JCPL Teens

Do we have any fans of The Giver by Lois Lowry out there? Well there are thing a brewin' with this classic book. First, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is staging a theater version of the play that will run from September 28th through November 18th. Click here for more information and to buy tickets to the show. Should be interesting to see how they translate the book to the stage.

Another exciting development in The Giver world is the release of the fourth and final book of the quartet called Son. Unlike the other Birthmothers in her utopian community, teenaged Claire forms an attachment to her baby, feeling a great loss when he is taken to the Nurturing Center to be adopted by a family unit. The final book connects all the previous books together so you get a satisfying conclusion to the series. Son comes out on October 2nd, so put your name on the hold list today!

The National Snow and Ice Data Center released the numbers for September that indicate the sea ice is shrinking faster than anticipated.  September is the month that the sea ice reaches it's minimum before longer nights and cooler weather begin to reform the ice.  This year the ice minimum was 800,000 which is smaller than the record set in 2007.  The world has seen a .8 degree Celsius increase in temperature and the arctic has seen a twice as high increase at 1.9 degrees.

What does this mean for the planet?  Is this global warming in action?  Will New York City soon be underwater?  The good news is that as sea ice melts it does not raise the sea level.  The melting of the sea ice creates a loop, or positive feedback (not in a good way).  As the ice melts there is less snow / ice area to reflect the Sun's rays thus the temperature will rise.  Water vapor in the air is another form of greenhouse gas.  The cold air above the arctic is very dry, similar to a desert.  As the temperature warms and more ice melts the air holds more moisture.  This added humidity traps more heat.

Over the last few decades ice thickness has decreased by half.  There is speculation that the polar sea ice will completely melt in the next couple of decades.  The ice will still be there in winter but in September the ice may be in the form of ice bergs instead of a solid mass of ice. 

Want to know more?  Check out the National Snow and Ice Data Center website or the library database Global Issues in Context.

    UPCOMING BOOKS:

October 4th @ 4 p.m.

Anna Dressed in Blood

by Kendare Blake

November 8th @ 4 p.m.

Ellen Hopkins Books

December 6th @ 4 p.m.

The Hobbit

by J.R.R. Tolkien

Arvada Library Meeting Room

Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan is being release on October 2nd.  Come and celebrate at the Lakewood Library from 4-6.  We will have Greek themed snacks, games and crafts.  Come dressed in costume and we will award a $5 gift card to Target for the best dressed.  We will not be battling on horses with swords as the library liability policy does not allow for these sorts of activities but we will have lots of other fun things to do.

Lakewood Library
Tuesday, October 2nd
4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Want to learn to cook healthy food? Want to get to eat healthy food? Want to get free groceries and kitchen tools too? 

Check out The Power of Eating Right, presented by Operation Frontline. A professional chef will lead you in basic culinary skills, creating interesting recipes, and keeping it healthy!

Hosted by The ROAD, the course is every Wednesday at 4 pm for six weeks, beginning on October 3.

Signup is required in advance. Contact Vanessa at The ROAD, 303-982-6755 or vanessaho@jcmh.org.  

Or, if you can't attend the classes, you can always check out some of the easy-to-make recipes in the library's cookbooks.

Shannon Hale's new Princess Academy book Palace of Stone will be released on October 1st.  Sign up now to join a live webcast with Shannon Hale celebrating the book release.  Ask her questions online and see what she has to say.  Space is limited.

In Palace of Stone Miri returns to Asland and calls upon all of her knowledge of rhetoric and other useful lessons learned at the Princess Academy when she and the other girls face strong opposition while working for a new, fair charter.

