Meet Hannah!

Hi! I'm Hannah Miller! I'm the TAB President, which means Kelsey (the Teen Librarian) has to listen to everything I say.  I like TAB because I like to make decisions about teen programs. I am also involved in Book Buddies where I get to listen to an awesome fifth grader read for 15 minutes then do an activity with him.

I like to read, but don't have much time to since I also work at the library as a page and am involved in many school activities. When I do read, I read the book club books that Kelsey picks out so that I can be involved in the discussions we have about the book. I also enjoy reading girly romance novels and lately classic books as well.

Meet TAB!

Some of you may not be aware of our TAB group. TAB stands for "Teen Advisory Board."  I meet with teens to discuss what can be done to make the teen section, books, and programming better.  Yesterday, when we met, the teens got to read book reviews to decide what books I need to buy.  They picked a couple of programs we could do (like taking apart computers and using the pieces and guts to make something else!).  They told me to make the YA section look cooler :D  We watched the trailer for Mockingjay.  Basically, it's teens ruling over the Teen Librarian.  If you are interested, you can call me at the library, you can catch me at one of the schools, you can email me (kkauffman@mdy.lib.in.us), you can leave a comment on the blog, or you can message me on FB. I would LOVE to have more teens have a voice in everything teen related at the library!

I want you guys to personally meet our TAB members via our blog.   So, for the next couple of days, I am attaching a picture and something that teen wrote about themselves so you can see who controls my job!

Our first TAB member is KAELEY GESCHKE!!!

Hi my name is Kaeley Geschke and I am 18 years old and a senior in high school. I have been spending my free time at the Public Library for several years. I love TAB because it is a great way to be involved in my community and I like being in the Book Buddies program because the kids are really awesome. When I have time to read I enjoy a wide variety of books from The Action Fantasy of Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness books to the classic nature of The Prince and the Pauper.

Singers at MCPL

Wow! We had a GREAT turn out at our Songwriter Showcase last Friday night. And I had a whopping 10 teenagers show up to help out.  Our singers were phenomenal, and so friendly.  We even had to set up 2 more rows of chairs, because people kept coming!

Check out the pics!

My loyal teens

Mitchell McLane

Enjoying the tunes

Mitchell

My stepbrother and his family came!

full house!

Mykayla Cynthia

Mykayla's entourage

Jason Ropp

Songwriter Showcase

Tomorrow is the day! Come see folk singers, Mitchell McLane, Mykayla Cynthia and Jason Ropp perform their own original music at the Middlebury Community Public Library.

The schedule:

5:15 - 6 pm: Mitchell McLane

6:15 - 7 pm: Mykayla Cynthia

7:15 - 8 pm: Jason Ropp

Check out the room!

More Reviews!

Because of my whirlwind vacation/conference last weekend, I did have a lot of reading time.  So, this means you get to hear about even more incredible books!

Today's first review is for Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Imagine you get ready for school in the morning, rush through breakfast, and forget, or choose not to, say "I love you" to your family.  Knowing those may be the last words you ever speak to your family may change how you react to your family.

On the way to school, hail starts pouring from the sky.  Only, this hail breaks the windows of the school buses, puts dents in vehicles and causes one bus to crash on it's way to the superstore to try to save the kids.  Fortunately, Mrs. Wooley has the bus for the younger kids, and just as the last high schoolers make it onto the new bus, the old one explodes in a fiery ball of hail and gasoline.  

When Mrs. Wooley drops the kids off at the superstore and heads out into the unknown, no one is sure when she will be back and what extremes they will have to go through to survive.  Complicating things are earthquakes that shake the foundation as well as the leaking of biochemical gas that turns those infected into monsters, makes people feel high, or makes people sterile.

The kids have to seal the store and fight every step of the way to survive.  When they hear about a safe place in Denver, they have to decide, who will stay and who will go?

This book was such a quick read due to the constant action, drama, and emotion shooting through the pages.  This book will appeal to both males and females--you get a little bit of everything.  From zombie-like attributes, to love stories, to survival, the story has it all, and it won't leave you out of anything.  Laybourne sets up the story at the end for a sequel, and as it happens, there are already 3 books of the series.  

