Author Julia M

A collection of brightly colored dice of all different sizes.

Connecting Teens with D&D

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A photograph shoes mini-figures and dice in focus, with a teenager sitting behind an open book out of focus behind.
Teens gather weekly to play Dungeons and Dragons at HCLS Glenwood Branch.

by Julia M. and Paige S., teen instructors

What stemmed from a happenstance conversation in Summer 2023 with a group of teens asking for help with creating D&D characters grew into a long-term staple of teen programming at Glenwood Branch.

The first official meeting of the Glenwood D&D Club happened that September, when three students attended. I taught them how to play Dungeons & Dragons, but they were the ones who became fast friends, wove stories together, and welcomed new teens into the group over the span of the next six months. By the end of the school year, we had a group of six students meeting together every other Monday night to play the game and collaborate.

Teens love the welcoming environment, the lively atmosphere, and the opportunity to create and tell stories together where they can all play the hero. D&D is the perfect combination of a board game and a tale woven beside a flickering fire — each person contributes equally toward a collaborative, heroic adventure, the only limit of which is your own imagination.

By the end of Summer 2024, 15 to 20 teens were regularly attending. Not only that, but two of the recurring students worked with me to plan games for their peers and were running their games concurrently. We were now playing three D&D games simultaneously in our largest meeting room every other Monday night and had expanded the time to 90 minutes. With the teens recruiting their friends and neighbors, our almost entirely teen-run club continued to see an influx of new players even as the school year began and schedules shifted.

The group continued to flourish as the school year went on. We celebrated birthdays, finished complete storylines and began new ones, introduced new characters and challenges, and celebrated the group’s first anniversary.

Currently, the Glenwood D&D Club is still going strong. Teens continue to come to Glenwood excited and ready to see how their character’s stories will unfold. The fun doesn’t stop at Glenwood! In fact, D&D has found a home at the Central, Miller, and East Columbia branches, giving teens opportunities to play tabletop role playing games and build connections with one another.

Glenwood D&D Club
Mondays; Nov 10 & 24; Dec 8 & 22
6:30 pm
HCLS Glenwood Branch

Teen D&D Club
Wednesdays; Nov 19 & Dec 17
HCLS Miller Branch

Tabletop Gaming Paradise
For everyone. Register at bit.ly/tabletop-ECO
Thursdays; Nov 20; Dec 4 & 18
6 – 7:45 pm
HCLS East Columbia Branch
Gamers enjoy an evening of thrilling dice rolls and dire card draws. Explore our tabletop games collection or bring your own to share. Whether you have no experience or you are a tabletop min-maxer, this event is perfect for you!

Teen Dungeons & Dragons
Sat, Nov 22 | 1:30 pm
HCLS Central Branch

Our next chapter starts soon when the blog moves to the newly redesigned hclibrary.org. All the same great reviews and news, plus more library information! 

An illustration that looks like a highly detailed, black and white print shows a tall, classic tower set against a stormy sky. The title and author's name appear in gold copperplate lettering.

Read Babel in 2025 (while waiting for Katabasis)

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An illustration that looks like a highly detailed, black and white print shows a tall, classic tower set against a stormy sky. The title and author's name appear in gold copperplate lettering.

By Julia M.

If you’re a fiction reader, you have probably heard buzz about R.F. Kuang’s latest book, Katabasis. While you’re waiting for your hold on Katabasis to be delivered, I’ll make my case for you to pick up Kuang’s 2022 hit, Babel: or the necessity of violence: an arcane history of the Oxford Translators’ revolution. If you’ve been yearning for the kind of book hangover that makes it impossible to pick up anything else because your mind is plagued with thoughts of the book you just finished — this is the book for you. (True story: I finished Babel over a month ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.) 

Babel is set in a historically re-imagined 1800s Oxford, England. We first meet the main character, Robin, as he’s dying of cholera in Canton, China. A professor from Oxford, Richard Lovell, comes to save his life with magic — but only after Robin’s mother passes away from the illness. From then on, Robin is raised as Professor Lovell’s ward, and spends the rest of his childhood being prepared for a higher education at Oxford University’s Royal Institute of Translation, also known as Babel. At Babel, Robin meets fellow year-mates Ramy, Victoire, and Letty, who become an inseparable band of friends throughout their education. He discovers a secret society that sparks the rumbles of revolution on campus — and whose connections run deeper than first meets the eye. 

