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Teen Blog

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

Month: January 2008

Ken Catran

New Zealander Ken Catran gives an interesting perspective on war in his quartet of books about the Moran family*. Like the Plumb trilogy by Maurice Gee, each book focuses on a different generation of the same family: Jacko’s a hero during World War I, but this doesn’t translate to success back home; Robert’s determined not to be like his father and is plagued by tragedy in World War II (although good things possibly happen, without giving away too much); Jimmy goes to the Vietnam War; Teresa’s a female soldier in a male-dominated environment, determined to live up to her family name.

The books also examine family relationships – especially fathers with their children. Catran’s a prolific author, so if you enjoy these then the rest of his catalogue could keep you busy for a while.

*Teresa Moran, soldier; Jimmy Moran, regular; Robert Moran, private; Jacko Moran, sniper.

You are never too old* …

Lego celebrated its 50th birthday yesterday. See how Lego is made! (By cool robots!) Why not get out your Lego bricks and build something? 

 *(Proof that you can never be to old for Lego.) 

Latest CDs and DVDs

A few more fresh CDs are now in the library. We also have some new Young Adult DVDs; these cost 50 cents to issue (on a child’s or young adult’s card) and may be borrowed for seven days. We have hundreds.

These are the new DVDs:

New CDs:

Quirky and controversial

Sound like you? Well then, Francesca Lia Block might be right up your alley. Influenced by magic-realists Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, she describes her writing as “contemporary fairy tales with an edge.” Her novels cover disparate subjects such as fairies (of course), rock bands, movie making, gay teenagers, anorexia, rape, incest and (mostly) Los Angeles.

Visit her website at www.francescaliablock.com or check out her books in the library.

Word Sandwich

Word Sandwich is a game in which you must guess a five-letter word. It is quite difficult, but strangely addictive! My highscore was 3265, which is (apparently) quite terrible.

Book lists

If you’re stuck on what to read next, have a look at our new book lists. So far there are only two three five!, but we hope to add more as time goes by. If there are any books missing from our recommendations please add a comment to the list! Thanks!

Wilderness

Roddy Doyle’s an Irish novelist who’s written (among other things) a Booker prizewinner (Paddy Clarke ha ha ha) and a novel that was turned into the smash hit movie of 1991 (The Commitments … ride Sally, ride). Chances are that anyone’s going to love his books then, from the biggest literary snob to the biggest literary peasant.

Last year he published Wilderness, about half-brothers and -sisters, disappearing mothers, and an adventure holiday in Finland that goes wrong … reserve it, have a read and see what you think.

Shameless!

Shameless is a Canadian magazine for young women. It offers a ‘fresh alternative to typical teen magazines, for girls who know there’s more to life than makeup and diet tips.’ It’s unavailable here, but luckily they have an excellent blog. And in the latest issue there is an article about the two New Zealander girls who took on a corporate giant and won – at the age of 14!

Eco News

Eco News is a new page for teens, all about the environment, sustainability, and relevant information and material held in the library. Check it out, and keep an eye out for updates!

Latest CDs

Young Adult CDs are free to borrow on a Young Adult card; if they’re popular and never on the shelf, you can reserve them, also for free. We have hundreds of YA CDs to choose from, and new ones come in all the time. The most recent CDs are listed below, after the jump …

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Cute things (b^_^)b

The Cute Book, by Aranzi Aronzo, is full of very cool – and very cute – felt critters and instructions on how to make them. So cute! You are never to old to enjoy cute things.

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SUBTXT review #1

Each week we will publish one of the reviews from last year’s SUBTXT reading programme. We received many, many excellent reviews – so many that we can post one weekly for several years to come!

 Sense and SensibilitySense And Sensibility
Jane Austen
373 pages

Theme: It’s basically a classic, old version of what they call ‘chick lit’, so it’s based around romance and scandal. The story starts when the Dashwood family are left wothout money when Mr. Dashwood, their husband and father, dies and leaves the entire family estate to his son from his first marriage who, influenced by his wife, takes basically all of it for himself. The Dashwood family move to a cottage on another relative’s property … 

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