Review of Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

It feels so strange to read a book about what happened on 9/11.  It’s been a while since I thought about what it felt like that day to be watching events unfold on the TV, but it sure came back when I started reading this book.  There are 5 parts: What Just Happened, The Next Hours and the Next Days, The Drown of Things and the Swim of Things, Hold Dear, and After; and each section is told in 3 voices: Claire, Jasper and Peter.  After awhile I did get tired of the sort of mystical-speak of one character in particular.  But, at least at the beginning, the voices of the kids rang very true and, like I said, brought back a lot of memories.  Definitely worth reading.  Review by Stacy Church

Review of King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

This is the latest book by K.L. Going, the author of one of my favorite YA books, Fat Kid Rules the World.  Liam Geller is the son of a fabulously wealthy and successful CEO and a formerly fabulous supermodel.  He himself, as the title says, is the King of the Screwups.  His father is abusive and neglectful, seemingly  seeing Liam as an extension of his wife, who he seems to loathe.  The only real insight into this situation comes from the short chapters recounting past events in Liam’s life.  Reading them makes you want to shake Liam and tell him to pay more attention to what has brought him to this point: being kicked out of the house after being caught by his father about to have sex on his desk while he and Liam’s mom are right downstairs.  Instead of getting shipped off to his grandparents (who seem to hate him as much as his father does), Liam’s mom arranges for him to go to his dad’s brother, who was ousted from the family 17 years ago for some unnamed transgression.  And so Liam finds himself living in a trailer park with a glam-rocker/night DJ he calls “Aunt Pete.”  Liam proves to himself that he’s still a screwup by immediately becoming popular in his new school despite his best efforts at being nerdy (joining the AV club, befriending the outsider girl who lives in the next trailer).  I love the description of Liam getting dressed for the first time in the trailer. “…I make a hundred trips back and forth to the tiny, filthy bathroom at the other end of the trailer.  I consider rushing, but getting ready is a ritual, so I do each thing carefully.  I shower, shave, moisturize, and choose cologne –the one that matches my mood – then put together the right clothes.  Nothing high fashion or anything –those are best left for the runway –just the brands and designs that will fit in but are interesting enough to catch people’s attention.  Getting ready is the only part of my day I can be sure I won’t screw up.”  It’s hard to believe that anyone could be so oblivious to the true nature of his situation as Liam is, but Pete and his friends do their best to get him to see his good qualities.  The book has a satisfying ending (which I won’t hint at, except to say that the dad loses out).  Review by Stacy Church

Poetry!

Not sure if you like poetry?  Here are a couple of unusual books to take a look at.

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The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle with art by Sean Qualls

Juan Francisco was born into the household of a wealthy slaveowner in Cuba in 1797, and spent his early years by the side of a woman who made him call her Mama, even though he had a mama of his own.  Denied an education, young Juan still showed an exceptional talent for poetry.   His verses reflect the beauty of his world, but they also expose its hideous cruelty.  In this book, Margarita Engle uses her own powerful, haunting verses to evoke the voice of the Poet Slave of Cuba.

The Spoken Word Revolution Redux edited by Mark Eleveld

In the tradition of The Spoken Word Revolution, Redux brings more of the gripping, moving, innovative, often hilarious poetry in the oral tradition.  75 minute CD of live poetry: slam, hip-hop, and musical interpretations.

Review of Girl in a Cage by Jane Yolen & Robert J. Harris

In the late 1200’s and early 1300’s, England and Scotland were ruled by King Edward I, or Longshanks, as he was known. He ruled Scotland with an iron fist, and when Robert de Brus declared himself king of Scotland in 1306, Longshanks declared war against Scotland. Robert de Brus managed to escape capture, but some of his relatives were not so lucky. One of those relatives was his 11-year-old daughter, Marjorie. In order to try and force her father to surrender, Longshanks had Marjorie placed in an outdoor cage right in the middle of an English village. It was October, and she had only her clothing to keep her warm. The only furnishing in the cage was a curtain around a bucket for her to relieve herself in. Nobody was allowed to speak to her, and the only voices she heard were the peasants who taunted her and threw garbage at her. The chapters alternate between her captivity and the months leading up to her captivity - learning that she’s going to be a princess, and then fleeing through the Scottish Highlands trying to evade capture. This is an exciting book that takes place during a fascinating time and place in history.  Review by Katie Corrigan

Review of Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman

I would like to be able to say I loved this book by the author of one of my favorite books, King Dork, but the truth is that I loved some things about it. I’m certainly glad I read it, but I wonder how many people can get through the overwhelmingly slow pace and vast amount of arcane information about tarot cards, and the history of the occult and magical literature that the book is filled with. The main character, Andromeda, is so unusual and fascinating: she has osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition causing extremely fragile bones, and, as Andromeda explains, most people fail to realize that you hear with your bones. So, the text is peppered with the things Andromeda thinks that people say, often to hilarious result (stained flowers=strange powers, steak antlers=snake handlers, slam sex=slant six). The other lingo is a little harder for me to follow ( but is probably clearer to teens). It’s made up of word substitutions based on predictive spell corrections in texting.

Other things I love about the book:

1. That Andromeda’s cat is named Dave, and has “his own, unknowable cat religion, centered on the concept of unquestioning Dave worship…”

2. That Andromeda’s mom, who she calls “the mom,” plays an online networking game obsessively,and has been known to chant, “I can’t get on the network. I can’t get on the network. I can’t get on the network.”

