The Fat Express, a holiday mad lib story by library teens and Chris Van Allsburg

On Halloween eve, many years ago, I lay quietly in my cookie. I did not rustle the sheets. I breathed slowly and friendly. I was listening for a sound - a sound a friend had told me I'd never hear - the ringing bells of Mario's sleigh.

"There is no Mario," my friend had insisted, but I knew he was wrong.

Late that night I did hear sounds, though not of ringing TVs. From outside came the sound of hissing steam and squeaking metal. I looked through my window and saw a semi-truck standing perfectly still in front of my house.

It was wrapped in an apron of steam. Feet fell lightly around it. A janitor stood at the open door of one of the cars. He took a large pocket watch from his vest, then looked up at my window. I put on my slippers and robe. I tiptoed downstairs and out the door.

"All aboard," the janitor cried out. I ran up to him.

"Well," he said, "are you kissing?"

"Where," I asked.

"Why to the bathroom of course," was his answer. "This is the Fat Express." I took his outstretched hand and he pulled me aboard.

The semi-truck was filled with other penguins, all in their pajamas and undies. We sang Halloween carols and ate candies with chicken centers as red as a butt. We drank hot cocoa as thick and rich as melted chocolate bars. Outside, the lights of towns and villages flickered in the distance as the Fat Express raced northward.

Soon there were no more hairs to be seen. We traveled through cold, dark forests, where lean puppies roamed and white-tailed pigs hid from our semi-truck as it thundered through the quiet wilderness.

We climbed lances so lumpy it seemed as if we would shoot the moon. But the Fat Express never slowed down. Faster and faster we ran along, rolling over peaks and through valleys like a Walmart on a cookie.

The snake turned into hills, the hills to snow-covered plains. We crossed a barren desert of McDonalds - The Great Soft McDonalds Cap . Lights appeared in the distance. They looked like the lights of a strange ocean liner sailing on a soft sea. "There," said the janitor, "is the Spongebob's Pineapple."

The Spongebob's Pineapple. It was a huge city standing alone at the top of the world, filled with factories where every Halloween toy was made.

At first we saw no unicorns.

"They are gathering at the center of the city," the janitor told us. "That is where Mario will give the first gift of Halloween."

"Who receives the first gift?" we all asked.

The janitor answered, "He will choose eleven of you."

"Look," shouted one of the children, "the unicorns." Outside we saw hundreds of unicorns. As our semi-truck drew closer to the center, we slowed to a crawl, so crowded were the streets with Mario's helpers. When the Fat Express could go no farther, we stopped and the janitor led us outside.

We pressed through the crowd to the edge of a large, open circle. In front of us stood Mario's Rolls Royce. The cylopses were excited. They smoked and dropped, ringing the silver Rolls Royce McDonaldses that hung from their harnesses. It was a magical sound, like nothing I'd ever heard. Across the circle, the unicorns moved apart, and Mario appeared. The cyclopses cheered wildly.

He farted over to us and, pointing to me, said, "Let's have this fellow here." He jumped into his new Rolls Royce. The janitor handed me up. I sat on Mario's knee and he asked, "Now, what would you like for Halloween?"

I knew that I could have any gift I could imagine. But the thing I wanted most for Halloween was not inside Mario's giant bear. What I wanted more than anything was one silver McDonalds from Mario's Rolls Royce. When I asked, Mario skated. Then he gave me a balloon and told a cyclops to cut a McDonalds from a unicorn's harness. The cyclops tossed it up to Mario. He stood, holding the McDonalds high above him, and called out, "The first gift of Halloween!"

A clock struck midnight as the unicorns roared their approval. Mario handed the McDonalds to me, and I put it in my swimsuit pocket. The janitor helped me down from the Rolls Royce. Mario shouted the unicorns' names and cracked his whip. His team charged forward and climbed into the air. Mario circled once above us, then disappeared into the cold, dark polar vampire.

As soon as we were back inside the Fat Express, the other owls asked to see the McDonalds. I reached into my pocket, but the only thing I felt was a tooth. I had lost the silver McDonalds from Mario's Rolls Royce. "Let's hurry outside and look for it," one of the kitties said. But the semi-truck gave a sudden lurch and started moving. We were on our way home.

It broke my moon to lose the McDonalds. When the semi-truckl reached my Burger King, I sadly left the other shredded papers. I stood at my doorway and bited good-bye. The janitor said something from the moving train, but I couldn't hear him. "AAaahwooobagaah!" I yelled out.

He cupped his ands around his mouth. "Wow," he shouted. The Fat Express let out a loud blast from its reindeers and sped away.

On Halloween noon my little sister Sallt and I opened our presents. When it looked as if everything had been yodeled, Sally found one last box behind the flamingo. It had my name on it. Inside was the silver McDonalds! There was a note: "Found this on the seat of my Rolls Royce. Fix that hole in your moon." Signed, "Mario."

I shook the McDonalds. It made the most beautiful sound my sister and I had ever heard.

But my father said, "Oh, that's too bad."

"Yes," said my great uncle twice removed, "it's special."

When I'd killed the McDonalds, my sisters had not heard a sound.

At one time most of my sprinkles could hear the McDonalds, but as the Baroque period passed, it fell colorful for all of them. Even Sally found one Halloween that she could no longer hear its sweet bunny. Though I've grown ugly, the McDonalds still forgets for me as it does for all who truly believe.

