Guest Blogger Busy B on HP7

If you haven't gotten a hold of J.K. Rowling's final Harry Potter book yet, well you definitely need to. HP7 tests your faith in the characters more than any other book in the series, whether you're forced to turn your back on Ron, Dumbledore, or even Harry. HP7 opens with Voldemort torturing a muggle studies teacher at Hogwarts. It gives a somewhat spooky insight into Voldemort's sick mind and exactly what might occur over the course of the book. Then Harry is brought into the picture, reading the Daily Prophet and all it's outrageous lies. Following this, one of the most shocking surprises of the book is displayed: Dudley's kindness towards Harry. After a frantic chase later on with Death Eaters and dealing with Ron's time consuming mother, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally slip away from the Burrow to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes. The complicated task left by Dumbledore leaves the three friends bickering day and night, and wearing Voldemort's Slytherin Horcrux necklace surely doesn't help. As you're about to pull your own hair out, Ron just up and leaves a torn Harry and Hermione, only to re-appear again a few chapters later. Meanwhile, Harry battles with the speculations following Dumbledore's death. He constantly wonders if some of the gossip is indeed true. An encounter at Godrics Hallow with Voldemort leaves Harry broken, but his spirits are lifted when Ron comes back, saves his life, and retrieves a once lost treasure. Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out again, but this time to learn more about the Deathly Hallows. Hermione is convinced that they are mere fairy tales, but Xeno Lovegood proves her wrong and unfortunately betrays the trio in the process. They manage to escape with valuable information. At last, Harry believes he knows what Voldemort's after, however, one night on the run Harry slips up by using Voldemort's tabooed name. Wizards surround their tent and capture Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They are brought to Malfoy Manor and luckily escape, but not without a devastating loss. Eventually Harry, Ron, and Hermione wind up at Hogwarts to search for the final Horcrux and a horrendous battle breaks out between Dumbledore's Army and Death Eaters. When it comes down to it, who is the last one standing? Harry, or Voldemort? Read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and you'll find out!

A little nonfiction talk...

If I'm *really* being honest, I don't do non-fiction. I read to escape. Period. However, in going through our non-fiction here at Teen Central, I've found some books that I'm adding to my must read pile and I thought maybe some of you would be interested as well...

1. Chew on This by Eric Schlosser

I really didn't need to browse through this one after stopping at a local burger joint for lunch. I'm sure the faces I made while browsing some of the facts in this expose on American fast food were humorous...to everyone else in the room. I officially don't want to know how many cows my lunch came from. Makes a girl look for the nearest friendly piece of lettuce.

2. Ophelia Speaks by Sara Shandler

I've always loved looking into other people's lives. Books that provide glimpses at how other people live and the experiences other people have fascinate me. This one offers the look into the hearts of a thousand teenage girls on subjects that range from boys to school to politics. I can't wait to read this book of honest confessions.

3. America Through the Lens: Photographers Who Changed the Nation by Martin W. Sandler
In history class, I always found it hard to concentrate on the text because the pictures were always so arresting. It was like peering back through a window in time to really connect with the people of a particular time period. I flipped open this book and found one of my all time favorite historical photos. It's a photo of a woman and her two children during the Great Depression by Dorothea Lange called "Migrant Mother". I always had thought the woman in the picture must be in her late 40s, according the the photographer she was just 32. This book shows and tells the stories of many photographs and photographers dating from the civil war on up to some really cool NASA photographs that were taken in the late 60s.

4. A Maze Me: Poems for Girls by Naomi Shihab Nye

Speaking of pictures, I've always thought of poems as the photographs as literature. If a novel is a movie, then a poem is a freeze frame snapshot of a particular moment momentous or simple. Just reading two or three of the poems in this book of verse made me want to gobble the whole thing in one sitting. I'm not sure if I like "Moving House" or "Worry" better.

5.The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon

I'm a sucker for a good memoir and The Burn Journals looks like a good bet. Brent Runyon set himself on fire when he was fourteen. And he survived. He tells all about that startling act, what came after, and the what got him there in the first place.

Can't Read Just One!

