Trapped by Marc Aronson

How the world recused 33 miners from 2,000 feet below the Chilean desert.  Atheneum Books, 2011

Now, you may think, "Not another book about a sensational current event tragedy turned triumph again!"  and if you are, then you don't know Marc Aronson.  This is much more than the Chilean miners.  It's about mining, history, technology, current events, psychology, aeronautics, and politics, all of which Aronson delivers in a short but powerful book about hope. 

Aronson writes in tandem about the Chilean miners while giving back history on mining itself, from early Green and Roman mythology to current books about miners and their god Hephaistos.  What grabs the readers attention is the background details Aronson writes about, including the importance of mining and how the entire world rests with what miners bring to the top for consumers around the world.  Since the San Jose' mine was a copper mine, Aronson also goes into detail not only about the history of copper and its uses, but also incorporates a pictures of the small town of Copiapo, where the miners and their families lived. 
Aronson also gives the reader information on the psychology of the miners, and how they were able to stay months underground without any mental or physical damage to themselves or others, which is the true miracle in and of itself. 

Images are always a great part of the storytelling, and Aronson incorporates some powerful images, including an aerial view of a diamond mine in Alberta Canada, to the very first note that was pulled up from the miners when the first hole was punched through over 13 days later.  Diagrams of the drilling, pictures of the Chilean desert...they are all there to show how bleak this disaster could have become but thankfully didn't.  The world and its humanity pulled it out to make these men come back to life. 


Finally, the afterword is a must read for all librarians and/or teacher teaching research.  Aronson takes the reader through the process of researching and having to use the internet, which could definitely be something to share with students as they begin the reading process.  This author is always insightful, interesting, and intelligent.  This is an easy book to read, with only 111 pages to the story and afterward, but I agree with Aronson.  It'll make readers run to the computer searching for more.  I know I did.  Highly recommended for JH/HS

Variant by Robison Wells

HarperTeen, 2011
Benson has lived in over thirty foster homes in the Pittsburgh area.  He's tired of it all, and wants out, wants some normalcy.  That's why he was so surprised when Ms. Vaughn came.  Filling out a scholarship to Maxfield Academy on his own, Benson was happy to learn he had been accepted and now he and Ms. Vaughn were on their way there.

As they pull up to this prestigious school, Benson is filled with anticipation.  Within the first hour there, he knows something is not right.  The door that closed behind him was locked.  Becky, the first person he met for initiation, is acting strangely.  And the kids beating on the windows?  What was that all about?

It doesn't take long for Benson to realize that he's trapped.  There are no teachers, no adults.  Just three factions of teens - Society, whose members run security; Havoc, whose members run the cafeteria; and Variant....those that do the maintenance.  Benson is being coerced to join Society and Havoc, but he places himself in Variant's group, all the while planning on how to get out....

Stories begin to emerge about those that try to escape.  No one ever has, according to those that have been at Maxfield Academy the longest.  But why would anyone want to leave?  They have food, warmth, education, which is much better than being in foster care or homeless.  But it doesn't dissuade Benson from plotting, even if it means facing detention....which no one ever comes back from.  But how to escape?  There are cameras everwhere, and the schedules vary - sometimes going to class at 7 am, sometimes at 10 am. Big brother is watching and listening to every action and word.  The Iceman is always there, handing out punishments and rewards on-screen, knowing exactly what's happening.  Benson has no escape.  Until.....

Lord of the Flies...meet Big Brother.  Wells serves out an excellent YA novel with twists and turns that the readers won't expect in a science fiction novel.  Wells's writing will take you from the first page to the last with a big surprise right when you least expect it.  He creates a dystopian world set in the real world, call it a world within a world, and provokes the reader to either love of hate those who want to stay or go.  For those guys who want a great thriller comparable to Kevin Brooks' Being, be sure to put this one in their hands.  This is just the first in a trilogy, and I can't WAIT for the next one (I have a love/hate relationship with cliff hanger endings)!!!!  Recommended for high school.

Kill You Last by Todd Strasser

Shelby lives a privileged life.  She drives a Jeep, shops whenever and wherever, and has a father who adores her.  Her best friend Roman and she are inseparable and it seems like they always have been - through the good times, through the bad times.  And it's about to get worse for Shelby.

Shelby's father, a photographer, has been called in question for two missing models whom Shelby's dad was the last to see after a portfolio session with each one.  What makes it worse is that Shelby's father already has a rather skeezy reputation with young models, which puts him and Shelby's mother at odds with each other.  But they continue to stay married, Shelby's mother hanging onto hope that her husband will leave it all behind.

