One more book

Anne Frank The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon


The story begins with the youths of Anne's parents, Otto and Edith, then traces the family's trajectory through WWI, into WWII, and finally beyond it to Otto's postwar activities and his death in 1980. Anne's childhood is portrayed against the background of the Depression and the rise of Nazism. The narration mixes historical background and informative "snapshots" of events like Germany's Nuremberg Laws of 1935, Kristallnacht, and the concentration camps, with details about the Franks and their household. Personality and life are added not just through Anne's oft-quoted diary but other contemporary memoirs and narratives--all listed in a bibliography--along with a chronology of world events and Anne's life. The combination of history, memoir, and richly detailed graphic representations creates a powerful whole, a beautiful and important graphic novel that will be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Some more new books.

The Miracle Stealer by Neil Connelly
A beautiful novel about the complicated issues of faith, love, family, and pain. Anderson's voice compels you forward, and her honest search to "save" her brother brings you, and her, right up to the limits of heartbreak and the endlessness of redemption. Only a "children's" book can address these issues with such honesty, complexity, and grace.

The Unidentified by Rae Mariz
In a startlingly plausible dystopian society, the school system has failed to the point that the government gives over control of national education to corporations. These conglomerates have banded together to create what are known as Game Centers. Here students like Katey Dade, or Kid, go to “school” in refurbished shopping malls. They swipe cards to get in and out, they carry issued cell phones with GPS trackers, they post continuously to profile pages and status feeds (similar to Facebook and Twitter), while administrators and corporate officials monitor their every move. Students who achieve the highest scores in games, set the coolest fashion trends, and gain the utmost popularity are “Branded,” instantly assisting the corporations to plug their wares. Kid coasts, never looking to become Branded, but then she is taken up by not just one corporate sponsor, but two, as a “trendspotter.” As she tries to balance new expectations with betrayals by lifelong friends and new relationships, Kid also begins to question the societal structure around her. Drawn to the prank-pulling group calling themselves The Unidentified, she longs for her previous anonymity and blissful ignorance of the shady dealings all around her. Well written and featuring a cast that most readers will find some sort of connection with, this novel is an impressive debut. Teens will immediately be able to see the connections to today's technology-dependent society and imagine how the future could be eerily like the setting in The Unidentified. Kid takes readers through myriad emotions on her whirlwind tour as a “name” in the game, and readers will be fixated until the very end.

Birth Marked by Carag M. O'Brien
In a dystopian world of the future, apprentice midwife Gaia, who has served the Enclave faithfully along with her parents, is thrust suddenly into a crisis. She delivers her first baby independently of her midwife mother and takes it to the Enclave inside the Wall as the first of her monthly quota of three newborns. Then her parents are arrested and she learns that they will soon be executed. Gaia springs into action and smuggles herself into the Enclave to rescue them. What follows is an exciting, almost breakneck adventure, as Gaia tries to discover what information the Enclave wants from her and her mother and tries to save both of them from prison. Along the way there is a mildly romantic turn to the story as Gaia develops a friendship and attraction to one of the soldiers, a man with a mysterious past. This world is one in which a small society, composed of an elite inside the Wall and a subservient class outside, is completely cut off from knowledge of anyone or anything outside of its borders. The rulers are authoritarian and mysterious and resemble a monarchy rather than the strictly ideological communitarian system in Lois Lowry's The Giver (Houghton, 1993). The cliff-hanger ending sets up the action for a sequel. Readers who enjoy adventures with a strong heroine standing up to authority against the odds will enjoy this compelling tale.

December 8

Winter is a good time to check out a book, snuggle up on the couch and read.

Here are three new addition to the library.

