Zenith by Julie Bertagna

Of course, similar to many of our young adult dystopias, Julie Bertagna writes of environmental disastors.

In Exodus, she wrote about the "Century of Storm," Global warming took over and the ice-caps melted and the oceans rose, threatening to overwhelm the island of Wing in the North Atlantic.
.
Exodus ends with Mara forming an alliance with Fox, the grandson of New Mungo's founder, who had no idea about the conditions outside of his environment and how his world was built. Fox stays to rebel from the inside, and Mara leaves, taking Tree-nesters, urchins and refugees on one of the great white supply ships.

Exodus begins with Mara on the ocean and Fox back in the tower city. A new character is introduced, Tuck, a "gypsea", who lives in the floating city of rusty boats known as Pomperoy.Because Mara's ship is basically on auto, her ship ploughs through Pomperoy capsizing and killing many gypseas This sets the whole flotilla off in pursuit of the white ship.

Mara's goal is Greenland, her theory is that it has not sunk; but been liberated it from its weight and it is now a safe haven with a huge freshwater lake in the middle. Unfortunately, it has its own people do not welcome the newcomers.

The white ship is trapped and Mara and her friends are treated as slaves on the auction block when they reach Greenland.

As I identified with the book, reading by the light of a candle due to snow induced blackout, this book definitely kept me turning each page. And now, I anxiously await the final book.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Reading Next: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
(put on hold when I grabbed Zenith)

Congrats Stockmarket Winners December 2010

Check out our Awards Party

Congrats Isabelle and Sophia earning $2,036.89 in eight weeks.

Drop and Shop 2010

A Great Time was had by all. We made Graham cracker houses, clay snowmen, dressed a snowman, played games, watched puppet shows and were read to. Thanks YA--you did a great job.

Drop and Shop 2010

NEW BOOKS for December

A sampling of the New Books available for December

December Holiday Party

Happy Holidays from the Young Adult Council


December Meeting--The Young Adult Council celebrated the Holidays with their annual Holiday Meeting. Grab bag gifts were passed Left and Right as the Winter Story dictated. An evening of Wii fun and food followed. The Prep meeting for the Drop and Shop is Tuesday, December 14th at 6:30. Creative ideas welcome. Area merchants have been invited to display flyers or gifts certificates to be raffled off.

Fox 2000 Does Taylor Lautner Deal For 'Incarceron'

Fox 2000 Does Taylor Lautner Deal For 'Incarceron'
By MIKE FLEMING | Thursday December 9, 2010 @ 3:34pm ESTTags: Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Fox 2000, Fox 2000 Incarceron, Incarceron, John Palermo, Movie Deals, Movies, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Lautner Incarceron

EXCLUSIVE: Twilight Saga's Taylor Lautner has become attached to star in Incarceron, the Fox 2000 adaptation of the Catherine Fisher young adult novel. The film is being written by Adam Cooper & Bill Collage, who are among the writers behind the Brett Ratner-directed Universal comedy Tower Heist, and who are writing Moby Dick for Timur Bekmambetov and Moses for Fox and Peter Chernin.

Lautner will play Finn, who has lived his entire life on Incarceron, a savage, futuristic prison society. He meets the daughter of the warden, who is trapped in her own prison, a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like the 17th Century. She knows nothing of Incarceron except that it exists. She and Finn simultaneously find a crystal key that allows them to communicate and hatch an escape plan for Finn. The film will be produced by John Palermo and Lautner is likely to become involved as a producer as well.

Aside from the final two Twilight Saga films being directed by Bill Condon, Lautner starred in Abduction, the John Singleton-directed thriller from Lionsgate. He's also booked to star as Stretch Armstrong in the Universal Pictures/Hasbro film. He's repped by WME and Management 360

http://www.deadline.com/2010/12/fox-2000-in-taylor-lautner-deal-for-incarceron/

Exodus by Julie Bertagna

What makes a leader of people? Courage? Conviction? Resourcefulness? Foolhardiness? All of those things, but perhaps above all a leader has a vision of the future. A dream.

Mara isn't a leader of people when this story starts. She's just a young girl eking out her existence with her family and a few other villagers on a tiny, remote, sinking island. In Mara's world global warming has taken its toll. The ice caps have melted, sea levels have risen and the world has sunk beneath the waters. Storms and tidal surges batter the few remaining, scattered settlements. For all Mara and the people of the tiny island of Wing know, they may be the last souls left alive on planet earth. There is nothing out there beyond their encroaching shores except a vast and angry ocean.

So when they finally have to abandon Wing, it is a desperate and fearful group of people who take to their tiny fishing boats. And they are almost entirely without hope, except for something that Mara has told them. She has accessed the old technology, found her way into the Weave:

Above the scrolling text, the on-screen simulation shows a cluster of towers, colossal trunks of towers, rising out of the flooded ruins of an old city. Now a vast, geometric construction - tiers and branching networks - begins to grow out of the central trunk, cresting higher and higher into the sky, mapping the air space between the towers with amazingly complex patterns, while massive roots bore down through the seabed, deep into the Earth.
Mara's parents gaze in astonishment at the vast structure that rises out of the ocean - a giant city in the sky.
'Impossible,' says Coll. 'It would blow down. How could it withstand a storm?'

It is a nightmare voyage, and not everyone makes it to the New World City of New Mungo. Sickness and the violence of the ocean take their toll. But the real desperation only sets in when Mara and her people realize that there is a mighty wall round New Mungo, and hordes of refugee boat people scrabble a living in the toxic waters just outside.

Mara wonders why she ever persuaded the people of Wing to seek out the God forsaken city of New Mungo. And it is that admixture of guilt and sheer determination to find something better that drives her on, and makes her a leader of people.

