The Teen Choice Awards 2010 nominees have been announced, and you can vote for your favourite (so long as you’re a teen living in the US, but don’t let that stop you) daily on the official website. There are like a million categories to vote in! Maybe we should run our own, Wellington-only version?
Incredibly G.I. Joe : Rise of Cobra has five nominations, which frankly boggles the mind.
Read a massive list of the more interesting nominees by clicking on ‘more’ below.
As you perhaps know, we carry Seventeen magazine. We usually have two copies of each issue! I think they send us an extra copy? Anyway, an eighteen-year-old named Jamie Keiles is heroically attempting to “spend one month living according to the gospel of Seventeen Magazine”. It’s a difficult task, but she’s doing it so you and I don’t have to. Read her blog, The Seventeen Magazine Project, here.
Someone points out that we (i.e., NZ) should do it with Kiwis.
Pretty Little Liars is now a television series. It will premier in the US in a few days’ time. This is what it’s about!
Three years ago the leader (Alison) of a group of girls disappears. Now someone calling themselves ‘A’ is threatening to expose the secrets of the group, who all fit the Gossip Girl mold. With a bit of mystery thrown in, the series has been called ‘Desperate Housewives for teens.’
(I wrote that a year ago and now not so sure about the Desperate Housewives reference?) Anyway! You can view the trailer here, at the official site. You have to watch an ad for cheese slices first though. It’s produced by the same people who make The Vampire Diaries, which will screen here eventually, apparently.
(Not the rugby one, but the real football one.) Awesome! The All Whites will be playing the Australian Soccoroos on the 24th in Melbourne (kick-off is at 9.30pm NZST) and five days later they’re up against Serbia. Exciting!
To whet your appetite do watch this.
(they’re not catalogued yet, but will be soon)
Here is some entertainment news! Tickets for Eclipse go on sale tomorrow, WELL in advance of the first screening but you can’t never be too quick with these things can you? Reading Cinemas is on Facebook and Twitter, should you want more immediate information about this historic occasion.
Also a new series of Glee begins tomorrow in the US of A, at long last. But it’s difficult to find out when it begins on television here, unfortunately! A bit like Vampire Diaries, it is a mystery. So until then, here are a couple of promos.
John Marsden’s ever-popular Tomorrow, When the War Began (see also our Top 10 Books with Death and Destruction), is being made into a movie. Yes! That’s right! And the trailer has been released. You can watch it in HD on the official site, at this link. Or just watch this non-HD embedded clip.
It stars Lincoln Lewis, who was? is? in Home and Away, and is perhaps an Australian Taylor Lautner. He is interviewed here.
A 10-second teaser for a trailer (I know) for the next Twilight film, Eclipse. The 90-second trailer will become available on the 11th at 6am PST (that’s Pacific Standard Time, a US timezone), which is, uh, 3am tomorrow morning? Maths is hard.
Anyway, here’s the 10-second trailer, which has a shirtless Taylor Lauuuuuutner
There is to be a big display about the architecture of the Parthenon and Acropolis* called “Masks of Time” on the first floor of the Central Library. It will run from Monday, the 15th of March to the 25th of March, and will have large models of the buildings, models of reliefs from the temples, and information panels. And and heaps more. AND it will coincide with Greek National Day on the 25th, which celebrates Greece’s independence.
*The Acropolis is the name given to the small ‘city’ in Athens built in during the height of the Classical period in Greece, about 2,500 years ago. The Parthenon is the famous temple that sits atop the Acropolis.
Youth Parliament 2010 is beginning in July. To become a youth parliamentarian you must be selected by your local MP, or you could enter this competition being run by MP Phil Twyford. Youth Parliament can influence NZ policy and members learn allllll about government procedure and democracy.
Also, you can join the Youth Press Gallery to report on the Youth Parliamentarians. You must be a youth!
How Millenial Are You? is a quiz that determines just how millenial you are. Obviously! A ‘Millenial’ is someone who belongs to the so-called ‘Y-Generation‘ (i.e people born in the last couple of decades). ‘Generation X‘ was the previous generation (sort of), referring to people who grew up in the late 70s and 80s. Before that are the ‘Baby Boomers’, who were all born after WWII (there was a lot of them, hence the ‘boom‘ part). Each generation differs not only in age, but also in things such as consumer habits, culture, earnings, education, and whether or not they have a Facebook account.
And that was Today in History, kinda.
There is a new trailer for The Last Airbender (which would be called Avatar but it might confuse people) that you can watch at the official site. I would embed it but that is forbidden! It looks to me – and I own all the DVDs so I am some kind of expert – that the film will follow the first series pretty closely. Which is good! You can borrow the series from the library. Not the second and third series though, as for some reason they aren’t available in NZ.
