Ages 11-18
Blog Post
AMERICAN GANGSTER (Jay-Z's Audio CD)
by tonyabreu
Jay-Z is back! So solid in every way and did it again #1 Roc Boys (And The Winner Is...). If you believed he was really retired, think again ‘cause jigga was just foolin…On American Gangster (EXPLICIT LYRICS), an album of drug-underworld tales inspired by the Ridley Scott film of the same name, Jay-Z echoes that sentiment, declaring all rappers ''actors,'' including himself: ''Believe half of what you see/None of what you hear/Even if it's spat by me.'' Of course, if that argument is true, it makes you wonder why someone as talented as Jay — he could probably rap The Hobbit and make it sound fly — would play the same role, the hardened hustler-turned-playboy, for his entire career. What's just as confounding is how he manages to pull it off time after time. Listen to the American Ganster--SOUNDTRACK Samples, by Various Artists and Marc Streitenfeld (Composer).
Blog Post
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
by joy k
Scott Pilgrim's just another twenty-something slacker living in a cold Canadian town. He's cheerfully unemployed, crashing at his gay best friend's apartment, and playing bass for a truly terrible band. But when a cute Amazon.ca delivery girl starts rollerblading through his dreams, he suddenly has a mission in life: to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends so he can win her heart. The Scott Pilgrim series is easily one of the funniest that I've read in the past year. But don't just take my word for it--find out for yourself! The library owns the first three volumes (1, 2, 3). You can also find previews at the official website.
Blog Post
Tween Scene: Share the Warmth
by lola
Spend your day off from school making something warm for others as we move into the cold, wintry season. Come to the Malletts Creek Branch on Wednesday, November 21 at 2 PM. We'll have until 4 PM to create no-sew fleece blankets to be donated to a local non-profit organization. In the spirit of giving, choose from a rainbow of colors and prints and spend the afternoon making blankets for others in our community.
Blog Post
Trigun
by joy k
Those of you who have been enjoying the manga Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow will be happy to hear we’ve added the first three discs of the anime adaptation to our dvd collection. It's the story of Vash the Stampede, a notorious gunman who tends to leave destruction in his wake. But as two insurance investigators on his trail quickly find out, Vash isn’t exactly a hardened criminal. Check it out for the action and humor--and for some very memorable supporting characters.
Blog Post
Winner of the 2007 National Book Award
by K.C.
The prize for young people’s literature was awarded to Sherman Alexie for the “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, an autobiographical story of a 14-year-old Spokane Indian who leaves his poverty-stricken reservation school and moves to a wealthy, all-white school. (New York Times, Nov. 15)
"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" is Alexie’s first book for young adults. "It's just astonishing. It's all because 27 years ago, I went up to my mom and dad and asked if I could leave the rez school, and they said yes." (Seattle Times, Nov. 14)
Blog Post
Out of This World: Great Sci-Fi and Fantasy (Nancy Pearl's Picks)
by muffy
"I don't consider myself at all a science fiction/fantasy fanatic, I must say that selecting the books for this topic was harder than any of the others that I've done. There is simply so much excellent stuff out there — both new and old — that I know people would enjoy, that the list could have been at least four times as long.
Did she pick any of your favorites?
Blog Post
Knit Your Bit For Others
by Bertha
Jillian Moreno, author of Big Girl Knits has come up with 3 simple patterns for a hat, scarf, and mittens, and will be leading our group demonstrating stitches, and answering your questions. Bring your own needles and choose from a variety of our yarns. Your finished projects will be donated to local non-profit organizations.
Sunday, November 18 - 2:00-4:00 PM at Malletts Creek Branch - AADL - Grades 4-12
Blog Post
The perils of being "gifted"
by Maxine
Gifted by Nikita Lalwani is a first novel about Rumi, who at the beginning of the story is a five year old math prodigy, daughter of Mahesh, a math professor at a university in Wales and Shreene, who futilely longs for a return to India. Mahesh is determined that his daughter will enter Oxford at 14 and institutes an arduous program of study at home in addition to school. As Rumi grows up, she feels more conflicted about the roles imposed on her and longs for the more normal life of a teenager. Her father's drive for her academic success eventually leads to tragedy.
Lalwani is adept at showing how stereotypes of Eastern Asian immigrants are played out by the characters in their ambitions for their children. But she also is critical of Western bias toward these immigrants who are trying to make a better life for themselves. Gifted, according to the Washington Post Book World, is "a tragic coming-of-age story full of the mingled love and anger that animates families of every culture."
Blog Post
Skin Hunger (2007 National Book Award Finalist)
by K.C.
When her bitter father dies, Sadima, a young woman who can communicate with animals, keeps house for two renegade magicians at a time when magic has been outlawed. Her experiences, which include learning to read and falling in love, alternate with those of Hahp, born generations after Sadima. Exiled by his wealthy, disapproving father, he attends a school of wizardry where, among other unpleasantness, students are starved to death if they can't conjure up food. (Diana Tixier Herald, Booklist)
Skin Hunger: Resurrection of Magic is the first of a dark, complex, and completely compelling trilogy.
Blog Post
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (2007 National Book Award Finalist)
by K.C.
“Arnold Spirit, a goofy-looking dork with a decent jump shot, spends his time lamenting life on the "poor-ass" Spokane Indian reservation, drawing cartoons . . . and, along with his pal Rowdy, laughing those laughs over anything and nothing that affix best friends so intricately together. When a teacher pleads with Arnold to want more, to escape the hopelessness of the rez, Arnold switches to a rich white school and immediately becomes as much an outcast in his own community as he is a curiosity in his new one.” (Ian Chipman, Booklist)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian though fiction is also autobiographical. Try it!