It is a monumental task. Mara loses people very dear to her, and makes other friends along the way. Her character is forged by the vicissitudes of her life. She is rocked to the core by her dawning comprehension of man's inhumanity to man. The only thing she has is hope. And a dream.

Read it. I think you will be absolutely enthralled. I know I was.

http://www.readingmatters.co.uk/book.php?id=194

I totally agree with this book review. It is one of those rare books that captures your attention from the first page. It is a great fit for book club discussions and definitely makes one wonder--is global warming just hype or could this happen to our world?

Rating 10 out of 10
Reading Next: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Black Hole Sun

Black Hole Sun, by David Macinnis Gill

This is an interesting sci-fi book geared toward Young Adults but enjoyable for adults as well. Human colonists from Earth have settled on Mars, making it their own. But it seems Mars has its own native life as well. Read the book to get to know Durango, an eight year old (although 16 years old in Earth years) who lives on here. Because of and incident involving the death of his father, he now works as a mercenary. The latest job which he accepts is to protect a group of miners, from the Draeu a ruthless species of cannibals.

Mimi, is the voice inside his head and his former chief. Durango heads up a group of misfit mercenaries, Vienne being his "right hand lady" Together they face the real reason that they have been under attack by the Draeu, a secret kept by the miners.

Durango was trained for fighting from an early age. Once his father was killed, he was on his own. The writing is unique and entertaining, although a bit slow going in the beginning.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Reading Next: Exodus by Julie Bertagna

Drop and Shop

November YA Meeting Bits and Pieces

The Young Adult Council decided not to have the traditional holiday party. We are replacing it with a drop in story and craft time for ages 4-7, Tuesday, December 21st so that parents can do some holiday shopping.

National Gaming Day is Saturday. Come and play video or board games with libraries across the nation.

Discussion was begun on how the library can become more of an online presence. Suggestions are welcome. The Creative Writing Club will begin the first Wednesday in January at 4 pm. Come in and fill out a YA Book Brawl Voting Form and receive a coupon for a free ice cream. The next YA Meeting is December 8th.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfield

This book is the second in the series by Scott Westerfield and lives up to the first one in every way. It begins exactly where Leviathan left off. That is, in this alternate history’s version of the start of World War I. The Leviathan is on its way to Constantinople (Istanbul) to return the world to peace with the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who is raging because Churchill “borrowed” one of their warships. Because of this, the Ottomans have become ally’s with the Germans (Clankers).

Focusing on the two main characters, Deryn who is hiding the fact that he is a girl and Alek who is hiding the fact that he is the heir to the Austrian empire pretending to be a commoner have problems of their own. They are both on the Leviathan, at present, a combination of Darwinian and Clanker technology. Alek knows he has to escape or be held a prisoner of war and Deryn is busy on a mission to open the waterway for the Behemoth to join the war.

Behemoth explores friendships, ethics, patriotism and religion without losing the page turning action of this book. This book explores the differences in cultures as well as the differences in technology. This book is Steampunk at its finest. It gives many opportunities for lively discussions, especially for anyone who is a history buff.

When the third book, Golliath, comes out, it will be interesting to see how Deryn and Alek resolve their roles. . Behemoth shows them as true friends , and in Deryn’s case a bit more, who are loyal to each other. However, neither one every forgets their allegiance to the war and their respective sides. This can be a major conflict. Deryn is completely loyal to the Darwinists and respects her uniform and her superiors. But she doesn’t follow it blindly. If it were, she would never have joined the military impersonating a boy. Alek has the same loyalty to his beliefs, with less room for questioning perhaps because of his idea that fate guides everyone.

Finally the illustrations are just as charming as in Leviathan.

Rating 10 out of 10
Reading Next Black Hole Sun by Gill

Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

This review is from Opinionated Blog at http://readingwatchingliving.blogspot.com

"Will Henry, orphaned by a fire and left to the hands of Dr. Warthrop, Monstrumologist, awakens one night to find an old graverobber at the door, with a strange and mysterious package for the doctor.

so...very...Gothic.

And that's exactly what it is: Gothic. From the scenery to the dark subject matter to the time period, and even to the characters. Everything screams of a young America, taking place in the (fictional?) town of New Jerusalem, in the dark basement of a man who studies monsters. I want to say this is told in the first person, but not until the last fifty or so pages does Will Henry--our protagonist--come in to play as an actual character. The rest, he seems to be just a fly on the wall to the ramblings and manic fits of his master. I suppose this is appropriate--it is, after all, named the Monstrumologist--but I'm kind of a character-driven gal, and there was a lot of info-dumping. Not to say this is a bad thing, but anyone looking for an Emotional Novel should best take their business elsewhere.

Now, for the rest of you:

This book reads like one written in the time period it's told, which is Yancey's biggest accomplishment by-far; a very refined, old-time voice that somehow stays readable for teens is no easy task. While, for those who have never read a Gothic novel, it may be slow-goings, it is definitely entertaining. In fact, I'm going to venture off and say that it is perhaps one of the most technically well-written, modern day novel I've read in quite some time.

Yancey definitely has a world-building quality about his writing that makes you feel like your actually there. His descriptions are so Dracula-style Gothic that it's not hard to believe these are the memoirs of a delusional old man recounting events that are real entirely in his mind (or are they...?).

