What's happening in the Library?

What's Happening in the Library?????????

The answer is .....LOTS!

New Books!!! Over 150 new books have been added to the Library collections since the beginning of the school year, including lots of graphic novels and new fiction. Stop by and check out something "new" today!

New Hours! 7:45 - 4:00 Students can use the library before school with a pass. See Mrs. Dinneen or your Advocacy teacher to get yours.

New Computers!! The library now has 13 computers available for educational purposes.

the dead & the gone

With a title like the dead & the gone you'd almost expect to hear creaking of doors and wind whistling through an abandoned house, right? Well, you wouldn't be far wrong with this book. Imagine being the only one walking the streets of New York; imagine stealing clothes and jewelry from dead people to barter for food! Very creepy!! Susan Beth Pfeffer, the author of Life as We Knew It, one of the NTB books from last year, has written another disaster book about a meteor hitting the moon and the crises that follow. dead is set in New York City and the hero is a 17 year old Puerto Rican guy, Alex, who ends up having to take care of his two younger sisters, Bria and Julie. With the exception of flooding, tsunamis and earthquakes, the story line is much the same as her previous book.

I'm trying to decide which one I like best. What do you think?

The Missing: Book 1 FOUND

Margaret Peterson Haddix is one of the those prolific authors who just keeps writing good series. Her latest series, The Missing, begins with Found. Siblings Jonah and Katherine join with the new kid in the neighborhood, Chip, to unravel the mystery behind some anonymous mail the two boys have received. The first letter contains 6 words, "You are one of the missing." The second letter warns "BEWARE! They're coming back to get you." (I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty freaked out by now!) As the plot develops, the boys discover they are part of a group of children who were all adopted 13 years ago and something (or someone) is drawing them all together. With a little FBI involvement and the mysterious guy who seems to appear and disappear by magic, the suspense grows. So the question is....who is missing? AND who's coming back to get them?

Read Found, one of this year's Lone Star Books and let me know what you think. Is it possible to go back in time to fix mistakes from the past?????

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

For those of you who've read and loved Epic by Connor Kostick, you'll certainly enjoy this book, too! Set in a future time, North America has been divided into 13 regions based on their natural resources and all the regions are under the thumb of Capital City, a place full of luxury and excess. Once a year, each district is required to hold a lottery, drawing two names from those 12 to 18, one male and one female to participate in the Hunger Games. Only one winner is allowed...and anything goes during the games. We experience the competition through the experiences of Katniss, a 16 year old huntress who volunteered to replace her 12 year old sister, and Peeta Mallark, the baker's son who has been in love with Katniss since he first saw her. The games are televised to all the districts sort of like the Super Bowl. Try to imagine an event that is part beauty pagaent, Survivor, and soap opera and you've got a start on The Hunger Games.

Full of action, adventure, some blood and guts (check out the "tracker jacks"), romance, and psychological elements, this is the beginning of a new series and I can't wait for the second book to be released! Take a read..and let me know what you think!

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature ... Whether you're a Christian or not, this books will give you pause to think. The tale begins on Mena's first day of high school, which she begins hopefully and ends realizing that it was a day that could have only been worse if she'd eaten snails. She is snubbed and verbally abused by all of her former "church friends" for having shown compassion to one of their gay classmates who attempted suicide as a result of the church groups attempts to convert him.

Before you think, "Wow! I'm not gonna read this book...it sounds too grim!" Mena's life does get better when she finds she's assigned Casey as a lab partner in Science class and that her teacher is AWESOME. Mena learns a ton about herself, finds herself writing a web column about the Bible, meets a dozen cute lab puppies and gets her first kiss. This book is much better than I'm describing it...It's on the Lone Star list so you know it's got to be good!!

Oh, yeah...after you read it, let me know if you think the cover fits the plot and characters.

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen is another one of those books that is impossible to put down. From the first page to the last, Bodeen keeps you interested.

First of all, the plot is creepy. Imagine a billionaire dad who has built an underground compound (not an itty-bitty storm cellar...we're talking acres of self contained underground living space) "just in case" there is ever a nuclear holocaust. Sure enough, the "big one" drops and the family runs for cover. Except they don't all make it inside....

The story picks up again after six years. All the kids are older, food is running out and dear old Dad is getting creepier by the day. When Eli, the twin who made it to safety finds a computer and realizes he has Internet access, he makes some very interesting discoveries about his world. The question is....will he be able to convince his dad to do the right thing?

This Lone Star Book is well worth the nail-biting suspense! Check it out and let me know what you think....

Antsy Does Time - Neil Shusterman

The last post was about Unwind and this one is about another Shusterman novel, Antsy Does Time. For those of you who are die hard Shusterman fans, Antsy is a character you will recognize from The Schwa Was Here.



In Antsy Does Time, the main character, Antsy continues his relationships with his buddies, Ira and Howie, Mr. Crawley (described as "very rich, very selfish, and generally mean"), and Lexie, Mr. Crawley's granddaughter. The new twist is that Gunnar Umlaut, another of Antsy's (or Anthony) classmates announces that he is dying of a disease called Pulmonary Monocis Systemia. Coincidentally, Gunnar's sister, Kjersten (pronounced Kirsten), two years older than Antsy and a member of the tennis team, develops a relationship with Antsy. The question is....does she like Antsy for who he is? Or does she like Antsy for what he is trying to do for her brother?



Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from the novel....About Antsy's first kiss “She finally pulls away, and I say – I swear I actually say this: “Do you want your gum back, or should I keep it?” Or how about this description of Mr. Crawley....“He’s the kind of guy who’d hand out vomit-inducing candy on Halloween, and then sell Pepto-Bismol across the street at jacked up prices.”



This Lone Star book has tons of twists and turns and I promise it is worth the read. Check it out and let me know what you think.....Once you've read Unwind and Antsy Does Time, you'll be shaking your head like me! How could such different novels come from the same author?