Speak Booktalk

I’ve been avoiding reposting this because it is really awkward to see yourself on video. However, as it is Banned Book Week and there has been a lot of controversy over Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, I thought it was especially relevant.

So this is a booktalk for Speak that I created for a class last year. Sorry in advance for the sound, it’s really uneven.

Coming Soon to a Library Near You

Coming Soon to a Library Near You is a weekly feature inspired by Jill at Breaking the Spine that looks at upcoming books.

This Week’s Book: Stay
Author: Deb Caletti
Release Date: April 19 2011
Summary:
Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is--and what he’s willing to do to make her stay. Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough.... (Amazon)

I LOVE Deb Caletti, so I’m incredibly excited about this one.

The Unwritten Rule

The Unwritten Rule
Elizabeth Scott
2010
210 pages

“I’m that girl. The one who likes her best friend’s boyfriend. In the world of friendship, I’m awful. Everyone knows the unwritten rule: you don’t like your best friend’s boyfriend.”

Summary: Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years, but things never seem to work out for the two of them. When he comes back from summer, looking amazing, it seems like things might finally start to happen. That is until Sarah’s beautiful best friend Brianna sees him and decides to take him as her own. So now Sarah is stuck between her best friend and the boy she loves. Even though she knows that you aren’t suppose to like your best friend’s boyfriend, she can’t help how she feels, especially when Ryan keeps looking at her like she’s the one he wants.

Review: The Unwritten Rule is a wonderful light-hearted and fun summer read. Readers who enjoy Scott’s usual style of writing will fall for this story for sure. The characters were well developed, a complete mixture of sweetness, charm and a little bit of messy brokenness. I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah, but I was struck most by Brianna. While she is the character most will hate, I think Scott did a fantastic job at giving her enough of a back story to fill her out as a character, I definitely did not hate her. I thought the story was relatable, not overly complicated and the writing accessible. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read and will be appreciated by many YA readers.

Also by Elizabeth Scott: Love You, Hate You, Miss you, Perfect You, Bloom, Stealing Heaven, Living Dead Girl and Something Maybe

If you liked The Unwritten Rule, you might also enjoy: The Karma Club by Jessica Brody, Something Like Fate by Susane Colsanti, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Author Website: http://www.elizabethwrites.com/

Rating: W3.5/4 C4/4 P3.5/4 O2.5/4 PP3/4 CR2.5/4
Grade Level Interest: MJS

Some Girls Are

Some Girls Are
By Courtney Summers
2010
246 pages

“Hallowell High: You’re either someone or your not. I was someone.”

Summary: Regina use to be at the top of the social food chain in her high school. That is until someone wanting to take her place starts spreading rumours about her and her best friend’s boyfriend. Now she finds herself frozen out of her group and at their mercy as they taunt, tease and harass her. Finding new friends is difficult as Regina quickly realizes how horrible she has been in the past. As the abuse continues and there is the possibility of a new love interest, Regina must decide between redemption and revenge.

Review: Some Girls Are definitely has a Mean Girls feel to it, as Summers provides readers with an inside look at the types of power hungry cliques that exist everywhere. I found the story very relatable for both those who have experienced the terror of these types of people and those who have found themselves accidentally caught up in such activity. I liked that Regina got to play both sides because it showed how easy it is to go along with some of the bullying that takes place. I also enjoyed that Summers didn’t make a lot of excuses for Regina, making her a much more compelling and complicated character. Overall, the story is very well written and the style of writing makes for a fast and engaging read (lots of quick sentences and fast paced dialogue). My only complaint was that it moved too fast and I wanted more!

Also by Courtney Summers: Cracked Up to Be

If you liked Some Girls Are you might also enjoy: The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride. Beautiful by Amy Lynn Reed, Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Additional Info: If you like Courtney Summers writing look for her new book Fall for Anything, set to be released Dec 21 2010.

Author website: http://courtneysummers.ca/

Rating: W4/4 C3/4 P3/4 O2/4 PP3.5/4 CR3/4
Grade Level Interest: JS

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a meme created by The Story Siren. It is a list of what books you have received over the previous week, either for review, from the library, from the bookstore, etc.