Again, this is, first and foremost, a plot-driven novel. While there are some honest attempts at character depth thrown in, I was much more interested in the beasts then Will Henry. I guess the doctor is supposed to bridge the gap between monster and human, with his "holyshitimONTOSOMETHING!!" crazes and borderline-neglectful treatment of twelve-year-old Will Henry (who, by the way, your unlikely to forget his name--seriously, it's said about three times a page). It's kind of a co dependant relationship between Will and the doctor. Clearly neither enjoy their company, and it isn't until the last few pages is it evident that they even care for each other, but they both need each other.

There are certain times when a character is flash-backing, that's so long (albeit, entertaining) that it could warrant it's own novel. I think these parts are the most interesting, especially one involving a ship and some bored crew members. It perfectly demonstrates the idea that monsters are only monsters because we make them monsters...or that we are, in fact, the monsters.

Getting back to the characters for a moment , it's really only Will and Warthrop that stand out. They're co dependence is all at once heartbreaking and amusing. Both, in a way, need one another, but they also despise what the other means to them--to Warthrop, it's a vision of himself and to Will, it's a vision of what he owes.

Also: You can check out Yancey's website for some character profiles, as well as some info about his other novels (including the bestselling Alfred Kropp series)"

This was an interesting book that kept you turning each page. I enjoyed the review above, so chose to reprint this rather than one of my own.

My rating is 8 out of 10.
Reading Next: Behemoth by Scott Westerfield

Lockdown, Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordan Smith

One of my favorite genres--this lived up to its expectations and I'm not a teenage boy.

Book Review: Lockdown (Escape from Furnace Book 1) by Alexander Gordon Smith
In a dystopian (alternate? future?) England, gang violence has gotten so bad that the state has sanctioned a hellish underground prison for young felons dubbed the Furnace. Once a teen criminal has been sentenced there, it’s for life – with no chance of ever seeing the sun again. One inmate is 15 year old Alex Sawyer. Alex may be a thief and a bully, but he didn’t kill his best friend – he was framed. And his only hope for justice and redemption is escape from a place no one has ever escaped from.

LOCKDOWN is very much a plot-driven action/horror spectacle aimed squarely at teen boys. You’re not going to find a lot of deep exploration of weighty themes here, but you are taken on quite the thrill ride as Alex navigates his way through his new hellish environment and plots his seemingly impossible escape. There are some very scary supernatural elements at work in the prison, and the main motivation to keep reading in spite of the nightmare-inducing setting is to discover just what the warden does with kids that are “taken” from their cells at night, never to return. And of course to hope that Alex and his buddies find a way out.

Being that there are two more books in the ESCAPE FROM FURNACE trilogy, SOLITARY and DEATH SENTENCE (coming in 2010 and 2011 in the US, but already released in the UK), this first book definitely takes over the set-up role, and although there is a measure of closure, the story you came for (i.e. escaping) is most definitely not complete (must get sequels now!).

Find out more about the trilogy on the author’s website. Also, read an interview with the author (where he mentions that dystopian classic 1984 and its "complex relationship between desperation and hope" was an influence on his work) at the publisher's website.

Book Review by http://presentinglenore.blogspot.com

Rating: 5
Reading Next: The Monstrumologist

If I Stay Movie?

Dakota Fanning in Talks for If I Stay
Source: Variety October 21, 2010


Dakota Fanning is in talks to star in Summit Entertainment and producer Denise Di Novi's If I Stay, says Variety.

Brazilian filmmaker Heitor Dhalia is set to direct. Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) was previously attached to direct, but dropped out to shoot Red Riding Hood.

Based on Gayle Forman's novel of the same name, the film is the story of the gifted classical musician Mia and her boyfriend, Adam, an up and coming indie-rock star. Torn between two paths in life, her art or her relationship, Mia is forced to make an even starker choice between life and death when she is caught in a fatal car accident with her family one snowy morning in Oregon.

Shauna Cross wrote the script.

Author Blogs

Check out our new addition of Author Blogs. If you know any others, add them to comments. Thanks alot.

Movie Notes--Mortal Instruments Series

Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare is that much closer to becoming a movie. Here's a snippet from an article I found on Examiner.com:

Mortal Instruments' fans received some great movie news this evening Tweeted from the newly married Cassandra Clare. Sony Pictures has teamed up with Constantin Film and Unique Features to develop City of Bones, the first book in The Mortal Instruments series into a motion picture film. The specific branch of Sony taking on the project is Screen Gems. Screen Gems has developed popular fantasy/thrillers in the past such as the Underworld movies and the Resident Evil movies. Their most recent film is Easy A, which stars Zombieland’s Emma Stone. Clare admits she thinks Stone could be a great Clary.

Jessica Postigo wrote the script and it only covers the content from City of Bones, the first book in The Mortal Instruments series. Anyone who was concern with circulating rumors that any of the books could be combined can rest easy tonight

Also, The Dark Divine by Bree Despain:

Per Variety Ralph Winter (X-Men) and Terry Botwick have acquired rights to Bree Despain's three-book young adult series through their 1019 Entertainment banner. Whitney Thomas, an exec at 1019, will also produce.

And, Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely, info from her website:

Production Studio: Wild West Picture Show Productions
Screen Writer: Caroline Thompson, writer of A Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Edward Scissorhands
Director: Kimberly Peirce. Past directing credits include Stop-Loss and Boys Don't Cry.
Rating: PG-13

Status: The screenplay is in the final stages of completion.

Most of these are in early stages of development, so I doubt they'll be out soon. But, it's good to keep track!

Plus, there's a Disney Channel Original Movie this Fall based on Meg Cabot's Avalon High. Britt Robertson from "Life Unexpected" and "Dan in Real Life" plays the main character.

Have a great long weekend!

