The Official Divergent Trailer is Here!!

I know, I know, you are all thinking to yourselves, how can you think about anything but Catching Fire which comes out TOMORROW!  But it is possible to dream about the next YA book turned blockbuster while counting the minutes until you see Katniss on the big screen once more.

Will SWood be as awesome as JLaw?  Check out the new Divergent movie trailer here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutgWjz10sM

Miss Keri

Lots of Great Reading Recs

I am on the Milwaukee County Teen Book Award committee and I have been trying to read a lot of this year's highly recommended teen books (which isn't super easy with a 1-year-old).  But I have read some really amazing titles in the last couple months and I highly recommend you read them too!

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan - I will fully disclose that I am a huge fan of David Levithan and would love for him to be my best friend (David if you are looking for a bff, call me).  But that aside, this is a beautifully woven story about young boys in love or looking for love or just trying to figure out if love even exists at all and the men who, a couple of generations before them, passed away from AIDS and are now looking down upon these boys.  This male chorus, as I like to think of them, narrates the stories of Craig and Harry, who are trying to break the Guinness World Record for the longest kiss. Neil and Peter, who have been together for a year and are not quite sure if they still have the spark between them. Avery and Ryan, who have just met at a LGBT prom. Tariq, who loves to dance and was attacked by bullies waiting for his dad outside the club. And Cooper, who hides his true self from everyone, until he is found out and now he is running away from everything, including himself.
I can't even count how many times I cried reading this novel. The male chorus is an excellent narrator that really makes you sit and think about how far we have come and how far we still need to go to making our world and equal place.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - Aliens have arrived and they sure aren't the little green men or the cute fuzzy "phone home" kind.  These aliens don't even seem to have landed, they just hover in their mothership over the earth, wasting away humanity in waves. Seven billion people wiped out in months. Those who are left? They have to fend for themselves and hide from the alien drones, hoping to stay alive, for what? To prolong the inevitable?  If the aliens can kill 7 billion people in months, what makes anyone think think they will survive?
Cassie is on a quest to find her little brother after he was taken by the army and her refugee camp was annihilated by that same army, leaving only her behind to witness it all.
Ben Parrish has lost everything and is close to death when the army saved him and offered a solution to his guilt and grief.
Suspense so intense you will lose your breath, The 5th Wave is one heck of a dystopian nightmare.

Winger by Andrew Smith - I have a lot of respect for rugby players; it is a very tough sport and you have to be quick on your feet and in your head to play.  Ryan Dean West is a winger on his boarding school rugby team (which is sort of like being a receiver or tight end in football). He is small, but very fast and good at the game. His teammates always have his back and he always has theirs, no matter if he actually likes them or not; they are a team and they always take care of each other.
But Ryan Dean is a bit different from all of his other teammates.  He is a junior in high school, but only 14.  And he is in love with his best friend, Annie, who thinks his is just a little kid.  On top of all that, he may have broken a few rules which landed him in Opportunity Hall, the strictest dorm set apart from all the others and far away from his friends.
Winger is hilarious with a heartbreaking twist in the end. Definitely one of my favorites this year.

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch - (Warning - this book does have triggers for sexual assault). This story broke my heart and made me very, very angry. I could not put it down.  Carey and Jenessa live in a broken old camper in the middle of a national park in Tennessee.  Their mentally ill and drug-addicted mother hasn't been around in months, having gone into town for "supplies". This is how Carey and Jenessa have been living for years, Jenessa never knowing anything else and Carey barely remembering what the outside world is like. They subsist on canned goods their mother brings back with her from town and what little game Carey can shoot. They are down to a few cans of beans when a man and woman find their camp. The woman is a social worker and the man is Carey's father. The story truly unfolds when Carey and Jenessa re-enter society, living in a loving home, going to school, eating hamburgers and french fries and wondering about this man who Carey's mother always said was bad and hurt them.  But if he was bad, how come Carey's mother let him take them?
Carey's voice is so true and haunting; this is a book you will not be able to stop thinking about long after you have finished.

Miss Keri

Getting Psyched for Catching Fire's Release - Hunger Games Readalikes

If you are like me, you are super stoked for the release of the next movie in the Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire. It opens on November 22nd and to get yourself pumped up, here are a few selections that are great for Hunger Games fans (because I am sure you are on at least your 6th read of Catching Fire and might want a little variety).



