Fresh Books

Here are our newest items in the teen section:

FICTION

• Sunset Boulevard by Zoey Dean (The A-List:  Hollywood Royalty series)
• Dial L for Loser by Lisi Harrison (Clique series; replacement copy)
• These Boots Are Made for Stalking by Lisi Harrison (Clique series; replacement copy)
• Pretty Little Devils by Nancy Holder
• Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty (Jessica Darling series)
• Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty (Jessica Darling series)
• Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty (Jessica Darling series)
• First Date by Krista McGee
• All the Right Stuff by Walter Dean Myers
• Forgotten by Cat Patrick (replacement copy)

NONFICTION

• Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos
• Just Write--Here's How! by Walter Dean Myers

GRAPHIC NOVELS

• Freshman:  Tales of 9th Grade Obesessions, Revelations, and Other Nonsense by Corinne Mucha

The End of an Era

Dear Everyone,

At the Teen Advisory Board meeting on June 24, I announced that I will not be returning to Sellers Library as the Young Adult Librarian after my pregnancy.  The twins are due near the end of August, and I am planning to work as long as I am allowed this summer.

This job has been my first and only professional library position since I graduated from library school in 2005, so I am very sad to have to leave.  I have always said that my job is one of the most fun things an adult can do to earn a living!  I am going to miss every library teen, but especially all of the Teen Advisory Board, gaming club, and book group members, past and present.

The library is working on hiring an awesome replacement for me by the end of the summer, so teen programs will continue into the future.  We have finished taking applications and will start interviewing candidates in July.

I am planning to stay in touch through Facebook and library visits, so you will definitely see us around.   Even though I won’t be working at the library, I still want to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to contact me about anything.

Lots of Love,
Gretchen

Teen Summer Reading Winners, Weeks 1 & 2

On Monday, I did the first prize drawing for the Own the Night teen summer reading club!  Here are the first set of winners:

Saranjeet Kaur, grade 10

won a hardcover book and glow-in-the-dark aliens.

Sujoy Das, grade 9

won a hardcover book and a carabiner watch.

Mashfi Chowdhury, grade 9

won a copy of If I Stay signed by author Gayle Forman, glow bracelets, and candy.

Anna Sherman, grade 6

won a copy of Jake and Lily signed by author Jerry Spinelli and earrings.

Jayla Harris, grade 8

won a $5 gift card to Barnes & Noble.

Congrats to all, and good luck to everyone else in the future!  Keep those slips coming!!

Zombies!

I have so many things to post from the past few weeks, but Zombie Day has to be the first!  Eighteen teens attended our summer theme kick-off event last Friday.  Although we were only able to Own the Afternoon (not the Night as the teen theme suggests), we had some amazingly creepy zombies in the library.  We had everything zombie, including a mad scientist, a bride, a surfer, and a Girl Scout!  Some people came in costume or as a character, others did not.  But everyone was transformed by the end because part of the program was a zombie makeup lesson!  Fake blood and plastic skin wounds were the most popular elements by far!  Thanks to Katie and Laurel for sharing zombie makeup tips.

This was a three-hour program, and we did a lot more than just makeup.  We danced along with Thriller on the Michael Jackson Experience video game, with thanks to Jasmine for leading us.  We decorated zombie cupcakes for a contest, in which Devon and Blya won prizes.  We drank bloody worm punch along with the cupcakes after the judging.  We had a creepy music mix for atmosphere, thanks to Kara, and we watched part of Night of the Living Dead.

We made signs that read, "Use Your Brrrains at the Library" and then shambled our way into the adult building (after we put on makeup) to show off our zombie skills!  We tried to go down to State Road and wave at traffic, but it ended up being unsafe.  Plus, it was so hot that some of the makeup was melting off!  So, we headed back upstairs to eat bloody hands and brain made of Jell-o, which was awesome.  I awarded prizes to Billy and Jasmine for having the most creative zombie look, and also awarded other random stuff to people who came in costume.

We haven't done a costumed event like this in long time.  I loved it, and I know a lot of other people did too!  Huge thanks to grown-up library teen Kara for her assistance in keeping everything running.  As usual, I couldn't have pulled this off without help from her and our Teen Advisory Board!

Thriller!

Some people arrived as zombies

Brains!

Kara chose Devon's "zombie rising from the grave" cupcake as a winner.

I choose Blya's "bleeding eye" for second place.

I also liked Jasmine's "hand rising from the grave" entry.

Our group picture, with me in the center!

We took our signs up to the balcony in the adult library.

Here are some zombies in front of the building with our signs.

A zombie Girl Scout and a goth zombie get ready to feast on some tasty bloody hands!

Three more zombies love brrrrrraaaaains!!

June Craft Closet Cleanout

On June 13, we had our end-of-the-school-year Craft Closet Cleanout!  We made crafts from this year, last summer, and who-knows-when in the past.  Some crafts had to be done at tables, but others could be completed on the floor.  As a bonus, we watched two summer-ish Disney movies while we worked, Finding Nemo and Lilo and Stitch.  Everyone went home with great crafts, including wreath magnets, chopstick hair holders, denim iPod pockets, and team spirit ponytail holders!  We'll do another CCC at the end of the summer, so join us then.

