Links for Hunger Games Fans

If you have read all of the books and can't wait for the movie in March, here are some great sites about the Hunger Games!

Hunger Games Movie Official Site
I could watch the trailer 10 times in a row, but the site also has posters, widgets to embed on your blog or website, and a movie photo gallery!

Hunger Games Movie on Facebook
Sign up for advanced movie ticket purchase reminders, see photos from the movie, and get all of the lastest info.

Visit the Capitol
Use your Facebook or Twitter account (or create a login) to find out which district you're from.  Then, explore the Capitol as a citizen!  You can also Like the Capitol on Facebook.

Hunger Games Book Series Official Site
Lots of information about the three books, videos from Suzanne Collins, and play the Trial by Fire and Tribute Trials games!

Fansites
Lots of fans have created their own websites for the Hunger Games.  Here are some of of the best-known:

• Down with the Capitol
• The Hob
• The Hunger Games Trilogy
• Jabberjays.com
• Mockingjay.net

Book-to-Movie News

So, a roundup of things that are going on with teen books that are being turned into movies:

The Hunger Games
It now has a release date:  March 23, 2012!  A casting director has been hired, but no actual casting has started.  However, check out this great online poll that includes both the major and minor characters!

City of Bones
The studio making this movie apparently really wants Alex Pettyfer to play Jace.  They will only greenlight the project if he takes the role!  (Read more.)

Harry Potter
OK, so the series has been around for a while, but check out this interesting article about the man who adapted all seven books into screenplays!

Book Review: Beastly

Beastly by Alex Flinn
(Click here to find a library copy.)

In Alex Flinn's Beastly, popular and oh so rich prep boy Kyle Kingsbury is transformed into a hideous beast. Mainly, this story is a modern remake of Beauty and the Beast. Flinn plays out the story in very similar ways to the actual story.  She makes a witch disguised as a student mad because he says she is ugly. The man who is supposed to be 'Belle's' father is caught breaking into the home of the beast. She hates him and she loves books. I wonder who that sounds like? Anyway, I fell in love with this book and I know you will too. I'm currently part of the cast of Beauty and the Beast so it was awesome to read it in a modern view. I can't wait to see how all the characters are portrayed when the movie comes out next Friday!

Happy Reading!

For more about the book, see Gretchen's review of Beastly.

2011 Books to Movies for Teens

A new year means lots of books are coming to a theater near you! I included all books with teen interest, not just those that were published for young adults, so there is something for everyone. I can't vouch for their quality, but look for these movies through the year and make your own judgments:

March 11--Jane Eyre (book by Charlotte Bronte)
March 18--Beastly (book by Alex Flinn)
March 25--Roderick Rules (book by Jeff Kinney)
July 15--Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II (book by J. K. Rowling)
October 14--The Three Musketeers (book by Alexander Dumas)
November 18--Breaking Dawn, Part I (book by Stephenie Meyer)
December 9--The Invention of Hugo Cabret (book by Brian Selznick)
December 21--The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (book by Steig Larsson)
December 28--The Adventures of Tintin:  Secrets of the Unicorn (book by Herge)

No specific dates:
The Giver (book by Lois Lowry)
The Witches (book by Roald Dahl)
Uglies (book by Scott Westerfeld)

Harry Potter Movie Marathon

Last Saturday, 29 intrepid teens showed up for our Harry Potter Movie Marathon, featuring back-to-back-to-back showings of movies four, five, and six!  We started at 9:30 and ended at 4:30.  It was kind of insane, but a lot of fun.  The idea was that it would prepare people to go see the new movie.  A few people had already seen it, and several others had plans for Sunday or later this week.  However, one fanatical group literally left the marathon and went off to the theater!

Back in the summer, Morgan approached me about doing this program.  He didn't just have ideas...he had three pages of notes, including snack ideas and a cost breakdown!  How could I say no!?  A few things changed, but his original idea stayed the same.  As people came in, the "sorting hat" assigned them to a Hogwarts House. 

Morgan asked trivia questions during the movies, which earned people candy for themselves and points for their houses.  At the end of the day, the team with the most points got a prize, even if some of their members came late or left early.  (Something I wanted to do but forgot:  put wizard cards in with the candy.)