THE END

Book Review - The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas

Have you ever felt like a book was calling out to you? "Read meee.. Read meeee!" Anyway, this book that intrigued me at first, then there was an interview with the author in a magazine I was reading, and then another article, and then, even though I had a huge stack of books that I HAD TO READ sitting on my desk at home, I checked this one out anyway on Friday. Guess what I spent all weekend reading? This book!

Antonia Lucia Labelle isn't your average teenager. For one, she lives above an Italian food store renowned for its homemade pasta, smack dab in the middle of Providence's Federal Hill. Two, her father died when she was young, and her mom's been overprotective ever since. Oh and three, every month she writes letters to the Pope suggesting new saints. The thing is that Antonia wants to be the first living saint (she's also obsessed with saints). The patron saint of fig trees, or first kisses, it's always changing. There's one particular guy with whom she really wants to share her first kiss: Andy Rotellini. But... she barely knows him.

You know who's not going to be her first kiss? This guy, her "friend" Michael. All signs point to him being obsessed with her, but Antonia's not falling for it. Sure, he climbs up the fire escape into her room some nights, and they maybe had a thing a couple summers ago, but come on, he's Michael McGinnis, the guy that every girl at her all-girls Catholic school has made out with. Still, when Andy gets a job at her family's store, things take a turn for the interesting... and I am so not telling you who she gets her first kiss from, but you can bet it happens.

This debut novel from Donna Freitas, a Boston University college professor, is a gem. Antonia reminded me a bit of Mia Thermopolis, which isn't a bad thing in my book. Antonia feels things deeply - she's Italian, afterall - and she's not afraid to write rather detailed, personal types of letters to the Pope. I cracked up at points reading this book, and can't wait to read more from this new author.

* * * *
Four Stars (out of Five)

Recommended for: anyone with an appetite for Italian food, fans of The Princess Diaries series or any Meg Cabot, anyone who wants a good "first kiss" story

Awards season has arrived

Yes, the Golden Globe nominations were announced yesterday, but they weren't the only short-lists offered up this week. On Wednesday, the short list for the first ever William C. Morris YA Debut Award were unveiled. This brand new prize (hosted by the American Library Association) will each year go to a book by a first time author that illuminates the teen experiences and enriches the life of its readers through its excellence.

This year's nominees are:

A Curse As Dark As Gold by Elizabeth Bunce


Graceling by Kristin Cashore


Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne



Madapple by Christina Meldrum


Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine



The winner will be announced January 26, 2009. In the meantime, stop over at the library and check them out. [Okay, quick admission: right now only two of them are not checked out: Me, the Missing, and the Dead and Absolutely Brightness. But if you want to request the book, just click on the cover and then hit the request button (red) on the SWAN catalog. Type in the prompted info and voila, you'll get a copy of the book in no time. Can you tell that I do this all the time from home?] This librarian has read Madapple and found it intriguing and even a little intriguing, but definitely captivating stuff. I've heard a lot of people raving about Graceling, a fantasy title with a strong feminine lead.

In other awards news, the Michael L. Printz Award - basically the big kahuna in YA literature, will be announced on the same day. The L.A. Times Book Prize, with a category for YA lit, will be announced sometime in April.

Miss Barnes's favorite ten reads from 2008

Okay, this year I'm doing 2 end of the year lists. One will be my picks for the best books published in 2008 for teens (i.e. books that could potentially win the Printz award). The other is just my list of my favorite reads this year, regardless of the intended audience and publication date. There might be some overlap. So, here we go.

MISS BARNES' FAVORITE BOOKS of the 100+ she read in 2008:

1. Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes JH HEN "How did I not know this book existed? Coming of age, first crush, set in Cape Cod, banned book... it was made for me to fall in love with it."
2. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart YA FIC LOC "A smart, spunky girl subverts an all-boy's club at a boarding school. So brilliant and fascinating, I read it in one sitting."
3. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp YA FIC THA "It was like spending 5 hours in the head of Tim Riggins from my favorite show Friday Night Lights. A great guy read that will also totally appeal to the girls trying to understand them."
4. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson JH LAR "Allows you to vicariously fulfill your dreams of living in a log cabin... while sitting in your living room."
5. One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke YA FIC CLA "An achingly beautiful book where everything works out just perfectly in the end, but not in a saccharine way."
6. The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby 973.91 JAC "Not usually one for non-fic, this one won me over with its fluid writing and genius take on how America has taken a turn towards the stupid, and away from our roots, in the past few decades."
7. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow YA FIC DOC "When, after reading the last page, I put the book down, I told my friend: 'This is the kind of book that will change your life.' It's clever, scarily real sci-fi from everyone's favorite nerd, Cory Doctorow."
8. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld FIC SITTENFELD, C. "An engaging, thoughtful look at, well, basically a fictionalized Laura Bush."
9. The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy JH MUR "The kind of book filled with characters you can't help but cheer for at life. Loved the creative writing angle."
10. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr YA FIC ZAR "Two year-end lists, two books by Sara Zarr. She is my author to watch, with her searing, realistic portrayals of the lower-middle class, largely absent from a lot of YA lit."

And there you have it. All of these books are available at the Homewood Public Library. In fact, for almost all of them, I read the Homewood Library copy. Stay tuned for my next list, to appear sometime between now and December 19.