Look at this dog. He/she smiles when his/her owner is about to take him/her for a walk. Walksies. So cute!
Wellington City Council is running a photography competition for 10-18 year-olds in March. You can win a camera, and maybe even get paid for your photos to be added to the Council’s collection of stock images. Paid! Win! Two appealing words. All you need to do is take photos that captures your youthperspective of Wellington.
It runs from Saturday, the 13th of February, to Sunday, the 14th of March. There is a free photography workshop on Saturday, the 13th of February , here, at the Central Library, at 1pm.
There is more information to be found here.
The first soundtrack to Glee (there’s a second one out, I think, in the US?) is now in the library catalogue. You can reserve it here. Lots of people want to listen to it! (Apparently Kurt does an amazing cover of Defying Gravity.) Tres exciting, do admit.
Here is a new list of the Top 10 things people search for in the library catalogue (and here is the old one!). The catalogue is called Easyfind as it easily finds things (obvs) and also recommends similar things.
So here they are, in order of popularity.
1. Twilight
2. New Moon
3. Book
4. Jodi Picoult
5. My Sisters Keeper
6. The Lovely Bones
7. Lovely Bones
8. thriller
9. Cherub
10. 24
I think it’s pretty cool that about a third of them are for items in the YA section. (The 11th on the list is Stephenie Meyer and the 12th is Eclipse.) SO significant.
Here are some of the searches that didn’t get an results. They are also called ‘orphaned queries’, depressingly.
‘ultamate biplane’, ‘stunt biplane’, ‘the profet’, ‘stephine meyer’, ‘shime’, ‘build chicken coop’, and ‘rock n roll swindle enter your query here’.
We (well, me) and at least two readers have wondered when The Vampire Diaries is going to be screened on TV in NZ. Finally it has been confirmed! First, by Becs in this here comment, and again in an article in the Otago Daily Times, which says that it will screen on TV One, rather than TV2. I wouldn’t have put money on that! So long as it’s not on at the same time as Glee, is all.
The Vampire Diaries begin in early 2010.
There are many, many new books this week. Here they are!
Oathbreaker : Assassin’s Apprentice, by S. R. Vaught and J. B. Redmond (374 pages) – High fantasy at its highest. Aron is kidnapped and forced to become an assassin in a world of powerful magic and shapeshifters. Should he avenge his family’s death?
First line: ‘Hot winds blew across the Watchline, twisting rusted wires against rotted fence posts.‘
Pastworld, by Ian Beck (353 pages) – It is 2048, and London has been transformed into a giant Victorian-era themepark. Its inhabitants do not know this! Visitors are a bit like time-travellers, and Caleb – one such visitor – finds himself accused of a murder by the local olde constabulary.
First line: ‘It was the cold hour before dawn.’
The Genius Wars, by Catherine Jinks (384 pages) – The conclusion to the Genius Trilogy. Cadel must launch an all-out attack on Prosper English, who is now a fugitive determined to take down all of Cadel’s loved ones.
First line: ‘Two dented lift doors were embedded in a wall of pebblecrete.‘
The Waters and the Wild, by Francesca Lia Block (113 pages) – A new book from one of the best writers in YA fiction. And it’s pretty brief, so perfect for a quick & magical read.
First lines: ‘When Bee woke up, there was a girl standing in her room. “You are me,” the girl said. Then she was gone.‘
The Glittering Eye, by L. J. Adlington (309 pages) – Shabti wakes in a field and has no memories. And Amy, daughter of an archaeologist, arrives in Egypt. They are connected! But you won’t guess how …
First line: ‘He woke up in a barley field.‘
Crashed, by Robin Wasserman (440 pages) – Lia died six months ago. She’s now a mech, and has to choose between humanity and the sheer awesomeness of being a machine. The second book in a trilogy! (The first is Skinned.)
First line: ‘When I was alive, I dreamed of flying.‘
The Demon’s Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan (329 pages) – Nick’s mother stole a charm from the most feared of magicians, and his brother, Alan, has been marked by a demon. Which leads to death! Nick must face the magicians, whose powers are sourced from demons, and he must kill them to save his brother.
First line: ‘The pipe under the sink was leaking again.‘
After The Moment, by Garret Freymann-Weyr (328 pages) – There is a summary inside, which I can lazily copy. ‘When seventeen-year-old Leigh changes high schools his senior year to help his stepsister, he finds himself falling in love with her emotionally disturbed friend, although he is still attached to a girl back home.’