If you’ve read The Poppy War or Yellowface, you’ve already become familiar with the pattern of R.F. Kuang’s books — she constructs a setup that is exciting, endearing, alluring, and which might be a book of its own in the hands of another writer. After she makes you fall in love with her characters, she does something that sets her apart: she swings the pendulum of reality in your face. You’re made to face brutalities that exist in our real-world society and shatter any delusions of a happily-ever-after for the characters you’ve grown to love.

R.F. Kuang writes with candor about colonialism, racism, language, academia, and power. To weave in elements of fantasy is an added bonus that makes the world rich and makes you wish you could stay in its happy places longer. For better or for worse, you’ll fall in love with the group of four hopeful students we meet at the onset of the story; I can’t say more about them without spoiling the story, so go ahead and read for yourself.

Babel by R. F. Kuang is available in print, e-book, and e-audiobook formats.

Julia is a Teen Instructor & Research Specialist at the Central Branch. They love reading YA books, playing the cello, practicing martial arts, trying new cookie recipes, and generally squeezing as many hobbies into a day as possible. 

A dark image, almost an engraving, shows a lone figure on a far mountaintop.

Fantasy Reads on the High School Summer Reading List

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The strong elongated letter of the title is surrounded by a symmetrical image of bones, birds, bugs, and plants - all in a deep blue green palette.
A young Black teenage boy in a hoodie stands in front of a spooky tree dripping with spanish moss. Mysterious light appears in front of his hand. Cover is all in dark blues and deep greys.
The brightly colorful cover illustration has a single figure of a Pacific Islander young woman with a headband woven of greenery and flowers. long hair, and other creatures worked into the bottom of the image.
A young woman's face, with light eyes, is partially masked by fabric and vines.
A dark image, almost an engraving, shows a lone figure on a far mountaintop.

by Julia M.

There’s no time like the summertime to dig into a long, immersive fantasy book. The 2025 High School Summer Reading list features several titles that fit the bill—here are five recommendations to keep you engrossed for hundreds of pages! 

Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson is a suspenseful fairy tale centered on a cast of lifelike characters on their quest to find the heart of the nefarious secret society known as the Order of Toadmen. The main character, Merry, grapples with her magical ability as she fights against society to save her father. I loved this book’s sweet friendships, the rivals-to-teammates dynamic between Merry and her counterpart, and the way the mystery unfolds as we follow the main characters deeper and deeper into the murky magic.    

Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams explores a world of magic incorporated through Black American history, folklore, and myth. When Malik Baron reunites with his estranged grandmother, he’s drawn into a world of magic and mystery that may just give him the tools he needs to control his magical powers and protect his foster brother on his journey to find his missing mother. This book transforms the magic school trope into something defiant and heartfelt.  

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier is a fantasy adventure based on mythology from Guam and other Pacific Islands. We meet our main character, Hanalei, in her days of exile after her father steals a sea dragon egg. She spends her days studying and sketching the majestic sea dragons in the surrounding waters, and when an encounter with a dragon offers her a chance to return home, Hanalei is launched into a quest that could save her family—and the entire kingdom of Tamarind. The book delivers a beautifully woven, mythology-rich expansion on the teen dragon rider trope and leaves readers asking, “When will there be another one?” 

Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros is a historical fantasy set in 1940s Lithuania. The book follows Vera, a golem created from an ancient magic, called kishuf, by a father grieving for his murdered daughter. Driven with a violent purpose, Vera is sworn to avenge herself against the Nazis. Throughout her quest, she finds that she’s not the only one with access to kishuf—and it’s going to take everything Vera has within her to come out triumphant. This dark fantasy draws from Jewish folklore to spin a tale full of strength and vengeance.  

Heir by Sabaa Tahir picks up almost two decades after A Sky Beyond the Storm, the final installment in Tahir’s previous series. Sabaa Tahir excels at balancing a full cast of characters and creating interesting and distinct points-of-view, and Heir is no exception. We get to watch the story unfold from behind the eyes of Aiz, Sirsha, and Quil—the orphan, the outcast, and the prince. Like the Ember in the Ashes quartet, Heir tells a war story in a fantasy setting that delves into issues of genocide, human rights, family bonds, and betrayal, and underscores it with characters that forge fierce bonds of friendship and love.  

Happy reading!  