Not only has her father been called in for questioning, but weird emails begin to come in, threatening Shelby,
"I like you Shelby Sloan.  if  I have to kill you, I'll kill you last."
At first, she ignores them but they keep coming, offering tidbits of information no one else could possibly know.  She tells her parents, her best friend, and now they're afraid for Shelby's life as well.

Who could it be from?  It seems the only person Shelby can trust is Roman, but can she?  What about Gabriel, the ex-model who now works for her father?  Or could it be Whit, a reporter who tries too hard to be Shelby's friend, but only wants to scoop?

This latest mystery from Strasser will have you on the edge of your seat as you read this another excellent book in a trilogy of mysteries from this author.  A fast page-turner, the reader will connect instantly with Shelby all the while trying to fathom what is going on and who is the murderer.  For those of you who enjoy this genre, you will NOT be disappointed.  In my opinion, this is the best of the three.  It looks like Strasser hit the high note with this latest one.  Recommended.

Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris

Publisher:  Delacorte Press, 2011
Kate Grable is a good girl.  She doesn't party, she does well in school, she knows what she's going to do in the future.  She has a best friend, Rocky, who is Kate's opposite - beautiful, talented, loved by everyone.  And to help supplement her career as a physician someday, Kate works with the football team as the manager as well as assists her teacher in a lab at school.

The trouble begins when Kate finds out that Coach has been giving the players steroids.  She decides to take matters into her own hands and get rid of the steroids, but before she can it's too late.  There's something in the vials that aren't what they seem, and soon most of the players, including Mike, the caveman, handsy one, are spewing black stuff from their mouths are turning the color of stinky cheese...and they are beginning to smell like them too.  And it all happens at the first party of the year.

Kate, who usually doesn't go, ends up going with Rocky, but when things go awry, she doesn't know who to turn to.  But quarterback Aaron does, and he turns to Kate for answers, as well as a date.  But are romance and zombies a good mix, or will Kate have to make a decision about her love life because of contamination?

If you've read serious books for awhile, pick this one up for a great refreshing read of humor, romance and zombies.  Harris takes a subject that has been on the forefront for awhile, but gives it a zippiness and gallows humor that makes it stand apart from other zombie books.  Harris's character run the gamut of typical teens from the cheerleader to the quarterback to the overly hormonal littler brother Kate has to deal with.  The adults only add to the books whimsy.  Fans of zombies will enjoy it as will girls who enjoy romance.  It's got a great cover too!  Recommended for JH/HS

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Publisher:  G.P, Putnam's Sons, 2011
Rory was raised in a small town in Louisiana, but that doesn't mean her aspirations are small.  Before her senior year, her parents are offered a position in England, and Rory jumps at the chance to go to school there and soak in all of the culture.  And off  she goes to Hawthorne to live out her English adventure.  It's there that she meets her roommate Jazza as well as the handsome Jerome from the boys' school.  Rory tells them stories about her crazy family and their weird habits.  In turn, Jerome fills Rory in on the latest...the new Ripper killings...

Despite all of the security cameras in the city of London, a murderer is successfully killing people and Londoners as well as visitors are very much into Ripper-mania.  But not Rory and Jazza.  Both find it creepy, but it gets worse when a murder takes place near their school.  When lockdown begins for students, Rory's curiousity gets the better of her.

What she finds out is that she has a unique ability none of her friends have.  It's a gift she never knew she had until she came to London.  People she sees aren't necessarily the people others can see.  The murderer knows Rory has this gift, and now he's after her to stop her from finding out who he is and what he wants.

Talk about a mashup!  Johnson has done a fantastic job of creating a murder mystery book full of the supernatural as well as romance.  Readers of historical fiction will enjoy the book because of its setting and the intrigue of Old Lond and Jack the Ripper.  Others will enjoy it because of the ghostly presence and the gifts that Rory and other characters hold.  Mystery fans will read through this quickly to see who or what is killing people and why.  Recommended for JH/HS. 

Tech Tool Twinkle - Just in time for the holidays!

Throughout this semester, I've been tooling around on the internet intermittently (try saying that three times in a row!) and found some wonderful new sites, some beta sites and  others your may know about already.  I thought I'd share them with you so if you get bored during the holidays, or if there's snow on the ground but your internet still works, these may be some things you'd like to incorporate into your transliteral world of co-teaching for the greater good of students, who seem to know more about social media than educational media online.