"On television, it's usually the rich kids who assert control at a high school; however, most of Squirrel Hill's genuinely rich kids go to the local private school, Shadyside Academy. The ones that remain are too few to impose any kind of order. I mean, occasionally, they try to, and that tends to be more adorable than anything else. Like when Olivia Ryan freaks out about the puddle of urine that appears in one of the stairwells most days between 10:30 and 11:00 AM, shrieking at bystanders in an insane, misguided attempt to try to figure out who did it. You want to say 'Liv! The perpetrator has probably not returned to the scene of the crime. Pee Diddy is long gone by now.' But even if you did say that, she probably wouldn't stop freaking out. And anyway, my point is that the freaking out doesn't have any measurable effect on anything. It's like when a kitten tries to bite something to death. The kitten clearly has the cold-blooded murderous instinct of a predator, but at the same time, it's this cute little kitten, and all you want to do is stuff it in a shoebox and shoot a video of it for grandmas to watch on YouTube."

When a girl Greg accidentally dated in middle school is diagnosed with cancer, Earl's mom forces him to hang out with her. This book is the story of what that does to his life. It's like The Fault in Our Stars, but with less deep meaning and a lot more hilarious passages like the one above.
 

Has fall got you feeling all studious? Check out these really good teen movies and the classic works of literature upon which they were loosely based.

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Mental Floss (known for giving us "Random, Interesting, Amazing Facts") has put together a great quiz: Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. They give you a title that comes from one of these two series, and you have to decide (guess? remember?) which series it is. No cheating, of course, but if you get inspired to read or re-read any of them check out the many, many Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries at your library.

P.S. I failed! There were only two that I actually knew, but I got 8/15 right. How about you?

Researchers have figured out how to put LED lights in contact lenses! The potential includes full-color display screens in your eye!! Check out the whole article for more details.

This immediately brought to mind the book Feed by M.T. Anderson for me. Or maybe Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Creepy, but also kind of amazingly awesome. 

What do you think? Would you get a computer screen in your eye? 

Angry Birds at Belmar: design your own furious feathered friend and then test its pig-destroying powers via a laucher!

Wednesday, September 26, 4:30 pm.

BANNER TOTE BAGS -USE RECYCLED BANNERS TO CREATE A NEW TOTE BAG THAT’S SURE TO GET EVERYONE’S ATTENTION.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

3:30 P.M.—4:30 P.M.

GOLDEN LIBRARY

National Public Radio has published a list of top 100 books for teens.  I've read almost all of them and like all of them.  Here are some of my favorites:

Which books are your favorite?  What do you think they left off the list?

Check out the full list at  

This is how : proven aid in overcoming shyness, molestation, fatness, spinsterhood, grief, disease, lushery, decrepitude & more-- for young and old alike by Augusten Burroughs

Look for 814.54 BURROUGHS

 This book is not a ‘Young Adult’ book officially but it is a great Young Adult read. Lyrical and crass; humorous and devastating, it is a mindful sharing of personal reflections and wisdoms that I found to be insightful and moving.

If you have sadness in your life, questions about the nature of love, a need to learn to love yourself in spite of the terrible things you hate about yourself: your weight, your sexuality, your shyness, your sadness… whatever it is… Burroughs is like a gruff big, gay brother telling you ‘how it is’… and how it can be, should be, and, if you listen, will be.

At its heart, this book is about finding peace with yourself, your past, and hopefully, with your future. Oh, and it’s pretty funny.

Yes! Entertainment Weekly reports that Dreamworks is planning to turn the teen book Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo into a movie. David Heyman, who produced Harry Potter, is set to produce this one as well. If you haven't read Shadow and Bone yet, you should put yourself on the hold list. Alina Starkov is just a common orphan until she is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protegé of the mysterious Darkling. He trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner, who can destroy the monsters of the Fold. There's no production timeline yet for the movie, but we're hoping it's soon!

Here's a look at the book trailer to pique your interest:

Interested in any of these books? They're all coming out this month!

Tilt by Ellen Hopkins: Three teens, connected by their parents' bad choices, tell in their own voices of their lives and loves as Shane finds his first boyfriend, Mikayla discovers that love can be pushed too far, and Harley loses herself in her quest for new experiences.
 

