Summer Reading Suggestions

Every year, people ask for a summer reading list. This year I actually had time to compile one. Somehow the Boston Globe saw it (the Internet is an amazing thing) and interviewed me for an article. Haven't seen it yet so it may never get published. You might like the list anyhow. It features links to author websites as well as to Amazon. Let me know here if you like it. Click here to go to the list.

Hunger by Michael Grant

Sequels are often disappointing, especially in a projected series. So I started Hunger hoping for the best but expecting the worst. This is a true sequel...no annoying recaps of the first book taking up a lot of room. The children of Perdido Beach are now facing an enemy worse than Caine and his scary pack of murderous preppies: hunger. All the junk food is gone and the good food has rotted (of course! little kids would always choose cookies over chicken!). Sam is desperately trying to hold it all together by harvesting farmers' fields. The problem is that they are all being guarded by worms with deadly teeth (another mutation). As hunger weakens the children, Caine makes his move to conquer his brother and serve the dark being in the mine. And Sam ends up fighting a war for survival on multiple fronts.

Jodi Picoult's New Book

Check out this video which will tell you all about Handle With Care in Jodi's own words and voice.

Happy 25th, House on Mango Street!

And here's an interview with the author:


And here's an interview with the author:

Can You Summarize In Six Words?

Ernest Hemingway famously wrote a six word memoir: "For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Used." That tells quite a story, doesn't it? In Not Quite What I Planned (SC Str), the editors of Smith Magazine solicited "famous and not so famous" writers to submit their own six word memoirs. Here's one of my favorites: "Followed rules, not dreams. Never again." I could think about that one all day. So here's your chance...submit a six word memoir to our Comments section. We'll put them all on a page in the library website for semi-immortality. The only restriction...keep it clean! Oh wait, you want mine? Here it is: Some dreams deferred, but never forgotten. Your turn....

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

'“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
"Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie were the "wintergirls," forever frozen in their obsession to be thin. They need to be in control by not eating, by purging, by exercising, by cutting. But when Cassie goes too far and dies, Lia is haunted by her former best friend, by her own guilt, and by the fear that she might be next. Can a wintergirl bloom in the spring?

Is it duct tape or duck tape?

We all use that amazing silver, supersticky tape to hold together practically everything. Is it "duck tape" or "duct tape?" That's one of the interesting questions answered in Discover’s 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Everything. You'll find out about germs, airport security, bees, meteors, birth, death, milk, mosquitoes, and much, much more.

Or, if you're still interested in duck/duct tape...how about making this nifty tool belt? One of the many projects in Ductigami by Joe Wilson. [745.5 Wil]

Holiday Presents from the Library!

Great vacation reading, all tied up in a holiday bow! Just look for this sign to try out a special bundle of books.


Here's a list of all the bundles:



Take a Hike! (Girl who Loved Tom Gordon [King]; A Walk in the Woods [Bryson]; Walk My Way [Dixon])

Knit One Read Three (Chicks with Sticks [Lenhard]; Chick With Sticks sequel [Lenhard]; Knitting School)

A Tea Party with Jane Austen (Emma [Austen]; Jane Fairfax [Aiken]; Letters of Jane Austen [Austen]; What Jane Austen Ate and Carles Dickens Knew [Pool] )

Civil War: Real and Imagined (March [Brooks]; Traveler [Adams]; Photos by Brady)

Click: 3 About Photography (Razzle [Wittlinger]; Class Pictures [Bey]; Voices in the Mirror [Parks])

Angels and Demons for Fun (Maximum Ride [Paterson]; Good Omens [Gaiman]; Repossesed [Jenkins])

Getting in to College Blues (Catalyst [Anderson]; Where Do I Go From Here; Good Enough [Yoo]

Fangs (Gil’s All Fright Diner [Martinez]; Silver Kiss [Klause]; Encyclopedia Horrifica [Gee]

Brr...Arctic Adventures (North Pole Was Here [Revkin]; Cage [Schulman]; White Darkness [McCaughrean])

Environmental Crisis 3 Ways ( Earth Matters [DK]; Forty Signs of Rain [Robinson]; State of Fear [Crichton] )

Engineers Can Build Anything (The Big Dig; Aftermath [Florman]; Gecko’s Foot [Forbes] )

Are There Secrets Anymore? (Numerati [Baker]; Feed [Anderson]; Traveler [Adams])

Hoops (Lay-ups and Long Shots; Rebound: the Odyssey of Michael Jordan [Green]; Eagle Blue [d’Orso]

Love...100 Years Ago (The Luxe [Godbersen]; Ragtime [Doctorow]; Northern Light [Donnely] )

Take me Out to the Ballgame! (Satchel Paige [Sturm]; The Negro League [Margolies]; Summerland [Chabon] )

Many Roads to Recovery (Million Little Pieces [Frey]; Big Sur [Kerouac]; Generation RX [Crister] )

Blood, Guts and DNA (Grave Secrets [Reichs]; Bone Lady [Manhein]; Casebook of Forensic Detection [Evans])

Coming of Age

Many writers deal with the process of coming of age. For some young people, this process comes with a high price. For others, the process is exhilerating. Check out this list (made for Ms. Dover's class) with descriptions from our library catalog.

Dress your family in corduroy and denim 813 Sed Sedaris, David.
David Sedaris as he reflects upon his childhood and presents stories of family characters, the embarrassments of adolescence, and some of the difficulties he had growing up.