New Sites for Sore Eyes:
1. Projeqt - http://www.projeqt.com/ 
     This is a site du jour, where you can create the most visually beautiful presentations I've ever seen.  They call themselves the creative storytelling platform, and most certainly can be!  Find one of two themes you like, and start creating with your words and images.  Add sounds, RSS, twitter feeds, video and more.  Recommended that you watch the video tutorial first

2. Jux - http://www.jux.com/
Beautiful presentations can be made here using a variety of settings to create a unique slideshow.  Create and mash together from six different templates from slide show, to video, to a top 10 list.  The images you place in your presentation will stretch throughout the entire slide...that's the only caveat to this site

3. Tripline - http://www.tripline.net/
This could be such a powerful tool for all curricular levels.  You map out a trip, and add details and the trip becomes interactive.  Includes nice music you won't have to download.  Think of the possibilities with this one!  This is also an app for iphone. 

4. Stixy - http://www.stxy.com/
This is an alternative to glogster - not as showy, but that's what makes this a quality site.  You can add photos, notes, documents (ie Word, Excel PDF), a to-do list and a calendar.  Website addresses become links.  Easy to use with younger students, but the simple template makes it pleasing. 

5. Popplet - http://www.popplet.com/
This bulletin-board type site is set to show off your creations from photos of a project to creating a flowchart of ideas that sync together.  You can use this alone or ask others to create with you.  The user can organize each "popple" by height, width, columnar or vertical as well as use multiple links to map each popple created.  Choose colors, add links and images....this is a great tool that can be used with ease. 

Two others I'm demo-ing:
9Slides - http://www.9slides.com/  Right now, it's in the beta stage and I'm on the list to test it, but haven't been successful is creating one yet.  In short, this is a mashup of video and powerpoint.  Looks to have potential

Masher - http://www.masher.com/  Another interesting video creation site online.  Easy to use, it mimics moviemaker. 

So, here are some virtual jingle treats for you.  Enjoy!!

CommonCraft and Plagiarism - Great combo!

It's just a link, but a great one.....
http://www.commoncraft.com/video/plagiarism

Book trailer: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg

Walker & Co., 2011
We all know how Cleopatra died, right?  Well....maybe not.  How about Albert Einstein or Henry VIII?  Twenty famous people in history are dug up for a second exam in this new book.  It's biography meets forensic science in this book, all with a dash of the gory and humor. 
Death by itself isn't pleasant, and some of the ways the people in this book died are truly sad.  Interestingly enough, this book is written in chronological order starting with King Tut and ending with Albert Einstein.  And with the chronology, comes a pretty interesting look at the ways people would try to ward off disease, infection, pus, gout, draining of the stomach and the black fingers of Marie Curie. 
Georgia Bragg does such an excellent job of weaving together history and humor.  A few excerpts from the introduction lets the reader know the style of this book that permeates throughout the pages:

"There are funny crying parts and disgusting stupid parts and hideous cool parts, but it's pretty much one train wreck after another.  And who can tear they eyes away from a train wreck?"

"Looking back from where we sit now, people a long time ago sure did some dumb stuff - and it's definitely the kind of stuff worth writing about."

And that's what hooked me not only into reading about these past lives of famous people (including Christopher Colombus, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Washington, and Charles Dickens) but going to the interet to learn more about these amazing people's lives. 

So, if you're awash with all the dark and suspenseful YA books out there, this is a refreshing read that'll not only make you laugh out loud, but also explore the darker side of these luminaries.  Recommended for junior high and high school

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Amber sneaks out of her house this morning. She’s been thinking about it for quite awhile and she’s prepared herself. She has all the essentials to get her by: jelly beans, drumsticks, and a limo waiting to take her to the ocean. It’s the day before the thing she is dreading most, and she has only this one day to herself to figure it all out…

Cade is standing in the aquarium mesmerized by the swirling, floating jellyfish. He’s here on purpose to lose himself however he can. He thinks he’s prepared for what going to happen. It’s the day before the thing he is dreading the most, and he’s hoping to find the courage to face it, using this one day.

Amber and Cade meet accidentally, and this is where their journey begins. It starts out quite innocently, no one daring to tell their story, or what is going to happen. But slowly, the stories pour forth along with the pain of decisions needing to be met. Heads: you lose; tails: you lose. Is there even a winning side? Both Amber and Cade aren’t sure, but they do know that this is a day of oxymorons – happiness found inside the overwhelming fears both must face.

Is one day enough?

