DPL Teens

Next up on our list of Banned Book treasures is Sonya Sones highly captivating What My Mother Doesn’t Know. I read this book in one sitting and apparently that wasn’t enough as I headed straight for the sequel, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know, which I also devoured before the sun went down. Phew. Good times. Seriously though, they are both amazing reads! Each book is written in swift verse which literally makes the pages fly by. But it’s not the kind of ancient poetic verse you HAVE to read because your teacher MAKES you and then you HAVE to write a critical essay on it and you end up HATING it because poetry SUCKS. (It doesn’t, by the way.) This particular poetic style offers the reader a very casual, yet solid connection to the characters. It’s the kind of verse that reads like friendly conversation and is full of jewels of pure emotion that many people feel as a teenager falling in love and falling out of their prescribed place in high school. I don’t want to give away too many of the plot lines. I want you to read the books for yourself.

Okay, I’ll tell you this much: The first book is told in the voice of Sophie. She’s a normal high school student who fits right in where she’s “supposed” to. Her relationship with her not so great boyfriend is fizzling and she has great friends around who are very supportive and help her through it. They all go to a Halloween dance at school one night and she meets this masked “mystery man” of sorts. It takes her awhile to solve the sweet mystery and it sort of happens over school break when her friends are sort of off getting tans and Sophie’s sort of stuck at home. Sophie has no idea how her friends will react when they get back and finally hear all the details of her newfound relationship. And I’m not going to tell you either. But I will tell you one more thing: The second book is in the voice of the “mystery man” and it’s just as good as the first.

These books would be great for teens that don’t like to read much or just haven’t read anything good lately. After the first book I thought, this read is definitely for girls. Then I read the second book, which is told from the male perspective, and would now recommend both titles to boys as well. Check ‘em out.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering why What My Mother Doesn’t Know makes an appearance on the Banned Books List, well, according to the Young Adult Library Services Association-”In 2004, the book was removed from the Rosedale Union School District library in Bakersfield, CA, because of discomfort with Sones’ poem Ice Capades…a teenage girl’s description of how her breasts react to cold. In 2005, it faced a challenge at Bonnette Junior High School in Deer Park, Texas, for foul language and references to masturbation. 2006 challenges cited reasons as sexual content and being unsuited to age group.”

Enough said. Happy Banned Books Week.

Banned Books Week is here. That means it’s the perfect time to showcase some really great reads that for one reason or another were challenged with the hopes that they’d be pulled off the shelves, taken out of the libraries, and kept away from the hands of happy readers. However, libraries and librarians support a little thing called intellectual freedom that embraces the idea that people can read whatever they want to and should have access to the information that they desire. So buckle your Banned Books Week seat-belts as we’re about to feature a different “Banned” Young Adult Book each day this week.

Vegan Virgin Valentine, by Carolyn Mackler, made the list of Banned Books because of a concerned family in the Mandarin High School District in Florida. Due to certain “inappropriate” language in the book they questioned the literary value of having it in a public school setting. Well. Vegan Virgin Valentine is a fantastic read and I’d highly recommend it. Mara Valentine is a high strung perfectionist who just also happens to be a vegan, and a virgin. Those facts become minor details once the story rolls itself out. Enter Vivienne Vail Valentine, better known as V. V is Mara’s niece and happens to be a year younger than Mara. What happens when V comes to town and moves in with Mara’s family is entertaining and just the beginning of many changes to come for both girls. V is the complete opposite of straight-A Mara and while it takes a bit for them to even consider tolerating each other it’s great to watch them each blossom as they grow towards each other.

And if you like Vegan Virgin Valentine be sure to check out Guyaholic as it’s the continuation of the story told through the eyes of V. Carolyn Mackler is also the author of one of the most challenged books of 2006 titled The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things.

That’s right. There’s now just 1 week left to enter your submissions for the Quad City Public Libraries Manga Art Contest. Young artists, ages 12-18, are invited to submit their original artwork drawn in manga or comic book style. All different mediums-paint, pencil, graphic design, etc.-can be used. Submissions and completed entry forms must be turned in at your local public library by Friday, October 3rd, 2008.

Only two entries per person will be accepted. Depending on the number of submissions, we may choose to display only one of each person’s works at the show. Artwork will be judged by a professional artist and prizes will be awarded to the winners. There is no registration fee for the art contest. Entries will be shown in the studios at the Figge Art Museum during our 1st Annual Teen Anime Fest on Saturday, October 18th from 12-4:30.

Please turn in one entry form for each piece submitted. Emailed submissions should be sent directly to scarlin@scottcountylibrary.org If you have any questions concerning the art contest please contact your local library or 563-326-7893 for more information. Click on the following link for a printable version of the entry form:

MANGA ART CONTEST ENTRY FORM

Please note: There is no need to frame your artwork. Since it will only be on display for the afternoon, we will be pinning them up in a temporary fashion. If you have concerns, it might be best to fix your art to a larger piece of paper that we can put the pins through.

As previously mentioned, the Libraries Together Teen Anime Fest and Manga Art Show will take place on Saturday, October 18th from 12-4:30 at the Figge Art Museum located in downtown Davenport. This event is for teens only! There will be a $5 admission fee at the door. No registration is required. A wide variety of activities are planned for the day, and participants will be able to move freely among them. The line-up of events for the day is as follows:

2008 Teen Anime Fest Schedule of Events

12-2 (in Studio 3) Manga Art Show and Reception-w/snacks and refreshments

12-2 (in Studio 2) Cosplay Creating Station, DIY Face Painting, Anime Vendors

12-1 (in Studio 1) Comic/Graphic Novel Swap Station

1-1:40 (in Studio 1) Graphic Novel Workshop-w/local professional artist

1:45-2:00 (in auditorium) Cosplay Fashion Show

2:00-4:15 (in auditorium) screening of Spirited Away

4:15-4:30 (in auditorium) Art Contest and Cosplay Fashion Show Awards Ceremony

Mark your calendars now, as you won’t want to miss out on this event! If you do plan to attend, be sure to bring items for the swap, a sketchbook for the graphic novel workshop, and don’t forget to dress in your cosplay gear. For more information call Davenport Public Library at 563-326-7893, or contact cvogt@davenportlibrary.com scarlin@scottcountylibrary.org or jgillette@bettendorf.org

Okay guise, I know a lot of you have a lot of creativity and Google is asking you to use that for the better.

Basically, you come up with the best ways to make peoples lives better. There is an available award of $10 million dollars, and your idea could be the winner. Good luck to all those who want to give it a shot!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/biztech/09/24/google.project/index.html

-Mello

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist will be hitting theaters October 3rd. From the look of things I’m guessing it’s gonna be a pretty cool teen flick. Seems like you can’t go wrong when it comes to actor Michael Cera. Juno, where he played Bleeker, was a superfantastic and highly successful film. And although I wasn’t that crazy about Superbad (I know I’m probably in the minority there) it did really well, too. Anyways. The previews look great and I just recently noticed that Andy Samberg, the wackadoodle that makes all the cool digital shorts on SNL, makes a cameo appearance. Count me in. Hey, and that reminds me…do teens even watch SNL?? A better question might be…does anyone watch SNL?

And back to the topic at hand…the movie is actually based on the book by two famed YA writers Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Cohn wrote the chapters in the voice of Norah and Levithan the same for Nick. It’s a really creative way of writing and, in that aspect, makes for an interesting read. I think lots and lots and lots of teens would love this book and I’m going to predict that even more will love the movie. Even though the book is not a shiny happy book, for me it was a little too shiny happy in certain parts. However, I did enjoy its tone, quickness, and musical references. I will certainly recommend Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist to many hungry readers.

Get Your Game On, our weekly teen videogaming program, is going strong and so much fun I thought it was about time we start featuring some of our regular players.  Just for funzies.  Here we go:

Featured player of the week:  Eric (better known as Erickkkjghkjgh) 

Favorite game:  “That’s a hard one.  The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  Definitely.”

Least favorite game:  “That’s even harder.  Guitar Hero, for me, is not a good game.”

Dream job:  “Videogame designer.”

Favorite thing about the library:  “Um, probably these activity things.”

He is one of our regular teen patrons and attends most, if not all, of our teen programs.  We always appreciate it when he lugs in his XBOX 360 and cool games-even if he makes his brother do it.  Erickkkjghkjgh is an active volunteer and brings a really fun spirit to the group.  He is also Head of Sound Patrol/Palace Guard at the Teen Volunteer Council Meetings, which I reeeeally appreciate.

a teen tech lab favorito