Girls got game edited by Sue Macy
Gr. 6-9. Nine American women authors, including Virginia Euwer Wolff and Jacqueline Woodson, were invited to contribute original short stories about girls playing sports to this collection. Their contemporary realistic fiction mixes with a smattering of poetry sharing the leitmotiv of athleticism. The most successful stories offer engaging characters, artistically plotted action, and strong literary voices, and many of the selections, while featuring sports, are "about" other matters: first love, fitting in at school or within one's family, and other issues of early adolescence. Along with traditionally organized team sports, the sports chosen by the characters include synchronized swimming, tetherball, horseback riding, and stickball. All of the authors have other works in print suitable for this age group, and each story's endnote describes the writer's relationship to sports both as a girl and as a woman.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner(Sequel to the Maze Runner)
Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.
Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.
The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

Bullet Point by Peter Abrahams(Sequel  to Reality Check)
Grade 9 Up—Budget cuts spell death for sports programs at East Canton High so Wyatt, a sophomore on the varsity baseball team, is encouraged to move to Silver City to play ball and continue his chances at a college scholarship. Even though a technicality dashes his hopes to join the team, he's at loggerheads with his stepfather and, after a particularly dangerous blowup, decides to move anyway. In Silver City, he realizes that he is now living in the prison town where the biological father he's never met is serving life for murder. Meanwhile, he meets 19-year-old impulsive Greer, whose father is also in prison. Curious to know the circumstances involving Wyatt's father's incarceration, they investigate in the hope that Sonny is innocent. Told in a rapid-fire style, this novel aims at dimension but comes up a little shallow. Too many coincidences render some characters mere plot devices, and Wyatt often comes to emotional understanding too quickly, as when he first meets his father or deals with a confusing girlfriend. That being said, the book will be an easy sell to teens, who will want to keep reading to unravel the mystery surrounding Sonny. With descriptions of foreclosed properties and tough economic realities peppered liberally throughout, along with strong language and sexual situations, this title is as gritty and raw as today's headlines.

A couple more books

I have added three Vampire Diaries to the libraries collection: The Awakening, The Struggle and The Fury. I also just found out there is a fourth one and will purchase it the next time I send in an order.

I have also added the 2011(yes that is right the 2011)Guiness Book of World Records. It has some really weird stuff in it.

More new books October 20, 2010

Captivate by Carrie Jones

Zara's pixies are locked away in the forest, but that doesn't mean the threat is gone. In captivity, the king's needs grow stronger and his power weakens. When a new king, Astley, arrives and tells Zara she's fated to be his queen, Zara discovers she's in deeper than she ever imagined.
Carrie Jones captivated readers with her evil pixies in Need and this series is showing no signs of slowing down.

Some girls are by Courtney Summers

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Sing me to sleep by Angela MorrisonTHE TRANSFORMATION Beth has always been “The Beast”—that’s what everyone at school calls her because of her awkward height, facial scars, and thick glasses. Beth’s only friend is geeky, golden-haired Scott. That is, until she’s selected to be her choir’s soprano soloist, and receives the makeover that will change her life forever. THE LOVE AFFAIR When Beth’s choir travels to Switzerland, she meets Derek: pale, brooding, totally dreamy. Derek’s untethered passion—for music, and for Beth—leaves her breathless. Because in Derek’s eyes? She’s not The Beast, she’s The Beauty. THE IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE When Beth comes home, Scott, her best friend in the world, makes a confession that leaves her completely torn. Should she stand by sweet, steady Scott or follow the dangerous, intense new feelings she has for Derek? THE HEARTBREAK The closer Beth gets to Derek, the further away he seems. Then Beth discovers that Derek’s been hiding a dark secret from her …one that could shatter everything.

Jump the cracks by Stacy DeKeyserWhat would you do?
As far as I'm concerned, there's no excuse not to be decent...Especially when you're responsible for a kid.
It just figures that fifteen-year old Victoria's dad fails once again to be at the train station like he's promised. Fuming, Victoria watches as a teen mom stashes her bruised little boy in the train's bathroom. When the mom gets off the train alone, Victoria decides she has had it with all the poor excuses who call them selves parents. Making a split-second decision, Victoria boards the next train out of town-taking the little boy with her.
No, really, what would you do?Victoria's staying on the run until everyone responsible starts keeping their promises. This kid's not falling through the cracks. Not on her watch.

The Not-$o-great depression by Amy Goldman Koss

Jacki’s ninth–grade teacher is always going on about the unemployment index and the recession, but nothing sinks in until her mom is laid off and everything seems to cost more than they can afford. Acclaimed author Amy Goldman Koss delivers a warm hearted and timely tale about the things we lose and the insights we gain.