3. That Andromeda’s dad, who suspects the government of" “spying on American citizens by implanting surveillance devices in electronic products,” periodically switches his antidepressant based on what free samples the clinic is giving out.

4. That Andromeda’s friend Rosalie regularly hacks into the mom’s computer game and messes things up for her. She also drops off packages filled with strange combinations of items (flip-flops, stapler, stick of gum, pinecone) when Andromeda isn’t home.

The thing I most didn’t love about the book is the ending. All of those elaborately set-up situations in the book that I couldn’t wait to find out the resolutions to were just dropped at the end of the book. Who was the older lover (or non-lover) Andromeda was involved with and was the relationship really as creepy as it seemed? Is she really communicating with spirits or is she insane? I think I’ll just forget about the ending and keep wondering about the things I was wondering about. Review by Stacy Church

Read Beyond Reality: Post-apocalyptic Fiction

Post-apocalyptic fiction takes place after some terrible event occurs that alters life as we know it.  If that sort of fiction intrigues you, try these books.  They all take place after some horrible event –plague, nuclear disaster, alien invasion –you name it!

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Juvenile Fiction

• The Hermit Thrush Sings Butler
• The Roar Clayton
• The Last Dragon De Mari
• The City of Ember DuPrau
• The Other Side of the Island Goodman
• Among the Hidden Haddix
• Phoenix Rising Hesse
• Gathering Blue Lowry
• The Giver Lowry
• River Rats Stevermer

 

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YA Fiction

• The Hunger Games Collins
• Catching Fire Collins
• The House of the Scorpion Farmer
• Gone Grant
• Hunger Grant
• Turnabout Haddix
• Hole in the Sky Hautman
• The cure Levitin
• Tomorrow, When the War Began Marsden
• The Host Meyer
• Shade’s Children Nix
• Z for Zachariah O'Brien
• The Transall Saga Paulsen
• Life as We Knew It Pfeffer
• The Dead and the Gone Pfeffer
• The Last Book in the Universe Philbrick
• Nation Pratchett
• How I Live Now Rosoff
• Bones of Faerie Simner
• Welcome to the Ark Tolan
• The Uglies Trilogy Westerfeld

Teen Read Week October 18 - 24

Read Beyond Reality!  Come to the library during Teen Read Week to get books on your favorite fantastical topic: Bio-Engineering and Genetics, Post-Apolcalyptic Fiction, Fairy Tales, Vampires, Fantasy and Science Fiction.

New Star Wars Graphic Novels

Star Wars Legacy Volume Five: The Hidden Temple by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema

Cade Skywalker has escaped the clutches of Darth Krayt and imprisonment in the Sith Temple.  He has faced the teachings of the dark side and returned to his friends with new knowledge and a few secrets, as well.  Cade says he desires only a return to blissful obscurity, but a Sith bounty on his head will force him to decide what it is he truly values, and what he must do to maintain it.  This reluctant heir tot eh Skywalker legacy could end up a hero whether he likes it or not!

 

Star Wars Omnibus: Rise of the Sith

During the time of the Republic, the Jedi Council guided the Jedi Knights as they upheld their values of peace and justice throughout the galaxy –and the Sith waited in hiding for the right time to reveal their existence and take revenge…

Collected here are tales of that time, shortly before The Phantom Menace: early missions of Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi; missions full of foreshadowing and increasing danger for noble member of the Jedi Council Mace Windu and Jedi Knight Ki-Adi-Mundi; the Anzati-linked origin of Jedi-assassination specialist and bounty hunter Aurra Sing; and, last, Sith apprentice Darth Maul’s own mission to clear the criminal system of any adversaries who could potentially hamper the rise and return of the Sith!

New Graphic Novels

 

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood, A Graphic Novel by Tony Lee, Sam Hart and Artur Fujita

The year is 1192.  Prince Johns is getting fat and wealthy on blood money, while the king fights in Jerusalem.  When Robin of Loxley returns home from the Crusade, he soon discovers that things are not as they should be.  The sheriff now governs Nottingham with an iron fist.  In the haunted heart of Sherwood Forest, Robin devises a heroic plan.  He will disguise himself and become an outlaw.  With the help of his men and the beautiful Maid Marian, he will see that justice is done for the people.  But there are traitors in his camp, and it is not long before a hefty price is levied on Robin Hood’s head.

 

World of Warcraft, Book One by Walter Simonson, Ludo Lullabi and Sandra Hope

A human warrior washes up on the shores of Duratar, with no recollection as to who he is, or how he arrived there.  The man is thrust into the thick of battle immediately, and his prize for evading certain death at the teeth of a hungry crocodile is conscription into the gladiator force of orc shaman Rehgar Earthfury.  His first quest is not so simple: with no memory, he must rely on his fighting instincts to stay alive, as he searches for his true identity!  He’s aided in his quest by unlikely allies: Broll Bearmantle –a shape-shifting night elf bound to Rehgar’s service –and Baleera Sanguinar –a blood elf whose childlike form conceals a cunning mind and lust for recognition.  This unlikely trio will try to uncover the secrets of Lo’Gosh’s past, but they must first rely on his instinctive prowess in combat if they are to survive their first challenge: the arena at Dire Maul!

The YA Dept. has Playaways!