The Divergent Trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant) by Veronica Roth

The Dust Lands by Moira Young (Blood Red Road and Rebel Heart)

Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu (Legend, Prodigy and Champion)

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (Incarceron and Sapphique)

Escape From Furnace series by Alexander Gordon Smith (Lockdown, Solitary, Death Sentence, Fugitives and Execution)

House of the Scorpion and The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer

Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies, Pretties, Specials and Extras)

The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness (The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men)

The Roar and The Whisper by Emma Clayton

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

It's Been Awhile....

So, I know I have been very bad about keeping up with the blog...shame on me.  But after Summer Reading finished in early August, I still had a million things to do and never enough time.  But I pledge to be better about keeping you guys up-to-date on what is going on for teens here at FPL and beyond!

Next week is Teen Read Week and we are celebrating with a few fun programs. This year's theme is "Seek the Unknown". On Tuesday, October 15 stop by the library anytime to test your knowledge of famous urban legends.  Take the Mythbusters quiz and receive a prize!  Then on Thursday, October 17 at 6pm, head on over to watch the movie, "Now You See Me", rated PG-13. It is about a group of magicians that perform illusions that allow them to steal millions from banks around the world. But stealing is never that easy and things quickly become dangerous for all involved. Finally on Friday, October 18 from 6-9pm, invade the library after it is closed for our After Hours Alien Invasion party, where we will play Live Clue, make alien and monster crafts and more!  Registration is required, so call the library today!

There are a lot of cool things coming up for teens in the next few months - we are having another half-day craft day when Franklin Public Schools have early release on October 28.  From 1-3pm head over for our Halloween Craftsplosion to make Halloween and Day of the Dead crafts.

In November we will be celebrating the movie release of Catching Fire with programs during the week leading up to the release on November 22, including a Quarter Quell program on November 19.

Look for these upcoming teen books at FPL:
Allegiant by Veronica Roth (the final installment in the Divergent series) (Oct. 22)
Reality Boy by A. S. King (Oct. 22)
Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger (#2 in Finishing School series) (Nov. 5)
Champion by Marie Lu (final installment in the Legend series) (Nov. 5)
Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (Nov. 12)

Miss Keri

Summer Reading Is Almost Over...

Next week is the last week of Teen Summer Reading here at FPL, and it has been a great summer. We had so much fun at our lock-in to get Teen SRP kicked off and it only got better from there. We made cool subway art T-shirts, trained spies with our obstacle course, I Spy challenge and interrogation station. We also relaxed with some calming yoga and fun facials, made some new creations from old jewelry, watched some movies and yeah, we ate A LOT!

Next week we have 2 final programs, Bleach Pen T-shirts on Thursday, August 1 from 1-3pm and a party to end it all on Friday, August 2nd after the library closes. Our Mad Hatter Masquerade will wrap up the awesome summer we have had here at FPL and the winners of our Teen Summer Reading Club will be chosen.  I hope to see you all there!  Call the library to register for the Masquerade today. And as John Green says, "Don't Forget to be Awesome" @ your library!

Miss Keri

Book Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor and Park is a heartrendingly gorgeous novel about two teens who are uncomfortable in their own skin coming together to make themselves whole and beautiful.

Park has always been on okay terms with the cool kids; they kind of know he's there, but don't bother him much...until the day Eleanor steps on the bus.  That changes everything. Having a whole seat to himself, Park unwillingly lets her sit next to him, knowing, by the looks of her, this will incite the cool kids to ridicule.

Eleanor's clothes come from thrift shops and her bra is held together with safety pins.  Her crazy red curly hair cannot be tamed.  She knows how she looks to these kids as she steps on the bus and holds her head high. She searches for a seat and can only find one next to this stupid Asian kid.  Oh well.

Although Eleanor and Park do not immediately fall in love at first sight, their love story is one that will tear you apart (yep - Joy Division reference). Eleanor and Park's bus rides become central to their burgeoning friendship and eventual need for each other to feel complete. Park gives Eleanor a taste of a life she could not even dream of (happy family, music - oh god! the music, comics and acceptance for who she is).Eleanor gives Park something he never really had before, someone who can see who he is inside, doesn't think he is a wimp or isn't good enough.  He is perfect to her and she is perfect to him.

This is one of the best love stories I have read since Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Check Eleanor and Park out from your library at NOW!!!!

Miss Keri

Teen Summer Reading is About to Begin!

School is almost out for the summer and that means Summer Reading here at FPL!  There is a ton of cool stuff planned for you, so make sure you make your Franklin Public Library a destination this summer.