IT'S A BOOK!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BK_2VULCU&feature=player_embedded

Speak Out Against Bullying

In the light of recent news events here is an excellent website with resources dealing with bullying

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/glbtrt/popularresources/bullying.cfm

Research Hints

Need to do research for school or fun. Google isn't the only option. You can even do it from home with your library card number. Go to the library web page--www.biblio.org/newmilford. In the left hand column, find Online Databases Look at all of the exciting options. Need specific articles, go to Ebsco MasterFILE Premier. Type in your library card number. Type in your search term and you are off and running.

What is Boolean Search?
Boolean searches allow you to combine words and phrases using the words AND, OR, NOT and NEAR (otherwise known as Boolean operators) to limit, widen, or define your search. Most Internet search engines and Web directories default to these Boolean search parameters anyway, but a good Web searcher should know how to use basic Boolean operators.

You can limit your search to Full Text.
You can search for particular publications by putting the name of the publication and the date.

Questions? More Detail? Call the library or email the library. Enjoy your Googleless Search.

Have you or someone you know been a victim of a cyberbully? Did you know there are steps you can take to help stop it from happening? Here are some great tips with a link for more information:
Tips to Stop Cyberbullying

Reposted from ConnectSafely.org

Don’t respond. If someone bullies you, remember that your reaction is usually exactly what the bully wants. It gives him or her power over you. Who wants to empower a bully?

Don’t retaliate. Getting back at the bully turns you into one and reinforces the bully’s behavior. Help avoid a whole cycle of aggression.

Save the evidence. The only good news about digital bullying is that the harassing messages can usually be captured, saved, and shown to someone who can help. You need to do this even if it’s minor stuff, in case things escalate.

Talk to a trusted adult. You deserve backup. It’s always good to involve a parent but – if you can’t – a school counselor usually knows how to help. Sometimes both are needed. If you’re really nervous about saying something, see if there’s a way to report the incident anonymously at school.

Block the bully. If the harassment’s coming in the form of instant messages, texts, or profile comments, do yourself a favor: Use preferences or privacy tools to block the person. If it’s in chat, leave the “room.”

Be civil. Even if you don’t like someone, it’s a good idea to be decent and not sink to the other person’s level. Also, research shows that gossiping about and trash talking others increases your risk of being bullied. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

Don’t be a bully. How would you feel if someone harassed you? You know the old saying about walking a mile in someone’s shoes; even a few seconds of thinking about how another person might feel can put a big damper on aggression. That’s needed in this world.

Be a friend, not a bystander. Watching or forwarding mean messages empowers bullies and hurts victims even more. If you can, tell bullies to stop or let them know harassment makes people look stupid and mean. It’s time to let bullies know their behavior is unacceptable – cruel abuse of fellow human beings. If you can’t stop the bully, at least try to help the victim and report the behavior.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

A slow moving postapocalyptic adventure set on the American Gulf Coast. The main character, Nailer works light crew; which means his job involves crawling deep into the wrecks of the ancient oil tankers that line the beach, scavenging copper wire and turning it over to his crew boss. It is a dangerous endeavor. A hurricane leads Nailer and his friend, Pima to a shipwreck and its barely live passenger. The ship is filled with valuable goods—a "Lucky Strike" that could make them rich, if only they can find a safe way to cash it in. The passenger pleads with them for help. She says if they help her, she can show them a world of wealth that they have never known. But can they trust her? More importantly, can they keep the girl safe from Nailer's drug-addicted father?

I thought this book was extremely slow moving until the last third of the book. Of course, it brings in the fate of New Orleans and the dystopian theme so recurrent in many of the new books.

Rating: 5

Reading Next: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

"Firelight" to become a movie?

"In a pre-emptive move, Mandalay Pictures has nabbed bigscreen rights to the just-published young adult novel "Firelight." Supernatural tale, the first in a three-book series, was penned by bestselling author Sophie Jordan, aka Sharie Kohler.
Story follows twin teenage sisters, the descendants of dragons who live in secret with their endangered pride. When their mother learns that the pride has a dark plan for one of the girls who possesses the rare talent of fire breathing, she spirits the twins away to live a normal life among humans."


http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118024363.html?categoryid=4026&cs=1&query=FIRELIGHT+and+sophie+jordan&sms_ss=facebook#ixzz10MxrqCKJ

Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

With her mother, Mary, Garbrielle “Gabry” tends the shore of a seatown of Vista. They live in the lighthouse, which sends out a strong beacon every night. Tending this shore is quite different than you would imagine. Tending the shore involves keeping it free of the Mudo which wash up on the shore after high tides. They need to be decapitated and dispatched, keeping the village clean and free.
The lighthouse has always stood for safety to Gabry. When her friends decide to sneak to the abandoned forbidden amusement park Gabry is terrified. She has never broken the rules and does not wish to go out of her comfort zone, especially where danger could be lurking. Peer pressure wins and out she goes. It is in the midst of this danger, she shares her first kiss with her friend, Catcher. All of a sudden a Breaker rushes to the group and infects and kills many of her friends. This is the turning point of Gabry’s life. Everything changes and there is no safety after this.
Gabry is able to escape the attack but the others who survive are sentenced to serve with the Recruiters for the rest of their lives, a group that patrols and protects the villages from the Mudo’s. Her boyfriend, Catcher, is not so lucky and is bitten, sending Gabry into more turmoil.
This book answers many of the questions raised in the sequel The Forest of Hands and Teeth. We find the origins of the villages, what happened in the outside world, how the government works and how the living need to survive. There are many philosophical messages in this book as well as the angst felt by Gabry over being human and able to make mistakes.
This book was a page turner, as you couldn’t wait to get to the end and find out what was happening. It is a fun read for any teen.