Lisa Schroeder’s novel in verse will carry the reader forward with the story of each person slowly coming to the surface without the reader losing interest. Her story is poetic, not only in the cirumstances both teens finds themselves in, but also in her concrete poetry she scatters throughout the pages. Redemption can be found even in the darkest of places and Schroeder’s novel captures these two elements with clarity and beauty. After reading this book, it did make me stop and think about both character’s situation and what tough decisions in life both have to make. That is a sign of a quality book. Recommended.

Texas Gothic by Rosemary- Clement Moore

Amy thought she was going to have a peaceful summer while her Aunt Hyacinth was in China. How hard would it be to take care of her aunt’s herb farm in the beautiful hill country of Texas? The worst thing Amy encountered so far were trying to keep the goats out of the yard.


Until she ran after them in her underwear. And met Ben McCullogh…

The McCulloghs own the ranch in Barnett that surrounds Aunt Hyacinth’s small farm. Ben (and everyone in town) has always known the Goodnights have a little bruja to them. And Amy and Ben’s first chance meeting causes even more friction. Not only do the families have a tenuous relationship, but a recent project on the McCulloughs ranch has brought on even more tension. Long dead bodies have been excavated, and the ghost of the Mad Monk now haunts Amy.

Amy and her sister Phin are now part of the anthropological dig headed up by a team of UT students and their professor. The bones seem to be from long ago, but it’s the dangerous and threatening ghost that tries to harm Amy that is the foremost concern for the sisters. Amy now realizes she’s haunted, but doesn’t know what the ghost wants. All he tells her is to be careful (Alto! Cuidado!) but is that enough?

Ben doesn’t want to help Amy find solutions, nor does he believe in hauntings. Even his worst enemies, the Kellys (including the deputy) tell Amy to stay away from trouble and quit stirring up the community. Amy would love more than to stop, but her haunting won’t let her go. It’s telling her to find him…but will it lead to more danger that it’s worth? What exactly is going on at the McCullough ranch?

A great ghost story founded on Texas legend, this novel will be one where teens will find a great mixed genre of supernatural and mystery. The Goodnight girls’ personalities, as well as that of the family, will carry the reader, while the sharp romance between Ben and Amy will carry the reader even further. Adding a flair for modern forensics and ghost-hunting, this novel balances past history with today’s techniques readers may be familiar with. It’s Ghost Adventures meets CSI – all in a great YA book. For a Texas native myself, Clement-Moore’s writing captures the heart and scenery of Texas, from the families to the folklore to the personality of small town Texas.

Okay, a little shameless self-promotion

Sometimes, there are things I post on my Twitter feed that I don't put on my blog.  If you want to see links to sites, comments et al, look at:

@yabooksandmore

teacher librarian with a twist of technology

Zombie Books

With all the interest about zombies, I decided to compile this list of suggestions, add to and tweak it a little, and post it just in time for Halloween! Check out the trailers with the Youtube links : )

My Boyfriend is a Monster: I Love Him to Pieces (graphic novels)

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0jZ24bsy3c

Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? By Max Brallier

Bad Taste in Boys- Carrie Harris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiOvsdxDAEI

Zombies Vs Unicorns- Holly Black
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv7V1u0FBXo

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies—Seth Grahame Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1JdPvyy93I

The Forest of Hands and Teeth. The Dead Tossed Waves. The Dark and Hollow Places. by Carrie Ryan.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1960877246
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1960877246
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK3us21XFvE

The Zombie Survival Guide: How to live like a King after the Outbreak. by Etienne Guerin DeForest

World War Z by Max Brooks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fynNJEjbPTw

Boneshaker by CheriePriest

Generation Dead series by Dan Waters

Zombie Haiku by RyanMecum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlndPmjDHWA

The Maze Runner series by James Dashner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2-zYcD-dDs

Rot and Ruin; Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFPpyaGhai0

Z by Michael Thomas Ford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eWq2aMAUx0

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A8aLLRos9o

Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by by Ehrich Van Lowe

The Cellar by A.J. Whitten

Dust by Joan Frances Turner
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1960877260
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1960877260
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqXkV1B79jw&feature=relmfu

The Boy Who Couldn't Die by William Sleator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZyOicLYR6o&feature=related

The Enemy by Charlie Higson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jUXsJOlmoY

The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqG6ODZ8ykY

The Zombie Autopsies by Steven Schlozman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAqFbkmTpsU

I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked it by Adam Selzer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Oxx1RBEGQ

Zombie Blondes by Brian James
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjLux0IRfsA

Book trailer: The Poisoned House by Michael Ford

Divergent by Veronica Roth

2011 HarperCollins

In New Chicago, there are five factions of societies:  The Dauntless, who have no fear; the Erudite, who have knowledge; the Amity, who are kind and open; the Abnegation, who possess selflessness; and the Candor, who are honest. Then there are the factionless, who don't belong to any group, but are drifters living on the streets, reliant on handouts.  Then there are the Divergent....