To kick off our Summer Reading Program we are having our first-ever lock-in on Friday, June 14 from 7pm-midnight.  We have a plethora of fun activities planned, like Nerf Wars in the library, book bowling, Life-size Pac-Man,various crafts and lots and lots of food!  Prizes will be drawn at the top of every hour.  Register today by calling the library or adding your name and info here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuB0rlqXJFYSdENsSjhaSkd0b3ZIVHhGanJVY3lmVWc#gid=0

There is a teen program every week through August 2nd, when we will have our Mad Hatter Masquerade to end the Summer Reading Program and pick the prize winners from the Summer Reading Club.  You can register for the Masquerade here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuB0rlqXJFYSdFN1OWVLU1NSY3FsZHdyYW5uU0s0eVE#gid=0

To check out all the awesome things going on at FPL for teens this summer, go to our website at www.franklinpubliclibrary.org and click on "Teen Zone".

Don't forget to sign up for our Teen Reading Club!  Read just 20 minutes a day for a chance to win great prizes like gift cards to Target, Best Buy, Sports Authority, TJ Maxx and more!

Hope to see YOU here at FPL this summer!

Miss Keri

Finals...Ugh.

What could make studying for finals a little easier to swallow?  Snacks of course!  This Saturday, June 8th from 10am-5pm, FPL will open up its large community room to all teens in 6th-12th grade who are looking for a place to study.  There will be an assortment of goodies for you to munch on while you study.  Head on in for a quiet place to study and get ready for those finals and the end of school!

After next week, you can focus on all the cool things going on at FPL for teens this summer.  Check out the next blog post on Thursday, June 6, for all the juicy details.

Miss Keri

Book Review - Scowler by Daniel Kraus

A colleague of mine told me not to read this book while I was eating.  I did. It was a mistake.  I had to stop eating to get through the totally gross and gory part, but it was so worth it.  If you had the pleasure of reading Kraus's last novel, Rotters, and you love the dark worlds he imagines, Scowler will not disappoint.

Ry Burke, his little sister Sarah and his mother live on a dying farm in the Iowa countryside.  When Ry's father, Marvin, had been sent to jail 9 years before for an unspeakable crime against his family, it was like the farm refused to be tended by any other hands.  Ry loves the farm, but his mother is anxious to leave and start a new life in town.  Today was to be their final day, they would celebrate, pack up, watch the forecasted meteor shower and tomorrow morning start their new life.

But the best laid plans....

The first warning should have been the escaped convict at their door asking for food and his story of an explosion ripping through the nearby jail, leaving a wide open hole for him to walk through. The second warning should have been that he knew Ry's father and had spent time in prison with him.  A prison much closer than the one Ry's family believed him to be in.  

When Marvin shows up, the madness begins and you the reader feel as though you have suffered a psychotic break.  What is reality and what is in the mind?  Ry's childhood friends come back again to help him deal with his father - a stuffed bear named Mr. Furrington, a plastic figurine of Jesus Christ and the sharp-toothed steel doll, Scowler.  But will his childhood friends (imaginings, mirages?) be enough to rid his family of his father for good?

Check this horribly wonderful book out at FPL today! Scowler by Daniel Kraus

Book Review: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

You don't have to be familiar with H.G. Wells classic, The Island of Dr. Moreau, in order to thoroughly enjoy this thriller. In this skillful re-telling, Shepherd has given the good doctor a daughter, Juliet, who he left behind in London when he fled after the medical community found out about his experiments using vivisection (the live dissection of animals). After her mother died, Juliet was orphaned and thrown to the street.  Living day by day as a maid in the same medical college where her father once taught, she scrapes by.

On what was supposed to be a fun night with her cousin, Juliet encounters a group of medical students practicing vivisection in a closed medical theater.  She sees the diagram they are following to perform the procedure and demands to know where they got it from. There is a mysterious doctor staying at a hotel nearby who gave it to them.  Could Juliet's father be back in London?

After an incident with a professor at the college that causes her to quit her job and flee the city, Juliet decides her only chance at surviving may be to find the mysterious doctor.  She goes to his hotel and does not find her father, but Montgomery, a former servant of their family's who is now grown and quite handsome.  He explains that he works with her father and they live on a secluded island in the South Pacific. She can't understand why her father would have taken Montgomery with him when he fled, but left her and her mother to fend for themselves with no home and no money.  In an act of desperation, Juliet forces Montgomery to take her back with him to the island and her father.

And it is here that the story really takes off. Strange cargo on a scary ship, a shipwrecked man at sea, a jungle island full of very deformed humans and a father who has a serious god-complex are just the tip of the iceberg in this suspenseful romance.

If you are looking for a good read on one of these rainy spring afternoons check out The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd at the Franklin Public Library!

Miss Keri

It's National Library Week!!