The magician The secrets of the immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

After fleeing Ojai, Nicholas, Sophie, Josh, and Scatty emerge in Paris, the City of Lights. Home for Nicholas Flamel. Only this homecoming is anything but sweet. Perenell is still locked up back in Alcatraz and Paris is teeming with enemies. Nicollo Machiavelli, immortal author and celebrated art collector, is working for Dee. He's after them, and time is running out for Nicholas and Perenell. For every day spent without the Book of Abraham the Mage, they age one year--their magic becoming weaker and their bodies more frail. For Flamel, the Prophesy is becoming more and more clear.
It's time for Sophie to learn the second elemental magic: Fire Magic. And there's only one man who can teach it to her: Flamel's old student, the Comte de Saint-Germain--alchemist, magician, and rock star. Josh and Sophie Newman are the world's only hope--if they don't turn on each other first.

The Soceress The secets of Nicholas Famel By Michael Scott

Book Three in the New York Times bestselling series.Nicholas Flamel's heart almost broke as he watched his beloved Paris crumble before him. The city was destroyed by Dee and Machiavelli, but Flamel played his own role in the destruction. Sophie and Josh Newman show every sign of being the twins of prophecy, and Flamel had to protect them and the pages from the Dark Elders.But Nicholas grows weaker with each passing day. Perenelle is still trapped in Alcatraz, and now that Scatty has gone missing, the group is without protection. Except for Clarent—the twin sword to Excalibur. But Clarent’s power is unthinkable, its evil making it nearly impossible to use without its darkness seeping into the soul of whoever wields it.If he hopes to defeat Dee, Nicholas must find an Elder who can teach Josh and Sophie the third elemental magic—Water Magic. The problem? The only one who can do that is Gilgamesh, and he is quite, quite...

The Necromancer The secrets of Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

Josh and Sophie are back in San Francisco, but their troubles are far from over and their questions far from resolution. Meanwhile, a drama is unfolding on nearby Alcatraz that threatens to break prison bars and engulf the entire City on the Bay.

Deeper by Roderick GordonIn TUNNELS, boy archaeologist Will Burrows went in search of his missing father—and discovered a sinister subterranean world. Now, wandering the dark, hot bowels beneath the Colony with his best friend, Chester, and his brother, Cal, Will stumbles across the Styx's dastardly plan to enslave all Topsoilers by poisoning them with a lethal toxin. Slowly he begins to piece together the plot. But how can Will save all those above from annihilation when his own life is at risk down below—and when his killer sister is still at large?

New books in the library

These books have been added to the Middle School/High School Library on October 19, 2010.

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.
But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal.

Payback Time by Carl Deuker
Senior Daniel True is short, pale, and round, hence his nickname the Michelin Man, or Mitch, for short. His former elementary school best friend, Horst Diamond, is the star quarterback and BMOC at their Seattle high school. Mitch's ambition is to be an ace investigative reporter, à la Woodward and Bernstein, but the new editor of the school newspaper assigns him to cover sports. Worse still, Coach McNulty makes it clear that Mitch's job is to be Horst's cheerleader. McNulty intends to ride his star player to a college coaching job, and he won't let Mitch do anything to jeopardize that opportunity. While covering a practice, Mitch notices Angel Marichal, a senior transfer student. Angel is clearly the best athlete in the school, but McNulty keeps him hidden, playing second string, changing his jersey number, and denying any interview requests. Mitch knows that McNulty and Angel are hiding something, and he is determined to get to the bottom of it. What he finds is far different from what he suspects, and along the way his personal and journalistic ethics are tested.