OUR FINAL STANDINGS:
Slytherin -- 91
Hufflepuff -- 76
Ravenclaw --75
Gryffindor -- 57

During the second movie, I put out a golden snitch papercraft.  I thought it would be fun to do while watching because those little cuts and folds take patience.  Too much patience, apparently, because only a few people saw it through!  But, it's really cute, so try it yourself.  Also, check out this pattern to make a Ministry of Magic owl paper airplane.

Huge thanks to Morgan for making this possible!  And extra credit to Morgan, Kelliann, Edythe, Drew, Claude, Mike, Egypt, Owen, and Sahva who stayed all day!!

Renesmee

I know this has been keeping you awake at night, so I just wanted to post that nine-year-old Mackenzie Foy will be playing Renesmee in the last Twilight Saga movie, Breaking Dawn.  She's a gorgeous kid, but I hope they do her hair to resemble the description in the book.  What do you think?

Book Entertainment News

A random selection of book crossover info for your reading and viewing pleasure! (With thanks to Publishers Weekly for the tips.)

Because of the success of Vampire Diaries on TV, new books in the series are planned for this fall. L. J. Smith is writing a trilogy of books about Stephen that form a prequel to the TV show.

The movie version of Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You starts filming this month in New York. Check out the cast list, and don't forget to check out the book by Peter Cameron.

Ned Vizzini's book It's Kind of a Funny Story hits the big screen next month! We own this book, as well as Be More Chill and Vizzini's autobiography, so look for them in the teen section.

Mockingjay Tidbits

OK, so we are ravenously awaiting the final volume in The Hunger Games trilogy! Called Mockingjay, it is under strict embargo until next Tuesday, August 24. (I have six copies sitting here at the library that I'm not allowed to look at. It's torture!) So what's a fan to do? Read ABOUT the book!!

Interviews with the Author:

• The Last Battle: With ‘Mockingjay’ on its way, Suzanne Collins weighs in on Katniss and the Capitol
• Suzanne Collins on the books she loves

Hunger Games Movie:

• Basic movie information
• Speculation: Who should play Katniss?
• YouTube fan videos

Hunger Games Fansites:

• http://www.hungergamestrilogy.net/
• http://www.hungergamestrilogy.com/fansite/
• http://mockingjay.net/
• http://jabberjays.com/

Hunger Games Fanfic: Check out one of these communities!

Book Review: The Looking Glass Wars

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Click on the cover to find a library copy.

SUMMARY: The Myth: Alice was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook. The Truth: Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss’ parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts. (from the back cover)

OPINION: As I librarian, I am ashamed to admit it, but I have never read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carrol. I am familiar with the characters and some plot elements, of course, mostly from the Disney movie. Now I have to go back and read the real books. Why? Because I thoroughly enjoyed Frank Beddor's reimagining of Wonderland and want to find out more about the original. The card solders were definitely my favorite part of Beddor's Wonderland, especially because he included drawings of how they worked. The engaging action/adventure plot kept me turning the pages, and the hint of romance kept me hopeful throughout the story. If you are the type of reader who likes to get lost in a fantasy world, this one's for you.

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE: Frank Beddor maintains a great site devoted to The Looking Glass Wars, including sections devoted to fan art, fan fiction, and even fan videos! There are screensavers and wallpapers to download, e-cards to send, flash-animated games to play, and forums where you can talk to other fans.

FUTHER READING: This is the first book in a trilogy, followed by Seeing Redd and ArchEnemy. There is also a graphic novel series following the adventures of Hatter Madigan as he searches for Alyss in our world. This series includes Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars and Hatter M: Mad with Wonder so far. The third volume, Hatter M: The Nature of Wonder, is scheduled for release later this year.

FURTHER WATCHING: A new Alice in Wonderland movie comes to the big screen this March, and I have heard that it has some parallels to The Looking Glass Wars (even though a movie of this book has been optioned as well). IMDB's plot summary says, "19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror." Hmmm. The rumors may be true! Plus, it is directed by Tim Burton and has Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, so it can't be all bad.

Books to Movies in 2010

A new year means lots of books are coming to a theater near you! I included all books with teen interest, not just those that were published for young adults, so there is something for everyone. I can't vouch for their quality, but look for these movies through the year and make your own judgments:

• January 15: The Lovely Bones (book by Alice Sebold)
• February 5: Dear John (book by Nicholas Sparks)
• February 12: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (book by Rick Riordan)
• March 5: Alice in Wonderland (book by Lewis Carroll)
• April 2: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (book by Jeff Kinney)
• April 2: The Last Song (book by Nicholas Sparks)
• June 30: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (book by Stephenie Meyer)
• July 30: Beastly (book by Alex Flinn)
• September 17: Flipped (book by Wendelin Van Draanen)
• November 19: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (book by J. K. Rowling)
• December 10: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (book by C. S. Lewis)
• December 22: Gulliver's Travels (book by Jonathan Swift)

(There will be several hightly-anticipated comic book movies out this year as well. I didn't include them because they will all be R-rated as far as I could tell.)

