Celebrate Freedom to Read

Harry Potter, Twilight, Gossip Girl, Diary of Anne Frank… What’s your favorite book? Chances are good that someone has tried to ban it. Celebrate YOUR freedom to read during Banned Book Week, September 26 to October 3. 

 Every year hundreds of book challenges are reported to the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. Most often challenges are motivated by the desire to protect children from “inappropriate” sexual content and “offensive” language, which is why the top three reasons cited by the Office of Intellectual Freedom are

1. Material contains material considered “sexually explicit”

2. Material contains “offensive language”

3 Material is considered “unsuited to any age group”

Of course, these are just the things that catch the attention of your average teen. What you read should be an issue between you and your parents. It isn’t anyone else’s business. So, in honor of this special week read a banned book! Stop in the Teen Room and see what books made the list. Test your knowledge of challenged and banned books by taking a quick quiz (there are prizes involved!). If you have more questions feel free to ask a librarian or check out the ALA website.

˜Megan

I’m Right, She’s Wrong…

I read and thoroughly enjoyed Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I liked the drama, the action, and the romance of it all. I thought the characters were really very likable and I found the end to be quite satisfying. Megan ,on the other hand, did not care for this book and I’m still confused as to why that might be… Was it how clever the chapters went from her point of view to his point of view? Was it the interesting way the werewolves interacted with each other as a well-developed community? Was it how independent Grace and Sam were from the authority figures in their lives? I liked allllll of that and I liked the clever solution at the end that allowed loose ends to be tied up. I also appreciated the final design choices that made the text color match the icy blue on the cover of the book. It was so simple but so effective. What I liked most of all? That it was such an easy book to read and enjoy, making it hard to put down. That’s why I’m right for liking this book and Megan is wrong for disagreeing with me.

What do you think Megan?

Well, Stacey, it is true that  I really did not care for this book at all. The cover is totally cool, but like they say, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. I did not find the characters to be remarkable or even likeable. I felt like Sam was over the top emotional and I was constantly annoyed by his lack of action when it came to dealing with a certain big werewolf problem. All he ever did was talk about this big problem that he really needed to take care of, but he was too busy writing sappy songs for Grace to really do anything about it. Another thing that really bothered me was how independent Grace and Sam were. It was so unrealistic! I mean, there is no way any 17  year old is going to able to buy a car with their dad’s checkbook. And Grace’s so called best friends are nothing but insignificant background characters.

Bottom line, I didn’t connect with any of the characters and therefore did not really care what happened to them. The ending was ok, but not worth the time I spent getting there. That’s why I think I am right.

You have heard two very different opinions. Check out Shiver by Maggie Stiefveter and feel free to take sides!

Stacey, I hear that we have different opinions about Sea Change by Aimee Friedman. Care to go another round of  I’m Right, She’s Wrong?

Survey Says…

For those of you who missed yesterday’s Teen Scene in the Basement mark your calendar for next month (Tuesday October 20th), because we had a great time! And, start thinking about some new games that you would like to have. I will hopefully be able to buy some new ones in January.

In addition to some great snacks (apples and caramel dip, thank you very much) I had a survey on had for those who were interested. The time has come to start planning winter programs and I would like to hear your ideas. So, if you would like to fill out the survey you can find them in the Teen Room. If you would like to be more involved in the planning of Teen events and want to join a Teen Advisory Group please contact me. You can usually find me after school at the Reference Desk or email me with your contact information and ideas at rrplteens@gamil.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon so we can get a group going.

˜Megan

Don’t forget, you can come play video games at the library tomorrow after school.  Snacks will be provided!

–Megan

Sunday Hours Start

Just a reminder that the library will now be open on Sundays from 1-5 beginning this Sunday, September 13th. 

˜Megan

Teen Scene in the Basement

Next Tuesday, September 15 is the first Teen Scene of the school year.  Stop by the auditorium for video games and snacks after school.

 

-Megan

Name Suggestions

So far I have gotten 2 suggestions

YA Know@RRPL or Teen Zone.  I like the first one.  What do you think?

-Megan

After School Movie

Yesterday was the first after school movie event. If you were not one of the many teens who came by, here is what you missed…

Inkheart , chosen by popular vote, movie theater style popcorn, giveaways (posters, candy, books) and a raffle for the movie Ratatouille.  Sounds like fun, right?  I won’t be showing another movie until December, but you can always come to the monthly video game event and the New Moon pre-release party on November 19th.

Thank you to all who attended. I hope to see you at more events.

-Megan

Name this blog

To pick the perfect name for our new blog it might be helpful to know a bit about it.   You can count on this blog to keep you informed about all teen events and help you find all the answers you need for your homework (no, I won’t do it for you, but I can tell you how to find the answers). You will definitely read about the new books in our collection. You will probably find a movie review, random fun facts, trivia, polls, and interesting links. In short, a little bit of everything and I am always open to suggestions, so please let me know what you think.

                                                                                                                                                                  -Megan