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Teen Blog

Reading, Wellington, and whatever else – teenblog@wcl.govt.nz

Month: December 2014

Nik’s Picks: Ghost stories for Christmas

Reading ghost stories at Christmas was a bit of a tradition in Victorian England. As a lover of all things horror I am keen to see this revived; there’s nothing like sitting down with a chilling tale, although I must admit reading ghost stories in the middle of an English winter is very different to reading them in the height of Summer! Be warned: these are not for those of a delicate constitution.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsThe time of the ghost, Diana Wynne Jones

Ghost stories told from the perspective of the ghost themselves aren’t a rare trope in supernatural fiction, but this book is a cut above the rest. The ghost doesn’t know who she is; she suspects that she is one of four sisters and that she has travelled back in time to prevent something terrible from happening. Something that stems from a not-so-innocent game that the girls play. It also deals with a degree of real-life horror: the girls are actively neglected by their own parents, and their futures seem grim if the evil force cannot be quieted. It’s a subtle, creepy book, rather different from the author’s usual work. I read it again, recently, and found it as disturbing as it was when I read it as a teenager.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsScary stories – short story collection

This is a group of creepy stories from some of the greats of horror literature: Stephen King, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe and H.P Lovecraft. There are also some more obscure writers, but each story is excellent and a worthy introduction to each writers’ work. What lifts this above other collections is the haunting illustrations by Barry Moser. They’re simple, black and white drawings that chillingly depict some faucet of the story.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsThe turning, Francine Prose

This book is based off The Turn of the Screw, a novella written in 1898 by Henry James. Like the original, the narrator is sent to a strange house to look after some children. It’s been updated, however: the narrator is now male, a teenager and the story has a contemporary setting. I don’t want to give too much away, but the book asks interesting questions about just how reliable the narrator is – is he actually seeing ghosts, or are they something more sinister from something deep within his own mind? Read this and then read the original, which is here.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsOn the day I died, Candace Fleming

Mike Kowalski decides to pick up a strange girl on his way home, only for her to take him to a nearby cemetery. He is greeted by nine teenage ghosts, each with their own story to tell. This book is haunting not just because of the poignant, strange or downright terrifying tales of each of the ghosts, but the fact that many are based on real incidents from Chicago’s history – the setting for this story and almost a character in its own right.

Book cover courtesy of SyndeticsA Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

I couldn’t go past the one that started it all, of course! A Christmas Carol was published in 1843, and has undergone many productions and reinterpretations since then. My favourite film version is The Muppet Christmas Carol, and my favourite book is the one pictured here: sure, Quentin Blake isn’t the scariest of artists, but his art’s gorgeous and suits the story very well. You’re never too old to enjoy a story well told, I think!

Pay for your fines with cans!

cansFrom the 8th to 21st of December you can donate a 410g can of food at the library to have $3.00 taken off your overdue fines.

All will be donated to local food banks, so make sure the food is suitable for human consumption (so no cat food!) and the cans are not damaged or rusty.

You can donate as many cans as you like but once your applicable overdue fines have been cleared, no credit or cash will be due.

The amnesty only applies to fines, not to fees or charges, lost or damaged books or accounts already lodged with debt collection agencies

So let your fines help someone else this Christmas! You can help us help others (▰˘◡˘▰)

Book recommendations from my hospital bed

I recently had a stay in hospital; these are the young adult books I had time to read. I rated each and every one of them 4 out of 5 stars, and as you will see I even continued the series of some. If you are looking for a Young adult Mystery/thriller then try one of these. Cheers and happy reading!

