Saturday, March 20, 2010

New Biographies

Anne Frank in the World. YA/ B/ FRA
Explores the issues of discrimination and tolerance through the poignant story of Anne and her tragic death at the hands of Nazis.

Dash, Joan. The World at her Fingertips. YA/ B/ KEL
A lively biography goes beyond Helen Keller's youth and learning process and includes many fascinating details of her later life, including her college years at Radcliffe and her involvement with politics.

Dropping in with Andy Mac. The life of a pro skateboarder. YA/ B/ MAC
Details the life of pro-skateboarder Andy Mac.

New Fiction

Grove, G.R. Flight of the Hawk. YA/ GROVE
The Second book in the Storyteller Series.Once again Gwernin, the intrepid Welsh bard, ventures forth into adventure, learning, and some danger. This is a delightful read for those who love historical fiction and good storytelling. The stories within the stories are one of my favorite things about this book, as Gwernin travels throughout medieval Wales plying his bardcraft and learning from semi-mythic figures like Taliesin. The history feels absolutely solid, this is a medieval world view one can totally believe in. And since we work from Gwernin's point of view, the magic and the mundane are inextricably mixed, as they would have been for someone who lived in this period. We feel the cold, we warm at the fire, and we do believe in the world unseen.

Grove, G.R. The Ash Spear. YA/ GROVE
The third book in the Storyteller Series. Once again we follow Gwernin Storyteller on his quest to learn the trade and lore of the bard, and once again Grove crafts a rich portrayal of the lands, people, and culture of 6th century Britain. As she did in adding a bit more action in Flight of the Hawk, Grove adds another element to the story, balancing the inclusion of a larger sense of the more spiritual or supernatural elements of British lore with the flow of characters, culture, and action already attained in the series. Also, to this reader at least, the wonderful flashes of humor used throughout the series really hit at the right moments in this book, both cutting and creating tension in the tale even more so than in the previous volumes.

Calonita, Jen. Broadway Lights. Secrets of My Hollywood Life. YA/ CALONITA
Hollywood teen starlet Katilin Burke moves to New York for the summer to appear in a Broadway show, all the while worrying about her boyfriend back in Los Angeles, her handsome new co-star, and the offstage drama going on around her.

Gee, Maurice. Salt. Volume 1 The Salt Trilogy. YA/ GEE
Hari, one of the enslaved people from Blood Burrow, and Pearl, a member of the ruling families known as Company, forge an unusual alliance and become reluctant traveling companions, as they undertake a desperate pilgrimage to save the world from a terror beyond their greatest imaginings.

Gormley, Beatrice. Poisoned Honey. YA/ GORMLEY
Relates events from the life of a girl who would grow up to be a close follower of Jesus Christ, interspersed with stories of the Apostle Matthew. Includes author's note distinguishing what Scripture says of Mary Magdalene from later traditions.

Kidd, Ronald. On Beale Street. YA/ KIDD
In Memphis, in the 1950's, when fifteen-year-old Johnny is introduced to the blues, he ventures to the infamous Beale Street and finds the friendship with an up-and-coming young musician Elvis Presley.

Langan, Paul. The Bully. YA/ LANGAN
Darrell Mercer, a 9th grader at Bluford, is at the center of this story. Darrell and his mother move to the Bluford area in the middle of the school year. Physically smaller than his peers, Darrell quickly becomes a target for Tyray Hobbs, the freshman class bully.

Lee, L.S. The Agency. A Spy in the House. YA/ LEE
Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, 17-year-old orphan and thief Mary Quinn is offered a place at Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, where she is trained to be part of an all-female investigative unit called the Agency in order to infiltrate a rich merchant's home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships.

Madigan, L.K. Flash Burnout. YA/ MADIGAN
"Telephoto lens. Zoom. In a shutter release millisecond, Blake's world turns upside down. The nameless woman with the snake tattoo is not just another assignment. 'That's my mom!' gasps Marissa. Saturated self-portrait: Blake, nice guy, class clown, always trying to gget a laugh, not sure where to focus. Contrast. Shannon, Blake's GF. Total. Babe. Marissa, just a friend and fellow photographer. Shannon loves him; Marissa needs him. How is he supposed to frame them both in one shot?"--dust cover flap.

