Teen

Summer Battle of the Books

"Battle of the Books" is a county-wide book trivia contest for students who are cardholders at Longwood Public Library and entering grades 6 through 9. Over the summer, participants read eight books, attend ten practice sessions, and then compete in teams against one another and other libraries at a "Mock Battle of the Books," which is held at a local public library. The top-ranked players will also go on to compete against teams from libraries across the county in August at Stony Brook University. Parents and friends are welcome at the "Mock Battle of the Books" and "Battle of the Books" events. Registration usually takes place in May; the program usually takes place on Tuesdays from mid-June through August. Visit the official website for more details.

2018 Summer Battle of the Books:

The titles for Summer 2018 are:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Circus Mirandus	Cassie Beasley	When he realizes that his grandfather's stories of an enchanted circus are true, Micah Tuttle sets out to find the mysterious Circus Mirandus--and to use its magic to save his grandfather's life.
	Book Scavenger	Jennifer Chambliss Bertman	After twelve-year-old Emily and her family move to San Francisco, she teams up with new friend James to figure out the secrets of an odd book they find before the men who attacked Emily's hero solve the mystery or come after the friends.
	The Detective's Assistant	Kate Hannigan	In 1859, Nell goes to live with her aunt, Kate Warne, a female detective for Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, and helps her aunt solve cases, including a mystery surrounding Abraham Lincoln and the mystery of what happened to Nell's own father.
	The Key to Extraordinary	Natalie Lloyd	Twelve-year old orphan, Emma Casey, lives by a haunted graveyard in her Tennessee town. She gives tours, and helps her brother and Granny Blue with the family bakery, and waits for the destiny dream of her ancestors -- but when it comes it shows her only a key. She finds that she must solve a ghostly mystery that has haunted her town for generations.
	Framed!	James Ponti	In Washington, D.C., twelve-year-old Florian Bates, a consulting detective for the FBI, and his best friend Margaret help thwart the biggest art heist in United States history.
	Fuzzy Mud	Louis Sachar	When two middle-grade children take a shortcut home from school, they discover what looks like fuzzy mud but is actually a substance with the potential to wreak havoc on the entire world.
	The Thief	Megan Whalen Turner	Gen flaunts his ingenuity as a thief and relishes the adventure which takes him to a remote temple of the gods where he will attempt to steal a precious stone.
	The Real Boy	Anne Ursu	A shy boy named Oscar who works as the hand to a powerful magic worker becomes the only person who can save his village from an evil monster.

2017 Summer Battle of the Books:

Our team theme was "Battle of the Crooks!" The titles for Summer 2017 were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Penny from Heaven	Jennifer Holm	As she turns twelve during the summer of 1953, Penny gains new insights into herself and her family while also learning a secret about her father's death.
	Book Scavenger	Jennifer Bertman	After twelve-year-old Emily and her family move to San Francisco, she teams up with new friend James to figure out the secrets of an odd book they find before the men who attacked Emily's hero solve the mystery or come after the friends.
	Schooled	Gordon Korman	After his hippie grandmother ends up in the hospital, Cap Anderson is forced to leave the commune where he is homeschooled and attend Claverage Middle School, where his odd looks and behavior make him the target of bullies.
	Loot	Jude Watson	When Alfie McQuinn, the notorious jewel thief, is killed on a job, his last words to his son, March, are to "find jewels," and this instruction leads the boy to Jules, the twin sister he never knew he had--and the perfect partner to carry on the family business.
	A Wrinkle In Time	Madeleine L'Engle	Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.
	The Iron Trial	Holly Black and Cassandra Clare	Warned away from magic all of his life, Callum endeavors to fail the trials that would admit him to the Magisterium only to be drawn into its ranks against his will and forced to confront dark elements from his past.
	QB 1	Mike Lupica	Jake Cullen, fourteen, lives in the shadows of his father and older brother until he becomes the starting quarterback for the high school football team and finally has his chance to shine.
	Space Case	Stuart Gibbs	Dashiell Gibson, who lives on Moon Base Alpha, has to solve a murder of one of the moon's most prominent doctors.