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The Young Adult Dept. now has audiobooks in an easy-to-use MP3 format called “Playaways.” The pre-recorded titles come in a credit-card-sized plastic case and come with the AAA battery needed. They're easy to use, and you can pause and then resume listening anytime! You just need your own headphones.

 

Available titles include:

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

The library is open on Sundays!

Oops!  Forget about that assignment due on Monday?  Internet down so you can’t do your usual online research?  The library is open on Sundays from 2 – 5 during the school year, so come in and use our computers, encyclopedias, or check out some books. 

Vacations from Hell, a new short story collection

Ever taken what turned out to be a really bad vacation? You think yours was bad, check out these short stories to read about some really bad vacations! The book includes short stories by Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson and Sarah Mlynowski. All of the stories involve the supernatural –witches, vampires, and various other hauntings –and may lead you to rethink that backpacking through Europe idea.

Magazines: Why We Love Them!!

According to Reading Is Fundamental, you’re not wasting your time at all when you’re leafing through your favorite magazines at the library. 

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Why do teens like magazines so much?

• Magazine features are short. Young readers have the satisfaction of finishing an article or story in one sitting.  They don't have to read from cover to cover!
• Magazines grab your attention. Their colorful covers make youngsters want to look inside.
• They're entertaining. The writing style is light and brisk on topics that attract kids.
• They're generally easy to read. Most consumer magazines, for example, are written at or below the reading level of average high school students. Kids' magazines, of course, use vocabulary geared to the younger age groups that subscribe to them.
• They're lightweight and portable. You can roll 'em up, bend 'em, and stuff 'em into a backpack, bike basket, purse, or back pocket.
• They're inexpensive—less costly than most paperbacks. In fact, a full year's subscription to a teen or children's magazine (10 or 12 issues) usually costs less than one hardcover book.
• They offer variety. A single issue usually includes an array of articles, stories, activities, pictures, and styles of writing.
• They often focus on their readers' special interests. Magazines also help readers develop new interests.

Relax in the YA Room after school with a good magazine –improve your reading!

Banned Books Week September 26 – October 3

“A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice. The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who which to read them” ALA (American Library Association)

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Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008 and Reasons for Challenges:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
   Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group
2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
   Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence
3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
   Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
   Reasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
   Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group
10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
    Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

Interested in where in the US books were challenged in the last 2 years?  Check out: Mapping Book Censorship: Banned Books 2007 –2009   http://bannedbooksweek.org/Mapofbookcensorship.html

Relax in the YA Room after School

Looking for something relaxing to do after school (before you start your homework, that is)?  Stop by the YA room and play a board game or two.  Read some magazines.  Pick out a movie to watch on the weekend.

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Review of The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

I often find it really helpful to look at other reviews of a book I’m about to review.  It helps me solidify what I think is important about a book, and what I think isn’t important, usually as I mutter something along the lines of, “What?!”  In the case of this book (which by the way I loved) I found myself completely embroiled in the “I loved it,” “ Everyone else loved it but I didn’t” debate.  I guess it says a lot about the book that so many people have devoted so much time to blathering on about whether it c0ntains a worthy message for readers or not.  Personally, I don’t think the message overrides everything else about a book.  The writing style, in this case, is one that you will either love or hate.  It doesn’t mean it is or isn’t a good book, it’s just a matter of taste.  I happened to find it very amusing, and the character of Frankie very believable.  In case you don’t know anything about the story, it goes something like this: Frankie attends the same exclusive boarding school that her sister and their father attended.  Her family treats her like a little girl and even calls her Bunny Rabbit.  At school she made a few friends during freshman year and even had a boyfriend.  During the summer between freshman and sophomore years her body matured, and at the beginning of sophomore year she catches the eye of a senior who she has admired from afar.  Her relationship with him is magical: he adores her and she adores him and his witty friends.  It takes her a while to figure out that they accept her as an fun, attractive sidekick, but not to be taken seriously.  She discovers that her boyfriend Matthew is part of a secret, boys-only society (that her father was part of also), and although she tries to give him openings to tell her what’s going on, he never does.  The most galling thing is that every time Matthew’s friend Alpha (the head of the society) calls, Matthew goes running.  When Alpha goes away for a long weekend, Frankie decides to co-opt the society by emailing instructions purportedly from Alpha for carrying out elaborate pranks, much better pranks than the society has pulled for a long time. The thing that makes Frankie believable for me is that she goes back and forth between being annoyed at the way she is treated, and feeling warm and fuzzy and loved.  She really wants for Matthew to figure out what’s going on and tell her, “Wow, you’re really as smart and clever as we are.  We should have let you lead the society all along.”  In reality, Frankie sums it up nicely when she says to Matthew after she tells him her role in what’s happened, “Why is it psychotic if I did it, and brilliant if Alpha did it?”  The ending doesn’t wrap things up too happily; suffice it to say Frankie learns that she can’t have it all, but she can pick which part she wants to have.  Review by Stacy Church

Review of No Such Thing as the Real World: Stories about Growing up and Getting a Life

