What if Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde really existed, and their families, Jekell’s descended from a brother or cousin, and Hydes’ descended from the man himself, continued down the generations, carrying family secrets and family traits? 

Jill Jekel and Tristan Hyde are both in the same advanced Chemistry class, when their teacher announces a prestigious chemistry contest with a large cash prize.  Jill’s dad was a brilliant chemist, but his recent death has left her family without much extra money, and Jill may not be able to afford college.  Tristan doesn’t care about the money, the prestige, or anything except keeping his violent dreams at bay.  When he hears that Jill’s family may have some old formulas, he agrees to team up with Jill: Jekel and Hyde recreating the Jekell and Hyde experiments…  the gimmick might be enough to win Jill the prize money, but Tristan secretly plans to use the project to cure his violent urges before they get out of control.  As they work together, late at night, quiet and studious Jill finds herself more and more attracted to Tristian, and Tristan finds in Jill something to hang on to as his sanity slips further away...

Jekel Loves Hyde is a romance, suspense and mystery all rolled into one.  I didn’t think it was as funny as Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (Fantaskey’s other novel) but it’s got an interesting plot and enough of a twist at the end that it will keep you guessing.  Horror/romance fans, this book is for you!       
 

It's almost here. Mockingjay, the last installment of The Hunger Games trilogy arrives next week. To celebrate the final adventures of Katniss and the Capitol we'll have trivia, games, prizes, pizza (what, you didn't think we'd let you starve, did you?) and of course copies of the book. So stop by the Teen Lounge on August 24 at 6 p.m. for our Mockingjay Release Party. Show off your knowledge of the games, debate whether Katniss should end up with Peeta or Gale (or neither) and maybe snag a copy of the fall's hottest read. Go District 12!

...a copy of THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner, the sequel to THE MAZE RUNNER. This book doesn't go on sale until October, but we have it!

Come to the Teen Summer Reading Finale Party this Thursday at 7 p.m. and enter for a chance to win this book!!

I better get reading....or else I might change my mind and not give it away!

Teen Librarian Sarah is back with another AMAZING book discussion about The Knife of Never Letting Go, which is the first book in Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking series. 

The Knife of Never Letting Go from Darien Library on Vimeo.

Courtesy of flickr user r8r

Answer these skill testing questions in the comments to win a book!  You must enter by 11:59pm on Thursday August 12th to be able to win! 

...here's a hint... try googling keywords from some of the questions!

1. What country is John Flanagan, author of the Ranger’s Apprentice series from?  (Book 9 is coming out in October.)

2. Does Scott Pilgrim defeat the evil exes in Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour?

3. What book has the longest sentence in an English-language novel?

4. Nicholas Sparks wrote The Last Song, Dear John, The Notebook and a number of other well known novels-turned-movies.  In college he participated in a sport, and has since given money to support the sport, as well as being a volunteer coach.  What is the sport?

5. How old was S.E. Hinton when The Outsiders was published?

6. Which of the following is not by Shakespeare:

     The Tempest

     "The Lady of Shalott"

     Romeo and Juliet

     "The Phoenix and the Turtle"

7. What is Daniel X from John Patterson’s books?

8. What date will Mockingjaybe released?
Bonus: What state does Suzanne Collins live in?

You'll need to have a library account to enter.  If you don't have one yet, check out Alex's awesome video for kids about how to make one:

DL Kids: How to Create an Account from Darien Library on Vimeo.

Today in the Teen Lounge our young chefs cooked up some delicious desserts as part of our no-bake snack event. Check out our recipes below and try them out for yourselves. 

Cocoa Coconut Balls

1 cup coconut
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 8-ounce can condensed milk
1 packet crushed plain cookies

Crush cookies into a bowl. Add coconut and cocoa.Mix in condensed milk. Roll the mixture into balls. Roll balls into a little extra coconut.

Oreo Balls

12 Oreo cookies
1/4 cup milk
8 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
spoonful of honey

Crush the Oreos in a bowl. Add the milk and mix. Add the peanut butter and honey. Roll into balls Refrigerate on a plate for at least 30 minutes.

Thanks to Easy Kids Recipes for the ideas!

For more delicious programming be sure to come to our Milkshake and Smoothie Mix Off on August 26 at 2 p.m. in the Teen Lounge for a cool way to finish off your summer. 

Scott Pilgrim is a twenty-three year old underachiever who lives in an apartment in Toronto with his roommate, off of whom he mooches unapologetically.  Scott’s in a band, and in volume 1: Precious Little Life, he has just started dating a high school girl named Knives Chau.  Everyone, except Scott and Knives, realize that this is slimy behavior at best, but their friends are happy that Scott has stopped moping over his ex.  Then Scott starts to see a girl in his dreams: a beautiful, cool-looking Amazon delivery girl who rollerblades through his dreams.  When Scott decides to order some CDs from Amazon in the hopes of meeting his (literal) dream girl, Knives and Scott are pretty much done as a couple (...not that Knives knows about it). 

There may be some hitches along the way in the form of the seven evil ex-boyfriends Scott must fight if he wants to date the Amazon girl, not to mention Knives’ increasing obsession… but it won't be a dull ride!        

That’s right, it’s going to be a huge summer blockbuster starring Michael Cera.  So very awesome.  Everyone knows that the book is always better than the movie—so get the Scott Pilgrim series and decide for yourself.  The art is amazing, the funny quips in the margins are the best, and did I mention that Scott is an awesome fighter, his band sucks and there is going to be a video game?

 

Yesterday in the Teen Lounge we made gocks and pocks (that's  goth and punk sock monsters for short).
 Decked out in colorful pipe cleaners, buttons, yarn and a whole lot of glitter these monsters rock.
 Meet some of our googly eyed creatures in the videos below. Some of them even talk.
 

Gocks and Pocks: Teen Summer Reading from Darien Library on Vimeo.

James Dashner's The Maze Runner is this summer's runaway hit (at least until Mockingjay hits the shelves on August 24th.)  Hear what Sarah has to say, and then place a hold to read it!

The Maze Runner: A Video Book Talk by Sarah Ludwig from Darien Library on Vimeo.