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Adult Books 4 Teens: February 2013

SLJ — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:07:29 +0000

FICTION

BLOCK, Francesca Lia. The Elementals. 320p. St. Martin’s. 2012. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00549-6. LC 2012028277.
Adult/High School–Block’s latest is a perfect example of the “new adult” trend. While she is best known for Weetzie Bat (Harper, 1989) and its sequels, which won her the Margaret A. Edwards award, she has also written adult novels throughout her career, and this book straddles both age groups. Ariel and her friend Jeni had planed on attending UC Berkeley together, but when Ariel can’t go on a college visit due to her mother’s illness, Jeni goes without her and promptly disappears. Ariel decides to head to Berkeley anyway, as much to locate Jeni as to further her education. Once there, her search for her friend at first overtakes her life but then leads her to a beautiful mansion and the three older students who live there. Despite warnings from classmates and her own conscience, she can’t seem to stay away. Many of Block’s common themes are present–California as a place of ethereal mystery, damaged girls, slightly magical creatures, and unusual familial arrangements, complete with a baby. Most of the book reads very much like a young adult novel, and there are just a few instances of erotic sex that probably pushed the publication from teen to adult.–Jamie Watson, Baltimore County Public Library, MD

DEBORDE, Rob. Portlandtown: A Tale of Oregon Wyldes. 384p. Griffin: St. Martin’s. 2012. pap. $15.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00664-6.
Adult/High School–This paranormal Western features an undead man searching for his gun, a book of spells whose author is trying to retrieve it, the possessor of the book who is gradually succumbing to its power, a marshal who is digging up graves but can’t remember why, and the psychically skilled Wylde family. These characters come together in a story that is as creepy as it is enjoyable. The Hanged Man is an outlaw who was hung for his crimes and buried, but he didn’t die thanks to a curse from the wayward spell book. With the assistance of a man also bound by the curse, he makes his way out of the grave. They head to Portland, determined to retrieve the Hanged Man’s legendary gun that never misses and never needs reloading. This sets in motion a series of paranormal events coinciding with the Portland rain festival, which is relying on some otherworldly elements of its own. The rain festival turns into something bigger, wetter and more terrifying than anyone could have imagined; the dead are rising as quickly as the waters. This skillful blend of Old West, mystical activity, and other disparate elements works well. Though the ending leaves open the possibility of a sequel, this is still a satisfying novel. Fans of paranormal fiction will appreciate Portlandtown‘s innovative storytelling, a refreshing change in a genre that often lacks originality.–Carla Riemer, Claremont Middle School, CA

GREAVES, C. Joseph. Hard Twisted. 304p. Bloomsbury. 2012. Tr $25. ISBN 978-1-608-19855-9.
Adult/High School–Lottie Garrett, 13, is not ignorant of the ways of the world as she has been hoboing around dustbowl era Texas with her alcoholic father, but certainly by today’s standards she is naïve and an innocent when she meets Clint Palmer, who is in his late 30s. Lottie is forced via coercion or rape into Clint’s web, his bed, and ultimately his murderous crime spree. The remarkably accurate historical voice, including trial excerpts that start each chapter, will draw teens into this beautifully written fictionalized account of real western murders. Readers will hunger to know more of Lottie’s motives and thoughts as she seems relegated to the background of her own story, which seems appropriate to the ways in which girls and women were seen at the time. So, too, will the use of racial slurs jolt at first, but ultimately the language enriches the feeling of being there, in the West of the 1930s. The story crosses from Texas and Oklahoma to New Mexico and Utah. Lottie becomes pregnant and loses a baby, and Clint goes from somewhat charming to ever more scary and dangerous, and readers will hang on to the bitter end, trying to figure out exactly what happened and what will become of Lottie.–Jake Pettit, American School Foundation, Mexico City