One reviewer described this collection of short stories as “uneven,” and I would have to agree with that.  In general, I love reading stories about growing up.  This anthology includes short stories by six well-known writers of fiction for young adults, a few who’ve written works I’ve read and enjoyed in the past, and a couple whose work I’ve never been able to read.  The first story, Complication by An Na, certainly held my interest, but for most of it I didn’t really understand what was going on.  Hmmm.  On to the next story -- The Projection: A Two-Part Invention by M.T. Anderson.  Ok, moving on to the next story, Survival by K.L. Going.  Now I’ve really enjoyed some of Going’s books (Fat Kid Rules the World, The Liberation of Gabriel King), so I decided to give it a go.  It was a good story, but not hugely memorable.  Next up, The Longest Distance by Beth Kephart.  Now that is a really good piece of writing.  It contains some beautiful language: “Joelle is gone.  She’s the slash of black you see just after lightning breaks the sky.  She’s the place where a cliff stops being stone and becomes the air that  you could fall through.”  The story follows Hannah in the aftermath of her best friend Joelle’s suicide, and the story is framed by Hannah’s work on her senior thesis, Time: The Great Houdini Healer.  The next story is by another of my favorite writers, Chris Lynch, and is titled Arrangements.  The set-up is certainly memorable: A high school-aged boy takes over his father’s pawn shop after his father’s death.  He learns a lot about his dad from the people who come in to the shop, in some cases more than he wants to know.  Another good story.  The last piece is The Company by Jaqueline Woodson, and again, I couldn’t really get into it.  So, all in all, is this book a success?  I guess so, because I’m certainly glad I read The Longest Distance.  Review by Stacy Church

New Anime!

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The World of Mirage of Blaze

Takaya Oogi is a street-smart high school student dedicated to protecting his best friend, Yuziru Narita.  The two are wrapped up in an ancient war of darkness and tragedy which began during Japan’s chaotic Warring States period.  The psychic powers of long ago find new life in the hearts of Takaya and Yuzuru.  Rival clansmen seek to destroy them, fulfilling the wishes of the long-dead warlord, Shingen Takeda.

Peach Girl: Super Pop Love Hurricane Volume 1

“An addictive tale of high school love at its most deliciously dysfunctional”    –NewType Magazine

Ah!  My Goddess

Keiichi Morisato is an engineering student, top driver of his campus motor club, and not very lucky with the ladies.  While calling for take-out food one evening, a wrong number puts him in contact with the “Goddess Hotline.”  One misplaced wish later, Keiichi finds himself blessed with Belldandy, the perfect girlfriend and a goddess in every sense of the word.  Unfortunately, she doesn’t know how to act in the human world, and her presence quickly gets Keiichi kicked out of the dorms.

Jing: King of Bandits Episodes 1 – 13

Hide your coin pouches!  No priceless bauble or exquisite jewel is safe from the leering eyes and stealthy hands of Jing, the King of Bandits.  With a heart of gold and a wisecracking, girl-crazy albatross sidekick, Jing steals his way through one exciting adventure after another!

Free PSAT & SAT PracticeTests

You are invited to attend the Princeton Review's annual Free National PSAT Test Fest on Saturday, September 26th from 12:00pm to 3:00pm. All high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors are welcome to participate in this full-length, proctored PSAT test. This is a great chance to see how you will do on the PSAT without paying registration fees or having your scores count towards National Merit Scholarship qualification.

A full-length practice SAT exam is being offered as well. The SAT Practice test will take place from 12:00 PM to 4 :00 on September 26^th. Not sure how you'll score on the SAT? Find out by taking a full-length practice SAT given under the same testing conditions as the actual exam.

You will receive a comprehensive score report including an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses on Saturday October 3rd 12:00 PM -1:30 PM. The ins and outs of financial aid: college loans, scholarships, applications, and deadlines will also be discussed.

Please call 781-320-1045 for further information.

New Simpsons Book!

Simpsons Treehouse of Horror: Hoodoo Voodoo Brouhaha

Matt Groening, the toastmaster of trick-0r-treat, whips up a witches’ brouhaha of crazed clown cars, possessed cereal boxes, haunted hospitals, afterlife-binding cocktail napkin I.O.U.s, ring-driven fellowships, neighborly vampires, and costumed comic book guys, add a revenge-filled bottle of amontillado, and a rippingly good yarn from merry and bloody olde England, and you have a pleasingly putrid and asphyxiatingly amusing tome of tonsil-tickling terror and Halloween howl-arity with The Simpsons. (from the back of the book)

New Biography: The Life of Toussaint L’Overture: The Negro Patriot of Hayti by John R. Beard

First published in 1853, this book is now back in print.  It is the classic biography of the brilliant black military leader who defeated Napoleon’s best generals and liberated Haiti from French colonial rule.

New Audiobook: Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, read by Ralph Cosham

A new audiobook version, unabridged on CD, of the classic horror tale Frankenstein. “ In the summer of 1816, a young, well-educated woman from England traveled with her lover to the Swiss Alps. Unseasonable rain kept them trapped inside their lodgings, where they entertained themselves by reading ghost stories. At the urging of renowned poet Lord Byron, a friend and neighbor, they set their own pens to paper, competing to see who could write the best ghost story. The young woman, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, took the prize, having composed a story creepy enough not only to take its place alongside the old German tales that she and her Alpine companions had been reading, but also to become a bestseller in her time and a Gothic classic that still resonates with readers almost two centuries later.” Spark Notes 