The White Horse Trick by Kate Tompson
Although magical T'ír na n'Óg remains unchanged, readers will find Ireland an unfamiliar place in this conclusion to the trilogy that began with The New Policeman (2007). In the not-too-distant future, global warming has wreaked havoc on the world's climate. Periods of unrelenting rain that have washed topsoil away and left crops rotting in the ground are followed by months of drought. People are starving, and there appears to be no hope. Aidan Liddy, whom readers last saw as a fractious toddler in The Last of the High Kings (2008, both HarperCollins), is now Commander Liddy. He has stockpiled food, tobacco, and other supplies, and uses his soldiers to control the suffering people. In an unexpected twist, Aidan's sensitive brother, Donal, now 69 years old, is his general. Although it appears that Donal has chosen an immoral path by following his brother, it becomes apparent that he has a plan to save the people and culture of Ireland, and fairyland will play an important role–if the Dagda and Aengus Óg will allow it.

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh
Set in England in the winter of 1347, this suspenseful and spooky story will thrill readers who loved Joseph Delaney's "The Last Apprentice" series (HarperCollins). Fourteen-year-old William, whose family perished in a fire 18 months earlier, works as a servant at the local monastery in exchange for his room and board, meager as it is. While gathering firewood, he discovers a creature caught in a trap and saves its life. The hobgoblin tells him that he can only be seen by those with the Sight, a gift the boy did not know he possessed. As the hob recovers from his wounds, Will encounters a mystery that shakes him to his core. There is an angel secretly buried in the nearby woodlands, and a visitor to the abbey, a leper, is determined to find it. For reasons unclear to the boy, Mr. Bone insists that Will help accomplish this goal.

No Safe Place by Deborah Ellis
Orphaned and plagued with the grief of losing everyone he loves, 15-year-old Abdul has made a long, fraught journey from his war-torn home in Baghdad, only to end up in The Jungle — a squalid, makeshift migrant community in Calais. Desperate to escape, he takes a spot in a small, overloaded England-bound boat that’s full of other illegal migrants — and a secret stash of heroin. A sudden skirmish leaves the boat stalled in the middle of the Channel, the pilot dead, and four young people remaining — Abdul; Rosalia, a Romani girl who has escaped from the white slave trade; Cheslav, gone AWOL from a Russian military school; and Jonah, the boat pilot’s ten-year-old nephew. As they attempt to complete the frantic and hazardous Channel crossing their individual stories are revealed and their futures become increasingly uncertain. No Safe Place is a novel of high adventure and heart-stopping suspense by a writer at the height of her powers.

Three Black Swans by Caroline B. Cooney
Lives are in the balance in bestselling author Caroline B. Cooney’s newest young adult thriller, Three Black Swans. Missy and her cousin Claire are best friends who finish each other’s sentences and practically read each other’s minds. It’s an eerie connection—so eerie that Missy has questions she wants to put to her parents. But she’s afraid to ask. So when Missy hears an expert discussing newborn babies on the radio, it makes her wonder about her family.
Missy just can’t let go of those nagging questions, and decides to use a school project about scientific hoaxes to try to uncover the answers. She enlists Claire to help. As part of the project the girls perform a dramatic scene that is captured on video at school. After the video is posted on YouTube, Missy and Claire realize that they’ve opened Pandora’s box and much more than they ever imagined has come out. Not only are their identities called into question, but so is the future of everyone involved.
In this riveting, heartrending story by thriller author Caroline B. Cooney, the truth changes the lives of three families—as the bonds of blood must withstand the strains of long-hidden secrets that are at last revealed.

Shutout by Brendan HalpinAmanda and Lena have been soccer stars and best friends for years, but now, when Amanda makes the junior varsity team and Lena makes the varsity, Amanda finds herself increasingly shut out of her friend’s life. Suddenly, everything Amanda took for granted is changing—but she's about to discover that might not be bad. Brendan Halpin’s new novel is about friendship, family, soccer, and the confusing time when everything that used to feel simple suddenly feels complicated.

Books suggestions

I am open to suggestions for books for the middle school/high school library. Has anyone read a book that you just could not put down? Tell me about it.

October

October is one of my favorite months. I love the colorful trees and the anticipation of frost.
I have been busy in the library adding new books to the collection and weeding old books. I attended the Library Conference in Sioux Falls last week. It was a great time.

September

School is rolling along. We had homecoming on the 10th already. It turned out to be a very nice day after having rain in the morning.