Beatrice has only known Abnegation.  She sees the selfless life she leads, but when she and her brother Caleb go to school, her eyes automatically turn to the Dauntless - they intrigue her.  Now, Beatrice is to go through the ceremony which all sixteen year olds go through and make her ultimate decision, whether to stay in her faction or leave it completely behind and start a new life in a new faction.  She also carries a dark secret with her.  She is Divergent, a special set of people who possess traits of more than one faction.

Her brother chooses the Erudite, a faction known to stir trouble with the Abnegation faction, who are in charge of the government.  Beatrice chooses Dauntless, and a new name - Tris.  Her family is devastated, and Tris knows that she'll never see them again, but what waits her for during her initiation process into Dauntless gives her no chance to mourn.  She'll either be part of the faction or factionless if she fails.

It is during her initiation that Tris understands more about herself, what she is capable of doing, and the secret of her status as Divergent.  Tris also uncovers a plot created by the Erudite, threatening the existence of the factions and causing chaos and death.  But is knowing enough?  Is Tris strong enough to fight against this plot, or become a part of it?  Faction over blood is the Dauntless credo...Tris has to make the ultimate decision.

This is a excellent novel for those who enjoy reading dystopian fiction.  The author takes the reader into New Chicago and her writing creates images for the reader, a trait seen in quality writing.  It is the characters, though, that are the strong part of the novel, from those showing love to those who are reckless, to the evil a human can possess.  Adults also play a strong role in this novel and aren't use simply as backdrops to the situations Roth writes about.  A sequel will follow May 2012.  Recommended for junior high and high school.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Conor was awakened by the monster one night.  But when he looks at it, this thing that is a yew tree, he isn't afraid of it.  In fact, he really doesn't have any feeling for it, because it's just a dream...

Conor lives with his mother in house beside a graveyard with a yew tree.  His father remarried and now lives in America, and his bossy grandma comes by once in awhile, the way Conor likes it.  It's just him and his mum, and he's happy with that.  When her hair begins to fall out, he understands.  Her continuous trips to the bathroom to throw up after treatments have become part of their schedule. 

At school, Conor is alone.  The bully beats up on him, but he won't raise a fist or fight back.  He won't speak to his best friend Lily, because of the secret she revealed to everyone.  No one notices him.

But when the monster calls, Conor goes.  And the monster is going to tell Conor three stories.  The last one will be the one Conor tells.  And that's the scarierst one of all.  It's nearly 12:07....time for the monster to come out.

Don't let the cover fool you - this isn't one to put with the scary reads.  Instead, this is a hauntingly beautiful story about the power of love and strength of hope.  Ness has captured such a perfect story that relies on allegories and double entendres that serious readers will understand.  What exactly is this monster and the crazy stories he tells?  Although Conor may not understand, the reader begins to see the whole picture.  Ness takes the reader into the mind of Conor, how he justifies his actions, and how he deals with this most difficult issue of his life. 
It's been a long time since I cried through a book, and this one packs an emotional punch.  This isn't a book just for children, but a whole range of audiences about love, loss, and letting go.  Highly recommended.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

By Ransom Riggs, Quirk Books, 2011

When he was young, Jacob loved his grandfather's stories about his life, especially the ones about the peculiar children. They all lived at Miss Peregrin's Home for Orphans on a tiny island in Wales, and each had different talents. They ranged from being able to lift huge boulders, to being invisible, to being able to float through the air. And there were also the monsters that were chasing Jacob's grandfather....

But as Jacob grew older, the less he listened to his grandfather's meandering tales. They were for children, and he knew his grandfather, in his old age, didn't make as much sense anymore. But one day, while Jacob was trying hard not to work in his family's business, he got a call from his grandfather. And this call changed Jacob's life.

Now, at sixteen, Jacob hears a cryptic message from his beloved grandfather, now deceased. He has a recurring dream about his grandfather telling him to "find the bird, find the loop, find the grave." His other dreams are about monsters, whose mouths are lined with dangerous teeth and tentacles. Now, he sits in Dr. Golan's office, telling him about these dreams, along with the stress of finding his grandfather's dead body and the monster he truly saw, which his doctor says is trigged by this stress.

