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Now that your summer reading programs are in full swing, we’ve written a few booktalks to assist you in pushing young adult titles during your busy programs.
Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught
book talk written by bloodymandy
“A study found that people would rather give up a year of life than be fat. Half of thousands of people asked in a survey agreed they would rather live a shorter amount of time thin than be fat. In fact, 15 percent said they’d give up ten years or more of life to avoid obesity.” Are you a part of this 15 percent? Well, neither is Jamie Carcaterra. Jamie Carcaterra already knows what it’s like to be fat and she’s about to let the world know. From investigating bariatric surgery to infiltrating designer clothing stores, Jamie exposes thin thinking in her newspaper column FAT GIRL. As her column begins to receive national notoriety, Jamie realizes she’ll have to decide which battles are worth the fight. Big Fat Manifesto will have you questioning whether or not size really matters.
You might consider promoting Big Fat Manifesto alongside other teen activist characters. See a review of Big Fat Maniefsto at teensreadtoo. Susan Vaught is also the author of Trigger which received starred reviews and is included on the ALA BBYA 2007 list.
The Joys of Love by Madeline L’Engle
book talk written by Denise Ryan, niseryan(at)hotmail(dot)com
Madeleine L’Engle’s posthumously published novel, The Joys of Love, about a small seasonal theatre in Maine, is the perfect summer book for teenage girls who like to read. And I mean perfect. L’Engle wrote the book in the early 1940’s, but its themes remain relevant today: friendship, first love, war, family expectations, artistic dreams, bohemian lifestyles, and the importance of character. I actually listened to book on CD last weekend and was in heaven. Here is a quick booktalk for the novel. Give it to thoughtful, slightly old-fashioned girls who like wistful romances and melodrama. This includes many Stephanie Meyer groupies!
* * *
Elizabeth Jerrold is a 20-year old college graduate trying to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming an actress. Both her parents are dead, and her guardian — the stern, Southern Aunt Harriet — “doesn’t approve of the theatre.” However, because Elizabeth has completed her Bachelor’s degree at Smith College, as promised, Aunt Harriet agrees to fund her niece’s apprenticeship with a professional company on the New England coast. There, Elizabeth works at the box office, ushers evening performances, takes acting classes, rehearses Chekhov monologues, and feels happier than she ever has in her whole life.
Even though I’m not an actress, I would love to have a summer like Elizabeth’s – living in a cottage with a bunch of zany apprentices, staying out all night on the beach, meeting famous performers, and making lifelong friends. Oh yeah, and there’s a page-turning romantic element to the plot that makes you want to shout at Elizabeth – “What are you doing with this guy, when this one is so much nicer and is clearly head-over-heels in love with you?”
Madeleine L’Engle wrote this novel when she was a young woman in the 1940’s. She died last year before the book was published. I’m so happy her granddaughters decided to bring this novel forward, finally. It’s a terrific treat. If you haven’t yet experienced the dreamy atmosphere and meandering pace of a Madeleine L’Engle romance, what are you waiting for? You have so much to look forward to!
 As a reader and frequent book store browser, I devote a degree of judgment towards book covers while downing an uppity-caffeinated beverage. When picking up an unfamiliar title, the presentation of a book is as important as appearing professional for a job interview. The book’s cover art introduces the reader to the story. Elements infused within the design, illustration, or photography heavily contribute towards the overall presentation and appeal. In fact, there are many times when a reader cannot recall the title or author, but is able to conjure a description of its cover. Once in a while, roles reverse and the consumer influences the cover. These titles become branded by the cover art due to momentous success i.e. Eragon, Twilight, Harry Potter. However, most titles receive a new makeover as the book transforms from hardcover to paperback to reprints, thereby creating a high expectation towards packaging.
Book cover art is a fine art as it attempts to attract its targeted audience. Those of us connected to the bookworld have a high regard for the efforts invested in printing high quality book covers, especially when we are booktalking titles to teens. Attractive and varied covers help us entice readers to expand their reading preferences. For publishers to package two different products with the same illustrations gives the impression of an impetuous company undermining current ethical standards. Whether copyright has been breached is not the immediate issue, rather consumers expect that their personal dollars are purchasing a unique product. To hinder the dystopian possibility that one day there may be several different titles displayed next to each other featuring the same cover art, please voice your opinions in the comments.
