Why are teens wild about Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ saga? School Library Journal 8/1/08

“The wait is over. The final volume in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn, goes on sale at 12 a.m. tonight, and many stores across the country are planning midnight parties with a vampire theme. Maybe it’s a fascination with the supernatural, its sexual energy, or its nail biting plot, but teens are raving about this series. Professor Amy Clarke of the University of California, Davis, and an expert on teen literature explores this fascination.” Article by Amrisa Nirajin School Library Journal 8/1/08.

I hope your summer has been restful and full of great reads. In between playing chauffeur for my two children, going to New York to see my last Yankee game at Yankee Stadium, and driving to northern Minnesota, I have actually read quite a bit. Surprisingly, my favorite book this summer happened to be a 2008 Newbery Medal Honor book by Christopher Paul Curtis called Elijah of Buxton. This is a gem for all ages. Originally I thought I would not read this book because the main character is only 11 years-old. I thought it would be too young for high school students but a public library librarian talked me into reading this. I took her advice and learned so much about the underground railroad and Buxton, an organized black settlement in Ontario, Canada for free and escaped slaves from the United States. I had no idea this settlement existed.

Charlene Chausis asked me to assist her in a workshop at Stevenson on July 30th called Live at the Library of Congress which taught educators about the collections within American Memory at the LOC. As I was navigating the LOC I began seeing multiple curriculum connections for Elijah of Buxton that could work for middle school or high school students. What impressed me most was the African American History collection that contains audio slave narratives. These bring the voices of former slaves to life. It is amazing and humbling to hear these individuals tell their stories. This is only one small example of what is available at the LOC. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

WINTER GAMES by John Lacombe

Reviewer: Ms. Carly Wells

It was a typical day for 24-year-old Tim Sutton, running his comic book shop in a small New Hampshire town. Until a mysterious package arrived.

The package, a comic tampered with and filled with secret codes, tells Tim that he must go on a cross-country (and cross-Pacific!) journey to save his younger brother, who went missing 5 years ago.

From a simple life with every day the same, Tim’s journey brings him in contact with a failed FBI agent, a rogue special operations agent, a Chicago drug lord, and the most top secret military operations in North Korea.

Will Tim find his brother? If so, will he be the same? And can he trust Sarah, his fiery and startlingly adept contact, who has pledged to help him reach his brother?

This book is a page-turner from the first chapter. The action is non-stop and the characters are so interesting and distinct, that you will want to read more about them, whether they are good or evil. Disclaimer: There is some swearing in this book that is specific to certain characters and violent acts are committed, similar to what you would see in one of the Bourne movies or other action thrillers. This book could be compared to Clive Cussler novels or Tom Clancy novels, though in some ways it is an easier read- it moves more quickly and also has dark political undertones as the book progresses. This is a good book to read for fun or for independent reading if you can choose your own book.

Review by Mrs. Dettling

An Abe Lincoln Award nominee for 2008.

Lisa See’s novel set in nineteenth-century China, is a beautiful and heartbreaking story of love and friendship. Lily and Snow Flower live in a remote area of the Hunan Province. At the age of seven, the two girls are paired in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. Snow Flower introduces Lily to the secret language of nu shu, a language developed by Chinese women more than a thousand years ago to keep their thoughts free from the influence of men. According to author Lisa See, nu shu “appears to be the only written language in the world to have been created by women exclusively for their own use.”

Review by Mrs. Dettling

The Wilder sisters are born-and-bred New York City girls who suddenly move to Fir Lake, a rural upstate New York town. Katie and Michaela have known nothing but the concrete jungle of Manhattan with its millions of inhabitants, and ballet lessons at a world-class dance school. Now they must adjust to small-town life. Katie is hesitant and struggling with her new life when everything is falling into place for Michaela. Why is her sister coping so well?

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Review by Mrs. Dettling

Two words pop into my mind when I think about Austenland…Fantasy Island. I know, I am dating myself.

How into Jane Austen are you? Is Colin Firth’s portrayal of Fitzwilliam Darcy in the BBC adaption of Pride and Prejudice your idea of the perfect man? Maybe not, but for the single 32-year-old Jane Hayes, no man in the world can measure up to the BBC version of Darcy. Jane is forced to confront her Jane Austen obsession when her great-aunt dies and leaves her an all-expenses-paid vacation to Pembrook Park, a British resort where guests live like the characters in Austen novels. Now do you see why I said Fantasy Island? This is a modern twist on a classic novel.