Scars by Cheryl Rainfeld - Kendra, fifteen, hasn't felt safe since she began to recall devastating memories of childhood sexual abuse, especially because she still can't remember the most important detail-- her abuser's identity. To relieve the pressure, Kendra cuts; aside from her brilliantly expressive artwork, it's her only way of coping. But the truth about Kendra's abuse is just waiting to explode, with startling unforeseen consequences. Scars is the unforgettable story of one girl's frightening path to the truth

This Gorgeous Game by Donna Freitas - Olivia Peters is over the moon when her literary idol, the celebrated novelist and muchadored local priest Mark D. Brendan, offers to become her personal writing mentor. But when Father Mark’s enthusiasm for Olivia’s prose develops into something more, Olivia’s emotions quickly shift from wonder to confusion to despair. Exactly what game is Father Mark playing, and how on earth can she get out of it? This remarkable novel about overcoming the isolation that stems from victimization is powerful, luminous, and impossible to put down.

Might be a depressing week for me.
What did you get?

Older Teens and 20 Something's Part 1

I’ve been seeing a lot of discourse around the library blogs lately about service for older teens and new adults and whether or not they should be included in Young Adult services, have their own services and collection or be grouped with adults.

The YALSA blog had an article about it in April which can be found here. http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2010/04/09/serving-older-teens-and-twenty-somthings/

I know that you can’t create a box and say that’s what late teens and 20 something’s read since people are just not uniform. Like teens or those who are in their later 20’s, I’m sure they read a little bit of everything. However, this past week Youth Services Corner highlighted some great books that look at the college experience, so I’m going to repost many of them here and add a few of my own. Feel free to check out her blog.
(A) = Adult Fiction

An Off Year by Claire Zulkey
Upon arriving at her dorm room, eighteen-year-old Cecily decides to postpone her freshman year of college and return to her Chicago home, where she spends a year pondering what went wrong while forging new relationships with family and friends.

Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty
Leaving her New Jersey hometown for New York City's Columbia University, Jessica Darling finds her life on the upswing, until she lands an internship at an ultra-hip Brooklyn-based magazine, and she is torn between three very different men.

College Girl by Patricia Wiez (A)
Struggling with private demons from her home life in spite of her attractiveness and ambition, sexually naive college senior Natalie Bloom falls for an untrustworthy man who preys on her insecurities,and manipulates her into self-destructive behaviors.

Dirty South by Philip Thomas
When Kenya and Lark leave New Jersey to attend college in the South, Lark becomes jealous as Kenya gains popularity and becomes the star of a dance troupe.

Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares - As their lives take them in different directions and to different colleges, Lena, Tibby, Carmen, and Bridget discover many more things about themselves and the importance of their relationship with each other.

Hacking Harvard by Robin Wasserman
When three brilliant nerds--Max Kim, Eric Roth, and Isaac "The Professor" Schwarzbaum--bet $20,000 that they can get anyone into Harvard, they take on the Ivy League in their quest for popularity, money, and the love of a beauty queen valedictorian.

Obedience by Will Lavender (A)
The students of Winchester University's class on Logic and Reasoning are given a strange assignment by the creepy Professor Williams, to follow a series of clues to find a missing girl who will be murdered if she has not been found by the end of the term.

RX by Tracy Lynn
Thyme Gilcrest uses a friend's Ritalin to help her get through crunch time at school and develops a full-blown addiction, becoming the ringleader for a prescription drug trade in her circle of overachieving friends.

Size 12 is Not Fat by Meg Cabot (A)
Former pop star Heather Wells has left behind hordes of screaming fans to settle into a new life, but when strange things start happening at her college, she finds herself once again in the spotlight, this time as a detective

Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreud
Eli University junior Amy Haskel finds her life turned upside down when she is invited to join the Rose & Grave, the country's most powerful and notorious secret society, as one of the organization's first female members.

The Ivy by Lauren Kunze
When Callie arrives for her freshman year at Harvard, she encounters her three vastly different roommates, new friendships, steamy romance, and scandalous secrets.

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt
Courtney must drive across country to attend college orientation with her ex-boyfriend while still fuming that he dumped her for a girl he met online, but the two of them learn valuable lessons about themselves and each other along the way.

Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn
Consumed with emailing, online video games, and the many distractions of her electronic gadgets, hyper-frenetic Columbia University freshman Veronica, known as Very LeFreak, enters a rehab facility for the technology-addicted after her professors and classmates stage an intervention.

Book Blogger Hop

Time for the Blogger Hop from Crazy for Books

What a great idea! I love following readers blogs almost more than I like blogging myself. What a great way to get out there and meet new people who share the same interests as you.

This Week's Question: When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book.

I always write my reviews once I’ve completely completed the book. My reviews are really short so I like to know the entire story before I start evaluating it. If I’m away on vacation and I know I won’t be able to write a review right away when everything is fresh, I’ll write as I go. Usually in that case I’ll use a cue card as a bookmark and write down things I might want to use in my review.