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July 25, 2007
STARDUST by Neil Gaiman
You may have seen the trailer for the new movie STARDUST scheduled to hit theaters on August 10. The movie, which stars Claire Danes, Robert Deniro, and Sienna Miller is based on STARDUST, a fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman. While it is not technically a young adult novel, I think it’s a great read for high school students who like fantasy and science fiction.
The book tells the story of Tristan Thorne, a young man who promises the girl he loves that he will bring her back a fallen star. He sets out into the mysterious land of Faerie but soon realizes that he is not the only one looking for this star. The three Witches of Lilim also desire the star to regain their youth, while the three Lords of Stronghold seek the star to claim their father’s throne. Facing grave danger from everyone involved in the search, Tristan must find a way to make it back home with the star to claim his true love.
I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR TEENS ENTERING GRADE 9 AND UP.
READ IT BEFORE THE MOVIE COMES OUT!
Paula Cea
Reference Librarian
Posted by fjacksonem at 12:48 PM | Comments (1)
July 19, 2007
IN SEARCH OF MOCKINGBIRD by Loretta Ellsworth
In April I listed the nominations of the 2007 Teen Top Ten. You can vote on your favorites during Teen Read Week in October. One title, IN SEARCH OF MOCKINGBIRD by Loretta Ellsworth, sounded interesting, so I immediately ordered it for the Young Adult collection. It arrived a few weeks ago, and I read it last night and was not disappointed in its selection.
The day before her sixteenth birthday, Erin gets her mother's diary from her Dad. Erin's Mom died, when she was an infant, and for many years Erin has read and reread her mother's copy of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. In the diary Erin discovers her mother had written to Harper Lee, Mockingbird's author about being an author, so Erin decides to begin a pilgrimage to Monroeville, Alabama, home of Harper Lee.
In the two and one-half day time frame Erin learns more from the trip to Alabama than her arrival in Monroeville. Erin explores her relationships with her dead mother, her father, his fiancee and the fabulous people she meets along the way.
I RECOMMEND THIS TITLE FOR ANY TEEN ENTERING NINTH GRADE UP. IT WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL READ.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 2:11 PM | Comments (1)
July 10, 2007
WILDWOOD DANCING by Juliet Marillier
In rural Transylvania, 5 sisters live quiet and happy lives in a beautiful old castle with their father. There’s Tati, the eldest, known for her beauty and charm; Jena, the responsible one who helps her father with the business; Julia, the flirt; Paula, the scholar; and Stela, the youngest who worships her older sisters.
Unbeknownst to their father, on the night of each full moon, the 5 sisters travel through a portal to an alternate world known as the Dancing Glade. In this world, the girls dance and chat with fairies, nymphs, dwarves, and magical creatures of all kinds.
During one full moon, Dancing Glade receives new guests referred to as Night People. While Jena is frightened of these mysterious creatures, Tati finds herself falling in love with one of them despite Jena’s warnings that they are dangerous.
Back home, their father falls ill and must leave home to seek a warmer climate. That leaves Jena and her sisters to fend for themselves, until their scheming and sexist cousin Cezar moves in and takes control of the household and the finances. A virtual prisoner in her own home, Jena must find a way to save her sister from the Night People and unravel an old family mystery.
An enchanting blend of mystery, romance and fantasy, WILDWOOD DANCING by Juliet Marillier is one of the best fantasy novels I’ve read in a while.
THIS BOOK IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR FANTASY LOVERS.
Paula Cea
Reference Librarian
East Meadow Public Library
Posted by fjacksonem at 9:44 AM | Comments (0)
July 6, 2007
SEQUELS
I usually only read the first of many series, but the two books reviewed here were kind of special. Jen Calonita is a local writer and I must admit I wondered what happened to STARGIRL. Just to let you know LOVE, STARGIRL will not be published until August, so it is not available at this writing.
Kaitlin Burke is back in SECRETS OF MY HOLLYWOOD LIFE:ON LOCATION by Jen Caloita. In the first book readers experienced how a Hollywood teen star tried to attend public high school.
Now Kaitlin is on vacation from school and her popular TV show, but vacation means making a movie with her all-time favorite director. It also means juggling --
Austin, her current boyfriend who is not in show business and she adores;
Drew, her exboyfriend who is her co-star and love interest in the movie and wants Kaitlin back;
Sky, her co-star from her hit TV series and currently her nemesis in the movie, who is jealous of Kaitlin's success and will do anything to destroy Kaitlyn;
Liz, her best friend, needs a job, because her Dad said so, but wants to hang out with Kaitlyn;
And all the adults in her life, Mom, Dad, her publicist, her assistant, the Director, and the studio publicist, who want to control Kaitlyn's life.
Chaos can and will happen, and you, the reader, will laugh and cry with Kaitlyn through the entire movie experience. Kaitlyn also give readers insight into the Hollywood movie making experience with 19 Hollywood secrets.
IF YOU ARE FAN OF KAITLYN,YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. FOR ANY GIRL IN GRADE 7 AND UP TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT.
In 2000 Jerry Spinelli wrote STARGIRL. It was Leo's story about the most unusual student ever to attend Mica High School. He loved her, but did not understand her, so he lost her. At the end of STARGIRL Leo wonders what happened to her.
It is a year later and Stargirl begins a letter to Leo. This is her story, LOVE STARGIRL.
She tells him where she is, Pennsylvania, and how much she still cares about him and wonders does he still care about her. Along the way she describes how she is home schooled and all the interesting people in her small town. There is Dootsie, 5 years old and a human bean (I think she is the next generation Stargirl.), Old Charlie who sits in the cemetery, Alvina who sweeps up at the donut shop, and Perry, the boy who just might steal Stargirl's heart from Leo.
She studies time as she explore her new surroundings and learns of people in this new town. She also goes through the healing process of loss (Leo) and hopefully will come out whole once again.
At first I was disappointed in the story, but I continued on. I am glad I did, because Stargirl voice was a beautiful song to listen to.
I RECOMMEND IT FOR ANYONE, AGE 12 AND UP, INTERESTED IN WHAT HAPPENED TO STARGIRL. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST BOOK, DO READ IT FIRST. IT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND HER PAIN.
Mrs. Jackson
Head of Young Adult Services
Posted by fjacksonem at 3:21 PM | Comments (1)