaway by Kat Spears

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman

Dante of the Maury River by Gigi Amateau

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Gidion's Blood by Bill Blume

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch

Ghosts of War: Lost at Khe Sanh by Steve Watkins

Nanny X Returns by Madelyn Rosenberg

The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows

Persuasion by Martina Boone

Star Wars. Beware the power of the dark side!: an original retelling of Star wars: Return of the Jedi by Tom Angleberger

The Way Home Looks Now by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

True Son by Lana Krumwiede

Valiant by Sarah McGuire

New YA book reviews from Guest blogger Kathryn

Come August, Come Freedom by Gigi Amateau

Come August, Come Freedom is the chilling tale of a young slave boy named Gabriel, who grows up to be the leader of a slave rebellion. Although this book has many dark elements, it's a great educational read. I also enjoyed the setting of the novel, as it is based primarily in Richmond and Henrico. I enjoyed the historic aspects of the book, and also the characters were really great. They were realistic and they really represented just how hard those times were.

The main character, Gabriel, is our hero and all he wants to do is free himself and his wife so that their children will be free. But he comes to find out through wisdom and experience that it is more about just him and his wife; it is about everyone who is held captive. He soon realizes that in order for change to happen, he has to make it happen.

This book is based on a true story and the author does a great job of making the main characters likable. When they suffer it causes the reader to sympathize greatly. This book is for anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction.

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

Sisters is a charming tale detailing Raina and her younger siblings on a three week road trip. Based on a true story, this illustrated book tells the true story of sibling rivalry, and how the main character, Raina, deals with growing up. At the beginning of the book Raina wants a younger sibling, but she doesn’t know exactly what she is in store for when she gets just that. When her younger sister turns out to be moody and withdrawn, Raina and her sister butt heads. 

Things get even more complicated when they learn that they will have a younger brother. All three of them take off to Colorado to visit family, and Raina must bond with her younger siblings.This book is very true to real life, and it offers an insightful view on her siblings interact with one another on a day to day basis.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

Aside from its provocative title, this book is interesting and edgy all on its own. This book tells the story of a girl named Piddy Sanchez, who lives in New York City, and must deal with growing up, boys, bullying, and the absence of her father which affects her in more ways than one. It has much more serious elements to it that make it a drama and although this book can best be described as a coming of age novel, a comedy as well. At times this book can make you laugh out loud, and at others it will make you want to cry. It was so real that it can literally make the reader feel as if they were apart of Piddy’s life.

The author certainly didn't sugar-coat any part of this book, and she did a great job of making the reader sympathize with Piddy. Almost everyone can relate to Piddy because almost everyone has been bullied in some way or another, and that’s what makes this book a solid read.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Red Queen was a delightful read. It was a bit slow, but this can vary on what the readers preferred pace is. I also understand that books that are first in a series require time for world building, and the bulk of this book is devoted to just that. I recommend it to anyone who likes to read fantasy based young adult novels. This book is a surprisingly new and refreshing take on what series like The Selection have done, such as mixing violence with dystopian class systems. We have seen numerous takes on what class systems would be like in the future. with series such as The Hunger Games and The Selection series. The best way to describe this book is to say that it is a perfect cross between those two series.

Similarities aside, this book does an incredible job of separating itself from other predictable and true to tradition novels. Red Queen has unbelievable twists,betrayal, violence, and even a bit of romance. This book does a great job of presenting social issues such as corruption and rebellion. I applaud the author for straying from traditional young adult fiction and moving towards something that is different. This story has a lot of potential, and anyone who reads and falls in love with this book will be waiting anxiously for the next installment.

Kathryn Barnes is a 15 year old student and she is in 11th grade at Richmond Community High School. Her favorite book is The Selection series by Kiera Cast. She likes to read, write, watch TV and play video games. Her dream job is to become an author and write books.