Review of Burn My Heart by Beverley Naidoo

Burn My Heart is set in Kenya in the fifties. At this time, there is unrest between a sect of militant natives called Mau Mau and the white settlers. We see life on the Graysons’ farm as the troubles are escalating. Matthew, the Grayson’s son, has always played with Mugo, the kitchen toto (boy) and son of Kamau, who has worked on the Grayson farm since he was a boy. This is also how it had been when Mr. Grayson, the bwana (owner), was little; Kamau watched out for him. Lance Smithers, a boarding school friend of Matthew’s, wants Matthew to play a game of Mau Mau at the club house. Lance acts as General and Matthew is his adjutant. They round up the younger children as Mau Mau and imprison them in the tennis courts. Colonel Smithers, Lance’s father, believes that Mr. Grayson is naive to be so trusting of his native help. When Colonel Smithers’ mother is widowed, he comes to manage the family farm, despite her protests that she can manage by herself and that her servants are loyal. He volunteers for the Kenya Police Reserve after the governor declares a state of Emergency to defeat the Mau Mau. He is convinced that all of the natives are part of the Mau Mau. In fact, all adults and boys of a mature age are forced (in many instances much against their will) to take the Mau Mau oath. The Mau Mau instigate an uprising and are defeated. In January of 1960, the Emergency finally ends. The book shows the terrible turmoil Matthew goes through. Above all he wants to stay loyal to Mugo, but he is not allowed. His relationship with Lance is also confusing: it is nice to be friends with the most popular boy in the school, but he finally comes to realize that his priorities were not right. Review by Teresa Kerrigan

Review of Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

This is the latest book by the author of the Echo Falls mystery series, as well as a number of adult mysteries too graphic for me to read.  He also wrote the wonderful mystery Dog On It, under the pen name Spencer Quinn, a very funny story told first person by a sometimes goofy, sometimes dangerous dog named Chet.  Reality Check is not quite as engaging as any of these, but it’s still a pretty good read.  The main character is Cody, a sort of average high school quarterback whose girlfriend Clea is much cleverer, much richer, and destined for much greater things.  When Clea’s father forces her to attend a posh boarding school in Vermont to bolster her chances of getting into an Ivy League School, Cody breaks up with her.  Things go from bad to worse for him when he suffers a knee injury that might mean the end of his dreams of playing college and maybe professional football.  Since Clea and football were the only good things in his life, he doesn’t see much point in staying in school, so he drops out and takes a job delivering lumber.  So you’re probably wondering, where’s the mystery?  I personally liked the long set-up of this book, but I have heard people complain about it.  Here it comes…Clea goes missing from her fancy school.  Cody heads immediately (and without any idea of what his plan is) to Vermont to find her.  Everyone assumes that Cody is from the local high school when he joins the search, and he tries to keep his former relationship with Clea to himself, until the local cop needles him into taking a swing at him, then uses that offense to blackmail him into spying for him.  The cop gets him a job and living quarters at the school stable where Clea’s horse is kept.  Cody gets to know some of the students at the school, and Clea’s words from the last letter she wrote keep haunting him, “It’s hard to know who to trust sometimes.”  There is a tie-in with gambling, and some nice references to recent financial events.  The ending felt rushed to me, especially the final wrap-up.  Don’t let that keep you from reading it, though.  Review by Stacy Church

Review of Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine

This is a story about looking for clues to solve one mystery, only to find that the solution is inextricably linked to the central mystery of your life. The story starts with Lucas finding “a tenner” in his coat pocket after staying too late at his friend’s house and deciding to take a cab home. In the mini-cab office, he sees an urn up on a shelf and when he asks about it, is told that it was left in a cab 18 months ago. Lucas can’t stop thinking about the abandoned urn; in fact, he thinks the inhabitant is talking to him. He finds out her name is Violet Park, and he concocts a plan with his grandmother, Pansy, (who swears all the time, but without actually saying the word, “just mouths it with her face screwed up”) to liberate Violet from her purgatory. One of the things I really love about this book is how detailed and original the descriptions are. For instance, when Lucas is looking out over the heath, unable to sleep: That part of the heath is covered with enormous crows. They’ve got massive feet like they can’t believe how big they are. They all look like actors with their hands behind their backs, rehearsing the bit in that play when the king says, “Now is the winter of our discontent…” Lucas’s family is pretty messed up –his father disappeared five years ago, and they’ve never been able to move on. Lucas idolizes his father, which drives his mother insane, and his sister is just angry. Lucas has quite a funny voice, and the story is broken up by lists, such as this one about parents. “You start off thinking they own the world, and everything is downhill from there. Parents do so many things to wake you up to the idea that they are less than perfect.

• Speak like they think teenagers speak (always wrong, excruciatingly wrong).
• Get drunk too quickly or too much.
• Be rude to people they don’t know.
• Flirt with your teacher and your friends..
• Forget their age.
• Use their age against you.
• Get piercings.
• Wear leather trousers (both sexes).
• Drive badly (without admitting it).
• Cook badly (ditto).
• Go to seed.
• Sing in the shower/car/public.
• Don’t say sorry when they’re wrong.
• Shout at you or each other.
• Hit you or each other.
• Steal from you or each other.
• Lie to you or each other.
• Tell dirty jokes in front of your friends.
• Give you grief in front of your friends.
• Try to be your mate when it suits them.”

