PLEASE NOTE:

Our Escape Aveda Salon hair and makeup workshops have switched dates!

Wednesday, June 19th at 3pm will be the MAKEUP workshop.

Thursday, June 20th at 3pm will be the HAIR tips and tricks workshop.

Previously, the makeup workshop was scheduled for Thursday and the hair workshop was scheduled for Wednesday.

For fast updates on the programs and happenings in the Central Library Teen Room, follow us on Twitter: @BPLTeenCentral.

• Summer Events for Teens  
• Teen Online Summer Reading Program
• Summer Reading Lists

Have a great Summer!

Cracking the Ice by Dave Henderson

I Know It’s Over by C.K. Kelly Martin

Members from the Central Library Teen Council as well as students from the Madison Park High School GSA and our own librarians, Jennifer Koerber and Anna Draves marched with the City of Boston group sponsored by 2013 Grand Marshall, Mayor Thomas Menino who was unable to participate due to his recuperation. He cheered the parade on from his temporary residence in the city. Our group was given the honor of carrying the banner.

This picture was taken outside the BPL Central Library before the group walked down to their designated spot.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Read by: Anna/Central Library Teen Room

Teen Book of the Month (TBOM) discussion on June 12, 2013!

This book contains the diary of a young Jewish girl kept in hiding for several years during World War II. She’s trapped inside an attic-like living space along with her parents, her sister, another boy and his parents, as well as a dentist with whom she shares a bedroom. For the most part, one would think their living situation is quite normal. They have sit-down dinners, they listen to the news on the radio, do their laundry, and cook together. But they are not permitted to leave the building. The entrance to their hiding spot is covered with a fake bookcase so no one will realize where they are. She writes to her diary, calling it Kitty, as if it were a real person she could talk to. In it, she explains about life with all these people. She talks about what it’s like to have burglars break into the warehouse beneath them, afraid someone will find them in hiding, what it’s like when their food rations run down until they eat nearly the same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Let’s not forget her budding romance with Peter, the only teenage boy stuck with them. And the arguments! The arguments between so many people trapped together, unable to get away does not make for a peaceful living situation, no matter how much it may seem to be peaceful at times.

This was hard to read. It seems as if nothing is happening, and indeed, they aren’t in the thick of things in the war. They are. And they aren’t. Unlike a lot of stories of the Jewish in WWII, they aren’t dragged off to a concentration camp. They go into hiding early so they can avoid being found and taken to a camp. What ends up happening is Anne growing up in a confined space with so many people, trying to become an independent teenager, which is not easy to do. She also falls for Peter, the older teenage boy, and struggles with her feelings for him as she grows older and closer to him. She argues with her mother and grows apart from her parents. Everything is told from her point of view so it’s easy to understand where her feelings are coming from. What’s hard sometimes is pulling back to see where the feelings of the others are coming from.

Only a few days after Anne’s last entry in her diary, the police and SS officers arrive and take everyone to a concentration camp where they were separated. The afterword tells the brief story of what happened to everyone living in the annex in hiding and those who were keeping them hidden. When reading her diary you come to know all these people only to learn of their horrific deaths shortly after. It was not easy to keep the tears at bay when learning this news. If it hadn’t been for Anne’s father, Otto Frank, her diary never would have gotten published. Her body is assumed buried with her sister’s in a mass grave at one of the concentration camps she was taken to. Her diary, Kitty, is all that’s left along with the house where she stayed hidden for so long.

When reading The Diary of a Young Girl, a good companion book is Anne Frank Her Life in Words and Pictures. This book has photographs of the secret annex where she lived with seven other people and two cats for several years. It’s most helpful to have those pictures in mind while reading her diary.

For more information on Anne Frank, the Anne Frank House museum website gives great insight on what happened to Anne’s father who survived the war and his reactions to reading her diary for the first time. You can also plan a visit to the house in Amsterdam. Here is the link to the website: http://www.annefrank.org/en/

Seattle Public Library Book Domino Chain

Seattle Public Library Book Domino Chain World Record

Wraeththu by Storm Constantine

Read by: Anna/Central Library Teen Room

The Wraeththu Trilogy contains three books in one: The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, The Bewitchments of Love and Hate, and The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire. Wraeththu, pronounced “RAY-thoo”, is a future race of hermaphrodites that evolved from mankind. The first book is in the point of view of a surviving human, fifteen-year-old Pellaz (Pell, for short), who falls for Cal and begins to understand what it means to be a hermaphrodite, to have both male and female reproductive organs in one “human” body. Pell leaves his home to become Wraeththu and to be with Cal, but life is never so easy, especially in the beginning days of the new human race.

When reading summaries and blurbs about this series, one can’t fully grasp the meaning of the book. What is it about? What really happens? Even after reading it, it can be hard to describe. It’s a fantasy with magic, young men coming of age, learning what it means to be something other than human, what it means to form bonds and create families. They go to war when they need to, eradicate humans, and live their lives the best they can. Some are more peaceful than others, and some have ulterior motives that aren’t right away obvious. There is a lot of traveling on foot, on horseback, meeting new tribes, making friends and enemies, looking for lost loves and finding new ones. Wraeththu might live to be 150 years old, but they also grow into adults very fast. (They reach puberty by the age of 7!)

As I said, this trilogy is very hard to explain. But if what I’ve described sounds like something you’d be interested in, give it a try. Sometimes you just have to take a chance and jump off the cliff. If you don’t, how will you know whether or not you’ll enjoy something? That’s what I did with this series and I’m super glad I did. I read all three books almost back to back. Yes, they take awhile to get through, but they were worth it. Totally worth it. Sadly, these three books are not published individually any more, but put in one large volume. (Though, I’ll admit, I prefer one large volume to three smaller books.) The book is lightweight and easy to carry around. I thoroughly enjoyed taking this on vacation with me last year. It’s a great read on long car trips or plane rides, and feels like coming home right before bed in a hotel room. I really enjoyed it myself, and I hope others do to, despite it being a hard book to describe and talk about. Take the plunge, you’ll be glad you did!

And if this trilogy makes you want more when you’re done, check out Storm Constantine’s Wraeththu Histories:

The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure

The Shades of Time and Memory

The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence

I have yet to read these three, but when I go traveling again in the fall I intend to bring them with me! And look at all the beautiful covers! The covers alone are worth the reads! All four books are brand new to the Central Library Teen Room and at the moment are on our New Books shelves in the middle of the room. Once they’ve been checked out, they’ll be shelved in our LGBTQ section.

Once again, I have decided to select a few books to read over the summer and then post my book reviews here. What makes this so different than my usual book review posts? The main thing is that I’m telling you ahead of time what I’ll be reading. The second thing is that I have selected a total of eight books (the same number I read last year) to read within the months of June, July, and August, which is a lot more than I usually read and review in a single month the rest of the year.  Also, these books are usually somehow related to the summer reading lists that you teens will be reading from yourselves. If they’re not currently on a summer list, they might have been last year, or they’re simply a teen book I’ve been meaning to get to but haven’t had a chance to read yet.

So without further ado, here’s the list:

Fiction

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier*

Sixteen-year-old Neryn is alone in the land of Alban, where the oppressive king has ordered anyone with magical strengths captured and brought before him. Eager to hide her own canny skill–a uniquely powerful ability to communicate with the fairy-like Good Folk–Neryn sets out for the legendary Shadowfell, a home and training ground for a secret rebel group determined to overthrow the evil King Keldec.

Redwall: The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques

He appears out of thin air and vanishes just as quickly. He is Zwilt the Shade, and he is evil. Yet he is no match for his ruler, Vilaya the Sable Quean. Along with their hordes of vermin, these two have devised a plan to conquer Redwall Abbey.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it’s the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov (The first book in the trilogy, Foundation, will be the primary focus of my reading. If time permits I might very well dive into the other two books.)

A THOUSAND-YEAR EPIC, A GALACTIC STRUGGLE, A MONUMENTAL WORK IN THE ANNALS OF SCIENCE FICTION

FOUNDATION begins a new chapter in the story of man’s future. As the Old Empire crumbles into barbarism throughout the million worlds of the galaxy, Hari Seldon and his band of psychologists must create a new entity, the Foundation-dedicated to art, science, and technology-as the beginning of a new empire.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein*

Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.
Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn’t simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life’s ordeals.

Non-Fiction

Like Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer by Chely Wright

Chely Wright, singer, songwriter, country music star, writes in this moving, telling memoir about her life and her career; about growing up in America’s heartland, the youngest of three children; about barely remembering a time when she didn’t know she was different.

Secretariat by William Nack

In 1973, Secretariat, the greatest thoroughbred in horse-racing history, won the Triple Crown. This book is an acclaimed portrait that examines the legacy of one of ESPN’s “100 Greatest Athletes of the Century”: the only horse to ever grace the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Sports Illustrated all in the same week.

Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution by Linda Hirshman

A Supreme Court lawyer and political pundit details the enthralling and groundbreaking story of the gay rights movement, revealing how a dedicated and resourceful minority changed America forever.

*These two books have been chosen by the TBOM group as their book reads for July and August.

The Central Library Teen Room (also known as the Copley Teen Room) is now on Twitter!

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If you love to listen to great teen books, check out the free downloads from Audiosync this summer! Starting on May 30, there will be two completely free audiobooks available for download every week. Take a look at the titles and dates, and get ready to listen! And don’t forget, you can borrow free downloadable audiobooks 365 days a year at the library – take a look at the teen books available for download from our library catalog!