Calling all book fiends...ROADTRIP!

Don't think libraries form an important (AHEM! essential) part of the collective consciousness?  Well, oh man, you are SO WRONG.

Take a drive up to Fredericton this spring and visit the Beaverbrook Art Gallery between April 17 and June 19 to see the biblioriffic exhibition: Logotopia - The Library in Architecture, Art and the Imagination.

Book it.



~Ms. Carson
HHS Librarian

http://www.beaverbrookartgallery.org/exhibition-show.asp?exhibition_id=373

Guess who's here????

Beth Powning!!

Another awesome NB author visit to HHS this month!  
Check out her memoir Shadow Child at the library today.  Beth is here to discuss her latest book The Sea Captain's Wife with Mrs. Donovan's Canadian Lit class and talk about the new project she is working on.
http://www.powning.com/beth/

Medieval Feast

JUNE 7th 12PM

Mark your calendars Guild Members:

There will be archery!

awards!

toasts!

costumes!

food we eat with our hands!

and, perhaps, even a duel with foam swords!

Rejoice!  Summer vacation commeth!

Hackers

by David Bischoff
Review by Amber Morehouse, grade 11

This story is about five teenage hackers.  Dade Murphy, previously known as "Zero Cool" was forbidden to use computers until he turned 18 because he crashed 500 computers when he was 11.  Dade and his mom have moved to New York where Dade meets Kate Libby ("Acid Burn"), Emmanuel ("Cereal Killer"), Joey Hardcastle (Dade gives him the name "Zero Cool"), and Ramon Sanchez ("Phantom Phreak"). 

Kate and Dade instantly get on each other's backs.  When Joey (the newest hacker) hacks the Ellington (a company) super-computer and copies a garbage file he gets into serious trouble.  A bad-guy hack ("The Plague") created a virus/worm that steals money and capsizes Ellington's ships.  Dade and his friends set out to stop him.  Hopefully they will succeed.  If you want to find out...read the book or watch the movie by Rafael Moreu.

I would recommend this book if you like a teenage romance along with action and reality.

The Narcissism Epidemic - Living in the Age of Entitlement

by Drs. Twenge and Campbell
Review by Ms. Carson, HHS Librarian

Does Paris Hilton make you gag?  Me too.

Do you think "My Mommy's a MILF" shirts on toddlers are creepy?  Umm, yep.

Do you just assume most photos are airbrushed and cleavage is silicone?  Of course.

This is the world we now live in.  Twenge and Campbell set out to document this alarming rise of superficiality and focus on "me-first" living that seems to have completely taken over our culture in the last three or four decades. 

They make a lot of interesting (if not obvious) points: like maybe getting already self-centered preschoolers to sing songs about how much they love themselves is a bit...well...unnecessary.  That self-esteem is better built through overcoming life's challenges and pushing yourself to admit your mistakes and make ammends.  That true communties are built through shared memories and real-life connections, not "friending" on Facebook.

They also point out some surprising myths about narcissists: they don't secretly have low self-esteem.  If fact, most narcissists actually believe they are better than other people.  And don't even think about arguing with them.  They are nasty when they don't get their own way.

If you are someone who already has a hard time tolerating North America's vapid, collective morality and obsession with looks, material wealth, and navel-gazing you may find yourself nodding your head in good company with the authors and saying, "I KNOW, sheesh!"
If you are a narcissist (and by traditional psychological measurements, most of us under 40 are), you might not see the big deal.  Especially since you don't think there is anything wrong with you anyway.

An alarming read for parents (do you know what "FAP" means?  I didn't and it is gross).  An essential read for teachers (ever wonder why your grade four students need "makeovers"?).  A hard read for teens (reality check: this is your life, one meaningless hook-up at a time).

I would highly recommend taking the time to check out The Narcissism Epidemic.  Even if you only scan to the chapters that interest you (like "God Didn't Create You to be Average").  It might even inspire you to skip your weekly spa visit and volunteer at a soup kitchen.  Maybe.

Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity

by Kerry Cohen
Review by Brynn Haley, grade 10

Kerry Cohen tells her personal story in this memoir of how she spent her life searching for love from others, because she had difficulty loving herself.

Kerry longed for the attention of men because it made her feel that she was wanted; it made her feel a false sense of love.  Like an addiction, she could never get enough, and she spent her life looking for that fix she could never seem to find.

In a way, Kerry knew that what she felt with boys was far from love, but she didn't want to acknowledge that.  She felt secure in her way of life, even though she was being used and mistreated most of the time.

It took Kerry until she was older to realize that self-worth and acceptance have to come from oneself, not others.  She had to learn this lesson before she was capable of loving another person completely, and finally she could settle into a meaningful, long-term relationship, which is what she knew she wanted with a man all along.

This book teaches an important lesson about what love is and what we'll do for it, and I'd recommend this book to any girl or woman, and the men who care about the women in their lives as well.

Inferno

by Robin Stevenson (Canadian Author!)
Review by Brynn Haley, grade 10

Inferno is a novel about a teen girl named Dante (born Emily, as her mother constantly reminds her, but she changed her name on her sixteenth birthday).  Dante is going through a really difficult year.  She's at odds with her mother, she despises high school, is a social outcast, and is coming to terms with her sexuality.  During this chaotic period of her life, she meets an odd girl named Parker, who's passing out anti-institution flyers at her high school one day.

Dante is intrigued by Parker, and so she becomes involved with her and her gang of activists.  Because of her strong feelings for Parker, Dante allows herself to get sucked into the gang's increasingly dangerous plans.

Dante is a quirky, very relatable character.  She loves the Divine Comedy (of which Dante's Inferno is a part of) and she compares her life to the hell portrayed in Dante's Inferno, and many of her experiences with the nine circles of hell.

I recommend this to any teen because it deals with many issues that most teens face, such as worries about school and their future, family difficulties, sexual identity, social problems, and rebellion.  I really, really loved this book and felt very connected to Dante.

How Beautiful the Ordinary

Edited by Michael Cart
Review by Brynn Haley, grade 10

How Beautiful the Ordinary is a compilation of twelve unique stories about personal identity.  Some are short, some are considerably long, one is in verse, and there are two comics.

Each story has a different style and voice and the characters are very diverse in age, culture, and life experiences.  Some stories incorporate fantasy, others are very real.  Some have happy endings, others don't.  The one thing that each story has in common with the rest is that the main characters are experiencing a critical time in self-discovery. 

I really enjoyed the stories in this book.  They do a great job of showing that every person can be extraordinary.  I recommend this book to any teen.

Make books. They are awesome.

Sign up in the library to learn how to make your own sketchbooks and journals!

Tuesday April 12th at 12:45pm.

Everyone welcome.

Free.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

By John Green and David Levithan
Review by Brynn Haley, grade 10

This is a novel about two teenage boys leading two different lives, that eventually collide unexpectedly.  Coincidentally, both boys are named Will Grayson.

Will Grayson's life seems to revolve around two people: his best friend Tiny and the maybe-gay Jane.  Tiny is nicknamed ironically; he's actually huge.  And he's gay and shameless about it.  He is the leader of the high school Gay-Straight Alliance, and is planning to put on his own play at the school, starring himself.

Jane, on the other hand, is down-to-earth, and Will suspects that she may be gay (she's a member of the GSA) but he develops a crush on her anyway.

[The other] Will Grayson's life revolves around one person, a boy he met online named Isaac.  Isaac is Will's best friend and confidant, and Will swears he's in love with him.  Isaac is what makes Will's life worth living.  But when they decide to meet in person, Will is in for a life-changing surprise.

When both Will Graysons' lives collide, they affect each other in ways they'd not expected.

This book is hilarious (I laughed out loud reading it) and it's heartwarming.  It's a story of finding oneself and building and maintaining important relationships in life, and for that, I recommend it to anyone.

A man after my own heart!

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/rss/article/1394046

Sigh....now THAT is a great personal library.  35,000 volumes and comfy chairs.  Bliss.

~Ms. Carson
HHS Librarian