King of the mild frontier : an ill-advised autobiography B CRUTCHER Crutcher, Chris.
Chris Crutcher, author of young adult novels such as "Ironman" and "Whale Talk," as well as short stories, tells of growing up in Cascade, Idaho, and becoming a writer.

Mama's boy, preacher's son : a memoir B JEN Jennings, Kevin,
A memoir in which Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, describes his experiences growing up in North Carolina as the gay son of a fundamentalist preacher.

Revere Beach elegy : a memoir of home and B MERULLO Merullo, Roland. Roland Merullo chronicles his life growing up as the son of a first-generation Italian-American father in Revere, Massachusetts, discussing how his father's beliefs and values influenced every aspect of Roland's life.

The glass castle B Wal Walls, Jeannette.
The author recalls her life growing up in a dysfunctional family with an alcohol father and distant mother and describes how she and her siblings had to fend for themselves until they finally found the resources and will to leave home.

This boy's life : a memoir B WOLFF Wolff, Tobias
Wolff's account of his boyhood and the process of growing up includes paper routes, whiskey, scouting, fistfights, friendship, betrayal, and America in the fifties.




The diary of Pelly D F Adl Adlington, L. J
Toni V, a construction worker on a futuristic colony, finds the diary of a teenage girl whose life has been turned upside-down by holocaust-like events, and he begins to question his own beliefs.

Twisted F AND Anderson, Laurie Halse.
After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.

If Beale Street could talk. F Bal Baldwin, James

Hope was here F Bau Bauer, Joan
When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who has raised her move from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with the diner owner's political campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.

My lost and found life F Bow Bowsher, Melodie.
When her mother is accused of embezzling a million dollars and vanishes, spoiled and selfish Ashley must fend for herself by finding a job and a place to live.

Red sky at morning : a novel F Bra Bradford, Richard
The experiences of a teenager growing up in a small town in New Mexico are, at various times, funny, sad, and poignant.

Cold Sassy tree F Bur Burns, Olive Ann.
Grandpa Blakeslee marries a young milliner just three weeks after Granny Blakeslee has gone to her reward. Young Will is boggled by this act but becomes the newlyweds' conspirator and confidant; meanwhile he does some growing up on his own.




The nature of jade F CAL Caletti, Deb.
Seattle high school senior Jade's life is defined by her anxiety disorder and dysfunctional family, until she spies a mysterious boy with a baby who seems to share her fascination with the elephants at a nearby zoo.

The crazy horse electric game F Cru Crutcher, Chris.
A high school athlete, frustrated at being handicapped after an accident, runs away from home and is helped back to mental and physical health by a black benefactor and the people in a special school where he enrolls.

Whale talk F CRU Crutcher, Chris.
Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school's less popular students.

Stolen voices F DAV Davidson, Ellen Dee
Fifteen-year-old Miri, daughter of two of the city of Noveskina's most important Officials, faces a shameful dilemma as she faces a life among the lower classes after she fails to mature with no clear talent.

Fresh off the boat F DeL De la Cruz, Melissa
When her family emigrates from the Philippines to San Francisco, California, fourteen-year-old Vicenza Arambullo struggles to fit in at her exclusive, all-girl private school.

A northern light F Don Donnelly, Jennifer.
Sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and boyfriend, takes a job at a hotel in 1906 where the death of a guest renews her determination to live her own life.

Childhood and other neighborhoods : stories F DYB Dybek, Stuart
A collection of short stories by Stuart Dybek about young men and women coming of age in Chicago.



In search of Mockingbird F Ell Ellsworth, Loretta.
On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Erin receives her long-dead mother's diary, which reveals that she too revered Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and wanted to be a writer, and Erin impulsively decides to take the Greyhound bus from St. Paul, Minnesota to Monroeville, Alabama, to visit the reclusive author.

Morning is a long time coming F Gre Greene, Bette
En route to Germany in search of the maternal love she never had, eighteen-year-old Patty Bergen lingers in Paris and experiences her first love affair.

Summer of my German soldier. F Gre Greene, Bette
Sheltering an escaped German prisoner of war is the beginning of some shattering experiences for a 12-year-old Jewish girl in Arkansas.

Dark Dude F Hij Hijuelos, Oscar.
In the 1960s, Rico Fuentes, a pale-skinned Cuban American teenager, abandons drug-infested New York City for the picket fence and apple pie world of Wisconsin

About a boy F Hor Hornby, Nick.
Will, a thirty-six-year-old London bachelor, undergoes a change in his outlook about marriage and children when he lies to join a single parents group in order to meet women, and becomes friends with a needy twelve-year-old named Marcus.

Slam F HOR Hornby, Nick.
At the age of fifteen, Sam Jones's girlfriend gets pregnant and Sam's life of skateboarding and daydreaming about Tony Hawk changes drastically.


The adventures of Blue Avenger F How Howe, Norma.
On his sixteenth birthday, still trying to cope with the unexpected death of his father, David Schumacher decides--or does he--to change his name to Blue Avenger, hoping to find a way to make a difference in his Oakland neighborhood and in the world.


Across five Aprils F Hun Hunt, Irene.
Young Jethro Creighton grows from a boy to a man when he is left to take care of the family farm in Illinois during the difficult years of the Civil War.
A prayer for Owen Meany : a novel F Irv Irving, John
An eleven-year-old boy, Owen Meany, hits a foul ball that kills his best friend's mother during a Little League game in 1953. Owen believes he was God's instrument during the incident.
The world according to Garp : a novel F Irv Irving, John, 1942-
The son of a famous radical feminist spends his life struggling with his diverse personal relationships and with his ambition to be a writer.