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson: This is the sequel to The Girl of Fire and Thorns. Queen Elisa faces spies, a traitor in the palace, attempted kidnapping, pressure to marry, and rioting mobs.

Safekeeping by Karen Hesse: When Radley returns to the United States after volunteering abroad, she comes back to a country under military rule with strict travel restrictions, and she must find her way back to her Vermont home through the New England woods
 

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson: This is the first book in a new series by the author of Maximum Ride and Witch and Wizard. Tandy Angel is, along with her brothers, a suspect in their parents' murder. Tandy decides she must clear the family name no matter what.

The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George: When her mother abandons her on Whidbey Island, Washington, a fourteen-year-old girl with psychic abilities meets a Ugandan orphan with a secret.

Beneath the Glitter by Elle Fowler and Blair Fowler: Two sisters create some make-up and fashion videos on YouTube that end up going viral and suddenly they are immersed in all the glitz and glam of L.A.

A Fractured Light by Jocelyn Davies: This is the sequel to A Beautiful Dark

Seconds Away by Harlan Coben: This is the sequel to Shelter.

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Mar: In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale.                                                                                                  

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: "There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark's Eve," Neeve said. "Either you're his true love . . . or you killed him." A spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we've never been before.                                                                      

Dodger by Terry Pratchett: In an alternative London, ruled by the young Queen Victoria, an enterprising lad can find adventure and opportunity if he is very smart, and very, very lucky. Dodger has the brains, the luck and the cheek to scrape by on his own.

Forget hunting for the remote, there is a new invention for eye controlled television.  Haier has released Gaze T.V., a television that can be controlled by staring at parts of the screen.  Similar to the Wii, the Gaze has a sensor that will detect eye movement.  The idea of gaze controlled technology is not new.  Tobii originally developed the software to assist disabled people in working computers.  Do you think this will take off or is it just another interesting gadget like the Auto Speaker invented in 1931?  From the advertisement for Auto Speaker: "With this novel microphone arrangement you can hail your friends on the street." 

Learn more about the Haier Gaze T.V.

Visa has the slogan "Don't leave home without it" and Mastercard has the slogan "Priceless."  These hold true for library cards too!  Here are just a few examples of the power of a FREE library card:

You can get free dirt at the library!  We have an inter-library loan department.  This department will order things you request from all over the world.  I asked them what was the most unique things they have gotten for a library customer and the response was:

• “Tooth eruption of the South Dakota black footed ferret”
• Request for an item that had to do with gardening and soil samples – what came was a kit with actual soil samples in it!
• 16th Century plans of Dutch merchant ships.

You can borrow free audiobooks and ebooks online through the library.  Here are just a few titles you can get for either Kindle, Nook or other ereader devices:

• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Kill Order by James Dashner
• The Selection by Kira Class

Did you know that you can get FREE online help with your homework?  We have a database called Help Now.  This services has unlimited online homework help between 2pm and 11pm. Get help in English, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Studies.  If you plan ahead (unlike me the master procrastinator for homework) you can submit your paper to the service and they will offer suggestions for how to improve your assignment!

Sign up online or come in to your local library to get your card today!  If you are under 17 you will need a parental unit signature in order to get a card. 

 Robotics Program & Teen Book Swap

The Faith Christian Academy Robotics Team, one of the best in the nation, will give an introduction into the exciting hobby of robotics. They’ll bring a robot to demonstrate and video footage of their robots in action.

Standley Lake Library

Sat. Sept. 15th

Robotics program – 2:00 – 3:00 pm

Teen Book Swap – 10:00 – 4:00 pm

Attention mountain teens: looking for something to do this weekend? Join us on Sept. 14 for a Friday night program just for teens. We'll watch Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! (the stylish PG-13 musical in which a young poet falls for a beautiful courtesan) with games and a craft, too. Snacks and drinks will be provided, and no reservations are necessary. We'll get started promptly at 6 p.m., and all participants must be picked up from the library at 8:30. Contact the Evergreen Library with questions.