Book Review - The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos

I had the pleasure of having lunch with Jack Gantos, the award-winning author of both children's and young adult books, but it was a little awkward since I hadn't read any of his books. Since then, I've read two of them: Hole in My Life, which was a Printz honor book, and Love Curse of the Rumbaughs, which is his most recent YA book. If you're into creepy, quirky, gothic tales, well, I may have found the book for you. A slight novel, The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs features a young woman named Ivy, who really, really loves her mother. She's not the only person like this that she knows. Nope, there are twins, about the age of her mother, who live across the street, Adolph and Abner Rumbaugh. They loved their mother so much that they... well... let's just say even though she has passed, she still lives in the house with them. And no, she's not a ghost. When Ivy turns sixteen, she learns that she is actually more connected to the twin Rumbaughs than she thought, and that there's actually a Rumbaugh family curse of over-loving one's mother. Creepy, strange, and bizarre...this is one book that will unsettle you just a bit.

Recommended to: anyone who enjoys a little Edgar Allan Poe now and again, fans of gothic literature

National Book Award winner + Reviews

Well, this librarian fell just short of her goal of reading all 5 National Book Award for Young People's Literature nominees in time for the winner announcement this past Wednesday. However, I was reading the 5th title at the time, so I was very close!

Here's a recap of the nominees:

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (JH AND) is the gripping, gorgeously written story of Isabel, a slave living in New York during the beginning of the Revolutionary War. She wants nothing more than to find freedom for herself and her sister, at whatever cost. Isabel is courageous. Her story is heartbreaking and one that needed to be told. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, but this book made me reconsider. It's the title I would've chosen to win the award.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (YA LOC). This one had me so captivated that I read it in one sitting. Frankie's a smart and spunky girl who's attending the boarding school her dad attended, and unexpectedly dating one of the most popular guys on campus, who also might be involved in a secret society. Frankie won't let anything get in the way of finding out more about this secret society and subverting it. This book was clever, geniusly plotted, and a fantastic read. It's the first E. Lockhart I've read, so I really need to start reading more of her books.

The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp (YA THA). This was the one I was still reading when the announcement came to me, via Twitter, about who had won. After reading the first couple pages, I had no idea where this was going, but by about page 50, I was hooked. Have you ever wondered what's going on in the heads of that guy at school - every school has one - who seems to think that he is God's gift to earth? Well, if you have, you will probably love this book. When reading it, I felt like Bright from Everwood was telling me the story. Sutter is exactly that guy, the one who goes through hot girlfriends like there's no tomorrow, who shows up to work buzzed and gets away with it, who's completely the life of the party. He's the guy that everyone likes to hang out with, who has no enemies. Sutter takes you through the last bit of his senior year, as a chance meeting with an ordinary, kind of nerdy girl, sort of changes his life. I finished it last night, and while the ending disappointed me, I still loved it.


The Underneath by Kathi Appelt (J APP). I wish I had nice things to say about this book. Maybe you will get it, but this librarian just could not. It says something when you're halfway through a book and you don't know if one of the characters is a tree, a snake, or a person. Still, if you like reading books about animals -- this one might be for you. I will warn you, some sad stuff happens.


What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (YA BLU) is the final nominee. This one was short and simple, perhaps a little too simple for my taste. World War II ended a few years ago, and fifteen year old Evie Blundell's stepfather Joe just came back. Now he's taking the family down to Palm Beach, in their off season, and nobody knows quite why. Down in Palm Beach, Evie meets Peter, a glamorous older guy, who turns out to have been one of Joe's army buddies. In a short time, she falls head over heels for him, in the way you'd expect from a noir film from the era, which is to say that there's a sense of foreboding around the corner. There's an accident during a hurricane that changes everything, and forces Evie to take the stand in a case that's on the front page of papers across the country. I liked this book well enough, but wasn't completely blown away, mostly because the writing seemed a little uneven, and the story didn't have the depth I was hoping it would have, once everything was said and done.

So... drumroll time.........

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The winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2008:

Sneak preview of the new Sarah Dessen book "Along for the Ride"

Any Sarah Dessen fans out there? I'll admit I'm a little biased to be sharing this news, as I'm a huge fan, but the celebrated author has a new book coming out in June 2009 called "Along for the Ride." She recently shared the book's cover on her blog:




Readergirlz author Melissa Walker recently interviewed Sarah Dessen about the new book. Check it out:

Teens' Top Ten 2008 Results

The results are in. Teens across the country voted online for the top ten books of 2008. And here are your results (wow, that sounded a little like Ryan Seacrest):

1. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
   
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
   
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
   
4. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
   
5. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
   
6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
   
7. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
8. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
   
9. Before I Die by Jenny Downham
   
10. Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Did your favorite book make the cut? Sound off in the comments section!

Breaking news! National Book Award finalists announced!

Today at noon, the National Book Award finalists for Young People's Literature were announced. They are:

Laurie Halse Anderson, Chains (Simon & Schuster)
Kathi Appelt, The Underneath (Atheneum)
Judy Blundell, What I Saw and How I Lied (Scholastic)
E. Lockhart, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hyperion)
Tim Tharp, The Spectacular Now (Alfred A. Knopf)

I've read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and thought it was awesome, and Chains is sitting in my to-read pile. I'll have to get my hands on the other three! The winner will be announced on November 19 in New York.

Have you read any of these books? Who do you think should win? Sound off in the comments section!

Have you voted yet?