Mona in the promised land F Jen Jen, Gish.
Mona Chang, the American-born daughter of Chinese immigrants, fully embraces the ideals of freedom and converts to Judaism in the first of many rebellions she stages in her search for individualism while growing up in the 1960s and 1970s.

Alice, I think F Jub Juby, Susan
Fifteen-year-old Alice keeps a diary as she struggles to cope with the embarrassments and trials of family, dating, school, work, small town life, and a serious case of "outcastitis."

Annie John F Kin Kincaid, Jamaica.
A fictional account of a young girl's coming of age in Antigua, from a doted upon childhood to an adolescence fraught with events and alliances leading her away from mutual complacent acceptance.

Voices F LE Le Guin, Ursula K
Young Memer takes on a pivotal role in freeing her war-torn homeland from its oppressive captors.

To kill a mockingbird F LEE Lee, Harper.
Eight-year-old "Scout" Finch tells of life in a small Alabama town where her father is a lawyer.


The circus in the woods F Lit Littlefield, Bill.
Molly, her parents, and her sister spend most summer vacations at a camp in the Vermont mountains, and as the years pass, Molly is led to find a mysterious circus in the nearby woods.

Guitar highway Rose F Low Lowry, Brigid.
Two fifteen-year-olds, Rosie and Asher, upset over the various unhappy circumstances of their lives in the Australian city of Perth, decide to run away.

Parrot in the oven : mi vida : a novel F Mar Martinez, Victor,
Manny relates his coming of age experiences as a member of a poor Mexican American family in which the alcoholic father only adds to everyone's struggle.

Christy F Marshall, Marshall, Catherine
In 1912, nineteen-year-old Christy Huddleston leaves her comfortable home to teach in a one-room schoolhouse in an isolated area of the Great Smokies.
Family pictures : a novel F Mil Miller, Sue, 1943-
The story of a large family growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. David, the father is a psychiatrist who teaches at the University of Chicago, and regards his second son as a disaster to the family.

Scorpions F Mye Myers, Walter Dean
After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun--until a tragedy occurs.

Heart's delight F Nil Nilsson, Per
As a sixteen-year-old looks at and systematically destroys each of his mementos of Ann-Katrin, he replays scenes from their relationship and realizes that it was not the great romance he believed it to be.

The beet fields : memories of a sixteenth summer F Pb P Paulsen, Gary. In the summer of 1955, a sixteen-year-old boy runs from his troubled home and learns about people, friendship, love, and lust while working as a migrant farmer and a carny.
My name is Asher Lev F Pot Potok, Chaim.
The making of a great contemporary painter from the first stirrings of a commanding talent to the triumphant exhibition that wins recognition for his art and marks his final, heartrending estrangement from the world in which he was born.

A tree grows in Brooklyn F Smith, Smith, Betty
Young Francie Nolan experiences the problems of growing up in a Brooklyn, New York slum.

Wringer F Spi Spinelli, Jerry.
As Palmer comes of age, he must either accept the violence of being a wringer at his town's annual Pigeon Day or find the courage to oppose it.
The gospel according to Larry F Tas Tashjian, Janet.
Seventeen-year-old Josh, a loner-philosopher who wants to make a difference in the world, tries to maintain his secret identity as the author of a web site that is receiving national attention.

True believer F Wol Wolff, Virginia Euwer.
Living in the inner city amidst guns and poverty, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn learns from old and new friends, and inspiring mentors, that life is what you make it--an occasion to rise to.

Brooklyn Bridge F HES Hesse, Karen
In 1903 Brooklyn, fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom's life changes for the worse when his parents, Russian immigrants, invent the teddy bear and turn their apartment into a factory, while nearby the glitter of Coney Island contrasts with the dismal lives of children dwelling under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Poof!

Sam Temple is sitting in his U.S. History class, bored out of his mind. And then POOF!
His teacher vanishes. As Sam and his classmates come to realize, everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared. Cars crash because their drivers aren't there anymore. Over the next few weeks, Sam and his small circle of friends try to keep the little children safe, the power running, the town fed and the bullies at bay. But new kids in town with startling powers threaten the peace. Animals are mutating and down in the depths of a mine, an unspeakable darkness threatens every human in town. Can Sam save the town before his 15th birthday. Because Sam knows that on his birthday, he, too, will disappear.

A Fresh Twist on Little Women

"March," by Geraldine Brooks is the winner of this year's Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Ms. Brooks has always been a fan of Louisa May Alcott's classic "Little Women." She began to speculate about the father of the March girls, who was away at war for most of the first half of the book. The result of that speculation is this novel about war, race, faith and honor.

My field trip to Concord

I mentioned in my end of the year entry that I was going to visit Concord for a literary field trip. Mrs. Scully (who has left Newton North for a new job at Newton South) and I went to Concord together. We visited Orchard House, home of Louisa May Alcott.
If you have read Little Women, you would love this tour. My favorite part was seeing all the drawings by May Alcott (aka Amy March)...it seems that the Alcott's encouraged their daughter to draw directly on the walls!

