NCS Library Blog

Ms. Dickinson's Purple & Gold Pick of the Week: Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge

2013-09-16T16:44:00.001-04:00

If you've ever started at new school or moved to a new town--or a new country, you know how difficult it can be to start over and find your place in unfamiliar surrounding. Moving from rural Virginia to New York City is an especially big change—particularly for shy artist Paige. However, change doesn't have to be a completely negative event. Sometime a dramatic change--in location, in habit, or in relationships--can be the push we need to make a fresh start or try out a new interest. For Paige, her sudden shift from comfortable small town life to the the overwhelming but thrilling city pushes her to break out of her shell and start bringing her secret doodling habit out into the open. While she always sketched in the corners of notebooks, Paige hasn't fully embraced her interest in drawing--until now. With her sketchbook in hand, Paige explores her new home and experiments with her new identity as an artist. As her confidence grows, she builds fresh friendships, defies her family’s expectations, and slowly discovers a new way of seeing. However, even the brave new Paige isn't sure if she can live life as the bold and creative girl she's created in the safe pages of her sketchbook. Will she share her new vision with the world or will she allow her self-doubt to win?

If you are looking for a fresh story about self-discovery and the creative process, Page by Paige is an absolute must read! Told through gorgeous drawings and fluid prose, Paige's story will ring true with anyone whose ever been "the new kid" or any artist trying to discover and embrace her creative identity. Combining a more traditional coming of age motifs (new city, new friends, family conflict, tentative romance) with a specific exploration of the mind of a young artist, Laura Lee Gulledge crafts an enjoyable and unique story. The graphic novel format suits this story particularly well; the illustrations are beautiful and highly expressive. The images are used to tell the regular action of Paige's outer life as well as the emotional narrative of her internal life--her dreams, her fears, and her highly visual imagination.

For all artists and dreamers--and anyone in search of a good read--

check out Laura Lee Gulledge's debut

Page by Paige,

currently on display in the library's fiction section!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple & Gold Pick of the Week: The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

2013-09-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

At the age of fourteen, Lucy Becks-Moreau was a rising superstar in the elite world of concert pianists. She was the talk of the concert circuit; everyone whispered that she was bound for great things. Then she just walked away, giving up her status as a musical prodigy--and losing the approval of her demanding grandfather and mother. Now, two years later, Lucy is readjusting to a normal high school life where she spends her time in classes and doing homework rather than practicing for hours with occasion breaks with hired tutors. She hasn't touched a piano since her dramatic exit from the concert circuit. Then her grandfather hires a new piano teacher for her younger brother. A former piano prodigy, Will is passionate and kind; Lucy's brother immediately adores him. And when Will recognizes Lucy's tentative interest in returning to the keys, he offers to help her begin playing again--while keeping her re-entrance to music hidden from her family.

Sara Zarr strikes again with a rich, thoughtful, and compelling piece of realistic fiction. In this elegantly constructed novel, Zarr demonstrates her clear insight on creativity, passion, and growing up. Her characters, especially Lucy, are incredibly human--dynamic, flawed, and simultaneously sympathetic & frustrating. I especially appreciate Zarr's ability to reveal Lucy's growth without judgement; Lucy's emotions, choices, and actions are presented honestly and thoroughly--we understand Lucy's choices and are empathetic, even when we might be irritated or frustrated with them. Additionally, the relationships are so complex. There are no simple relationships here; as the characters note, "people are complicated" and so are their interactions & connections. From Lucy's conflicted relationship with her family, full of anger, misunderstanding, and love to her confusing friendship with Will, each relationship is fleshed out with realistic details.

The novel is also structured beautifully; the primary storyline is interspersed with very strategic vignettes of moment's in Lucy's past and these flashbacks fit into the narrative smoothly, each shedding light on current events in Lucy's journey.

While Lucy's journey to self-knowledge will be relatable to nearly any reader, her particular relationship with performance and creativity will hold special resonance for some readers. Anyone with a passion--whether it be artistic, athletic, or academic--will connect with Lucy's intense connection and love for her piano and will understand the conflict built into pursuing such a passion seriously without losing your purely personal enjoyment of it.

So whether you're a fan of Sara Zarr's novels (including Sweethearts or How To Save A Life) or you're just looking for a fresh read with compelling characters and a great story, check out

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

on display in the library's fiction section now!

Need Some Help Finding Fun Reads This Summer Vacation?

2013-05-14T11:35:00.002-04:00

image from Teo's photo's flickr

While the recent stormy weather and the looming shadow of exams sometimes make it easy to forget, summer vacation is almost here! And whether you'll be spending your summer lying on a beach, traveling on a variety of planes, trains, and cars, leading adventures at camp, working a cash register, visiting family, or just lounging around, there's one summer activity we can all share: reading for pure, unadulterated personal enjoyment!

But with so many new novels, nonfiction books, magazines, and daily news publications, how can we figure out what to read this summer? Sometimes the sudden freedom from assigned reading and the busy schedules of the school year can make choosing some fun reading material overwhelming! Happily, your NCS librarians are here to help you deal with the sudden abundance of reading options.

First, check out our grade-level fun summer reading lists available for download on our website, http://www.ncslibrary.org. They can be found on the right side of the page, listed and labeled by grade level under the title Summer Reading Lists. Just click on a grade level and a PDF of the list will open for you! Next, check out some of our other book recommendation lists and tools, including the Purple & Gold Picks of the Week (which exist on this blog as well as in the library as mini-posters on Ms. Dickinson's desk), our Thanksgiving, winter, and spring break book lists and some of our genre or theme-specific book lists (all available around the library).

image from aafromaa's flickr

You can also get good reading ideas from lists or reviews created by your local public library, your local independent bookstore (like Politics and Prose, for example), or publications like the New York Times Book Review. You might also want to track down lists like The 2012 National Book Award winners or the "Best of 2012" lists created by publications like The New York Times, Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal, or School Library Journal; any of these lists are easily found with a simple Google search.

