Lies, Science, and Noise

Keep your eye out for these new titles at the library:

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Micah will freely admit she's a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she'll ever tell you. Over the years she's fooled everyone: her classmates, her teachers, even her parents. And she's always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her.

The book is divided into parts: in the second part, Micah reveals all the lies she tells in the first part of the book. And we desperately want to believe that she's telling the truth. The alternative is that she's insane.


Charles and Emma: Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman

Charles Darwin and his wife, Emma, were deeply in love and very supportive of each other, but their opinions often clashed. Emma was extremely religious, and Charles questioned God's very existence.

Darwin's name conjures up all kinds of ideas about history and science, but you'd never have uncovered all the nuances and mysteries of the man until you read this very personal account of his life and romance.

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Book 1 of the Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

In a world where every thought, every animal, even the ground you walk on makes Noise, all you can do is hear everything all the time. But when Todd discovers something he doesn't even have a word for yet, he finds a spot of quiet amidst the Noise. This discovery puts his life in danger.

Greatest first line: "The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say"


Since I'm going on a trip next week, I know what I'll be taking along with me. As the librarian, I get first dibs! :) And Pocket Edward has called shotgun already.

Books to movies this February

It's amazing how many books are being made into movies! On the docket for February release are the following:

The Lightning Thief

After learning that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea, Percy Jackson is transferred from boarding school to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods, and becomes involved in a quest to prevent a war between the gods. This is the first in a series called Percy Jackson and the Five Olympians by Rick Riordan. I can't wait!!!

Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging:
Confessions of Georgia Nicolson

A year in journal tells the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie. Think Bridget Jones' younger sister. The book is part of a hilarious series by Louise Rennison.

Dear John

Ever heard of a Dear John letter? This can only lead to tears. John's a high school dropout enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life. Then he meets Savannah and their falling in love is chronicled through letters. But after 9/11, John feels it's his duty to re-enlist in the Army. Out of sight, out of mind? Say it ain't so! The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks.

All books are available at the St. Francis Public Library so you can do your comparing. Stay tuned, because they keep churning out more of our favorite books into cinema experiences! We'll see if they do them justice...

Info and images from teenreads.com

TAG meeting Feb 2

Who: Ages 12-18 or Grades 6-12

What: TAG, short for Teen Advisory Group

Where: St Francis Public Library, Ladish Room

When: First Tuesday of the month from 4—5pm February 2, March 2,
April 6, May 4

Why: Your chance to have a say in what books, Manga, movies,
music, magazines and events you could find here @ the library.
Meet people, eat snacks, find out about how to earn volunteer
hours and make money to be used for teen programming!

Book Review Contest winners!

Congratulations to our Book Review Contest winners:

Alexis
Danielle
Morari
Lisette

Looking for a book to read? Check out their reviews below!

Who saw the movie New Moon? Looking for the book now? You may be put on a hold list, but stop into the downstairs part of the library for a copy of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga Read-Alikes to tide you over til it comes in for you.

Book Review: Marked

By P.C. + Kristin Cast
A Review by Merari

Doesn’t everyone dream to be a vampire? Well, not where Zoey Heffer lives. The last thing she wanted was to be a vampire. Worst of all- she’s been marked. As in she’s a vampire. No worries, her boyfriend (Heath) will help her get out of being one. The only problem is that she was sent to the vampire “academy”- The House of Night. What happens when she starts liking another boy? Eric Knight is the most gorgeous guy ever. But Zoey crosses paths with the most popular girl in school. When Aphrodite guarantees to make Zoey’s life miserable, her and her friends plan to take her down. But then, Heath shows up, yes, Eric Knight is right there.

If you love a great book about life for a vampire, love, hate, and ghosts, this is the book for you.

Book Review: The Wee Free Men

By Terry Pratchett
A Review by Alexis

Things are getting weird for Tiffany Aching. After meeting the mysterious Miss Tick and her talking toad, she discovers that her home, the Chalk, is holding more secrets than she could’ve ever imagined. You can bump into monsters just going down to the stream for water. You find little blue pictsies, or the Wee Free Men, in your farmhouse.

At least she assumes they are blue. It’s hard to tell because of all the tattoos on these Nac Mac Feegles, whose favorite hobbies include drinkin’, fightin’, and fightin’ and drinkin’.

She learns that her world is colliding with another, more poisonous one, and her brother gets kidnapped into it. Determined to get him back, she journeys to the place where the Queen has taken him, a strange land where things are never as they seem and dreams come at you with the bite of reality.

With the help of the Wee Free Men, she takes the leap and finds that she can open her eyes twice.

One thing that I really love about this book is the Wee Free Men. They chant, “Nac Mac Feegle! The Wee Free Men! Nae king! Nae quin! Nae laird! Nae master!” Standing only six inches high, they protect Tiffany from monsters that are coming from the other world. Their slang and “swear words” are hilarious, I’ve started using “Crivins!” as an expletive. The way Terry Pratchett describes them, it has made me want my own following of Nac Mac Feegles.

If you decide to read this book, there are two others in the series, A Hat Full of Sky and The Wintersmith. They continue the story of Tiffany Aching and her band of Feegles.

“The Wee Free Men” was a great read. Anyone who says otherwise don ken anythin’, ye scunner!

Book Review: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

By Michael Scott
A Review by Danielle

The first book of the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, titled the Alchemyst, starts at a bookstore in the heart of San Francisco. Working there is a normal boy named Josh, who’s fraternal twin sister Sophie works across the street. A man comes into the shop and inquires about a book, which normally wouldn’t be an odd thing to do in a bookstore. Except that this book is in fact the Codex, which holds all of life’s prophecies within its pages and the man isn’t about to take no for an answer. Suddenly a battle between the man, who reveals himself to be Dr. John Dee, and the storekeeper, who is actually Nicholas Flamel. During the squabble, Josh accidentally rips out the last two and most vital pages of the Codex, which Dee escapes with along with Flamel’s wife, Perenelle. Now Josh and Sophie must retrieve the Codex, for they are the Chosen Twins foretold in a prophecy in the Codex where they must prevent the Dark Elders from taking over the modern world and many other realms with it. In order to aid them and get back his wife, Flamel must take the twins across the globe so that they can awaken their powers and learn the four elemental magicks: fire, wind, water, and earth. Unfortunately for them, the Dark Elders want the twins so that they can use them for their own personal gain


In the second book, titled The Magician, the twins find themselves in Paris, France where they seek refuge with Comte de Saint Germain and Joan d’Arc. Dee is not the only one on the Dark Elders’ side, however, and they soon come across Niccolò Machiavelli. It doesn’t take long for Dee to arrive in Paris and when he does, he and Machiavelli team up and release Níðhöggr to wreak havoc on the streets of Paris. In all of the confusion, Dee and Machiavelli manage to convince Josh to join them for a time. They then take him deep into the catacombs that lie beneath Paris to meet the Roman god of war Mars to have his powers awakened.

Meanwhile, Perenelle Flamel, an incredibly powerful sorceress is being held prisoner on the island of Alcatraz. There, the Dark Elders have place creatures that have only been seen in fairy tales, mythology, and nightmares. Yet another precaution to keep Perenelle on the island is taken and the Dark Elders send the Morrigan, one of the three Celtic goddess sisters of battle, after her should she try to escape. Perenelle must use her wits to survive and flee Alcatraz.

Will the world be saved and the Dark Elders defeated? Or will the Dark Elders conquer and rule our world once again? Read and find out!