As I’ve already hinted, by the end of the book, Lucas has solved more than one mystery, and has come to some sort of peace with the world, and his mother especially.  Review by Stacy Church

Review of Nation by Terry Pratchett

There are really three beginnings to Nation, the latest book by Terry Pratchett (well, four, if you count the prologue, How Imo Made the World). It’s a little hard at first to sort out what’s going on, but I was well on the way to being hooked when I read the second (or third) part which begins, “At the other end of the world the sea burned, the wind howled, and roaring night covered the face of the deep...” and ends with, “Captain Roberts went to Heaven, which wasn’t everything that he’d expected, and as the receding water gently marooned the wreck of the Sweet Judy on the forest floor, only one soul was left alive. Or possibly two, if you like parrots.” I was completely hooked when I got to the third (fourth?) part, which begins with the line, “On the day the world ended Mau was on his way home.” I listened to this book on audio, and if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend that you do the same. The reader, Stephen Briggs, has a wonderful tongue-in-cheek way of doing the different voices, and his comic sense of timing really adds to the laugh-out-loud quality of the book. The story is basically about the meeting of two worlds, through Daphne (formerly Ermintrude), who is the lone survivor (besides the parrot) of the wreck of the British ship Sweet Judy on the island called Nation, and Mau, who was on his way back to his home on Nation when the tsunami that caused all of the trouble hit. Mau was off on the Boys’ Island, where he left his boy’s soul and paddled back to Nation, where he should have been met by all the islanders, and then, after “the thing with the sharp knife, where you didn’t scream…” he would become a man and have a man’s soul. But because the tsunami killed everyone on Nation, he was left with no soul, which later was the source of the nickname he was given by the priest --Demon Boy. Both Mau and Daphne hear the voices of their ancestors in their heads, and they both question their religious and cultural upbringings. The conclusion brings everything together nicely, with a bit of a view into the future (which is still the past to us). Review by Stacy Church

New books

Just in:

Hunger, Michael Grant’s sequel to Gone

Broken Soup, by Jenny Valentine, author of Me, the Missing, and the Dead

No Such Thing as the Real World, Stories about Growing up and Getting a Life, by An Na, M.T. Anderson, K.L. Going, Beth Kephart, Chris Lynch and Jacqueline Woodson

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Need help finding a good book?

Check out this website that finds read-alike authors for you.  Just type in the name of an author you like, and the literature map brings up a very cool-looking graphic display of similar authors.  You may not agree with every suggestion, but it’s one more way to find out about new authors you might like.  For instance, when I put in Terry Pratchett, the two closest names were Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Neil Gaiman (Coraline, Interworld). If you want to explore one of the names that are brought up, just click on it, and that author becomes the focus of a new web.

http://www.literature-map.com/

Check out these “Starship Adventure” titles!

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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Adams

The Asteroid Wars series by Bova

Ender’s Game by Card

The Foreigner trilogy by Cherryh

Marsbound by Haldeman

Ark Angel by Horowitz

Dragonriders of Pern series by McCaffrey

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Ness

Review of Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

This is a really fascinating book by the author of my favorite graphic novel, The Arrival. It’s a collection of 17 stories with a wide variety of illustrations, including a very dark-looking landscape in grandpa’s story, and an essay told in collage called Distant Rain (about what happens to all the poems people write) . The author has a very unusual viewpoint, which in this book he gets across not only with bizarre illustrations, but also with his seemingly unconnected short stories and essays. “Shaun Tan was born in 1974 and grew up in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. In school he became known as the 'good drawer' which partly compensated for always being the shortest kid in every class.” (www.shauntan.net) Check out the author’s website for some really cool line drawings and his thoughts on art, picture books and creativity. Review by Stacy Church

Review of Forensic Science by Alex Frith

I love this book about crime scene investigation! It’s gory, but not too gory, because it’s in comic book style. It’s full of information about what evidence scientists use to solve crimes, interspersed with actual cases. There’s a list of who’s who in a criminal investigation, from the victim to the coroner and jury. There’s an illustration of a crime scene, showing what evidence was collected where: fingerprints, bloodstains, files on a computer hard disk. There’s even a chapter called Criminal Identity that includes forensic psychology, or profiling. In the back is a timeline of forensic science and some internet links for those of you who want to learn more. Review by Stacy Church

Review of First Shot By Walter Sorrells

David Crandall attends the Arsenal private school in Maine where his father is headmaster. His main ambition is to be First Shot in his graduating year. Shooting is the only thing he believes he is good at. He feels like a loser and still misses his mother who was murdered two years before. The case was never closed and now the police are saying they have new evidence and want to search his father’s house. David sees his father go out in the middle of the night and bury something that looks like a rifle, and he is scared that his father might be the murderer. David is not prepared to let things rest after his father confesses to the murder. With the help of Misty (the literal hot shot, the main contender for FIRST SHOT), a transfer student and his old friend from fourth grade Leo Fallstaff (one of the townies), they uncover papers to prove who the real murderer is. The action really picks up, and even though the bad guy was predictable for quite a while there are one or two twists that make for a satisfactory ending. Review by T.K.

Starship Adventure at Your Library.

Find out what's out there for you!
It's almost time for the 2009 Summer Reading Program! The young adult program will begin on July1 and run through August 22. You can sign-up online (there will be a link from the library homepage) or come in to the library. Once you've signed up, you can start earning prizes. For every book you read, write a short review (you can post it online if you signed up online, or bring it in to the library), and you can choose a book from the collection we've put together as prizes! At the end of the summer, the two people who've read the most will each get t-shirts. Come to the library to check out displays of books related to the Starship theme, and other suggested reading lists.

6th Grade Summer Reading

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Here are some of the great books from the 6th grade summer reading list.  Check out www.wwdbookbits.blogspot.com and www.yashowandtell.blogspot.com for reviews of individual books.