Want to find out what your friends or favorite authors are reading? Look into joining GoodReads, a social networking site for readers. If you're looking to get a bunch of ideas based on your last awesome read, you might want to test out book recommendation sites like YourNextRead or What Should I Read Next?

Finally, even though we're now collecting all our NCS library books, your NCS librarians are never too busy to help you find a good book! Please feel free to come by the library and chat with a librarian about reading recommendations! We're happy to help put together a little personalized list of summer reading ideas for you to take along on your next trip to the public library, local bookstore, or Kindle shopping spree!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple & Gold Pick of the Week: Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

2013-05-06T07:30:00.000-04:00

Ida Mae Jones is living with her head in the clouds. Ever since her daddy taught her to fly his beloved plane, the memories of darting among the clouds and soaring high above farms and fields fill Ida's mind. But now that Daddy is gone—killed in an accident on the farm—Ida absolutely must keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. She’s got to help her mother keep the farm going while her older brother is away studying medicine, make extra money cleaning houses, and help take care of her younger brother. Besides it’s 1940 in Louisiana and being black and a woman are two big strikes against Ida’s chances of becoming a real pilot.

Then the U.S. enters into war with Germany and Japan and the army announces that the government is forming a special group called the WASP: Women Airforce Service Pilots. However, while the WASP might finally offer Ida the chance to get back in the air and join the war effort, there’s still one big problem. The WASP is only for white women. Yet Ida’s determined and, with her light skin, she might be able to pass as a white woman--if she's very careful. But, can Ida truly fulfill her dreams while pretending to be someone she’s not? Will she even last long enough to leave the runway?

For full disclosure, I should share that I'm huge fan of historical fiction--especially stories that focus on frequently forgotten events or people in history. However, while some historical fiction might only appeal to those of us who confess to be hardcore history fans, Flygirl is a great read for nearly anyone looking for an exciting adventure with sympathetic characters and a suspenseful plot! Ida is frustrated by her seemingly limited life as the daughter of a farmer, as a black girl in the segregated South, and as a light-skinned girl in her own community. Ida always felt a little out of place and dreams of escape--both from her repetative life and from the physical bonds of gravity itself. Being a pilot offers her the opportuntity to see new places, learn new things, and find a purpose.

The suspenseful ramifications of Ida's choice to pass as white in order to join the WASP shed light on a variety of tensions surrounding skin color, identity, and insider/outsider status in the black and white communities of 1940 America--tensions that continue to surface even today. Additionally, the story finally brings the long underappreciated but critical efforts of military women like the WASP into the mainstream; for example, I was fascinated to learn that while women didn't fly into combat, they did test out new plane models--a very dangerous feat that male pilots refused to do. The author's descriptions bring the adrenaline-soaked joy and fear of flying to life vividly; you'll be tempted to look into flying lessons after you finish!

For a high flying adventure rich in fascinating characters and forgotten pockets of history, check out Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith, on display in the library's fiction section now!

Celebrate National Poetry Month & Become A Book Spine Poet!

2013-04-12T14:55:00.002-04:00

image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidyuweb

April is a month absolutely bursting with celebrations! We frequently associate April with events like April Fools' Day, Earth Day, and the beginning of spring. However, April also happens to be National Humor Month, International Guitar Month, & National Welding Month!
Here at NCS, we are especially excited that April is also National Poetry Month!

To acknowledge this month-long celebration of verse, the NCS Library is challenging everyone in our community to become book spine poets!

What in the world is book spine poetry?

Book spine poetry appeared in pop culture back in 1993 through American artist Nina Katchadourian’s 'Sorted Books' project in which she grouped books from various collections into clusters so that the titles on their spines could be read in from top to bottom as a sentence. The concept was further adapted by critic and writer Maria Popova who featured the idea of creating short poems from the spines of arranged book piles on her blog ‘Brain Pickings.’

Check out these examples of book spine poetry!

'Akron Stacks'-Sorted Books project by Nina Katchadourian

'The Spark of Love'-- BrainPickings.org by Maria Popova

If you'd like to look at further examples, check out this article on BookRiot.org or the galleries of book sprine poetry on Travis Jonker's blog 100 Scope Notes.

Interested in becoming a book spine poet?

Find some books! You can use books from home, from a friend's home, from a public library, from the NCS Library, etc.
Arrange the books into a stack so that the titles on the spines can be read from top to bottom as a short poetic sequence. Arrange and rearrange books until you create YOUR poem!
Snap a photo of your poem and email it to ncs.bkspinepoems@gmail.com. Please include your name and your poem's title (if you wish to title it) in the email.
Watch for your poem here on the blog and on the display screen in the NCS Library's display area!
In May, students will vote for their favorite poems from the entries and the winners will receive exciting prizes!

We look forward to seeing your poetic book spine creations!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple & Gold Pick of the Week: How To Say Goodbye In Robot by Natalie Standiford

2013-04-09T16:36:00.003-04:00

Sometimes amid a flood of fantastic fantasy novels featuring dragons and superhuman abilities and heart-racing dystopian adventures full of thought-provoking doom & gloom, I crave a story grounded in our so-called 'real world.' At the right moment, there's really nothing better than a solid piece of contemporary realistic fiction. Natalie Standiford's lovely novel How To Say Goodbye In Robot goes beyond solid realistic fiction into the realm of brilliant stories. Behind its quirky title and deceptively pink cover hides a raw and emotionally resonant story of two people searching for connection during that bizarre period bridging the end of high school and beginning of real life.