Julia is a Teen Instructor & Research Specialist at the Central Branch. They love to read YA books, play the cello, practice martial arts, try new cookie recipes, and generally squeeze as many hobbies into a day as possible.

Binge to your Heart’s Content with Hoopla BingePass

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By Julia M.

One of my favorite activities for the wintry months is curling up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket, a mug of hot chocolate, and my favorite cozy Hallmark show playing on repeat—all 7 seasons of Good Witch. The best part is knowing that I’ve unlocked it all free of charge with my library card!  

Anyone with a Howard County Library System card can access the contents of Hallmark+ for free with just a single borrow on Hoopla thanks to the BingePass feature. BingePass allows Hoopla users to watch unlimited episodes or videos from a BingePass while only using up one of their monthly borrows.  

To access Hoopla BingePass offerings, visit hoopladigital.com and click “Get Started” to create an account using your library barcode number and preferred email address. Once you’ve registered, select “BingePasses” under the “Browse” menu. From there, choose your desired BingePass, borrow, and enjoy! 

A variety of colorful pokemons are rushing toward you on the cover.

Some notable BingePasses include:

Pokémon BingePass, which offers streaming of seasons 6-13 (over 350 episodes) of the Pokémon Anime. 

https://www.hoopladigital.com/bingepass/pokemon-bingepass/16659021

Great Courses Video BingePass, which provides access to hundreds of Great Courses videos on a wide variety of educational topics: https://www.hoopladigital.com/bingepass/the-great-courses-video-bingepass/14738022

medici.tv BingePass, where viewers can enjoy a frequently updated roster of world-class classical music concerts and showcases, including HD recordings of recent opera performances: https://www.hoopladigital.com/bingepass/medicitv-bingepass/16512837

And, of course, the Hallmark+ BingePass, which provides access to the entire Hallmark+ catalogue of movies and shows!  https://www.hoopladigital.com/bingepass/hallmark-bingepass-various-artists/15935096

Let us know your favorite BingePass in the comments. Happy hibernating! 

Julia is a Teen Instructor & Research Specialist at the Glenwood Branch + Makerspace. She loves reading YA books, playing the cello, practicing martial arts, trying new cookie recipes, and generally trying to squeeze as many hobbies into a day as possible.

A large black bird, a raven, with wings spread takes up the left two thirds of the cover with painted swirls and red highlights. The title appears in the bottoom right corner.

Three Teen Reads that Sent Chills Down My Spine 

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A large black bird, a raven, with wings spread takes up the left two thirds of the cover with painted swirls and red highlights. The title appears in the bottoom right corner.

by Julia M.

Once a year, whether I need it or not, I’ll look for something to read in October that gives me all the spine-tingly creepy feelings that go perfectly with a chilly (possibly ghostly) breeze, a lit candle (maybe the breeze will blow it out in a scary way), and a mug of hot tea (bonus points if the book is so good, the tea gets cold). Here are three of my favorite YA reads from past Octobers to keep you on the edge of your seat, and leave you feeling just a little haunted!

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert 

Alice Prosperpine has lived her life constantly on the run from bad luck—literally. She’s 17 years old and has moved dozens of times due to strange occurrences that seem to chase after Alice and her mother, Ella. They’ve lived in the shadow of Alice’s grandmother, the fabled storyteller Althea Prosperpine, whose crowning work was a book of fairy tales called the Hinterland. After Althea’s death, Alice’s mother is suddenly kidnapped by someone who claims the stories from the Hinterland are true—and that he’s from one of them. It’s up to Alice and her classmate, fairy tale fanatic Ellery Finch, to discover what the Hinterland really is, and save her mother—and Alice—before it’s too late.

A gothic mansion behind wrought-iron gates is mirrored on either side of the centered title and author. The bottom image has a red house but dead vines surrounding it, while the top one ha

Gallant by V. E. Schwab 

With a haunted house that may just have a mind of its own, a family that claims you but whom you’ve never met, and a mysterious warning not to go out after dark, Gallant tells the tale of Olivia, a 16-year-old girl who was raised under strict tutelage at an all-girls orphanage after her mother disappeared. One day, when she is soon to reach adulthood and be free, she receives a letter from an uncle she’s never met, inviting her to come live with her family—whom she’s never heard of—at their estate. When she arrives, things are not exactly as promised, and Olivia will need all her cunning to save her family from a doom that began long before her birth. 