Logsted, Greg. Alibi Junior High. YA/ LOGSTED
After thirteen-year-old Cody and his father, an undercover agent, are nearly killed, Cody moves in with his aunt in Connecticut, where he is helped with his adjustment to the trials of attending public school for the first time and investigating a threat in nearby woods by a wounded Iraq War veteran.
Rapp, Adam. Punkzilla. YA/ RAPP

Ryan, Carrie. The Dead-Tossed Waves. YA/ RYAN
Gabry lives a quiet life in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, hemmed in by the dead who hunger for the living, but her mother Mary's secrets, a cult of religious zealots who worship the dead, and a stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry threaten to destroy her world.

Smith, L.J. The Return: Shadow Souls. The Vampire Diaries. YA/ SMITH
Eighteen-year-old Elena Gilbert journeys to the Dark Dimension with Damon and Matt in hopes of rescuing her vampire boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore, from imprisonment, and once again they face the sinister Shinichis.

Sonnenblick, Jordan. After Ever After. YA/ SONNENBL
Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa.

Three Dog Tales. YA/ THREE
Old Yeller / Fred Gipson -- Sounder / William H. Armstrong -- Savage Sam / Fred Gipson. Summary Three novels explore the relationship between boys and their dogs.

Uehashi, Nahoko. Moribito II: Guardian of Darkness. YA/ UEHASHI
The wandering female bodyguard Balsa returns to her native country of Kanbal, where she uncovers a conspiracy to frame her mentor and herself.

Atwater- Rhodes, Amelia. Token of Darkness. YA/ ATWATER
After Cooper Blake wakes from a serious car accident to find himself in the company of an attractive, tormented ghost, he keeps his visions to himself until he discovers that two of his peers also hide supernatural abilities.

Fisher, Catherine. Incarceron. YA/ FISHER
To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to help a young prisoner escape.

Harrison, Lisi. Boys R Us. YA/ HARRISON
Massie, hurt that friends have caught the eyes of boys she was interested in, hires actresses to pretend to be her new friends while Claire, who feels somehow responsible, makes a dramatic move to set things right.

Peters, Julie Anne. By the Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead. YA/ PETERS
High school student Daelyn Rice, who has been bullied throughout her school career and has more than once attempted suicide, again makes plans to kill herself, in spite of the persistent attempts of an unusual boy to draw her out.

Volponi, Paul. Rikers High. YA/ VOLPONI
Arrested on a minor offense, a New York City teenager attends high school in the jail facility on Rikers Island, as he waits for his case to go to court.

Werlin, Nancy. The Killer’s Cousin. YA/ WERLIN
After being acquitted of murder, seventeen-year-old David goes to stay with relatives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he finds himself forced to face his past as he learns more about his strange young cousin Lily.

Woodson, Jacqueline. The House You Pass on the Way. YA/ WOODSON
When fourteen-year-old Staggerlee, the daughter of a racially mixed marriage, spends a summer with her cousin Trout, she begins to question her sexuality to Trout and catches a glimpse of her possible future self.

New Non-fiction

Crimmins, Cathy. The Jewish Book of Questions. YA/ 305.892/ CRI

Jukes, Mavis and Lilian Cheung. Be Healthy! It’s a girl thing: food fitness, and feeling great. YA/ 613/ JUK

Jeffire, Sally. The Girls’ Book of Glamour. A guide to being a goddess. YA/ 646.7/ JEF
Transform yourself from drab to fab with this nifty guide to all things glamorous! Whether you want to have the shiniest hair or convince people you're a celebrity, this book will show you how! Being a glamour goddess has never been so easy. Inside this handy guide you'll find instructions on how to host a spa party, create your own style, exit a limo gracefully, make your own body glitter, persuade your best friend to lend you her clothes, put on a fashion show, make your own jewelry box, and much, much more!

Lamovsky, Jesse, Matthew Rosetti and Charlie DeMarco. The worst of sports : chumps, cheats, and chokers from the games we love. YA/ 796/ LAM
Don't believe the hype -- Bad management -- Chokery -- Team issues -- Look away -- Fan foibles -- What were they thinking? -- By any means necessary -- Wrong numbers.

