Tuesday, 2 December 2014

Teen Advisory Board November Minutes



BET Minutes
Upcoming programs: (Remember, NO BET meeting in DECEMBER)
*    Christmas Tree Decorating: (3:30pm - 5:00pm Thurs Nov 27, 2014)
  1. We will be decorating a Christmas tree in the teen department, making ornaments, etc Hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies will be provided. Please send Lindsey an email if you wish to participate.
  2. Volunteers: Kassandra Neubrand, Betty Zhang, Cassandra C.
*    Makerspace: (3:30pm - 6:00pm Weds Dec 10, 2014
  1. Theme: Christmas Special Gift Making!
  2. This will be the opportunity to make multiple gifts: Christmas cards or tags, tree ornaments, porcelain pens, heat shrinking ornaments, decorate mugs, bottle-cap necklaces, decorating a jewelry box, stickers, etc
  3. Registration is required; if you wish to bring a friend, please let Lindsey know in advance.
*    Fanclub: (4:00pm - 5:00pm Weds Dec 17, 2014)
  1. Used to have a lot of people in this program but many teens have since graduated!  Lets decide together what the themes for each months program should be and each of you is encouraged to bring a friend!
  2. Ideas for theme: Christmas Themed Fandom trivia, Fandom jeopardy, youtubers.
  3. Ideas for theme (January): Videogames (Mario Smash Bros on Wii U or Wii)
*    Volunteer Appreciation Party: (Weds Jan 7, 2015)
  1. Party Time for all teen volunteers at the library, gift/goodies and treats will be provided
*    Zombie Lock-In: (5:45pm - 7:30pm Fri Dec 5, 2014)
  1. Originally there arent many people signed up for the program, many of the grade 12s are too busy to participate, at least 10 people must be registered for the program to run.
  2. Anyone coming?: Abby L, Mavis C, Cassandra C., Kassandra N, Konnor H, Ashley A (?), other possible people in a list that Kassandra N has made (please check with her for more people)
*    Anti-Valentines Day Lock-In: Run by BET! (Fri Dec 13, 2014)
  1. Ideas/themes: date your favorite fandom characters, play games, etc
  2. Will need to set up committee to brainstorm and setup Lock-in
  3. Decided to do a super cheesy Valentines Day party
*    Internal Contest, Bring a Friend: (Nov 1, 2014 - Feb 1, 2015)
  1. Contest to increase participation in teen programs. All BET members will earn points when they bring a friend to a program that hasnt been to that specific program before. Winner will get a prize pack containing a gift certificate (most likely from Manticore Books downtown), a coffee cup/mug, book bag and journal
*    Santas Elves: (Dec 4 @ 3:30pm - 5:00pm/Dec 4 @ 3:30pm - 6:00pm)
  1. TOP SECRET Volunteer project
  2. Volunteers: Abby, Konnor, Betty (?), Mavis, Cassie, Ashley (?)
*    Battle of the Books: ODCVI & PF
  1. Need to find someone to hand out/pass on flyers to ODCDI (Abby) & PF (Alex B
*    Family Craft Day: (Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:00am - 4:00pm)
  1. Need volunteers to help out with family Christmas craft day, duties include helping with the ugly Christmas sweater workshop, childrens crafts, etc
  2. Volunteers: Abby (?), Mavis , Betty
*    Twin Lakes Day: (Thurs Jan 8, 2015 @ Lunch Break)
  1. Lindsey will be going to twin lakes with Dale from LGBTQA group to hand out buttons, flyers, and chocolate to promote Library Programming
  2. Volunteers: Kassandra Neubrand, Mavis Choo (?)
*    Youth Author Writing Workshop ( ? )
  1. A young author in our area (only 19 years old) would like to do a youth writing workshop with us! Does it bring interest? (Yes).
  2. Still need to decide dates and etc

Friday, 28 November 2014

New at the Library!