After lunch at the Concord Inn in the center of town, we headed for the Old Manse. This house was built in 1770 by Ralph Waldo Emerson's grandfather, a minister in town. On April 18, 1775 the Battle of Lexington and Concord was fought just yards from Emerson's pasture. From an upstairs bedroom you can look out a window and see the bridge and imagine the British troops running away and the wounded Minutemen collapsing in the field. Those same windows are engraved with some amusing details of daily life by Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife, Sophia. They lived in the Old Manse right after they married. Ralph Waldo Emerson also lived there for a while and wrote the following lines you may recognize:

"By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world."

He wrote Concord Hymn while looking out that same window. I was inspired by my trip to plan rereading two books I would recommend to anyone. 1776 by David McCullough is a great look at the beginning of the American Revolution. It's fairly short and filled with wonderful stories and characters. The Peabody Sisters by Megan Marshall is my other reread. Sophia Peabody was married to Nathanial Hawthorne and her diamond ring was used to engrave on the windows of the Old Manse. The three sisters were amazing ladies and Megan Marshall (a Newton author) did a great job bringing them to life.



Next field trip: a visit to Mt. Auburn Cemetery. I recently finished The Escher Twist by Jane Langton. It's a murder mystery which combines math (Escher, Moebius Strips, etc.) and the history of the cemetery. Can't wait to track down all the landmarks in this amazing place. Want to come??

Summer Round-up of my "Best Books"

Yes, I've been reading all summer. No, not everything was worth writing about. Below you'll find the best of what I read, with a little something to see if you'd like to read it too. All will be available in the library sometime in September.

In Life as We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer told the harrowing story of Miranda, trying to survive a natural disaster in rural Pennsylvania. In her new book, The Dead and the Gone, Pfeffer introduces us to Alex, who is trying to survive the same disaster in New York City. Alex's mother is working in a hospital on the other side of the city when disaster strikes. She never comes home, leaving Alex to try to survive on his own and to take care of his two younger sisters. The only beacon of hope in this violent and deprived New York is his school, where dedicated priests try to keep school open and food in the bellies of the hungry students. You will not soon forget Alex's difficult journey to Yankee Stadium. The stadium has been turned into a morgue and Alex is looking for his mother.

Rumors continues the story of Elizabeth and Diana, two high society sisters in 1890's New York. Elizabeth has headed West to find her true love and Diana, in love with her sister's former fiance, struggle to find love in the society world of decorum, rules and gossip. A solid sequel to The Luxe, this book needs to be read after reading the first. My favorite part of this book is the story of Lena, a former maid, trying to claw her way into high society. She doesn't have looks, she doesn't have breeding,but she is one determined lady and discovers how to lie effortlessly and often.

Cadel is a 7 year old genius who is so engrossed in his projects he never thinks about consequences.When he shuts down all the electricity in the city to see if he can, his adoptive parents take hime to a psychiatrist. Little do they know that Dr. Thaddeus Roth is really a henchman for notorious criminal Dr. Phineas Darkkon. Roth and Darkkon want to use Cadel for their own evil agenda. Will Cadel become a true Evil Genius or will he develop a conscience?

Summertime: What's in My Bag

I started reading this series many years ago. I was excited when PBS Mystery announced they were turning them into one hour mysteries. I was annoyed when the Inspector Lynley series completely messed up the books. Tommy Lynley is an elegant, titled Englishman (he's a Lord!) who has chosen to be a professional police detective specializing in homicide. His partner, Barbara Havers, is the polar opposite: dowdy, unpretty, lower class, abrasive and rude. Together, they make a fabulous team. Other characters deepen the personal story, which unwinds as the pair solve the mysteries. This is her newest book. If you are interested in the series, it starts with A Great Deliverance.

Authors On Tour Live: Elizabeth George

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz won an Alex Award for best adult book for young adults. The description in Amazon convinced me: Meet Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors -- but the upshot is she's good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family's firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people's privacy comes naturally to Izzy. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman; tail a Spellman; dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman.

And since gas is so darned expensive, I'm planning some local field trips, including one to Concord. To get ready, I'm reading some books about the writers of Concord in the early 1800's. American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever was an amazing collection of essays. I had no idea what scandalous lives Emerson, Hawthorne, etc. lived. Would you believe that Louisa May Alcott had a crush on Henry David Thoreau? That Nathaniel Hawthorne courted one Peabody girl and then suddenly married her sister? Or that Margaret Fuller, a brilliant and brainy "modern" woman, had two married men vying for her attention? (The two men were Emerson and Hawthorne!) Having read this book, I'm dipping into Hawthorne in Concord by Philip McFarland and The Peabody Sisters by Megan Marshall. I love a good scandal, even if it is 180 years old! After, or during all this reading, I will head down the road to Concord and visit the Emerson House, the Old Manse, and the Alcott's Orchard House. A truly geeky summer trip!

Summertime: Graphic Novels http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifand Comics

The Dark Knight is scheduled to open soon...don't forget to read the graphic novels by Frank Miller. Need more comics? Check out this list from my favorite blogger, Whitney, in Pop Candy. She was a judge for the Eisner awards this year for best graphic novels and really knows the field. Here are just some of her recommendations:




Top 25 (some are adult in content)
Family Friendly





Do you like to draw and write comics? Check out Webcomics by Steven Withrow and John Barber. The authors give practical advise on "tools and techniques for digital cartooning" and interview well known webcomic creators.

Can't draw but have something to say in this medium? Check out this free website. It helps you put together your own comic strips, even if you can't draw a straight line!

