YA fiction has just been injected with a dose of reality.  The teen authors of the new Louder Than Words series have created gripping memoirs that tell their own personal stories.  The first three books have been released, and are described on the...

The William C. Morris Award for Young Adult books is given to debut books for first-time YA authors. The winning book will illuminate the teen experience and qualifying books are judged by the following standards:

• Compelling, high quality writing and/or illustration
• The integrity of the work as a whole
• Its proven or potential appeal to a wide range of teen readers

Find out more about this award at the American Library Association website.  The 2010 winner is…

 If you like High School Musical or Glee, you'll enjoy reading about these funny and realistic characters practicing for their school's latest production.

Maggie is excited about the upcoming auditions for the school play .... until the new drama teacher decides that the students should try a musical. Maggie desperately wants a part, because her secret crush is also auditioning for a role.

Singing and dancing are definintely outside of Maggie's comfort zone, but maybe with some coaching from the musically talented (and cute!) Nico, she can land the leading role!

Cass Parker believes in luck. And horoscopes. And feng shui. And fortune telling. And anything else that might explain what to expect and how to make it better. Living in Las Vegas (aka Sin City) is a perfect fit for her. If only she could be lucky in love....

Read Gettin' Lucky by Micol Ostow and check out other great teen reads from publisher Simon Pulse.

Local teens were given the opportunity to experiment with sugar cookie dough, sprinkles, cookie cut-outs and frosting. Each teen was given a scoop of dough and a rolling pin. It was amazing to see all the cookie shapes that were created and sprinkled. Most of the treats were eaten as soon as they came out of the oven but some of the cookies were placed in small baskets that became gifts for family members. One male teen commented, "Let's do this again."

The next cookie making program will be on February 11. Heart shaped cookies will be decorated to celebrate Valentine's Day.