Teens: ’s Comments (group member since Nov 01, 2012)

Teens: ’s comments from the Teens @ Pewaukee Public Library group.

In this thread, I will post reminders about upcoming events at the library that may be of interest to teens. Watch this space to stay up-to-date!

This isn't exactly library or book-related, but I just came across Ashton Kutcher's speech at Sunday's Teen Choice Awards. It's pretty awesome. Ashton talks mostly about three things: Opportunity, being sexy, and living life. Click on this link to read the article about his speech. A video of the speech is also included; be sure to watch that for the full effect:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2013/08/12/ash...

The first book for this year's Teen Book Club has been selected. For the month of September we will be reading This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel. Copies of the book will be available to be checked out starting on August 26. The book club will meet to discuss the book on September 25.

I still need your help to select our Teen Book Club read for the month of October! We're going to be reading something from the Realistic Fiction genre, and I have a few titles in mind that would be good choices. Vote for the two books you'd be most interested in reading here by leaving a comment. Feel free to suggest other titles if you have something in mind.

The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian
Born to Rock by Gordon Korman
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt
Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Have you ever finished a book and not known what to read next? Do you have very specific tastes and need to branch out and find new books to read? Have you read every single book by your favorite author a dozen times? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you should check out the Literature Map:

http://www.literature-map.com/

When you visit this website, type in the name of an author whose books you have enjoyed. The website will then generate a "map" of other authors that you might also enjoy. The closer a suggested author is to the center of the map (where the author you typed in is located) the more similar their writing styles are, and the more likely it is that you will also enjoy their books.

The 2013 Teen Summer Reading Program is officially complete! We selected winner for the raffle yesterday. If you got a phone call from us telling you that you won a prize, come to the library to pick it up as soon as you are able.

This summer has been a resounding success thanks to your enthusiasm. We set records for the number of teens participating in the program, the number of pages read, and the number of teens who attended programs. here are a few interesting statistics to show you just how busy the library was this summer:

Total number of teens who signed up for the reading program: 186 (that’s 24% more than last year!)

Total number of teens who checked in at least once with either reading booklet: 93 (that’s 50% - not bad!)

Total number of reading challenges completed from your green reading booklets: 482 (that’s 16% more than last year!)

Estimated number of pages read by teens: 241,000 (wow!)

Total number of extra challenges completed from your orange booklets: 389 (awesome!)

Total attendance at in-library teen programs: 121 (that’s a whopping 210% more than last year!)

Total participation in passive programs, such as posting to the Goodreads.com group or writing book reviews: 86

Great job, everyone!

Kaustav wrote: "This sounds like a good book, should I read it?"

Kaustav, the short answer is "yes, you should read it."

Personally, I think that this is a very good book. That being said, I would definitely recommend that you check out the Goodreads page for Ship Breaker and read the description. If, based on that and on our discussion here you think that the book sounds interesting, then definitely give it a try!

Actually, this is a pretty solid strategy to use with any book that you are unsure of. There is a whole thread in this group called "What are you reading?" where you can talk to the other group members about books you might be interested in. And if you're ever looking for a good book to read but don't know where to start, ask for help in the "Need something to read?" thread. Just tell us what you're in the mood for and we'll try to recommend something.

We also have two awesome programs taking place this week:

Thursday, August 1 at 6:30 pm - Come and watch the movie Warm Bodies!

Friday, August 2 at 4:30 pm - After Hours Zombie Party! Eat pizza, go on a scavenger hunt, play Humans vs. Zombies, and more. Zombie costumes are highly encouraged. Even your teen librarian will be wearing one...

Sign up for these programs by visiting, calling, or e-mailing the library. Hope to see you there!

Don't forget that this week is the last week of the Teen Summer Reading Program! You have until the library closes at 1:30 pm on Saturday, August 3 to check in with your reading booklets and get your prizes. Winners for the raffles will be chosen on August 5. Don't delay! If you have been reading this summer - even if it's just a little bit - be sure to visit the library so that we can reward you for your efforts.

One last set of ideas to think about as we discuss Ship Breaker:

Ship Breaker is set in a sort of hypothetical future in which resources have been squandered, drastic weather and environmental changes have occured, genetic engineering is a reality, and disparate class system is in place. How likely do you think this sort of future is for us in the real world? What actions taking place in the world around us might lead to this future? How does the book serve as a warning against this sort of future?

Ship Breaker has also won numerous awards from the writing community. It recieved the 2011 Printz Award, given to the best book written for Young Adults every year. It was also nominated for the 2010 National Book Award. Do you think that this book is worthy of this kind of recognition? Why or why not?