Book Grub Grads

On June 1, the high school book group had our last meeting of the school year and celebrated our seniors!  It's such an annual tradition that we don't even read a book for this month.  We just talk about the summer and the seniors' plans for the future, and revisit all of the books we read through the year.  We also gorged ourselves on awesome ice cream sundaes! 

This year, we graduated Emily, Jasmine, Tyria, Shannon, Anas, Katie, and Sarah from the group.  Some of those readers have been in our library book groups since elementary school, others joined just this year.  But however long they've been a part of the group, we're always sad to see them go!  Luckily, most of them will be around for the summer.  And, for those not moving away, we actually have a new book group for 18-20somethings that is full of high school book group grads.

The high school book group

Acting silly

Most of our seniors, minus two who were doing prom stuff (prom was the next day).

Why are they fanning him with the book group papers?

I have no idea what this was about...!

The freshmen wanted their own group picture!

Asian Culture Club--6/6/12

For our last meeting of ACC for the year, we made candy sushi and listened to K-pop and J-pop.  Several members had dedicated their Random-A-Thon funds for this group, and we hadn't used much of the money during the spring.  So we decided to blow it all on candy! Using basic junk food like Twinkies, gummy worms, Fruit Rollups, Nerds, and marshmallows, we created some pretty good-looking sushi.  Of course, we ate it with chopsticks!  

Paul, our new Young Adult Librarian, is planning the return of some kind of anime group in the fall, so look for that on the schedule!

Shiny!

Here's what we added to the teen section this week.  Please get in here and check things out...we don't have room for everything on the shelves!

FICTION

• Flirting with Boys by Hailey Abbott
• First Kill by Heather Brewer (Slayer Chronicles series)
• Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter (additional copy)
• Nothing but the Truth (and a Few White Lies) by Justine Chen Headley (replacement copy)
• The Boy Book by E. Lockhart (replacement copy)
• Burn by Suzanne Phillips
• Chloe Doe by Suzanne Phillips
• Everyone Who's Anyone by Randi Reisfeld
• I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It by Adam Selzer
• The Lying Game by Sara Shepard (additional copy)
• You Just Can't Get Enough by Cecily von Ziegesar (Gossip Girl series)

NONFICTION

• SoulCalibur IV Signature Series Guide by Bradygames

GRAPHIC NOVELS

• Pita-Ten, volume 1, by Koge-Donbo
• My Boyfriend Is a Monster, volumes 2-5, by Ann Kerns

Book Review: Cracked

Cracked by K. M. Walton

Request a copy of this book from the library catalog!

SUMMARY:  Victor hates his life. He’s relentlessly bullied at school and his parents constantly ridicule him at home.  Bull is angry. He’s sick of his grandfather’s drunken beatings. And he likes to take out his rage on Victor.  Determined to end it all, Victor takes a bottle of his mother’s sleeping pills—only to be disappointed when he wakes up in the psych ward. And his roommate? None other than Bull, whose loaded-gun effort at self-defense has been labeled as a suicide attempt.  (from the book description)

OPINION:  An acquantance of mine was involuntarily committed in high school, and I remember him remarking after he was released that the only people who really understood him were in the hospital.  At the time, I thought that was really weird, and slightly offensive to the rest of the people in his life!  However, this book provided a glimpse into the minds and experiences of mentally ill teens that helped me gain some empathy for him many years after the fact.  Although I found it awfully convenient that both boys were substantially helped by meeting girls in therapy, I still have to say that this is a powerful and moving story.  It had me on the verge of tears several times!  This book is definitely a high school read, and excellent for fans of very realistic fiction by authors like Ellen Hopkins.
Visit K. M. Walton's website!

Spring Nintendo Night

Last Friday, 27 teens came out for our spring edition of Nintendo Night!  It was a great group, and the event ran so smoothly that we had extra time.  That's very unusual!  We did our usual Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament, which had 24 entrants in teams of two.  We ended up with a three-team final:  David J/Siaka, David T./Jared, and John/Conor.  John and Conor beat both other teams to each earn a $15 gift card to Game Stop and candy.  The other guys just got candy. We also had a Pokemon Black and White tournament, which had eight entrants.  Someone dropped out, and they ended up in this crazy three-person loop for the finals.  Finally, Evan managed to beat both David J. and John!  All three of them got candy, but only Evan got the $10 Game Stop gift card.  At the end of the event, I gave away a bunch of random Nintendo prizes, so a lot of people left with something!

Huge thanks to our regular gaming club members for their help with the event.  David J. brought in his Wii and controllers for Naruto free play, Evan planned and ran the Pokemon tournament, Colin provided his vintage N64 and games, Tim donated some N64 prizes, and John kept the controllers under control.  We couldn't have done it without you!

Just Dance

Last Wednesday, 15 people showed up for our after-school Just Dance day.  We had fun warming up with some free play, then started the tournament.  Although Devon brought in Just Dance 3 and was sure that he'd win, he didn't even make it to the final round!  We ended up with a three-person final among Brittney, Kathy, and Shanae.  Shanae won by just a few points and got a $10 Wawa gift card!

If you owe the library money for overdue fines, be sure to come out on June 20 from 1:00 to 5:00 for Rock Away Your Fines!  For every one song you play on Rock Band, I will knock a dollar off of your fines.  Check with the library for more details.