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