When Beatrice started her senior year at a new school, she assumed she’d find friends among the many average, cheerful, and friendly girls she met on her first day. But alphabetic destiny pairs Beatrice up with the class loner Jonah—AKA Ghost Boy. At first being assigned a locker and a seat beside the guy whose name has apparently become synonymous with 'weirdo' seems like a simple bit of bad luck. But Bea soon discovers that she and Jonah have more in common than their ajoining positions in the class roster.

Bea & Jonah are destined to be friends. But their relationship is not going to be an average friendship, bound by shared gossip, parties, and hobbies. Bea & Jonah forge an intense connection based on secret truths, daring adventures, and late-night calls to the same old-time radio show. As unconventional and undefined as their relationship might be, their connection is painfully, powerfully real. It’s not quite romance—but it’s definitely love. The kind of love you never forget.

This lovely novel is both heart-warming and heart-wrenching and it stands out as one of few book that explores the tangled, consuming, wonderful, and painful realities of friendship. I would especially recommend this novel to fans of The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and John Green's novels (especially Looking For Alaska).

Check out Natalie Standiford's How To Say Goodbye In Robot, on display now in the library's fiction section!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

2012-11-27T13:18:00.000-05:00

Arnold "Junior" Spirit has always been something of an outcast. Born with various medical conditions, Junior has been made fun of by nearly every other kid on the Spokane Indian Reservation. With his glasses, abnormally big head and serious lack of muscles, Junior is an easy target. But while Junior might be goofy-looking and scrawny, he has plenty of good things going for him. He's got a decent jump shot, a powerful talent for cartooning, a best friend, and a loving (if imperfect) family. And most of all, Junior has dreams. He dreams of getting an actual education--from a school where the textbooks aren't the same ones his mom used a couple decades ago. Even more importantly, Junior dreams of demanding more from life than mere survival. He dreams about getting off the "rez" and escaping the cycle of unhappiness and disappointment that seems to trap all the adults in his life.

So when his teacher suggests that he look into attending the all-white, public school in the nearby farming town, Junior decides to take the plunge and give his dreams a shot--even though he's sure the attempt will end in disaster. Now, Junior must learn to navigate a whole new world where the only other Indian is the school mascot--while everyone on the rez (except his parents & grandmother) have decided that he's a traitor. Even his best friend refuses to speak to him. How can Junior escape the bad parts of life on the rez without leaving behind his heritage or his family? How can he make all the pieces of his identity fit into his divided life?

Brilliant author, poet, and screenwriter Sherman Alexie blew the literary world away when he published his first novel for young adults in 2007. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian has gone on earn a National Book Award, a place on many must-read book lists of teens & adults alike, and space in many middle and high school English curriculums across the country. But what's the best thing about Diary? It actually lives up to the hype--and it has yet to lose its emotional power or relevance.

Told through Junior's alternatively hilarious and heartbreaking words and cartoons, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an engrossing coming of age story that explores identity, family, friendship, and love with unmatched humor and honesty. Jumping from basketball and girls to racism and alcoholism, the story doesn't back down from taking on tricky topics--but it never becomes melodramatic and the reader never stops cheering for Junior. While Diary deals most directly and extensively with Native American and male identities, Junior's struggle to sort his own multfaceted identity amidst stereotypes and others' negative (and positive) expectations will resonsate with everyone.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian will make you laugh, cry, smile, and sigh. Junior's story is one that sticks will you long after you've closed the book. And it's a perfect book to read as we close November--Native American Heritage Month.

Run over to the library today to grab our copy of Sherman Alexie's National Book Award winning novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, on display in the fiction section!

To learn even more about Native Americans--both in the past and the present--check out the National Museum of the American Indian, right here in DC! The museum's website alone has amazing resources, including outside links, online collections, and multimedia presentations about Native American history and perspectives from a huge variety of modern Native Americans.

Sample Some Deliciously Fresh Reads This Thanksgiving Break!

2012-11-13T07:30:00.000-05:00

The first few months have school here at NCS have flown by at an unbelievable rapid pace! Now, Thanksgiving Break is already right around the corner.

For most of us, Thanksgiving will mean a few days off from classes, a lot of good food, and extra time to spend with family and friends. It can also mean a chance to catch up some non-required reading! Not sure which new book to start first? The NCS Library is here to help!

Check out our Thanksgiving Break 2012 book list, chock full of recently published literary gems! Click the link above to see and/or download a pdf of the list OR stop by the library to glance over a print copy.

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

2012-11-12T11:14:00.001-05:00

Cate Cahill made a promise. She promised her dying mother that she would protect her sisters--at all costs. The task would be a lot easier however if their family didn't have quite so many dangerous secrets. Their small New England town already finds the Cahill sisters' education and reclusive behaviors suspicious but if anyone were to discover that the three girls are honest to goodness witches, their lives would be over. Especially since every day the priests of the Brotherhood round up more and more girls accused of witchcraft and send them away to the asylum.

As if that weren't enough to preoccupy Cate, her seventeenth birthday is fast approaching, which means that in just a few months Cate will have to decide if she's going to get married or join the Sisterhood. Neither option seems appealing right now, especially since both might separate her from her sisters. Then the discovery of her mother's diary throws Cate's world even more off balance: it turns out that being witches isn't the Cahill girls' biggest secret. Now Cate must race to find the truth about her family's destiny before powerful forces find ways to use her or her sisters for their own interests and in the process perhaps finally take the time to discover the desires of her own heart.

As teenager facing the transition into adulthood and a sudden, unusual influx of responsibilities, Cate will be a familiar figure to readers of all ages. She tries so hard to balance and protect her sisters' safety and happiness but she's also forced herself to ignore her individual potential. But Cate is limited by more than her own family responsibilities and worries; she lives in society where women's power and independence have been extremely curtailed by a male dominated religious order led by the Brotherhood priests.

