What's New at the Library: February's Great Graphic Novels

The month of February brought us a big cart-full of brand new graphic novels for you to check out and enjoy. Below are four we really like, and think you will like too. Click on the titles to access the library catalog and see if they are available near you.

The Avant Guards by Carly Usdin, illustrated by Noah Hayes: Charlie was a basketball star at her old school, but due to...circumstances... she has had to transfer to a college that focuses on arts and drama. They do have a basketball team, but they're kind of terrible players. Charlie is sure that she never wants to play ball again, but the team captain, Liv, is extremely persuasive, not to mention extremely cute.This one has a lot of humor, a lot of heart and really great art. This is just volume one of the series, but keep your eyes open for more to come.

Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom by Terry Blas and Molly Muldoon with illustrations by Matthew Seely: Camp Bloom is not an average sleep-away camp. It is a weight-loss camp for overweight teens to get into better shape. Jesse was sent there against her will by her parents. Noah is eager but frightened, not sure he can really do this. Tony just wants his phone back, and Kate just likes hiking. None of the teens expect much from the experience, until the night they discover that a counselor has been murdered, and they realize someone at the camp must be the killer. Spooky moments and lot of humor with some very cute art make this one a must-read.

Haphaven by Norm Harper, illustrated by Louie Joyce: Alex Mills is extremely superstitious. She gets it from her dad who never forgets to knock on wood, pick up a penny, or any of it. One day though, Alex kind of loses it, forgets to follow her superstitious rules and breaks her mother's back by stepping on a crack in the sidewalk. The only way to help her mom is obvious to Alex: team up with the weird leprechaun who shows up in her bedroom, travel to the land of superstition, and hunt down a lucky rabbit's foot that, by the way, is still attacked to the poor rabbit who kind of wants to keep it. This one is a really unique take on fractured fairy tales, with a lot of surprises along the way.

Qincredible: Quest to Be the Best by Rodney Barnes: Quinton West is a superhero, which is awesome. What's less awesome is his superpower. You see, Quin is invulnerable, which means he can take a beating, fall off a building, even get shot with nothing really happening to him. Problem is, he doesn't have any other abilities, like super strength or super speed so mostly this superpower just means that he doesn't mind too much when bullies beat him up. When Quin meets up with other local superheroes he feels like he's the lamest one of all, until he realizes his super smart brain and his incredible heart are much more important than being able to take a punch.

Anonymous Featured Artist

Today we have a very special submission from a teen artist that wanted to remain anonymous. This is their work "Instagram Girl" drawn in ink and marker just for us. We love it!

"Instagram Girl" by Anonymous.

Are you on the list?

Did you know that the Teen Department at the Main Library has a FREE to join monthly subscription book box for ages 13-18?
It's called Library Loot and yes, it really is 100% free. All you have to have to be able to participate is a working library card, because you do have to check out your box like you would a library book.
Inside each monthly box is a book chosen for you by the Main Library Teen staff, and a bunch of other cool stuff including snacks, candy and a variety of themed prizes like toys, key chains. stickers, bookmarks, and much more. Every box is different because the book inside is hand picked especially for the receiver based on their reading preferences.
Right now the box subscriptions are wait-list only, but if you want to receive one in the future, stop by the main library teen room, talk to Nikki, Alex or Elia and get your name on the waiting list! Check out an example of what the monthly boxes look like:

January box. Theme: Action and Adventure. (Photo courtesy Dominique Sandoval, Scarlet Photography)

Featured Artist - Shawnee

Thanks to Shawnee who recently brought in her amazing ink sketch called "Bait" which she drew for 2019 Inktober.

"Bait" by Shawnee

Welcome to 2020!

It's a new year in Teen Services and we are super excited about things that are coming up at all of our libraries this year!
We have just received a very generous grant from the Library Services and Technology act which allowed us to HOOK UP our branches with some amazing stuff just for you! All of our library teen departments now have:

PlayStation 4 with Virtual Reality

Oculus Go Virtual Reality

Ozobots Coding Robots

Little Bits R2D2 Build a Droid Kits

Little Bits Moon Rover Build a Droid Kits

On top of this we also have VR games, new books on all kinds of technology related topics and even science-related board games! Keep an eye on the teen calendars for your closest libraries because we'll be having some amazing programs coming up from now until June featuring all of this great new stuff!

See you at the library!

~Elia Juarez
Teen Services Manager

Teens helping each other use the new Oculus
Go at Main Library

One of our teens enjoying the Oculus Go at the Main Library.

October Teen Art Contest

Some of you know that this year during the Summer Reading program, the Main Library's teen room hosted our first ever art contest. Well, it was so popular we decided to have another one for the month of October! Here's what you need to know:

* The contest is open to anyone living in Yuma County who is between the ages of 13 and 18.

* Each artist may only submit ONE piece of art. It must not be larger than 8" by 12".

* We will start accepting art on October 1st and we will stop accepting art on November 2nd at 5PM. Judging will take place November 3rd.

* Due to space limitations, only 2-dimensional art will be accepted, so no sculptures or other 3D pieces please.

* Any medium is just fine, but all art has to be 100% original work (no tracing or editing of other people's original art). High quality photocopies or high-resolution scans of your original work are fine to submit.

*This is a Halloween themed art contest, so your art has to be related to: Anime, Movies, TV shows, Video Games, Comics and Manga (No YouTube fandoms will be accepted).

* Your art must feature at least one character from your fandom in a Halloween costume.

* Your art can be turned in in person at the Main Library teen room or you cane-mail a scan to teen@yumalibrary.org

*After the contest, you must pick up your work no later than Saturday, November 16th by 5PM or it becomes property of the teen room. 

* Top 3 places will be chosen by a panel of impartial judges, and a voting jar will be available for one week after November 3rd to pick a "people's choice" winner.

If you have any questions about the contest, you can e-mail us at teen@yumalibrary.org, come into the teen room and speak to Dominique or call us at 928-373-6479.

Below are some examples of the artwork turned in for the LibraryCon's art contest back in May.

                             

Artist of the Week: Luke Bowling

This week's art is a pencil sketch from Luke Bowling, he calls it Sume Bro. It's an original character.
Nice job Luke!

"Sume Bro" by Luke Bowling