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!