Tigard Teen

Hunger Games Buzz

2012-01-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

Attention citizens: The Hunger Games movie release date approaches and lots of interesting tidbits have been popping up, both fan and studio produced, and adding to the buzz. Like the amazing map of Panem above. The creators used hints from the books, knowledge of North American geography, tectonic predictions and mathematical modeling to envision the world of Panem. Read about their process here.

Also, check out this nifty promotion: an e-magazine written from the Capitol's creepy perspective to build anticipation for the Hunger Games, the biggest annual event in Panem. Learn about the trendiest capital fashions, painting your nails with Capital flair, and this darling tribute from district 12 who volunteered for the games so her sister wouldn't have to go. Adorable!

Mash Day: Bad Advice, Good Advice.

2012-01-25T11:13:00.000-08:00

Does it ever seem like everyone wants to tell you what to do all the time? And most of the time, people's advice just isn't that helpful. So perhaps you turn to movies to give you some hints for guidance in your life. Movies. The perfect source for examples of people making excellent decisions. Or not.

In How to Fight, Lie, and Cry Your Way to Popularity (And A Prom Date), you can glean wisdom such as "The best way to take the popular girl down: Be more abusive than she is. Then apologize to the whole school and all will be well." (That's Mean Girls, by the way.) Yes, you can learn terrible lessons, gathered from 50 well known movies and bundled into this goofy book. Test your Lousy Life Lesson Know How. What movie would you need to watch to learn this? "It's okay to date a dead, murderous vampire as long as he's hot and has great hair."

But seriously, there are some people out there who have good advice to offer. And their stories have a little more poignancy.

Dan Savage gives advice for a living. He's pretty successful at it. His advice for young people who are being harrassed due to their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity is: It gets better.

When several young people took their own lives after being bullied, Dan Savage wanted to do something about it. First, there were thousands of YouTube videos made, instigated by Dan and his husband Terry. Ordinary people and famous people, including The President, made videos recounting their experiences and encouraging young people to hang in there. Then they put together a book. It Gets Better is a written collection of stories and statements gathered as an offering for LGBT youth. You can check out the book. You can also check out the website. I just did, and realized that today is National Gay-Straight Alliance Day. Hey! Happy GSA Day. And don't forget to be yourself.

Fault In Our Stars

2012-01-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

Our copies of John Green's new book The Fault in Our Stars have finally arrived! As you may know, the author signed all 150,000 copies of the first edition, which includes those we bought for the library. Yay!

Mash Day- Mysterious and Fantastical

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to another Mash Day here at TPL Tigard Teen. This is where we highlight media that blends stuff and that you can find at the library. Today I'm sharing mystery novels that have a touch of fantasy, or fantasy novels with a touch of mystery, depending on how you look at it. YA fiction tends to boldly go where no lifeforms have gone before, so there's lots of fabulous and experimental genre blending. Makes sense for books written for folk who are just starting to figure out what they like, what is made of awesome and what exemplifies suck. Try out one of these books and get hooked (or not).

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy:
I recommend this one A LOT. It's a mystery; It's supernatural; It's noir; It's dark; It's hilarious; It's scary. Read it!

Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow by Daniel Nayeri:
This is the ultimate mash-up: A collection of four novellas, each in a different genre, including a crime story in which every wish comes true and only the Imaginary Crime Unit can stop them.

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb:
Helen has been haunting people for over 130 years, but she's finally met a teenaged boy who can see her and help her solve the mystery of her past. Supernatural-mystery-romance. Yum.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix:
Two teenagers learn that they were found as babies on a plane that appeared out of nowhere filled with other babies and no adults. To unravel this mystery they must travel through time.

I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells:
John Wayne Cleaver insists that he is not a serial killer, in spite of certain rather grim tendencies, but when people in his town start showing up brutally murdered, he finds himself on the case and wondering whether the perp is a man or a monster.

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard:
Emma solves crimes with the help of her twin sister. Her dead twin sister.

Winter Monster Mash Up

2012-01-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Mash Day #2, where I will be mixing up some materials & suggesting a few things that I think have some vague connections and attaching threads. First, I would like to introduce myself; I am Amber, making my debut here in the Teen Blog. Our first ingredient today is monsters. A huge handful of monsters.

Lisa mentioned A Monster Calls last week, so I will say little more. But the monster who calls happens to be terribly ancient and usually rooted, a walking yew tree with stories to tell that have no heroes or happy endings. If you don’t mind a dark, heavy tale, you should definitely read A Monster Calls.

The Monstrumologist books by Rick Yancey are completely, totally, disgustingly full of oozey, dripping, flesh eating monsters and the scientists that love to hunt them. So if that’s your game, have at ‘em. Just don’t eat your lunch while you are reading.