Summer Reading Ideas Are Cominghttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

Newton North doesn't have mandatory reading lists for students for the summer. That doesn't mean we don't think it's important (and fun) to read on vacation. It does mean that you should read what you love, whether it's Rowling or Dickens, Shakespeare or Stephen King. But sometimes it's nice to have some suggestions, so I will be blogging this week to mention some books not mentioned in this blog already. I'll try to give you choices in every genre, as well as some nonfiction books for those of you who prefer reality to fiction! I have two baskets full of books waiting for my vacation...start building your own summer survival kit!

Click here to access the suggestions!

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

The popular author Sophie Kinsella (of Shopoholic fame) introduces a new heroine with a big problem. Lexi Smart wakes up in the hospital with a case of amnesia caused by a head injury. The last thing she remembers is being a loser: crooked teeth, frizzy hair, no money and a dead-end job. But apparently the three years she can't remember were big ones: she's now sleek, sophisticated, rich, a successful businesswoman and married. But as she tries to reconstruct her recent history, Lexi begins to dislike the woman she became. If you're a fan of Samantha Who? or are just in the mood for a funny and touching story, this is the book for you.

Check out this book trailer for THE LUXE!

Shelter Stories is a compilation of Patrick McDonnell's comic strip MUTTS, a strip intended to shine a light on the many animals living in shelters and waiting for homes. You'll meet feral cats and abandoned bunnies, dogs who grew too big for their owners, puppies born on the streets and animals displaced in tragedies like Hurricane Katrina. In all their stories, the common thread is that, in a single act of love and generosity, anyone can make a difference by adopting such an animal or, if you can't , by supporting the shelters which do this heroic work. The comic strips are complemented by photographs of adopted animals with brief commentary by their new owners. You will not soon forget the blind bird given a home by an optometrist or the old warrior cat, ears torn and face scarred, who was given a loving home for the last days of his life.

Gossip Girls Meet the 1890's

Manhattan high society 1899.

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Beautiful girls in fabulous dresses, partying until dawn. Charming boys. Lies, secrets, hookups.

The princess of high society, Elizabeth Holland, dies in a carriage accident. What led her to that bridge and that fate? Was it a society marriage being forced on her? Or her backstabbing best friend? Her vengeful and jealous maid? Or her quiet sister's stunning betrayal.

The Luxe by Anna Godberson.

"This is the way the world ends" Part 5

We take so many things for granted. Washing and drying our clothes, calling friends and family around the world on our cell phones, looking something up on the internet, having enough to eat and drink, being warm in the winter and cool in the summer and even going to school seem like things that can't ever go away. In Jericho, a series of bombs cripple the nation and force the characters to work hard for simple survival. In Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, an equally disastrous incident leaves 16 year old Miranda and her family struggling just to stay alive. Written in diary form, Miranda tells of her transition from normal teen to skeletal survivor over a period of a year. Here's a question to make you think about the issues in this book: If you had to survive with no help from anyone (no stores, utility companies, gas stations!) for one year, what would you buy to help you survive? Don't forget the batteries!!

"This is the way the world ends" Part 4

What would the earth look like if every human disappeared tomorrow? That's the gloomy question that Professor Alan Weisman tries to answer in The World Without Us. Within days, the subway pumps would fail in New York City and most buildings (except the skyscrapers) would be under water. Pressures would build up in the oil rigs in Houston and massive explosions would occur. Most materials things would rust or rot away. But plastic would still be around for centuries! Part nonfiction and part guesswork, this book will give science fiction writers of the future plenty to think about.

"This is the way the world ends" Part 3

Deadly chemicals from a government research lab leak into the air and travel by winds across America. Only a handful of survivors are left. Some are called by Mother Abigail to be the army of goodness. Others are recruited by the "traveling man" to finish the job the government started: destroy the world. Can a failed musician, an elderly professor and a simple country boy defeat the forces of the dark side? This battle is The Stand by Stephen King.

"This is the way the world ends" Part 2

In the savage days after a war nearly destroys North America, Gordon Krantz is just trying to survive. He has no hope...nobody does. Roving gangs terrorize the survivors. and Gordon takes to the road, not knowing where he's going. He comes across a car with a dead mail carrier inside. Gordon takes the dead man's jacket because Gordon is cold and the dead don't mind the cold. When he reaches the next group of survivors, they think he is the postman and that things are getting better. They give him letters to deliver to their missing loved ones. And without meaning to do this, the Postman becomes a symbol of hope and, eventually, a legend. The Postman by David Brin.

"This is the way the world ends" Part 1

There has been a chemical or nuclear war and 16 year old Ann Burden has watched her entire family sicken and die. The nearby towns are empty. Ann fears that she may be the last person left on earth. Then, one morning, everything changes. As Ann tells us: "I am afraid. Someone is coming. That is, I think someone is coming and I pray that I am wrong. I went into the church and prayed all morning. I sprinkled water in front of the altar, and put some flowers on it, violets and dogwood. But there is smoke. Not like the time before. That time, last year, it rose in a great cloud a long way away. But this time it is a thin column, not very high.... And it's moving closer each day." Ann is right: someone is coming. Will he be a friend, or an enemy? Is there something worse than being the last person on Earth?
Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien

A look at the Future Part 4

Matt lives on the estate of El Patron, a drug lord operating somewhere in what is now northern Mexico. He knows he is different somehow. He's not allowed to play with other children, there is a huge commotion every time he falls down or gets a little cold, his mother is not really his mother and he has no idea where his biological mother and father are. As he begins to grow up, he learns pieces of the truth. He was genetically engineered. His DNA is that of El Patron himself. And Matt is being raised for spare parts so that, as El Patron ages and his body parts fail, Matt can donate a kidney, part of a liver or, if need be, a heart. Can Matt escape the real dangers of El Patron. If he escapes the House of the Scorpion, can he also escape his identity as a clone? The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Garden.

