DPL Teens

BOOK READ RECENTLY:
Title: The Agency 1: A Spy in the House
Author: Y.S. Lee
Other books in series: The Agency 2: The Body at the Tower comes out Aug. 10!
First Impressions: I read the first chapter online at Amazon and was completely hooked.
Last Impressions: I could NOT put it down–I loved how Lee took the popular “Victorian Boarding School” novel, and pushed it forward so the story is actually what happens AFTER Mary Quinn, the feisty narrator, finishes her education and is out causing scandal in the real world. How did women live back then?! I also loved the suspense created by Mary having to live within the home of the people she was spying on–You think this would make spying easier? ummm not so much. You might just get stuck in a wardrobe with a very attractive stranger…wait…that doesn’t sound soooo bad.
Favorite Moment (POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT): I thought I knew the reason why Mary was so protective about her past, so I was completely shocked when the real reason was revealed–it made her even more of a compelling and kick-butt heroine.
Least Favorite Moment: There was lots and lots of talk the horrible stench of the Thames that almost made me want to vomit.
Thoughts on the bookcover: Classic mystery cover–I am totally enchanted by the glowing windows reflecting onto her face and bonnet. YES BONNET! I have an unexplained fascination with bonnets…
An ideal place to read this book: on a bench overlooking the Mississippi River. preferably on a non-stinky day.
Dream Cast: Katie Leung or Gemma Arterton as Mary Quinn, Shia LeBeouf as James Easton, and Dakota Fanning as Miss Thorold.
If you like this book, you may also like: Graceling by Kristin Cashore or Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L.A. Meyer. You might also want to watch Manor House –a BBC reality show from a few years ago where one family was chosen to live as a wealthy family and a group of strangers had to work as their servants. They live as if in the Edwardian time, not the Victorian, but it still extremely fascinating to watch how people from modern society both fight and succumb to the class separations. Also, Scullery Maid???? gotta be the WORST job ever.

BOOK READ RECENTLY:
Title:  Into the Wild Nerd Yonder
Author:  Julie Halpern
First Impressions:  Yay!Â
Last Impressions:  Soooo glad that the main character is a young adult who makes wise decisions and is not afraid to follow her own path.  Woot.  I actually liked the author’s work enough to reserve a copy of her first book Get Well Soon.  Can’t wait til it comes in!  Seriously, I put it on reserve last week but then I almost bought it at Borders yesterday but I remained calm (somehow) and left without buying a thing, which is a true miracle.  Did I mention I can’t wait until it comes in?!  Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
Favorite Moment:  The relationship between Jessie and her older punk rock brother, Barrett, is cool to see and makes me wish I had an older (punk rock) brother.
Thoughts on the bookcover:  Eyecatching cover but never jumped off the shelves and into my hands.  Basically, I casually flirted with the book for about 6 months before taking it home to read.  But then I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it. Sigh.
An ideal place to read this book:  On a bus ride, nestled in a comfy chair at a struggling coffee shop, or in an orthodonitist’s waiting room.
People who should read this:  Anyone who likes a book that can momentarily reference Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  YEAH!
People who should not read this:  Your Grandpa.  Maybe.  I don’t know.
If you like this book, you may also like:  Lyga’s Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl; Cecil Castellucci’s awesome books like Beige and Queen of Cool;  or Carolyn Mackler’s Vegan Virgin Valentine and its sequel Guyaholic.

Book:  The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

Review:  Percy Jackson is off on another quest, an accidental quest.  This story starts with a monstrous game of dodge ball at one of Percy’s many schools where Percy and his friend Tyson battle cannibals, which leads Annabeth to come to the rescue.  Then the three of them journey back to camp Half Blood where Percy discovers the camp barely functional with Thalia’s tree poisoned and dying leaves the camp’s defenses struggling and that is when Percy realizes they must find the Golden Fleece to restore the tree and the camp.  Percy starts having visions of Grover (an old pal) in a Cyclops cave about to be eaten but the Golden Fleece is on the Cyclops island.  So they set off into the sea of monsters, where they meet some interesting monsters on the way.

First they encounter Circe a sorcerer who turns Percy into a guinea pig, after Percy is changed back by magic vitamins they leave the island.  Then they must travel past the voices.  The voices sing your innermost desires and they tempt you into their island.  This is a hard task for them but they make it out alive.  They are safe for now.  Then they make it to the cyclops cave where Annabeth uses her cap of invisability to trick the cyclops into letting Grover go.  They all escape but then must deal with the man eating sheep.  They make it out on seahorses.  The golden fleece does its job and brings the camp alive and Thalia.

-Hannah

Sooooo how many evil ex-boyfriends/girlfriends do you have? Ramona Flowers has SEVEN. yup, SEVEN. and if the naturally awesome Scott Pilgrim wants to date Miss Flowers he is going to have to use his awesomeness to defeat ALL of them. Thank gosh he has nintendo-like reflexes, right?!

This is essentially the plot of the Scott Pilgrim series beginning with volume 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life and ending with volume 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour (coming out next week!). But the awesomeness of Scott Pilgrim deserved to be shared among all media and so Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a movie starring Michael Cera in the title role, enters theaters on August 13, 2010, and a corresponding video game is supposed to debut this summer, too! ::exploding due to awesome::

Book:  My Dad the Dragon by Jackie French

Review:  Horace is the main character who gets into this really good school that his parents are so very proud about.  But Horace goes to school on Friday and gets a homework assignment from his teacher, that is not something Horace would ever do, which is kill a dragon.  On his journey to kill a dragon he meets his family members who just happen to be dragons.  Then Horace’s Dad decides to tell him and his sister big news they are half dragon.  So for Horace’s assignment that he tells his Dad he decides to make his Dad turn into his full dragon and fake being dead which he does.  So then Sr. Sneazle their teacher turns evil towards their King Arthur and Horace saves him and becomes a knight.  The end!

-Gabrielle

BOOK READ RECENTLY:
Title: Scarlett Fever
Author: Maureen Johnson
Other books in series: Suite Scartlett
First Impressions: I really, really liked Suite Scarlett, but I didn’t love it. so I was curious to see if my affections would go up or down with the sequel.
Last Impressions: My affections totally went up! I adored Scarlett in Scarlett Fever–she becomes a bit more neurotic, a bit more pathetic (in that she watches her ex-boyfriend’s youtube video HUNDREDS of times) and completely relatable.
Least Favorite Moment: When I read the exasperating cliffhanger ending and realized that I may have to wait a few years for the next book in the series. blink blink sigh.
Thoughts on the bookcover:LOVE IT–it is simple but completely fabulous. I think it is so cool how the designer incorporates some aspect of the story or its setting into the teeth of the keys (hearts for Scarlett Fever and a city skyline for Suite Scartlett)
An ideal place to read this book: At a cozy, hip cafe located in a beautiful, historic building. Ex. Mojo’s in the River Music Experience on 2nd Street in Davenport.
Dream Cast: Juno Temple would be PERFECT to play Scarlett in a movie. Hmmm… and they could even change the city from New York to London so she could use her lovely British accent!
If you like this book, you may also like: Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle Trilogy. I think Scarlett and Gemma should be best friends forever.

Toy Story 3, is the end (we think) to a wonderful saga full with lively animation and colorful characters where they go on one last adventure for the viewer to see. As Andy sets off for college our famous toys such as Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, Mr. and Mrs. Potato head and various others must face the fact that their boy is no longer a boy. This sets these characters off for a ride while introducing many new characters such as Barbie, Ken, Lotso, and many more.

Toy Story 3 is a superb movie, with a good plot line, amazing graphics, non-disturbing 3d animation, interesting turns, and an ending that didn’t sell out.

Unlike many movies that plop out a sequel as soon as possible, (Shrek, Alvin and the Chipmunks, etc), Toy Story 3 didn’t come out until 11 years after Toy Story 2; and the second one didn’t come out until four years after the first. This may make one think that they creators of Toy Story wouldn’t settle for a flop plot. The 11 year wait paid off, as any viewer can tell after watching the movie. The story line was on topic and didn’t feel as if it came out of nowhere for the sake of a third Toy Story. It was fast paced and had plenty of humor to it; humor that would keep an adult and a child entertained. Bring tissues though, because there were a few spots that caused tears to swell up in my eyes. (However, I didn’t cry, just almost did. My fiancé may have cried). From the first scene, which was an action scene bringing all the characters back to life, to the last scene I was completely enthralled by this film.

The graphic, were just what you’d expect out of a Disney/Pixar movie. Everything looked life based, but still had that twist of animation to it, to where you knew it wasn’t real. But, the thing that caught my eye was how the 3d wasn’t disturbing at all. It only did what it is suppose to, enhance the film. Some movies 3d takes away from the film, but Toy Story 3′s 3d added to its already great mixture of texture.

 One of my favorite parts of the film was what happened to Buzz; he has a Spanish mode! And there might be a Spanish version of, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” near the end of the movie, playing off of what happened to Buzz. Toy Story 3 held the romance that animated films are suppose to have, that some have frankly lost in their attempts to be clever. This movie I would highly recommend, and remember, if you don’t want to pay to see it in the theaters just wait until the library orders it and put a hold on it.