The following five books were chosen by Ohio high school students as their favorite books of 2011--have you read any of them? Vote for your favorite at the Teen Buckeye site.

The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms #2), by Cinda Williams China / Hunger: A Gone novel, by Michael Grant
Last Sacrifice (Vampire Academy #6), by Richelle Mead / Things a Brother Knows, by Dana Reinhardt
Five Flavors of Dumb, by Antony John

Congratulations to the winners of our Photography Contest! The Teen Best in Show award went to Sierra Mazurowski, who also won First and Third in the Altered Photo category. See our Flickr set for all of the winners. The photos are on display in the library until Sept. 16. Look for the contest again next year, and thanks everyone who entered!

Congratulations to Brandon Macpherson, winner of our Teen Summer Reading Grand Prize ($100 giftcard), and Ruth Amadio, winner of our Teen Summer Guessing Game ($50 giftcard). And thanks to all 302 of you who read books this summer at the library! You rock!

Show off those great vacation photos! Enter our photography contest! Win CASH PRIZES! Details are here, including the entry form. Good luck!

Calling all teen writers: the author Lisa McMann (Fade, Wake, Cryer's Cross, etc.) is sponsoring a contest to send a teen writer to NYC to learn about the publishing industry firsthand. Click here for the details, and good luck!

Our first ever Mario Kart tournament for the Wii had 28 racers participate, and in the end, Bryan came out victorious over Halle in the final matchup. Congratulations to them! They won GameStop giftcards, provided by the Friends of the Library, plus bonus swag from Pizza Hut. And Pizza Hut of Stow provided free pizza for all players! Thank you Pizza Hut! Stay tuned for our next Mario Kart tournament.

Don't be bored this summer! Help out at the library! The Children's Dept. needs teen volunteers to help with their programs. Get more info here.

Here's a contest for aspiring writers: you can win a subscription to Netflix and autographed books!

"Searching for Teen Leaders" is a Project Love-Purple America program that allows individuals to recognize outstanding teen leaders for their extraordinary contributions to their schools, families, and/or communities. The program highlights the accomplishments of teens in grades 7-12. Please help spread the word and recognize Stow and Munroe Falls teens for their great work! Click here to nominate a teen (before May 31) and to learn more about the program.

In case you haven't yet heard, the final book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance series is coming out on Nov. 8, 2011, and it will be called Inheritance. (Did you guess that already? Good thing it's not called Eragon Four, that would be boring!) We'll be having an Inheritance book release party on Nov. 7--stay tuned for details!