The Lovely Bones

The movie version of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is available in limited theatrical release starting this weekend, but the reviews have been mixed. I'd curl up at home with the book if I were you! If you've already read it, here are some read-alikes recommended in this month's Teen Scene email newsletter:

• Many Stones by Carolyn Coman
• Waves by Sharon Dogar
• The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
• Where I Want to Be by Adele Griffin
• The Afterlife by Gary Soto
• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

New Moon Madness!

Last night, 36 people came out to celebrate the New Moon movie at our release party. We did it a week early so it didn't interfere with anyone's actual movie viewing, and the bonus was that it was Friday the 13th! Huge thanks to the Teen Advisory Board (TAB) for funding this event and suggesting some of the activities. The TAB purchased the cardboard cutout of Robert Pattinson, as well as all of the Twilight products we used for prizes and some of the craft supplies.

Some of our activities came from the hilarious new dating advice book The Vampire Is Just Not That Into You. We took two magazine-style quizzes to test our compatibility with the vampire of our dreams and we also wrote vampire love poetry. I wish I had more than one copy of the book in our collection because a lot of people wanted to check it out!

After watching the relevant scene in the Twilight movie, we made glitter gel, so that we could sparkle like a vampire in the sun. Scooping it into the containers proved to be more of a challenge than I bargained for. Next time, we will use funnels! It did turn out really cute, though. We also did a Mad-Lib of the initial meeting of Bella and Edward. I had to collect a lot of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, but it was really funny, especially after watching the serious scene in the Twilight movie.

Later, we had a cupcake decorating contest in honor of the beginning of New Moon when Alice sets up an elaborate celebration of Bella's birthday. Everone got a devil's food cupcake with white icing and directions to do something related to the Twilight series. After that, it was a free-for-all of candy, pretzels, red and black icing, and creativity! Emily was the overall winner and she won a New Moon shirt, while our four runners-up (Anila, Jasmine, Kaitlyn, and Jolene)won Twilight Sweetarts. We watched some of the New Moon movie trailers while we enjoyed the cupcakes and some other snacks.

At the end, my book display of vampire fiction was demolished, and a lot of people also took my newly-updated list of vampire books. If you missed the list, extra copies are now down in the teen section. I hope everyone had a great time!

Robert Pattinson was a popular guest at our party!

The winning entry in our cupcake decorating contest!

A cupcake runner-up: I loved his hair

Another runner-up: Edward and Bella

One more runner-up: a pretzel werewolf

Harry Potter Theme Park!!

Yesterday, Universal Studios announced more details of their plans for a Harry Potter section of their Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando! OK, so it's obviously more connected to the movies, but I still think we should celebrate amusement rides and attractions that are based on a series of books.

This will be an amazing immersion experience for fans of the books and movies, with the centerpiece being Hogwarts castle. Called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the area will draw on parts of all the stories to create a comprehensive experience. Click on the "Map" link on the website to open a cool Marauder's Map that will show you all the planned attractions. Also, check out this "first look" video to see some of the buildings and get a preview of the rides.

The only thing I think is missing is some kind of Quidditch experience, and that may be included in the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. Of course, I would have loved to see some of the shops of Diagon Alley, but the setting for this world is Hogwarts and its surroundings, so that wouldn't make sense.

It's opening in the spring of 2010, so who wants to plan a trip?!?!

New Moon!!!

For any of you who have not heard: The New Moon trailer is out, and it looks good! There are also some pretty cute werewolf pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwnidftwZ_M

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259571/

Hope you enjoy!

<3 Mr. Darcy <3

Last Wednesday, 13 teens came to the Book Swap and Jane Austen event. Since only 11 books were swapped during the whole four-hour event, I can only conclude that the real draw was Mr. Darcy! We had a great time comparing the historical Pride and Prejudice to the updated Bride and Prejudice. It was fun to see how the original events and dialogue were interpreted into a multicultural, multi-continental, modern movie. We will have to do another Jane Austen-themed movie event again soon!