MCEWAN, Ian. Sweet Tooth. 304p. Nan A. Talese. 2012. Tr $26.95. ISBN 978-0-385-53682-0.
Adult/High School–In 1972, young English women had restricted opportunities in the professional world. Thus 22-year-old Serena Frome, a new MI5 recruit, is intrigued when she is plucked from lower-level clerical work for a role in a secret operation. Serena has three important qualifications for the job: She is beautiful, intelligent, and a voracious reader. Her role is to find a promising young writer and offer a fake grant from a fake foundation that will allow the writer to concentrate on producing a book. The underlying intention of the operation is to sway popular culture away from communist influences, still a vital threat in the continuing Cold War. Serena selects writer Tom Haley as her mark, after obsessing over his wonderful and strange short stories. Their first meeting ends in Serena’s bed, beginning a passionate love affair always overshadowed by the truth of Serena’s covert mission. McEwan immerses readers in this bleak era of English history, replete with its inherent anxiety over Cold War fears, the stubborn oil crisis, and escalating violence in Northern Ireland. His extraordinary storytelling, nuanced with secrets and twists aplenty, blends wit and literary allusions without pomposity, making it accessible to readers of all backgrounds. Although the espionage element makes this novel an excellent recommendation for Tom Clancy fans, there are also strong currents of mystery, historical fiction, and romance. Offer this one to sophisticated teens looking for an absorbing, literary novel.–Diane Colson, Palm Harbor Library, FL

MATHIS, Ayana. The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. 243p. Knopf. 2012. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-0-385-35028-0. LC 2012010779.
Adult/High School–In 1925, Hattie, 17-years-old and newly transplanted from rural Georgia to Philadelphia, loses her babies, twins, to pneumonia. This early tragedy combined with her disappointing marriage to August, the country boy she only dated to spite her mother, changes Hattie. The remaining chronological chapters read like connected short stories, each one introducing one or two of Hattie’s nine living children, all touched by her anger and distance. Floyd, a trumpeter, fears his homosexual tendencies when he sees the vicious treatment others receive. Six, physically scarred by a fire, becomes a tent preacher after he is sent south at age 15 to escape prosecution for almost killing another boy. The focus never shifts far from Hattie. In one chapter, she finds love with another man, and tries to run away with him. Bell, a teenager scarred by knowledge of her mother’s affair, later exacts a revenge that doubles back and almost kills her. In the next chapter, Hattie prepares for the ultimate sacrifice–giving her youngest daughter away to her sister Pearl and a more comfortable life down south. Although most of her children’s issues originate in their youth, in reaction to their mother’s harsh treatment, their concerns are largely adult. However, even as adults they struggle to find their way. Each chapter focuses on moments of transition, momentous decisions, or actions that determine their ultimate fate. This book is recommended to teens for its accessible writing, the author’s skill at juggling multiple dramatic stories and characters within a transparent structure, and for what these (never didactic or cliché) stories reveal of growing up poor and African American in 20th century America.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

ROORBACH, Bill. Life Among Giants. 333p. Algonquin. 2012. Tr $24.95. ISBN 978-1-616-20076-3. LC 2012016965.
Adult/High School–When 17-year-old David “Lizard” Hochmeyer’s parents are gunned down in front of him, it is only one link in a chain that connects his family with that of the neighbors across the way in the palatial “High Side”: a famous (now-dead) rock star named Dabney and his ballerina wife, Sylphide. Moving back and forth between his teenage years in 1970s suburban Connecticut, his stint as a professional quarterback, and his post-football career as a restaurateur, Lizard narrates this tale of con artists, greed, love affairs, insanity, revenge, and exquisite cooking. Both Lizard’s and his sister Kate’s lives are dominated by the fact of their parents’ deaths, and by their respective obsessions with the residents of High Side. Lizard finds it difficult to have a permanent relationship because he is still fixated on Sylphide. Kate is certain that she knows the truth of a conspiracy behind their parents’ and Dabney’s deaths; Lizard is less certain, until the day his father’s former boss and the man Lizard recognizes as the shooter walk into Lizard’s restaurant together. When he discovers that the shooter is connected with Dabney and Sylphide, he ecomes involved in a scheme to get revenge and find out the full truth about his father’s life and death. Full of memorable characters, this is an intriguing mystery as well as a moving coming-of-age story, comically absurd at times and touchingly tragic at others. Recommend it to older teens who like John Irving or Richard Russo or are just looking for a well-written, character-driven novel.–Sarah Flowers, formerly at Santa Clara County Library, CA