Pick this one up and be transformed into a world where YOU may be the one saving everyone around you!

and The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman

Switching gears, The Pianist is historical novel telling the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a real musician, and one of Jewish faith, as he tries to survive during the Warsaw Ghetto occupation by the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s.  Wanting to stay with his family, Szpilman will not buy certificates to ensure his safety unless he can get his entire family safe. 

When his family is taken, and by luck, he escapes the train cars, Szpilman must survive on his own, hiding in attics, empty apartments, and living on pieces of moldy bread for weeks.  While no picnic, this lifestyle, only we know at the time what Szpilman is truly avoiding at the hands of the Nazi concentration camps.  

This story is so intense, so true, and so incredibly moving that it is difficult to get through.  The Holocaust is a huge part of our history, and this book tells a kind of story we don't usually hear, but it just as relevant as any other Holocaust account.  You will see the blatant cruelty of the Nazis and wonder why someone could shoot a child in the head simply because he forgot to take his cap off in front of the Nazis to show submission.  You question the humanity of our world, and if something like this could ever happen again.

This story is gruesome, and you need to be aware that this story is not a happy one--there is detail you will not find in your average story.  The blood, the fighting, the starvation is all real. This happened less than one hundred years ago.  Can we be sure we will never be this cruel again?

Burn Out by Kristi Helvig and Endangered by Eliot Schrefer REVIEWS!

If you have not checked out Burn Out by Kristi Helvig, you are missing out. And I know no one has checked out the library copy--it's just sitting there. I started this book the night before I left for my Young Adult conference last Thursday...by the time my plane landed in Texas the next day, the book was finished.  It was so fast paced, you don't know WHO to trust, it's SUCH a wild ride. And for me, the best part was that I met Kristi Helvig, the author, at my conference! She is an incredible nice and polite woman, and she even snuck me the second book of this series that won't be released until next year!

I also read Endangered by Eliot Schrefer, which is particularly near and dear to my heart, because while I did not live amidst a civil war in Congo, I stayed in another African country were poverty, disease, and starvation runs rampant.  Much of the physical layout of the area is similar, and I was able to relate to that portion of the story...

So, my summary and review of Burn Out!

It is decades into the future, and there is nearly no one left on Earth.  A meteor aimed at Earth was redirected by the U.S., but this particular meteor had lots of black matter, so when the meteor collided with the sun, the lifespan of the sun sped up, heating the entire surface of planet Earth dry, desolate, and capable of killing any human without the proper sunsuit.  Fortunately for the rich, they had money to relocate to a new planet where there is water and plant life.  

However, Tora is still stuck on Earth.  She does not have the resources or money to get herself to the new planet.  Her whole family is dead, either murdered, or killed by the sun.

Her father helped create bioweaponry that the government wants. Now. But only Tora (due to the vibrations of her body) can pull the trigger on the weapons. When Markus, a supposed friend, comes to visit Tora, she opens the door to an ambush.  Markus, along with a few comrades, want to take the guns by force to sell to the government.  When loyalties turn, and Tora is left alone, but must remain alive to work the weapons, she must accompany the band of misfits to find out how to escape the planet, and find out what REALLY happened to her little sister, and everything her father was hiding from her.

Burn Out is fast-paced and incredibly engaging.  The plot is similar to many books such as Enclave by Ann Aguirre or The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner (scorched Earth), but with some crazy plot twists that have yet to be seen in Young Adult Fiction.  Helvig creates relationships between her characters, but develops them piece by piece, that you must keep reading to find out exactly what drives each person, and what their end goal is.  How far will they go to reach it? Who will they kill? Readers will not be disappointed.  Helvig definitely sets the story up for a sequel--SOOOO many questions unanswered in the first book that you will be dying to learn in the next installment!

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

In a country with civil unrest, diseases and poverty around every corner, and lack of support from the government, Congo is a dangerous place.  Yet Sophie visits her mother at the Bonobo refuge every summer.  When Sophie sees a man trying to sell a young, sick Bonobo, Sophie cannot say no to buying him.  But what she doesn't realize is that this will reignite the interest in killing or enslaving more of the Bonobos when locals realize they can get money out of them.