New Graphic Novels: Flight, Volumes One and Two

This is a wonderful series that includes stories by a number of noted graphic novelists, including Kazu Kibuishi, Kean Soo, Phil Craven, and Chris Applehans. It's great to see such a wide variety of styles collected in one book. The first volume is fairly slim, and the publisher obviously found a lot to include in the second volume, because it's twice as long. The second volume includes some of the same authors as the first volume, and also stories by Jeff Smith, the author of the Bone series, and Doug Holgate. If you aren't familiar with many graphic novels, this is a good place to start to find out what you like. The artwork is really astounding.

A People's History of American Empire by Howard Zinn, Mike Konopacki & Paul Buhle

Want to find out about all the dirty history you won't find in US History textbooks? Read this graphic novel sponsored by The American Empire Project! According to Kirkus Reviews, the book details a "laundry list of despicable behavior" and they call it a "powerful teaching tool for the next generation of anti-imperialist activists." So get ready to demonstrate against your government.

Review of The Falconer's Knot by Mary Hoffman

The subtitle of this book says it all: A Story of Friars, Flirtation and Foul Play. The author of this book wrote one of my favorite fantasy series, Stravaganza. In Stravaganza, part of the story is set in modern-day London, and the other part in a fictionalized version of 14th century Venice. In The Falconer's Knot, Hoffman uses her extensive knowledge of history to set the entire tale in medieval Italy. I wasn't sure I would enjoy a historical story of intrigue, but it pretty much reads like the part of Stravaganza set in Talia (the parallel world of medieval Venice). There's a long list of characters, and as the story progresses, it's a delight to see how their lives intersect, even when you see it coming. Silvano da Montacuto is young, handsome and rich. He is infatuated with the beautiful wife of a sheep farmer, and when her husband is killed with Silvano's dagger, suspicion naturally falls on Silvano. His father sends him away to a monastery to keep him safe until the real murderer can be found. Meanwhile, the young and beautiful Chiara is delivered by her brother to the neighboring nunnery, as there is no money for a dowry for her. Of course, Silvano and Chiara meet and then watch each other from afar. There is a murder at the monastery, and then another murder. The truth about Silvano's situation becomes known, and, of course, he is suspected. There are many more plot twists and turns which I won't begin to try to explain. The ending satisfyingly wraps up all the loose ends. Review by Stacy Church

Third Maggie Quinn Book Out!

Highway to Hell, Rosemary Clement-Moore's sequel to Prom Dates from Hell and Hell Week is just in!

On their way to spend spring break on a Texas beach, college freshmen Maggie Quinn and D&D Lisa are stranded in a town where some believe a chupacabra is killing animals. The girls investigate, with help from some expected sources.

New Gaming Fiction

Saga by Conor Kostick

Ghost is part of an anarcho-punk airboard gang who live to break the rules. As things begin to change and become stranger and stranger within their world, Saga, Ghost and her gang learn the complicated truth: Saga isn't actuallly a place. It's a sentient computer game. If you love to play video games, try the sequel to Kostick's Epic.

Review of Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab

I enjoyed reading this book about a teenager with sophisticated tastes from New York City relocating to the small town of Prague in upstate New York. Not only does Matisse (named by her artist parents after the famous painter) have to deal with the loss of her best friend, and access to fashion, movies, and music, but the reason for the move is her father's deteriorating health due to Parkinson's Disease. At her old school in New York, Matisse hated the constant sympathy from her classmates once they found out about her father's illness, so she is determined to keep the kids at her new school from seeing or meeting him. Of course, in a small town that's not so easy. There are the usual characters: the snobby bullying cheerleader, the hayseed in overalls who turns out to be not so stupid, and the football player who turns out not to be such a jerk afterall. The dialogue is a little stilted, but the characters are mostly realistic, and the story is good enough to carry you through. Review by Stacy Church

Do you love The Percy Jackson series?

If you love The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, try these other novels based on mythology:

Anatopsis by Abouzeid
Ever by Levine
The Game by Jones
The Great God Pan by Napoli
Iris, Messenger by Deming
Ithaka by Geras
Jason and the Gorgon's Blood by Yolen and Harris
Lost in the Labyrinth by Kindl
Nightsong: The Legend of Orpheus and Eurydice by Cadnum
Nobody's Princess by Friesner
Odysseus in the Serpent Maze by Yolen and Harris
Singer to the Sea God by Alcock
The Siren Song by Ursu
Sirena by Napoli
Troy by Geras
Walking with the Dead by Falcone

2 New Graphic Novels from DC Comics

All Star Superman volume 2 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely with Jamie Grant



Batman R.I.P., The Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison and Tony S. Daniel

New Video Games!

Castlevania Judgment for Wii: The first Castlevania title for Wii. A combination slasher/fighter/action title in which the 13 most popular characters from the series come together along with a new character, Aeon. You can slash, stab and whip as you fight on your chosen side.

Halo Wars for XBox: The year is 2531, 20 years prior to the events in Halo: Combat Evolved. Command armies and lead them into battle in an effort to stop the anihilation of humans by the Covenant.

Grid for Playstation 3: It's all about the race! Drive the world's premier performance vehicles at blistering speeds on 3 continents.

New Manga Series: Blade of the Immortal

We have added several volumes of Hiroaki Samura's riveting manga series Blade of the Immortal to our collection.
From the back of the book:
Manji, a ronin warrior of feudal Japan, has been cursed with immortality. To rid himself of this curse, regain his mortality, and end his life of misery, Manji must slay one thousand evil men! His quest begins when a young girl seeks his help in taking revenge on her parents' killers. His quest ends only after he has spilled the blood of a thousand!