VILLALOBOS, Juan Pablo. Down the Rabbit Hole. tr. from Spanish by Rosalind Harvey. 75p. Farrar. 2012. pap. $12. ISBN 978-0-374-14335-0. LC 2011048052.
Adult/High School–Tochtli is the motherless child of a Mexican drug lord. Because his life is circumscribed by the walls and guarded gates of a villa compound in the mountains, he has met few people and has no friends. He spends his time almost entirely on his obsessions: a collection of hats, the honor of Samurai warriors, his dictionary, the Liberian pygmy hippopotamus he wants for his zoo, and the ways bodies become corpses. He is also a keen observer of his father, Yolcaut, and the henchmen, prostitutes, and corrupt politicians who populate his home. A precocious innocent coming of age is insulated within a world of violence, corruption, wealth and death, and Tochli remains unaware of the psychopathy that envelops him. He only knows that certain words from his dictionary fit his experience: “pathetic,” “disastrous,” “sordid,” “devastating.” While this novella details the illegal procurement of hippos for Tochtli’s exotic zoo, it is also an allegory about the impact of the drug war and its public violence on Mexico–the names of the characters derive from Mexico’s indigenous language, Nahuatl (Tochtli means ‘rabbit’ and Yolcaut means ‘rattlesnake’). Villalobos dispatches simple words with the precision of a marksman to create a powerfully disturbing novella that teens will find accessible, dark, humorous, and provocative. Teachers will discover a literary tool that expands the discussions of perception versus reality in the context of the drug war that continues to plague Mexico and its people.–John Sexton, Greenburgh Public Library, NY

WRIGHT, Camron. The Rent Collector. 288p. Shadow Mountain. 2012. Tr $22.99. ISBN 978-1-60907-122-6.
Adult/High School–In a contemporary story of hardship and hope, guilt and forgiveness, 29-year-old Sang Ly lives with her devoted husband, Ki, and her sickly baby, Nisay, at Stung Meanchey, an enormous municipal waste dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Sang Ly and Ki are trash pickers, eeking out an existence by salvaging recyclables. The couple dreads the monthly visit of Sopeap Sin, the drunken, ill-tempered rent collector. But when Sang Ly discovers that Sopeap can read, she asks to learn and a tenuous friendship develops. Hoping to give her son a better life, she studies her lessons intently. As she works with her unpredictable but motivating teacher, Sang Ly uncovers Sopeap’s improbable past as a teacher and lover of literature and as a traumatized victim of the Khmer Rouge 1970′s reign of terror. When Sopeap disappears, Sang Ly’s understanding of Sopeap enables her to find the dying rent collector and to help her find redemption. Metaphoric dreams, fables, proverbs, and literary references are effectively woven into Sang Ly and Sopeap’s dual stories of salvation. Sopeap opens Sang Ly’s eyes to the heroes and positive aspects of her wasteland home. And, Sang Ly brings Sopeap face to face with a family that has haunted her life. Inspired by the lives of real people living in Stung Meanchey, Wright infuses this story with cultural nuance and authenticity. Initially, Sang Ly’s eloquent narration seems inconsistent with the limited realities of her life, but her engaging voice gains credibility as her compassionate, literary relationship with Sopeap unfolds. Through Sang Ly and the rent collector, readers will discover a wealth of insights: the lingering ravages of war, the common bonds of humanity, and the uplifting power of literature.–Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC

NONFICTION

LE GUIN, Ursula K. Finding My Elegy: New and Selected Poems. 196p. Houghton. 2012. Tr $22. ISBN 978-0-547-85820-3. LC 2012016363.
Adult/High School–The author of the “Earthsea Cycle” and of highly regarded works of science fiction began publishing poetry in 1959. This volume collects 70 selections from 6 earlier books and provides 77 new ones, including the title poem. Many teens should appreciate these sentiments: “My elegy, your clothes are out of fashion./I see you walking past me on a country road/ in a worn cloak. Your steps are slow, along/a way that grows obscure as it leads back and back./In dusk some stars shine small and clear as tears/on a dark face that is not human. I will follow you.” The poems about nature are sure to please observant readers. Anyone who has been lucky enough to watch pelicans diving will especially appreciate “Pelicans.” “They’re awkward, angular, abstruse,/the great beak on a head so narrow,/a kind of weird Jurassic goose/lurching into the modern era./But the blue arc of sky lets loose–/ look, now!–the brown, unerring arrow!/ and see how beautiful, how grave,/the steady wings along the wave.” Unfortunately, the poems written about war seem timeless. The Curse of the Prophetess begins, “Hear my curse on the nation of Israel and the nation of Palestine/ May the generals of your armies/ be little, heavy-burdened donkeys,/ and your leaders be patient, old sheep.” And continues, “Let the day come, let it come now,/when the name warrior will be a name of folly/and the word victory mean a vain thing.” Young adults will discover beauty and creativity in the poetry of an author whom they may already admire.–Karlan Sick, formerly at New York Public Library

PULLMAN, Philip. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm. 405p. bibliog. Viking. 2012. Tr $27.95. ISBN 978-0-670-02497-1. LC 2012027181.
Adult/High School–In his introduction, Pullman describes some of the essential characteristics of fairy tales: they contain “conventional stock figures” with “little interior life”; they are fast-paced; there is practically “no imagery”; and the tone is “serene and anonymous.” So it is somewhat strange to find that almost all of the changes Pullman introduces to the tales (and he introduces many) move them away from these characteristics, creating motivations and inner lives, adding color to the imagery and tone, and generally slowing the pace. But of course Pullman is following in the footsteps of no less a forebear than Wilhelm Grimm himself, who immediately began making the stories more literary, starting with the second edition of 1819 and running through the final and most familiar seventh edition of 1857. In fact, Pullman’s changes–which include adding dialogue, re-arranging events, and even finishing incomplete tales–are so extensive that this volume should not truly be seen as a new translation at all; it is closer to an eighth edition, expanding on Wilhelm’s project. What readers make of these changes depends on their attitude toward the original 1812 tales and their need (or lack thereof) for a strict translation of the Grimms, for which readers should always turn to Jack Zipes’s The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (Bantam, 2003). Setting that question aside, though, readers are left with what is certainly the most accessible, best-written version of Grimm available. Add to that Pullman’s indispensable notes on each tale and this is surely an edition that lovers of fairy tales everywhere should read.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA

Between Violence and Tenderness: Aristotle and Dante Author Sáenz Talks to SLJ

Karyn M. Peterson — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:31:42 +0000

Monday was a very good day for Benjamin Alire Sáenz. His sensitive young adult novel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (S & S, 2012), was named for three of the American Library Association’s coveted Youth Media Awards, distinctions that left him both stunned and grateful, he tells School Library Journal.

Future editions of Aristotle and Dante will display merit seals for the Pura Belpré Author Award for excellence in depicting and celebrating the Latino cultural experience, the Stonewall Book Award for literary excellence in depicting the LGBT experience, and a Michael L. Printz Honor for the best writing in teen literature. Likely, the novel’s cover will have to be slightly redesigned to incorporate these various honors, “a great problem to have” for an author, Sáenz jokes.

SLJ caught up with Sáenz in between his meetings as chair of the MFA bilingual creative writing department at the University of Texas at El Paso for a revealing chat about his reaction to the YMA wins, his personal inspirations for Aristotle and Dante, his writing process, and his next YA project.

How do you feel about being selected by three very different YMA committees?
It was like a mirror of me! It made me very happy in a profound way. It was all the communities that I claim: the gay community, the Latino community, and the mainstream community. I’m part of the mainstream. I was educated and integrated into America by going to school, and when I went to college in the 1970s there were no Mexican-Americans. But I didn’t feel left out; my friends loved me. I was integrated. So even though I’ve always claimed the Mexican/Chicano community, and I’ve been aware of racism, I have not lived a segregated life.

