Teens Blog : teens, fiction

The Hunger Games Series!

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:09:00 GMT

Last fall when I was preparing my presentations for Teen Read Week, I came across the book Catching Fire. I did not think much of it as I added it to the list of books to talk about in the schools I was visiting. Then Teen Read Week came and my visits started. In each classroom I showed the Catching Fire book trailer, and I began to notice that the teens sat up a little taller and I had their attention a little bit more. I didn't understand. What was the big deal about this book?

Then I finally started reading The Hunger Games. And I was hooked. For those of you new to the series, The Hunger Games is the first book in the trilogy. Katniss Everdeen lives in the 12th district of the country of Panem, and this district is located in what was once called the Appalachian Mountains. In this new nation of Panem, each district is separated by industry and importance, and the 12th district is the poorest of them all. Every year the districts draw two names- one boy and one girl- to participate in The Hunger Games, a fight to the death in which the victor is the last person standing.

I don't want to give too much away because this series is one that I think everyone should read. Similar to the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games trilogy will catch the interest of young and old readers. To all those teens out at Thompkins and Plaza that loved this series long before I did: thank you from this librarian.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:27:00 GMT

Junior year is drawing to a close when Valerie's boyfriend, Nick, comes to school one morning and begins to shoot people in the Commons. At the end of the shooting spree, six people are dead and many are wounded, including Valerie. Within hours the police have searched Nick and Valerie's homes and discovered a "Hate List" the two created. Many of the students targeted that morning were on this list. Valerie becomes a suspect in the investigation. Was she part of Nick's plan? Was it a double suicide that went wrong? Was Valerie really shot trying to stop Nick? All of these are questions the students, teachers, parents, community, and the nation are asking.

For Valerie, the list was a way to vent her frustrations with the bullying she endured day after day at school. She never meant anything by it, but she will be haunted by the list and by what Nick did that morning for the rest of her life. After being cleared by the police, Valerie spent summer vacation isolated from the outside world. Now that a new school year has begun, Valerie is going back to school to face her demons. HIGHLY recommended.

Similar reads: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Undone by Brooke Taylor

Celebrate Teen Read Week Oct. 17-23

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 16:50:00 GMT

**The Teen Read Week Contest will end Sunday, October 31 at 5pm. Make sure you vote on the Teens' Top Ten in Central's Teen Zone.**

Books with Beat @ EVPL! October 17-23. Stop by the Teen Zone at Central Library during Teen Read Week and check out our Books with Beat! Pick up books and other materials about poetry, music, and more or listen to an audiobook. You can help pick the 2010 Teens’ Top Ten by voting at the display located in the Teen Zone. If you vote, you will be entered to win a Visa giftcard! Stop by today and find a page turner that you can read or listen to, just for the fun of it!

Religion and Fiction

kiya@evpl — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:59:00 GMT

I'm teaching World Religions to Middle-schoolers at church this year, and as I plan out the year, I'm looking for novels dealing with the religions we are studying. I find that a story helps the kids be more interested in the religion, and to process and remember the information better.

I've found a few, but thought I would ask for suggestions from all of you for other titles I might suggest to the kids. What have you read that deals with kids/teens and religion? Was it any good? Did it present information about the religion along with the story? I enjoyed all of these books, but some were better than others at giving information about the religion, and some are more appropriate for 5th to 8th graders than others.

Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee

When his beloved grandfather dies, eight-year-old Anu feels that his spirit is near and will stop at nothing to bring him back, including trying to become a Hindu holy man

Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Littman

To be more like her best friend, eleven-year-old Justine decides to give up Judaism to become Catholic, but after her beloved, religious grandmother dies, she realizes that she needs to seek her own way of being Jewish

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Hannah resents the traditions of her Jewish heritage until time travel places her in the middle of a small Jewish village in Nazi-occupied Poland

Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick

When thirteen-year-old San Lee moves to a new town and school for the umpteenth time, he is looking for a way to stand out when his knowledge of Zen Buddhism, gained in his previous school, provides the answer--and the need to quickly become a convincing Zen master

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

During the 1967 school year, on Wednesday afternoons when all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker's classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much of value about the world he lives in

Roots and Wings by Many Ly

While in St. Petersburg, Florida, to give her grandmother a Cambodian funeral, fourteen-year-old Grace, who was raised in Pennsylvania, finally gets some answers about the father she never met, her mother's and grandmother's youth, and her Asian-American heritage

Myrtle of Willendorf by Rebecca O'Connell

A bright and artistic young woman with a fondness for junk food experiences a kooky modern-day coming of age by way of the Goddess within

Fall YA reads

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:57:00 GMT

Being a teenager means having to deal with a lot of changes. Whether it is at home, in school, with friends, or a boyfriend/girlfriend, sometimes it is nice to come across a book that you can relate to and makes you feel like you're not alone in your problems. Recently, I have read three YA novels that would appeal to teens in that their main character is easy to relate to and you feel like you have talked to a best friend after finishing it.