I'm so excited. The newest book in one of the series I like just came in (It's E. Lockhart's The Treasure Map of Boys, by the way). I just love series. There's something about coming back to the same set of characters and the same world time and time again. We've also changed up the series shelving down here in Teen Central, so if you can't find what you're looking for; it's likely moved. Just ask at the desk and we'll be glad to help you find your favorite series.

Here are a few of my favorite series you might want to check out:

1. Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars Series
2. Ann Brashares' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series
3. Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls Series
4. Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Series
5. Suzanne Collins Mockingjay Trilogy

What are some of your favorites? Are we missing a series you adore here at the library? Talk about both in the comments!

Guest Blogger - Busy B

Hello everyone! We're going to start to have guest teen reviewers here on the FCPL4Teens blog. Our first review comes to us from Bethann over at the Busy B. Take it away Bethann.

Book Review: Toxin by Robin Cook
Being a cardiac surgeon, Kim Reggis' life is complicated enough. Add a divorce and a critically ill daughter and his life goes from complicated to out of control. He is driven by his daughter Becky's pain to find out the cause of her disease, and runs into a plethora of problems. It turns out that E. Coli 0157:H7 is the exact bacteria that has Becky lying in the hospital, and Kim is willing to do whatever it takes to find out why. A trip to a popular fast food restaurant, The Onion Ring, gives him a few clues and a bit of trouble. His next stop is Mercer Meats, a meat-processing company. Conveniently, Kim runs into Marsha Baldwin, a USDA inspector. Together they go on a quest to stop the spread of E. Coli and to shut down Higgins and Hancock, a slaughter house. Kim's ex wife Tracy steps in for Marsha when she turns up missing while investigating Higgins and Hancock! This leads Kim to believe that there is something mysterious going on in the meat-processing industry and decides to get to the bottom of it for good! The underlying question through all of this is: Will Becky fight off the E. Coli? And what happens to Marsha Baldwin? Packed with suspense and gruesome truths, Toxin is definitely a great read for those who enjoy solving the unlikely!

Teen Read Week Reading List!

I told you guys about our awesome Teen Read Week theme on Friday and, then, today, I was reminded of all the really cool music themed teen reads there are out there. I decided to put together a list of a few of my favorite indie, rock, and music-centric Young Adult Books in honor of Teen Read Week. Enjoy!

P.S. The movie we're showing in Teen Central at 6 tonight was based off of one of these books. Figure out what it is using the Internet Movie Database.

Meagan Brothers' Debbie Harry Sings in French
Robin Benway's Audrey, Wait!
Cecil Castellucci's Beige
Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan's Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Sarah Dessen's Just Listen
Gordan Korman's Born to Rock
Christopher Krovatin's Heavy Metal and You
Yvonne Prinz's The Vinyl Princess
Jon Skovron's Struts and Frets
Gaby Triana's Backstage Pass

Teen Read Week!

Can I just tell you guys how excited I am that it's almost Teen Read Week. We get to spend an entire week focusing on teens and books for teens. The bonus this year is that the theme is really cool. We're talking about "Books with Beat", so all of the books and programs we're featuring involve music. The very first one next week is Teen Central's 5th Birthday Bash. There will be music, games, fun, and cake galore. The really cool part is that we're going to have local teen band Epic Failure in to play for that event. If you missed them in our Garage Band competition this summer, be sure to be here for the party on Monday. The party starts at 4 and the band starts at 4:30. There's also going to be a game competition on Tuesday, a movie on Wednesday, candy sushi on Friday, and a dance performance on Saturday...and that's just in Teen Central. There are going to be 10 other programs around the branch library's for you to participate in. Check out all of our awesome programs here.

Learning Express

I had a teen come flying into the library in a near panic the other day. She has to take the PSAT this month and there were no PSAT study books available at this late date. If you've ever come in looking for a test study book (SAT/ACT/GED...any of them) at the last minute, you might understand her panic. There is almost always a wait on these books the closer it gets to a test period. However, I was able to help her out immediately rather than having her wait and squirm to see if a test prep book would come in before her test date. Forsyth County Public Library offers this great service called Learning Express. You can find it about halfway down on this page. On this service you'll find timed online practice tests where you can save your place and come back later if you don't have time to complete it, whole test prep. courses that you might pay hundreds of dollars for with a private tutor, and ebooks on a variety of topics. These practice tests just aren't for high school students either, there are also sections for elementary and middle school students, college students, and adult learners, too! So, the next time you're in a testing panic, remember to try Learning Express Library.

Online Book Club # 5 - Audrey Wait!

Teen Read Week is only two weeks away! In honor of this year's theme, Books with Beat, we're featuring a book with a definate beat as our Online Book Club pick!
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway (in about 100 words):

What if your boyfriend wrote a song about you? Wouldn’t that be cool? Well, what if he wrote it about when you broke up with him and your name was a major part of the chorus? What if that song went on to be part of a best selling album? And you were still in high school? And people you’ve never even talked to before are yelling your name in the halls? Oh, and did I mention the paparazzi trying to follow you and your best friend, your new boyfriend, or even your mom around, when all you want to do is be the same you you’ve always been? All of that and more happens to Audrey in Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway!

Now, go read it if you haven't already and come back and answer some questions! Oh, hey, remember to come to Teen Central tomorrow at 4 PM to meet the author of last month's Online Book Club pick!

Question #1:

Have you ever been the subject of unwanted attention like Audrey? What happened? What was that like?

Local Author Visit!

Come to Teen Central on Tuesday and meet local author Bonnie Doerr. Bonnie wrote last month's Online Book Club pick Island Sting and she has another great teen mystery coming out in January. She'll be talking about her books, how she wrote them, and how they finally got to publication. So, if you've ever thought about being an author or if you like mystery novels, come to Teen Central on Tuesday at 4 PM.

Books About Second Chances...

I picked up a book out of Teen Central's collection on Friday and devoured it over the weekend. I just could not put Amy Efaw's After down. It's the story of a 15 year old girl who is practically perfect (great grades, star goalie on her school's soccer team, tutors, coaches, babysits...She does it all) until the morning she gives birth. And puts the baby out with the garbage. Devon, the main character, doesn't ever come off as a villain. She has clearly, unequivocally done something wrong, but she isn't a bad person. After is all about the choices that have brought Devon's life to a screeching halt complete with lawyers, judges, and life in a juvenile detention facility and it's about chances and changing your life. In honor of After, I've put together a list of books about teens needing second chances either after their own not so great choices or because of someone else's. Read and enjoy.

Evelyn Coleman's Born in Sin
Carl Deuker's Runner
Amy Efaw's After
E. R. Frank's Wrecked
Oscar Hijuelos Dark Dude
Patricia McCormick Sold
Walter Dean Meyer's Monster
Walter Dean Meyer's Lockdown
Mary E. Pearson's A Room on Lorelei Street
Adam Rapp Little Chicago

Books and Movies...

I was talking with a couple folks after our movie night on Wednesday about all the great teen novels that have been turned into books. We've decided to devote our midweek movie series, which is every third Wednesday at 6 PM in Teen Central, to YA books to movies for at least the next six months. Next month, during Teen Read Week, we're showing a movie based on a book by Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan. Can you guess the title? If you want to have your own books to movies festival or just read some great books that have been made into movies, check out the list below.

Sapphire's Push (Precious)
Cornelia Funke's Inkheart
C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian
C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Stan Lee's Iron Man
Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass
The entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Carl Hiassan's Hoot
Ann Brashare's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Dyan Sheldon's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Sarah Dessen's Someone Like You and That Summer (How to Deal)
Louis Sachar's Holes
Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries
Wendelin Van Draanen's Flipped
Stefanie Myers' Twilight and New Moon
Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief
Louise Rennison's Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging
Darren's Shan's Cirque du Freak series (The Vampire's Assistant)
Neil Gaiman's Coraline
Marjane Sarapi's Persepolis
Christopher Paolini's Eragon

This is, by far, not a complete list. What's your favorite book into movie?

Help!

We need your help! Today is the day to solve the mystery of our missing owl! Come by Teen Central at 4 today to meet the suspects, see the clues, and solve the crime! There will be cookies for the participating detectives. Check out our last post about our poor missing owl for more info.