What inspired you to write Aristotle and Dante?
I was married for 15 years, but I really had to come to terms with my own sexuality at the age of 54. One of the things I had to come to terms with is that I was sexually abused as a boy. It’s not that I didn’t remember; it’s that I didn’t want to think about it. The thought of being with a man was unappealing, so it took me a lot of therapy and time to come to terms with my life, and me.

So I thought I wanted to write a gay-themed book, I thought that I wanted to write a book about a young boy who really didn’t know that he was gay. I mean Ari really doesn’t know it. That’s the theme—what does he know? So I created this situation, and I thought about what names I would give them, and I love the name Dante and I teach the Inferno a lot. And “Ari” is not uncommon among Latinos, or at least Mexican Nationals. So I just started to write this story and I wanted it to be set not in the present time, because I think it’s easier now for boys to admit they’re gay. In the 1980s I don’t think it was so easy, and I didn’t want to have all this texting stuff in the book.

And the first thing I wanted to write about was the relationship between Ari and his mother.

How have your experiences shaped the story?
I wanted to represent two very different Mexican-American families. These are families that I knew—there are working class families like Ari’s, and professional Mexican-American families and it’s not a phenomenon. There are professional families and they’re never portrayed; there’s lots of anti-Mexican rhetoric that says we’re all illegals, all recent immigrants. None of this is true. I just wanted to portray a normal Mexican-American family—and they’re very American. I wanted that contrast because I wanted my audience to know that there is a wide variety of Mexican-American experience in this country. But I also wanted to make it feel real. They are real people. I really fell in love with both the mothers. I always fall in love with my characters, but I know women like this. They love their sons and just because they aren’t always wise in the way they love you doesn’t mean they don’t love you. Ari’s mother is very loving but also very controlling—in a loving way, but controlling nonetheless.

Was it a conscious choice to include so many caring adults in the story?
I think that young men need father figures; one way or another they’re going to find them or get them, and (hopefully not) suffer for it. I’ve mentored a lot of young men that have had terrible relationships with their fathers and I’ve been a stand-in, albeit an academic one. But it’s been a privilege for me to be in their lives and I think that impacts my writing.

Maybe too much young adult fiction is about teens that are in a world apart from adults and that’s just not true for a lot of teens. And Mexican-American teens have good parents—it’s just not true that you are ostracized if you are gay. It’s true in a lot of Latino-American families but it’s also not true in a lot of Latino-American families. My novels are so hard, all of them. I wanted to write something tender. I thought, “I don’t want to write something hard.” Part of it is that I’m such a sentimental man and you wouldn’t know it from my work. And I’m afraid of being sentimental and I was afraid of making this into a sentimental novel, but I thought I could do it. I could make it feel real and make the characters feel real. That was the hard part for me. I like to think I pulled it off.

What is your writing process like? As a college professor, how do you find the time?
I write on Fridays, and I get up early and I write in the mornings, because once office hours begin, I’m just busy busy. Luckily, where I live the walk literally takes 7 minutes. I like being department chair actually; I’ve grown into it. But I’m just a really old-fashioned teacher. I don’t teach online. I’m not against it—a lot of MFA programs have online classes—but it’s not something I do.

I love what I teach and I like young people. I know some writers feel that the teaching takes time away from their writing, but quite frankly it’s never hurt my writing. And my students read the books! And my nephews and nieces read them and analyze me. I get a big kick out of it.

What are you working on now?
The novel I’m writing is about a young man who is adopted (his dad is a Mexican-American gay artist) but he doesn’t feel adopted at all. One of my nephews is adopted, and he doesn’t wonder about his real family at all. So this kid is telling a story about how he came to be and the rest is how he watches this family as they go through this crisis; the matriarch of the family, his grandmother, is dying. He is in pain but he is a watcher, watching his father deal with this loss. We also learn how he came to be adopted in this family. In one of the opening chapters, his father asks him once if he ever thinks of his real father, and he says, “Yes. You’re my real father, and I think about you all the time.”

