Wellington City Libraries

Te Matapihi Ki Te Ao Nui

Search options

Teen Blog

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

Month: September 2011

Trailer Tuesday

Jane Eyre is on at the movies at the moment (good news!). So we thought we would spotlight another classic 19th Century adaptation, this time Wuthering Heights:

This one is directed by Andrea Arnold (notice she likes a square screen), and stars Kaya Scodelario who was in Skins. There have been lots of adaptations of Wuthering Heights, there’s a couple in the young adult collection here.

On a completely different subject, we have: whales. More to the point, whales caught under Arctic ice (true story):

And finally, because it’s topical (or it was a few weeks ago) and also polar, here’s Happy Feet 2!

SesaGlee Street

Hey Gleeks, this is really funny. It’s a Sesame Street parody of Glee, it makes learning about the letter “G” fun #infotainment.

You can enjoy the real version of Glee right here on DVD and CD and Sesame Street on DVD too.

Some More New Books

If you love a good thriller, then read on! (There’s a few in here.) There’s also some fantasy, reality, and the all-conquering supernatural romance.

Heart of Danger, Fleur Beale (315 pages) – The third in the Juno series, so if you’ve read Juno of Taris and Fierce September make sure you read this! “Juno and her family arrive at their new home, but almost immediately danger threatens Hera and they move to Willem’s protection in New Plymouth, the city Juno most hoped to avoid. Fairlands school is too like Taris, and Hilto’s son Thomas is a pupil there. The handsome Ivor is also there and soon begins to pay attention to Juno in a way she finds both confusing and exciting. Juno’s special mind powers are called upon to help her save Hera.” (from the publisher). Romance for Juno?

First sentence: A girl about the same age as me stood on our doorstep.

Fury of the Phoenix, Cindy Pon (359 pages) – Ai Ling joins Chen Yong on his quest to find his father, but she’s plagued by the knowledge that Zhong Ye the sorcerer is not in fact dead, but trapped in Hell and still a threat, particularly to Chen Yong. The sequel to Silver Phoenix.

First sentence: Chen Yong was already on board the ship.

The Fox Inheritance, Mary E Pearson (294 pages) – If you’ve read The Adoration of Jenna Fox you know what happened to Jenna, but what about Locke and Kara? Two hundred and sixty years on from the accident Locke and Kara are brought back to life in new manufactured bodies. They’re haunted by 200+ years of memories of being trapped in a digital netherworld, and having to adjust to a new world knowing nobody (except Jenna).

First sentence: My hands close around the heavy drape, twisting it into a thick cord.

All These Things I’ve Done, Gabrielle Zevin (351 pages) – in a New York of the future, Anya is given an impossible choice by the District Attorney after being arrested for attempted murder. She must choose between her family’s safety and the boy she loves. Things are complicated: the boy she loves is the DA’s son, and her family is really involved in organised crime.

First sentence: The night before junior year – I was sixteen, barely – Gable Arsley said he wanted to sleep with me.

Okay for Now, Gary D. Schmidt (360 pages) – at the end of the book someone says “Haven’t you ever heard of New Zealand?”. We want to know why! Anyway, this one is set in 1968 in New York state and features Doug Swieteck, as first seen in The Wednesday Wars. Everyone’s on a mission in 1968, the Apollo shuttles are on missions to space, the US army are on missions in Vietnam, and Doug’s on a mission discovering a passion for art, and other life lessons.

First sentence: Joe Pepitone once gave me his New York Yankees baseball cap.

Death Sentence, Alexander Gordon Smith (261 pages) – this is book three in the Escape From Furnace series, in which Alex is bearing the consequences of his second attempt at escape from Furnace Penitentiary. Horrifyingly, the warden is injecting him with stuff, turning him into a “superpowered minion of Furnace” (<3 the description). So now Alex must excape not so much the prison outside, but the prison inside.

First sentence: I died in that room.

Shut Out, Kody Keplinger (273 pages) – a reimagining of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, set in an American high school. The football (American) team and soccer (football) team are serious rivals, to the point of school wars. Lissa, girlfriend of the QB, is sick of it all, so she decides to lead the girlfriends in a revolt. Trouble is, this develops into a new war, girls against boys, and the leader of the boys (Cash) is quite distracting. The author’s website (complete with book trailer) is here.

Die for Me, Amy Plum (341 pages) – the first in a new supernatural trilogy. After the death of her parents, Kate and her sister Georgia move to Paris to live with their grandparents. There, Kate meets Vincent, who’s dreamy, but also not your normal human being. He’s a ___________ (couldn’t possibly say), and he has dangerous enemies, and this means danger for Kate and her family too.

First sentence: The first time I had seen the statue in the fountain, I had no idea what Vincent was.