The world imagined by Jessica Spotswood is one of the highlights of the novel. She seeds the information about the society and history into the narrative, allowing the full picture to emerge gradually and through the characters' pertinent experiences. This method, as usual, works well and avoids weighing down the pace of the story with too lengthy descriptions of traditions or historical events. My only problem was that I found the fictional world so intriguing that I keep wanting more detail! Born Wicked takes place in an alternative universe in which witches and magic truly exist and the United States began when witches left other areas of the world to avoid persecution and colonized the eastern coast of the current U.S. As a result, the population is even more ethnically and racially diverse. However, the religious Brotherhood gained influence and wrested control from the female-run Daughters of Persephone; now, women must either get married or join the female monastic branch of the Brotherhood, in order to control their potential evil.

However, it was not just the intriguing setting and the strong protagonist that drew me into this novel. The supporting characters and the relationships between the characters are well drawn; the complicated relationship between the three sisters is especially realistic in its portrayal. The plot's mysteries and tension grow increasingly exciting as the story moves forward and the novel's pacing pulls the reader in quickly. The romance is sweet and swoon-worthy. Cate's understanding of her desires emerges naturally and her realizations happen as part of her larger awakenings about her world, her magical abilities, and her options for the future. The tension reaches a dramatic peak near the novel's conclusion that will leave readers eager for the next installment of Cate's tale.

I would recommend Born Wicked to readers who enjoy supernatural or paranormal tales (especially those with witches) and fantasy, especially historical fantasy. It might pair well with other historical fantasy novels such as A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce and The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton or with fantasy novels depicting similar family situations (Entwined by Heather Dixon springs to mind).

Come by the library today to grab your copy and fall under the spell of Jessica Spotswood's debut novel Born Wicked, the first book in the Cahill Witch Chronicles!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

2012-10-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

If Piper could just learn to keep her big mouth shut, she would not be in this mess. But since she couldn't, Piper is now the manager of the school's suddenly popular local rock band, bizarrely named 'Dumb,' and she's got to get them a paying gig within a month to make the arrangement official and get her share of the profits. However, there are a few problems. Firstly, Piper is deaf. Secondly, and more importantly, even Piper can tell that Dumb does not sound good. But somehow Piper and the other mixed up flavors of people that form Dumb are going to have to learn to make beautiful music together.

Now, there's always a chance that novel with a quirky or catchy premise (such as "deaf girl becomes band manager") will never be more than just that: a good tagline. However, in the case of Five Flavors of Dumb, the novel not only lives up to its potential; the story actually surpasses it with unexpected depth. Five Flavors of Dumb is a delightful coming of age novel about friendship and family that happens to feature a protagonist who is deaf. Piper is funny, frustrated, sarcastic, angry, and kind. Her deafness is integral to the story in that it shapes Piper's life and motivations; the novel provides a look at the complex social world that Piper and her family live in as part of the deaf community. However, the novel never makes her deafness a gimmick and Piper's conflicts with her family and her shifting perceptions of and relationships with the other members of Dumb are pretty universally relatable.

The novel also includes a plethora of references to famous rock musicians and rock music history. The practical problems of forming and keeping a band together as well as promoting and succeeding as a successful business venture in the music world are also explored. The characters are quirky and likable; the combinations of unexpected friendships and a touch of romance hit all the right notes. Five Flavor of Dumb is a feel-good novel that will put a smile on your face while also shedding light on the complexity within the deaf community and providing a crash course in rock'n'roll history.

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: Adaptation by Malinda Lo

2012-10-10T16:35:00.003-04:00

In the skies over North America, large flocks of birds suddenly hurl themselves into planes, causing dozens of deadly crashes and forcing airports to shut down acroos the continent. Reese Holloway, her debate partner and crush David, and their teacher are trapped at an airport on their way back from a debate competition when the nation enters a state of panicked emergency. During their harrowing drive home to San Francisco, a bird flies in front of their headlights and the car flips, landing them in a ditch along a dark Nevada road.

When Reese wakes up in a strange military hospital a month later, she finds her body mysteriously and miraculously healed of any injuries and her mind confused and full of questions. What exactly happened in that hospital? Why can't Reese or David tell anyone anything they remember about the place?

And after Reese returns home to California and meets the mysterious and alluring Amber Gray, her questions only grow.
What is the government hiding about the thousands of dead birds? What is Amber hiding? And who--or what--has Reese become since the accident?

A large amount of the science fiction recently published for young adults usually fits into the popular dystopian, futuristic, or speculative fiction molds. But here, in her first foray into the genre, excellent fantasy writer Malinda Lo, dives right into more traditional, fierce, and frightening science fiction territory: government conspiracies, medical experimentation, and possible contact with forces beyond our planet. Adaptation presents a scenerio that could happen anytime in the next few years; it's immediate rather than futuristic and in many ways, this fact automatically increases the suspense and the fear factor. Additionally, novel has a plot that hits the ground running during the opening pages and doesn't stop twisting and turning all the way up to the book's final lines. The story is action-packed and full of intertwined mysteries that will keep the reader guessing along with Reese as she struggles to make sense of the strange turns her life has taken.

However, Adaptation is more than a thrill-ride. Lo continues to demonstrate her distguished ability to create and maintain a richly diverse cast of characters, without ever making any of them seem like a stereotype or a token representation of multiculturalism. Her characters live in a much more realistically multicultural world than that frequently imagined in fictional visions of the United States. None of the characters of color or LGBTQ characters are defined purely by those pieces of their identity.  And in the midst of a science fiction thriller, Lo paints an excellent picture of the fluidity and process of discovery inherent in identity development for young adults. Moreoever, her characters and their relationships are complex and emotionally resonant.