Sophie must deal with the repercussions of her decisions, but she finds solace in her new friend Bonobo, she names Otto.  Otto is, at first, sick, but Sophie is able to nurse him back to health and they become the best of friends.

When a civil war breaks out, Sophie is on her way to be sent back to the States to be with her father...only she cannot take Otto.  When Otto becomes distraught and suicidal seeing Sophie leave him, Sophie jumps out of the truck and begins a trek lasting months in the wilderness to save herself, Otto, and the last of the Bonobos of her mother's sanctuary.

This book is heart wrenching.  You realize just how close humans are in our DNA to Bonobos, and why the emotional connection between us is so dynamic and strong.  You begin to believe Otto is a child Sophie must save.  Schrefer captures the civil war of Congo in a way that readers can understand exactly what happened in Congo, but not relaying so much of the gory details.  It is an educational book in all forms--Congo history, science, Bonobo relations, human emotion and evolution.  This book will not disappoint.  In fact, you may want to go hug and play with a Bonobo yourself the moment you read the last page.

Young Adult Literature Symposium 2014: Austin, Texas

Teens, I have experienced a most amazing weekend in Texas with some AMAZING authors! I met Bruce Coville, R.L. Stine, Lauren Oliver, and about 15 more! I'm posting some pictures and videos of the amazing times with amazing authors.

 My first meal from a food truck!

 Apparently, Texans "drive" horses into town :D

 The LEGEND! Bruce Coville himself! He was super nice, intuitive, and astute! You HAVE to read his books.  We have them all....and I have a signed copy of his newest book.

 Free. signed. Books! Holy moly!

 Amazing authors! Right to left: Andrew Smith, Laurie Ann Thompson, Chris Barton, Bruce Coville, Lisa Yee, Jonathan Auxier

 Chris Barton!

 Lisa Yee!

 Andrew Smith!

 Monsters with Jonathan Auxier!

This. Right here. Made my weekend. Anyone know who this man is?
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R.L. Stine! Goosebumps, Fear Street, Mostly Ghostly, Rotten School! He is hilarious. Send him fan mail, read his books and WATCH OUT! In August 2015, Goosebumps, the full length film starring Jack Black will be in theaters!!!

Now...for the videos! These authors are so talented!

Everyone was asked their weirdest moment as a child...but due to a bet made between Lisa Yee and Jonathan Auxier, Auxier must SING his response to the tune of "Moon River" because Yee dressed up as Holly GoLightly from the film, Breakfast at Tiffany's

Yo-Yo Tricks by Jonathan Auxier, author of The Night Gardener

And finally, fan letters to R.L. Stine, read by R.L. Stine:

Poll

Teens, I'm disappointed. No one has commented on anything I've written on here :(

VOTE HERE NOW!

I am going to try to remedy this problem. I have a poll.  I am considering NEW program ideas! I want YOUR input, because these are programs for you. Remember, all teen programs are always free, and always have food.

From the following, please comment letting me know any or all programs you think you would be interested in.  You're not promising me you would come--just ones that sound interesting.

1. Pancake Poetry: read a poem (your own or from someone else, i.e. internet, books), get a pancake.

2. Open Mic Night: perform ANYthing that is family friendly (sing, play an instrument, comedy, poem, monologue, etc.)

3. Serving the Underserved: working with kids and adults with disabilities

4. Take Apart a Computer Program: destroy computers and use the pieces for crafts, or anything else you want to make

5. QR Scavenger Hunt: Use a smartphone to find QR codes around the library to answer clues.  First team finished wins a prize

6. Fashion show: YOU design ANYthing and have yourself or a friend strut it on the walkway. Ideas can include hats, dresses, scarves, shoes, shirts, hair accessories, etc.

7. Tutoring: either I tutor you, open room for study, teens help each other.

I want to hear from you!

More Book Reviews

I have been on a reading binge--about 3 books a week! So, here are the latest book reviews.