Rating: 8
Reading Next: Ship Breaker by Bacigalupi

October Teen Talk Book Club

4th Wednesday of October, 4-5 pm JOIN THE FUN with a lively discussion and snacks.

Truancy by Isamu Fukui

This is a must read for anyone who enjoys action packed reading.

“Truancy” was written by Fukui when he was 15. It is hard to believe that such a creative, insightful book could by written by one so young.
‘Truancy” is another dystopia. It is a future world which is completely different from how we live, but not hard to imagine in the world in which we live. The book combines social commentary, philosophy and entertainment into an action packed narrative of rebellion. As with many young adult books, it would be enjoyed by any age..
Tack, the main character lives in a city which is controlled by its education system and the Mayor, both who inflict tyrannical control. Parents can be best described as apathetic but seem to be mostly non-existent or at least non-influential. Teachers seem to derive great pleasure in making their students uncomfortable. The Truancy, which has already been formed in this book, is a group of former students ready to incite a rebellion against the Educators. The book begins when Tack’s sister, is taken from the school after volunteering for punishment which should have been doled out to her best friend. She is killed when the Truancy bombs the car of the Educator taking her away. The book describes what follows as Tack seeks revenge.
The book is fast paced with bombs, fighting, missle attacks and murder on the Educators and the schools.
Reading Level: Young Adult (Grades 8 - 12)

Rating: 9
Reading Next: Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner is an exciting tale of survival for young adults. Of course, another dystopia, this book will keep you guessing to the very end.
The book follows a group of young teenaged boys living in “the Glade,” a large area enclosed by tall stone walls surrounded by an ivy-covered stone maze. They remember nothing from their lives before they got to the Glade except their first names. Each month, a large elevator-type box brings up another boy. The book starts as Thomas first arrives in the Glade, totally lost.
In the first part of The Maze Runner, we are introduced to the other boys, how they exist by themselves, and how to interpret their slang, which has evolved into a language of its own. We learn which boys are the leaders, which are the bullies, and which are children who need parental love and guidance more than anything else.
Thomas discovers that every day, “runners” go out and try to solve the maze; they are all desperate to escape, even though they have no memory of the world they want to return to so ardently. (What kind of world, after all, would tear boys from their families and subject them to the Glade?) At sunset, the walls to the maze seal up, and in the morning they open again. “Grievers,” who seem to be a combination of living and machine, patrol the maze at night; the runners must get back inside the Glade each day before dark or they will never return. Thomas knows almost from the start that he is meant to be a runnr.
Thomas’s arrival, however, disrupts the order that has guided life in the Glade for the past two years. Some of the boys think they know Thomas, but don’t know any specifics.. Then, the box comes back after just one day, bringing a girl, Teresa. She is the first and only girl, ever. Thomas recognizes her, but doesn’t know why. All of this change causes suspicion and the choosing of sides for and against Thomas.*
They all sense that things are changing, and fear and unease permeate the Glade. Thomas and Teresa are either their only hope, or a sure sign of their imminent destruction.
I can’t wait to read the sequel to this intriguing book. The Scorch Trials, which comes out in October.

Rating 8.5
Reading Next: Truancy by Fukami

Cool Book Trailers of New Books

Check out this site.

https://sites.google.com/a/fivestarschools.org/book-trailers/

Thanks, Tiffany

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Mary lives in a secluded village in the Forest of Hands and Teeth. It’s a suffocating existence because she’s always dreamed of leaving, walking past the fence that encloses it, and finding the ocean her mother always told her about. But to leave the village means entering the forest, which is filled with the Unconsecrated — the dead who’ve returned and hunger for human flesh. Mary knows this better than anyone. Not too long ago, her father walked into the forest, never to return and her mother’s pined for him ever since.
Because of their isolation and the fact that they may be the last survivors of humanity, the village has a ritualized system of ensuring that the next generation will continue. It’s a world where commitment and duty are emphasized over love and freedom. Mary also knows this best of all because while she is in love with Travis, it’s Travis’s brother Harry who wants to marry her.
That all changes when her mother strays too close to the fence and gets bitten by a zombie. Through a series of misfortunes, Mary finds herself no longer spoken for and turned over into the care of the Sisterhood, a group of women who rule over the village. What Mary learns and discovers there drives her to make the choice she’s been considering for nearly her entire life: should she stay or should she go?
I thought the worldbuilding had major inconsistencies.
I do think this is an original contribution to the young adult genre. It’s a more literary take on zombies, which will appeal to readers who shy away from gory zombie movies. On the other hand, I think the book lacked the focus it needed to emphasize its themes of how fear and self-imposed isolation can cripple your freedom.

Excerpts from this review taken from http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2009/03/16/review-the-forest-of-hands-and-teeth-by-carrie-ryan/

Check Out Our New Books

Lies by Michael Grant

The third book in the Gone series, I was disappointed when I got to the end to find it wasn't a trilogy but an ongoing series. I am impatient to find out what happens.

An impenetrable dome has appeared over Perdido Beach taking everyone over the age of 15 away in an instant. It has been hard for those left in the FAYZ (“Fallout Alley Youth Zone). Many of the children are discovering strange mutations—the ability to fire light from hands, cancel gravity, move at superhuman speeds. The animals have begun to transform as well—snakes growing wings and coyotes being able to speak. In the beginning, there are two warring factions, the rich, troubled Coates Academy clan and the Perdido Beach kids. And then, there is the “gaiaphage” which presents itself as an evil entity.
By the time we read Lies, circumstances are at their worst. Food is more than scarce, resentment is rampant among those who are willing to lead and any pretence of stability is crumbling away. Sam is frustrated by the ineffectiveness of the new Town Council and Astrid struggles to overcome her fury when Sam keeps secrets from the Town Council. Orsay has become known as “the Prophetess” and may be everyones salvation or their demise.
This book is definitely a page turner, however, I hope the future additions won’t drag out what has the promise of an excellent series. Lies introduces us to a new group of excellent characters. It also gives readers a glimpse of what is outside the bubble. There are more deaths, more tragedies, and more desperate acts from an increasingly desperate group under Cain’s leadership.
And you didn’t really think the gaiaphage was defeated, did you? You didn’t think you’d seen the last of certain characters, did you? No. I didn’t think so.
Read this series and find out what happens next.