Texas Gothic, Rosemary Clement-Moore (404 pages) – Amy Goodnight’s family are witches, surrounded by friendly spirits. But when she and her sister go to look after their Aunt’s ranch, they encounter a not-so-friendly spirit. It appears there’s a ghostly uprising. Something dangerous is going on “deep in the heart of Texas” (back cover). So Amy, Phin (her sister) and Ben (handsome cowboy) must investigate.

First sentence: The goat was in the tree again.

Paper Covers Rock, Jenny Hubbard (181 pages) – When Alex is unable to save a schoolmate from drowning, he and his friend Glenn (a witness) decide to lie about what happened. But Alex is plagued by guilt, and works through it by writing poetry in his journal. His English teacher, Miss Dovecott, decides to nurture his growing talent, but it’s possible she knows something about what happened – at least Glenn thinks something’s up.

First sentence: When my dad gave me this journal two years ago and said “Fill it with your impressions,” I imagine he had a more idyllic portrait of boarding school life in mind.

Shift, Em Bailey (304 pages) – Olive has made a clean break from the group of friends that got her into so much trouble. Then she notices that there’s a new girl, Miranda, making friends with her former best friend. But there’s something creepy about Miranda, and terrible rumours are circulating about her. What if they are true? Will anyone believe Olive’s suspicions?

First sentence: There were two things everyone knew about Miranda Vaile before she’d even started at our school.

Choker, Elizabeth Woods (233 pages) – Cara is a loner who’s been bullied at school, so she’s happy to be reunited with Zoe, a childhood friend. But then a girl goes missing, and Zoe starts acting strangely: can Cara trust her?

First sentences: “Come out, come out, little frog. We’ve made you a nest. It’s under a log.”

Two angels to end:

Angelfire, Courtney Allison Moulton (453 pages) – “A seventeen-year-old girl discovers she has the reincarnated soul of an ancient warrior destined to battle the reapers–monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell.” (catalogue)

First sentence: I stared out the classroom window and longed for freedom, wanting to be anywhere in the world other than gaping up at my economics teacher like the rest of my classmates.

Angel Burn, L. A. Weatherly (449 pages) – “In a world where angels are fierce stalkers whose irresistible force allows them to feed off humans and drain them of their vitality, a ruthless teenaged assassin of angels falls in love with a half-angel half-human girl, with devastating consequences.” (catalogue) This is the sequel to Angel.

First sentence: “Is that your car?” asked the girl at the 7-Eleven checkout counter.

New YA CDs

lmfaoSorry For Party Rocking – LMFAO. After getting a few tracks into this I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re not sorry for party rocking at all. If they were really sorry they’d do something else once in a while, either that or they’re continually wracked with guilt. Fun fact: members RedFoo and SkyBlu are the son and grandson of Motown label founder Berry Gordy.

triviumIn Waves – Trivium. The American metallers took a welcome and fresh approach with this, their fifth album, focussing on “writing for the specifically for the songs. not to show how well [they] could play”. which results in a less complex, more evenly structured set of songs. Not that this means a scaling back on “epic”, far from it.

kelly rowlandHere I Am – Kelly Rowland. Fresh off her chart-topping singles with David Guetta, Kelly Rowland has recaptured the attitude and fire that made Destinys Child so compelling back in the day. Here I Am flits easily between pop, R&B and hip-hop and features appearances from Lil Wayne and Big Sean (when is a rapper going to use “Medium” or “Regular” as a prefix?).

all time lowDirty Work – All Time Low. This is All Time Low’s major label debut and their first to make it onto our library shelves. Hopefully those two (equally important) milestones give them some much needed self-confidence. Seriously, All Time Low, there have been plenty of lower points throughout history than you and your music. Oh, unless it’s sarcastic. Carry on then.

Cool Library Tools

If you’re not happy unless you have your technology all fully customised, and tools are your best friend, then you’ll be interested in this page here, which tells you all the Wellington City Libraries Web 2.0 gadgets you can use. The page features such gems as:

  1. a browser search add-on (you can search the library catalogue from the comfort of the search bar in the top right corner of your browser)
  2. the library lookup link (which allows you to check to see if the library’s got a copy of the book you’re looking at on amazon, or wherever)
  3. a GoodReads custom booklink (again, you can check easily to see if the book on your To Read shelf is available at the library)
  4. and much more.

I sometimes think libraries are like the human brain: we only take advantage of about 5% of their capacity. Here’s your opportunity to put the library through its paces.

Great Reads

The Unidentified, Rae Mariz

The Game, an alternative education system where students learn in a converted mall, playing fun park style games to learn maths, following challenges to gain points and go up levels. Where the sponsors are always watching them, doing market research on what and who is cool or different. Katey/Kid (@kidzero) is fairly happy as she is, she has a few close friends who she records music with and she does quite well in the challenges. She isn’t as connected with the Game as a lot of other players, but it doesn’t really bother her. Until a group calling themselves the “Unidentified” start trying to make a point against the Game. Kid starts to look into their demonstrations and finds herself coming to the attention of the sponsors – and learning that who she is and what she does is something that can be used by other people. Individuality vs being in the crowd, control vs freedom.