Here are a few books that I have been tossing around for book club. Let me know what you think of these, and add your own suggestions.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (It's kind of long, but I'm really intrigued by the genre/setting.

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin (Awesome book. Everyone should read it.)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (The movie comes out later this year! We could do another read the book / watch the movie event.)

I'm starting to get ready for this fall's Teen Book Club, and I need your help! Does anyone have any suggestions for books that we should read and discuss? Post your suggestions here.

Books selected for book club should have the following characteristics:

1) Eight copies of the book need to be readily available from libraries in our library system. For example, Divergent would unfortunately not work very well because the book is constantly going out on holds and we wouldn't be able to get our hands on enough copies.

2) The book should be from the Young Adult section of the library.

3) Books should come from a wide range of genres. We might read fantasy one month, something realistic another month, and historical fiction or graphic novels the next. No type of book is really off limits!

Leah wrote: "...Is it a must read or just very good?"

I'd say that if you enjoy gritty page-turners or survival stories, then Monument 14 is definitely a must-read. I loved the pacing and the intensity. But a word of warning: There were two scenes in this book with some relatively graphic sexual content. These scenes are relatively important to the story, but they did take me by surprise. You can decide for yourself how comfortable you are with this sort of content.

Hello, everyone! Just a few reminders:

1) This week's event is the Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament! Top finishers will earn a few prizes, a trophy, and massive bragging rights. Registration closes when the library closes on Wednesday, so sign up ASAP if you want to participate!

2) There are only two weeks remaining the Summer Reading Program. It's coming fast! Don't forget to visit the library before August 3 so that we can give you all of the prizes you've earned over the summer. We'll be drawing names for the raffle on August 5.

More new books have just hit the YA shelves!

Golden Girl by Sarah Zettel
Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey
Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick
Five Summers by Una LaMarche
Will and Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge
The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston
Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

Here are some other things to think about:

Hope and Ashley have already mentioned that the didn't really think that this book was dystopian. Yet the book's publisher and many book reviewers, librarians, etc all say that Ship Breaker IS dystopian. What do you make of this? What characteristics do you think a book needs to have for it to really be dystopian? If you agree that Ship Breaker is NOT dystopian, why do you think that so many people would say that it is?

One of the major themes of this book is the idea of Luck. Many of the characters say that they need a little bit of luck to make it in the world, while other characters insist that smarts and hard work are all that a person needs. What do you think? How much control do you think that a person has over their own destiny? Do you think that the circumstances a person is born into factor into these answers?

I'm looking at the last chapter of the book again, and it looks like Nailer and Pima are mostly talking about the aftermath of everything that had happened. They're kind of looking to the future, but they don't get into much in the way of specifics. There's a general feeling of hope and happiness.

The ending is also very open-ended, which in some ways is great (because you can imagine whatever sort of future you want for Nailer and co.) and in some ways is problematic (because it doesn't give the reader a concrete feeling of closure).

What does everyone else think of the ending? Was it satisfactory, or was it too easy? What do you imagine for Nailer's life after everything that has happened to him?

Not long ago, author Maureen Johnson made a simple Tweet complaining about how book written by female authors are often given "girly" covers and, consequently, are only picked up and read by girls. This is very unfortunate because there are lots of books out there that could definitely be appealing to both girls and guys, but the book's cover can often limit the audience. This article talks a bit about the fascinating Coverflip Challenge that was sparked by Johnson's Tweet:

http://www.slj.com/2013/07/books-medi...

What do you think? What book can you think of that need their covers flipped?

Let's start this discussion by talking about our gut reactions to this book. What did you think of Ship Breaker? Did you love it? Hate it? What specifically about the book did you like/dislike?

Hello, everyone! I hope that everyone has been enjoying this summer's book club pick, Ship Breaker. We're going to use this discussion board to talk about the book over the next few weeks. I hope you'll check back here regularly to keep the discussion going!

Every Monday I will post a question for you guys to respond to. However, you should not feel like all you are allowed to do is answer these questions! Feel free to post other ideas, ask your own questions, and respond to each other's comments. The more all of you interact with each other during this discussion, the more fun this book club will be.

I also wanted to post a list of all of the books that everyone was reading tonight. You guys all have great taste!

Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn
Theodore Bone Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori
Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson
Brain Jack by Brian Falkner
Cloaked by Alex Flynn
Nobody's Secret by Michaela MacColl
Echo by Alyson Noel
How to Build a House by Dana Reinhardt
Prophecy by Ellen Oh
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce]
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Daughters by Joanna Philbin
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Tsubasa by CLAMP