Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ricki's mom has been gone too long this time and grandma can no longer keep her around. Enter dad who has always been on the road as a bounty hunter. Now Ricki is "home schooled" on the road with her dad chasing skips. What could possible go wrong?
Easy read about some heavy topics. A hard edged, niave girl learns some hard life lessons. People aren't always what they seem to be and they definitely aren't what you want them to be, but not all surprises are bad.

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Body Double by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nightmare come true for any adopted child. Why is there a woman, who looks exactly like Maura, dead in her car outside Maura's house? Who is she? Where did she come from? Why? Who wanted her dead?

I thought I had it all figured out, but no way. Gerritsen incorporates many meaningful characters and enough twists and turns to make you quesey; if all the blood, gore and sadism haven't done that already. A great mystery, but not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. You might also avoid this book if you are pregnant or love someone who is.

April, May & June, Things To Do in Our Program Room!

We have FINALLY set our schedule for April, May and June for teen events! While we are currently updating the brochure for you, we figured we would list them here so you could get them in your calendar.

If you have ANY suggestions for programming, don't hesitate to let us know. We are always open to suggestions and want to do events that you guys will all come to. Spread the word!

April 3rd 4-6pm:  MOVIE NIGHT! Bring your friends and settle in for a great movie and "dinner" ... pizza, popcorn, soda, etc! Have a movie suggestion? Let Ms. Becky or Ms. Colleen know, and if its something we have available, we will show it!

April 9th 4-6pm: GAME NIGHT! We have gotten some input from some of our regulars, and Ms. Colleen will have laptops set up so you can play against each other in some of the more popular computer games online. Playing in the program room allows for normal level conversation, snacks and more relaxed fun than sitting in our computer cubicles in the YA department. Not into computer games? We will have board games and the Wii set up as well! (We do have a limit of 6-8 laptops, so feel free to bring your own to tap into our free wifi!)

April 15th Entire Week- Do you love to read? Even if you don't, you might have read a ton of books for school. This week is our "passive programming" week where participation is SUPER EASY. Whenever you are in the library, check the signs on the table for that days "quote" ... if you know what book it is, let the librarian know and win a prize! This game will also be played on Twitter and Facebook, so be sure to follow/like our accounts.

April 24th 4-5pm: COOKING CLASS! Ms. Becky is hosting a one-hour cooking demonstration for teens. All you need is yourselves, and then you can eat what you make!

May 1st 4-6pm: MOVIE NIGHT! Bring your friends and settle in for a great movie and "dinner" ... pizza, popcorn, soda, etc! Have a movie suggestion? Let Ms. Becky or Ms. Colleen know, and if its something we have available, we will show it!

May 8th 4-5pm:  HANDMADE BUTTON BRACELETS! This one is for everyone since Mother's Day is just around the corner. Meet with Ms. Becky and make bracelets out of colorful buttons. Snacks always included!

May 15th Entire Week: Another passive program to come in and do at your leisure! During the week, the YA tables will be set up with everything you need to make some creative origami - the Japanese art of folding paper into different animals or objects. How creative can you get?

May 21st 4-6pm: GAME NIGHT! We have gotten some input from some of our regulars, and Ms. Colleen will have laptops set up so you can play against each other in some of the more popular computer games online. Playing in the program room allows for normal level conversation, snacks and more relaxed fun than sitting in our computer cubicles in the YA department. Not into computer games? We will have board games and the Wii set up as well! (We do have a limit of 6-8 laptops, so feel free to bring your own to tap into our free wifi!)

JUNE:
We will be preparing the department for our Summer Reading Program - this year's theme is BENEATH THE SURFACE ... we cannot wait for you guys to see what we have in store for you! Check the YA tables and social media outlets for updates, contests and more during the month of June while we take off a few weeks of set programming to prepare!
 

Book Review: Bumped

A very strange and shallow look at the future. Sometime within the next 50 years or so, a virus hits all the young people and those born that prevents them from having children after the age of 18 - so getting pregnant (being "bumped") between 13 and 18 is the only way to keep the human race surviving. It has become popular to find agents and create contracts with married couples that want children - they pay for college, offer cars, money, etc., in exchange for these teenage girls to get pregnant as surrogates and give up their children.

The idea is interesting, though the book is done poorly. It is very light and bubble-gummy, only showing the emergent issues and producing good writing in the last quarter of the book ... which did make me want to get the sequel, just to see what happens.

The basic premise is that the main character is the perfect girl to be a surrogate - smart, beautiful, athletic; perfect in every way. Except one - she has a twin no one knew about that shows up at her door to try to convert her to their version of Christianity (no bumping before marriage!). No longer "original" due to exact strands of DNA, the twin could be a major issue. Mix ups obviously occur, though the ending was a little surprising and helped to save the book from complete obscurity.

A New Month = New Displays in YA!

It's the beginning of a new month, which means some new displays in the YA department!

Check out fabulous women and teens of yesteryear and today to celebrate Women's History Month. From WWII Women Pilots to surfer girls, see how women are changing the face of history!

What's Newport in March without the Irish? Plenty of Irish tales to choose from! Anyone can be Irish for a little while!

What do you think is the ugliest book cover out there? Leave a comment, then check out our display and see if you agree with some of our choices! Don't judge these books by their covers!

Vandalize a library book - sort of

Monday is your chance to "vandalize a library book"!  We'll be taking older books no longer in use and using big black markers to create poetry.  Join Ms. Colleen at 4:30 in the program room to learn how.

Snacks and supplies provided.