2016 Summer Battle of the Books:

Congratulations to the 2016 Battle of the Books Team for winning second place! Our team theme was The A-NILE-Ators! The titles for Summer 2016 were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler	E. L. Konigsburg	Having run away with her younger brother to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, twelve-year-old Claudia strives to keep things in order in their new home, and to become a changed person and a heroine to herself.
	Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library	Chris Grabenstein	Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library. Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot to be one of the first 12 kids in the library for an overnight of fun, food, and lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors remain locked. Kyle and the other winners must solve every clue and every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route. And the stakes are very high.
	Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone	J. K. Rowling	Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.
	Space Case	Stuart Gibbs	Dashiell Gibson, who lives on Moon Base Alpha, has to solve a murder of one of the moon's most prominent doctors.
	The Face on the Milk Carton	Caroline B. Cooney	A photograph of a missing girl on a milk carton leads Janie on a search for her real identity.
	Hope Was Here	Joan Bauer	When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.
	What We Found in the Sofa (and How it Saved the World)	Henry Clark	Finding a rare zucchini-colored crayon leads twelve-year-old River Monroe and his friends on an adventure with their eccentric neighbor to save Earth from invading interstellar storm troopers.
	Stormbreaker	Anthony Horowitz	After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.


2015 Summer Battle of the Books:

Congratulations to the 2015 Battle of the Books Team for winning second place! Our team theme was Reader D2 And The Droids You're Looking For! The titles for Summer 2015 were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Belly Up	Gibbs, Stuart	Twelve-year-old Teddy investigates when a popular Texas zoo's star attraction--Henry the hippopotamus--is murdered.
	Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library	Grabenstein, Chris	Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello), with other students but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.
	The Hypnotists	Korman, Gordon	Twelve-year-old Jackson Opus is descended from two powerful hypnotist bloodlines, but he has just begun to realize that he can control other peoples' actions with sometimes frightening results--especially when the head of the Sentia Institute plans to use Jackson for his own benefit.
	True Legend	Lupica, Mike	Fifteen-year-old Drew "True" Robinson loves being the best point-guard prospect in high school basketball, but learns the consequences of fame through a former player, as well as through the man who expects to be his manager when True reaches the NBA.
	Hiding Out At The Pancake Palace	Marino, Nan	When musical prodigy Elvis Ruby completely freezes up on television, he is forced to hide out in the Pinelands of New Jersey and try to find his way back to the music once again with the help of a new friend.
	The Apothecary	Meloy, Melie	Follows a fourteen-year-old American girl whose life unexpectedly transforms when she moves to London in 1952 and gets swept up in a race to save the world from nuclear war.
	The Rithmatist	Sanderson, Brandon	As Wild Chalklings threaten the American Isles and Rithmatists are humanity's only defense, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice.
	Three Times Lucky	Turnage, Sheila	Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a café and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder.

2014 Summer Battle of the Books:

Our team theme was "Captain Book And Reader Pan!" The titles for summer 2014 were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Popular Clone	Castle, M.E.	Twelve-year-old Fisher Bas, a science-loving bully magnet, clones himself, only to discover that his double is infinitely cooler than himself.
	Change Up: Mystery At The World Series	Feinstein, John	While covering baseball's World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Boston Red Sox, teenage sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol investigate a rookie pitcher whose evasive answers during an interview reveal more than a few contradictions in his life story.
	Dead End In Norvelt	Gantos, Jack	In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore.
	CHOMP	Hiassen, Carl	When the difficult star of the reality television show "Expedition Survival" disappears while filming an episode in the Florida Everglades using animals from the wildlife refuge run by Wahoo Crane's family, Wahoo and classmate Tuna Gordon set out to find him while avoiding Tuna's gun-happy father.
	Ungifted	Korman, Gordon	Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special school for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school.
	The Apothecary	Meloy, Maile	Follows a fourteen-year-old American girl whose life unexpectedly transforms when she moves to London in 1952 and gets swept up in a race to save the world from nuclear war.
	Mortal Engines	Reeve, Philip	Emerging from its hiding place in the hills, the great Traction City of London chases towns across the wastelands. If it cannot overpower smaller, slower prey, the city will come to a standstill and risk being taken over by another. In the attack, Tom Natsworthy, Apprentice Historian to the London Museum, is flung from its speeding superstructure into the barren wasteland of Out-Country. His only companion is Hester Shaw, a murderous, scar-faced girl who does not particularly want Tom's company. But if they are to make it back to London, before Stalkers or hungry cities get them first, they will need to help each other, and fast.
	The Grimm Legacy	Shulman, Polly	After high school student Elizabeth, working as a page, gains access to the Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods.