Don't Forget about Girls of Summer at the Main Library on Wednesday, June 17th at 7:00 pm! Join Meg Medina and Gigi Amateau at the Richmond Public Library as we celebrate five years of great books for strong girls. Special guest authors Sharon Draper and Aisha Saeed. Ice cream, cake, book giveaways and sales, panel discussions - and our big reveal of the books we fell in love with this year.

Teen Read Week: Teen '14 Author Celebration

Hello, my name is Natasha and I am the Young Adult Coordinator for RPL. I have been very fortunate to work with many local YA authors for some of our amazing teen services programs. This year I have been working closely with an author by the name of Madelyn Rosenberg. Madelyn took over the coordinating Teen ’14 this year and together we've been planning away for this celebration.

One of the things we often hear is that kids don’t read. We’ve seen the studies. But we have a hard time believing them when we meet teen readers in the flesh. They’re smart, passionate, and engaged, and they’re Reason No. 1 that Virginia librarians and authors thought it was important to put on this event.  Words from Madelyn Rosenberg

A little history:

Teen ’13 started with RVA’s own A.B. Westrick and Meg Medina, who both had brand new books come out last year -- brand new award-winning books – though they didn't know that when they planned the event, which was a chance to get Virginia authors together with Virginia readers. The event was hugely successful. It generated a feeling of community in the very best sense of the word. There were warm fuzzies in abundance.

So we decided to do it all over again, with a fresh crop of authors, showing that Virginia grows readers and writers along with its apples, tobacco and peanuts. Some of the authors will repeat from last year. Most will be new, ready to talk about their latest books and ready to talk to lovers of teen literature at the Richmond Main Library.

Alexis O’Neil, an author and school-visit expert in California, is currently conducting a study on the effect meeting authors can have on school-age kids. Though her study is still in progress, she says it’s clear that a visit with an author can change attitudes and lives. At the least, she says, it encourages kids to revisit their own writing with fresh eyes.

But if  you’re looking for more reasons to come to Teen '14, try these:

- Kids like to see themselves in literature. A number of the authors have stories set in Virginia, so Teen ’14 also gives kids a chance to see different takes on their state.

- It encourages readers to Read Local.

- It brings attention to the programming efforts of local libraries.

- It supports one of Richmond’s local indy bookstores.

- It supports Richmond’s local indy writers.

- There will be door prizes.

- There will be music.

- There will be food.

- It’s free!


The Teen '14 Authors

Author: Kwame Alexander

THE CROSOVER is a coming-of-age verse novel about twin basketball-playing brothers whose devotion to their family and the pursuit of a championship is disrupted when one brother gets a girlfriend. 

Author: Gigi Amateau

Based on true events, COME AUGUST, COME FREEDOM illuminates a little known corner of American history as it honors the extraordinary will of one man.

Author: Vanessa Barger

In A WHISPERED DARKNESS, as the nights grow longer and the shadows take on substance in her new home, Claire Mallory will have to decide if she is strong enough to fight off the evil spirits, or let them claim her as one of their own.

Author: Cece Bell

Sudden hearing loss, an enormous hearing aid, an adorable crush, mysterious bathroom noises, and the quest for a True Friend—EL DEAFO totally needs her superpowers in this debut graphic novel by children's book author and illustrator Cece Bell

Author: Anne Blankman

In PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG it is 1931 Munich when the honorary niece of rising politician Adolf Hitler meets a fearless Jewish reporter who believes that her father was murdered by their closest family friends, members of the Nazi elite. 

Author: Martina Boone

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie Watson must find a way to break free of the family legacy in COMPULSION.

Barrie Watson finds a new kind of prison at her aunt's South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Author: Mary Crockett

Annabelle Manning is thrilled when her DREAM BOY walks into her chemistry class, until she learns that when dreams come true, so do nightmares.

Author: Jen Swann Downey

Twelve-year-old Dorothea Barnes can hold her own in any fake Renaissance Faire sword-fight, but she despairs of ever finding something more important to do with her sword. Then she stumbles into Petrarch's Library, the sprawling headquarters of a secret society of NINJA LIBRARIANS.