After-Hours Teen Time - Moulin Rouge
6-8:30 pm on Friday, Sept. 14
Evergreen Library

Have you read enough dystopians? Needing something different? Try switching things up for a while with an old fashioned magic based fantasy – no vampires, no werewolves – just magic or in Cassel’s case, curse workers! In Cassel’s world everyone wears gloves because everyone is a potential curse worker – someone who with the touch of their hand could remove your memories, bring you luck, good or bad, invade your dreams or even kill you! Cassel has always believed that he is the one anomaly in a well-known and talented family of curse workers. His mother works emotions. One brother is a physical worker and the other a memory worker. His grandfather is a death worker, but Cassel doesn’t have a curse to work. Or, does he? Lately, Cassel has been having weird dreams of a white cat, a cat that suspiciously reminds him of his murdered childhood friend, Lila.

White Cat has suspense, mystery, great con games, humor and magic! And, If you like White Cat, follow it up with the next two books in the series – Red Glove and Black Heart! I’m hoping for a fourth book soon!

I don't know about you, but I am a HUGE fan of Joseph Delaney's The Last Apprentice series. So far there are ten books in the series which follows the young Tom Ward, who is a seventh son of a seventh son and thus has special supernatural abilities that require training from the local “spook”. The spook is in charge of battling everything from witches to boggarts to the "Fiend." Tom finds himself in an exciting adventure when he accidentally offends a witch who is eager to take revenge.

I was really psyched to hear that they are making a movie of the first book coming out in 2013 and now titled The Seventh Son! The adaptation already looks promising with stars like Jeff Bridges set to be the Spook and Julianne Moore as the witch. Oddly enough they have cast 30-year-old Ben Barnes (a.k.a Caspian from the Narnia movies) to play the main character Tom (who is 13 in the first novel). The movie will hit theaters October 18, 2013.

The Diviners by Libba Bray!

This book looks really good – a little history, suspense, mysterious powers and MURDER all set in 1920’s New York City. The book comes out in September so put your name on the hold list now!

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Showing in the meeting room @ Standley Lake Library

Sat. Sept. 8^th

1:30 pm

Popcorn and Lemonade provided!

Over at the Arvada Library, the Read n’ Rant Young Adult Book Group will have its first EPIC discussion tomorrow, Thursday September 6th at 4 p.m.! It is sure to be the most profoundly intelligent conversation you have ever had…on a Thursday.

Look for YA FICTION COLLINS

Questions to consider: Are there parallels between Suzanne Collins dystopic world and ours? Is the United States like ‘the Capitol?’ Can kids from violent backgrounds ever find true peace? Does our fascination with dystopian fiction mean we have a bleak view of our future? Would the book have been better with zombies? Did Peeta’s mad camouflage skills really save his life or just make us all laugh?

Bring a friend. Bring a snack. Bring an opinion.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder is one of my favorite trilogies.  I love the concept of the book.  Yelena is sentenced to death for murder.  On the day of her execution she is given the choice to die or become the food tester for the palace and potentially die by poison another day.  The other twist to the story is that Yelena has the ability to do magic, something that is strictly forbidden in the kingdom of Ixia.  This trilogy has a fast plot filled with palace intrigue, a strong main character and a touch of romance.  Will Yelena be able to outwit the palace security and escape or will she face a gruesome death by poison?

A fossilized pinky bone found in the Denisovan cave in Siberia has provided a high quality DNA sequence for a girl who lived tens of thousands of years ago.  Why is this important?  Scientists are now able to track where the current 'relatives' of this girl are living.  The answer is surprising: South East Asia and Australia.  Another aspect scientists will study is how this girl's DNA is similar or different from modern humans. 

Want to know more?  Read the NPR article online or look for Denisovan in our online database Science in Context.