Posted on October 6th, 2012 by Laura in Books
Did you know that today, October 6th, is the first ever Star Wars Reads Day? People around the country are reading Star Wars themed books and graphic novels! Get in on the fun – find one of these Star Wars books for teens at your local branch library.
Posted on September 18th, 2012 by Anna in Books, Reviews - Staff
Tags: crime, jackie sheeler, off the cuffs, poems, poetry, police
Off the Cuffs: Poetry by and about the police Edited by Jackie Sheeler
Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room
This book includes a wide variety of poems by police officers, witnesses, journalists, bystanders, protesters, victims, perpetrators, and others. It tells the stories of those who have witnessed crimes, who have commited crimes, who’ve worked hard to stop crime. These poems reach out and explain what life in jail is like, what life without Daddy is like when Daddy is sent to jail for something he did wrong. They mention the heartache police officers face every day when they see young children in bad situations, when they are forced to shoot someone to save themselves and others nearby. They share part of the souls of those who were wrongly brutalized by the police, who want justice served. This large collection does not discriminate in any way, shape, or form. It tells police work like it is, the good right along with the bad.
This is a great collection for anyone who enjoys crime literature, or anyone who loves the genre known as Street Lit. or Urban Lit. It’s a gritty telling of the truth, and towards the end, of some people’s dreams which involve the men and women in blue. It shows officers and detectives, not just as the people who wear a uniform and uphold the law, but as the complicated human beings they truly are, just like you and me. Inside, they are no different. They fear, they love, they hate, they cry, mourn, work hard, and try to be the best they can be every day. It’s not always easy. But this book does a great job of portraying all of that through multiple viewpoints. I greatly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it, especially as poetry makes for a quick read. It’s just too bad this book isn’t being printed anymore. I think it should be. However, you’re in luck, as the BPL has a copy available! So check it out today. You’ll be glad you did.
Posted on September 15th, 2012 by Anna in Books, Reviews - Staff
Tags: Gender Outlaw, Kate Bornstein, review
Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein
Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room
This is a non-fiction title that explores… gender! What else would a book with a title like this one be talking about? Of course. Gender. Specifically, this book delves into the questions some people will have about the traditional gender roles and physical bodies that we’ve had almost since the beginning of time. Kate talks about days when transgendered or transexuals were seen as spirituals and how that changed over time. She covers wide ground in this book.
Some readers will be put off by the “collage” aspect of her writing. She includes quotes, poetry, mini essays, and even a full-length play toward the end. It’s all intermixed, so you never know what you’re going to get when you flip the page. Hmmm… sounds a bit like what she’s talking about with Gender, actually! You don’t have to agree with her thoughts at all. What she does is to raise questions to make you think. What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a woman? What does it mean to be a male to female transexual who happens to be a lesbian, who’s girlfriend ends up a female to male transexual? What does all this mean? What about those who define themselves as neither gender? She isn’t aiming for shock value here… well, maybe a little, but more than that, she wants to make you THINK about your life, about the people you see around you every day.
When you see a stranger down the street, if you can’t identify which country they come from it’s not nearly as annoying as when you can’t identify whether they are male or female. If you can’t identify their gender, you’ll stare at them until you come to a decision. If you can’t determine their race or age, you shrug your shoulders and move on. Why is that? Why?
I have to be honest, while I was thoroughly enjoying the book, I was a bit afraid of the play. I thought it would be dry and borning. I avoided it for a day and a half before I finally delved into it. It was very well written. I could easily picture everything going on in my head. I heard all three characters voices in my head as if they were talking right in front of me. In short: I loved it!
The overall questions she asks are brilliant. What is identity? What is YOUR identity? Yes, this book was written over ten years ago now, quickly approaching twenty years now, but her questions are still relevant. Some of the references (such as political activists and television shows) might not be recognizable by today’s teenager, but they can easily be looked up on the internet for a quick clarification. The important part is that she wrote the book to last well into the future, and that it does quite well.
Please note: There are a few mentions of adult content, but they are few and far between without going into great details. Over all, this is a fantastic book for anyone, teen or adult, who may be questioning their gender, or who may know someone else who is.
What is gender? And why are we so attached to a binary gender system when it’s becoming more and more clear that more than two genders exist in this world? Good questions. What do YOU think? Read the book and post a comment below.
Quotes from the book that I especially liked:
“A free society is one where it’s safe to be unpopular.” – Adlai Stevenson
Who was Stevenson? Adlai Stevenson was a leading Democrat of the 1950s, famed for his quick wit and deep intellect, and for his eloquence in support of liberal causes. He was the Democratic candidate for president in 1952 and 1956, losing badly both times to Dwight Eisenhower. Stevenson was the governor of Illinois from 1949-53, and served as the American ambassador to the United Nations during the John Kennedy administration.
“Safe gender is being who and what we want to be when we
want to be that, with no threat of censure or violence.
Safe gender is going as far in any direction as we wish,
With no threat to our health, or anyone else’s.
Safe gender is not being pressured into passing, not
Having to lie, not having to hide.
Sane gender is asking questions about gender – talking
To people who do gender, and opening up about our
Gender histories and our gender desires.
Sane gender is probably very, very funny.
Consensual gender is respecting each others’ definition
Of gender, and respecting the wishes of some to be alone,
And respecting the intentions of others to be inclusive in
Their own time.
Consensual gender is non-violent in that it doesn’t force
Its way in on anyone.
Consensual gender opens its arms and welcomes all
People as gender outcasts – whoever is willing to admit it.”
-Kate Bornstein
Posted on September 4th, 2012 by Laura in Books, Reviews - Teens
Teen Library user Luis P. from the Grove Hall branch wants to share some book recommendations with you! Here he is to tell you why readers who loved The Hunger Games should try Matched by Allie Condie. After that he gets into the head of the main character from Jeff Hirsch’s The Eleventh Plague to give you a little taste of the story. Enjoy!
I compare this book to The Hunger Games. The governments are the same in some ways, they treat different areas of the country different. Some areas are poor and some areas are rich. People are treated different. There are abberations and officials almost like in The Hunger Games. In Matched the government makes sure that people stay healthy, in The Hunger Games the government does not care about its citizens. In both books the government also keeps secrets from its citizens. In The Hunger Games people could choose who they marry. In Matched the government chooses where you work, where you live, and where you love.
Today my grandfather has died. He died in his sleep which is a peaceful way to die. My dad has been digging his grave all day. I keep telling him to take his gold ring and we could trade it for some food. It’s getting dark and my father is almost done digging the hole. My grandfather was a good person, he always told us to do things that will help us survive. I’ve decided to go to the abandoned mall. Plants fill everything in the mall, vines overgrow on the walls and ceiling. I need to find something good to trade. I catch up to my dad, he already buried the body. We have to start moving.
Posted on August 31st, 2012 by Anna in Books, Reviews - Staff
Tags: mystic city, theo lawrence
Mystic City by Theo Lawrence (publication date: October 2012)
Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room
Mystics are people who hold a magic power within their bodies. They have been held responsible for attempting to kill the normal people who live in the Aries, high above the Depths where mystics live in poor conditions, and are forced to undergo power draining sessions that nearly kill them. Mystic City is the story of a rich girl born to parents who are heavy in the political scene. In a futuristic Manhattan, that is. Aria Rose, is set to marry Thomas Foster, the son of the Foster family who rules half of the city while her family rules the other half. The families have been enemies since the dawn of time, but now, with the marriage set to unit them against the growing powers of the mystics, things are changing, and not for the best. Aria can’t remember what happened before she supposedly overdosed on Stic, a drug made from excess mystic energy. But her time spent in the Depths with one mystic in particular could help her to see the truth behind the lies that surround her life. If only she could remember her past.
This was a fun, quick read, though I found a lot of it to be predictable. I kept wondering why Aria wasn’t putting the obvious puzzle pieces together sooner and why she wasn’t using available resources to help her in her cause. The author likes to “tell” rather than “show” a lot, which means he has Aria (as this is told in first person point of view through Aria) tell the reader about things that have happened, when it would have been better for the reader to see it happening, to see the action unfold. As it is, there are a few things she tells us that I didn’t fully believe, such as her close friendship with her servant, Davida. Davida is hardly in the book for the first half, yet we’re lead to believe they had a very close relationship that was almost considered too friendly for a rich girl and her servant. I didn’t see anything like that between them until the end. Aside from those few things, I did enjoy the book and there were a few scenes that took me by surprise, throwing in some twists to the plot I wasn’t expecting. Over all, it was good, but my inner editor just wouldn’t stay quiet about those things that bothered me. I have a feeling others might have a vastly different experience with this book, so I’d like to see what others have to say after reading it.
BTW, I LOVE the cover!