Author: L.M. Elliott

ACROSS A WAR-TOSSED SEA chronicles the challenges facing two London boys who escape Hitler's Blitz bombings, cross a U-boat infested Atlantic Ocean, and find refuge in Tidewater Virginia with the farming family of Patsy Ratcliff, the home-town girlfriend of Henry Forester of Under a War-torn Sky. 

Author: Alison Hart

Dogs plus history equals thrilling adventures in this series, which includes Darling: Mercy Dog of World War 1, and Murphy: Gold Rush Dog.

Author: Meg Medina

When Piddy Sanchez gets to her new high school, she's targeted by the school's most vicious bully, Yaqui Delgado. Whom can Piddy trust, and how can she stand her ground and survive?

Author: Erica Orloff

In Orloff’s IN DREAMS, Iris discovers her father is actually the god of dreams and her nightmares and dreams follow her into reality, with both frightening and romantic results.

Author: Madelyn Rosenberg

NANNY X is the story of a special agent nanny, her three young charges -- four, if you count the dog – a naïve mayor, and a slick mogul who cannot be trusted.

Author: Kat Spears

SWAY is an antihero comedy about what happens when high-school senior, Jesse Alderman, who claims to have no feelings, meets a few people who force him to feel all kinds of things.

Author: Tammar Stein

SPOILS is the story of the Kohn family who won the lottery only to lose what matters most. Their youngest daughter, Leni, must now fight to save her family. Romance, mystery and mysticism are woven in a satisfying tale. 

Author: Tiffany Trent
In THE TINKER KING, the follow-up to the award-winning novel THE UNNATURALISTS, Vespa Nyx and her friends must face the consequences of their actions in freeing New London from the chains of steampunk sorcery, but the price may be greater than any of them are willing to pay.

Our Teen '14 Celebration is October 16 from 6:00 -8:30 pm.
And for those crafty teens out there, join us on October 14 at 3 pm as we re-purpose old library books to make book lanterns. The books that are made will be placed on display for Teen '14.

We hope you’ll come!

Seek The Unknown @your library-Teen Read Week & Teen '13

It's Teen Read Week... so join us!


Teen '13
The Richmond Public Library is hosting a group of award-winning and best-selling Virginia authors of books released in 2013. It's an evening of celebration for young readers and all fans of pre-teen and teen fiction. 

Enjoy food, fun, book sales, signings, and giveaways. Click here for a PDF of the flyer: http://abwestrick.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Teen13flyer.pdf

Meet your favorite authors: Aimee Agresti, Gigi Amateau, Hannah Barnaby, Susann Cokal, National Book Award winner Kathryn Erskine, Lana Krumwiede, Meg Medina, Elisa Nader, Erica Orloff, Valerie O. Patterson, Madelyn Rosenberg, Sarah Sullivan, Steve Watkins, A.B. Westrick, and Sylvia Whitman. Free and open to the public.

More information about this event can be found on the Richmond Public Library Event page: Teen '13 Facebook Event Page

There are so many cool stuff going on at the branches for Teen Read Week! 
Spirited History with LeeAnne & Angela
Learn about Richmond-area ghosts and things that go bump in the night with the paranormal investigation team, Spirited History. This program is best for ages 13 and up and will be held at several of our branches.

Wednesday, October 16 @ 6 pm
West End Library, 646-1877
Saturday, October 19 @ 2 pm
East End Library, 646-4474
Wednesday, October 23 @ 6pm
Belmont Library, 646-1139
Monday, October 28 @ 6 pm
North Avenue Library, 646-6675

FOR TEENS! At the Main Library on October 15 @ 4 pm: Make your phone and computer pay for itself… a class just for teens. Teens will learn how apps can help them save on the move.







More events for Teen Read Week can be found on the library's website calendar: RPL's Events Calendar