Patron Saint of Libraries - a teen genius!

:: Saint Catherine ::

Did you know Saint Catherine of Alexandria is the Patron Saint of Libraries and Students?  She was a scholar of the sciences who vowed never to marry unless she met a man who was as beautiful, intelligent, and well-read as she was.  Lacking a sufficient mortal, she devoted herself to Jesus (he seemed to fit the bill!). 
At age 18, she tried to convince the Emperor Maximus to stop torturing Christians.  He was too intimidated by her intellectual prowress and had her imprisoned, but the Empress was most impressed!  Catherine was sentenced to die on the wheel of torture but legend has it that when she touched the wheel it broke.  The Emperor, furious, had her beheaded.

Learn more:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03445a.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Alexandria

or come check out one of our many books on Medieval History at the HHS Library.

Have a great long weekend, see you at the beginning of 2nd semester!

~Ms. Carson, HHS Librarian

Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry

by Stacy Malkan
Review by Ms. Carson, HHS Librarian

The best thing I learned from this book, besides that I am never ever buying another "beauty" product without reading the label?  My new favourite website:  The Cosmetics Database http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ 
According to Malkan, we use an average of 25 personal grooming products everyday!  Go to this website and plug in every product you put on your body and be prepared to be disgusted by how many toxic chemicals they contain. 

You see, the cosmetics industry is allowed to "self-regulate", meaning we, the public, have very little say or knowledge about what we are putting on and into our bodies day after day (like toothpaste!), and the effects these products are having on our systems.  How is it that companies like Revlon and Estee Lauder can brand products with the pink "for a cure" label, urging us to buy them in order to support breast cancer research, when these same items contain known carcinogens and hormone disruptors that directly cause breast cancer? 

After reading the first chapter of this book I immediately went to the bathtub and found that my son's "Natural" body wash contained a high amount of sodium lauryl sulfate, a known cancer-causing chemical, not to mention a host of other toxic chemicals.  I had been tricked into purchasing something I thought was wholesome based on the words "natural" and "gentle" and the healthy-looking baby on the bottle.  Now I wouldn't use this to clean my toilet.

Read this book and see if it doesn't inspire YOU to think twice about what your "beauty" products are doing to make you sick.

We're in the News!

                                                                       What a team! 

go to  http://kvstyle.canadaeast.com/community/article/1372378   for the full story

Exam Week

Next week's Guild meeting is cancelled due to Exams, but we will resume taking over the world (one book at a time!) Tuesday Feb 1st for our fundraiser.  Meet in the Library at 12:50.  Good luck on your exams, I know you'll be awesome.

Ms. Carson, HHS Librarian

Hunger Games Trilogy

That's right...they're here!  First come, first serve!!

Happy reading!

Ms. Carson, HHS Librarian

Huntress - Night World Series

by L. J. Smith
Review by Amber Morehouse, grade 11

This story is about the relationship between Jez Redfern (a half-vampire) and Morgead Blackthorn (a vampire). 

In the beginning, Jez thinks she is a full vampire until she has a flashback while hunting down a mortal.  She goes to find the truth from her uncle Bracken.  When he tells her she's half vampire, half human, she goes to her mother's relative's place.  Later her friend Hugh tells her about the Wild Powers and that Morgead is in suspicion of the Council of Others.  Jez goes back to Morgead and after trials and bloodletting finds out that Morgead is her soulmate and that she is a Wild Power.

I would recommend this book if you like a light romance mixed with the paranormal.

Seasons of Salvation

by Dennis L. Mangrum
Review by Chaya Pattison, grade 11

This book is based on a true story.  It is about a girl who grew up as an orphan and lived in foster homes until she was 17 years old.  None of her foster families cared for her or were kind to her in any way.  When she was 17 years old her life changed completely.  Up until that point in her life she didn't care about anyone and never trusted anyone.  Over the time period of 6 months she became a better person.  She had a perfect attendance at school, she socialized and had fun. 

Read the book to find out how she became an orphan, what thing was so special that it changed her life in such a short period of time, and to see what her life was like before it changed.
I would recommend this book because it is a heartwarming story.

Brighid's Quest

by P. C. Cast
Review by Zoe Jardine, grade 9

Brighid's Quest was a wonderful book about a centaur huntress named Brighid.  She had a tough childhood and is now a huntress for the MacCallan clan.  Her friend and Chieftan, Elphame, has a brother that was suffering great loss and set out to find the New Fomorians.  When he is gone for a long time, Elphame gets worried, so Brighid sets out to find him.  When she gets to where the New Fomorians supposedly are she gets the biggest surprise of her life.  Most of the New Fomorians are just kids.  There are a few adults, but not many.  Most of the adults died.  And the worst thing is that Brighid is not exactly good with kids; but her and Cuchulainn, Elphame's brother, have to get them all the way back to MacCallan Castle.

Soulmate - Night World Series

by L. J. Smith
Review by Amber Morehouse, grade 11

This book is about a girl called Hannah and her soulmate Thierry.  Thierry is a vampire while Hannah is an old soul (someone who has been reincarnated a lot of times).  Hannah doesn't know anything about the Night World so she thinks she is going crazy.  When she goes to a psychologist she sees one of her past lives and then she is attacked by a wolf.  Maya, Thierry's creator, has always interfered in Hannah and Thierry's lovelife.  She has killed Hannah pretending to be Thierry so that Hannah would hate Thierry in this life.  But when Hannah remembers that she goes to Vegas to find Thierry and is kidnapped by Maya.  Maya is trying to make Hannah a vampire so that she won't be reincarnated again.
(Spoiler Alert!) 
She fails, Thierry rescues Hannah, and Hannah stakes Maya.
I would definitely recommend this book if you like Vampire romance novels.

Online Storytime

Do you have kids?  A little brother or sister?  Do you do a lot of babysitting?

Check out:
http://www.gnb.ca/0003/children.asp and click on Tumblebooks

The New Brunswick Public Library Service offers FREE online interactive picture books for kids.  Hear a Robert Munsch story and watch the pictures move.  My son loves this and yours probably will too!  What a great literacy initiative.

Happy reading,

Ms. Carson
HHS Librarian

Therefore Choose

by Keith Oatley
Review by Ms. Carson, HHS Librarian

George, a medical student who is unsure about his future as a doctor, befriends Werner, a visiting German student interested in psychology and philosophy.  Werner invites George to spend the break with him in Germany, where George meets Werner's lively, intellectually stimulating friend Anna, an editor of a erudite literary magazine.  The two fall in love and Anna asks George to stay and follow his creative leanings instead of returning to England to complete his medical training.  George, being a somewhat practical fellow, carefully deliberates and decides it would be most prudent to complete his degree and visit Anna on his school breaks.  He is also leary of the political climate in Germany.  This is pre-World War II, and Hilter is rallying his troops and citizens to prove to the world that Germany is not a country to be trifled with.
Not since Martin Amis' Time's Arrow have I read such a ground-level vision of the Holocaust and its effects on the psyches of those on both side of the Channel.  Oatley reminds us how everyday decisions, in a time of political (or in present day, environmental) crisis, cause long-lasting effects to those around us, as well as ourselves. 

For those who are interested in hearing Oatley speak about his novel:

January 17, 2011: ReadingHeadliner(s): Keith Oatley
Featured title(s): Therefore Choose
7:00 pm at Ganong Hall Lecture Theatre, 100 Tucker Park Road , Saint John, NB
Keith is speaking in cooperation with the Lorenzo Reading Series. This event is free and open to the public.