Teen Stuff

 

These books were highly recommended by participants at the recent "Books We Love" session of LOL at MHS:

 

 

Please come to our Tuesday, January 10 session of LOL to recommend a science fiction/fantasy/horror book you have read. If you need some ideas, see this booklist from VOYA.

If you are not usually a sci fi/fantasy fan, here is a few recommendations of books you might like:

I very much enjoyed our quite spiritied discussions of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card....it also brought up more questions than answers for me.

One thing mentioned in both A and B lunch periods was the rumor that Michael Jackson owned the movie rights to the novel. I checked on that and I believe that information is going to fall under the realm of "urban legend". The info I could find shows that Fresco Pictures has been working with Card on the screenplay...I couldn't find any potential release dates, or even an indication if the project is moving forward, etc. If you find more info...please post under the comments.

Also, I incorrectly stated that the book Ender's Game was written in 1977. I have since discovered, thanks to our sci-fi guru here at MPL, Kevin Maring, that part of the book was published as a short story in 1977, but that the novel wasn't published until 1986 (when it won the Hugo and Nebula Awards.)

A contested plot point in our discussion seemed to be whether or not (or precisely when) the Buggers connected (via their unique mental form of communication) with Ender and the exact origin/role of the video game he played (the one with the giant) and the subsequent replica land.  I don't think this point was resolved...and wondered, after people had a chance to look back over the book, or think about it more...what do you think?

One thing most of us seemed to agree on was our dislike of the newer cover art (in relationship to the tone/intended audience for the book.)

LOL, the high school book club that meets over the lunch hour to discuss a book (or other ideas) at least once a month just finished with an Iowa High School Book Award winner, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

This book was made into a movie that has just been released in theaters, and tells the story of two boys who have grown up together in Afghanistan: Amir, a wealthy elite Pashtun, and Hassan, his Hazara servant. When Amir secretly witnesses a brutal assault on Hassan by village bullies, the guilt over his unwillingness to stand up for or even try to protect his friend eats away at him throughout his life.

While many parts of this novel are painful or disturbing to read, the insight into Afghan culture, the glimpse of what the country was like before the Taliban, and the multi-layered relationships among the characters make this a book that is hard to put down.

A few "read beyond" ideas for those who want to read more about Afghanistan: A Thousand Splendid Suns, also by Khaled Hosseini, The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seirstad, The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky by Farah Ahmedi,  Kabul Beauty School: Beneath the Veil of Afghan Women by Deborah Rodriguez, and Zoya's Story: An Afghan Woman's Struggle for Freedom by Zoya.

In the juvenile collection, recommended titles include Parvana's Journey (see review on my Kids Blog), and it's prequel The Breadwinner, both by Deborah Ellis, and Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples.

 

I just saw something that I thought those readers of the young adult novel Feed by M.T. Anderson might be interested in. (Our LOL high school group read and discussed feed last spring.)

I was just reading through a library journal and came across reference to this article "Direct Brain-to-Game Interface Worries Scientists" from Wired magazine (link below). It talks about how the technology will use brain activity--essentially thought--as the video game controller...which is really close to how the implanted "feed" in the futuristic sci fi novel used thought to automatically innundate the thinker with "targeted" information.

http://www.wired.com/print/medtech/health/news/2007/09/bci_games

 

LOL at MHS is a collaborative program between the Marshalltown Public Library and the Marshalltown High School and features programs over the A/B lunch period at least once a month. Often we have book discussions, visiting authors, or other arts presenters, and programs are planned with input from the students. LOL (Learn Over Lunch...or Laugh Out Loud...whichever you prefer) is open to ANY interested student and is held in Mrs. Susan Fritzell's room, room 106. Students should pre-register with Mrs. Fritzell or Joa at the library. Students may bring their own lunches, or pitch in ahead of time for pizza or other food that has been planned.

The first LOL is Friday, September 7 with a discussion of the Harry Potter series, including readers views on the outcome of the whole series with the finale book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Students may come to either A and/or B lunch, or may stay through both periods as their schedule allows.

I finished reading Feed by M.T. Anderson this week for our upcoming Lunchtime Lit discussion on Thursday, March 22. I had heard so much about it from so many people that I expected to really love it. Instead, I found it thought-provoking, but I really had to push myself to finish it.

Part of the problem, I think, was that I was searching online for some background info for our book discussion and inadvertently came upon reader comments that totally gave away a major plot point (I am NOT one of those people who likes that...I NEVER read the last page of a book until I arrive there.)