Between conspiracy theories worthy of the best X-Files episodes, non-stop action, and truly interesting characters, Adaptation is a novel you won't be able to put down once you pick it up!

Do You Dare To Write A Scary & Suspenseful Short Story?

2012-10-10T10:30:00.001-04:00

Are you ready to start celebrating Teen Read Week 2012?

Are you a bestselling author in the making?

Do you dare to take on our short story writing contest?

To celebrate Teen Read Week 2012's focus on horror, suspense, and supernatural literature, our Student Library Advisory Board has opened a short story writing contest to all NCS Middle and Upper school students! The contest has a few basic rules to keep it interesting and fair, so please come by the library or email Ms. Dickinson at kdickinson@cathedral.org for details!

All entries must be submitted by Monday Oct. 22,

so tiptoe, sneak, or slither your way into the library

to pick up your guidelines & entry form today!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

2012-09-25T16:23:00.001-04:00

"I should probably start with the blood." After all, there was so much blood on the night that Nora's suddenly perfect life crumbled and twisted into a nightmare. Before that night, Nora had two best friends. She had a fresh new storybook romance of her own. She was working on a senior year independent Latin project at the local college with a quirky professor and one of her best friends, Chris, now a college freshmen. Everything in Nora's life was finally falling into place. Now Chris is dead and his girlfriend and Nora's other best friend Adrienne has withdrawn into a state of catatonic shock. Max, Chris' sweet and nerdy roommate and Nora's new boyfriend, has disappeared and the police are convinced that he's the killer.

Determined to prove that Max is innocent, Nora immerses herself in the strange occurrences and cryptic clues surrounding the Book of Blood and Shadow--the mysterious manuscript at the center of their shared research project. Nora's search for the truth leads her deep into a dark world of ancient secrets spanning centuries of bloodshed and terror as she traces the clues hidden in another desperate young woman's centuries old letters across the ocean and into the twisting streets of Prague.

This new novel has been described as the YA Da Vinci Code and rightfully so. Full of mysterious documents, hidden history, elaborate codes, secret societies, and thrills & chills galore, The Book of Blood and Shadow has all the necessary pieces for an excellent intellectual thriller. However, Wasserman goes several steps further than just gathering all the pieces; she's combined those pieces with interesting characters, rich description, and elegantly built suspense. It has all the compulsive readability of The Da Vinci Code but with frankly better writing and more exciting, on the spot Latin translation. Nora is a smart, sarcastic, and fierce narrator. Her relationships with Chris, Adrienne, and Max are complex; she consistently keeps an emotional distance from both Chris and Adrienne yet remains intensely loyal and somewhat dependent on their threesome's stability--especially after Chris' murder. Her romance with Max is sweet and thrilling, which makes the confusing web of revelations about him and his potential involvement in the Book's mysteries even more emotionally fraught. Elizabeth Weston, the stepdaughter of a medieval alchemist who devoted his life to decoded the mysteries within the Book, emerges as an equally fascinating character through Nora's revelatory translation of her letters.

You will be immediately drawn into the story, both by the appealingly human characters and the ever increasing mystery. The plot is full of twists and turns that keep readers guessing right up to the final page. I would heartily recommend The Book of Blood and Shadow to readers of intellectual thrillers and mysteries (such as The Da Vinci Code), especially Latin students and Indiana Jones fans.

Come by the library and check out Robin Wasserman's new novel, The Book of Blood and Shadow, on display now in the fiction section!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles

2012-09-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Fern is sick and tired of her overcrowded and exhausting family. Between grumpy 18 year old Sara stuck helping at the family restaurant Harry's, unhappy Holden starting high school with new secrets, and annoying 3 year old surprise baby Charlie, Fern mostly feels like she's invisible. To make things even worse, her dad starts his newest deeply embarrasing marketing scheme for Harry's just weeks before Fern starts seventh grade. But when a tragedy strikes and turns their lives upside down, Fern must find her place in a world that will never be the same and within a family that's falling apart.

It was be very easy for a novel narrated by a girl who feels lost among her large quirky family to feel cliche; the situation is familiar and Fern's embarrasment about her family and nerves about beginning at a new school could easily translate as whiny or repetetive. But in Jo Knowles' capable hands, See You at Harry's is anything but cliched or overdone. All the characters stand out as interesting and realistic. As a reader you can recognize people you've known, loved, and/or been related to among Fern's family, friends, and enemies; they are quirky enough to be unique and familiar enough to be relatable but overall they are also complex enough to avoid becoming flat stereotypes. As a narrator and protagonist, Fern especially stands out as someone with whom nearly any reader can find a connection. She loves her family yet they drive her absolutely insane; she's perceptive, caring, and smart but still very much in the middle of figuring out who she is and what kind of person she will choose to become.

Additionally, Jo Knowles takes on the difficult topics of loss and grief with authenticity and grace. Through Fern's reactions and her observations of her family and friends' reactions, Knowles paints an achingly realistic and sympathetic portrait of the complex and conflicting emotions that bubble up within us in the face of death. See You At Harry's is an emotionally powerful novel about the pain of growing up, the shocking confusion of loss, and the rocky road to healing.

Come by the library to get a taste of Jo Knowles' new novel,

See You At Harry's

on display now in our fiction section!

Living in A Booklover's Paradise: National Book Festival This Weekend!

2012-09-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

This year's poster was designed by
Rafael Lopez.

Living in our nation's capital can have many advantages, especially for those among the NCS community with an interest in international issues and politics. However, D.C. also happens to be a paradise for booklovers! Between our extensive public library system and the many amazing independent bookstores scattered throughout the District, rapid readers are very lucky. This weekend's exciting events are prime examples of D.C.'s exciting literary scene.

