Great coming-of-age story! Mclean's parents' divorce made front page news after her mother's affair with the local university's basketball coach. Her father took a job as a consultant moving from town to town trying to save failing restaurants. Disgusted with her mother, Mclean decides to live with her father, much to her mother's dismay. The novel picks up as Mclean and her father are moving to their fourth city in 2 years. As the story unfolds you find that Mclean picks a new persona and identity in each new city as to not become too attached. Before she knows it, the walls she's carefully built begin to crumble as classmates Riley, Deb, and Dave befriend her. She comes to realize she's taken on new identities in each city not only to protect herself, but also because she lost her sense of her own identity with her parents divorce. Before she can figure out who she is, she has to let go of her anger.
Told with honesty and well-rounded characters, this is a great read about what happens to a teen when parents divorce. Mclean is given a realistic voice, and her relationships with her parents and friends are just as realistically complex. This would be a good recommendation for any teen struggling with parental relationships.
Teen beauty queens competing in the "Miss Tenn Dream" pageant are in a plane crash on their way to a tropical island during the contest. Only about a dozen survive the crash and they must devise a survival plan until they are rescued. What develops is a series of laugh out loud episodes as the girls deal with the wilderness. The story is told in alternating sections for each girl and shows the reader what life was like pre-pageant for each girl. Each contestant's background and reasons for entering the pagaent are explored. There are some twists and turns and surprises along the way which I won't spoil, but it was a unique read in a fantastic way.
I would recommend this one for older teens. For the librarians and teachers out there, the book does include discussions of sexuality and gender so just be aware of that before recommending.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read! The first in a series by Katie Kacvinsky this is the story of `17 year old Maddie living in the 2060s in a digitized United States. Desperate for some face-to-face human contact she ventures out to a rare in-person tutoring session after chatting online with a boy from the group. Little does she know how this decision will change her life. She is drawn into the world of the underground revolution against the Digital School which has became mandatory across the country. To make matters even more difficult, Maddie's father happens to lead the Digital School. She now has a choice to make; remain loyal to the Digital School and her father, or join in the revolution to revive the face-to-face world.
Interesting and fun read! Fans of Ally Condie's Matched and Veronica Roth's Divergent will probably like this one. It is a little disturbing to think about how easily the isolated digital world Kacvinsky describes could become a reality. All in a all, a great beginning to a new series from a first-time author. A must-add to a high school or public library collection!
James ends up at Nebraska House, a children’s home, after his mother unexpectedly dies. His stepfather keeps his younger half-sister Lauren, but decides he doesn’t want anything to do with James who he labels as a juvenile delinquent. After a couple of narrow scrapes with the police, James wakes one day in a posh boarding school with no idea how he got there. It turns out to be a training school for children who spy for MI-5. James is offered the chance to enroll as a CHERUB in training. The decision in a no-brainer and James begins the 100 day training program. The program pushes James to his limits, but failing is not an option if he wants to be CHERUB. Through the process James finds a friend in his training partner Kerry. They help each other and compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Ultimately, the training takes all of the recruits through the most difficult tasks of their lives. If they are lucky enough to pass, they must face the real-life dangers waiting for them in future missions as agents.
This was a fun read, and one that will appeal to fans of the Alex Rider series. It will more likely be popular with middle school students than high school students, although it is one that would be good for reluctant and low level older readers. There is plenty of action, and the plot moves fairly quickly after James enters CHERUB’s training program. James is pretty obnoxious in the first third of the book, so it’s difficult to feel much sympathy for the character, but this changes as he matures throughout the book. This is the first book in the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore, and the second book The Dealer has already been published. While it is a good read, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a must-read.
Some books grab a hold of you in such a way that the moment you finish them you flip right back to the beginning to reread it again. Divergent is such a book! I started it last night, and was up until 2am finishing it!
This is a fantastic debut by Veronica Roth, which is set to be the first in a new series. One of the things that impressed me most was that each character stayed true to themselves as the story unfolded, which is difficult for a writer especially considering that several of the characters have major secrets that are revealed throughout the book that could have potentially changed the direction of any one of the characters. This is a novel I could easily picture as a movie adaptation.
A dystopian novel set in the remnants of Chicago, Divergent is a wondrously complicated tale of virtue, ethics, family and even a little romance. In an effort to stabilize the world, the community has been divided into five factions; Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the peaceful), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), and Erudite (the intelligent). Children are raised in the faction of their parents, but when they are sixteen, they must choose a faction to train with and live with for the rest of their lives. An aptitude test is taken by each teenager to guide them to the faction for which they have a disposition. If they choose a faction other than their parents’, they are seen as betrayers.