Over the last two months we have had some fantastic new books make their way into the library.  Below you will find a list of ten books I am really excited to see on our shelves as well as a list of the newest books from your favorite series that have just arrived.  All of our new books are on display in the teen section of the library. 

1.  Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Book Jacket for: Anatomy of a misfit

Summary:

In this Mean Girls meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower tale, narrator Anika Dragomir is the third most popular girl at Pound High School. But inside, she knows she's a freak; she can't stop thinking about former loner Logan McDonough, who showed up on the first day of tenth grade hotter, bolder, and more mysterious than ever. Logan is fascinating, troubled and off-limits. The Pound High queen bee will make Anika's life hell if she's seen with him. So Anika must choose—ignore her feelings and keep her social status? Or follow her heart and risk becoming a pariah. Which will she pick? And what will she think of her choice when an unimaginable tragedy strikes, changing her forever? An absolutely original new voice in YA in a story that will start important conversations—and tear at your heart.


I picked this book because:

Drama. Sometimes you just need to read a book with drama, especially one that helps teach you how to navigate it.

2.  Positive: surviving my bullies, finding hope and living to change the world: a memoir by Paige Rawl

Book Jacket for: Positive : surviving my bullies, finding hope, and living to change the world : a memoir
Summary:
An astonishing memoir for the untold number of children whose lives have been touched by bullying. Positive is a must-read for teens, their parents, educators, and administrators—a brave, visceral work that will save lives and resonate deeply.

Paige Rawl has been HIV positive since birth, but growing up, she never felt like her illness defined her. On an unremarkable day in middle school, she disclosed to a friend her HIV-positive status—and within hours the bullying began. From that moment forward, every day was like walking through a minefield. Paige was never sure when or from where the next text, taunt, or hateful message would come. Then one night, desperate for escape, fifteen-year-old Paige found herself in her bathroom staring at a bottle of sleeping pills.

That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning. Paige's memoir calls for readers to choose action over complacency, compassion over cruelty—and above all, to be Positive.

I picked this book because:

Life is hard, and sometimes life is made better or worse by how you choose to deal with bad situations.  In this book Page's voice is authentic, sincere and POSITIVE! READ THIS BOOK ASAP!

3.  I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Book Jacket for: I'll give you the sun

Summary:
"A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell"

 Jude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and divisive ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as an unpredictable new mentor. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they'd have a chance to remake their world.

I picked this book because:

I picked it because the first line says that this book is for fans of John Green, David Levithan and Rainbow Rowell.  'Nuff said.

4.  The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Book Jacket for: The Testing

Summary:

It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about—hope for—is whether she’ll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings (”Cia, trust no one”), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever. Danger, romance—and sheer terror—await.

I picked this book because:

I'm still not over the dystopian craze.  I am deeply fascinated by authors who create books that take place in the future. My vote is that the world ends in a Zombie apocalypse but I am open to alternatives. 

5.  Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

Book Jacket for: Afterworlds

Summary:

Darcy Patel has put college on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds. With a contract in hand, she arrives in New York City with no apartment, no friends, and all the wrong clothes. But lucky for Darcy, she’s taken under the wings of other seasoned and fledgling writers who help her navigate the city and the world of writing and publishing. Over the course of a year, Darcy finishes her book, faces critique, and falls in love.

Woven into Darcy’s personal story is her novel, Afterworlds, a suspenseful thriller about a teen who slips into the “Afterworld” to survive a terrorist attack. The Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead, and where many unsolved—and terrifying—stories need to be reconciled. Like Darcy, Lizzie too falls in love…until a new threat resurfaces, and her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she cares about most.

I picked this book because:

Scott Westerfeld wrote it.  I am a HUGE fan of his Uglies series, so I am willing to give anything he writes a try.  That being said, I do find the plot of this book a little confusing.

6.  Wildthorn by Jane Eagland

Book Jacket for: Wildthorn

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove has never enjoyed the life of the pampered, protected life girls of wealth were expected to follow in nineteenth century England. It was too confining. She would have much rather been like her older brother, allowed to play marbles, go to school, become a doctor. But little does she know how far her family would go to kill her dreams and desires. Until one day she finds herself locked away in an insane asylum and everyone--the doctors and nurses--insist on calling her Lucy Childs, not Louisa Cosgrove.