A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

A Long Long Sleep takes elements from the classic fairytale, Sleeping Beauty and transposes it into a futuristic world where science may have gone too far.  Rose has always gone into her sleeping chamber to sleep while the world continues...usually a few days or weeks (when her parents deem it necessary).  But when Rose wakes up nearly a hundred years later, and everyone she knows is dead, she has some questions she will need answers to.  Rose is the daughter of the owner of the biggest interplanetary company.  She teams up with Bren, another kid of a company bigwig and Otto, a blue alien that communicates through touch and thought.  When Bren drops the bomb that it is illegal for people to go into stasis (sleeping chamber) for anything other than death threatening situations, Rose begins to question her parents' motives.  Did they simply put her to sleep when she argued with them? When they wanted an easier life?

I appreciate that Sheehan used subtle similarities from Sleeping Beauty.  Otto describes seeing Rose among briars in her thoughts and memory.  He then begins to call her Briar Rose, from the classic fairytale.  Rose is woken from stasis, not by an actual kiss, but from CPR Bren is performing.  These connections really add to the story and assist the reader in connecting to the story and the context, because most of us know the general story of Sleeping  Beauty.  While there is a love story, it is on the sideline to a more intense conspiracy that leaves the reader on the edge of their seat.  Otto adds an incredible amount to the story, bringing out the past and emotions in Rose and helping her connect her parents work to his alien heritage.  Check out this book at our library and prepare to sit and read all day!

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

Another GREAT story! Dark Inside is the first book of the series by Jeyn Roberts.  Mason goes to see his dying mother in the hospital.  While gone, his school is bombed, killing everyone.  Clementine is at a meeting with her parents; when townspeople enter, armed, Clem is told to sneak out.  She finds out everyone has been murdered.  Michael  witnesses an accident--but the driver in the car purposefully hit the motorcyclist, killing him.  Aries is on the bus with her friends; when an earthquake causes the bus to lose control, she loses her best friend and must flee for her life.  There is evil in the world.  There is evil in us.  And it is taking control.  Those that succumb to the darkness seek out and kill whoever they can.  These four teenagers work, apart, to get to Vancouver where they have heard there is help.  Who can they trust?  Will they be able to survive without food, medicine, and electricity in order to meet.

This book brings an element of true, deep emotion inside all of us.  There are days we all feel rotten; we want to hurt someone, not physically, maybe just tease them.  But it is that evil in us that we suppress every day to be good people.  The way Roberts twists this story where that evil comes out, is genius.  This isn't a zombie book.  The people know what they are doing.  They know they are killing--and they like it.  The pacing of this story is intense; you will not want to stop reading it for anything.  I read it in one day. I stopped to use the bathroom and eat some peanut butter.  Roberts takes her time to introduce her four main characters--showing us who they are, what they believe, their histories, and if their own evil wins, how it will take form in their lives.  Come check this book out from our library!

Rage Within is the second book of this series.

Teen Craft Night

What a successful craft night! I had an all-time high of 13 teenagers, and most of them were new teens I had only met at the school a time or two. We made woven bracelets, and of course, most of the teens' bracelets were better than mine, but that's great! Check out their hard work.

Stay tuned...next month is Christmas Candy with Cindy!

Book Review

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. OMG. This book... I mean, wowza.  You will NOT see what is coming.

"Do not accept evil you can change.""There is not even a Scrabble word for how I feel."

The Sinclairs are a rich family.  They have everything they could ever want--cars, houses, money, an entire ISLAND! The island is where Cadence, her cousins, aunts, and grandparents vacation every summer.  You might think the rich have it all, but there is always a seedy underbelly.  The aunts have lost husbands, they drink, the argue...who will get Granddad's inheritance?  The cousins have had enough.  How can they escape all the fighting? At the same time, staying with cousin Johnny is Gat.  The handsome, brooding, intelligent nephew of the new man Cady's aunt is dating. Which means, he's NOT off limits.  Year Fourteen and Fifteen the two fall madly in love, but can this love withstand being apart all school year? Both Cady and Gat have lives off the island, but together, on the island they are inseparable.  After an accident in Year Fifteen that leaves Cady with debilitating migraines and selective amnesia, she stays away from the family for a year.  When she returns, the secrets and the past creep up until Cady can no longer deny her subconscious.  The lies the cousins have told, the secrets they have kept come crashing around Cady, and she must find the strength to carry on.