Review of Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt

I couldn't wait to read this new book by the author of one of my favorite books, The Wednesday Wars (reviewed on Book Bits 11/7/2007), but it just didn't do it for me. I think the author was so wrapped up in the issue of racism, that the book became only a vehicle for a moralistic message, and writing style went out the window. It's alternately stilted and flowery, with these strange little cryptic italics sections at the ends of the chapters. Everything is so overlaid with heavy-handed meaning that there's no joy in reading it. Review by Stacy Church

Review of Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins

I found this book slow going at first, but I became completely engrossed as I kept reading. 16-year-old Asha is a top-notch tennis and cricket player who, since she "became a woman," has been forced by her family to adhere to the conventions of 1970's India and quit playing sports in public. Her freedom is curtailed even more when she, her older sister Reet, and her mother have to move in with her uncle's family in Calcutta while her father goes to America to look for a job. Her mother has slipped in and out of depression for as long as she can remember, and she and Reet will do almost anything to keep the depression at bay. Secret Keeper is what Asha calls her diary, and as she hides on the roof to write in it, she is observed by, befriended by, and eventually falls in love with the strange boy next door. I won't go into all of the plot twists that make up the story, but I was surprised by the ending. There is an author's note at the end of the book detailing the political situation in India at the time the story was set. Review by Stacy

Review of House of Clay by Naomi Nowak

This is a truly beautiful graphic novel. The story, on the other hand, is not so beautiful. Josephine, whose family used to be wealthy, must go to work in a sweatshop, House of Cotton, to earn enough money to go to nursing school. How she plans to be a nurse when she faints at the sight of blood, is unclear. A feeling of sadness and loneliness pervades the book, mostly through the watercolor, Art Nouveau-ish artwork. Josephine makes friends with a mute girl, who is in an abusive relationship with their boss. She makes another friend when she follows a little dog to the house of a fortuneteller, who, when she was younger, looked remarkably like Josephine. Beyond that, the story is pretty unclear. I enjoyed looking at each picture, even though I often had no idea what relevance it had to the story. Review by Stacy

Review of The Comet’s Curse by Dom Testa

Teen survival novels seem to have become a trend. The Comet’s Curse is another title to add to the list. A deadly virus from the comet Bhakttul threatens to wipe out the human race; only teenagers under the age of eighteen are immune. A scientist plans to send 251 of the brightest and most able teens to a distant solar system to avoid the virus. A special spacecraft, the Galahad is constructed to ferry the teens to this distant solar system. No one over the age of sixteen is aboard the spacecraft, but after the spacecraft takes off they discover that they have a mysterious adult on board who is determined to wreck their mission. Survival takes on a whole new meaning for the crew of the Galahad. Will they survive the trip, much less reach their destination? To find out you will have to read, The Web of Titan. Review by Teresa Kerrigan

New XBox Games!

Prince of Persia: "The game is set in a land rooted in ancient Persian mythology, with the Prince finding himself caught in an epic battle between the primal forces of light and darkness—the god of Light, Ormazd versus his brother Ahriman, the destructive god of Darkness." Amazon.com

Need for Speed: Undercover: "You never thought it would turn out like this an all-out chase where you're both the hunted and the hunter. Now you must get behind the wheel and risk everything to infiltrate a ruthless international crime syndicate and take them down." Amazon.com

Don King presents: Prizefighter: "This in-depth, documentary-style title provides the deepest, most authentic and entertaining experience ever seen in a boxing video game...real-life fight scenarios, story-driven gameplay and photo-realistic graphics" Amazon.com

New Play Station 3 Games!

Dragonball Z Burst Limit: The first game of the Dragonball Z series to be available for the PlayStation 3 console -- new and improved!

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows: The game starts off with "Spidey walking across a New York City rooftop in slow-motion, head hung down and ignoring the chaos taking place all around him -- soldiers battling symbiote aliens, explosions in the distance, debris flying inches past his head -- while "Moonlight Sonata" plays, gorgeously juxtaposed with the madness of the scene." Nick Suttner, 1Up.com

Review of The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

I love the voice of Jenna Fox. She's very direct, straightforward, pared down, which allows you to wonder about the same things she's wondering about. "I used to be someone. Someone named Jenna Fox. That's what they tell me. But I am more than a name. More than they tell me." Jenna has woken up from "a coma" with no memory of who she is, or what has happened to her. Her parents encourage her to watch endless DVD's of herself growing up, seemingly documenting every important moment of her life, showing what she comes to think of as her parents' "adoration of Jenna Fox." Her narrative is interspersed with even more pared-down free verse poems which are very affecting.
"There is a dark place.
A place where I have no eyes, no mouth. No words.
I can't cry out because I have no breath. The silence is so
deep I want to die.
But I can't.
The darkness and silence go on forever.
It is not a dream.
I don't dream."
This book is one of those remarkable science fiction books that bring us to ask the most basic ethical questions, questions about the meaning of life and self. As Jenna begins to remember things from her past, the memories raise even more questions for her about what has happened to her, and what her parents are keeping from her. I read this book in one afternoon because I couldn't put it down. I love the ending, where the author manages to bring everything full circle without tedious explanations or an overly simplistic plot. Review by Stacy