Mesmer, Edric. (ed) The Best Poems Ever. YA/ 811/ BES
Includes poems by Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, Sylvia Plath, Walt Whitman, Pablo Neruda, Lucille Clifton, Elizabeth Barret Browning and more.

Poe, Edgar Allan. The Raven and other poems. YA/ 811.3/ POE
Some of the author's spookiest and most macabre poems are collected in one volume and include "Annabel Lee," "Ulalume," and the title poem.

Allen, Thomas. George Washington. Spymaster. YA/ 973.3/ ALL
How the Americans outspied the British and won the Revolutionary War.
A biography of Revolutionary War general and first President of the United States, George Washington, focusing on his use of spies to gather intelligence that helped the colonies win the war.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Cliffs Notes as of March 2010

1984

The Aeneid
All the King’s Men
Anna Karenina
As I Lay Dying

Beloved
Beowulf
Billy Budd & Typee
Bleak House
Brave New World & Brave New World Revisited

The Catcher in the Rye
Crime and Punishment
Cry, the Beloved Country
Cyrano de Bergerac


Divine Comedy & Inferno
A Doll’s House & Hedda Gabler
Doctor Faustus
Don Quixote

Fahrenheit 451
A Farewell to Arms

Ghosts, An Enemy of the People, & The Wild Duck
Grapes of Wrath
Great Expectations
The Great Gatsby

Hamlet
Heart of Darkness & The Secret Sharer
Huckleberry Finn

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The Iliad
Invisible Man

Julius Caesar

King Henry IV Part 1
King Lear

Lord of the Flies

MacBeth
Merchant of Venice
Moby-Dick
Much Ado About Nothing

The Odyssey
Of Human Bondage
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Othello

Paradise Lost
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Pride and Prejudice
The Prince

The Red Badge of Courage
Return of the Native
Romeo and Juliet

A Separate Peace
Sister Carrie

A Tale of Two Cities
The Taming of the Shrew
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Things Fall Apart
To Kill a Mockingbird

Wuthering Heights

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

New Books on CD

Patterson, James and Gabrielle Charbonnet. Witch & Wizard. YA F PATTERSO CD BOOK
Without explanation, kids around the country begin to disappear, coinciding with the government's recent clampdown on civil freedoms. Fifteen-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit are no exception. Kidnapped in the middle of the night, the teens are taken to a secret facility and locked in a cell. Plotting their escape, Wisty and Whit start exhibiting special powers, which may be the reason for the recent capture. Read by Spencer Locke and Elijah Wood.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. YA F CHBOSKY CD BOOK
Most people think 15-year-old Charlie is a freak. The only friend he had killed himself, forcing him to face high school alone. But then seniors Patrick and his beautiful stepsister Sam take Charlie under their wings and introduce him to their eclectic, open-minded, hard-partying friends. It is from these older kids that Charlie learns to live and love, until a repressed secret from his past threatens to destroy his newfound happiness. Read by Johnny Heller.

Myracle, Lauren. Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks. YA F MYRACLE CD BOOK
Fifteen-year-old Carly's summer volunteer experience makes her feel more real than her life of privilege in Atlanta ever did, but her younger sister starts high school pretending to be what she is not, and both find their relationships suffering. Read by Julia Whelan.

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. The Dead and the Gone. YA F PFEFFER CD BOOK
After a meteor hits the moon and sets off a series of horrific climate changes, seventeen-year-old Alex Morales must take care of his sisters alone in the chaos of New York City. Read by Robertson Dean.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

New Movies on DVD

Dead Poet’s Society. YA DVD DEAD

Freedom Writers. YA DVD FREEDOM

Girl, Interrupted. YA DVD GIRL

Good Will Hunting. YA DVD GOOD

Gridiron Gang. YA DVD GRIDIRON

Heathers. YA DVD HEATHERS

Mean Girls. YA DVD MEAN

Pleasantville. YA DVD PLEASANT

Some Kind of Wonderful. YA DVD SOME

Step Up 2 the Streets. YA DVD STEP

The Venture Bros. 3rd Season. YA DVD-TV VENTURE