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater 

Every year, Blue Sargent, her mother, and her aunts have a chance to see the spirits of those who will die in the next year. When Blue sees the spirit of a boy from the wealthy private school, whom she despises, she wants nothing to do with him—until he and his three friends show up at her family’s door, looking for magical ley lines that will help connect them with the grave of a long-dead king. Blue feels drawn into their quest, and reluctantly begins helping the boys sift through knowledge long left undisturbed in an effort to find the tomb. When they discover old bones in the haunted woods, things turn sinister as they realize they’re not the only ones in search of the king’s tomb…and time is running out before the fated death that set Blue on her own quest.  

Julia is a Teen Instructor & Research Specialist at the Glenwood Branch + Makerspace. She loves reading YA books, playing the cello, practicing martial arts, trying new cookie recipes, and generally trying to squeeze as many hobbies into a day as possible.

Section of NC Wyeth painting showing King Arthur wearing armour, a red cape, and a crown.

High School Summer Reading List: King Arthur

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Section of NC Wyeth painting showing King Arthur with a

by Julia M.

Each year, HCLS and HCPSS work together to compile suggested reading lists for all ages. This year’s high school reading list is brimming with exciting titles published within the past few years, in dozens of different genres ranging from nonfiction memoirs by immigrant teens to adorable love stories centered on baked goods. Two of my favorite standout reads from this year’s list happen to share a common theme: both feature references to King Arthur that any Arthurian-legend-loving reader will happily devour.

A Black woman with natural hair holds her arms apart in front her her with red glowing around the top and a blue around the bottom, against a dark background.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn has become beloved by many YA fantasy readers since its publication in 2020. The story follows Bree, a 16-year-old who enters a pre-college program at UNC with hopes of escaping from her hometown for the summer following her mother’s tragic death. Her world is upended when she is thrust into the secret world of people who call themselves Legendborn—the descendants of King Arthur, preparing for war against the demonic forces that oppose them. This book is for lovers of complex magic systems, emotionally driven romantic subplots, and a solid dose of high-action fight scenes. Readers who enjoyed the deep-rooted Arthurian references in The Lost Years (of Merlin) or the magical aura of The Raven Boys will love Legendborn. (Longer review also available.)

You can borrow it in print, e-book, and e-audiobook.

Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher is a new addition to the YA Arthurian-legend-canon. This book is rife with references to the legends, but with a lighthearted twist. Gwen and Art follows the title characters through an alternate-timeline historical rom-com that takes place several generations after the death of King Arthur. The two main characters are forced into an arranged betrothal but have zero interest in each other. Through a series of mishaps and a little forbidden-diary-reading, Gwen and Art realize that they are a perfectly unsuited match. They make a pact to cover up for one another as Gwen pines after a lady knight and Art kisses every boy he fancies. Readers will be drawn in by the bubbly humor, fast-paced tournament scenes, and the sweet found family that develops. If you love the joyful queer romance in Heartstopper or the feminist twists of the Song of the Lioness quartet, check out Gwen and Art are Not in Love. 

You can borrow it in print, e-book, and e-audiobook. 

A mostly pink cover with the title in large red block lettering, and floral illustration around the G and A. Four people in medieval clothing cluster at the bottom.

Julia is a Teen Instructor & Research Specialist at the Glenwood Branch + Makerspace. She loves reading YA books, playing the cello, practicing martial arts, trying new cookie recipes, and generally trying to squeeze as many hobbies into a day as possible.

Astronomy for Teens

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A simple metal telescope pointed into a slightly cloudy blue sky.

by Julia M.

Ever wonder what’s out there, beyond our atmosphere? Through books, online resources, and classes, discover what happens in our universe beyond Earth’s limits. You can see amazing things even without a telescope, and we’re here to help your teen get a glimpse at what’s happening in the sky in our Learn Astronomy series at HCLS Glenwood Branch. If your teen (ages 11-18) is interested in learning more about a specific astronomy phenomenon or event, come to one of our Learn Astronomy classes.

Learn Astronomy: Geminids Watch Party! 