This Saturday and Sunday, September 22nd and 23rd, the Library of Congress will host its 12th annual National Book Festival down on the National Mall. The festival takes over the the Mall between 9th and 14th Streets, filling the area with a variety of pavillons housing everything from author presentations and book signings to family reading activities and special exhibits about the Library of Congress or the literary traditions of all 50 states. You can visit the Festival's website to find more information including a map of the pavillions and a schedule of all exciting author presentations and signings. Over 100 authors, poets, and illustrators of books in all different genres will be at the event over the course of the weekend. Highlights include John Green (The Fault in Our Stars), Lois Lowry (The Giver), Maggie Stiefvater (Shiver; The Scorpio Races), Jenny Han (The Summer I Turned Pretty), Sandra Cisneros (The House on Mango Street), and many, many more! To find out if your favorite author might be there, check out the Festival complete author list here.

The National Book Festival runs from 10am to 5:30pm on Saturday Sept. 22 and from noon to 5:30pm on Sunday Sept. 23 on the National Mall. It is free and open to the public and the events will run as scheduled in rain or sunshine.

Additionally, the fabulous independent bookstore Politics and Prose has several exciting author events this week. Libba Bray (author of A Great & Terrible Beauty, Going Bovine, and Beauty Queens) is presenting and signing there on Wednesday Sept. 20 at 7pm to celebrate the publication of her history fantasy novel The Diviners. Also, David Levithan (Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist; Every Day) and Jacqueline Woodson (Hush; If You Come Softly; Beneath A Meth Moon) will be stopping by the store at 6:30pm on Saturday Sept. 22 after their busy day at the Book Festival. Check out their calendar to for details!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple & Gold Pick of the Week: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

2012-09-14T09:38:00.003-04:00

On October 11, 1943, a British spy plane carrying two young women is hit by enemy antiaircraft fire while crossing the English Channel. The determined pilot fights the failing aircraft for control, allowing her passenger to parachute out safely before crashing down in a French field. The parachuting passenger is a Special Operative with the code name Verity--and the pilot is her best friend Maddie. Together, they are a sensation team. But mere days after leaving Maddie and her unknown fate behind, Verity is captured by the Gestapo. Entering into a spy's worst nightmare, she's faced with a choice: spill her many secrets or face a slow and painful death.

Reviewing Elizabeth Wein's brilliant new novel is a delicate task, involving some of the same careful way with words and talent for subterfuge necessary for survival as a Special Operative. The task is so tricky because this thrilling novel is full of so many surprising twists and turns that even the shortest plot summary is in danger of including spoilers. However, I can reveal that Code Name Verity is one of the most intense and fascinating novels I've read this year. While it's packed with interesting historical details about everything from planes to ballpoint pens, the story never drags with an overabundance of description. In fact, even though Verity's narrative jumps back and forth between her horrific present situation and her retelling of the events that brought her and Maddie to France, the story practically never drags. Verity's narration, occasionally jumbled or confusing as suits a confession written under threat of torture, is highly compelling and the tension only grows as the novel's multiple plots unfold. However, while the complex and well-crafted plot and excellent writing are huge factors in this novel's success, it is the extraordinarily realistic and emotionally resonant portrayal of the friendship between Verity and Maddie that truly makes this novel stand out. As Verity writes, "It's like being in love, discovering your best friend."

Come over the library to grab of our copy of Elizabeth Wein's thrilling novel of friendship and survival under fire, Code Name Verity!

APP-solutely Fabulous: Pulse

2012-09-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

image from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As the new school year begins, the amount of papers, textbooks, assignments, and events to keep organized can be a more than a little overwhelming. Between old fashioned spiral bound planners and digital to-do lists or calender alerts, it feels like we can never do enough to stay on top of our organizational needs. So we definitely don't have time to keep track of updates from favorite websites, recently discovered blogs, or preferred digital news providers. Luckily, there's a great app for that!

In fact there are several different apps that can track and pull together all your favorite online updates into one location. However, after trying out a few different options, I've definitely found a favorite personalized news reading app. Pulse, an app designed by two graduate students at Stanford's Institute of Design in 2010, is an easy to use news reading app that works on multiple devices. Pulse allows you to create a highly visual but clean and organized compilation of updates from all your favorite websites, blogs, social networks, and other online news sources.

As this screenshot of a Pulse homescreen shows, Pulse differs from a regular RSS feed reader especially in its appearance. Pulse is highly visual and easy to manipulate using the touch screens of tablets or smartphones. After downloading the app for free to your iPad, iPhone, or Android device, you simply open the app, read the initial instruction screen, and begin customizing your Pulse news feeds. The small white cog wheel in the upper left corner of the home screen opens the following screen which allows you to add pages & sources and to manipulate the arrangement of source feeds between pages and within pages.

A screen shot of the set-up screen, accessed by clicking on the white cog wheel in the top left of the homescreen.

Pop-up screen where you can choose new source feeds.

If you click on the blue add bars, this screen will pop up. Here you can browse through Pulse's preselected and featured news sources by category and pick feeds to add to your home screen. You can also connect to your Google Reader if you use it track RSS feeds already and then add sources from there. If you're still looking for sources, then you can also click on the magnifying glass icon in the top left corner of this screen to search by keywords or specific web addresses.

When you tap on a image or 'tile' representing a blog post or article, a separate screen within pulse should pop up to display the full content. You can also sync your Pulse across multiple devices; directions about that process are included on the Pulse F.A.Q. page, along with a range of other helpful answers and instructions.

Enjoy and happy organizing!

Library Update!

2012-09-05T15:05:00.005-04:00

Welcome Back, NCS! We at the library are thrilled to see everyone back on campus and look forward to hearing about your summer adventures when you stop by to see us! We are also excited to share the recent expansions to our library services to kick off the fall term. In addition to our usual plethora of fresh books, we have a few other new additions to the library space.

