16 Great Library Scenes in Film

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Insurgent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, so some many may consider this a spoiler, I consider it a teaser. You've been warned...

Again, with the non-stop action. I was good through the first half of the book, limiting myself to a chapter or two a day. With work and the kids, that was all I had time for. Then, I read the second half of the book yesterday - yes, I'm still yawning even after coffee. LOVED THIS ONE TOO. The twists and turns, the new characters, the old and the NON...STOP...ACTION.

We love Four and Tris, Tobias and Beatrice: the have strengths and weaknesses like us all, they love, they anger, they live and they are willing to give everything for something they believe in. We hate Johanna: she is selfish and cruel and willing to sacrifice others for something she believes in. Pretty straight forward, except... Johanna is trying to save their world, life as they know it. Tobias and Tris will destroy it. What is the critical piece of information? Divergence is the key, but to what?

So yes, I'm waiting with baited breath for Emergent. Hey everyone is taking shots at the title of book 3, this one is mine!

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Flags of Our Fathers by Ron Powers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW! And I don't even like non-fiction!

This story chronicles first the lives of the six men raising their flag on Iwo Jima, the American climate during war time and why they enlisted. Readers are then taken inch by pain staking inch up the beach of "fire island" through gun fire, death, fear, hunger, sleep deprivation and more. Slowly trodding up the hill where we experience a seemingly unremarkable flag replacement that became a photograph which to this day "iconicizes" the valor, determination, courage and strength that is a US Marine. Finally we follow the only two (of six) surviving men through the aftermath. This story is told by the son of one of the "heroes". He never knew his father was in that picture; he never spoke of it with him. After his death his sons found his Navy Cross and a box full of letters that led one son on a remarkable journey; chronicled here for us to experience alongside of him.

A truly life changing story.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you like dystopic fiction - in print or on TV - you MUST READ this book!

I am a luke warm fan of dystopian novels and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I have a job and 2 pre-schoolers who rise early, a.k.a. no chance of making up lost sleep, yet I found myself reading into the wee hours of the morning., two nights in a row! I have Insurgent but don't dare start it until I am no longer walking dead tired.

Tris and four are amazingly strong individuals mentally, emotionally, and, by the end of training, physically. Yet, supporting characters are fleshed out enough to keep everyone interesting and the action is literally non-stop. This story could end here, but there are enough questions lingering to make a second book intriguing. Looking forward to Insurgent with baited breath.

READ IT READ IT READ IT!

View all my reviews

Beauty Queens

This is my first read by Bray, and I cannot wait to pick up something else of hers. I listened to most of the book on audio, which was PRICELESS. Bray narrates the story herself, and she is hilarious. There are a lot of characters, so it's great to hear because she really differentiates between them with accents and voices.

Basically, the contestants for the Miss Teen Dream pageant get stuck on a deserted island after their plane crashes and they must find a way to survive without their makeup and nail polish. Bray has done a good job of really capturing the "pageant" stereotype - and then smashing it in the face with a hammer while never losing the essence of the story. A bit fantastical at times, it just adds to the overall appeal and hilarity of the story.

The False Prince

What a fantastic adventure story that sucks you in right from the beginning! I've been having a tough go of finding something lately that really grabs my attention - and I read this in about 6 hours.

Sage is one of three orphans that gets bought by a royal regent determined to present a long lost prince to the castle. The boys endure two long weeks of training and some brutality to help prepare them of taking on the duties of Prince Jaron, but only one can be named Prince ... the others will die.

You will be grabbed from the first page and not want to put this book down. It is a fantastic mix of humor, adventure and intrigue sure to capture the mind of the reader!

Teen Movie Survey

We want to show the movies you want to see, but the only way we'll know what they are is if you tell us, so... for the next few months we'll be posting surveys with monthly themes and movie suggestions as well as an "other" space for you to fill in your own thoughts.  Whenever possible, we WILL show the winning movie.  Limitations are simple: PG -13 or safer and it must be covered by one of our two licenses (which are very broad reaching).

Click here to take survey

What was Prince Charming really like? And how many "Prince Charmings" can there possibly be?! A good premise, it's the "true" stories of all our Prince Charming heroes, from Rapunzel to Cinderella and more. This is a quick and easy read, with some illustrations of the characters in the margins on many of the pages. It gives the reader quite a more skeptical version of our beloved fairy tale characters, though it definitely reverses many of the roles! Some sort of fractured fairy tales are really becoming popular in YA lit right now, so if you are looking for some recommendations, be sure to let Ms. Becky or Ms. Colleen know and they can help you out!

Book Review - Scorch by Gina Damico

A solid follow-up to the first in the series (Croak), Scorch takes us back to the town of Croak where Lex and her new friends are desperately seeking Zara - the rogue Junior that has started Damning both criminals and innocents. Danger and adventure abounds, though towards the middle/end it starts to drag, then all of a sudden everything happens in the last few pages and BOOM! Now you have to wait for the next book.

I lost my steam and enthusiasm towards the end, but still really enjoyed the characters. Little things some of them say started to sound odd ... such as when Driggs tells Lex that she has great "gams". What 17 year old guy says that? Seriously? Other than a few quirks though, a good read.

The Avengers MuV Chat Movie

Coming to this library near you!

Tuesday, January 8 at 4:30 in the library program room!

Pizza, popcorn and soda provided.

Bring your friends and your cell phone and you can make your cool comments ON SCREEN!

Coming to Theaters in 2013...

TLT: Teen Librarian's Toolbox: 13 Reasons Why I Love 13 Reasons Why: A couple of weeks ago 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher hit a milestone: it has been on the bestseller list for 2 years straight.  And it deserve...