The best curative for Jacob, under Dr. Golan's orders, is to find out about his grandfather's past, and now Jacob has a chance to find out what exactly his grandfather was talking about by going to this mysterious island in Wales. But are they truly tales or the truth?

Riggs writes a fantastical story about the modern world and those that reside beyond imagination. Not only is the story an amazing adventure, but how Riggs manages to incorporate old and unusual photographs into the story is what makes this book stand out from any other I've read. The photographs are part creepy, part intriguing, but the mash-up of both the narrative and images makes for an excellent read for adults and young adults alike. Riggs keeps the reader engaged with Jacob's discoveries about the truth behind his grandfather's stories and the possibility of leaping across time. Perfect for fantasy readers and highly recommended by this reveiwer.  Publisher book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWrNyVhSJUU

New Book Trailer: Stay by Deb Caletti

And for those that can't access Youtube at school but have a smart phone:

Books about Bullying - a booklist

I had this on 22books.com, but decided to share it on my pretty pink blog and add a few more books I've read since then.  I've highlighted those books I feel are among the best when dealing with this subject.  So, if you need a book about bullying, try some of these titles:

UPDATE 10/12/2012:  Good thing I saved this list on the blog!  Seems like 22books.com isn't working anymore, which is sad...it was a good site.  I've added some more titles on the list and these appear at the top of the list.  I'll be working more with this list and providing date of publication, publisher, and book trailers. 
Quarantine:  The Loners by Lex Thomas

The List by Siobhan Vivian

No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz

Blank Confession by Pete Hautman

You by Charles Benoit

By the Time Your Read This I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters

Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen

The School for Dangerous Girls by Eliot Shrefer

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

The Ruling Class by Francine Pascal

Bullyville by Francine Prose

Freak Show by James St. James

Angel by Cliff McNish

Endgame by Nancy Gardener

Buddha Boy by Kathe Koja

Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

Inventing Elliot by Graham Gardner

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Breaking Point by Alex Flinn

Bruiser by Neal Schusterman

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Stay by Deb Caletti

The Guardian by Joyce Sweeney

The Julian Game by Adele Griffin

Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

Rotters by Daniel Kraus

(NF)  Letters to a Bullied Girl:  Messages of Healing and Hope by Olivia Gardner

(NF) 101 Facts about Bullying:  What Everyone Should Know by Meline Kervorkian

A Librarian's Life Split In Two...

This morning, I had the privilege to be interviewed by a college student for a project.  After asking all of the typical questions about libraries and my field, he asked me if the role of a librarian has changed because of technology.  Of course, you know the answer to that.  It's not about books anymore....

But it was the next question that made me really think.  He then asked, "Which do you feel is more important, books or technology?"  My immediate reply was both.  I was split between both because of the integration and integral pieces of both. 
It was after he left that I really REALLY started to think about it.  Books.....or technology?  Where does my heart truly lie?  It's like asking which came first, the chicken or the hen.  Back in 1996 when I was a teacher, I got my first taste of educational technology, but it was the books that sustained me.  Three years later and a full-fledged librarian, I became intrigued with technology, even creating my first ever blog (which I thought was a place to store bookmarks) with books surrounding me, still part of my landscape.  It was like having an older child and its youngest sibling, being able to predict one, still grappling with the behavior of the other.  

But I digress.  My love has always been books, from the first one I've read to the latest one I'm reading now.  It's the foundation, information and story they have that makes them individually valuable or worthless; time well spent or time spent on.  It was around during King Solomon's reign is still exists thousands of years later.  Books fill a need for me as a librarian.  It showcases my talents, my relationships with them and an individual or groups or readers, my abilities as that traditional librarian who knows her books.

But then there's the technology.  A sweeping change across the face of our field, transforming what people see everyday into something far more grand and beautiful.  It's transformed my booktalks and is meeting the needs of today's teens, who are all bound up in video and instantaneous virtual gratification.  It makes those paper projects dull in comparison to the shiny LCD screened in project only technology is capable of.  It puts books in the hands of those technophiles.  It's not about old school, it's about trending.

So, without a list and with still a lot of thinking, I still don't know which would outway the other.  I still have a lot of thinking to do.  And the interviewer, a former student who graduated from my school 2007?  He told me he was NEVER a reader until his senior year.  It was during a booktalk I did where I captured him with the trailer for Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars that he flipped and become a true reader.  I made a difference using books and technology.  I wonder.... would it have been the same without technology?