It’s going to be a painful novel in some ways with the automatic story line of the grandmother dying, but it’s the journey of him watching. Like Aristotle and Dante, it’s a love story between this young man and the family that he’s been adopted into, and how his love for them and their love for him is so profound. And of course I need to write that novel because my mother died a year ago.

I’m very excited about it. I love to write and I love to figure it out. It’s like you’re learning your craft all over again; each project is new and you learn something new. And I just sold a book of short stories for adults and those are not tender. Those are hard. That’s my world. I think I live between violence and tenderness. I think we all do. So I just try to incorporate that somehow into my art.

‘Nerdfighters’ Sell Out Carnegie Hall to See John and Hank Green Plus Special Guests

Rocco Staino — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 02:45:52 +0000

Photo credit: Andrea Fischman.

New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall has hosted thousands of legendary performers since it opened in 1891, from the New York Philharmonic to jazz greats Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to modern notables Isaac Stern and Renée Fleming. Joining their ranks this week? John Green—the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Alaska (Dutton, 2005), An Abundance of Katherines (Dutton, 2006), and Paper Towns (Dutton, 2008)—and his brother Hank Green, who took to the stage on Tuesday to entertain over 2,800 fans. “An Evening of Awesome,” featuring numerous special guests, was also lived-streamed to sites around the country through a special partnership with Tumblr.

Photo credit: Andrea Fischman.

The much-anticipated and hyped event was part of a 17-city tour celebrating the first anniversary of Green’s most recent bestselling YA fiction book, The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton, 2012); the tour has sold over 11,300 tickets.

For the uninitiated, the Green brothers are also known for their popular YouTube video blog series Vlogbrothers, which has close to a million subscribers. Passionate fans of the series, who call themselves “nerdfighters,” are so numerous and so well organized that they have created their own online social networking group to, as they declare, “increase awesome and decrease suck.”

“It brought to life the Nerdfighter community,” says Elazar Nudell, 30, of the site. Nudell traveled all the way from Springfield, MA, to attend the sold-out event along with Max Schnaper, 21, and Sasha Zacharia, 21.

However, most of the live audience at Carnegie Hall was comprised of teenage girls.

“John Green understands teen girls,” 17-year-old Samantha from Merrick, NY, tells School Library Journal. She feels that Green’s books helped her during a troubling time in her life. “He made me realize that how I felt was OK.”

Her schoolmate, 16-year-old Johanna, claims that the author encouraged her to be a thoughtful person. While waiting for the show to begin, Johanna read to Sam from a book by her other favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut.

The evening was part rock concert, part author and literary reading, and part talk show.

Shouts of “We love you!” rang out through the hall as the tuxedo-clad duo took the stage. John entertained the audience with a monologue about his life and work. He told them, “My life is like a very long Emily Dickinson poem.”

Hank sang songs of his own composition on such topics as Helen Hunt, Harry Potter, and Quarks. Grammy-winning musician and former member of The Moldy Peaches, Kimya Dawson, and the folk rock band The Mountain Goats also performed during the evening.

Later, Ashley Clements and Daniel Vincent Gordh, actors in the The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Web series developed by Hank Green, appeared to do a dramatic reading from The Fault in Our Star. The night’s special guests also were on hand to perform a Readers Theater scene from Paper Towns.

The surprise guest of the evening was Neil Gaiman. The award-winning author of The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins, 2008), participated in the Q&A portion of the evening, asking John Green such questions and queries as “Where do people go when they die?” (“Narnia,” interjected Hank) and “Describe yourself in three words,” to which John finally agreed on Handsome, Awesome, and Tall—after some prompting from Hank, Neil, and the audience. Also during the Q&A, Hank Green admitted to having a crush on his high school English teacher.

During the event, Carnegie Hall became a trending topic on Twitter; already by noon on Wednesday there were more than 35,000 additional views of the event and 18,000 comments. Additional meetups around this event are scheduled for upcoming days; a schedule can be found here.

“This Year” singalong. Photo credit: Andrea Fischman.

For additional photos of this event from School Library Journal, check out our Tumblr feed!