Catherine Murdock published the conclusion to her trilogy focusing on DJ Schwenk in October. Front and Center was a satisfying ending to a character I have grown to love. We were first introduced to DJ in Dairy Queen, published in 2007. A high school sophomore, DJ is a phenomenal basketball player that does a lot of work on her family's farm. Over the summer, a family friend sends rival high school quarterback, Brian, over to work at the Schwenk farm. DJ begins to help Brian train for football season, and she finds herself liking the sport by the end of summer. When DJ decides to try-out for the team, the town is divided in support and resistance. DJ's story continues in The Off Season focusing on DJ adjusting to life after her brother is paralyzed in a football game. The story concludes in Front and Center, and I highly recommend your read the entire series.

Viola in Reel Life was published in September by adult author, Adriana Trigiani. Viola has grown up in Brooklyn with documentary filmmaker parents until sophomore year when her parents ship her off to boarding school...in South Bend, Indiana. Instead of adjusting to life with roommates and away from her family and friends, Viola hides behind her video camera. An opportunity to make a movie for a contest pushes Viola out from behind the camera and into the real world. Recommended.

Lastly, one of my favorite teen authors, Sara Zarr, was back last month with Once was Lost. Zarr did not let me down as she dove into Sam's life as a preacher's daughter. Sam's mom has been placed in rehab for alcoholism because she could not handle being a preacher's wife, but Sam is left to pick up the pieces. When a local girl goes missing, Sam's faith is tested even more as her tragedy and the kidnapped girl's begin to overlap. Highly recommended.

Happy Reading!

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:30:00 GMT

How would you feel if your life was defined by a mistake you made over three years ago? Especially when three years ago, you did not fully comprehend the consequences of what you were doing or realize how long that mistake would follow you. Deanna's father caught her in the backseat of seventeen-year-old Tommy's car when she was just thirteen. Three years later, Deanna's life is still be defined by that moment in time. Her father won't look her in the eyes, the kids at school call her names, and Deanna tries to pretend that it doesn't matter.

It does matter, however, and trying to be tough is taking its toll on Deanna. Her brother and his girlfriend are living in the basement with their baby, Deanna's mom is always tired from working so hard, her best friends are now dating, and Deanna's summer job forces her to work with Tommy. The only time Deanna can express how she really feels is through her writing, which we catch glimpses of throughout Sara Zarr's Story of a Girl

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:28:00 GMT

I was almost late coming back from my break yesterday to finish if I stay by Gayle Forman. The story stayed with me long after I returned it. Even when I went home last night, I was still thinking about this exceptional book.

Imagine if you had to choose between living the rest of your life without your family and joining them in death? Seventeen-year-old Mia last remembers driving down the road with her parents and little brother listening to the radio. Her head was rested against the window in the backseat as she sat back enjoying the sound of the music and her family's voices. In one short moment, Mia is now standing on the side of the road and sees her family's car smashed, her parents lying dead on the road, and paramedics rushing to save her and her younger brother. She wonders "Am I dead?" as she watches her body being rushed to the hospital.

Thus begins the toughest decision Mia will ever have to make. As she hovers over her body as it struggles to heal, Mia has to decide if she wants to wake up and join her grandparents, best friend, and boyfriend or if she wants to join her parents and brother wherever they are now. One-by-one Mia's friends and family come to her bedside. Some ask her to stay; others tell her that it is her decision. Mia watches as her grandpa sobs at her bedside and her boyfriend struggles with the nurse to be admitted to the ICU.

As I read through the pages of Mia's story and her decision to whether stay or to go, it made me wonder what in my life is worth living for. I highly recommend you check this book out.

"If you could do it all over again and change something, what would it be?"

myzticrhythmz@evpl — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:23:00 GMT

This is the big question for Jeremy Dance, aka Lil J, in Walter Dean Myers' Dope Sick. Lil J is a 17-year-old on the run, part of a drug deal gone wrong in which an undercover cop's been shot. He finds himself hiding out in an abandoned building in the company of Kelly, a weird vagrant with a television that can show Lil J's past, present, and maybe his future. It's Kelly who asks Lil J the question about what he would change in his life if he could, and much of the book covers Lil J revisiting his downward spiral: a painful home life, drugs, jail time, fathering a child.

This is a fascinating book where a kid from the streets is compelled to stop at a pivotal point in his life and consider that he may actually have options. He wasn't a bad student, has a gift for the rhythm of rap, and seems to care for his son and the child's mother.

Walter Dean Myers has taken a very contemporary, real-life situation and infused it with a bit of mysticism and fantasy. He also leaves the reader with some questions: Who was Kelly?A real, "spooky" guy? A ghost? A drug-induced hallucination? Will Lil J be able to turn his life around?

And by all means, stick around for the ending. It's not what you'd expect.