The Dead and the Gone is the second book in Susan Beth Pfeffer's moon trilogy. For information on the third book in the series, a continuation of Miranda's diary, click here. (Warning: if you haven't read Life as We Knew It, there are some spoilers for that book here.)

The Dead and the Gone tells the same story as Life as We Knew It, but in New York City instead of a small town. A meteor has hit the moon, knocking it closer to the earth. That means a whole bunch of natural disasters, starting with the rising tides and including tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes, and more. Alex and his two sisters are trapped in the city with dwindling food supplies and no parents to help them.

I read this book in about a day. It is so riviting. It's hard not to get sucked into the mood of the story, and it's pretty terrifying. I also kept thinking about what I would do in Alex's situation. And let's just say I don't think I'd do as well--I mean, no hot water? Living on the 14th floor with no elevator? Half a can of beans for your food for the day? Hmmmm.

I highly recommend this book. Just don't try to check it out til I return it tomorrow!

And remember, if you check out a book before we close on Wednesday, you can keep it til we re-open in January. If you need any recommendations for books to tide you over til the new building opens, just let me know!

I'm here in Nashville, TN at the Young Adult Literature Symposium. I've gotten to meet so many great people, and best of all, there are loads of amazing authors here: Gene Yang, Terry Trueman, Coe Booth, Barry Lyga, and Patrick Jones, just to name a few! I'm going to try to get pictures of all of them for you...

Okay, Terry Trueman just started talking. Gotta go -- I'll be back!!

High School Musical 3: Senior Year is getting pretty good reviews! Check out some of the highlights on Rotten Tomatoes.

If you can't get enough of Zach and Vanessa, check out all the HSM stuff we have at the library!

The 2008 Teen's Top Ten list is out.

1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
5. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
7. The Sweet Far Thing  by Libba Bray
8. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
9. Before I Die  by Jenny Downham
10. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

What do you think?

The first book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy is being made into a movie, as you may know. It's coming out in 2010. The author, Libba Bray, has some movie news in her blog:

"NOTHING HAS BEEN CAST. NOTHING. DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ ON THE INTRAMANETS." She wrote this on October 10, so I think that even though IMDB has people listed in the three main female roles, we should ignore that.

However, that doesn't mean we can't speculate!!!

Who would make the best Gemma? The best Anne? Felicity? Kartik?

Get the books and audiobooks here -- they're some of my favorites.

I wanted to hate Sex and the City, but one year I borrowed all of the episodes from Netflix and got totally addicted to the show. I think it was because I'd just moved ot of New York and I missed the city. When I was living there, I was getting a pedicure and I glanced out the window to see them filming an episode with SJP!

Did you know that the TV show was based on Candance Bushnell's column in the New York Observer? And she's a novelist. So, it should come as no surprise that she's coming out with The Carrie Diaries, a new SATC series aimed at teens, all about Carrie's life in high school.

So what do you think? Will you read them? Will you love them or hate them? Either way, you know they'll be at the Darien Library as soon as they're published!

In the meantime, you can check out the book, the shows, AND the movie.

This is the all-author edition of Blogs you need to read on a regular basis. Here are some of my favorite author blogs. Email me if you have some favorites of your own, and I'll put them up!

Blake Nelson. The author of Paranoid Park, which was made into a movie starring Jenny Humprey...I mean, Taylor Momsen.

E. Lockhart. The author of  The Boyfriend List, Dramarama, The Boy Book, and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Also, check out her website for games, imixes, and quizzes.

John Green. Author of two award-winning books, Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines.

Libba Bray. Wrote the amazing Gemma Doyle trilogy -- A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing.

Maureen Johnson. I admit, my favorite author. Her books include Suite Scarlett, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Girl at Sea, and Devilish. Her blog is hilarious, and she hangs out with a lot of other YA authors, so she writes about that a lo.

Sarah Dessen. You know what she's written! The Truth About Forever, Just Listen, This Lullaby, Lock and Key... She blogs a lot about the writing process.

Meg Cabot. Um, I can't list her books because it would take too long, but her blog is really, really funny, and she gives out lots of "insider" info about her books.

Scott Westerfeld. The Uglies series writer. Cool info and news about the Uglies book, plus more!

HOW GOOD WAS GOSSIP GIRL LAST NIGHT?

Aside from all the awesomeness happening, there were two cameos that I thought were perfect: Tinsley Mortimer, playing herself, and Jay McInerney, playing a New York writer who Dan interns for over the summer. In real life, Jay McInerney is...a writer living in New York City.

Want to read one of McInerney's books? Click here to see what we've got at the Library. I recommend starting with Bright Lights, Big City, which I read the summer I was living in New York in between my junior and senior years of high school.

If you want to read about the Hamptons, definitely check out the Au Pairs series, which is just as juicy as GG but takes place in glam Southampton.

And as a side note, did you all see the preview for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist? Yay! Read the amazing book by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan before you go see the movie.

Just what you need: more stuff to distract you from studying for the SATs. Here are some of the latest, coolest toys that you'll want to be showing off before anyone else gets them.

The PSP 3000 has a brighter, more colorful screen and hits stores October 14.

Samsung's superskinny X360 laptop is trying to compete with Apple's Air -- and while it'll be available abroad this September, there's no word on when you'll be able to buy it in the US. Worth paying shipping from Hong Kong?

The Blackberry Bold is gorgeous and might actually make you forget about the iphone 3G for a minute or two. Buy it September 12 for $299.

Take HD photos AND movies with the Sony DSC-T500. It'll be available in late September for about $400.

The Creative Zen X-Fi is a sweet-looking mp3 player that has tons of features. There are two versions: one with WiFi and one without. The higher-end 32 GB model is available now and goes for $279.

If you want to see what kinds of gadgets the Library has for you to borrow, visit the gadgets page.

How excited are you for the new season of Gossip Girl???

The new fall TV season almost makes up for the fact that it's also time to go back to school. Before we preview the upcoming shows you should check out, here's a list of "classic" shows about high school. It is highly recommended that you Netflix all of these.

My So-Called Life. Oh, Jordan Catalano. Who knew you were going to grow up to be Jared Leto in crazy make-up?

Gilmore Girls. Yeah, Rory goes to Yale, but the best seasons take place when she's still in private school, wearing that cute little uniform and trying to decide between Jess and Dean.

The O.C.. Granted, Mischa Barton is one of the worst actresses of all time, and watching Marissa's breakdown by the pool is so unitentionally hilarious, but watching Seth and Summer trade barbs makes this show so worth it.

Freaks and Geeks, Featuring most of the cast of Knocked Up and the writer of Superbad, Seth Rogan, as -- surprise -- the school stoner, this show is obviously FUNNY.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What, you don't have to kill demons after 4th period?

Beverly Hills, 90210. The original! Okay, so all the so-called "high school students" looked 35, and they kicked off Shannon Doherty way too soon, but it's worth watching for the early-90s haristyles, the SUPER overdramatic plots, and the Donna/David romance. We love you Tori Spelling!

If you'd like to read about the trials and tribulations of high school, check out these books at the Library:

The New Rules of High School by Blake Nelson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

Geography Club by Bret Hartinger

The Earth. My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler