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January 31, 2007
WEIRD STUFF by Richard Tulloch
Weird stuff happens like asking for a $25 gift certificate for the summer reading raffle and getting $3000 for young adult programming; or reserving a copy of the latest Harry Potter book and then getting two free copies. Weird stuff like that is fun and makes you happy, but there is other kinds of weird stuff. Middle-schooler, Brian Hobble in WEIRD STUFF by Richard Tulloch has some good and not so good stuff happen.
It all starts with the soccer game. Brian isn't a great player; he may not even be a good player, but when the opportunity arises for a penalty kick that could win the game, it is Brian who must kick it. Win the game and Garunga District School is in the playoffs. Somehow with the best goalie defending the goal Brian makes the goal.
His success in soccer is deflated, when in English Brian is face-to-face with his all-time favorite author, Lancelot Cummins. Mr. Cummins has come to the school to teach creative writing. Writing is impossible for Brian, until he borrows a pen from a classmate and then the words keep coming. For a thirteen year old boy a romance between a postman and a woman on his postal route seems a little absurb, but Brian has written it. Now he must accept the fame and the ridicule. How can he handle it and where are these words coming from?
This is funny book about a boy who learns nothing is impossible. I RECOMMEND WEIRD STUFF by Richard Tulloch FOR BOYS IN GRADES SIX AND SEVEN.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 1:33 PM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2007
PRETTY LITTLE LIARS by Sara Shepard
As we closed the SISTERHOOD series, a new group of high school teens are introduced in PRETTY LITTLE LIARS by Sara Shepard. Meet Aria, Emily, Hanna, Spencer and Alison, AKA Ali, five friends joined at the hip having sleepovers, sharing secrets and being there for each other. Everything sixth and seventh grade girls do in an exclusive suburb of Philadelphia.
Together always, until the last day of seventh grade at the end of school sleepover, an argument breaks out and Ali leaves Spencer's barn never to be seen again.
Fast forward to the beginning of their junior year at an exclusive private school. Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer, no longer friends, finds someone is sending them messages about their personal secrets from the past and the present. The sender signs his/her work with letter A.
Could Ali be back? She is the only one who knows Aria's father had an affair and Aria is sleeping with her teacher; Emily prefers girls; Hanna's father may prefer his pretty stepdaughter; and Spencer is known for stealing her older sister's boyfriends. Then there is a secret they all keep.
This book is a page-turner. It is filled with all the angst you find on 90210 or the OC. Unfortunately nothing is resolved only introduced, so look for a sequel or I should say many sequels. I must admit I looking forward to the sequel due out in a few months.
I RECOMMEND THIS TITLE FOR GIRLS IN GRADES 9 TO 12.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 2:38 PM | Comments (9)
January 24, 2007
FOREVER IN BLUE: THE FOURTH SUMMER OF THE SISTERHOOD by Ann Brashares
Sometimes we must say goodbye to friends and Ann Brashares has decided to say goodbye to Bee, Carman, Lina and Tibby in the last SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS books. As the book begins the girls have already finished their freshman year at college and find it is getting harder and harder to meet for the annual traveling pants ceremony. With no ceremony to begin the summer each girl struggles fo discover who she is and what is her relationship to the SISTERHOOD.
Old characters are revisited, new ones are introduced to interact with our girls. It was nice to see them grow into young women, but as with any good book or friend I was sad to see it end.
THIS BOOK IS RECOMMENDED FOR GRADES 8 AND UP.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 2:11 PM | Comments (5)
January 22, 2007
2007 PRINTZ AWARD
Just eleven days ago I wrote the winners of the Nassau/Suffolk Young Adult Librarians choice for the 2007 Printz Award. Well, they were not even close. The winner is AMERICAN BORN CHINESE by Gene Luen Yang. This is the first graphic novel to honor. I reviewed this title for the YA BOOK LOG on November 11, 2006. (You might want to check it out.)
Yang's publisher, FirstSecond, tells about the author on their webpage. Gene Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. In 1997, he received the Xeric Grant, a prestigious comics industry grant, for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, his first comics work as an adult. He has since written and drawn a number of titles, including Duncan’s Kingdom (with art by Derek Kirk Kim) and The Rosary Comic Book.
He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his lovely wife, Theresa, and son, Kolbe, and teaches computer science at a Roman Catholic high school.
Four more books were honored in the 2007 selection.
THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION; v.1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson. With 18th century language this book tells the story of Octavian, the subject of a horritying Enlightenment experiment, who escapes slavery and fights in the American Revolution.
AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green, last year's Printz winner. A road trip to the town of Gutshot, Tennessee, offers Colin Singleton, a child prodigy and compulsive boyfriend of girls named Katherine, the opportunity to face his past and find his future.
SURRENDER by Sonya Hartnett. This is a psychological thriller. A troubled young man relives the horrifying events that land him on his deathbed.
THE BOOK THIEF by Marcus Zusak This was the local librarians favorite. Death recounts the journey of Liesel Meminger, a young girl who witnesses the destructive and healing power of words in Nazi Germany.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 1:24 PM | Comments (0)
January 18, 2007
THE NOTEBOOK GIRLS: FOUR FRIENDS, ONE DIARY, REAL LIFE by Julia Baskin,Lindsey Newman, Sophie Politt-Cohen and Courtney Toombs
The Notebook Girls is the real life diary of four friends who attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. Jula, Lindsey, Sophie, and Courtney became close friends their freshmen year and decided to start the notebook as a way to stay in touch. The girls write about the pressures of school, boys, family, and friends. In addition to sharing their thoughts and experiences the girls put pictures and drawings into the notebook. Readers will laugh and sometimes relate to the experiences the girls write about in this black marble notebook.
RECOMMENDED FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GRADES 10-12.
Miss Samuel
Young Adult Librarian
Posted by fjacksonem at 2:11 PM | Comments (1)
January 11, 2007
LONG ISLAND YOUNG ADULT LIBRARIANS PICK THEIR FAVORITE FOR THE PRINTZ AWARD
On January 4, 2007 the Nassau and Suffolk County Young Adult Librarians met and selected their favorites to win the Printz Award for 2007.The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.
This year's selection is THE BOOK THIEF by Marcus Zusak. In this story Death tries to make sense of the horrors of World War II. Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors. Hazel Rochman of the publication, BOOKLIST(January 1, 2006), wrote " More than the overt message about the power of words, it's Liesl's confrontation with horrifying cruelty and her discovery of kindness in unexpected places that tell the heartbreaking truth."
Not an easy book to get into it is a powerful story and recommended for HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GRADES 10 TO 12.
The librarians selected two Honor Books for this year's Printz.
SOLD by Patricia McCormick and RULES OF SURVIVAL by Nancy Werlin.
SOLD was prevously review on the YA BOOK LOG on December 21, 2006 and was recommended for TEENS IN GRADES 10 TO 12.
RULES OF SURVIVAL by Nancy Werlin tells the story of seventeen-year-old Matthew and his attempts to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother. This book is recommended for TEENS IN GRADES 7 TO 10.
Within the next two weeks we will know, if these selections turn out to be the winners. I will keep you posted.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)