I liked this book, it’s actually not far off what happens today and how we share information, and I didn’t guess the ending before it got there. Recommended if you like Scott Westerfeld (particularly So Yesterday) or Candor by Pam Bachorz.

Divergent, Veronica Roth

In Beatrice’s world people are divided up into five factions. People decide if they are brave, selfless, intelligent, honest or peaceful and then dedicate their lives to these ideals. Beatrice grew up in the abnegation faction dedicating her life to helping others. On her birthday, she has the choice – to stay with her family in the abnegation faction, or choose to spend the rest of her life in a different one. At school they have a test that will indicate where they are best suited – everyone should fit easily into one, but Beatrice doesn’t. Something that seems like a small thing, but is regarded as dangerous. It’s called being divergent, and means that whichever faction she chooses, she needs to hide the fact that she doesn’t fit perfectly into the society, while she discovers that the society itself may also not be as perfect as it’s meant to be.

Wonderful book, I loved the details in everything about the world and I really want the next book to come out soon! Alternative world, lots of action – if you liked the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins then you’ll probably like this as well.

Breaking Dawn Part one trailer you guys

I just feel sorry for whoever has to repair that windowsill 🙁

Guess Who Competition

While the Rugby World Cup is in action Wellington City Libraries have a competition running that gives you the chance to win an official RWC rugby ball, shirt, scarf, pins & keyring (RRP $200) kindly donated by the Wellington City Council. What do I have to do to win all that sweet swag you say? Well, have a look at the silhouettes of the eight famous number tens below…

silhouettes-8
Do you recognise any of them? Yes, no, maybe? You can take a guess and enter here (the names are listed, so even if you’re not a rugby scholar like me you still have a good shot). You have to be 14 and over to enter and the winner will be announced on the 30th of October so get your entries in before then, ok?

Terms & Conditions of entry:

  1. Contestants must be over the age of 14 years
  2. Contestants must be current members of Wellington City Libraries
  3. Only one entry from each library card holder will be accepted
  4. Wellington City Libraries and their families are not permitted to enter
  5. The Prizewinner gives his/her permission to Wellington City Libraries to display photos and/or publish his/her name.

Please note: the judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

New Books Again

The Power of Six, Pittacus Lore (406 pages) – from the perspective of Number Seven as well as Number Four, this is the continuing story of the nine chosen Lorien teenagers sent to earth to escape the Mogadorians, those of the really bad teeth. Number Seven is in hiding in a convent with her minder, and they are at odds about the possibility of a Lorien uprising. Number Seven is keen to track down the now-famous Number Four, and leaves the convent, the Mogadorians in hot pursuit. Bernie Kosar most likely makes an appearance, you will be pleased to hear.

First sentence: My name is Marina, as of the sea, but I wasn’t called that until much later.

Sweetly, Jackson Pearce (310 pages) – based on Hansel and Gretel. Gretchen’s twin sister disappeared several years ago while they were hunting a witch in the woods. Now Gretchen and her brother Ansel live with Sophia, a chocolatier, in South Carolina, and life does seem to be sweet, literally and metaphorically, until a handsome stranger arrives saying the witch is still around and Gretchen’s the next target. Gretchen decides to face the witch story head on, and her investigations dig up disturbing secrets.

First sentence: The book said there was a witch in the woods.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M Valente (247 pages) – it’s arrived! Mentioned in this post here.

First sentence: Once upon a time, a girl named September grew very tired indeed of her parents’ house, where she washed the same pink-and-yellow teacups and matching gravy boats every day, slept on the same embroidered pillow, and played with the same small and amiable dog.

Sometimes It Happens, Lauren Barnholdt (312 pages) – It’s the first day of senior year, and Hannah gets to start fresh after her boyfriend dumped her on the last day of junior year. But things are going to go really awry because over summer Hannah has fallen for her friend Ava’s boyfriend, and Ava knows.

First sentence: I really should not be so scared.

Dreams of Significant Girls, Cristina Garcia (238 pages) – Set in the 1970s. Shirin is an Iranian princess, Ingrid is German-Canadian, and Vivien is a Cuban-Jewish girl from New York City. The three girls meet at a Swiss boarding school where they spend three consecutive summers becoming friends. It sounds idyllic, but they all have challenges to face and things to learn about love, hate, friends, and family expectations.

First sentence: Sometime I think my parents sent me to Switzerland because they didn’t want me around.

Bloodlines, Richelle Mead (421 pages) – the first in a new series set in the Vampire Academy world, promising new and more familiar characters. Read about the new series here.