2013 Summer Battle of the Books:

Our team theme was "The SHIELDs: Longwood's Marvelous Heroes!" The titles for summer 2013 were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Three Black Swans	Cooney, Caroline B.	When sixteen-year-old Missy Vianello decides to try to convince her classmates that her cousin Claire is really her long-lost identical twin, she has no idea that the results of her prank will be so life-changing.
	The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch	Delaney, Joseph	For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried- some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope, the last apprentice.
	Theodore Boone: The Abduction	Grisham, John	When his best friend disappears from her bedroom in the middle of the night, thirteen-year-old Theo uses his legal knowledge and investigative skills to chase down the truth and save April.
	CHOMP	Hiassen, Carl	When the difficult star of the reality television show "Expedition Survival" disappears while filming an episode in the Florida Everglades using animals from the wildlife refuge run by Wahoo Crane's family, Wahoo and classmate Tuna Gordon set out to find him while avoiding Tuna's gun-happy father.
	Archvillian	Lyga, Barry	Twelve-year-old Kyle Camden develops greater mental agility and superpowers during a plasma storm that also brings Mighty Mike, an alien, to the town of Bouring, but while each does what he thinks is best, Kyle is labeled a villain and Mike a hero.
	The Red Pyramid	Riordan, Rick	After their father's research experiment at the British Museum unleashes the Egyptian god Set, Carter and Sadie Kane embark on a dangerous journey across the globe -- a quest which brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.
	Aliens on Vacation	Smith, Clete Barrett	Unhappy at being sent to stay with his grandmother at the inn she operates, The Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, Scrub discovers that each room is actually a portal to space and the inn's visitors are aliens who are vacationing on Earth.
	Surviving the Applewhites	Tolan, Stephanie	Jake, a budding juvenile delinquent, is sent for home schooling to the arty and eccentric Applewhite family's Creative Academy, where he discovers talents and interests he never knew he had.

2012 Summer Battle of the Books:

Our team theme was "Knights Of The Longwood Table" The titles for summer 2012 were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Close to Famous	Bauer, Joan	Twelve-year-old Foster McFee and her mother escape from her mother's abusive boyfriend and end up in the small town of Culpepper, West Virginia, where they use their strengths and challenge themselves to build a new life, with the help of the friends they make there. If you would like to learn more, click here to view a video of team members talking about Close to Famous.
	The Alchemyst : the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel	Scott, Michael	While working at pleasant but mundane summer jobs in San Francisco, fifteen-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh, suddenly find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries-old struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient and powerful book holding the secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life. If you would like to learn more, click here to view a video of team members talking about The Alchemyst.
	Cosmic	Cottrell Boyce, Frank	12-year old Liam looks like he's thirty. Sometimes it's not bad; for example on the first day of school the principal mistakes Liam for a teacher or when he convinces a car dealer to let him test drive a Porsche. So feeling like he's stuck between two worlds, Liam cons his way into being the adult chaperone on the first space ship to take civilians into space. But when the ship is stuck 230,000 miles from home, being mistaken for an adult is not good. If you would like to learn more, click here to view a video of team members talking about Cosmic.
	The Black Book of Secrets	Higgins, F.E.	When Ludlow Fitch runs away from his thieving parents in the City, he meets up with the mysterious Joe Zabbidou, who calls himself a secret pawnbroker, and who takes Ludlow as an apprentice to record the confessions of the townspeople of Pagus Parvus, where resentments are many and trust is scarce. If you would like to learn more, click here to view a video of team members talking about The Black Book of Secrets.
	The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites	Brewer, Heather	For thirteen years, Vlad, aided by his aunt and best friend, has kept secret that he is half-vampire, but when his missing teacher is replaced by a sinister substitute, he learns that there is more to being a vampire, and to his parents' deaths, than he could have guessed. If you would like to learn more, click here to view a video of team members talking about The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod.
	Heist Society	Carter, Ally	A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several priceless paintings and save fifteen-year-old Kat Bishop's father, himself an international art thief, from a vengeful collector. If you would like to learn more, click here to view a video of team members talking about Heist Society.
	Gregor the Overlander	Collins, Suzanne	When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy. If you would like to learn more, click here to view a video of team members talking about Gregor the Overlander.
	The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch	DeLaney, Joseph	For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried- some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope, the last apprentice. If you would like to learn more, click here to view of video of team members talking about The Last Apprentice.