If you can make it to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, you will find many odd things, including a levitating girl and a boy who is a living beehive. What you will not find are monsters with vacant eyes or slashing teeth. But it will be challenging to get to Miss Peregrine’s, because it has carefully been hidden away in a pocket of time in order to protect those children from the aforementioned monsters.
One interesting feature of Miss Peregrine’s is that the book is sprinkled with odd and eerie photographs. Clearly, the author was inspired by the collection of images. If you are looking for photographic inspiration, here is one of my favorites:

The New Earth From Above: 365 Days is a weighty volume of aerial photography. Documented are things like: a mountain of refrigerators, a bright green golf course plunked down in the middle of a desert, and a giant hand sculpture rising from a sandy beach. The world is a weird place.

And back to the fictional world, Flash Burnout stars an edge-y photographer who is inspired by the grit of downtown Portland. He’s got a girlfriend, he’s got a best friend (who’s a girl), and he’s got a problem making it all work out. Isn’t that just how it is sometimes?

So remember: Take a picture, it lasts longer, and happy reading.

Semicolon Lessons

2012-01-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

So, every couple of years I forget how to use a semicolon. What can I say? Life (and punctuation) is confusing. I was just composing a sentence that I was pretty sure could be better with a semicolon, so I asked the Great Google what I should do. I found this handy guide from the folks at The Oatmeal. *smirk*

Mash Day

2012-01-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first of our series of Mash Days when we celebrate books and media that feature mash-ups of different themes, genres and formats. This has almost nothing to do with M.A.S.H. the movie/television show, but the title is similar and I can't resist sharing a picture of my buddies from 4077.

Today, my friends, I'd like to discuss fabulous mash-ups of prose and pictures, or illustrated books for teens! You may be thinking that your picture book days are over, but they are so not, because these books are not to be missed:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick: Yes, there is a movie out and I'm excited about that, but before the movie there was as absolutely gorgeous book. Wonderful words narrate Hugo's story and then are seamlessly taken over by pages of breathtaking black and white drawings. Brian Selznick's brand new book Wonderstruck has the same format and is equally stunning. BTW, just so you know, Hugo isn't torturing a live mouse in the picture on the left; that's actually a toy.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness: These illustrations combined with the author's words create the dark atmosphere of this tale of a boy with who is suddenly haunted by the monster of his mother's illness, and another monster he wasn't expecting: Something ancient. Something wild.

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and illustrated by Ellen Forney: I have recommend this book dozens of times and will keep recommending it as long as I have the power of recommendation. If you haven't read it yet, for pity's sake hurry. This is Junior's story. He's a 14-years-old Spokane Indian living on the reservation who decided, quite controversially, to go to high school off the reservation. His comics interspersed with his narration emphasize his enduring sense of humor as he navigates the tragedies and challenges of his life. Read it!

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Dave McKean: Nobody Owens began his life as he knows it when his family was murdered, and when he was pursued to the graveyard where his toddling legs had taken him, the killer couldn't touch him. A ghostly family adopted Nobody and extended to him the protection of the graveyard so he could fade away into the shadows and never be caught. But what happens when Nobody decides to enter the world of the living? These illustrations make this fantasy seem extraordinarily real. I'll never look at graveyards the same way again.

Wintertown by Stephan Emond: Evan's dad has high ambitions for him that do not include his dream of being a comics artist. Lucy has begun making destructive choices. This and the fact that the two only see each other during winter breaks has always been in the way of their friendship and continues to be an obstacle as their affection for each other grows into something else. Evan and Lucy take turns telling their story interspersed with Evan's comics.

As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth by Lynne Rae Perkins: A teenaged guy encounters one calamity after another as he's lost in the U.S. and trying to find his way home. In the meantime, his dogs are also lost, and their story is told through comics.

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler: 16-year-old Min writes a letter to her boyfriend explaining why she's breaking up with him, complete with illustrations.

Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Illustrated by Carson Ellis: Prue and Curtis venture into the Impassable Wilderness to rescue Prue's baby brother. They discover dangers and wonders they'd never imagined, and these illustrations really bring the woods to life.

These are just a few suggestions among a wide range of great books. Stop by the library if you want to know more!

The Wonder That Was 2011 Wordily Wrapped Up

2011-12-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

As 2012 approaches, let's all wish 2011 a fond farewell. These 365 days have been eventful to say the least, with natural and nuclear disasters, political uprisings, grassroots revolutions and national protests. We see the world's swift, dramatic changes and are reminded that we are the agents of change, and if that's not awe inspiring, I don't know what is. So, I dedicate this blog post to change.