Surely this is a mistake. Surely her family will rescue her from this horrible, disgusting place. But as she unravels the mystery, she discovers those are the very people she can't trust. So who can she? There's one person--Eliza. As their love grows, Louisa realizes treachery locked her away. Love is the key to freedom.

I picked this book because:

I am a sucker for suspense and this book looks like it has a ton of it.

7.  Coda by Emma Trevayne

Book Jacket for: Coda

Summary:

Ever since he was a young boy, music has coursed through the veins of eighteen-year-old Anthem—the Corp has certainly seen to that. By encoding music with addictive and mind-altering elements, the Corp holds control over all citizens, particularly conduits like Anthem, whose life energy feeds the main power in the Grid.

Anthem finds hope and comfort in the twin siblings he cares for, even as he watches the life drain slowly and painfully from his father. Escape is found in his underground rock band, where music sounds free, clear, and unencoded deep in an abandoned basement. But when a band member dies suspiciously from a tracking overdose, Anthem knows that his time has suddenly become limited. Revolution all but sings in the air, and Anthem cannot help but answer the call with the chords of choice and freewill. But will the girl he loves help or hinder him?

Emma Trevayne's dystopian debut novel is a little punk, a little rock, and plenty page-turning.

I picked this book because:

This summary sounds like nothing I have ever read before! In seeing this book described as being dystopian with a little punk and a little rock, I was  hooked. This book is at the top of my "dying to read" list.

8.  Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

Book Jacket for: Rumble

Summary:

Eighteen-year-old Matt's atheism is tested when, after a horrific accident of his own making that plunges him into a dark, quiet place, he hears a voice that calls everything he has ever disbelieved into question.

I picked this book because:

Anything by Ellen Hopkins is super popular at the library.  She also writes about some really tough topics in a serious, realistic way that resonates with a lot of todays teens.

9.  It's Our Prom (so deal with it) by Julie Anne Peters

Book Jacket for: It's our prom (so deal with it) : a novel

Summary:

When Azure's principal gives her the chance to turn the school's traditional (and boring) senior prom into an event that will appeal to everyone, not just the jocks and cheerleaders, she jumps at the opportunity. Soon Azure manages to convince her best friends, Luke and Radhika, to join the prom committee as well.

Facing heavy opposition and admittedly clueless about prom logistics, the three friends are nonetheless determined to succeed -- if Luke's and Azure's secret crushes on Radhika don't push the committee members, and their friendships, to the breaking point first.

Told in two voices and filled with comical missed connections, It's Our Prom (So Deal With It)explores the ups and downs of planning an alternative prom -- while dealing with an unrequited crush on your best friend -- and shines with National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters's unmistakable wit and insight.

I picked this book because:

Everyone should be able to go to prom.

10.  The Bermudez Triangle: a novel by Maureen Johnson

Book Jacket for: The Bermudez triangle : a novel

Summary:

The friendship of three high school girls and their relationships with their friends and families are tested when two of them fall in love with each other.

I picked this book because:

It's about love and friendship.  Both of these can be tricky but are integral to our happiness.

And last but not least new books by your favorite authors!


1. No Dawn Without Darkness by Dayna Lorentz
*the conclusion to the No Safety in Numbers trilogy

Book Jacket for: No dawn without darkness

2.  Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
* the second book in the Grisha trilogy


3.  Ignite me by Tahereh Mafi
* the conclusion of the Shatter Me series

Book Jacket for: Ignite me


Monday, 27 October 2014

Review: The 100 by Kass Morgan



 My Review:
   I just recently read, "The 100" by Kass Morgan.  Set in a futuristic world where humans have been forced to live in ships in outer space due to radioactive poisoning that destroyed life as we know it on planet Earth.  Many years later after a fatal stunt, 100 delinquents are chosen to do what no one else has ever done.  They must travel down to Earth as an experiment to see if Earth can be recolonized.
 
 The story revolves around four characters perspectives and with every chapter comes a flashback. These two things combined can be disorientating but the flashbacks remain crucial to the story. The hamartia {fatal flaw} of this book for me was in fact the romance. After reading the synopsis and even watching the promo’s for the TV show I was pumped and ready for an action packed thriller that would keep me begging for more so I was rather disappointed when it wasn’t.  Often I found the story dragging on a bit so a good elaborate plot twist at about the middle of the book would have been god for readers like me just so we don’t lose interest.  For those who get bored easily this is not the book for you.
     If you read a lot you there are only so many times you enjoy the same plot, romance development etc… It’s always nice to find a book that offers you something new. The spaceship was in fact a first for me but something got lost along the way and that to me was the building of anticipation. If you read the synopsis you understand that these kids are going to earth but I wanted to know more about their society, how cruel their world might have been, why those 100 kids and why not others, how much different was their society? I felt like I was being rushed into going to earth without having an understanding of where these kids are coming from.
  However If you enjoy books like James Dashner’s “The Maze Runner” or “Gone” by Michael Grant then this is the book for you. If you are looking for an edge of your seat thriller I would defiantly not recommend this book. Ultimately it was a good book and will appeal to different people; it just didn’t click for me.
By: Teen Reviewer Chloe

Friday, 24 October 2014

Battle of the Books 2015



 
It's time to start High School Battle of the Books 2015! We have reduced the list to forty books but don't expect it to get easier, we will be increasing the amount of questions we do per book on battle day.
 
To participate in the program put together a team of up to eight students and get a copy of this list from the Orillia Public Library or the librarian at your school. As a group, all of the books on the list between November 2014 and May 2015.  In the spring you will be invited to the library where all three schools will compete against each other.  For the past three years a team from Patrick Fogarty has won the grand prize!
 
For more information contact me at ltoutant@orilliapubliclibrary.ca
 
 

1. Classic


1.  Animal Farm by George Orwell
2.  Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
3.  The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
4.  Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
5.  Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
 

 2.  Books With Impact

 

1. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
2.  We Were Liars by E Lockhart
3.  The Summer I Wasn't Me by Jessica Verdi
4.  Forgive Me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
5.  A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
 

3.  Award Winning

 

1.  Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
2.  Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
3.  Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
4.  I am the Cheese by Robert Cormier
5.  The Road by Cormac McCarthy
 

4.  Books with a Female Protagonist

 

 
1.  Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy
2.  Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
3.  Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano
4.  The Ring and the Crown by Melissa De La Cruz
5.  Empress of the World by Sara Ryan
 

5.  Books with a Male Protagonist

 

1.  The Rule of Three by Eric Walters
2.  More Than This by Patrick Ness
3.  Ungifted by Gordon Kormon
4.  Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
5.  The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
 

6.  Science Fiction

 
1.  Eye of Minds by James Dashner
2.  The Here and Now by Anne Brashares
3.  Breathe by Sara Crossan
4.  World War Z by Max Brooks
5.  Birthmarked by Caraugh M. O'Brien
 

7.  Fantasy

 

1.  The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
2.  Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
3.  White Space by Isla J Bick
4.  The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams
5.  Half Bad by Sally Green
 

8.  Wild Card

 

1.  Guy in Real Life by Steven Brezenoff
2.  Dorthy Must Die by D.M. Paige
3.  Noggin by John Corey Whaley
4.  Friend with Boiys by Faith Erin Hicks
5.  Panic by Lauren Oliver

Friday, 3 October 2014

Sketchbook Project 2013-2014

The Sketchbook is complete!  As part of our teen summer reading program in 2013 we purchased two sketchbooks to leave in the teen section.  Over the course of the last year you have filled it up with beautiful drawings! We have selected some of the sketches to feature on this blog.  Stop by the teen section to start filling up the next book!