Read the book before the movie comes out!

On June 6th, “The Fault in Our Stars,” based on John Green’s amazing novel of the same name, is coming to theaters.  Read the book first!  It will make you laugh and cry all at once. 

        It’s the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster, who is 16 and a three-year stage IV–cancer survivor.  She understandably is very depressed. To help her deal with this, her doctor sends her to a weekly support group where she meets Augustus Waters, a fellow cancer survivor, and the two fall in love. Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share a witty sense of humor and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and don’t forget they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.


      John Green looks at big issues in this book:  life, love, and death—with sensitivity and honesty. Readers feel what it is like to live with cancer, sometimes no more than a breath or a heartbeat away from death. But really the book celebrates love and life.


      John Green is a popular author for young adults, and this may be his best book yet.

      And guess who plays Hazel in the movie?  Shailene Woodley, who played Triss in “Divergent.”
Here’s the trailer.

Get some tissues. Read the book.  We’ll all be at the Lockdown at the library on June 6th, but I plan to see the movie the very next day!

Happy reading,
Connie

Teen Quiz Show @ the Library

         If you visited the library last Tuesday, April 29th, you saw and heard the happy voices of 22 middle and high schoolers who participated in a Teen Quiz Show.  Designed, planned and run by the Teen Advisory Board, this event was a great success.  Two rounds of questions were held, with two teams participating in each round. The questions were about books, movies, music and video games.

    Can you answer some of the questions?

•    Who are the makers of Minecraft?
•    What is Triss’s full name in Divergent?
•    In what Dewey Decimal number is "Music" located?

Or the real stumper:
•    What are the names of the 4 library staff members in the Youth Services Room?
      (answer: Mrs. C., Lauren. Marilyn, Connie)

      The Teen Quiz Show was such a hit that the library’s next Lockdown just might have this as a theme! The Lockdown happens after hours on a Friday and is open to entering 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. It is a very popular event, so watch for more information!

    Interested in joining the TAB (Teen Advisory Board) and helping to plan cool events and share ideas?  Just ask for an application at the Youth Services desk and get involved .

Happy reading,

Connie

Sweet Tweets @ the Library!

Happy National Poetry Month!

      A dozen teens participated in Poetry Workshops at the library during April.  They created great Book Spine poems, 

  

clever Six-Word Memoirs (describe your life in 6 words),

"Art is dreams put to paper."

and eloquent Poetry Tweets (poems no longer than 140 characters, like a tweet on Twitter). 

Back and forth 

my paintbrush goes

like the waves

on the beach shore

clearing my thoughts

erasing my worries

my escape from reality

 

   
     This year the young poets had the opportunity to illustrate their poems, if they wanted, either with photographs or drawings.  The results were fabulous! 

      A couple of poets shared longer works they had written.  The audience was impressed with their creativity.  





      I am already looking forward to the third annual Sweet Tweets next April when National Poetry Month comes around again!

Here’s a challenge: write YOUR Six-Word Memoir.  I’d love to hear it.

Happy writing …and writing,
Connie

Second Annual Sweet Tweets Poetry @ the Library!

Do you like to write? Do you enjoy poetry? Want to challenge yourself to write a poetry tweet – a poem using no more than 140 characters, like a tweet in Twitter?

 To celebrate National Poetry Month in April, the library again this year will offer middle and high school students poetry workshops.  We had a great time last year, warming up with Book Spine Poetry and Six-Word Memoirs and then jumping into our tweets.  The creativity was impressive. 

This year students have asked to add a photograph or drawing to accompany their poems.  Also, longer poems will be encouraged for those who would like to write more. 

We will meet from 3-4 p.m. on April 2, 9th, and 16th.  On April 16th, we also will have a special celebration to share our poems with family and friends from 6:30-7:30 in the meeting room.

You can sign up ahead of time or just stop in and join us. I promise you will have fun and surprise yourself with you talent!  Grab a friend or two and come!

Connie

Manga Workshop with Jay Piscopo a Huge Success!

        Nearly thirty middle and high school students were enraptured by comic artist Jay Piscopo’s Comic Workshop held at the Scarborough Library on March 12th. Many members of Scarborough High School’s Anime Club came. The creator of Capt’n Eli and other characters showed aspiring artists how to use different basic shapes to convey emotions. 

         Making scribbles into drawings was fun and freeing; many were surprised by what they could create from a friend’s scribble. Jay gave lots of tips on how to break into comics as a career.  He kindly stayed after the workshop to look at the students’ work, giving praise and helpful suggestions.  The afternoon was a great success for all.

Let us know what other programs you would like!

Happy Reading,
Connie

Stories Inspired by Fairy Tales

Fairy tales are dramatic, often scary, and much read. Sometimes authors use fairy tales as starting points for new stories, twisting and interpreting them in new ways.

      You know the story of Cinderella: the poor girl with the mean stepsisters and stepmother, who scores the handsome prince. Marissa Meyer took some of those pieces in her futuristic take on the Cinderella story, Cinder.  As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world. There are two sequels, Scarlet and Tress, each based on characters from different fairy tales.

      Troll’s Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales, are fairy tales retold through the eyes of the characters who were the villains in the original tales. Everyone thinks they know the real story behind the villains in fairy tales--evil, no two ways about it. But the villains themselves beg to differ. In this anthology, you'll hear from the Giant's wife (from Jack and the Beanstalk), Rumpelstiltskin, the oldest of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and more.

       The new novel by Tom McNeal, Far Far Away, doesn't exactly retell one or more fairy tales.  Instead it creates a new kind of fairy tale with roots in the old tales and featuring the ghost of Jacob Grimm. When Jeremy Johnson Johnson's strange ability to speak to the ghost of Jacob Grimm draws the interest of his classmate, Ginger Boltinghouse, the two find themselves at the center of a series of disappearances in their hometown.

Here are some more books that take the fairy tales we remember and give them just a little twist.

Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

On her way to marry a prince she's never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and her lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers..

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

 In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Beast by Donna Jo Napoli

This book is based on the tale of "Beauty and the Beast," told from the point of view of the beast and set in Persia.

There are many other books based on the fairy tales we all love.  Just ask in the Youth Services Room!

Happy reading,
Connie

You've finished Allegiant! Now what?

If you loved the Divergent series and have finished reading Allegiant, are you feeling like this?

And now you have to wait until March for the movie!

Here are some suggestions of books to read while you wait.

If you loved the Dystopian Setting in Allegiant (set in dystopian Chicago), try Delirium (set in dystopian Portland..yup, our very own big Maine city!).

 
           Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

If you loved the Action in Allegiant, try Legend.

          In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

If you loved the Initiation in Divergent, try The Giver.

 
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.

If you loved the Dauntless Pit, try The Forest of Hands and Feet.

Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the Unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead.

If you loved the Romance, try Matched.

 
All her life, Cassia has never had a choice. The Society dictates everything: when and how to play, where to work, where to live, what to eat and wear, when to die, and most importantly to Cassia as she turns 17, who to marry.




Or ask in the Youth Services Room for more titles you will love!


Happy reading.