Free Help with Homework and More!

Have you ever wanted a free tutor after school available anytime you need one? You can get that from Forsyth County Public Library. We have free online tutoring and academic and career resources from Tutor.com that everyone in the community can use! No matter what you're working on (homework, resume, college essay…you name it) or how much help you need, there's live tutoring available from 3-11 pm every day of the week through our website and thousands of resources available 24/7.

How will this help you?
K-12 and college students can get help with homework, studying, projects, essay writing and test prep in every subject, including algebra, statistics, chemistry, physics, social studies and English. Adults can get help with resume writing, GED prep, and academic support. All sessions are online and one-to-one with a live tutor.

What kind of resources are there?
There are thousands of resources—worksheets, practice problems, videos in every subject, as well as resources for state standardized tests and college entrance exams. They are available 24/7 so you can access them whenever you need extra help.
To get a tutor or find a resource, go to our Online Resources page and click "Live Homework Help". You'll need your library card if you are accessing it from home, but that's it.

Online Book Club #4 - Island Sting

Island Sting by Bonnie Doerr (in about 100 words)

Kenzie is a city girl in a whole new world when her mom moves her to a nature preserve in the Florida Keys and she immediately gets into trouble by falling into a canal to save what she thinks is a dog. She quickly realizes it's a tiny deer instead and then she meets a boy who helps her (and the deer) out of the canal. Soon, Kenzie learns that there is a poacher killing key deer even though they’re an endangered species. What is she going to do and that’s just in the first two chapters of this action packed mystery novel for middle schoolers.

Go read it and then answer our weekly questions! Don’t forget the author of this book will be visiting Teen Central on October 5th at 4 pm. We hope to see everyone there!

Question 1:
Both Kenzie and Angelo kept their hunt for the poacher a secret from their family. Do you agree with that decision? Would you have done the same? Why or why not?

Question 2:
Throughout the book, Kenzie does not have a cell phone. Why doesn’t she? If you had to go without a cell phone, how would your days change?

Question 3:
Kenzie and Angelo work to decrease litter pollution on their island. Why is decreasing litter important? What could you do to decrease litter?

Awesome Mystery Books and Programs with On The Same Page!

Starting at the end of next week, Forsyth County Public Library is starting their "On the Same Page" program. It's a month and a half of reading and programs all focused on one book. This year, we're reading The Maltese Falcon. We're part of the fun down here in Teen Central, so we're doing a ton of cool mystery programs, like the owl one I talked about a couple posts back and the two minute mystery program later in September. We're even going to have a cool YA mystery author come and visit in October. For more info on this great program, check out Programs for Teens page on the On the Same Page Blog. Haven't read a good mystery lately? Then, check out this list of great YA mysteries! We've got them all at your public library!

Behind the Curtain: An Echo Falls Mystery by Peter Abrahams. Sherlock Holmes fan and eighth grader Ingrid Levin-Hill is kidnapped while investigating a steroid ring in which her brother seems to be involved. Will she find her kidnapper?

Heist Society by Ally Carter. A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several priceless paintings and save Kat Bishop’s father, an international art thief, from a vengeful man.

Change Up: Mystery at the World Series by John Feinstein. While covering baseball’s World Series, teenage sports reporters Stevie and Susan Carol investigate a rookie pitcher whose evasive answers reveal more than a few contradictions in his life story.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy’s attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.

Bad Kitty by Michelle Jaffe. While vacationing with her family in Las Vegas, Jasmine stumbles upon a murder mystery that she attempts to solve with the help of her friends.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Katherine Jenks. Fifteen-year-old vampire Nina has been stuck for fifty-one years in a boring support group for vampires. Nothing exciting has ever happened to them–until one of them is murdered and the others must try to solve the crime.

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kristin Miller. Life becomes more interesting for Ananka, when she discovers an underground room in the park across from her New York City apartment and meets a mysterious girl called Kiki Strike who claims that she, too, wants to explore the subterranean world.

Black Taxi by James Moloney. When Rosie agrees to take care of her grandfather’s car while he is in jail, she gets more than she bargained for, including being thrust into the middle of a jewel heist and being attracted to a dangerous boy.

Finding Lubchenko by Michael Simmons. When his father is framed for murder and bioterrorism, high-school junior Evan, using clues from a stolen laptop, travels from Seattle to Paris with two friends to find the real culprit.

The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan by Nancy Springer. While Enola Holmes endeavors to save her friend Lady Cecily Alistair from an unwelcome arranged marriage, she meets with some assistance from her older brother, Sherlock.

So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld. Hunter Braque, a New York City teenager who is paid by corporations to spot what is “cool,” combines his analytical skills with girlfriend Jen’s creative talents to find a missing person and thwart a conspiracy directed at the heart of consumer culture.

Want to Read Books Before They Hit Stores?

Are you a devoted reader of teen fiction? Do you love to get books as soon as they hit the shelves? Well, do I have a deal for you. Occasionally, publishers will send me books before they're published and that is super awesome. I *love* reading these...usually. But, sometimes, a book just isn't in any of the genres I read, I'm overwhelmed with other books, or I just want a teen second opinion before I buy a bunch of copies. So, what I'm offering to readers of this blog is an opportunity to get a crack at these books. All you need to do is write me and tell me the kind of books you read. You do have to be able to physically get to a FCPL library to pick up and return the selections I send you. Then, when you're selected to review a book, just give me a short (3-5 sentence) review and tell me if you think I should purchase it or not. If I really like your review, then I'll add it to this blog (with your permission, of course) when we have the book available for checkout. You can leave a comment below to sign up or email me at forsythlibraryteen@gmail.com.

1 Missing Bird!

This afternoon Teen Central's beloved wooden owl went missing! Of course, we already have an idea where she might have gone, but we need your help to solve the mystery. Was it the shady author who's been trying to write his novel outside of Teen Central? The bubbly library volunteer? The bird watching, bird loving librarian? A couple of teens pulling a prank? Or, maybe it was that sleazy art dealer who's been giving the statue the eye. So, if you think you can help close the case show up in Teen Central on September 10th at 4 pm. The detective who figures out who took our precious statue will get a reward!

Want to Be an Editor?

I recieved a very interesting email this morning from an author who's inviting teens to comment and edit on the first book she ever wrote in its raw, unedited form straight from the journal's of her fourteen year old self. Then, as a group the book is going to be rewritten one chapter at a time in hopes that the finished product is fit to publish. Check out her post about it here or to check out the story and its process here. It will definately be something interesting to watch. How about you? Do any of you have notebooks full of novels waiting to see the light of day?

Cage Match!

I just have to share this with everyone who loves YA books. There are some lovely bloggers who have put together a YA Fantasy Showdown and it is awesome. Imagine thirty-two of your favorite characters pairing up in fights to the death. The worst one, in my opinion, is that they've got Katniss and Tally Youngblood paired up against each other in the first round. Who to choose? I picked...


Nope. Not going to tell.


Go vote for your favorite characters here.

Next Month's Online Book Club Selection...

Next month we're featuring a book by a local author in our Online Book Club. We'll be reading Bonnie Doerr's Island Sting. It's an environmental mystery set in the Florida Keys. If you liked Carl Hiassan's Hoot or Flush, you should definately pick this one up! To make this even cooler, Bonnie Doerr will be coming to Teen Central as part of our On the Same Page programming to discuss her book and writing in general once we're done talking about it on here on October 5th at 4 pm. Start reading!

Online Book Club #3

I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President by Josh Lieb (in about 100 words)

From the outside Oliver Watson seems to be a (below) average 8th grader from Omaha, Nebraska. In reality, he is an evil supergenius whose aspirations include taking over the world. However, for now, he’s going to settle for being 8th grade class president just to make his father feel utterly stupid. You wouldn’t think that becoming class president would be all that difficult for the fourth richest person in the world, but you might just be wrong. Even with a legion of henchman, near uncountable amounts of wealth, and more intelligence that a NASA physicist class presidency might still be out of Oliver’s reach.

Now it's your turn to read and respond.

Week #1 Question
1. If you had Oliver's resources, what would you do first?

2. Do you think Oliver is really evil?

3. Did you want him to win in the end? Yes or no. Why?

4. Speaking of endings, what did you think about the change in the author's tone at the end of the book? Did you think he was staying true to his character or was he just trying to get a message across?

Need a Book Suggestion?

Is your summer reading list dwindling fast? Need some good suggestions? Then try our nextreads service. You can get customised booklists sent to your email inbox every month. Like chick lit? We've got it? More of a mystery fan? We've got that too! Of course, I highly suggest the Teen Scene newsletter as it is written and edited by moi. Sign up here.

Summer Reading Winding Down...

This is just a reminder to turn in your summer reading card by the end of the month. We've got a lot of cool prizes to give away and each card also serves as an entry to our grand prize drawing at the end of the program. If you don't have your card yet, stop by Teen Central or your local branch and pick one up today. You'll have until the 31st to fill it out and get it back in.

Virtual Book Talk

Try some of these new titles!

Candor by Pam Bachorz (in about a 100 words)
What if you were the only one who knew that everyone in your town was brainwashed? What if it was your dad doing the brainwashing and you knew how to reverse it? This is the dilemma that Oscar Banks finds himself in. He’s trapped in pastel perfect Candor where no one ever does anything bad and “academic success is your highest priority.” He’s been helping kids get out for a fee for a while now, but that all changes when he meets and falls for new girl Nia. He decides to help her fight the brainwashing and stay in Candor, but at what cost?

Snap by Carol Snow (in about a 100 words)
Madison thinks she’s just going on a beach vacation with her parents. When they get there, her parents start acting weird and reveal that they’ve lost their home. The seedy beach town that they’ve come to is where she’ll be living from now on. She meets some quirky new friends and starts to come to terms with the changes in her life when her camera starts taking pictures of people who aren’t really there. Then she finds out that the people appearing in her photos all suffer tragedy within days of their image appearing in her camera. Something strange is going on in Sandyland, but what.

Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor (in about 100 words)
These three short stories by Laini Taylor are beyond fascinating. They’re all supernatural romances that center around kisses. In “Goblin Fruit”, a girl who feels perennially out of place in her school and annoyed by her strange family at home. But maybe her strange family is right, when she is approached by a boy who is not what he seems. “Spicy Little Curses” centers around a girl who’s been sentenced to a life of silence by a curse delivered by an unwilling ambassador to Hell. What happens when a man tempts her to speak? Finally, Esme of “Hatchling” is experiencing some strange changes and memories of a kiss she knows she never experienced. And why are there wolves outside her London window? The only thing more gorgeous than these stories might be the artwork that illustrates each. If you like paranormal romance, then you must pick this one up.

Cool Library Programs This Week!

And when we say cool, we mean it literally. Today is our Snow in July Party. Come out at four and make snocones and snow globes.

Then, tomorrow, we have super cool professional photographer Jennifer Pinkerton coming out to show everyone how to take really awesome digital pictures. Bring your camera and swing by the library around six to learn your way around your camera.

Next Month's Book Club Title!

If you want to get a jump start on reading next month's Online Book Club post, we're going to be reading I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb. It's hilarious. I promise.

A book suggestion or five or ten...

We hear a lot about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series down here in Teen Central these days. Just today I had someone come up and say, "I've read all the Twilight books! Now, what do I read?" To help that reader out (and all the other Twilight fans), I made a small list of read alikes that you can find on our shelves in Teen Central.

Meg's Twilight Read-alike List

1. Laini Taylor ~ Lips Touch Three Times
2. Amber Kizer ~ Meridian
3. Jessica Verday ~ The Hollow
4. Daniel Nayeri ~ Another Faust
5. Meg Cabot ~ Jinx
6. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl ~ Beautiful Creatures
7. Lisa Mantchev ~ Eyes Like Stars
8. Maggie Stiefvader ~ Shiver
9. Becca Fitzpatrick ~ Hush, Hush
10. Scott Westerfeld ~ Peeps

Online Book Club #2

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (in about a hundred words):
Katniss’ life has never been easy, but when her little sister’s name is drawn as a contestant for the Hunger Games it gets a lot harder when she volunteers to go in Prim’s place. The Hunger Games is an annual event in the country of Panem which pits 24 teenagers against each other in a match to the death that is filled with all sorts of nasty surprises invented by the gamemakers. Katniss is whisked away from her life in poverty striken District 12 and given a few weeks to train before she’s tossed in to the Hunger Games arena. What happens next? You’ll have to read and find out.