Secondly, I was talking about the book with my friend Courtney, who really liked it a lot, and I said I was having trouble feeling too invested in the characters as they lacked depth. She pointed out that this was kind of a deliberate point that the author was trying to make about characters connected to the feed, versus people with more real live heart and soul kind of thing. I was kind of embarassed that I hadn't thought of that...because after she said it, I realized it was kind of obvious. Anyway, it helped me continue reading.

I do think the main narrator has a voice like a futuristic Holden Caufield in a lot of ways.

M.T. Anderson has several other books, including a recent Printz (young adult novel award) winner The Pox Party: taken from accounts by (Octavius Nothing's) own hand and other sundry sources.

Novelist (accessible from our web page with a login you can receive by calling the library 754-5738) also had some good read-alike ideas, including a brand new book by Susan Beth Pfeffer, Life As We Knew It, and a favorite of mine which is an anti-consumerism rant, The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian (and its sequel Vote for Larry.)

I just finished reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, which was chosen as our February book for Lunchtime Lit (I think Friday, February 24th or something.) I really liked it, and practically couldn't put it down...and I was really surprised by that. There was a sweetness and innocence to much of the story, which was quite the feat since it is about a girl, Susie Salmon, who is already dead and in heaven when the story begins, having been murdered by a serial killer at 14 years old.

For the last several years, I have purposely avoided watching or reading fiction or nonfiction to do with this level of violence, as I have a really hard time shaking off the horror--which I know that real families have to go through...and I can't stop thinking about that fact. The thing that struck me in this story was that it was just one moment...maybe a couple of hours...that this brutal and horrifying thing happened, but that this girl had a whole other life, both before her death, and then after her death, which is much of what the novel deals with.

Somehow the story manages to show...without minimizing the tragedy of what happened to this girl...that it is not ALL there is. To the people left behind who didn't know her, she became "the girl who was murdered"...for the people who knew and loved her she was so much more. It also follows this dual path of letting go...while remaining connected...regardless of which side of heaven you are on.

Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven comes to mind when I think about some of the themes of this novel. I listened to that book on CD (checked our from MPL), which I really recommend as the style and pacing of the narrative lends itself well to audio. Other books in the youth department that deal with views of the after life would be The Great Blue Yonder by Alex Shearer and The Afterlife by Gary Soto.

It was really interesting to hear Rob Merritt's perspective on the Columbine tragedy at his visit on January 25, especially because he really had the inside track, having interviewed and met so many people who were there or affected. The name of the book he co-wrote with former Columbine student Brooks Brown, No Easy Answers is such an appropriate title, because it is so difficult to come up with that factor that could have made the difference in preventing this horrible event.

I really came away with the sense that the strongest means of prevention is human connection...between students themselves, and especially between students and caring adults who are willing to stand up for young people who aren't be treated fairly, as well as connect with kids who are having trouble dealing with intense feelings, whether rage, depression, etc.

So many times, instead, as Rob pointed out, there are "knee jerk" reactions in dealing with prevention where students are treated as "potential shooters" and treated in a very punitive way, that often marginalizes a student who already feels on the fringes in the first place. If we looked at these "red flag" type behaviors with more common sense and compassion, instead of hysteria, maybe we could really make a difference in those kids' lives, as well as prevent rage from growing to this extreme point.

For people who are still looking for answers (and actually many questions, as well) about the whole issue of school violence, I would highly recommend the book Give a Boy a Gun by Todd Strasser, which is a fictional composite that takes factual elements from several real-life school shootings to create a story that examines a lot of the contributing factors. Also, Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates is a great novel that examines the fall-out that many students have had to deal with in our country, based on these aforementioned "knee-jerk" reactions. The main character, Matt, makes a joking comment in the cafeteria which is then maliciously reported out of context and he is plunged into this world of being viewed with suspicion and an outright threat.

A couple of other titles that deal with this issue are The Brimstone Journals by Ron Koertge, The Taking of Room 114 and Who Killed Mr. Chippendale (both told in verse) by Mel Glenn, Rachel's Tears (a nonfiction title about Rachel Scott who was killed in the Columbine massacre) and Making Up Megaboy Virginia Walter.

I would also highly recommend America, a novel by E.R. Frank, an excellent author (who is a social worker in her day job), called America. She tells the story of Amercia, a 15 year old boy who has had a life that leaves him full of rage and pushing people away and the people who reach out to him anyway. We've all seen those people who are so hostile and seem like they hate everybody, but once you get a chance to see what it going on inside this guy's head...the pain he is dealing with, you'll never quite see that kind of behavior the same way.