A look at the Future Part 3

These are pictures of the same girl, before and after cosmetic surgery. What a difference! In record numbers, we are changing the way we look. Why? We want to be prettier, whatever that means. In Pretties, by Paul Westerfield, teens of the future receive a very special (and free)16th birthday present. Every teen is given free surgery to make them pretty (or handsome for the boys). Imagine a world where everyone is pretty!

Tally Youngblood used to be ugly. Before she had her operation, she used to hang out with some friends who chose not to have the operation. Those who choose to keep their looks are hiding far away. Tally has forgotten all about her old friends as she goes from party to hairdresser to shopping to another party. But a mysterious message from her 15 year old self plunges Tally into the reality that being a "pretty" has a sinister and dark side.

A look at the Future Part 2

Laptops are getting smaller, cell phones are getting thinner, IPods now play videos. Why? Because we want to carry our information, our communication, our music and videos with us. Smaller is better because it's less to carry around. So what if you could get a procedure, no more painful than ear piercing or a tattoo, which would allow you to carry all this around...in your head. A small chip in your brain allows you to think a song, for instance, and hear it instantly. Would you do it? If you say "no"...would you do it if all your friends and family were doing it? Titus is just an ordinary guy who went along with the crowd. The chip in his head is pretty convenient, although the commercials sometimes can be annoying. But mostly he enjoys it and it helps him fit in. But on a school trip, Titus encounters Violet. She thinks for herself, doesn't follow the fads and doesn't have "The Feed." And for the first time in a long time, Titus starts to think for himself. In the future world of The Feed by M.T. Anderson, thinking for yourself might be dangerous or even deadly.

A look at the Future Part 1

Every time you make a phone call, text a friend, buy something on line or email personal information, you create an electronic file which may be saved somewhere. Recently, the governor of New York was forced to resign because his text messages about illegal activity were accessed, even though he deleted them. AT&T had a record of his messages! John Twelve Hawks, in his future fiction novel The Traveler, tells a story of the future where a single company, the Tabula, attempts to control all information about every citizen and thus control the population. In a world without privacy, a handful of visionaries (the Travelers) try to live "off the grid" and seek the truth hidden by the Tabula's lies, propaganda and mind control.

Do you love "LOST?"

One of the aspects of "Lost" which makes it very intriguing to watch is the number of references to books both popular and obscure. Check out our library display and booklist or check the booklist below. btw this is only a partial list...check Wikipedia for a more complete one. And don't forget to drop by the library on C block and X@ block for an open, drop-in discussion of the most recent episode.
The Odyssey (Homer); Alice in Wonderland /Through the Looking Glass (Carroll); Wizard of Oz (Baum);Tale of Two Cities (Dickens); Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein);Mysterious Island (Verne); Carrie (King); Watership Down (Adams); Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky); Lord of the Flies (Golding); Turn of the Screw (James); Catch 22 (Heller)

In one moment, your whole life can change...

On a beautiful June morning, Jane Arrowood is attacked by a shark in shallow water. She loses most of her right arm. She actually loses much more than an arm...Jane is an artist who can no longer draw and a pretty girl who is stared at like a freak. Told in poetry form (like Sonya Sones), Jane struggles to regain her health and find her way in a much-changed world. Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham

Which would you choose: safety or freedom?

In the future, our country is now called United Safer States of America. When you play "sports," you are encased in padding from head to toe and padded mats replace cinder track. Sportsmanship is key; calling an opponent a bad name could get you sent to prison. That's exactly where Bo ends up when he insults someone on the track team. Will he survive life in a penal colony in the wilderness of Canada, making frozen pizzas for the MacDonalds Corporation 18 hours a day? In the end, he will have to choose. Will it be freedom or safety? Rash by Pete Hautman is in the Fiction section.

Did you like "The Other Boleyn Girl?"

"The Other Boleyn Girl" by Phillipa Gregory is coming to theaters soon as a film starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannsen. If you enjoyed the book and have read Gregory's other historical fiction outings, why not try out an older writer who influenced Phillipa Gregory? Anya Seton's books have been reissued with introductions by Ms. Gregory. Explore the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony with The Winthrop Woman. Discover where the Tudor dynasty began by meeting Katherine. Follow the last religious conflict in Jacobite England in Devil Water. Travel back in time to sail the seas with Viking and explore the origins of the King Arthur legend in Avalon.

New book mini-list

Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed “Using the Mayan empire, Easter Island, the Anasazi, and other examples, the author shows how a combination of environmental factors such as habitat destruction, the loss of biodiversity, and degradation of the soil caused complex, flourishing societies to suddenly disintegrate.”

Michel Laclotte, A Key to the Louvre: Memoirs of a Curator Post-DeGaulle France from the former curator.

Paul Robert Walker, Remember Little Big Horn: Indians, Soldiers, and Scouts Tell their Stories Drama of Native American History, with lots of primary source material

Jeff Sypeck, Becoming Charlemagne: Europe, Baghdad, and the Empires of A.D. 800 “Sypeck, who teaches medieval literature at the University of Maryland, paints a splendid portrait of the emperor's various supporters, including Isaac, his Jewish envoy to Baghdad; Harun al-Rashid, the legendary caliph of Baghdad who, though the two never met, believed that he and Charlemagne would be great military and political companions; and the elephant, Abul Abaz, a gift from Harun.”

