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!

Can't Sign Up for TeenSRC?

AARGH! For reasons beyond my control, St. Albert Public Library isn't showing up on the list yet! Please be patient, I am hoping it will be rectified on June 29th. I'll keep you posted.

Summer Reading Club is Open!

It's here! The Teen Summer Reading Club is waiting for your reviews. St. Albert Public Library is participating in an online summer reading project sponsored by the British Columbia Library Association so you will be interacting with teens from across the country. In order to participate you need to set up an account with the site. Be sure to indicate that you are from St. Albert Public Library so that you are eligible for our prize draws.

So how does it work? The TeenSRC summer club will run from June 28th through August 19th with the summer windup party on August 23rd. You get to read what you like for the summer and then submit reviews to the TeenSRC website through your account. Each week I will draw a prize winner from the reviews submitted from our library. Anyone who submits at least four reviews in the seven weeks of play will be eligible to come to the final party and their name will go in the draw for the grand prize iPod Nano!


Each review you post is moderated before it shows up on the listings. So how do you write a review? Don't panic, it's not that complicated and this isn't school. Here are some tips.

• Tell a bit about the book. Where is it set? Are the characters believable? Is it creepy, sad, funny, boring, realistic? Remember detail is good but NO SPOILERS. Reviews with spoilers don't get posted.
• Tell us your opinion! What made you like it or hate it? Did you like the dialogue, the characters, the plot, or the artwork? Why was it boring?
  
• Does it remind you of anything else? A movie, tv show or another book?
  
• Do you recommend it? This is where you get to rant or rave. Reviews are all about your experiences not anyone else's.

You can probably do it all in four good sentences. Please check out the FAQ section of the TeenSRC website for the full details about review posting.

If you need some suggestions of books to read, check out the online booklists at the TeenSRCbooklists in the Teen Corner. You can always check out what other teens have been reading by looking at the reviews online.

Log on to www.TeenSRC.ca and get reading.

If you have questions, contact Kathleen at 459-1751 or ktroppmann@sapl.ab.ca

Tamar by Mal Peet

The subtitle of this book is A Novel of Espionage, Passion and Betrayal which defines the story.
On one hand it is a compelling mystery and thriller. Another plot line looks at the joys and perils of love and how loneliness and fear can make you mad. Set in Holland in 1944 as well as England in 1995, Tamar follows the story two SOE agents working as resistance fighters and the fifteen-year-old granddaughter of one of the men. She knows that she has been named Tamar at her grandfather's request but she has never known why. When her grandfather commits suicide he leaves her with a box full of items that send her on a journey of discovery (literally) where family secrets are revealed. The author gives you glimpses of what might come and yet the discoveries are still surprising. This book won the Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature in the U.K. but it is aimed at young adults in the 14+ age range due to the emotional complexities of the story.

Teen Summer Reading Club Coming Soon!

The online Teen Summer Reading Club (TeenSRC) will launch soon. It will run for seven weeks and offer weekly prizes as well as a chance to win the grand prize of an iPod nano! Watch for details here and in the library, and get ready to `Book a Trip`with the Teen SRC!

Tattoo by Jennifer Barnes

Bailey and her three best friends are hanging out at the mall on their usual Friday shopping trip. Strange things start to happen after they decide to wear the temporary tattoos Bailey bought from the strange lady at the accessories booth. The girls discover that the tattoos have given them supernatural powers that they will need to fight the ancient fairies who control fate. It's a crazy mix of supernatural oddities, Celtic mythology and high school mean girls. This is a fast paced fun read for fans of Charmed and Buffy.

Teen Advisory Board Meeting

Summer is coming and it's time to finalize the details of the summer reading program and start thinking about fall. Bring your ideas and a friend and stop by on May 24th! If you have any questions contact me .

Kathleen

The Golden Compass Movie

I love the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman and I am looking forward to the movie version. The website looks great! Check it out at www.goldencompassmovie.com. You can even find out what kind of daemon you would have if you lived in their world. If you haven't read the books yet, a daemon in their world is where your soul resides and your daemon changes as you get older and your personality and character become more set. I took the quiz and found out that my daemon is Boreallus, a male lion. What do you think? Does it suit me? As people look at the link below, the daemon might change. I'll wait to see the final result.



If you haven't read the books yet, you are in for a treat. Check out the website and then pick up the books.

Creative Writing Workshop

Wow, my first post on the SAPL Teen Corner Blog! As you can see, I'm Kelci, and I'm part of the Teen Advisory Board here at the Library. We always welcome new members if this tickles your fancy!

Anyway, back to the point. On Saturday, April 14, I met an author. Award-winning teen author Don Trembath was in town conducting an interactive Creative Writing Workshop for teens! (Turns out authors are just like regular people! Who knew?) With Don leading the way, all 17 of us created and meticulously described a house, a character, and concluded our three hour journey by composing a dialogue between our character and one that another student had created. We were instructed to "write as we speak" and generate a conversation where our character was trying to sell the house we dreamed up. I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in a bit of relaxing writing for the afternoon, and one can’t forget about all the scrumptious snacks! All it all, it was a great time, and I look forward to similar events in the future. Many thanks to Kathleen and Don for volunteering their time to create a fun-filled afternoon for us kids!

Teen Movie Night

Drop in at the library on Wednesday night and join us for "Night at the Museum". No registration required, bring a friend and enjoy snacks from me (gum gum anyone?)! What's "Night at the Museum"? Here's the short form:

"In this wild comedy fantasy, a bumbling night watchman (Ben Stiller) at New York's Museum of Natural History inadvertently triggers a dormant curse that fully animates the dioramas, causing Mayans, Romans, Gladiators and cowboys to emerge, not to mention an angry T-Rex."

It's silly, it's funny and it's free! Hope to see you there. For more information, contact Kathleen at 459-1751 or Kathleen@sapl.ab.ca