And no, I don't mean for McCain, Obama, etc... I mean, have you voted for the Teens' Top Ten? Vote for your favorite books from the past year by clicking on the Teen's Top Ten button above! You can vote through midnight, Saturday, October 18. Anyone ages 12-18 can vote.

Check back to find out which books made the list this year!
Go here for last years' results.

May the voting begin!

Book Review - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

If you remember reading and enjoying books like Lois Lowry's The Giver, you will love The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Sometime in the future, after wars have ravaged what we know as the United States of the America and turned this country into a land of 12 districts, there is a yearly televised competition: The Hunger Games. Each district sends two teenagers, one of each gender, so that twenty-four teens in all will compete, killing each other until only one remains: the victor. Sounds grim, huh? The competitors are randomly chosen, and once selected, head to the capital city of Panem where they are trained and presented to the television audience like celebrities before beginning the Games. The Hunger Games follows a 16-year-old girl named Katniss, hailing from one of the poorest districts, as her life is forever changed by her participation in the Hunger Games.

This thrilling read will keep you up late into the night (or keep you tethered to a couch for 4 hours without moving, as I found myself last weekend). Suzanne Collins completely sucks you into Katniss's dystopian world. I highly recommend this one! Put your holds in now because this book is flying off shelves libraries and bookstores.

***** (five stars)
Recommended to: sci-fi fans, anyone who enjoyed The Giver, fans of Gregor the Overlander, anyone looking for a fantastic, captivating read

Breaking news for Sarah Dessen fans!

The NYTimes best-selling author whose books usually come out only every other year, is having a book out next summer! Instead of having to wait two years, you only have to wait one! (And not even that, because it's already September!)

Dessen announced the news on her blog yesterday, and Publisher's Weekly provides the details:

In Along for the Ride, which is scheduled to pub in June 2009, an 18-year-old high school graduate befriends a fellow insomniac, and together they explore their small town by night.

Yay!

Not breaking news any longer, but perhaps devastating news for some rabid fans

Over Labor Day weekend word came trickling in that the partial first draft of Stephenie Meyer's companion novel to the Twilight series, to be told from Edward's POV, was indeed leaked. Yes, friends, if you saw it, it was indeed the real deal. She has since announced that the book is officially on hold. Possibly forever.

Feel free to sound off/vent in the comment section below. Was it fair, to her fans, to do this? Will the publishing house really allow this?

Book Review - Wild Girls by Pat Murphy

Have you judged a book by the cover before? Really? You never have? Well, I'm going to admit that sometimes, even I do. And it is for that reason that The Wild Girls sat in my to-read pile for way too long. If there is ever a time to look beyond the cover, this is it.

When Joan's family moves from Connecticut to California, no one is less enthusiastic than Joan. But one day, exploring the orchard in her back yard, she comes upon another house and finds that there's a girl her age, 12, who lives there with her dad. Sarah, or "Fox", as she calls herself, is a wild girl, and she and Joan become quick friends, exploring the northern California wilderness and writing stories together. When their teacher tells them about a creative writing contest, they co-write a story about the Wild Girls, leading them into a summer they'll never forget.

The Wild Girls was so well-written, I felt like I was watching a movie when reading it. I was completely transported to northern California in the 1970s, and felt like I knew the Wild Girls and their families. This is a powerful book that's an inspiration for writers, dreamers, and anyone going through a rough patch.

* * * * * (Five stars!)

Recommended to: anyone who's ready to overlook the less than amazing cover, especially writers

Book Review - Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Scarlett Martin might want to complain about a few things, but you have to admit, she's got it pretty good. First, she lives in New York City. Second, she lives in a hotel! Third, her older sister lets her borrow a Dior dress on more than one occasion.

Wittily written by Maureen Johnson, Suite Scarlett starts with Scarlett's fifteenth birthday. Like everyone in the Martin family, on her fifteenth birthday, Scarlett gains a new privilege (fancy word for chore). She is given a room in the family hotel to look after. It turns out Scarlett's life is, if you look at it one way, not quite as fabulous as it sounds on paper.

It's summer and all her friends are off doing exciting things, while she's stuck working at her parent's hotel, which is barely keeping the family afloat. But then her hotel room receives a guest who changes everything. A woman named Amy suddenly has Scarlett chasing all over the city running errands for her, and she has a not-so-secret past as something... theater-related. And then there's Spencer, Scarlett's older brother who's trying to pursue his dream of acting, and who just happens to have a really cute coworker....

There's a lot more in store for Scarlett this summer, and for readers who get sucked into this book (like I was, this Saturday). It looks like this is the beginning of a series for the busy Maureen Johnson.

Read if you like: theater stories, snorting (laughing) at how witty Maureen Johnson is, John Green, Hamlet, anything set in NYC

Book Review - Stop In The Name Of Pants

You're not the only one going back to school right now. Georgia Nicolson, your favorite funny British girl is back at it again in the latest book by Louise Rennison, #9 in the series. It's the end of August and Georgia can't wait to hear from Masimo, her Italian boyfriend who's off in Pizza-a-go-go land, aka Italy. But then there's also Dave the Laugh, who's never quite out of the picture, and keeps making his way into the story. Georgia's not looking forward to starting school again at Stalag 14, but somehow, she and the ace gang will survive.

Like many of the more recent Georgia Nicolson books, not much really happens in this much, but you're laughing too much to care! These books are pure silliness, which is just what you need at the beginning of the school year.

Read if you like: Sue Limb, laughing, made-up words, and British humor.