Emerging literary trends of 2011 and the future: Didn't I tell you last year it would be mermaids? I did, and I was so right. Lots 0f mermaid books came out this year, and y'all have been checking them out heartily. We've also continued to see a lot of fallen angels, and I highly recommend Daughter of Smoke and Bone for an engaging blend of action and forbidden angelic romance. As for the future, I expect to start seeing historical, realistic fiction set in the 80's and 90's. With the 30th anniversary of MTV this year and all us Gen Xers entering our 30s and getting editors, our time of nostalgia has come, and you will be subjected to our weepy tributes to the era of hot pink parachute pants (leading somehow into flannel) and moody garage music. Bwah hah hah!

Teen Library Council Evolves: TLC changes every year in wonderful ways. When Council began last year, we had lots of new, young members whose creative energy (and crocheting skills) were instrumental as we filmed our series of hilarious videos featuring Pencil Paul (and a lot of bloopers.) Now, folks have gotten older and new members have joined, so there are six seniors on Teen Library Council. Their leadership and ideas have been invaluable, and I'm so excited for their transition into college next year! (Not really. Just between you and me, I'm secretly making space in our storage room where I plan to keep them hostage.)

Best In Media: Well, see, there's this Netflix thing, right? And you can hook your TV to it and stream movies and TV shows with no commercials? And, well, the thing is, that's pretty much all I did this year. If I was mathematically oriented, I could create a pie chart of the time I spent watching TV this year verses the time I spent reading and, as the great Mitch Hedberg would say, compared to the pie chart of what most people would do with the money if they won a million dollars, the TV wedge would be equal to "Keep It" and the reading wedge would be equal to "Give it to Charity." And yes I am ashamed. But, that said, considering the amount of Doctor Who references I kept coming across, it became essential to my foundational understanding of pop culture to keep up with The Doctor and his work. And of course, no other figure in television represents the concept of change quite as thoroughly as The Doctor (Team Tennant FTW!). Now, apparently, I need to read H.P. Lovecraft since I keep hearing about Cthulu everywhere. Oh, I just realized something...I'm a nerd. Just kidding, I definitely already knew that.

Also, Amanda Palmer. Just. Amanda. Palmer.

Best Library Moment: Again, too many to quantify. In the dynamic world of teen library services there is one constant: Teens are awesome. The pregnant Zombie Doll was incredible and creepy. The Voodoo Doughnut feast was culinarily educational. The hula hooping at the manga marathon was lengthy and hilarious. The summer capoeira workshop was beyond awesome. Finally, sharing Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure with the uninitiated and having them insist on watching more Pee Wee so we watched an episode of the TV show and OMG it was hilarious and I forgot that Laurence Fishburn played the cowboy...That was good too.

We have a lot to look forward to next year, including an entire extra day in February, the Hunger Games movie and new books from John Green, Kristin Cashore, Paolo Bacigalupi, Julie Kagawa and many others. See you in 2012!

Letters About Literature

2011-12-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

Letters About Literature is an annual contest for which participants write letters about books that have been influential in their lives as if they are writing to the authors. Last year, Oregon kids and teens submitted over 900 letters! Let's beat that number this year and send our magnificent Oregonian letters to compete at the National level. The deadline for the contest is January 6, so get writing! You can find out more here: http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/aboutlit.shtml.

Also, I think it's important that we make up some captions for the picture above, because, you know, what's going on there? My submission: "Ugh, these sudden attacks of hair-commercial-itus make it so difficult to use this typewriter." Submit your caption in the comments.

Everybody Sees the Ants

2011-11-12T16:46:00.001-08:00

Yesterday (Veteren's Day), I finished reading A.S. King's Everybody Sees the Ants. It was a fitting read for the holiday. The hero is Lucky, a 15-year-old who was named after his grandfather, a soldier who went missing, along with thousands of others, during the Vietnam war and has never been found. Lucky doesn't want anyone to think he's crazy, so he's never shared the fact that he conducts nightly rescue missions to help his grandfather escape from the jungle. He's had these dreams since he was seven years old, and since he was seven years old he has woken up gripping artifacts from the dreams, things that shouldn't exist in Pennsylvania, like giant Vietnamese mosquitoes. Now, he enjoys the dreams more than real life, because in real life, a bully is turning his life into a living hell, his parents are barely getting along, and he's closely watched at school because everyone thinks he's suicidal. He has spent his life trying to repair the past by rescuing his grandfather, and now he's having trouble enjoying the present or even imagining a future. Nothing that lap-swimming, the Grand Canyon, yogurt marinated chicken and a shampoo commercial ninja can't fix, right? Read Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King.

