Who Are You

I wanted to take some time to find out more about the people who read this blog. Today I have two questions for you. Feel free to post comments to answer the questions

1) Have you ever heard of Teen Second life? If so have you ever used it?

2) Would you use a video game to study for the SAT’s if it were designed to help you do better?

The reason I am asking question number two is because Kaplan is scheduled to release a game called FutureU for pc, Mac, and Nintendo DS platforms on October 23rd. The game would have over 1,200 questions spread out over 4 forms. I want to know if this is something you would play if it were available to borrow at the library.

Katie G, CCL

YALSA Best Books For Young Adults 2008

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

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet

American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China by Matthew Polly

The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel by Brian Selznick

The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Book Review

Naomi And Ely's No Kiss List / by Rachel Cohn And David Levithan.

New York University college freshman Naomi and Ely have been best friends since they were little children. How could they not? They grew up across the hall from each other. So what happens when one day Ely kisses Naomi’s boyfriend, who happens to not be on their NO KISS LIST. Will Naomi and Ely be able to heal their friendship? If you enjoy books about friendship and romance this might be the book for you. When you are done check out Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist also by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

-Katie G, CCL

What Kinds of Graphic Novels Do You Like?

The 2008 Eisner awards were awarded in on July 26th. If you are interested in the results check out the Comics Reporter. Which brings us to a question: Do you read graphic novels? What graphic novels do you read?

Here are some titles in our collection you might enjoy:

Robot dreams by Sara Varon

Maus : A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

To Dance : A Memoir by Siena Cherson Siegel ; With Artwork By Mark Siegel

Want to know more about graphic novels and comics? Read Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud.

Do you want to make your own comics? See Scott McCloud's Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels.

NextReads

Do you want to find out about books that might interest you but do not know who to ask? Well, you could always ask a librarian, but you might also want to try out NextReads. Nextreads is a completely free service offered by the Chester County Library that sends you suggestions of books you might like based on your interests. You could get lists like DIY (do it yourself), popular culture, or sports among many others. The lists you select, along with a synopsis of each book, are sent to your e-mail each week. Every week you receive a new list!

To find NextReads go to the Chester County Library website and click on the NextReads logo. If you are not in the library you may need to enter your library card number in order to use the service

I am interested in popular culture so I was delighted to find two interesting books on the popular culture list. The first is about the comedian Chris Farley, it is called The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts - by Tom Farley, Jr. and Tanner Colby. The second is American Nerd: The Story of My People - by Benjamin Nugent.

Katie G, CCL

Get Your Games at the Library

Today at 12:00 am the video game Madden NFL 2009 was released. Which begs the question, did you know that the Chester County Library carries video games? Chester County has Madden NFL 2008, last year’s edition, for the XBOX 360 and the Playstation 2.

The video game collection at the Chester County Library includes games for
Sony Playstation 2 & 3, PSP, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo
64, Game Cube, Xbox & Xbox 360.

Award Winning Books

Why not read some award winning books? On June 30th 2008 five authors were honored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Every year one author is awarded the Michael L. Printz Award. This is an award given for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

The biggest honor of the evening went to Geraldine McCaughrean for her psychological thriller The White Darkness.

Four other books were presented Printz Honor Awards. They represent a variety of genres and formats. Here they are:

Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox

One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke

Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins

Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill


You can find out more about any of these titles or hear the acceptance speeches given by the authors by visiting the YALSA website at http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/printzaward/Printz.cfm

Read the Book See the Movie

The movie adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s popular romance/ vampire novel Twilight is set to be released to movie theatres on December 12th 2008. The first book in the series, Twilight is followed by Meyer’s New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. Breaking Dawn Meyer’s final installment sold 1.3 million copies in the first 24 hours after its midnight, Aug. 2 release.

If you enjoyed the Twilight series you might also enjoy Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. It is the story of a beautiful teenage werewolf named Vivian who falls in love with a human boy named Aiden much to the dismay of her werewolf pack.


Kristen Stewart who stars in the film adaptation of Twilight also appears in two other film adaptations of popular books. She can be seen in the film adaptation of Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Speak, which chronicles how one teenage girl suffers through her freshman year of high school after a traumatic incident at a party the summer before.

Kristen Stewart also appears in the film version of the popular non-fiction novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. In this creative non-fiction title Krakauer uses journalism to explore the last few years in the life of a troubled young man who is found dead in a wilderness area in Alaska in August 1992. This might be the book you are looking for if you enjoy true life adventure stories or wilderness settings.

In October 2008 viewers can see an adaptation of Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's Nick and Norah's Infinate Playlist in theatres.

Alan Moore’s graphic novel Watchmen will also be coming to theatres in March of 2009.


Here is a list of some other popular young adult novels that have been turned into movies:

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Chocolate War by Robert Cornier
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

Friday Night Lights: a town a team and a dream by H. G. Bissinger

October Sky by Homer Hickam Jr.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

How to Deal by Sarah Dessen

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Technology

Have you ever wanted to compare books with your friends or keep track of what books you have read? You might want to check out Goodreads. Users can invite friends to join or check to see if any of their friends already have accounts. Let your friends know what your reading or what you have read in the past and rate what you have read.

Welcome

Welcome to our new library blog for young adults. CC Young Adult Spot is a place to find out about books, technology, library activities, magazines, book awards, authors and more! Feel free to comment on any posts!