Firstly, Mr. Lucas' office has been transformed into our new Digital Media Production Lab. This lab now contains 8 new Mac computers, each equipped with Final Cut, Adobe Photo Shop, and other related software. There is also a new green screen wall, a range of new camera equipment, and a color scanner for student and faculty use. This lab and its equipment will be available for faculty, staff, and student use during regular library hours, including after school. The space will provide students (or faculty and staff) with a consistently available work area for projects related to the manipulation, creation, and production of digital media (such as films, video or multimedia presentations, etc.).

Secondly, we've purchased a set of 20 iPod Touches to be used as video cameras, digital cameras, and audio recorders. The iPods will be available for student checkout or for faculty checkout as a set for classroom lessons or projects. We also have a few iPads that can be checked out for in library use for students during the school day.

As usual the library is open every week day from 7:30am to 5:00pm. Stop by and check out our fresh supply of books, our exciting new equipment, and our September display highlighting excellent online sources for homework help!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple & Gold Pick of the Week: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

2012-09-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Since birth, Ismae has been marked by death. The red birthmark running across her body is both a reminder of the dark circumstances surroundign her birth and a sign that her true father is likely Mortain, the god of death himself. However when Ismae find refuge from an unwanted arranged marriage with a cruel man at the ancient convent of St. Mortain, she learns that her strangeness might mark her for an unusual and dangerous destiny. At the convent, the old gods of Brittany are still worshipped and women swear to serve as Death's handmaidens--highly trained assassins working to keep the balance of life and death at all costs.

If you're looking for an exciting and rich new fantasy, then Robin LaFevers' debut novel might be just your cup of tea--or, more appropriately, goblet of poison! Grave Mercy fits nicely into the emerging subcategory of fantasy writing frequently identified as historical fantasy. Ismae lives in an alternative version of the medieval duchy of Brittany fighting to remain independent from France and the tale winds through dark roadside inns, tension-filled feast halls, and the chilly passages of castles. The story combines mysterious court intrigues, a thrilling spy and assassin plot, swoon-worthy romance, and richly detailed characters. Ismae is an intriguing narrator. Her past experiences as a social pariah and the abuse of men like her father and husband have scarred her; while her training at the convent has strengthened her confidence, she remains distrustful of outsiders, especially men. When beginning her largest mission yet posing as the young Breton duchess's mysterious brother Gavriel Duval's mistress, Ismae is excited to have the opportunity to serve Mortain and to prove her worth to the convent. However, she soon finds herself both unprepared for the layered intrigues of the Breton court and unnerved by the questions Duval raises about the convent's motives and methods. The reader is drawn into Ismae's quest for the truth quickly and pulled through a twisting and thrilling journey that is impossible to put down.

This fresh and fierce fantasy has a well-crafted plot full of mystery and romance, fascinating characters, and rich, atmospheric setting. Best of all--it's the first in a trilogy (titled His Fair Assassin) so we can all look forward to hearing more about Ismae's adventures as she strives to find her own path in a dangerous and unpredictable world.

APP-solutely Fabulous: Flashcardlet

2012-05-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

image credit: adamr on freedigitalphotos.com

It's getting to be that time of year again--the time when the study guide pile up, a rainbow of colored tags poke out of every text book, and index cards supplies start to run low. We have entered the dreaded exam season. So for this edition of APP-solutely Fabulous, we're featuring a neat app that might help you streamline your study habits. For many students, the old fashioned flashcard remains a favorite study method, especially for subjects with long vocabulary lists or pages of facts and dates. Available for iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, the nifty app Flashcardlet (listed as Flashcards in the App Store) allows you to use this classic memory tool while removing the piles of easily damaged index cards from the process. With this app, you can flip through stacks of digital flashcards in a variety of subject areas. You can grab sets of flashcards from the flashcard and study games website Quizlet and add them to your Flashcardlet library in minutes or you can use the app to create your own sets of flashcards. You can also create a free account on Quizlet and create flashcards there to access online or through the app later. This app also allows you to view images as part of the flashcards, an advantage especially for art history or vocabulary studying.

Once you've chosen a flashcard set to work with, Flashcardlet also permits you to customize the way you use the flashcards. You can go through in the original order or have them randomly shuffled. As you move through the digital deck, you can star cards that you need to review again and you can check off cards with terms or ideas you've mastered. You can also share flashcard sets with friends via Dropbox or email.

The app has a free version with advertisements running along the bottom of the screeen; for $2.99, you can get a version without advertisments. It is generally easy to learn and use; I suggest using the Tutorial deck included with the app to get a quick lesson in how to manipulate the flashcards and customize your studying experience.

For more study habits help, stop by the library or the TLC to grab one of the TLC's great handouts on test prep and test taking strategies!

Show Your Library Some Love (And Get A Delicious Thank You!)

2012-05-14T11:37:00.001-04:00

Need a break from AP exam panic and end of term crunch time?

Stop by the NCS Library for a sweet distraction!

Swing by the library all this week, Monday May 14-Friday May 18, to join in our Love Your Library Cookie Campaign and/or to enter your name in our raffles for some free books!

To snag a sugary treat, just venture over to the library and find the yellow bookcart with markers and 'I Love Our Library' pink posters. Then fill in the heart with the reason (or reasons) you love our library. Return your library love proclamation to a library and choice a reward from our varied selection of homemade cookies!

While you're there, check out our book raffles and enter your name for chances to win a copy of several great books. The prizes include a signed copy of Kristin Cashore's brand new novel Bitterblue and a signed copy of the newest Gallagher Girls novel Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter!