Judith Bloom Fradin, 5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft’s Flight from Slavery “Ellen is a light-skinned African American, daughter of the master who raped her mother. Disguised as a wealthy Southern gentleman, she escapes with her husband, William, disguised as her slave, and they travel by train and steamboat to freedom in Boston. When their astonishing story makes the fugitive couple famous, slave catchers come after them, so the Crafts leave for England, where they continue their abolitionist work, until their return home after the Civil War.”

Robert E. Bonner, The Soldier’s Pen: Firsthand Impressions of the Civil War “Bonner uses the letters, journal entries, and sketches of 16 Civil War infantrymen, all previously unpublished, to convey the experiences of war as recounted by those who witnessed it at its most elemental level.”

Best Books of the Year!

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is the Printz Award winner for best young adult novel of the year. This graphic novel tells 3 interrelated stories about feeling alone and isolated, hating being different, having a crush and more.

New Science books:a mini-list

American Museum of Natural History, Ocean: the World’s Last Wilderness Revealed. “Crafted by devoted scientists and visual artists, Ocean offers page after page of stunning images and vital information about the very heartbeat of planet Earth.”

Dennis Fradin, With a Little Luck. “Whether Fradin is writing about the discovery of penicillin, Neptune, pulsars, or the Dead Sea Scrolls, he smoothly combines personal stories with fascinating science, technology, and history.”

Colin Tudge, The Tree. “British biologist and science-writer-extraordinaire Tudge offers a sumptuously specific tour of the phenomenal world of trees.”

Eugene Linden, The Winds of Change. “Restrained in tone, Linden's presentation of scientists' theories on historical climate change will provoke readers concerned about the implications of global warming for modern civilization.”

Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor’s Tale. A pilgrimage back through four billion years of life on earth. Evolution with a Chaucerian twist!

My Einstein Essays by 23 scientists/thinkers, including Jeremy Bernstein, Gino C. Sergré and Maria Spiropulu.Titles of their pieces range from "Einstein, Moe, and Joe" to "The Greatest Discovery Einstein Didn't Make".

Miyoko Chu, Songbird Journey. Chu, an ornithologist at Cornell, follows bird migration through all four seasons and scientists’ techniques for tracking them.

Tim Flannery, The Weather Makers. A history of climate change and how it will likely unfold this century.

Bruce Stutz, Chasing Spring. Stutz tracks spring in the Appalachians, Louisiana, the Arizona desert, the Rockies, and Alaska.

Erik Reece Lost Mountain Exposes the coal industry's destruction of the mountains of eastern Kentucky..

If you liked "The Diary of Anne Frank..."

In a colonial world of the future, Toni V. is a teenager working on a demolition crew. His job is to remove rubble from a city recently devastated by a war. In the rubble, he finds a plastic package. Inside the package is Pelly D's diary. She is just a normal teen girl: a little selfish, a little foolish, a little thoughtful. She has crushes on boys, she worries about her skin, she tries to ignore the hate that is building, even in her high school. People are deciding that certain strains of DNA are superior to others. As the winds of an imminent war between groups of people based on the superiority of their DNA swirl around her, Pelly tries to make sense of what's happening. And Toni begins to realize that his government has been lying to him.

Pelly D. will remind you of another remarkable young teen named Anne Frank.

What was your favorite book this year?

Best book I read this year? A tie between As Simple as Snow by Greg Galloway and Just in Case by Meg Rosoff.

In As Simple as Snow, an average kind of lonely boy falls in love with Anna, a new and mysterious girl in town. She dresses Goth and is fascinated with mysteries, codes, ciphers, and ghost stories. She decides to kill off everyone in town (in her mind only) and writes crazy imaginary obituaries for everyone. When she writes her own,the final one, she disappears. Did she commit suicide (a simple answer)? Was she murdered (a simple answer)? Is her ghost haunting the boy (a simple answer)? No, there are no simple answers to this mystery. Bacause, you see, snow is not simple! This is a book you will have to hand to a friend to read because, when you finish reading, you will want to talk about it. All of the librarians have read this book (which is unusual) because we all needed to talk about it! This is an adult book with some mature subjects and not a light and fluffy read. But if you like to be challenged and don't like things tied up in a pretty bow at the end of a book, you will enjoy As Simple as Snow.

Just in Case by Meg Rosoff asks whether there is such a thing as fate and, if so, can one escape or change ones fate. David Case looked away for a minute and his baby brother climbed up on a windowsill. He is prevented from falling but David is so shaken by this close call that he sets out to hide from his own fate. He changes his name (Just in Case), he changes his friends (just in case), he conjures up an imaginary dog (just in case), and hangs out with an older girl who has a taste for adventure (just in case)> But no matter how hard he tries, David/Justin cant really escape fate...or can he?

Humanity's fate is in the balance

The forces of good and evil battle in a destroyed United States in Terry Brooks' Armageddon's Children.War, plagues, ecological disasters and a shift of balance in the spirit world have devastated the country. Two young people, Logan Tom and Angel Perez, stand for good as Knights of the Word. With the help of a band of street urchins, will they be able to defeat the Void before it swallows up the last outposts of humanity? First of a new trilogy.