First line: ‘Leigh Hunter thought he’d said goodbye to her almost four years ago.‘
The Twilight Saga – New Moon : The Official Illustrated Movie Companion, by Mark Cotta Vaz (141 pages) – Something about vampires and werewolves? Never heard of it myself. I wonder if it will be popular.
Marcelo In The Real World, by Francisco X. Stork (312 pages) – Marcelo Sandoval has a form of autism that leads him to hear music all the time. His father challenges him to work in his law firm’s mailroom, and there Marcelo faces new challenges. ‘Reminiscent of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,‘ says the blurb.
First lines: ‘“Marcelo, are you already?” I lift up my thumb. It means that I am ready.“
Headlong, by Kathe Koja (195 pages) – Lily attends the private Vaughn School, and has done so since preschool. New girl Hazel – whose background is vastly different to Lily’s privileged upbringing – and Lily become firm friends, and Hazel shows Lily what life has to offer.
First line: ‘A black circle-in-a-circle-in-a-circle, a bull’s-eye, a target: I trimmed it from the symbol sheet, painted on glue, stuck it to the underside of the vestal’s upraised wrist, one of the few blank spaces left on her.‘
In The Path of Falling Objects, by Andrew Smith (323 pages) – Brother Simon and Jonah take a road trip to find their other brother, who is in the army. They get a ride with a crazy man and a strange woman, and it quickly becomes the ride from Hell.
First line: ‘The only shade there is blackens a rectangle in the dirt beneath the overhang of the seller’s open stall.‘
Front and Center, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (254 pages) – Like everyone in her family, D.J. Schwenk is VERY tall. And she’s wanted by College scouts, town hoops fans, and a couple of fellas. [The one that comes after Dairy Queen and The Off Season – Grimm]
First line: ‘Here are ten words I never thought I’d be saying …‘
Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzgerald (391 pages) – Nora Grey isn’t interested in romance until transfer student Patch appears. He’s dreamy and mysterious and he’s also an angel, I think? If you like Twilight you may appreciate this – reviewers have commented favourably on the character of Nora compared with Bella.
First line: ‘Chauncey was with a farmer’s daughter on the grassy banks of the Loire River when the storm rolled in, and having let his gelding wander in the meadow, was left to his own two feet to carry him back to the chateau.‘
Warrior King, by Sue Purkiss (265 pages) – It is the ninth-century. King Alfred the Great has a plan – a good plan! – to get rid of the Vikings invading Britain (I guess they were bad?), but what will it mean for Fleda, his daughter?
First line: ‘Alfred couldn’t find his mother.‘
Confessions of a First Daughter, by Cassidy Calloway (214 pages) – Morgan’s mum is the president of the US. Morgan’s tendency for ‘screwing things up’ means that she often makes the news, always for the wrong reasons. When her mother has to go on a secret mission, Morgan steps in for her; with a little makeup, no one will spot the difference. Maybe.
First line: ‘I wonder if my mother ever feels like throwing up before she delivers an important speech.‘
Unsigned Hype, by Booker T. Mattison (206 pages) – Fifteen-year-old Tory Tyson and his partner Fat Mike enter the Unsigned Hype contest on a radio station. If he makes it his whole life will change. BUT will he win?
First line: ‘Somebody’s banging on my front door and it’s rocking the house harder than the beat I’m laying down in my bedroom.‘
Academy 7, by Anne Osterlund (257 pages) – Aerin and Dane are both new to the most exclusive academy in the whole UNIVERSE. Their secrets will soon unite them in this genre-spanning sci-fi romance mystery.
First line: ‘Aerin tried to ignore the bloodstain on the control panel of the Fugitive.’
(There aren’t enough fishhooks.)
The Center of the Universe : Yep, That Would Be Me, by Anita Liberty (286 pages) – A ‘profound, touching and hilarious’ story of one girl’s junior and senior years at high school. I read parts! It IS hilarious.
First lines: ‘My name is Anita Li … That was stupid. Why am I introducing myself?‘
Chasing the Bear : A Young Spenser Novel, by Robert B. Parker (169 pages) – Robert B. Parker has written a LOT of novels about Spenser, a private eye who solves mysteries. They’re all in the adult fiction collection. This book is for younger readers and is about Spenser’s youth in Wyoming.
First line: ‘I was sitting with the girl of my dreams on a bench in the Boston Public Garden watching the swan boats circle the little lagoon.‘
Would You Rather?, by Chris Higgins (261 pages)
Serendipity Market, by Penny Blubaugh (268 pages)
Rowan the Strange, by Julie Hearn (332 pages)