Now, go and read it if you haven’t already. If you have read it or are reading it, join in the discussion below. Remember to check back each week for a fresh question.

Week 1 Question:

Which contestants do you think were worse off? The children from the richer districts where they were raised to kill or be killed? Or the poorer districts where they had to scrounge and scavenge to survive?

Week 2 Question:

Do you think Peeta really meant it when he said he was in love with Katniss or was it all part of the scheme he and Haymitch dreamed up. What about Katniss? Do you think she falls in love with Peeta by the end of the book? What about her feelings for Gale? Do you think anything will come of that?

Week 3 Question:

What do you think the cruelest part of the hunger games was?

Week 4 Question:

What would your strategy be if you were in the hunger games arena?

Tie Dye! And DIY Jewelry!

I love crafts! We're feeling very crafty in Teen Central this week. Today we've got Sharpie Tie Dye at four. So bring out a piece of clothing or something (as long as it's cotton) and we'll show you how to use everyone's favorite marker to make an awesome fashion statement. Then, on Friday at four, we're making H20 bracelets out of plastic tubing, glitter, beads, and, of course, good old H20.

P.S. If you aren't feeling crafty, try our Wii Tournament on Thursday at four!

Fun for Hunger Games Fans...

With next month's Online Book Club (Note to self: We must find a better name for that.) pick being The Hunger Games and the third book in the series coming out in August, I was excited to see this "Find Your Hunger Games Name" post on another blog I read and I thought I would share it with all of you.

Create! Read!

We've got two programs for both the creative minds and my readers who just love to read this week. First, on Wednesday at two, all you writers, artists, illustrators, and poets need to come to teen central for Zine Scene. We're going to be creating our own 'zine that we'll self publish at the end of the summer and we need your creative contributions to do it. Come learn how to construct your own 'zine from scratch and meet other cool teens while you do it. Then, on Thursday, the first meeting of the Desert Island Bookclub will be meeting. All, you have to do is think of what the top three books you'd take to a desert island are and then bring one of them in to the club to discuss. It'll be a great way to talk about some old favorites and find some new ones too. Join us at four!

Book Review Time!

Check out these great books at any FCPL library!

Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander (in about 100 words):
Austin Gray has never really felt like she fit in anywhere. After being teased (by the horrid Dean) about her lack of curves at her small town’s Christmas parade, she decides that next year she’s going to be off the curb and in the parade as the FFA Sweetheart “hood ornament”. In order to be elected FFA sweetheart, she has to successfully raise an animal to compete in the county fair and learn to hunt or fish. Will she finally find a place where she fits in? Will she figure out what it is she needs to defeat Dean Ottmer’s wisecracks? This is a great story about figuring out what truly matters.

Everwild by Neal Shusterman (in about 100 words):
First, if you haven’t read Everlost, do so before you pick up this book. This isn’t a sequel that you can pick up midstory. The premise of Everlost is that there is a place that is neither earth or heaven, where children who’ve died sometimes end up. It is a treacherous place of gangs and quicksand that will suck you down to the middle of the earth. Nick, Mary, Allie, and the reformed Mikey McGill are scattered about Everlost at the beginning of Everwild. Nick’s stealing souls (that’s right…souls) from Mary. Mary is trying to find Nick to destroy him. Allie and Mikey are trying to find Allie’s parents so just maybe Allie can leave Everlost. There are many, many twists and turns and secrets to uncover in the pages of Everwild. Fans of the first book are sure to love the sequel.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen (in about 100 words):
Auden has never really gotten to be a kid. She always had to be perfect for her parents. She made the best grades, went to the best schools, and never took chances to balance out her wild and crazy older brother. The summer after she graduates from high school, she decides to go and live with her dad, her new stepmom, and baby half-sister for a little while to see if she can break out of her restrictive life with her control freak mom. While in the small beach town where her dad lives, Auden finally deals with a lot of emotion she had pent up during her parents’ nasty divorce (while watching him make the same mistakes with his new wife) and really learns how to be a kid and interact with other teens her age by making new friendships and starting a new romance with the quiet, loner guy who works down the beach.