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsBad Girls Don’t Die (Bad Girls Don’t Die #1) by Katie Alender

“Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents’ marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever, losing track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Alexis wants to think that it’s all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening–to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she’s the only person who can stop Kasey — but what if that green-eyed girl isn’t even Kasey anymore?” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsLooking for Alaska by John Green

“Before. Miles “Pudge” Halter’s whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the “Great Perhaps” (François Rabelais, poet) even more. He heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.
After. Nothing is ever the same.” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsThe Body Finder (The Body Finder #1) by Kimberly Derting

“Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him. Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer… and becoming his prey herself.” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsDesires of the Dead (The Body Finder #2) by Kimberly Derting

“The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life. As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally, she’d turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike’s tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsUltraviolet (Ultraviolet #1) by R.J. Anderson

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special. This is not her story. Unless you count the part where I killed her.
Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison’s condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can’t explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori — the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that’s impossible. Right?” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsDeadly Little Secret (Touch #1) by Laurie Faria Stolarz

“Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia’s life had been fairly ordinary. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia’s life becomes anything but ordinary. Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend’s accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She’s inexplicably drawn to Ben and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help-but can he be trusted? She knows he’s hiding something… but he’s not the only one with a secret.” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsCrash (Visions #1) by Lisa McMann

“Jules lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle that. What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and explode…and nine body bags in the snow. The vision is everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only one who sees it. The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do. Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she can remember.” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsBang (Visions #2) by Lisa McMann

“Jules should be happy. She saved a lot of people’s lives and she’s finally with Sawyer, pretty much the guy of her dreams. But the nightmare’s not over, because she somehow managed to pass the psycho vision stuff to Sawyer. Excellent. Feeling responsible for what he’s going through and knowing that people’s lives are at stake, Jules is determined to help him figure it all out. But Sawyer’s vision is so awful he can barely describe it, much less make sense of it. Jules and Sawyer have to work out the details fast, because the visions are getting worse and that means only one thing: time is running out. But every clue they see takes them down the wrong path. If they can’t prevent the vision from happening, lives will be lost. And they may be among the casualties…” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsGasp (Visions #3) by Lisa McMann

“Jules now fully understands the importance of the visions that she and people around her are experiencing. She’s convinced that if the visions passed from her to Sawyer after she saved him, then they must now have passed from Sawyer to one of the people he saved. That means it’s up to Jules to figure out which of the school shooting survivors is now suffering from visions of another crisis. And she has to convince that survivor that this isn’t all crazy–that the images are of something real. As the danger escalates more than ever before in the conclusion to the Visions series, Jules wonders if she’ll finally find out why and how this is happening–before it’s too late to prevent disaster.” (Goodreads)

Cover courtesy of SyndeticsEntangled by Cat Clarke

“17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper – and no clue how she got there. As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she’s tried to forget. There’s falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there’s something missing. As hard as she’s trying to remember, is there something she just can’t see? Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?” (Goodreads)

Want to be a little bit published?

Attention Zine fiends! After the awesomeness that was Zinefest I’m sure you’re all feeling like the voice of your generation. So the Karori Library team want to see what you would like you would like to say, draw, or collage for that matter. Over December and January in the Karori Library we will be publishing zines comprised of the work of teens in the Wellington area. These zines will be barcoded and kept in the Karori Library collection for people to take home for some insightful reading. If you want to be totally famous in Karori come in and use our creative space in the teen area over these months. We’ll be accepting submissions from the 1st of December through to the 31st of January. Ask any Karori librarian for the submission info sheet to get started.

For some handy inspiration – check out the Wellington Zinefest blog which is full of interviews from zine pros and excellent zine reading recommendations. There’s a lot of cool reading there. You can also have a look through our magnificent collection of zines. And there are some books we have in our collection which will give you a fair idea of what direction you can take your zine submission. One I’m really enjoying reading at the moment is: Whatcha mean, what’s a zine? : the art of making zines and mini comics. Here’s an idea of what’s inside.

“A zine is a handmade magazine or mini-comic about anything you can imagine: favorite bands, personal stories, subcultures, or collections. They contain diary entries, rants, interviews, and stories. They can be by one person or many, found in stores, traded at comic conventions, exchanged with friends, or given away for free. Zines are not a new idea: they’ve been around for years under various names (chapbooks, flyers, pamphlets). People with independent ideas have been getting their word out since before there were printing presses.

This book is for anyone who wants to create their own zine. It’s for learning tips and tricks from contributors who have been at the fore front of the zine movement. It’s for getting inspired to put thoughts and ideas down on paper. It’s for learning how to design and print your own zine so you can put it in others’ hands. Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine? is for anyone who has something to say.” Goodreads

If that sounds like you we hope to see you submitting your cool work in Karori Library soon!