The Book of Fate...a Washington thriller

Wes Holloway, a presidential aide shot in an assassination attempt eight years ago, has never truly recovered. His face has healed but his spirit has not. His scars are a daily reminder of those moments of horror and he feels guilty that Boyle,a man he invited along for the presidential appearance was killed that day. Wes still works for the former President and is with him in Malaysia when he sees a familiar face. It is Boyle...a man supposedly dead for 8 years. Wes has stumbled on a plot hundreds of years in the making and one that threatens to destroy the country. The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer

Nursery Rhyme Crime

Jack Spratt is back with his stalwart assistant Mary Mary. Goldilocks is found dead in a World War I amusement park and the investigation focuses first on the three bears (Mama, Papa and Baby). But the Gingerbread Man, newly escaped from a prison for the criminally insane, is on a rampage and may be connected to the crime. Or is it connected somehow to the recent crisis of exploding cucumbers? Read The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde to find out!

Read about the first book in the series, The Big Over Easy, here!

Meet Alex Rider

Alex Rider's only living relative, his Uncle Ian, died in a car crash. The police said it was an accident but what kind of accident leaves a windshield riddled with bullet holes?

Alex uses his skills at sneaking around to try to uncover the real story of his uncle's death. But when he discovers that his uncle was a spy for the British M16 (similar to our CIA), his quest for the truth gets him into big trouble. The spymaster running the agency gives Alex a life or death choice—finish his uncle’s last mission—or else. Check out "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

Booktalk books--Mr. Gregory

Can You Keep a Secret? by Kinsella (Fiction)
Cell by King (Fiction)
Found II by Rothbart (PB)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Foer (fiction)
In the Heart of the Sea by Philbrick (910.91)
Chasing Vermeer by Biallett (Fiction)

Booktalk books--Mr. Gregory

Can You Keep a Secret? by Kinsella (Fiction)
Cell by King (Fiction)
Found II by Rothbart (PB)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Foer (fiction)
In the Heart of the Sea by Philbrick (910.91)

A strange summer job!

Finding a summer job is definitely a challenge for most teens. Ilana, who has her own distinctive way of dressing and a feisty attitude to match, has had no luck at all finding a "white bread" mall job. So she jumps at the chance to work for the Divine Relief Temp Agency. Imagine her surprise when she discovers that "divine" describes the clients very well...this temp agency specializes in giving overworked gods and goddesses a break. Will Ilana be able to temporarily substitute for her clients or will her mistakes cause genuine chaos in the world? "Temping Fate" by Esther Freisner

Harry, Carrie and Garp...oh my!

File under "what librarians do on summer vacation..."

Last Tuesday I was in Radio City Music Hall to hear Stephen King, John Irving and J.K. Rowling read from their books. The night was introduced by Whoopie Goldberg and each author was also introduced by a celebrity and a video clip a la Oscars. Kathy Bates introduced Stephen King, who read his famous pie eating story from "The Body." His State of Mainer accent was perfect for this piece and the crowd really enjoyed the story.

Andre Braugher introduced John Irving (the least well known of the authors...I heard someone behind me asking his friends who Irving was). He read a Christmas pageant section from "A Prayer for Owen Meany". He is a great reader and the little cracked voice he used for Owen will stick in my head forever.

Finally, Jon Stewart introduced the star of the night...Ms. Rowling. She sat on a red velvet throne, showed us her marvelous shoes (sandles with silvery snakes as straps) and read a section from the Half Blood Prince where Dumbeldore is recruiting Tom Riddle for Hogwart's. Questions and answers followed but Ms. Rowling kept mum on any details of the final book.

All in all, a "magical" night. Ask Ms. Richardson or Ms. Johns for more details!

P.S. I saw J.K. Rowling at the Museum of Modern Art the following afternoon. She was with some children (possibly hers) and was wandering through the museum like any other tourist. You never know who you might spot in New York City!!

Help a library in need

Gulfport Library, located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Katrina. The first floor of the library was washed through by flood waters. The library lost its entire children’s, adult fiction, and audio-visual collections. Now you can help by donating a book or dvd to this library using amazon.com. Just click on this link to see the wish list for this library.

We take our wonderful libraries for granted until a disaster reminds us of just how lucky we are. If you have the resources, why not help rebuild this Mississipp library?

Readers Never Go on Vacation

I will continue to add books to Looking for a Good Book during the summer. I have a big juicy stack on my coffee table just waiting for vacation. So check back when you can and when you are looking for something good to read.

I read in a magazine the other day that reading something for fun actually reduces hormones related to stress. So...if you're college searching or engaged in something else stressful during the summer, drop your stress levels by reading for pleasure: a magazine, a graphic novel (check out V for Vendetta), a book, a joke, a puzzle. Have a great summer!

Why are the pictures now question marks?

Sory to visitors of this blog from Newton Public School computers. We've run afoul of a software glitch with our server. You can view the blog in all its glory from home or public library computers. The good news is that the text has not been affected (yet!)so you can still read the log...just can't see the covers. We hope to get this resolved before school ends!

And one from Mrs. Johns!!

Compiled by Dave Eggers and teen students from his San Francisco writing center, this collection of stories, reporting and alternative comics is a perfect beach/pool/camp/ travel book. My favorites include Al Franken's "Tearaway Burkas and Tinplate Menorahs,"(Franken goes to Iraq) and William T. Vollmann's "They Came Out like Ants!" (Vollmann searches for Chinese tunnels in Mexico.) Pick out your favorite!