Make sure you click on the link in Shannon Hale’s name above to hear an interview with the author.

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Review by Mrs. Dettling

I have been a librarian for more than 15 years. During this time I have been asked to find all kinds of books. Two of the weirdest topics I have ever searched for are how to build a coffin, and how to garden with human manure. ICK! Most times I am asked simple requests, like recommending a sad story. In the past, I have suggested Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata. However, I have now found the saddest story of all time…

Jenny Downham’s Before I Die is a real tearjerker. WARNING, you need to break out the Kleenex when reading this book. Downham’s debut novel is absolutely brilliant. Tessa is a 16-year-old who is terminally ill. She has two choices, to hide under her covers and wait to die, or live the rest of her life. I am not giving anything away when I say Tessa decides to live. She makes a list of 10 things she wants to accomplish during her remaining time. Downham holds nothing back in this story. Tessa’s desires are realistic, and her journey is an affirmation of how important it is to live each day to the fullest.

Review by Mr. Bradford

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a “movie-holic” I love movies – of all eras. As a result, I was excited to pick up “Jimmy Stewart: A Biography” by Marc Eliot. Stewart is often regarded as one of the greatest movie actors ever; many of his films (including “It’s A Wonderful Life) are considered all time classics.

This well written biography succeeds on two levels. First, it gives a wonderful overview (including many juicy stories) about the films and actors associated with Jimmy Stewart. Second, it offers insight into the character of a man who was shy and introverted, and thus hard to know on a deep level. Eliot shows how the people and events in Stewart’s life shaped both his personality and his acting.

I am now anxious to read more by this talented author and I am also anxious to read more about some of Stewart’s co-stars.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Review by Mrs. Dettling

From the very first moment I began reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I had one thought floating around in my head, this is such a great book for guys! A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story written in a first person narrative, complete with drawings by graphic artist Ellen Forney, basketball, angry young men, and an unrequited crush.

Life has never been easy for 14-year-old Spokane Indian Arnold “Junior” Spirit. Junior is bright, very poor, an aspiring cartoonist, and the son of an alcoholic, living on a reservation in Wellpinit, WA. Junior never considers asking for more out of life until he has an angry outburst in math class that leaves him suspended. Junior’s math teacher visits him at home and inspires him to want more than the life of poverty that engulfs all the young Native Americans on the rez. Junior takes the advice seriously and enrolls in the all-white high school in a neighboring farm town. Junior finds himself an outcast in his own community and a curiosity in his new school.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Review by Mrs. Dettling

Loving Frank is a fictional account of the infamous affair of Frank Lloyd Wright and the wife of a client, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. The novel is set during the period of 1903, when the Cheney’s first commission Wright to build them a home in Oak Park, and Mamah’s untimely death in 1914. This affair is the scandal of the time. Reporters followed and tracked the couple to Berlin after they first ran off together. Newspapers were brutal in their portrayal of Mamah as home wrecker and unfit mother. (Notice how it is always the woman’s fault).

While reading Loving Frank, I became intrigued with Mamah Cheney. I wanted to learn more about the intellectual side of Mamah. She was educated, obtained a Masters Degree from the University of Michigan, and was fluent in several languages. What could make a woman of the Suffrage Movement, decide to run off and abandon her family?

I decided to do a little research (the librarian in me can not be deprived). I used ProQuest to access the Chicago Tribune during the period of the affair. I found several primary source articles. There were articles about the affair, Mamah’s divorce, and the tragedy of 1914. Nothing answered all of my curiosity but reading these articles helped put the book into historic perspective. Obviously a work of fiction, this is not a true account of what actually transpired between Frank and Mamah, but it makes an interesting read.

If you click the Mamah link above, you can listen to an NPR interview with the author. Enjoy.

Related articles: (For larger print articles, click view at the top of your screen in order to adjust text size).

Wright statement about divorce.

Wright praises Mamah.

Funeral arrangements.

Edwin Cheney adopts a boy.