TeenSRC Weekly Prize Winner

Congratulations to Lauren R., winner of this weeks prize bag! Lauren has two approved reviews (and maybe some in the queue). We only have three more weeks left before the final party, so keep reading!

TeenSRC Back

The site is back up and running as of this morning. There is a major backlog of reviews to be posted, so be patient if you haven't seen yours up yet. There are now about 2,500 users on the site, 40 from St. Albert.

TeenSRC site Under Repair

I was informed this morning that the TeenSRC site was compromised and currently under reconstruction. They are asking us not to try and log in while they are working on the fix. Sorry for the delays!

Year Of Wonders

(Geraldine Brooks) It’s hard not to believe one isn’t living alongside young Anna Frith as she deals with the hardship of her small town being untimely stuck by the Plague of 1666. Brooks weaves an amazingly vivid tapestry of imagery that whisks the reader to a faraway time from the first sentence. The sensory description is very rich, and the character development is impeccable. Anna is a very likable character; she is strong of will and quick witted, but is not immune to the ravages of the plague as she sees it take some of her family members and closest friends. Despite these horrors, she struggles on as best she can, lending a hand to anyone in need and trying desperately to assuage some of their many grievances. I thought this book was great, albeit at some times deeply sad. (Necessary in a book about the Plague, I suppose!) Also, some of the descriptions of plague "symptoms" were a little icky!
Still, I found I would awaken from Anna’s world after a couple of hours and realize that I had paid no attention to anything else that was happening around me. An interesting choice too, who usually reads about the Plague on a hot summer’s night?

TeenSRC Weekly Prize Winner

Congratulations to Jordan T, the winner of this weeks prize. Jordan has already put in 5 reviews and will be invited to the wind up party in August. Only four more weeks to go! (Does that mean summer will be ending soon too? Sigh.)

The Zahir

In this novel of surprising impact, Paulo Coelho paints a vivid picture of one man’s pilgrimage to discover a much deeper understanding of himself and the world around him. After the unexpected departure of his beloved wife, the narrator struggles in vain to comprehend the reason why. The thought of her torments his awareness day and night; Esther had become his Zahir, “someone or something which gradually occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else.” Progressively, the narrator begins to abandon his personal history in favor of the freedom of spiritual enlightenment, and begins to distinguish the reason why so many people in our society today have everything they could wish for, yet are still trapped in the pitfalls of unhappiness. Coelho writes in such a soft, flowing voice that it is easy to lose yourself for hours on end, deeply immersed in the emotion of the narrator and his plight. I greatly enjoyed reading this book, for I even felt slightly enlightened when I had finished it. (Cheesy as that sounds!)

The Swallows of Kabul

(Yasmina Khadra) A poignant, heartbreaking tale of two couples living in the utter squalor of Kabul under wicked Taliban rule: Mohsen & his wife Zunaira, and Atiq & his wife Mussarat. The author follows the couples in a very emotional portrayal of a country beaten down from the inside out. Their fates seem to be in the hands of pure chance as a world thrown into disarray deals them blow after blow. Khadra shows the Taliban as a disease that strikes down everything that is pleasurable and that gives man a reason for living.
Most importantly, the story of The Swallows of Kabul is one of love: love for a country, a belief, an ideal, but also a love (or a lack of love) for mankind. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting to read something a little different. Once tossed into the uncertain world of the Taliban through Khadra’s eyes, one starts to realize that the vivid depictions of brutality and madness are not far from today’s truth in the Middle East. It is not exactly a ‘light summer read’, but it provokes a great deal of thought in the reader, as well as a heightened appreciation of the prosperity that we possess.

TeenSRC Week 2 Winner

This weeks winner is Ellexis L. ! Congratulations! We now have 30 players from St. Albert Public Library and more joining all the time. Ellexis has posted 4 reviews already so she is sure to be in the draw for the iPod at the party in August. The odds of winning are sure to be good, so keep posting!

The Party That Shall Not Be Named

In anticipation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows we will be having a teen only after-hours party on Friday July 20th. Did you ever wonder what the library was like after closing? Come to The Party That Shall Not Be Named and find out! We will watch a Harry Potter movie (your choice, you vote), play some Harry Potter trivia, eat some snacks and indulge in some wild speculation as to the fate of Harry, Hermione and Ron. Costumes are encouraged (hint hint). Space is limited so call to register early! Because this is a special program, we will need permission slips signed before you can come in. Pick one up from the Reference Desk next time you are in the library or you can print off the pdf form here.

Call 459-1682 to register.

TeenSRC Weekly Prize Winner

Congratulations to our first weekly prize winner Jessica M! With the first week of the summer reading club gone, we have 22 St. Albert teens signed up along with 17oo across the country! If you haven't started yet, it's not too late! It's summer, read what you like.

And We're Off!

All is well with the TeenSRC site. You can sign up with St. Albert Public Library in that long list box of Alberta libraries. As of last Friday, there were over 1000 teens signed up from across the country. I'll let you know the St. Albert statistics once they start reporting them by city. If you have any more problems, please let me know. Thanks for your patience!