First sentences: I couldn’t breathe. There was a hand covering my mouth and another shaking my shoulder, startling me out of a heavy sleep.

The Deserter, Peadar O Guilin (441 pages) – the second in the Bone World trilogy, after The Inferior. There are two worlds, the stone-age Surface, and the hi-tech Roof above. Stopmouth, cannibal, and resident of the Surface must leave his world in search of Indrani, the woman he loves, as she’s the only one who knows how to save Surface. But he’s hunted by Roof agents, with their gadgetry and technology: can he prevail and save his world?

First sentence: They’re hunting for Indrani, combing the Roof, projecting her picture everywhere.

Blood Magic, Tessa Gratton (405 pages) – “Silla is damaged and lost since the death of her parents. Nick is the new boy in town with a chilling past of his own. A mysterious spell book steeped in blood magic will bind Silla and Nick together. But at what cost?” (Book cover).

First sentence: It is impossible to know who you really are until you spend time alone in a cemetery.

Kick Off!

The Rugby World Cup begins tonight (as if you weren’t already aware), these links will help set the mood.

Google has been rugby-fied
Do you like fantasy sports? Play fantasy World Cup here
Stuff are doing a live blog
The library News Blog has a Cup Diary
The official youtube channel will keep you informed and entertained

There, now you are ready to settle in with some tasty snacks and catch the action. Who do you think will win? Who do you think will be the player of the tournament? Will the fact that I drew England in our office sweepstake cause me internal conflict?

It will be a fun six weeks.

Cover Cousins: Football

Maybe it’s a bit counter intuitive to post about American football in the lead up week to the Rugby World Cup, however here are two similar covers that couldn’t slink under the radar:

    

Payback Time, Carl Deuker – told from the perspective of an un-athletic school sports reporter, Payback Time tells the story of a successful Seattle high school football team, and most particularly their secret weapon Angel.

Leverage, Joshua C Cohen – a challenging story of steroids, football, and bullying, and the way that things can escalate out of control in a terrible way.

There are more book cover patterns here.

Upcoming Fantasy

Fantasy fans might be interested to hear about a couple of upcoming releases, brought to you by the colour red.

Froi of the Exiles, Melina Marchetta (October/November) – If you’ve read Finnikin of the Rock you might remember Froi, although maybe not fondly (to say he’s a bit of a jerk is being kind). Like him or not, you’ll want to read the follow-up to Finnikin. It is three years after Lumatere was released from its curse and Froi is sent on a secret mission to Charyn where things are, I think, a bit nuts. Here’s an interview with the author (thanks to Kym for the link). Nice cover too.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M Valente (soonish) – If there were a prize for book titles this one would have a good shot. Originally published online, this one is neatly illustrated by Ana Juan. September is 12 years old and living in Omaha. One day she is visited by a Green Wind who tells her she’s needed in Fairyland where September must find a particular talisman for the Marquess or else she (the Marquess) will make life difficult for Fairyland. A School Library Journal reviewer said, “Think The Phantom Tollbooth crossed with The Wizard of Oz infused with the absurdity of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” which sounds awesome (you can read another SLJ review of it here).

 The author’s website is here, and below is the rather stylish book trailer:

More Great Reads

The Schwa Was Here and Antsy Does Time both by Neal Shusterman.

  

Antsy feels like he is invisible. He isn’t as good at school as his brother and sister and spends his time at home making peace between his mother and father. He doesn’t think he has ever done anything noteworthy except by accident and a lot of the time he feels unimportant and unnoticed. Calvin Schwa actually is nearly invisible. He can sit in a room and no one will see him or remember that he was there. Half his class think he isn’t real, just an urban legend. But Antsy gets to know him, and by helping the Schwa he manages to stand up for himself, get in a lot of trouble and have a go at making both of them more noticed.

A book all about being seen, how people can be very different from what you hear and making decisions about your own life. This book is nothing like Neal Shusterman’s Unwind (although that’s also an awesome book in different ways!). Recommended if you liked The 10pm Question by Kate De Goldi.

In Antsy Does Time, Antsy finds out completely by chance that a friend is dying. He only has 6 months left. To try and make him feel better Antsy officially gives him 1 month of his own life, signed and witnessed. And then suddenly everything gets out of hand. He’s a hero, he has a secret, and somehow he has to make things right again with his family, the crazy old man who’s threatening to fire his Dad, his girlfriend, his ex-girlfriend and most of the town. Plus he’s managed to kill off all the plants in most of one street.

A crazy, funny story that’s pretty much all about death and dying. Read after reading The Schwa Was Here – it’s a different story, but you do need to know who the characters are and how they got where they are.

The Hunger Games Teaser

A one minute Hunger Games teaser trailer was released at the MTV VMAs earlier this week, and this is it:

The forest looks just like I imagined it. Exactly so.