Teen Zone!!

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Monday, August 30, 2010

Time You Let Me In: 25 Poets Under 25

by Naomi Shihab
Moderation can wait--plenty of time for that later, says acclaimed poet and anthologist Nye. She knows how to reach teens, and this lively collection by young contemporary writers is rooted in the strong, emotional particulars of family, friendship, childhood memories, school, dislocation, war, and more; interestingly, there is almost no talk of sex or romance. The spare lines are passionate, wry, irreverent, and eloquent about meaning found in daily-life scenarios. One poet describes a meditative moment with her cat that destroys all my knitting to teach me about impermanence. Another prays for a soldier, a kindergarten best friend who has returned from Baghdad. In several selections, immigrants remember their arrival in the U.S. In a brief, appended biography, one poet describes her draw to poetry: Unresolved, uncomfortable, and sometimes repulsive moments of memory can be made somehow graceful through writing. Teens will connect with the passionate, unmoderated feelings that are given clarity and shape in each poem.
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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

A wealth of information awaits college-bound students in this interesting book. There's even information for those who may want to consider alternatives to the college route. The authors clearly indicate that their aim is to answer questions that seventh- to tenth-grade students have about their futures. Topics addressed include the differences between two-year and four-year colleges, the different kinds of colleges and universities (i.e. research universities, liberal arts colleges, etc), financial aid, grants and scholarships, college life, college administration, application processes, and much more. A chapter devoted to choices other than college such as technical schools, apprenticeships, government training programs like the Job Corps, and the military One of the assets of this book is its very readable text. Readers can open the book to any page and find information presented clearly and succinctly. The format is attractive with lots of charts, sidebars and white space. Useful, concrete aids include a sample chart to use when comparing colleges, a list of books that are frequently found on suggested reading lists, and a list of important study skills to hone now. This a great resource.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins
The final book in the very popular Hunger Games series has arrived amd will be available for check out at the end of this month. Place your reserve now!

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.
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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Med head : my knock-down, drag-out, drugged-up battle with my brain

by James Patterson and Hal Friedman
A first-person voice gets inside the head of Cory, who we met as a four-year-old recently prescribed Ritalin. It is the beginning of a grueling 13-year saga that is as much a struggle against Tourette's as it is an endless war drug cocktails wage inside his body. His condition is alarming: OCD impulses create violent tics that sometimes knock him over or compel him to grab the steering wheels of moving cars. Soon the happy child becomes a slave to capricious masters by the names of Paxil, Risperdal, Klonopin, and more. Patterson's infamously choppy chapters actually reinforce the twitching and lurching physicality of Cody's existence, though the lack of dialogue and overall swiftness do prevent him from becoming a fully fleshed out. It's hard to deny the power of this story, though, or its ultimate inspirational effect.

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Monday, August 2, 2010

Welcome to the jungle: everything you ever wanted to know about bi-polar but were too freaked out to ask

by Hilary Smith
Bipolar is currently the most commonly diagnosed emotional/psychiatric condition and diagnosis tends to come when one is in one's late teens or early 20s. And yet almost nothing has been written about it from eye level and a young person's perspective. Welcome to the Jungle fills that gap with its upfront, empowering approach to the challenges of being diagnosed bipolar. Both humorous and immensely honest, it offers a true "in the trenches" perspective young readers will trust.

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