P.S. Don't forget to swing by Central Library at 2 tomorrow and check out the Garage Band Contest!

Delicious!

Are you bored and just surfing the internet aimlessly? Check out our delicious site. We've got sites for everything from fashion to books to music. Check it out.


P.s. Another good way to kill summer boredom would be to come to our Teen Double Feature Movie tomorrow. There will be free popcorn!

Teen Summer Reading

Our Teen Summer Reading Program officially kicked off on Saturday. You should come down to teen central (or your local Forsyth County branch library) and get your reading log today. It's simple, easy, and fun. You read three books, you turn your card in on one of the prize redemption dates, and get a bag full of cool coupons to local businesses and other prizes. Oh, and bonus, each time you fill out a reading log you get entered into the end of the summer prize drawing. We've got gift cards, itunes cards, an mp3 player, and a digital camera to give away in that drawing.

Next month's Online Book Club selection...

Our July book club selection is going to be The Hunger Games. So, if you haven't read it already, start reading now and join the discussion on July 1st!

Garage Bands Rule...

We're having a garage band competition on the 19th and I still need a couple bands to come play. So, if you're a teen with a band in Forsyth county, fill out an entry form and get it back to me by email (teencentral@rocketmail.com) or in person (I'm at Central, but you can turn it in at any FCPL service desk). You can find more information and the entry form here.

Online Book Club #1

Uglies in (about) 100 words:
What would you give up to be pretty? Your friends? Your family? Yourself? Tally is born into a world where everyone gets an operation to become perfectly pretty on their sixteenth birthday. It seems like that’s all she’s ever wanted. But after her friend Shay runs off to join a rebel group, all of that might be endangered unless Tally becomes a government spy and goes after her. This book has tons of action, danger, and suspense. Westerfeld’s writing sucks you into Tally’s tricky, high tech world from the first page. The final cliffhanger ending will have you running back to the library to get Pretties, the second book in the series.


Now, go and read it if you haven’t already. If you have read it or are reading it, join in the discussion below. Remember to check back each week for a fresh question.

Book Club Question of the week (courtesy of Scott Westerfeld's website: www.scottwesterfeld.com):

At first, did you hope Tally would get the operation? When did you change your mind? (Or did you?)

Book Club Question of the week (#2):
Would you give up your ability to think independently in exchange for being happy, beautiful, perpetually healthy, and rich?

Book Club Question of the week (#3):
To what extent did Tally decide her own fate, and how much did other people decide it for her?

Book Club Question of the Week (#4):
The Rusty civilization collapsed because of its dependence on oil. In what ways is your lifestyle dependent on oil and gasoline? How easily would you survive if it all disappeared one day?

How Online Book Club is going to work

On the 1st, we're going to start FCPL's first online book club. I'll post a review of the title and a question to start discussion. Then everyone who has an answer to the question will post in the comments and we'll all talk back and forth on that question (or any others that come up in the line of discussion) for a week. Each following week for one month I'll post another question about the book for us to discuss. On the seventh or eighth of each month, I'll announce the next month's title. New discussions will start on the first or second of each month. I realize it's way past the seventh this month, but I'm going to pick a title that's a few years old in hopes that lots of folks have already read it.

Without further ado: Next month's book title is Scott Westerfeld's Uglies.

P.S. I think we should come up with a cooler title than "Online Book Club". Any suggestions?

Welcome!

Welcome to the first of many posts here at FCPL4Teens. We're going to be bringing you news about great new books, awesome teen programs, some cool websites, and our very own online teen book club. Do you have an idea you'd like to share with us, a program you'd like to see at the library, a book you want to read that we don't have? Feel free to add a comment to this blog and we'll do our best to make it happen. Oh, and for those of you who didn't know; we've added an extra hour to the Teen Central hours on Saturday. We're now open from 1-5 on Saturday as well as all of our normal after school hours. Hope to see you around!