Rating 8
Reading Next The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Ryan

Patrick Ness on Twitter

Candlewick Press will be interviewing Patrick Ness on September 29th. Send them
any questions you would like asked and tune in to see the answers. http://twitter.com/candlewick 20 Questions will be chosen.

Mockingjay!!

Congratulations Vincent--Enjoy this exciting book! I just finished it :)

Mockingjay" leaves the government's kid-on-kid hunting grounds and heads into the destitute reality of the districts, which have come under heavy fire from the Capitol for rising up against its superficial and oppressive leadership.
Opening with the dreary aftermath of "Catching Fire's" concluding line, "Mockingjay" begins with Katniss Everdeen wandering through the wreckage of her district 12 hometown, tripping over skulls and breathing in the ashes of the incinerated bodies that used to be her neighbors. More than 90% of those neighbors are dead; the rest have been relocated to district 13, an area that was thought to be abandoned but is very much alive. Forced underground 75 years earlier in an era known as the Dark Days — an era that led to the annual children's bloodletting known as the Hunger Games — district 13's residents have spurred the present uprising, and they're looking to Katniss to rile up the rest of the districts and overthrow the pale-skinned President Snow, who's made no secret of his dislike for Katniss and her rebellious unpredictability.
Snow has captured Peeta — the boy Katniss didn't kill in the first Hunger Games, and with whom Katniss is in love. Or is she? Like the first two books in the series, "Mockingjay" continues the love triangle between Katniss, a headstrong nihilist forced to save her country from self-inflicted annihilation; Peeta, the fresh-faced and sweet-hearted boy whom she kissed in front of the omnipresent cameras; and Gale, the hunting partner with whom she grew up who could easily become something more. It takes a while, but "Mockingjay" finally settles the question of Katniss' true affections.

August 23, 2010|By Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times

A wonderful ending to an exciting trilogy.
Here's some food for thought from Scholastic.

1. Discuss the differences between the Games in the first volume and the second - the training sessions, the interviews, the set-up of the Arena, the strategies that Katniss and Peeta use. How is each of them changed by the time they spend in the Arena?

2. What are the forces that contribute to the rebellion in Catching Fire? Were they already starting to happen in The Hunger Games? What clues can you find in the books about the rebellion?

3. Why are all citizens of Panem required to watch The Hunger Games on television? How does this affect the people? Why haven't they rebelled earlier against the brutality of the Games? Discuss the effect of television and reality TV in your own life.

4. What are your predictions for the third volume in the series?

5. Compare the society in Panem (the government, its tight control on the population, and the growing rebellion) to others that you have studied or encountered in books or films. Consider historical and contemporary nations as well as fictional worlds. What does Panem have in common with these cultures, and how does it differ? What can we learn about our own world from studying and reading about historical and fictional societies?

Mockingjay Fun

Speaking of Censorship

http://petehautman.blogspot.com/2010/08/nasty-thing-in-corner.html

13 to Life by Shannon Delany

Something strange is stalking the small town of Junction…
When junior Jess Gillmansen gets called out of class by Guidance, she can only presume it’s for one of two reasons. Either they’ve finally figured out who wrote the scathing anti-jock editorial in the school newspaper or they’re hosting yet another intervention for her about her mom. Although far from expecting it, she’s relieved to discover Guidance just wants her to show a new student around—but he comes with issues of his own including a police escort.
The newest member of Junction High, Pietr Rusakova has secrets to hide–secrets that will bring big trouble to the small town of Junction—secrets including dramatic changes he’s undergoing that will surely end his life early. from Goodreads

Rating: 4
Reading Next: Lies by Michael Grant

Teen Summer Reading Raffle Winner August 2 through August 6, 2010

Congratulations Leo Riedl--Happy Reading!!

Raffle Winner Week 7/26 through 7/30/2010

Congratulations Sophia Rago

Mortal Instrument Series

Cassandra Clare has made an announcement.

She will be writing two more books in the Mortal Instruments series. The list, in publication order, will then be:



City of Bones

City of Ashes

City of Glass

City of Fallen Angels (to be released April 2011)

City of Lost Souls (to be released May 2012)

City of Heavenly Fire (to be released September 2013)



Fans of Clary, Jace, Magnus, and the rest may commence rejoicing.

MOCKINGJAY--WHAT TEAM ARE YOU ON??

Countdown for the New Release out August 24th.

Come to our Get Ready for Mockingjay Party

Grab your survival gear from the Cornucopia
Compete til "death"
Enjoy lots of food
Win a first release of Mockingjay

Registration Required
August 14th 2 pm

See you then

Monopoly Tournament 2010

Grand Prize Winner 2010



Second Place Winner Zach Belisle








Third Place Winner Greg Hack

Check out the rest of the Tournament

Interview with Joelle Anthony of Restoring Harmony

http://booksinthespotlight.blogspot.com/2010/07/author-interview-with-joelle-anthony.html

Teen Iron Chef 2010

Everyone left the evening feeling stuffed!! With close to 20 contestants our judges were good sports having to sample so much.