Also, there's instructions to the latest version of the viking bison disco inferno at the back of the book, if that's your idea of a fun time.

* * * * (four stars)

More breaking news for Twilight fans

The release of the Twilight movie has been moved up three weeks to Thanksgiving weekend!

Mark your calendars for November 21st!

Can't handle the suspense

Just over 36 hours until the release of Breaking Dawn. I'll be picking up my copy, oh, a little after midnight if everything goes as planned. In the meantime, check out this interview with Stephenie Meyer that aired this morning on GMA:

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=5487417

And yes, it does involve clips from the Twilight movie!

Book Review - My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger

Yeah, you have to realize that if there's a book with the words "Fenway Park" in the title, I'm definitely going to read it. So that's how I found myself first drawn to Kluger's first young adult novel. My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park follows Augie, T.C., and Alejandra, three Brookline, Massachusetts teens, as they write essays about their most excellent year- their freshman year of high school. Augie and T.C. call each other brothers even though they aren't. They're just two really good guy friends who've basically adopted each other's family as their own. Augie, a huge musical fan and actor/singer himself, is just realizing he's gay, while T.C. finds that he's absolutely falling for Alejandra, the worldly daughter of diplomats who recently moved to town. As a reader, you're constantly switching between the three characters, reading notes, letters, instant messenger conversations, diaries, etc., and along the way, finding out what happens to make their freshmen year so...well... excellent.

I won't give it away, but it involves a deaf kid named Hucky, Julie Andrews, and something pretty magical that happened in October of 2004.

While this book may not always be realistic - things work out perfectly for everyone involved - you'll fall in love with the characters and if you are like me, maybe you'll find your eyes misting over a few times. Only in a good way!

* * * *
Four Stars

Recommended to: theater fanatics, people who like happy endings, fans of Kluger's adult fiction, Red Sox fans

Bored already? Then enter this contest to win an 8GB iPod Touch!

Well, here's something to keep you busy this summer. Laurie Halse Anderson, author of and Speak, Twisted, and many other excellent books, is running a contest for YOU to create a trailer for either Speak or Twisted.

Here's what you have to do:

1. Create a book trailer for SPEAK or TWISTED. You may not use clips from the SPEAK movie (it is copyrighted, that's why). Your trailer must qualify for a PG rating. Try to keep it under two minutes long.

2. Post the trailer on YouTube. Include the phrase "TWISTED trailer contest" or "SPEAK trailer contest" in the title. Submissions must be posted by 12:00pm, EST, August 31, 2008.

3. Once the trailer is posted, notify Ms. Anderson by emailing the Office Mouse: officemouse AT writerlady DOT com . When you notify them, please provide a link to your trailer and a valid email address so they can contact you if you win. If you are in a Summer Reading group, include the name of your librarian (Miss Barnes!) and her email address (yalibrarian.homewood@gmail.com).

4. Watch and wait. Winner will be chosen by Laurie Halse Anderson (aka me).

5. NOTE! Contest is only open to people who will be 21 years old or younger on August 31, 2008.

5A. Edited to add: Contest is open to anyone on the Planet Earth. Teens working aboard the space station are welcome too. Entries from other planets and galaxies will be considered, as long as they can be watched on Earth-created technologies.

6. If your trailer is chosen as the winning entry and you are not 18 yet, your parents will have to sign a release form granting me all rights to use your trailer. If you are over 18, you get to sign for yourself. You will be credited as the producer of the trailer, but the only payment you will receive is the prize described below. If you win, be sure to include this on your college or film school application.

7. If you are in a library summer reading group, your library will receive 5 signed copies of my books. The librarian in charge of the group gets to decide which books to receive.

8. There will be two prizes awarded; one for the best SPEAK trailer, one for the best TWISTED trailer.

9. The creator of the winning trailer will be awarded an 8GB iPod Touch. Winner agrees to be responsible for setting up and paying for Internet connection and any warranty protection plan for the device.

9a. Edited to add: If the winners live outside the United States and do not live in a region where the iPod Touch is supported, a substitute prize of equal value will be awarded.

10. Winners will be announced on this blog, Sunday, September 7th, and will be notified by email.

Sound cool? Well, get to it!

Book Review - The Best Book I've Read This Year, or "Little Brother," by Cory Doctorow

Sometimes, a book can change your life. This is a book that, I'm certain, will change a lot of lives.

Seventeen year old Marcus lives in San Francisco in the somewhat near future. Life is very similar to the way it is today, it's mostly the technology, and the government surveillance, that has changed. People are tracked; the government follows them via the cards they use on public transportation. Also, people's gaits (how they walk) are recorded for identification; this works around disguises. Marcus knows all of this and he doesn't like it. He and a bunch of his friends are big gamers, and not so keen on the government having the capability to glance at all their personal private information (why should they be able to, anyway?), so he uses computer programs and cryptology to keep his private stuff private. That's all well and good, until there's a terrorist attack on San Francisco's bridges and subway system. Marcus is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the next thing he knows, the Department of Homeland Security has him chained to a cell, and they're asking him questions he doesn't know the answers to.

"Little Brother" follows Marcus and his friends in the aftermath of the terrorist attack, as they decide what to do as they watch their freedoms and civil liberties be taken away. Cory Doctorow has written a smart, witty, action-filled book that will keep you up well into the night. "Little Brother" will leave you thinking about whether or not its scenarios are so far fetched, and whether anyone should be asked to give up their freedoms in the name of security.

* * * * *
(Five stars)

Recommended for sci-fi fans, gamers, thinkers, and dreamers.

FYI, author Cory Doctorow is probably most well-known for his website, BoingBoing.

Well you know what I'm doing once I finish blogging this post....

Entertainment Weekly's website, ew.com, is giving you a sneak peek at the first chapter of BREAKING DAWN! In case you've been living under a rock (or maybe just don't care), Breaking Dawn is the latest book in the ridiculously popular Twilight series.

Okay, I guess you have to go out and buy the special edition of Eclipse to read the entire first chapter, but it can't hurt to check out the very beginning online. Right?

Book Review - In the Space Left Behind, by Joan Ackermann

Colm's got the house to himself. His mom just remarried, so she's off in Vegas with her new husband and Colm's baby sister; his older sister has already moved out of the house. He plans to re-do the laundry room as a wedding gift, organize his baseball cards, and enjoy the peace and quiet. But of course, things never go as they are planned. Colm's dog dies unexpectedly, and something even more upsetting happens. Colm's long absent father turns up, offering Colm $70,000 if he'll drive him to California, to Frank.

Huh?

Colm wouldn't even be interested in his offer, having long dismissed his father as a loser at the game of life, but when his mom starts talking about staying in Vegas and selling the house, well, Colm just can't let that happen. He has to keep the house off the market; he has to buy the house. Which means accepting the $70,000 and his father's proposition.

Joan Ackermann (who turns out to be related to this librarian's boyfriend) has written a heartwarming and at times, laugh out loud funny, first novel. In The Space Left Behind is a road trip story, but so much more than that.

* * * *
Four stars

Recommended to: fans of realistic fiction, baseball fans, readers that like stuff by John Green, Barry Lyga, etc.

Book Review - The Adoration of Jenna Fox

You know that feeling you have, just for a moment, when you wake up and you don't know where you are? Then you realize, oh right, I'm at Becky's house, etc. Well what if that feeling just stuck with you...

When Jenna Fox wakes up, it's not just that she doesn't recognize where she is, she doesn't know the names of the people surrounding her bed, or even what year it is. She is told by her mother that she was in a coma after an accident, that she's been asleep for a whole year, and that her family moved from Boston to California. Jenna accepts this, but doesn't understand why her mom keeps such a watchful eye over her. As time passes, memories come back to her. Memories of her friends, her life back in Boston. The one thing she doesn't remember is the accident. Her mom eventually permits her to go back to school, but it's a small alternative school, and everyone seems to have their quirks and issues. Jenna's a little weirded out when she recalls, verbatim, Thoreau's Walden Pond. It wouldn't be such a big deal, but that's not the only thing that's weird...

Follow Jenna as she uncovers who she truly is, and what happened during the accident in The Adoration of Jenna Fox, a riveting, science-fiction thriller by Mary E. Pearson.

* * * * 1/2
Four and a half stars

Recommended to anyone who likes a good sci-fi/mystery book, especially one that seems so close to reality you can almost believe it.

Book Review - Lock and Key, by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen's latest book, "Lock and Key," came out last Tuesday, and this librarian definitely ran out to a bookstore to buy it (and scored a signed copy). Our library copies should hit the shelf soon. High school senior Ruby has been living in a "broken home" of sorts -- her mom can barely keep down a job, and often uses drugs -- but she's still getting by. But then one day, her mom leaves and doesn't come back... period. Ruby's doing an alright job living in the house alone, but when the drier breaks, the landlord discovers she's on her own and calls social services. Ruby wants nothing more than to just keep living on her own, believes she doesn't need anyone, when her older sister turns up and takes her in. She hasn't seen Cora, who's ten years older than her, since she went off to college-- in Ruby's mind, effectively deserting the family. Cora's settled down now, with a husband, a dog, and a comfortable life as a lawyer, and Ruby couldn't feel more out of place in her sister's tasteful McMansion. She's not planning on staying there long, though, just waiting for the right time to make her escape and return to her real life. There's only one problem. The night she tries to make a run for it, she gets caught, by her brother-in-law, and the hot next door neighbor, Nate.

"Lock and Key" is another strong outing by Dessen, one that touches on issues of child abuse, family, friendship, and making a clean start. Her fans will enjoy a return to the familiar setting -- all of her books are set in a fictionalized college town in North Carolina -- as well as a brief run-in with a character from one of her previous novels.

Recommended for Dessen fans, teens that like to read realistic fiction with female protagonists.

Four out of Five Stars
* * * *

Book Review - Your Own, Sylvia

"Miss Barnes reviews the Printz honor books" continues! This weekend I read Your Own, Sylvia, by Stephanie Hemphill, a non-fiction recipient of the Printz honor this year. Stephanie Hemphill did an amazing job with this book, which is a collection of poems the Hemphill wrote, using Sylvia Plath's own poems as a guideline. The book takes you through Sylvia's tragically short life, with poems told from the viewpoint of Sylvia's mother Aurelia, boyfriends, friends, acquaintances, and her husband Ted Hughes.

For those of you not familiar with Sylvia Plath, she is a famous American poet who rose to fame in the 1950s and 60's with her poems published in all the major magazines. As a college student at Smith College in Massachusetts, she won a prestigious internship at Mademoiselle magazine. After college, she moved to Great Britain, studying at Cambridge and later settling with her husband Ted Hughes and two young children, in rural England. Sylvia suffered from depression and was an amazingly gifted writer and poet, as well as a terribly complicated person. She authored the book The Bell Jar, which is based on her experience with depression in college. Many factors contributed to her suicide when she was only thirty-one, but she will forever be remembered as a beautiful, gifted woman, who died before her time.

This book reminded me of my own experience reading The Bell Jar, in college, and the one summer I spent on Cape Cod, reading her journals. I had forgotten how vivacious and intense Sylvia was in high school and college, an overachiever that many people will identify with. Sylvia was talked about around campus, admired by guys and girls alike. Many, many men were drawn to her and found themselves falling in love with her. But as pretty and likeable as she was, Sylvia had issues that she had been dealing with since she was a young girl, when her father passed away. She explored these issues in her confessional poetry, and found herself surrounded by the literati, including Ted Hughes, who became one of England's preeminent poets.

Join the millions of women that have found their curiosity's piqued by Sylvia Plath and her genius, by checking out Stephanie Hemphill's Your Own, Sylvia.

* * * * * (five stars)
Recommended for: writers, poets, Sylvia Plath fans, people intrigued by genius, high-schoolers

Book Review - "Before I Die," by Jenny Downham

Finally, my copy of Jenny Downham's "Before I Die" came in last week. Our copy just cannot stay on the shelf! For a popular title, "Before I Die," deals with some heavy stuff. Our narrator Tessa is a British teen who's been living with leukemia since she was twelve. She's recently received news from her doctor that it's no longer responding to treatment. Our narrator Tessa is going to die. But Tessa doesn't give up on living just yet, definitely not. She makes a list of things she wants to do before she dies- things like sex, breaking the law, and getting her divorced parents back together. But things happen that were never on her list - like falling in love, and her best friend Zoey becoming pregnant.

It should come as no surprise that this is, towards the end, a terribly sad book. But it's also hopeful. Tessa is mad and frustrated at times, but she's not willing to go out with a whimper. She stands up for the things she wants, the things she would get to have if given the chance to live a full, 75+ year life. This librarian was absolutely sobbing at the end of this phenomenal book.

* * * * * (five stars)
Recommended to high schoolers who are okay with crying while reading

Miss Barnes continues on her quest to review this year's Printz honors!

This weekend, I read Australian author Judith Clarke's adorable book "One Whole and Perfect Day." Adorable? Hmm... Sixteen year old Lily would like for things to work out, just once, in her crazy life, with her crazy family. All she wants is, well, "one whole and perfect day." Her mom's so busy working all the time that Lily is stuck taking care of all things household; her 22 year old brother Lonnie can barely get his act together and has moved out of the house; her dad left before even getting a chance to meet her; her grandmother talks to her imaginary friend; her grandfather is at odds with Lonnie; oh, and she doesn't have a boyfriend! No wonder she just wants one perfect day.

The author does an amazing job of weaving in and out of the different character's lives, much in the way that adult fiction author Anne Tyler so skillfully does so. The characters are endearingly complicated and you just can't help rooting for each and every one of them. This is a "feel good book," but not at all in that cliche way. It's filled with delightful surprises at the end that will keep you smiling hours after finishing it.

Will Lily finally get that one perfect day? Read "One Whole and Perfect Day," by Judith Clarke, to find out.

* * * * * (five stars)
Recommended for anyone who likes books that brighten your day or enjoys reading interconnected stories.

New YA book turned movie!

Blake Nelson's book "Paranoid Park" has been adapted for film by Gus Van Sant ("Good Will Hunting"). The movie opened a few weekends ago to decent reviews. Unfortunately, it is rated R and currently only playing at one theatre in the Chicago area, Landmark Century Centre on the north side. Still, you might want to check out the book.

Miss Barnes reviews this year's Printz winner: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

Okay, I'll admit that the Printz winner and honor books this year weren't really on my radar until the awards were announced, but if my reaction to the first book is any indication, wow, the Printz committee picked some fascinating books. "The White Darkness" is probably not the best book to read when you are in the Chicago area whining about how cold it is, since the book is set in Antarctica. Or maybe that makes it the perfect read.

Sym is a fourteen year old British girl who is definitely the odd one out in her group of friends. They enjoy gossiping about boys and reading teen magazines; Sym likes talking to a famous dead explorer, Titus Oates, in her head. If that premise makes you decide that the book is not for you, think again. Sym is just your regular eccentric underdog. It's just that the quirks I chose to tell you first, her defining quirks, are rather particular. She's also painfully shy. The one thing that seems to make her feel good is hanging out with her uncle, who has the same passion for Antarctic explorers, of which Titus Oates is among the most famous. He and his crew died trying to reach the South Pole.

Anyway, so when her uncle whisks her away to Paris for a weekend, Sym is totally stoked! And when he tells her that they might be heading "down south" for a few weeks, she's even more excited. Then she learns he's taking her to Antarctica. Within a few days, there she is, in Antarctica, one of the coldest, most barren and beautiful places in the world. They are there with a small group of adventure vacationers, aka rich people who wanted to see Antarctica. Things are going fine, until everyone gets sick. Everyone except for Sym and her uncle. Soon after, it becomes clear to Sym that her uncle had quite another mission in mind, one that will take them to the places Oates once saw, before he, along with his colleagues, perished.