Lois Lowry LIVE!

SLJ — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 18:49:37 +0000

The two-time Newbery Medalist discusses Son, the sequel to The Giver.

Broadcasting LIVE from The Maurice J. Tobin K-8 School

SPONSORED BY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and School Library Journal

SCHEDULED EVENT DATE: Wednesday, November 7, 2012– 1:00 PM ET – 60 minutes

Archive now available!

Lois Lowry’s breakthrough dystopian novel, The Giver has been read by millions of people around the world. It left many with lingering questions: What happened to Jonas and Gabriel? Is a perfect society possible? What does it mean to live a complete life? With Son, Lowry continues to wrestle with the idea of human freedom while completing the story of Jonas and the baby he rescued.

Son combines elements from the first three novels in her Giver Quartet—The Giver (1994 Newbery Medal winner), Gathering Blue, and Messenger—into a breathtaking, thought-provoking narrative that wrestles with ideas of human freedom and the bonds of love. Thrust again into the chilling world of The Giver, readers will meet an intriguing new heroine, fourteen-year-old Claire.

Join Lois Lowry to hear her speak about Son, the other books of The Giver Quartet, and to have a chance to ask her your questions live!

Can’t make it on November 7? No problem! Register now and you will get an email reminder from School Library Journal post-live event when the webcast is archived and available for on-demand viewing at your convenience!

Getting Boys to Read: Seeing Your Library Through a Guy’s Eyes

SLJ — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 21:16:34 +0000

SPONSORED BY: ABDO Publishing and School Library Journal
EVENT DATE AND TIME: Thursday, October 4, 2012, 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET/12:00 – 1:00 PM PT

This archive is no longer available.

Ever help a guy find food in the refrigerator? In this fun and informative webinar, you’ll discover how some everyday observations – like that time you maybe helped a guy find the mayo that was right in the front of the fridge – are really vital clues for thinking about getting boys to read in your library.

In addition to the fun, the serious side of the topic will be addressed, including why the gap between boys’ and girls’ reading levels is a major concern among health experts and educators, and why the vast majority of reluctant readers are boys. Attendees will learn some tips to promote and support genres that boys like, including comic books, graphic novels, sports, and nonfiction, as well as some ideas for creating reading role models and communities for boys grades K-12. If you want ways to get books in the hands of your guys – and take a different look at how we think about getting boys to read – this session will inspire you.

Panelists include author and education writer Richard Whitmire and graphic novels reviewer and librarian M. Brandon Robbins. The webcast will feature information on the March 2010 Center on Education Policy report on the reading gap for boys, a “Comic Books & Literacy” research compilation, a white paper called “Football Literacy” on how sports have a greater reach than ever among young boys, and related research and materials.

Panelists:

Dan Verdick – Vice President of Marketing & Communications, ABDO Publishing

Dan Verdick is an author and library speaker who has led sessions at dozens of district- and state-level meetings across the US, including the CSLA (California), FAME (Florida), Minneapolis Public Schools, Atlanta Public Schools, Dallas ISD, New York Public Schools, the AZLA, NVLA, and more. He’s been featured on the NBC Today Show and in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Dan is the Vice President of Marketing & Communications for educational publisher ABDO Publishing Group. He and his wife live in a suburb of Saint Paul with their two school-age readers.

Richard Whitmire – Author, The Achievable Dream: College Board Lessons on Creating Great School (The College Board)

Richard Whitmire, a veteran newspaper reporter and former editorial writer at USA Today, is the author of Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Education System That’s Leaving Them Behind (Amacom, 2010, now in paperback), and The Bee Eater: Michelle Rhee Takes on the Nation’s Worst School District (Jossey-Bass, 2011). In June, 2012, his latest book, co-authored with Gaston Caperton, was released. Called The Achievable Dream: College Board Lessons on Creating Great Schools (The College Board), the book contains stories that provide hope for the future through specific lessons of educational success that can be replicated in schools across the country – featuring students, parents, educators, policy-makers and communities. His commentaries appear frequently in publications including The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Whitmire is a former president of the National Education Writers Association.