We began the evening with the secret ingredient, BANANAS.

View the slideshow to see what our contestants created.



Winners were:

Gabby Esposito First Place
Stephen Morrissey Second Place
Nadia Ostreicher Third Place

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE

Like Dystopias?

I have lists of Dystopias if you enjoyed: Hunger Games by Collins, Hunger by Grant, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Ness, Truancy Origins by Fukami or any of the long list of this type of books. COME IN AND CHECK IT OUT!!

First week SUMMER READING RAFFLE winner

CONGRATULATIONS to Lindsay Johansen for winning our first week raffle Our Tote full of goodies included Movie Tickets, courtesy of Bank Street Theater.In honor of the opening of the movie Eclipse, there was a a full book set of the Twilight series, a book on CD, a "Twilight, the movie" book, a Twilight T-shirt and keychain and many other books. Again, Congrats to Lindsay. Keep on Reading!!

Truancy Origina by Isamu Fukui

Another Dystopia!!



A prequel to Truancy (2008) features 15-year-old twins Zen and Umasi, adopted sons of the notorious mayor of Education City, a dystopian metropolis where children are the product of cruel schooling. While Umasi is a model student and obedient son, when Zen discovers his father is responsible for the oppressive educational policy, he runs away to the abandoned districts to recruit homeless kids for his rebellion against city agents.

Fifteen years ago, the Mayor of the Education City was given a surprise by his superiors which he was anything but enthused about: twin six-month-old boys. The mayor had no idea that these two infants would change his city forever.

Raised in the comfort of the Mayoral mansion, Umasi and Zen are total opposites. Umasi is a good student; Zen an indifferent one. They love their adoptive father, but in a city where education is absolute, even he cannot keep them sheltered from the harsh realities of the school system. But when they discover that their father is responsible for their suffering, affection turns to bitterness. Umasi and Zen are thrust onto two diverging paths. One will try to destroy the City. The other will try to stop him.

This book is a must read for any of you dystopia lovers. It is the second in a trilogy.

Rating:5

Reading Next:13 to Life by Shannon Delany

Reading Raffle Winner 2nd Week

Our second week winner is Jenny DePalma

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Circus Fun

Thanks to the FRIENDS OF NEW MILFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY, Matica Arts taught and entertained over 20 young adults in A Circus Fun Workshop on July 14th. Enjoy the slideshows.

HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!!

We kicked off the summer with a Sidewalk Chalk Party. See the slideshow for our creations!! When the temperature hit 100 we took the party inside finishing with Rootbeer Floats and an unplanned Talent Show. What fun!!

101 Fun Things for Teens to Do This Summer

By Denise Witmer, About.com Guide
1. Invent a new type of pizza.
2. Make a music video.
3. Grow a tomato or sunflower plant.
4. Walk barefoot through the grass.
5. Build a sandcastle.
6. Have a wet t-shirt relay race.
7. Picnic at a local park.
8. Make the best ice cream sandwich ever.
9. Have an overnight movie marathon.
10. Play frisbee golf.
11. Have a car wash to fundraise for a club or charity.
12. Grab a blanket, spread it out in the grass and cloud watch.
13. Make a card for a friend.
14. Bike five miles.
15. Catch lightning bugs.
16. Eat the Best Banana Split ever.
17. Take a nap under a shade tree.
18. Go swimming.
19. Have a pool party.
20. Play with water balloons.
21. Make a summer tote bag out of a recycled tank top.
22. Soak in the bathtub with homemade summer bath salts.
23. Sketch a flower that is growing in your yard.
24. Bury a friend in the sand.
25. Babysit and make paper airplanes.
26. Volunteer in a community effort.
27. Go fishing.
28. Sleep in your backyard, under the stars.
29. Create a photo journal.
30. Hike a rail trail.
31. Visit the local library and sign up for the summer reading list. You could win something.
32. Swap a favorite book with a friend and read it.
33. Make a friendship bracelet and send it to your friend.
34. Write a poem
35. Write a song.
36. Write a play.
37. Start your novel.
38. Make a website.
39. Give your MySpace/Facebook page a summery look.
40. Friend someone famous on your MySpace/Facebook page.
41. Have an outdoor basketball free-throw contest.
42. Have a watermelon seed spitting contest.
43. Sketch your pet.
44. Make smoothies.
45. Have a high tea, only use iced-teas.
46. Help plan the family vacation.
47. Make a root beer float.
48. Write in your journal, "My Top Ten Favorite Summertime Activities".
49. Make toe ring.
50. Paint your toe nails.
51. Make a barefoot sandal.
52. Make Hawaiian Pizza for your family dinner.
53. Paint your fingernails with bright sparkly polish.
54. Watch the sunrise.
55. Watch the sunset.
56. Get your community’s events list for the summer and attend an event.
57. Have a summer clothes fashion show.
58. Create a summer safety poster for the local library.
59. Volunteer to read to children at the library.
60. Learn to grill a hot dog.
61. Learn to grill a hamburger.
62. Learn to grill pizza crust.
63. Eat some fruit with fruit dip.
64. Make a collage out of old magazines.
65. Swing.
66. Skip stones at a lake.
67. Surf/boogey board at the beach.
68. Get a new hairdo.
69. Change something about how you wear your make-up.
70. Decide to pick up one good habit, then pick which one you’ll do.
71. Make your own popsicles.
72. Watch last year’s hot summer flick.
73. Go to this year’s hot summer flick.
74. Make a list of your favorite summertime movies in your journal.
75. Make a summer sun shaped collage out of summer fashion magazines.
76. Make a leaf t-shirt.
77. Make a earring holder out of a branch.
78. Make peach lemonade.
79. Make a CD of your favorite summertime songs.
80. Enjoy a board game marathon on your backyard picnic table or on your back porch.
81. Have a scavenger hunt.
82. Make some summer jewelry.
83. Change something in or add something to your room.(You could clean it too.)
84. Give your dog/pet a bath outside.
85. Take your dog/pet for a walk.
86. Run through a sprinkler.
87. Make a whirlpool in a kids pool or play Ice Cubes and Piggies Game.
88. Visit a flower garden and/or butterfly house.
89. Grow some lavender so you can make your own potpourri.
90. Turn up the music and dance.
91. Go stargazing.
92. Sleep until noon – once.
93. Tie-dye your bed sheets.
94. See some fireworks.
95. See a local baseball game.
96. Play mini-golf.
97. Learn how to hula-hoop.
98. Create a sidewalk mural with chalk, use a tropical theme.
99. Organize your summer sandals and flip-flops.
100. Visit a college.
101. Plan and enjoy a luau