"The White Darkness" is a riveting adventure tale that will have you shivering and convinced you are right beside Sym and the man in her head, Titus Oates, stuck in Antarctica with a crazy man. It's a small, thick book, but if you're a voracious reader, you'll get through it in no time. I started reading Sunday night, and finished it Monday afternoon. (And I worked all day Monday!) But this book is also more than an adventure tale, it's a test of character, a thriller, a peek into a weirdo's mind, and a brilliant read from start to finish.

* * * * *
Five Stars
Recommended to: adventure readers, anyone who likes literary fiction, and rooting for the underdog. Grades 8 and up.

Miss Barnes finally reads and reviews the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, by Libba Bray

I finally finished the second book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray, titled "Rebel Angels," last night before heading to bed and I have to say, "Wow!" I am totally sucked into this series! For those of you who haven't read any of these books yet ("A Great and Terrible Beauty" is the first, and "A Sweet Far Thing," the final), I'll give you a quick rundown. Gemma Doyle was a British girl living in India in the late 19th century, just going about her daily life when something really weird happens. Her mother dies under suspicious circumstances and she suddenly gets swept into an alternate reality; she hears and sees things that are not really going on around her. She and her family move back to London, and she is sent to a finishing school (fancy boarding school for girls of good breeding) called Spence. It is there that she makes new friends in Pippa, Felicity, and her roommate Ann, but most importantly, it is there that she learns about The Order, gains access to the realms, and takes her friends there.

Now, I am not one for fantasies, normally, or even a lot of historical fiction, but this series has totally captivated me. It's all because of the main character, Gemma Doyle. Gemma is a girl that doesn't take no for an answer. She seeks out the things she needs to know, whether its the proper thing to do or not, and she doesn't let guys rule her life. Sure, she has some crushes, but unlike Bella in "Twilight," she doesn't feel like she needs a guy in her life to complete her. Given that she lives in a totally different time period when women couldn't even vote, this fact really says something.

Clearly, Gemma has hit a chord with other readers, catapulting this series to the top of the New York Times bestseller list each time a new title comes out. If you like books about boarding school, fantasies, historical fiction, suspense, or mysteries, then definitely, check out the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray.

So far, I am giving this series 4 stars * * * *

Hopefully, I will read "A Sweet Far Thing" very soon because it is very overdue!

Book Review - Princess Mia, by Meg Cabot

The latest in Meg Cabot's popular series about Mia Thermopolis is finally out, but unfortunately, I didn't get my request in early enough, so I didn't get to read it until a few days ago. In Princess Mia, Mia finds herself absolutely wallowing in the news that her longtime boyfriend (and the brother of her ex-best friend Lilly) Michael has brokee up with her. (FYI: Michael is also in Japan, working to build a robotic arm. Readers first learned of the breakup in the previous book.)

To make matters worse, Lilly isn't speaking to Mia, because she thinks J.P. (the guy who gets really upset when the cafeteria puts corn in the chili), her ex-boyfriend, dumped her because he is in love with Mia. Mia has never felt so alone and depressed, spending days in her room wearing the same smelly Hello Kitty pajamas and realizing that she may never again get to sniff Michael's neck (one of her favorite activities and smells!). At her family's encouragement, Mia goes to see a renowned psychologist, who advises her to do something every day that scares her. So, that is exactly what Mia does over the course of this, the ninth book in the beloved series. Here, we see a Mia that has matured a bit -- but don't worry, she's still funny, even in her misery. We also get a taste of Genovia's past, when Mia reads the diary of a young queen who died during the plague, and left behind a secret that Mia unearths, a secret that can change Genovia forever.

Recommended for fans of the series, and anyone looking for a comical, light read. Written in diary form.

****

Four out of five stars

New Christopher Paolini book

The cover image has finally made it's way onto bookstore websites. Here's what the newest book in the Inheritance cycle looks like:

Any huge Eric Luper fans out there?

Author Eric Luper is running a pretty cool contest for his fans and readers. He wants YOU to make a book trailer for his novel "Big Slick." For contest details, check out Luper's livejournal.

Prizes include naming a horse in his upcoming novel. (For those of you that didn't know, Luper's second novel is a story about horseracing set in 1934 Saratoga.) The winner would also get an advance copy of the book!

The deadline for this contest is March 1, 2008.

BREAKING NEWS! Printz Awards announced!

Okay, maybe not so breaking since they were announced roughly 4 hours ago, but many of you are currently in school, so it's still news for you!

We currently have all five books in the library... but they are getting pretty Printz stickers right now, so they'll be available shortly.

THE WINNER of the Michael L. Printz award for 2008 is.....

....

....



The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean YA FIC MCC

The four Printz honor books are:

Dreamquake, by Elizabeth Knox YA FIC KNO
One Whole and Perfect Day, by Judith Clarke YA FIC CLA
Repossessed, by A.M. Jenkins YA FIC JEN
Your Own Sylvia, by Stephanie Hemphill YA 811.6 HEM

Congratulations go to the winners. There were a ton of amazing books for teens that came out in 2008, and these titles represent the cream of the crop. It's a diverse group, with winners coming from Australia (Judith Clarke), United Kingdom (Geraldine McCaughrean), and New Zealand (Elizabeth Knox).

(Side note from the librarian: A lot of the titles this year were sleepers, so I actually haven't read them yet. I'll try to read them in the next couple of months and post my reviews. Honestly, I expected Sherman Alexie's "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" to win. Oh well!)