M. Brandon Robbins – Reference Librarian and Teen Service Coordinator, Wayne County Public Library (NC)

M. Brandon Robbins is a Reference Librarian and Teen Services Coordinator at Wayne County Public Library in Goldsboro, NC. He reviews graphic novels for Library Journal, he also writes the Games, Gamers, and Gaming column for Library Journal. A lifelong fan of comic books and superheroes, Brandon also works at his friendly local comic shop, Heroes Are Here, and handles collection development for graphic novels at his library.

Can’t make it on October 4 No problem! Register now and you will get an email reminder from School Library Journal post-live event when the webcast is archived and available for on-demand viewing at your convenience!

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Celebrate With Shannon Hale Live!

SLJ — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:37:12 +0000

JOIN SHANNON HALE
CELEBRATE PRINCESS ACADEMY: PALACE OF STONE

Broadcasting LIVE from Brooklyn Friends School in New York City

SPONSORED BY: Bloomsbury and School Library Journal

SCHEDULED EVENT DATE: Monday, October 1, 2012– 1:00 PM ET – 60 minutes

Archive now available!

RETURN TO A SCHOOL LIKE NO OTHER

It’s finally here—Princess Academy: Palace of Stone, sequel to the beloved Newbery-Honoree book, Princess Academy. Reunite with Miri and her friends as they share in the joys of friendship, the delight of young romance, and the fate of a fairy tale kingdom.

Join Shannon Hale for a unique opportunity to celebrate with her during a live webcast from Brooklyn Friends School and a chance to ask her questions live! Sign up now—space is limited. We encourage you to set up an assembly so all of your kids, parents and teachers can watch.

Can’t make it on October 1? No problem! Register now and you will get an email reminder from School Library Journal post-live event when the webcast is archived and available for on-demand viewing at your convenience!

SLJ Teen Book Buzz

SLJ — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 23:04:28 +0000

SPONSORED BY: Candlewick, Flux Books, Bloomsbury, Hachette Book Group and School Library Journal.
EVENT DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, September 25, 2012, 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET/10:00 – 11:00 AM PT

This archive is no longer available.

It’s going to be a spectacular fall reading season for teens! Our four participating publishers will be talking about the current hot reads, sequels and prequels on the verge, and new series and stand-alone titles that you need to know about. And you can bet on this — no genre is left unturned. Whether your readers are into romance, speculative fiction, coming of age stories, paranormal, thrillers or contemporary twists, you’re sure to find something on this fun and fast-paced Teen Book Buzz. You’ll hear about titles from new and well-loved authors, and get a sneak peek at spring 2012 lists, too. There are always galley giveaways, so sign up now and get a jump on the next must-have teen read!

Panelists:

Jenny Choy – Associate Manager, School and Library Marketing, Candlewick
Jenny Choy began her career in publishing as an intern at Candlewick Press, where she spent the summer after graduation pouring over picture books she was supposed to be re-shelving in their in-house library. She joined the Candlewick Press family as a member of their school and library marketing team in 2007.

Brian Farrey-Latz – Acquiring Editor, Flux Books
Brian Farrey-Latz has been acquiring YA Flux novels since 2008. He has a B.A. in Communications and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. He is also the author of With or Without You (Simon Pulse), a Stonewall Honor Book, and the forthcoming Junior Library Guild Selection, The Vengekeep Prophecies (HarperCollins).

Beth Eller- Director of School and Library Marketing, Bloomsbury and Walker Books for Young Readers
Beth Eller is the Director of School and Library Marketing at Bloomsbury and Walker Books for Young Readers.

Zoe Luderitz – Associate Manager, School & Library Marketing and Social Media, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group)
Zoe Luderitz is the Associate Manager, School & Library Marketing and Social Media at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. You can follow us on Twitter @lbschool or Like us on Facebook.com/littlebrownschool.

Moderator:
Dodie Ownes – editor, SLJTeen

Can’t make it on September 25? No problem! Register now and you will get an email reminder from School Library Journal post-live event when the webcast is archived and available for on-demand viewing at your convenience!