Who is this Masked Man?

2011-11-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

Nacho Libre visited the Puett Room for the Teen Haunted Mini Game Fest last Saturday. Who is the man behind the mask? Any guesses? (Hint: It's not Jack Black.) Comment below.

My favorite Band Does Not Exist

2011-10-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Idea Deity created a fake rock band, Youphoria, as an Internet hoax. He knows the hoax is going well when he starts to see people wearing Youphoria band t-shirts.

Youphoria front man Reacher Mirage is on the edge of stardom, but he can't figure out why his band is so popular, considering they've never played in public or recorded a single song. And who is this Deity guy who claims to have invented them?

Idea has a blonde girlfriend with a brunette face tattooed on the back of her head. Reacher has a brunette girfriend with a blonde face on the back of her head. Idea is headed to Maysville, Kentucky, where the grass is green and the sky is blue. Reacher is headed to Maysville, Pennsyltucky where the grass is pink and the sky is green. Both guys are reading the same book, and it seems to be leading them to each other. Sound weird? Well, it is, and it's also a great read. Check out My Favorite Band Does Not Exist.

The right to assemble books!

2011-10-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

As you may know, citizens of cities across the country, including Portland, are occupying the streets in demonstrations sparked by the Occupy Wall Street movement. No matter where you stand in your beliefs, you gotta admit it's impressive to see democracy in action. The organizers of these protests have created libraries that are busy social and educational centers in their make-shift communities. The website of the Occupy Wall Street library provides a fascinating look into what it takes to protect and organize books in the great outdoors.

Hey, you have a voice, even if you're not old enough to vote. We have lots of suggestions of books and other resources you can use to get organized and be heard. Stop by the library to learn more!

And another one bites the dust...

2011-09-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

This month for Tigard Reads we're celebrating all things space. BookTRON just met and discussed Laika, the first living Earth creature to be sent into space. So by now you all now that, as with most books that prominently feature a dog, Laika's story does not end well. At least not for Laika, though she does represent one of the giant steps human-kind took in order to reach the moon and beyond. So, what if Laika's fate had been different? Author/artist Nick Abadzis couldn't resist imagining a few alternate endings. Take a look. It may make you feel better.

Then Things Fell Apart

2011-09-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Keek is having the worst summer of her life so far. It's the summer of her 15th year, and her parents are splitting up because her dad cheated on her mom with Keek's best friend. She and her boyfriend had a fight and he may be not speaking to her or he may just be unable to reach her because her phone is broken (she may have thrown it against a wall). She is stuck at her grandmother's with a wicked case of chicken pox and there is no Internet access. All she has is a 103 degree fever, a typewriter and a well-loved copy of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. In her isolation, Keek has plenty of time to think about her life, and the insights she comes up with are both enlightened and hilarious. Read And Then Things Fall Apart for a tender, realistic, laugh-out-loud story of a teen forced by circumstances into an extended period of introspection.

Stump Your Librarian

2011-09-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

I challenge you. Are you bold enough to accept this challenge? Intelligent enough? Sassy enough?

The answer is yes, you all share these wonderful qualities. But that doesn't mean you will win. Why?

Because. I. Rule.

Stop by the Young Adult Desk during the month of September and try to Stump Your Librarian. If we can't answer your question within 10 minutes, you win a book of your choice. I'm not too worried about losing a lot of books, though I wouldn't mind being wrong.

Don't Miss Destination College Savings

2011-08-24T16:22:00.001-07:00

As you're wrapping up Summer Reading and getting ready for school, don't forget to submit your entry to win a saving account from the Oregon College Savings Plan. 15 lucky winners will receive $1000 accounts! Stop by the library to pick up a submission form if you haven't already, and make sure your submission is postmarked by September 2.

Akata Witch

2011-08-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

Sunny has just burned off most of her hair. She was staring at a candle when suddenly she sees in the flame a vision of the end of the world. Yikes! From that moment she is introduced to another world of juju knives, Leopards and Lambs, and her hidden powers.

Sunny is an albino, born in America to parents from Nigeria; and now she and her family have moved back to Nigeria. Sunny finds out that her family are Lambs, those who have no idea of the magical world. Sunny is a free agent, a Leopard, one born with magical abilities but no family members with powers. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor mixes the reality of being a middle schooler with the fantasy of spells and dark magic.