When I first started this book, I was unsure.  I couldn't get hooked.  The perspective and voice the author gives the story was a little confusing for me.  But then I realized what Lockhart was doing.  She was slowly giving the reader the background, the pieces of the puzzle.  You aren't supposed to know what is going on at the beginning, because you are empathizing with Cady after her head injury leaves her memory scattered.  Everything comes full circle in the end, and all the details and clues throughout the story completely click into place.  Why did Gat act this way? Why did Mirren hide in the same house? Every line of the story makes sense when Lockhart reveals the big ending.  Be patient with this book...you will NOT want to leave it unfinished.

Teen Craft Night

Tomorrow it's Craft Night! Hooray! Come down to the library from 4:30-5:30 to make these beautiful bracelets: 

These are my examples; I'm sure yours will be even more amazing! Remember, everything is free. You never have to pay a cent for library programs.

Book Review

Today's book is the second installment of a 3 book series.  I just finished Erased by Jennifer Rush.  I actually read it in one day--that means, it's engaging and great!  Erased is the second book, following Altered.  A third book, Reborn, is set to come out in January 2015.

Anna and the boys have escaped the Branch...but the Branch will never stop hunting them down.  The 4 teenagers have been part of a brainwashing program to turn innocent teens into killing machines.  The Branch has been dealing in bioweaponry for years and Anna, Sam, Cas, and Nick are just the tip of the iceberg.  The four teens must stay hidden, but yearn for normal lives.  When Anna finds out her sister, who she thought had been dead for years, is really alive, Anna is determined to find her.  But has the Branch already gotten to her and used her as bait? Can Anna trust anyone? At the same time, Anna is trying to find out who killed her parents when she was a child...there are suspects around every corner. People close to her, people that she loves...could it have even been her?

Erased is an "on the edge of your seat" kind of book. There are traps, secrets, stealth, conspiracies, you name it.  A quick read for any fans of science fiction or dystopian fiction. Rush weaves incredible relationships and interactions between all the characters, requiring the need for every single person in the story.  Anna's love with Sam, her sister's ex-boyfriend, and her back-and-forth with Nick, knowing he is a huge part of her past, leaves the reader on edge.  This makes the book impossible to put down, which is why I didn't! MCPL has the first 2 books, and I "gently" urge you to read them!

Young Hoosier Book Club

We have made it through our third book club, and I think this one might just take the cake! Students were to read (or try to read, if they could get their hands on it) Fourmile by Watt Key.

Fourmile is a small town, and Foster lives with his mother on a farm in that town.  Foster has lost his father (though we don’t learn why until the end) and his mother is now dating a complete jerk, Dax.  Foster and his dog do not like Dax. But there is little either of them can do about it.  One day, a wanderer stops by the house asking for water.  This begins a long relationship between soldier Gary and Foster and his mother.  Gary ends up staying at the house to help fix it up so Foster’s mom can sell it and they can move to a smaller place near Foster’s grandpa in Montgomery. The problem is that Dax doesn’t like this set up, and every time he comes around, things get violent, Foster’s dog tries to attack him, and Foster’s mom has to decide if she still wants Dax around.  On the other hand, Gary is acting more like a father figure to Foster, taking him fishing, teaching him to shoot (Gary has a M9 Beretta), and fix things up.  When Gary tries to stand up to Dax at Dax’s taxidermy shop, things go awry and both men end up wounded.  Dax just won’t leave the family alone and when he returns for the last time, the police are called and everything falls apart.  Is Gary an integral part in Foster’s life? Will he stay or go? Who is this mystery guy that fought in the Iraq Special Forces? The characters will learn many new things about one another throughout this story.

After trivia, candy, puppy chow, and discussion, the middle schoolers got a chance to have a Nerf Gun war! While the book deals with a soldier from the Iraq war, it is important to remember, and the students discussed this, that war is not a game. It is not a fun activity.  We kept this in mind while we ran around the library; the teens respect the soldiers that fought for our freedom. They also enjoyed being able to play a fun game. 

Thanks for tearing it up!