2011 Summer Battle of the Books:

Our team theme was "FANTASEA: Fish Are Not Tasty Afternoon Snacks - Eat Apples!"
The titles for the 2011 Summer Battle of the Books were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Abduction	Kehert, Peg	Thirteen-year-old Bonnie has a feeling of foreboding on the very day that her six-year-old brother Matt and their dog Pookie are abducted, and she becomes involved in a major search effort as well as a frightening adventure.
	Al Capone Shines My Shoes	Choldenko, Gennifer	When twelve-year-old Moose Flanagan finds a note in one of his freshly laundered pillowcases, he knows exactly who it's from: Al Capone. Capone may be one of the most notorious criminals in residence at Alcatraz, but he and Moose have a special connection.
	The Graveyard Book	Gaiman, Neil	Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard. Winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal.
	Gregor the Overlander	Collins, Suzanne	When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.
	I'd tell you I love you but then I'd have to kill you	Carter, Ally	As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.
	The Ruins of Gorland (Ranger's Apprentice bk 1)	Flanagan, John	When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battle school, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.
	The Red Blazer Girls Ring of Rocamadour	Beil, Michael	Catholic-schooled seventh-graders Sophie, Margaret, Rebecca, and Leigh Ann help an elderly neighbor solve a puzzle her father left for her estranged daughter twenty years ago.
	Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie	Lubar, David	While navigating his first year of high school and awaiting the birth of his new baby brother, Scott loses old friends and gains some unlikely new ones as he hones his skills as a writer.

2010 Summer Battle of the Books:

Our team theme was "To the Library and Beyond."
The titles for the 2010 Summer Battle of the Books were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Found	Haddix, Margaret Peterson	Thirteen year old best friends Jonah and Chip, who know that they are both adopted, begin receiving threatening notes in the mail and as they investigate they uncover very complicated circumstances surrounding their
	Peak	Smith, Roland	A fourteen-year-old boy attempts to be the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest.
	Peeled	Bauer, Joan	In an upstate New York farming community, high school reporter Hildy Biddle investigates a series of strange occurrences at a house rumored to be haunted.
	Schooled	Korman, George	After his hippie grandmother ends up in the hospital, Cap Anderson is forced to leave the commune where he is homeschooled and attend Claverage Middle School, where his odd looks and behavior make him the target of bullies.
	The Ruins of Gorland (Ranger's Apprentice bk 1)	Flanagan, John	When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battle school, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.
	Wednesday Wars	Schmidt, Gary	During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in.
	The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark	Pearson, Ridley	Finn Whitman and his fellow DHIs, teenagers chosen to serve as actors for a new technology, investigate strange occurrences at Disney theme park attractions, racing to uncover a supernatural force that could destroy the world.
	The Lightning Theif	Riordan, Rick	Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

2009 Summer Battle of the Books:

Our team theme was "Señors And Senior Readers"
The titles for the 2009 Summer Battle of the Books were:
Cover	Title	Author	Description
	Beastly	Flinn, Alex	Presents a modern retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" from the point of view of the Beast, a vain Manhattan private school student who is turned into a monster and must find true love before he can return to his human form.
	The Lightning Theif	Riordan, Rick	Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson learns he is a demigod, the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea. His mother sends him to a summer camp for demigods where he and his new friends set out on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.
	Last Shot	Feinstein, John	After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game.
	Hidden Talents	Lubar, David	When thirteen-year-old Martin arrives at an alternative school for misfits and problem students, he falls in with a group of boys with psychic powers and discovers something surprising about himself.
	Love Among the Walnuts	Ferris, Jean	Born and raised in isolation in a wealthy, eccentric family, Sandy is shocked when he, his parents, and their servants become victims of a vicious plot by his greedy uncles to incapacitate them and take their money.
	Marley: a dog like no other	Grogan, John	Follows the life story of an exuberant Labrador retriever who gets into perpetual trouble and experiences a range of inspiring adventures.
	Turnabout	Haddix, Margaret Peterson	Eighty-five years after participating in a flawed scientific experiment to reverse the aging process, Melly and Anny Beth face the fear of being unable to care for themselves as they continue to grow younger.
	The White Giraffe	St. John, Lauren	After a fire kills her parents, eleven-year-old Martine must leave England to live with her grandmother on a wildlife game reserve in South Africa, where she befriends a mythical white giraffe.

Teen

Summer Battle of the Books

Hours: