The Teen book discussion group meets in the Central Library Teen Room and all teens are welcome. Throughout the fall we’ll be planning what to read during the spring months, so if anyone would like to join our group and help pick out the next books we read, we would love for you to join us. Snacks are always provided so come hungry!

Please note that some of our TBOM dates have changed for the upcoming months. Below are the new dates for the fall.

Tuesday, October 1st 2013 at 3pm: Burning Blue by Paul Griffen

Wednesday, November 13th 2013 at 3pm: Rogue by Gina Damico (Croak and Scorch are the first two books in this trilogy.)

This date has NOT changed due to the fact that the author, Gina Damico, will be coming to our book discussion! YEAH!

Tuesday, December 10th 2013 at 3pm: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

Our group of fun teens and librarians meet once a month over cookies and sometimes hot chocolate to discuss the book we chose to read that month. We meet at 3pm in the Central Library Teen Room. All teens are welcome to join us, whether you’ve participated in the past or not. Drop-ins are welcome as well! As long as you’ve read the book we’re more than happy to have you join us!

August 14th: 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.
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life…as only a dog could tell it.

September 4th: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
A lawyer’s advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee’s classic novel—a, a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man’s struggle for justice—, but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

October 2nd: Burning Blue by Paul Griffen

How far would you go for love, beauty, and jealousy?
When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the whole world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than that–he decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: He’s a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger he’s in–and the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.

November 13th: Rogue by Gina Damico (Book #3 in the Croak trilogy)

Lex is a teenage Grim Reaper with the power to Damn souls, and it’s getting out of control. She’s a fugitive, on the run from the maniacal new mayor of Croak and the townspeople who want to see her pay the price for her misdeeds. Uncle Mort rounds up the Junior Grims to flee Croak once again, but this time they’re joined by Grotton, the most powerful Grim of all time. Their new mission is clear: Fix his mistakes, or the Afterlife will cease to exist, along with all the souls in it.
The gang heads for Necropolis, the labyrinth-like capital city of the Grimsphere. There, they discover that the Grimsphere needs a reboot. To do that, the portals to the Afterlife must be destroyed…but even that may not be enough to fix the damage. Things go from bad to worse, and when at last the fate of the Afterlife and all the souls of the Damned hang in the balance, it falls to Lex and her friends to make one final, impossible choice.

December 11th: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

The Central Library Teen Room is hosting the Boston Youth Fund(BYF) on Saturday, February 16th. From 11:30am-2pm we will be having a job fair where Boston resident teens, age 15-17, will be able to register for a summer job through BYF and check out the various organizations that BYF works with.

As the City of Boston’s teen employment program, the Boston Youth Fund provides thousands of Boston teens between the ages of 15 and 17 with job opportunities during the summer months. The Boston Youth Fund participants work in a variety of jobs within community, faith-based, and government agencies. Positions include administrative assistants, mural painters, peer leaders and many more!

At the job fair:

•  More than 100 organizations will be present to talk to about summer job opportunities for Boston resident teens.
• Bringing a resume with you is recommended, but not required.
• Some organizations will either conduct a short onsite interview or will schedule one for another date.
• Computers will be available in the Teen Room for filling out job applications via the Hopeline, and BYF staff will be able to help with the process.

 Boston Youth Fund • Mayor Thomas M. Menino

I found this website from Martha Stewarts showing easy instructions for making snowflakes: http://www.marthastewart.com/276331/how-to-make-paper-snowflakes/@center/307034/christmas-workshop. The first image of the demonstration shows the pretty snowflakes she and her helpers made.

For more snowflake ideas, ask a librarian for books on papercutting. For our Youtube fans, you can find many videos using the search term: how to make paper snowflakes. There are some really creative videos out there showing more types of snowflakes to make. Even if you look on your favorite search engine, such as google, you can search for “how to make paper snowflakes” and find actual templates that you can printout to help you make some of the fancier snowflakes.

Most of all just enjoy all the paper cutting and don’t forget to pick up after yourself. Happy Paper Cutting!

If you have any pictures of the snowflakes you have made, please feel free to share them with your favorite Teen Librarian. You might just see your work posted on the blog.

Have a great winter…. snowy or not!

I just want to give you all some navigational pointers. This home page is our blog. What does that mean? You’ll see different things here from time to time. You might find a book review, or a news item, or a post about a program going on in a library branch near you. To the left of the blog, you’ll see a drop down menu. This is a list of categories specifically for the blog. So if you’re interested in all the news articles that have been posted, or all the book reviews by staff, you can find them with just the click of your mouse. It’s that easy.

Along the top of the page you’ll see a bunch of tabs. The “Home” tab brings you to the blog.

“Teens @ the BPL”  will show you all the branches that serve teens with a space you can call your own. Plus, you will find a link to the calendar of events there as well.

“Find It @ the BPL” links you to resources on the BPL website such as our catalog and our online databases.

“Guides and Resources” will link you to resources outside of the library. As examples we have resources for foster youth and LGBTQ teens.

“Homework and Test Help” links to internal and external resources to help you with your school work.

“Job Help” is here to help you find a job in and around the city of Boston.

“Teachers and Parents” covers resources and things parents and teachers need to know about the BPL and it’s branches with teen librarians.

Sound cool? Have a look around our new site. Play around, and tell us what you think!

Are you having trouble finishing your college essay? Do you need another pair of eyes to edit what you’ve written? We will be holding two workshops at the Mattapan branch.

Please bring either a print out of your essay or upload your essay on to GoogleDocs. You will need a Gmail account in order to use GoogleDocs; it is recommended that you create an account before coming to the workshops as we will be using GoogleDocs to write the essays.

What’s GoogleDocs? It’s a word processor but unlike the ones you use at home or school the information you enter is kept in what is called “the cloud” so you can retrieve your essay from any computer without having to save it on to a flash drive or on to the computer.  Still confused? Just ask the Teen Librarian for help.

The workshops will be offered on:

January 19, 2012 5:oo – 8:00PM

January 26, 2012 5:00 – 8:00PM

Are you a fan of checkers? Are you also a competitive player?

Then join the teens at the Mattapan branch for the first ever Checkers Tournament.

When: Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Time: 5:00 – 7:30 P.M.

Prizes will be handed out to the top three players; the grand prize will be an iPod shuffle!

Refreshments will also be served, so come on down and play or cheer on your friends.

Last week we tried to show the movie Eclipse, but there was a busted cable to the TV and we were unable to do so. The cable has since been replaced, and this Thursday, we will finally be showing Eclipse!

Come to the Copley Teen Room at 3:30pm on November 17th to reaquaint yourself with the last movie just before the next one comes out!

We also still have a few free Breaking Dawn posters if anyone is interested. They will be left on a table beside the display of Breaking Dawn books until they are gone. First come first served! Better get them fast!

YALSA Teens’ Top Ten.

The number one teen pick of 2011 was Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare! Below is her acceptance video. Check it out!

Can’t view the video above?  Here’s the top ten list:

1. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (Simon & Schuster)
2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
3. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Simon & Schuster)
4. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (HarperCollins)
5. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (Harlequin)
6. Matched by Ally Condie (Penguin)
7. Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson (Little, Brown & Company)
8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (HarperCollins)
9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (HarperCollins)
10. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (Penguin)

For more information on YALSA and the Teen’s Top Ten, check them out here: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten.cfm

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This book is crazy and insane all at once. It’s the story of a boy who finds himself kidnapped after getting drunk at his friend’s party and attempting to walk home alone. Going to England for a few weeks to see if he wants to attend a boarding school, he’s given a pair of glasses from a stranger. These glasses show him a war-torn world where he’s forced to fight against his best friend.

In short, this book is one insane ride. It’s like getting hooked on drugs… but without the drugs. You’ll find yourself sucked into the world of Marbury, and unable to leave, similar to the characters in the book. I highly recommend it.

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

Do you like fancy parties, flappers, stage performances, rich dresses, a little side romance, along with a dish of violence?  Then this is the series for you. This book, the first in a new series, was a truly fantastic read set in 1920′s New York City. It’s the story of two young girls who move to the city to find themselves and make a name for themselves. Set in a time when it was illegal to sell or drink alcohol, these girls find their way into the speakeasies of the city and into the homes of the greatest alcohol sellers of the time. What they find there, both surprises and scares them. It’s a truly great read, a page turner that’s garunteed to keep you reading late into the night!

The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinx

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This book is the sequel to The Reformed Vampire Support Group also written by Catherine Jinx. Not having read the first book, I didn’t feel out of place at all. In fact, I rather enjoyed this book. It wasn’t cheesy, and the only mention of “mates” was because it was set in Austraila where everyone calls each other “mate”. It was funny, some parts were scary, his mother was annoying in that way that only a mother can be, and his friends, new and old were pretty cool. I would love to recommend this book to anyone looking for a werewolf book that’s a little out of the ordinary. My favorite quote from the book?

“Barry can’t be the first vampire who’s fanged a werewolf. And the whole ideas of zombies must have come from somewhere.” -The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group