In December, a member of the University of Maryland Graduate Astronomy Program will guide us through observing the Geminids meteor shower, an astronomical event that happens every December. This year, they’re timed perfectly with a new moon, which means they’ll be extra visible in the night sky. Thanks to the new moon, Jupiter and Saturn, which are visible in the evening sky for all of December, will also be observable that night—there will be no shortage of celestial objects to view in between meteor sightings! 
Thursday, December 14 at 7:30 pm 

Learn Astronomy: Project Artemis 

In our January class, discover NASA’s Project Artemis: the mission to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. Through this project, NASA will build a home base on the Moon’s surface as well as a base that will orbit the Moon. This project also includes a plan to send astronauts to Mars! We’ll talk about the latest news about Project Artemis and what it means for humankind’s study of space, including the new types of spacecraft used, the timeline for the project, and any current or upcoming developments. Since NASA has already completed Phase 1 of Project Artemis, we’ll recap Phase 1 and discuss what’s to come in Phase 2 and 3!
Thursday, Jan 11 at 7 pm 
Thursday, January 16 at 11 am 

The moon half lighted against a blue background.

For more information on dates and times to observe events in the night sky, check out the Night Sky Almanac (2023 or 2024). To learn more about our solar system, check out Solar System Reference for Teens or DK’s The Practical Astronomer. Finished with those, or have a different space-related question? Ask a librarian at any HCLS branch and they’ll be glad to show you where to find more astronomy books on the shelves! 

Julia is a Teens’ Instructor & Research Specialist at Glenwood Branch + Makerspace. She loves reading YA books, playing the cello, practicing martial arts, trying new cookie recipes, and generally trying to squeeze as many hobbies into a day as possible.

A illustration of a dragon like mask with horns. Pine trees are in the background.

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

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A illustration of a dragon like mask with horns. Pine trees

By Julia M.

When I’m looking for a new book to read, any book with a dragon on the cover immediately calls my name. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath caught me at the title, and with a gorgeous red-and-black illustration of a fierce dragon on the cover, I was sold! 

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is the debut novel from author Moniquill Blackgoose. It’s a queer, Native American dragon rider story, full of originality and anti-colonial power. The magical worldbuilding is strong, and the cultural commentary is not subtle but refreshingly straightforward. We get dragons, Indigenous and LGBTQ+ representation, magical academia adventures, political intrigue, and more in this first book of the Nampeshiweisit series.  

Blackgoose cites Peter Beagle’s The Last Unicorn and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld as her favorites of the fantasy genre, and hers is an important and timely addition to the fantasy literature canon. I was instantly struck by Blackgoose’s clear, cutting prose, the rich alternate-history Victorian universe, and the strength of the characters. It’s easy to claim “strong female protagonist” as a checklist item, but it’s harder to make good on that claim, and Blackgoose achieves it thoroughly. Anequs is a protagonist who refuses to let her will be shaped by others, and though our main character knows herself from the start of the book, we watch her discover who she will become in a world that seeks to make her into something else—a world that is inhabited by humans that are crueler than the dragons they try to control. 

Like any good dragon book, there are dragons on every page. They are controlled by the alternate-universe Vikings, known as the Anglish, who colonized the land they live in, and claim ownership of land, people, and dragons whom Anequs is aware cannot be owned by anyone. Due to the colonizers’ control over the dragons, the book’s main character is the first among the indigenous people to be chosen as the partner of a dragon hatchling in many generations, and the story follows Anequs as she travels to the Anglish-run Kuiper’s Academy of Natural Philosophy to train in all aspects of raising and keeping a dragon.  

Although it’s set in an alternate history, the social and political events that occur in Anequs’s life mirror those of the real world, and it’s a story that deals frankly with the harms of colonization and racial injustice. The book delves into societal issues of prejudice and deep-rooted worldview differences between Anequs and the colonizers who run the dragon academy. We see through Anequs’s eyes as she confronts the depths of racism, colonialism, sexism, and homophobia that are ingrained in the colonizer society. Her strength in the face of their bigotry is refreshing and powerful, and presents a complex examination of tokenism, while questioning the white colonial savior complex and reminding readers that Anequs and her Indigenous people never needed saving or advancement.  

Blackgoose’s version of the dragon-rider archetype is unlike anything I’ve read before, but readers who enjoyed books like Eragon or Fourth Wing will love this refreshingly original dragon story, told in Anequs’s direct, clear voice. I hope you’ll join me in eagerly awaiting the sequel! 

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose is available in print and e-book.

Julia is a Teen Instructor & Research Specialist at the Glenwood Branch + Makerspace. She loves reading YA books, playing the cello, practicing martial arts, trying new cookie recipes, and generally trying to squeeze as many hobbies into a day as possible.