Beatrice Prior has been raised Abnegation, but has never really felt she fit in with the faction. Her aptitude test provides inconclusive guidance as it indicates she has dispositions for more than faction and that she is Divergent which forces her to make a difficult choice; join a new faction and leave her family, or stay Abnegation and never be true to herself? She chooses to join the Dauntless (the brave), where she takes the name Tris and quickly realizes the faction initiation process is much more difficult than imagined. Her trainer, nicknamed Four, takes a special interest in Tris’ progress and pushes her to the edge.
As the initiation process goes forward, the initiates find that not all of them will be welcomed into Dauntless, but rather they only accept the top ranked. If they fail, they will be factionless and forced to live homeless performing the most menial jobs. The competition becomes fierce as the initiates fight for the few top spots, and Tris becomes the target of a brutal attack. Can Tris survive by drawing on the virtues of the other factions, and what will the Dauntless leaders do if they find out she is Divergent As Tris and Four grow closer they learn of a sinister plot that will lead Erudite and Dauntless to make war on the Abnegation. Can they stop it before Tris' family and the rest of the Abengation are killed?
After I finished the book I told my brother about the book, and he asked me which faction I would choose? I had a hard time answering, which is the point of the book that as individuals we need all five virtues. The question is an interesting one though…If you could only choose one which one would it be?
Lauren DeStefano’s debut novel Wither is a stunning opening to her Chemical Garden Trilogy.
Set in the future, genetic engineers attempted to perfect the human race, which has left the newer generation plagued with a virus that kills women at 20 years old and men at 25 years old. As a result, young women are frequently kidnapped and forcibly married off to wealthy young men to ensure the survival of the human race by having babies before they die. Sixteen-year-old Rhine is kidnapped from Manhattan where she lives alone with her twin brother Rowan, and taken to a mansion in Florida where she will be forced to marry Linden Ashby, the wealthy son of a prominent doctor. When she arrives at the mansion she find that, Linden’s first wife and true love, Rose has recently turned 20 years old and is dying from the virus. Rhine, along with two other young women Jenna and Cecily, has been chosen to be Rose’s replacements. Despite the tragic and awful circumstances Rhine and Rose develop a friendship and Rose asks Rhine to take care of Linden when she dies. After Rose’s death, Rhine begins to uncover the truth behind the medical research her father-in-law is conducting in the basement of the house. When she discovers the terrifying truth she realizes her only hope is to find a way to escape with the help of one of the house attendants, Gabriel. Will their escape plan succeed, and if so will Rhine be reunited with her brother?
Before I read it, I was cautious about the book’s premise and honestly wasn’t really sold on the idea. What I found is a wonderful read that deals with loss, survival, love, and ultimately hope. The narrative is wonderfully descriptive and well written. The characters are touchingly realistic in their flaws and struggles. By the end, you are trying to escape the Ashby mansion with Rhine and Gabriel, and hoping that Linden and Cecily ultimately try to escape as well.
The second book in the trilogy, Fever, is due out in February 2012 and I’ll be at the store waiting for it’s release!
I've read some of Flinn's realistic fiction, but this is the first of her books that I've read that draws on fairy tales. I wasn't quite sure what to expect as the book includes references to about half a dozen fairy tales, and pulls them into one story.
Johnny is a likeable hero; a seventeen year old boy who works at his mother's shoe repair shop in South Beach and spends time hanging out with his best friend Meg . When a famous princess comes to visit, he's shocked that she pays him any attention and is completely bewildered when she asks for his help in tracking down her brother who's been turned into a frog and kidnapped. Strangely enough, his mother convinces him to help the princess. He finds that there is magic around him in many different forms. The princess tells him that she will marry him if he's able to save her brother. He is torn between the beautiful princess, who can give him money and power, and Meg, who he slowly realizes he's in love with. Will he be able to find the prince and who will he chose in the end?
The premise was an interesting one, although the story seemed a bit disjointed at times. Fans of fairy tales and teen romance will probably enjoy this one, but I think Flinn's other books are stronger.
I should preface my review by saying that I listened to the audiobook which is positively wonderful!
It opens with Cassia preparing for her matching ceremony where she will learn who the Society (government)has chosen for her to marry when she turns 21. When she finds that she has been matched with her best friend Xander she couldn't be happier. Her happiness is short-lived when she looks at the microchip the Society officials give her that holds information on her match. The face of another boy she knows, Ky, flashes across her computer screen. Confused as to what this means for her match, she chooses not to tell anyone.