During our peak business hours on any day of the week, it’s common for a teen to meander up to the circ desk every 5 min to inform me of the boredom or new drama in their lives. What begins as a game can quickly become distracting for the patron I’m currently assisting. I’m sure that you too are familiar with the various ways harmless teen behavior becomes disruptive or escalates to more serious issues. In an attempt to create a positive environment for teens to interact outside of programs, I struggle to find the right type of activity to sustain their interest as well as occupy a good amount of their spare time. Because it’s hard to break into conversation with some teens, I’d like to share a few practices I’ve tried which have shown to influence constructive relationships between teens and books as well as teens and myself.
When displaying “Pep Rally” found in Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits, I’m greeted with gaffaws as teens gaze upon the wry stick figured cheerleader illustration. The word ‘air’ fits within a large O for a head, ‘ridiculously thin waist’ bends to form the torso, ‘bOObs’ cross the mid-section, and ’stupid little skirt’ collapses upon itself as it swishes side-to-side. In this collection of 30+ poems, language acrobats across pages, zig-zaging, and curling as hair might on a “Bad Hair Day.” These clever word pictures accompany the opinions of a mistrusting high school teen who eventually learns to confide in someone like “Andrea, a cheerleader who turned out to be a regular person- annoyingly pretty, but a regular person.” It doesn’t matter if teens read all of the poems, for they just might open up towards you.
You can use prompts found in the Write Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate Your Writing by Bonnie Neubauer to get teens thinking outside of typical first person stories. On a strip of paper type “Without looking down, describe what, if your feet had eyes, they’d see right now” or other various excerpts to litter your teen area, create a bulletin board display, or slip them inside books during checkout.
Hopefully you’ve picked up a few good hints to assist you in your interactions with teens. As I discover other helpful practices, I’ll give ya a holla and share. For more inspiration, follow these links: Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverant & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet’s Life by Alan Wolf OR Poetry is Contagious: How I Teach My Students to Write Award-Winning Poetry by Betsey Coleman.
Originally I was going to write about literature based social networks available on the web, those being Anobii*, Library Thing*, Shelfari*, and Revish*. However, with the branch library full of teens discussing final parties to attend, amusement parks to visit, and the number of days left to stay up really really late before school starts, my original topic diverged to meet their impending school situation. In this post we discuss social network resources that can academically or entertainingly engage the online teen who face a new school year. The starred links will direct you to my personal accounts so that you may gain a better understanding of the limitations of each social network.
Research Tools
Clipmarks and Fleck
Older teens facing an unfamiliar year of writing research papers may find appeal in the web annotation services of Clipmarks and Fleck. While browsing the web for information, Clipmarks will allow the user to highlight text portions of a page store them on an account to tag, comment, or read later. There are times when researching requires annotations directly onto the web page rather than highlighting its text and Fleck can immensely help this type of researcher. Fleck also has functions to email and save the annotated pages. Both applications are free, but users can only access their accounts from the original computer containing the downloaded application.
 Literature Themed Social Networks
A book report alternative
Teen readers may find perks in either of these programs aimed at gathering teen opinions on young adult books. First Look offers ARCs to registered teens in exchange for opinionated reviews. Creating an account with First Look will enable the user to participate on the message boards as well as grant them permission to receive arcs. If you have a library MySpace page, HarperTeen has a presence worth checking out. Just grab some code to continue promoting literature. More involved but equally rewarding, the Pulse It program created by Simon and Schuster, Inc is aimed at reading enthusiasts. Teens print a parental consent form, mail it to S&S, then create a member profile. They will be sent young adult titles to review including ARCs on a regular basis.
Shelfari* and Revish*
For teens who have book collections at home, Shelfari is the coolest place on the web to create an online bookshelf, join book discussion groups, make friends with similar genre interests, and gleefully grab some code to show off their bookshelf on MySpace or other blogs. Shelfari recently held a best review contest for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in which the winner received a signed copy. I’m not aware of Shelfari holding many contests, but Revish is hoping to have more user-driven review of the month competitions. If they follow through this idea, Revish would be the place to suggest for the teen looking to branch out of book reports.
 Extracurricular Activities
Of the social networks listed below, I’ve only tried StyleMob. The others look like they carry heavy appeal towards the right audience:
StyleMob* Fashionistas can find inspiration and feedback for their daily outfits. Members can add friends to their personal StyleCouncil for clothing advice, ask ‘The Mob’ such questions as “Are leggings good or evil?”, have their looks rated, and participate in style forums and contests. Check out StyleMob for ideas on how to mix-n-match your wardrobe.
FanNation - Sports fans might be interested in checking out FanNation for the latest news in sports or sports fantasy.
introPlay - Teens interested in fitness can keep track of workouts and goals and compete against other members.
GuildCafe - This social site promotes interaction between gamers. With GuildCafe, members can keep a profile of their gaming history as well as create a hub for their guild and/or clan.
Kongregate - A social site full of user-submitted Flash games.
With the start of June, our clientle increased to include the summer teens. As I’m sure you’ve experienced these pent-up Energizer rabbits who gather and demonstrate their restless spirits, let me share a few RA practices. Aha! I’ve discovered that their boredom and too much free time make them sitting ducks for listening to book topics. Of course literature is broached after a couple of weeks spent chatting on summer plans, new schools, friendships, relationships, the skatepark, and parents, but eventually I’ll introduce a few literature characters into the foray. For instance, I’ll dramatize a particular character say Lauren from Bloom.
When Lauren plays her flute she loses herself in the music. Reading the flight of notes dancing across the pages allows her momentary bliss as she temporarily forgets that her best friend Katie wouldn’t understand this passion for music nor why she’s unhappy in her relationship with Dave. Then again, Lauren doesn’t share her feelings with anyone, so it’s understandable the world considers Dave + Lauren the perfect couple. Dave treats her with respect and love but Lauren feels no passion in return. To Lauren, their relationship has become too routine.
Except that’s how it feels. Like I’m watching a movie. Looking at his hand holding mine, I don’t feel much of anything except worry that I don’t feel more of anything…Now I know exactly what he’s going to say, and “6:30″ is out before he’s finished saying, “What time should I pick you up tonight?”
Tension develops in Lauren’s life when she begins to fall for the new transfer student Ethan. From the beginning it is clear how this young love story will play out. Regardless of this forseen fraction, Bloom conjures character emotions that are on par to the swooning romances found in The Truth About Forever and What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. Teens with weakspots for tender romances can sympathize with Lauren’s indecision and may also enjoy a similar situation found in If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince: Lucy feels shafted by a father who has remarried, relocated, and left her alone and out of favor with a stepmother and two evil stepsisters all of whom seem to delight in spending her father’s money, not to mention her bedroom has only a blowup mattress for furniture. *inhales deep recuperating breath*
If teens feel indifferent towards Lauren and Lucy. Perhaps quoting Seuss and holding races on Fox in Socks readings will open a window for a favorite childhood book discussion. And for fanactics, vehemently discuss Harry Potter predictions (using the voice of Jim Dale’s Trelawney, of course) or propose the question found on the MySpace Twilight group “You know you’re obsessing over Twilight when…” We’ve still another month to attempt to reach reluctant and gung-ho readers before the start of school, so good luck, I hope these ideas may assist you in your endeavors.
powered by frazy.com
“The Cute Book” by Aranzi Aronzo
Hardcover = $12.95 ISBN=9781932234688
Supplies Needed: Photo-copied patterns from “The Cute Book”, various colors of felt, embroidery thread, needles, Tacky glue, a couple of spools of thread, scissors, cotton stuffing
The steps in this craft program may appear easy, but I’ll caution that you’ll need a group of teens who are determined and patient to see this project through to its completion. The animal forms are very small (approx 3″) and those who aren’t easily discouraged will find this activity rewarding. I would suggest making an animal before your program, so that you’ll have an idea of the areas in which teens may need help. In many cases, teens will find their own solutions to sewing situations and will not require assistance. However, there are teens who have never touched a needle in their life and may need guidance. For beginners, I suggest using the simpler patterns of the panda, bear, rabbit, and kitty. The teens who came to this program were very crafty and ranged between ages 12-18. They also enjoyed the idea that during their next creations they might alter their patterns to resemble anime characters, such as Kuro Neko from the series Trigun or Yuki and Kyo from the series Fruits Basket. Don’t worry; if you get a couple of teens who aren’t down with cute, there are patterns to construct a bad guy, kidnapper, and liar.
  
Simple Steps
One: Make supplies available and briefly explain the construction process. Two: Teens cut out patterns and animal pieces. Three: Teens sew on faces and other body parts and stuff bodies. TADA! All Done.
Other titles to consider having available for checkout:
Speaking of things cute and cats, here’s a random idea for leaving ‘MySpace Comments’:
A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me these links in an email: ICanHasCheezburger and Cute Overload!;) Since then, I’ve been randomly inserting cat pics onto my teen patron’s MySpace comments. This way of communicating usually goes well with teens who already have animal pictures on their MySpace page. Not only do they find the pics funny but many will find humor in the slang accompanying the pics (ex. bird flavr watr hitz da spot). 
A couple of months ago I mentioned the group Knitta in the post “Knitta pleasa for a causa” as a resource for inspiring teens. When I presented Knitta and other established Outreach groups to my teen knitters, I had not anticipated the ambition and readiness that would ignite them towards starting their own awareness-raising effort.
Perk up an ear
and listen here!
For this is our story,
in all it’s radiant glory!
THE BIRTH OF CREATIVE ACTIVISTS: Our teen library knitting group, the Purlers, began about 2 years ago amidst the craze of associating knitting with cool. Purlers attracted dedicated teens whom are now 16-18 yrs old and have been party to:
- throwing their knits down in frustrated torment
- jubilant outbursts upon the discovery that they’ve been purling without realizing
- twisting an item on a circular needle and despairingly surrendering to the act of frogging (frogging = to completely unravel your knitting)
- knitting a strip that stretched the length of the meeting room, approx. 50 ft.
- meeting Debbie Stoller during her 2005 Stitch ‘n Bitch tour
During our first years, Purlers meetings were delightful and energetic. But as teens became more expierenced in the craft, they comparatively became more restless. If Purlers were to survive, it was understood that the hobby alone wouldn’t continue as the group’s sole muse. Trails Teen knitters needed agendas, goals to cross off, and a purpose to knit other than pleasure; they craved empowerment. Twas the fall of ‘06 when I shared Knitta to the Purlers. Knitta’s theme of warming the city with knitted art appealed to Trails Teens and pumped their enthusiasm to “vandalize” our KC community using a similar idea. During this new venture, I realized Trails Teens would no longer be grouped with humble beginning knitters; I was now mentoring creative activists.
DANIELLE’S POLYCHROMATIC PURLERS: One teen in particular, a senior who started as a teen volunteer and became a library aide, took the leadership role in organizing and directing the actions of our Purlers knitting group. Danielle combined outreach knitting with tagging to create the Polychromatic Purlers. To garner support and spread the word to the knitting community, Danielle made flyers and arranged with local knit shops to distribute advertisements to their customers. She also created and currently maintains (with the help of other PolyPur members) online accounts on Blogger PolyPur and MySpace PolyPur.
To participate in planning for PolyPur’s annual event, members meet monthly to knit items that may benefit a child (ages birth thru 17). On Jan 2, knitters throughout the KC metro area will take their items and hang them throughout the city. Attached to every knitted garment is a tag listing information on statistics and websites pertaining to child abuse. For more information please visit the Blogger and MySpace accounts or contact us directly at polychromatic_purlers@yahoo.com (underscore between polychromatic and purlers).
JANUARY 2, 2007 and BEYOND: Teens from the Polychromatic Purlers met early afternoon 1-2-07 to “vandalize” the Plaza area with their knitted garments and informative tags. Two and a half months of planning yeilded approx. 14 knits from various knitters. Items were placed upon the city’s abundant statues, elegantly showcasing their hard work. Later that afternoon, teens observed a homeless man benefit from their giving spirit. A slideshow of the teen’s 01-02-07 event is available to view on the MySpace account.
There are still kinks to work out, nation-wide knitting groups to enlist, and other projects to develop. The group is currently scheduling knitting classes with local libraries and charging a small fee. Monies will purchase supplies for the PolyPur knitting group. A summer Knitting Olympics idea for the KC-Metro area is also in the works. I don’t think it necessary to delve into the postive characteristics resulting from this experience, frankly I think it’s all too apparent. But for the longevity of the PolyPur program, I’m reduntantly expressing a request for support. Please add the teens as a MySpace Friend to your library accounts, share this idea with your teens, and email us if you or your teens are interested in participating. Finally, any feedback and support is greatly appreciated.
A fellow kickbutt Teen Associate,
bloodymandy
A Stuff on My Pet Program Idea is Born
While closing at bn, I came across this book on display titled “Stuff on My Cat: The Book”. As a cat adorer/adorner myself, I put work on pause and flipped through the 160 paged paperback photo collection. These poor and hapless sleeping cats with their devious cat owners have created a fun and friendly E (everyone) rated activity. Whereupon “stuff” is placed upon the cat unawares and “stuff” includes: food, toys, gadgets, clothing, creatures, water, and other misc. items. A photo is taken of the debacle and then submitted. As an instant fan seeking more “Stuff on My Cat” photos to feed my fix, I went home to find web goodies. Horray! There is a Stuff on My Cat website that let’s everyone in on the fun. That is, any schmoe who owns a cat, a digital camera, internet access, and a shred of imagination.
So now I’m thinking “I HAVE to do this with the library teens!” I could get all of my adult friends to help out by taking pics before the contest to use for promoting the program. Only we’ll open the contest to include all pets. And we’ll do it in the winter, perhaps during its tail end, when teens are experiencing the peaks of boredom. And if they don’t have a camera, we will purchase a disposable and allow two pics per teen. And for that month we could frame the pics with some colored paper and print off pet names in wonderful and crazy fonts. Then we could pin them up in the hallway for ALL TO SEE! Hurrah! It will be a wonderful program. Marvelous! Yessa! Now I just need to find out if the teens are interested. I’ve been high-fiving myself over this fun program idea and thought I’d share this for others to steal.
The Knitting Frenzy
The past couple of years have seen a steady rise in the number of knitting enthusiasts. Libraries and librarians have responded to this trend by increasing their supply of knitting books and other DIY titles. Some creative teen librarians have even started teen knitting programs that include equipment usage, hands-on instructions, pattern tips, and oh yes, snacks. But relatively few have convinced their teen groups to participate in Warm Up America or other charity projects. For some communities, it’s difficult to participate when hard work, a lot of money, and much love is required to knit a hat or scarf for someone you don’t know.
But what if you could inspire teens to knit for awareness?
Knittin’ Graffiti
From the fingerboard on a Hendrix statue in Seattle, WA. to a stone on the Great Wall of China, Knitta has been tagging the world with their creations since August 2005. Knitters can now participate in the graffiti art form. Pretty cool idea, don’cha think? That’s just what my teen knitting group thought. Now they’d like to duplicate the idea while incorporating a purpose. So far, we’re in the planning stages. And though it may be too late to knit graffiti for Banned Books Week 2006, there are plenty of GLBT issues they’d like to tackle. So I’ll keep ya posted as to the particulars once we’ve decided upon them.
Till then dear readers,
Knit, Read, and Inspire
We originally found Knitta, who have been mentioned in glam mags Nylon and Bust, through myspace. Add them as a friend to your library’s myspace account.
I’d Tell You I Love You, 
But Then I’d Have To Kill You
Ally Carter
Format: Hardcover
Price: $15.99
ISBN: 1423100034
Enter the hush-hush lives of Cammie Morgan and her brilliant yet deadly comrades, otherwise known as the Gallagher Girls. These schoolgals attend The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, an undercover program posing as a posh boarding school. The curriculum’s ultimate goal: to produce the creme-de-la-creme among young spies for the CIA, FBI, NSA, ect. Sure, breaking and entering and hacking secruity systems may come easily to this crew, but when it comes to deciphering the language of lurve they’re clueless. Although the humor will keep readers pinned to the pages, teens won’t miss the moral struggles for respect and honesty. Yessirree, Ally Carter’s sassy romp is a sure thing for readers desiring light romance with spunk.
(I recommend taking a peek at the inside jacket summary. It would make an excellent booktalk itself. Kudos Hyperion.)
Genre: Fluffy_Romance/Spunky_Wacky_Humor(Think Evanovich)/Covert_Opts
Read-alikes: Meg Cabot; E. Lockhart; Jaclyn Moriarty; Louise Rennison
Web Goodies: LOL while reading Ally’s blog on her website found here. And beef up your library’s Myspace friends by including Ally’s Myspace account here.
Commentary:
“Get good, ladies. Or get dead.” - Joe Solomon, CoveOpts instructor at
The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women
Sound familiar? How about “You’re never too young to die.”? These cocky and in-your-face taglines certainly perk the ears of our techy-seeking adventure readers. With the upcoming October release of the motion picture Stormbreaker, it’s appropriate to disclose this Anthony Horowitz read-alikes booklist complied a year ago by Valerie Ott and the YALSA-BK list serve:
Get Frazy for your library’s myspace account.
Butcher, A.J. - Spy High Series
Clancy, Tom - Net Force Series
Cooney, Caroline B. - Emergency Room/Flight 116 Is Down/The Terrorist
Stephen Cole - Theives Like Us (newly added 09/26)
Higson, Charlie - The Young James Bond Series
Howe, Norma - The Adventures of the Blue Avenger Series
McNamee, Graham - Acceleration
Mikaelson, Ben - Sparrow Hawk Red
Mowll, Joshua - Red Jericho
Muchamore - Cherub Series
Zindel, Paul - The Gadget
Initially, I was going to wait until this project was finished before I blogged about it, but since we received such a positive response from the teens I wanted to share this venture with everyone.
THE IDEA: Fashioned after the PostSecret project and the I’m Afraid: This is a Book About Fear zine, our untitled project focuses on the question “What Are You Afriad Of?” or “Somthing Horrifying”. Teens respond to these prompts by creating art upon blank standard index cards. Materials needed include: colored markers/pencils, googly eyes, glitter sticks, ect. This project will run the length of summer reading, will be compiled, and finally, displayed in a large binder using photo corners.
THE RESPONSE: One of my teen volunteers taped newspaper and put other materials onto a table in the teen area, created a sign about the project, and made a box for completed entries. Within 2 hours, a dozen cards were completed. Woohoo!
I’m just finishing up the second day at Book Expo 2006. Back hurts. Feet hurt. And everything else you can name. However, I had to hop onto an internet terminal to tell about some highlights from the numerous author signings.
For a chuckle, check this out: Stephen Baldwin writes Spirit Warriors
Also funny was Christopher Moore’s reaction to being told to STOP talking to readers and to START blindly sign as many A Dirty Job copies for the waiting multitude. (Review coming soon.)
A very long line for a signed copy of the 25th anniversary edition of Bunnicula! Fear the bunny!
Amongst the many appreciative and enthusiastic authors, Obert Skye was, by far, the coolest. Not only did he sign his advance reading copy of Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret (due out in September) for my Teen Advisory Group, but he also signed a hardcover copy of the The Gateway to Foo, and gave away handy-dandy canvas bags with the Leven Thumps logo and mulitple bookmarks. Obert was sincere and eager to have teens respond to his work through his website. So, Thank you authors for a memorable experience, and especially to OBERT SKYE!!! YOU ROCK!!!
We had our first GSA meeting last Thursday which went very well. It was decided amongst the teens that we would use improv comedy activities for icebreakers. The selected games were found on www.humanpingpongball.com and are listed below:
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Greetings - we edited name titles to things like: King Kong, narcoleptic, scuba diver
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Reverse Chair Dance - similar to musical chairs. As the # chairs dimishes, teens must work together to make sure all feet are off of the ground. The havoc that ensued from these rambunctious alternative rules, somewhat resembled a vertical version of Twister. Seeing half a dozen teens trying to balance upon one chair was a memorable and hilarious Seussical moment.
After the physical exertion, we sat down for discussion and followed the JumpStart manual for newly started GSA groups. This manual was useful and we had to edit very little to make the topics more appropriate for libraries instead of schools. Our accomplished and work in progress mission statement is as follows:
The Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) is a group of individuals with diverse sexual orientations that support people of all sexual preferences. We strive to educate the populace on issues involving diversity and equality; we do this by providing the community with an educational support group that takes a stand against ignorance.
Also coming up this week: Day of Silence Wednesday, April 26, 2006
A few of our GSA members are participating in this event and have created cards to pass out which explains their intent in choosing not to speak.
In the future, I’ll blog our successful GSA ideas in the section of our site where you may find other program activities.
 
Kaavya Viswanathan, a sophmore at Harvard, debut novel How Opal Metha Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life, is under investigation for plagarism. Some of Viswanathan’s passages bears striking similarities to Megan McCafferty’s Sloppy Firsts. Apparently, fans of the Jessica Darling series, the newest Charmed Life was recently released, informed Megan of this incident via email. Both the NY Times and the Boston Globe cover this news in more detail. Warning: you may need to create a free account with Boston Globe to view the article.
Find better info here: 17th St. Packaged “Opal”
Weekend of 4/7 - 4/9
Highlighted Titles
Tease: Inspired T-Shirt Transformations
Edited: Sarah Sockit/ISBN: 0399532161
Format: Paperback/Price: $15.95
It seems the DIY community is being recognized for its endeavors with new releases such as: Generation T; 99 Ways to Cut, Sew, Trim, and Tie Your T-Shirt; and Rip It. How many ways can publishers redress the same topic? Although Tease offers appealing photos and easy to follow directions, I’d recommend sticking with Generation T for more teen-savvy styles.
Mental Floss Presents Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History’s Naughtiest Bits
Edited: Editors of Mental Floss/ISBN:006078475x
Format: Paperback/Price: $14.95
You should already recognize the name Metal Floss and are probably adding it to your order with whatever monies you have left for the fiscal year, or are considering how to promote it to those in charge of the monies. Just as funny as the others, this new release covers more humorous factoids with a risque twist.
New Releases Hardcover
Paperback
Reprints
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