Zite: APPS-olutely Fabulous Returns!

2012-05-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

image credit: adamr on freedigitalphotos.com

After a bit of a hiatus, we're bringing back our APPS-olutely Fabulous feature here at the NCS Library blog! The lists of available iPad/tablet and smartphone apps keep growing daily--at almost alarming rates! It can be difficult to keep track of them and sometimes surfing through the Apple app store can be overwhelming. So every two weeks, we'll highlight a different app that we've discovered to particularly interesting, useful, and (hopefully) fun!

This week, our featured app is Zite, the personalized news reader that goes above and beyond the call of duty! While there are many great ways to keep track of your favorite websites, blogs, and new sources on your tablet or smartphone, Zite stands out. Zite (whose name comes from the word, "zeigeist") does more that simply track your favorite RSS feed in shiny new format; it also gathers new content based on your interests and your use of the app. In much the same way a tool like Pandora suggests new musical artists based on your stated preferences and your ratings of new songs, Zite's personalized article collecting improvesas you use it. So Zite not only creates a personalized magazine for viewing on your tablet or phone; it also helps you discover new content daily.

An example Zite homepage!

You can download Zite for free and it is currently available for iPad, iPhone, HP TouchPad, and Android phones. When you first begin using Zite, you can give the app access to some of your existing methods for tracking content online, including your Twitter, Google Reader, and Delicious accounts. The app will use information from these sources in addition to content areas you select or add to customize your personalized magazine.

If you have a favorite app that you think we should highlight,

tell an NCS librarian or leave a comment here!

Ms. Dickinson's Purple & Gold Pick of the Week: Strings Attached by Judy Blundell

2012-05-01T15:44:00.000-04:00

Kit Corrigan came to New York City to become a star. But it's 1950 and making it big on Broadway isn't easy. So when her ex-boyfriend Billy's dad offers to give her a little help, Kit can't refuse. Soon, she's got herself a nice new apartment and new job as a chorus dancer at the hottest new club in town. It seems like Kit is finally in with the right crowd to make her way to the top. But Mr. Benedict isn't just Billy's father--he's also a lawyer with mob connections. Suddenly Kit is in way over her head as she becomes tangled up in a web of lies, love, and murder that digs up some unpleasant pieces of her family's past.

A peek at the somewhat seedy underbelly of glamorous 1950s New York City? Rich historical details about theatre, crime, and clothing? A sizzling mystery with plenty twists and turns? Judy Blundell's newest novel has all the elements of an exciting and compulsive read for historical fiction fans and skeptics alike! Like her earlier novel, the National Book Award winning What I Saw and How I Lied, Blundell's new story places a young woman living during a transitional time in America's history in the middle of progressively more complex mystery that forces her to face the dark reality of the grown-up world she's entering. Our heroine in Strings Attached, Kit, is a determined and smart young performer determined to take her small town stage success and year of dance drills to the big time in New York City. From the opening scenes, the novel shows the difficulties facing an aspiring artist alone in the big city during the mid-20th century--illustrating challenges and unpleasant realities that remain unchanged today in many ways. Full of rich historical details but never overburdened by such information, the narrative shifts back and forth between Kit's current life in the early '50s and her childhood growing up during the Depression. Kit's reactions to the growing intrigue in her life illustrate an appealing combination of worldliness, courage, and naivete.

The mysteries winding through the plot are exciting and full of unexpected twists, making this a good bet for readers who like mysteries as well as those who want solid historical fiction. Slowly, the reader learns along with Kit that the chilling chain of events leading her to mob involvement and a murder goes back deep into Kit and her family's conflicted past and their strange relationship with the Mr. Benedict and his son Billy. The connections between her own and her loved ones' past actions and the present danger and eventual tragedy in Kit's life are slowly revealed, making the mystery both poignant and thrilling.

If you're look for some other glamorous and gritty historical mysteries, try What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell, The Girl Is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines, or Jillian Larkin's Flappers series.

For a compelling and thrilling historical mystery and a brilliant tale about the way dark family secrets can come back to haunt us, check out Strings Attached by Judy Blundell, on display now in the fiction section

Looking for a Fierce & Fantastic Read?

2012-04-23T15:49:00.000-04:00

Here in the NCS Library, we're very excited and honored to be welcoming famed fantasy novelist Tamora Pierce, author of a plethora of fabulous books, as one of our writers at Writer's Day 2012 tomorrow! Some of her most popular series include The Circle of Magic novels, The Song of the Lioness quartet, The Immortals series, and the Beka Cooper trilogy. In celebration, I put together a list of fantasy novels featuring fierce heroines and thrilling adventures. This list includes Tamora Pierce's novels as well as a range of books with similar themes, characters, and settings!

Click on the link below to check it out!

WARRIORS: Fantastic Tales Featuring Fierce Heroines

Calling All Hunger Games Fans: Let Your Library Help You Survive Until March 23!

2012-03-08T16:26:00.000-05:00

Attention All Hunger Games Fans!

Can't Wait Until March 23?

Trying To Survive Until You Can See Panem On The Big Screen?

Come to the NCS Library & Enter Our DYSTOPIA Trivia Contest!

-Form a team of no more than 5 members.

-Swing by the library and pick up a yellow DYSTOPIA entry packet.

-Answer the 20 trivia questions inside and return the packet to a librarian by FRIDAY MARCH 16 @ 5pm!

There will be winning teams in both Upper School and Middle School and the each winning team will receive a goodie basket (including gifts cards for local theatres) for their inevitable trip to the see the movie over spring break!

Don't Forget! Drop your answers to our bonus Hunger Games geography trivia in the red box in the library by TUESDAY MARCH 13 and you have a chance to be one of the lucky recipients of a special Girl On Fire cupcake before break!

And May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!