As time goes on, Cassia comes to find that the Society is playing games with people's lives and that not everything is what it seems. She spends the summer getting to know Ky better and realizes that she wants to be able to make life choices for herself. The problem is that the Society literally controls everything. As she and Ky fall in love they begin a desperate search to find a way to be together.
The basic premise of Matched is not a new one. In some ways it's a more mature version of The Giver with romance. Condie's use of language is wonderful, and she reaches amazing depth in each of her characters. I won't spoil the ending of this first volume of the series, but I will say it's going to be a long wait until the fall when Crossed is released in order to finally learn what happens to Cassia, Ky, and Zander!
Ok, so you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but I have to start by saying the cover art for Unearthly is gorgeous! That alone will get this one picked up!
Now on to the content of the book. Clara is an angel-blood who is having visions of her "purpose" to save an unidentified boy from a burning forest. Over time the visions offer more clues to the boy's location and identity which take Clara, her mother, and brother to Jackson, Wyoming where she meets Christian. Still unsure of when and where the forest fire will take place Clara waits patiently for months to serve her "purpose". As she's waiting for the forest fire, Clara meets another angel-blood who teaches her about angel history and powers.
While trying to get to know Christian before the fire, Clara struggles with her growing feelings which are complicated by her growing attraction to another guy, Tucker. Clara finds herself torn between her "purpose" and love.
This is Cynthia Hand's first novel and there promises to be a sequel. It's a good read, with plenty of paranormal romance to draw in genre fans. There are parts that jump a bit where I felt the story moved too quickly, and parts where I felt the things moved too slowly. Overall though, it's a nice read that teen girls will enjoy.
QR Codes are barcodes that represent web site URLs, and look like this:
They are used via mobile devices to access web sites listed on print documents. Check out the short YouTube video below to see how it generally works:
So now you might ask…”What does this mean for my students?" When it comes to research and the library, quite a bit! Just think of the limitless possibilities!
Placing QR Codes on research guides and pathfinders make web links more accessible to students with iPhones, iPod Touchs, and Droids. Add this with a database mobile app, such as the one from Gale, and your students will be off and running!
Next, think about the marketing you do for your library. For every flyer, bookmark, and poster that you create you could place a QR Code on it to send the reader to the web for more info on an event, book, author, podcast, etc.
Now, how do you create a QR Code? You can find many free QR Code Generators out on the web, and free QR mobile apps in your smartphone’s market:
If you are creating your code from a computer, you just go to the web site for your QR Code Generator of choice, paste the URL, choose the size of the barcode you would like and presto you have your own QR Code!
From your mobile device I'd download a QR app first because it makes life easier and you'll need the app to read QR Codes anyway. Then you open the app and copy and paste your URL in the same way you would on a computer.
Once you have your barcode generated you can copy and paste it on any document.
For your students to use the QR Codes you create, they will need to have a QR app on their phone. I downloaded the QR Droid Private on my Motorola Droid. One word of caution, be careful about what app you or your students download because each accesses different pieces of information on your phone in order to operate. This is why I downloaded the Private app because it accesses less information on my phone. Depending on the QR app and the phone you may need to download a basic barcode reader app as well. Once that is taken care of, the user can open the QR app, take a picture of the barcode, and it will take them right to the web site.
One thing I found that I thought was pretty cool is that the QR Droid Private app I put on my phone can link the sites I access from the app directly to my Evernote account. This links my web sites with my notes. Think of the possibilities for teaching note-taking skills!
Also, students can easily create their own QR Codes for presentation handouts, etc. What better way to make a presentation more interesting than to give classmates a web link to follow or additional links for more information on their topic!
QR Codes are gaining usage momentum. There are tons of potential uses on products in stores, magazines articles/ads, business pamphlets, and business cards. This is another reason it’s important for students to know how they work. While QR Codes definitely will help with research, they are also on the way to becoming an important marketing and business tool as well.
The other upside to teaching these is that your students will have fun with them!
Here's the first review to jumpstart the book reviews on the new blog!
Instructions is an enchanting picture book that takes a traveler on a journey through a magical land. Each step along the way directions are given to the traveler, represented in the form of Puss In Boots, to provide for his safety. The traveler encounters imps, forest freatures, and princesses along the way. With each encounter and divergance along the journey, the traveler is given instructions how to react. Lovers of fairy tales and Gaiman's other works will love this book as well. Charles Vess' illustrations and Gaiman's magical prose are a bewitching combination.
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