100 Cupboards--A Movie?

N.D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards Coming to the Big Screen
Source: ComingSoon.net June 24, 2010


Production Company Beloved Pictures has acquired rights to N.D. Wilson's children's fantasy trilogy, "100 Cupboards." The best-selling books, "100 Cupboards," "Dandelion Fire," and "The Chestnut King," were all released by Random House. The deal was negotiated by Beloved Pictures CEO Michael Ludlum and President Caleb Applegate with Aaron Rench, Wilson's Agent. They plan on producing the films in association with Rench and Wilson's film shingle, Gorilla Poet Productions.

The trilogy chronicles the incredible journeys of Henry York, who discovers that the old Kansas farmhouse he calls home harbors mysterious cupboards leading to worlds and dangers beyond his imagination. Surrounded by his quirky Uncle Frank and lovable Aunt Dotty, along with cousins Henrietta, Penelope, and Anastasia, Henry discovers his true self in the struggle against the deathless and once-imprisoned evil he has unwittingly unleashed into the worlds.

"This is truly one of the most outstanding works of fiction our company has ever had the pleasure to read," said Ludlum. "Wilson is an incredible writer with an imagination that knows no bounds. We are thrilled to help shepherd this instant classic to the screen, and believe it will garner the same type of fan loyalty and passion as other successful book-to-film brands."

Of the deal, Wilson said, "I should be nervous, handing my stories off to producers, but I'm actually thrilled. Beloved's enthusiasm for the books makes me confident that these projects are in the right hands."

Beloved Pictures is currently teaming up with Mpower Pictures on the recently announced co-production of the C.S. Lewis classic, The Great Divorce, to be adapted by N.D. Wilson.

Beloved Pictures was founded in 2007, and is managed by Michael Ludlum, Caleb Applegate, and Robert Abramoff.


Dotti Enderle
***
GINGERBREAD MAN SUPERHERO! (Pelican Publishing)
Flour Power!
www.dottienderle.com

Join Us All Summer--A Raffle A Week

100 PAGES READ EARNS ONE RAFFLE TICKET
PRIZES DONATED BY LORIS LANES, BANKS STREET THEATER, DANBURY DUCK PIN BOWLING AND
QUASSY AMUSEMENT PARK

Sidewalk Chalk Fun July 7th Kick off Summer Reading

Hugo Cabret movie

Production Begins on Scorsese's Hugo Cabret
Source: Sony Pictures June 29, 2010


Production has begun in London on Academy Award®-winner Martin Scorsese's adventure film Hugo Cabret. The live-action film, to be photographed in 3D, stars Academy Award® winner Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island), Sacha Baron Cohen (Bruno), Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas), and Chloë Moretz (Kick-Ass).

Based on Brian Selznick's captivating and imaginative New York Times bestseller "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," the screenplay is by John Logan and the film is produced by Scorsese, Graham King, Tim Headington, and Johnny Depp.

Executive producers are Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Charles Newirth and Christi Dembrowski.

Hugo Cabret, Scorsese's first film shot in 3D, tells the tale of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. When Hugo encounters a broken machine, an eccentric girl, and the cold, reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical, mysterious adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy.

Also appearing in the all-star cast are Academy Award® nominee Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), Ray Winstone (London Boulevard), Christopher Lee ("The Lord of the Rings"), Helen McCrory ("The Special Relationship"), Frances de la Tour (Alice in Wonderland), and Richard Griffiths (The History Boys).

Hugo Cabret re-teams Scorsese, King, and Logan, all of whom worked together on The Aviator. It also reunites Scorsese with several of his longtime collaborators, including director of photography Robert Richardson (Shutter Island, Inglourious Basterds), production designer Dante Ferretti (Shutter Island, Sweeney Todd), costume designer Sandy Powell (Shutter Island, The Young Victoria), and editor Thelma Schoonmaker (Shutter Island, The Departed), all multiple-time Oscar® winners, as well as casting director Ellen Lewis (The Departed, The Aviator).

GK Films acquired the screen rights to "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" shortly after the book was published by Scholastic Press in 2007 and immediately became the #1 New York Times best-selling novel. The ground-breaking book was universally praised by critics and received several literary awards including the coveted 2008 Caldecott Medal and a National Book Award; it was also named the New York Times' Best Illustrated book among many other honors.

Hugo Cabret will be filmed at London's Shepperton Studios as well as on locations in London and Paris. It is scheduled for a December 2011 release in North America by Sony Pictures.



Dotti Enderle
* * *
GINGERBREAD MAN SUPERHERO! (Pelican Publishing)
Flour Power!
http://www.dottienderle.com