MTV makes me feel old

2011-08-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Before MTV was all Snookie all the time, it was Music Television. And it was revolutionary. The TV was just a few feet from my front door, and when I got home from middle school I could not get to it fast enough. My finger would be poised to press the power button before I'd finished opening the door, and the set was always tuned to...what channel was it? Geez, I never thought I'd forget that. Anyway, that was then. When I would put up with all the Guns n' Roses videos in order to watch Tori Amos, Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and my beloved Pearl Jam define the 90's. And then, of course, there was Nirvana. This band's signature stamp on music is indelible, and most of us 30-somethings will never forget the day we learned that Kurt Cobain was dead. Well, now MTV is turning 30, and Nirvana's Nevermind is 20, and 90's nostalgia seems to be popping up all over. We may soon see a resurgence of flannel and combat boots.

While I'm blasting through my musical past, think about your musical present. The bands you love now may still be around in 20 years, but their music will be different. What music do you love now? What bands, singers, rappers and songwriters define you? Now, please share! When I order music for the teen collection, I try to keep on top of what's hot today, but I rely on your suggestions to ensure that your faves are available at the library. Email me, or leave a comment below.

Now, I'll leave you with a couple of MTV's video highlights of 90's: Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Weird Al's "Smells Like Nirvana."

Don't Forget to be Awesome

2011-08-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

I see Nerdfighters. They're everywhere. Walking around like regular people. They definitely know they are nerds.

In 2007, YA author John Green and his musician/NASA fan/professional blogger brother Hank decided to cease all text-based communications and send each other videos via YouTube, which were, of course, available to all of us unsuspecting viewers as well. Before long, a community gathered around the Vlogbrothers and the Nerdfighters were born (though some would argue that the Nerdfighters already existed and just didn't realize they needed to be labeled.) Nerdfighteria is swiftly and cheerfully taking over the Internets with a gleeful surge of activism and global connection. Wear your Nerdfighter flair with pride and you will meet kindred spirits wherever you may travel, all of you sharing the same creed: "Don't forget to be awesome," and the same ultimate objectives: Increase Awesome and decrease World Suck.

In the video below, John Green lists just a few of the remarkable accomplishments of the united Nerdfighters, including getting his next book on bestseller lists many months before it's actual publishing date, getting his brother's indie album to chart on Billboard, and helping people all over the world. You can join this community too! Just don't forget to be awesome, and, if you like, watch the videos and join the forums. I'll see you there. And look for John Green's new book, The Fault in Our Stars, coming out in January.

Wrapped in Mystery

2011-08-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Agnes is cutting away the wrappings of a mummy, not at an archaeological dig or at a museum, but at a 19th century garden party. It's one of the first parties of her debut year and Lord Showalter seems to fancy her. Among the wrappings Agnes finds a small iron jackal, which she hides away. Moments later she's followed by a mysterious waiter who ends up dead. Is it a mummy's curse or something more sinister? Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury is a fantastic historical mystery, with plenty of intrigue, danger and suspense (and an awesome cover - I didn't notice an important part of the picture until I finished the story).

Not to be Missed!

2011-07-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

Local musician Colin Meloy of Decemberists fame and illustrator Carson Ellis are married, which is convenient as they've been working on an amazing project together: A new series of books set in the wilds of a fantastical Portland and Forest Park. The first book Wildwood is due out August 30th. I'm almost done reading an advance copy (professional perk), and I can't tell you how difficult it was to put it down after my break today. Check out the book trailer below:

Martial Arts of Brazil

2011-07-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

Next week we're doing something we've never done at the library before: We've invited a Capoeira instructor and his students to demonstrate and workshop their art at the library! On Thursday, August 4 from 3-4:30, Contra Mestre Pedro Cruz of Capoeira Raca will share this incredibly vibrant and musical martial art/dance style with all of you. Teens will be able to participate, and folks of all ages are welcome to watch the demonstration. Don't forget to dress in comfortable clothes (pants, preferably), because you will be up and moving! Check out this video to see what Capoeira is like. The first time I saw this art (and every time since), I was left with a feeling of happiness. The rhythm, the music, the dancey feeling of collaboration, and just the amazing ways human bodies can bend. This is not to be missed!

Anime Fest!

2011-07-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's time for Anime Fest, this Thursday, July 28 from 3-6 p.m. in the Community Room! In addition to tasty teas and treats, watching some anime and making bento, we'll be folding some nanibirds (like the cool paper stuff in this book) and having fun with haiku. For extra fun, you can cosplay as your favorite globetrotting anime character.* It should be excellent!

*If you have extra ideas, send them my way...because I've got no clue for this one. Help?

Reading for School?

2011-07-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Do you have a summer reading assignment for your school? Have you checked out (or read) the book yet? If not, don't wait! There may be a waiting list. Stop by the Young Adult Desk or give us a call (503-718-2652) to see if the book you need is available.