Show us how much you love your Franklin Public Library by stopping in and saying hello!  Check out all the new materials we have for teens, participate in our Edible Books Contest on Wednesday, April 17 (details can be found here) and play some quick trivia anytime on Thursday, April 18 to win a prize!

Most importantly, show your support for your local library by walking through its doors and utilizing all the wonderful resources it provides.  No matter where you live, take the time to make National Library Week a success!

Miss Keri

We are now on Twitter and Pinterest!

Become a follower of @FPLTeen on Twitter! Get our tweets on the latest teen programs here at FPL along with cool contests, teen author news and more!

Check out our pins for cool crafts, yummy snacks, readalikes and more on our Pinterest page!
Follow us at http://pinterest.com/fplteen/.

Book Review: Immortal Lycanthropes by Hal Johnson

This book is like a Wes Anderson movie; a dash of realism here, a whole handful of crazy there and a plot line that makes you want to keep reading, even as you are saying to yourself, "What the ... ?"

Myron Horowitz's face is seriously messed up.  It has been that way since his adoptive parents found him on the coast of Maine, dazed and confused, when he was eight. Consequently, this, as well as his rather short stature (Myron hasn't grown an inch in the 5 years he has lived with the Horowitz's), causes him to be picked on constantly by a particular freshmen named Garrett Bercelli at Henry Clay High School.

After school, Myron, hoping to avoid Garrett, takes an alternate route to leave school.  But Garrett has also taken that same alternate route and this turns out to be very unfortunate for him. After a confrontation, something explodes and sends Garret flying through a window and Myron losses consciousness.  After waking up completely naked, Myron's adventure truly begins.

Myron learns about immortal lycanthropes (animals that can change into humans and can only be killed in their animal form by another lycanthrope),while on the run from the scariest one of all, Mr. Bigshot (the lion).  Is he an immortal lycanthrope, and if so, what animal is he?  Is he the savior of the immortal lycanthropes, a new breed of animal never seen before or one frozen for centuries that has returned to life?

There are plenty of chases, a doomsday device, encounters with the with the Nine Unknown Men and the Rosicrucians, a gorilla, a lemur, a bear and more in Myron's attempt to figure out who (or what) he is. Told from the pen of the Arthur (the binturong), this is one adventure I wouldn't miss.

If you are looking for a fun, wild ride, check out Immortal Lycanthropes at FPL:  http://countycat.mcfls.org/search/?searchtype=t&sortdropdown=-&searcharg=immortal+lycanthropes&searchscope=11

Milwaukee Public Library Poetry Contest

Here's another great chance to let your creative side shine!  The Milwaukee Public Library's Poetry Contest is open to all kids ages 10-18 who live in Milwaukee county.  All submissions MUST be your own original work and you can submit up to 2 poems.  1st through 3rd place prizes will be awarded in the following age categories: 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18.  You may only win one prize. For full contest rules and information, check out:  http://www.mpl.org/file/ya_poetrycontest.htm.

And if you are looking for another outlet to share your poetry, or any creative works, with the world, check out FPL's Teen Zone Creative Commons!  We accept creative writing, short videos, art and photography submissions from any teen, ages 12-18.  Just email Miss Keri at keri.miller@mcfls.org. For complete details on how to submit a work to the Creative Commons go to: http://www.franklinpubliclibrary.org/, click on "Teen Zone", then click on "Creative Commons".

Miss Keri

Milwaukee Public Library Model Search!

If you are creative, love books and secretly (or not-so-secretly) have dreams of seeing your face (well, part of it at least) on an ad campaign - here is your chance!

The Milwaukee Public Library is holding a model search for teens to be the faces of their 2013 Summer Reading Program Bookface ad campaign.  To be eligible, you have to be between 13-18 years old and be a Milwaukee County resident. 

It's kind of hard to describe exactly what a Bookface picture is, so check out the link below for contest rules and ideas of how you can make your Bookface picture the winner and be the next face of MPL's Summer Reading Program!

http://www.mpl.org/file/ya_modelsearch_index.html

Miss Keri

Are You Pinterested? You Should Be.

If you have not discovered the wonderful world of Pinterest, you do not know what you are missing!  Pinterest is a fabulous social media website where people "pin" (aka save) pictures of craft ideas, recipes, fitness tips, really anything you can imagine, with links to the websites they originated on, to "boards". The boards are the organizational structure of Pinterest; you personalize your boards with subject headings or themes, such as food, crafts, books, etc.  Think of it as putting post-it notes on a bulletin board of great ideas for things you want to do in the future.

Pinterest has revolutionized bookmarking items on the internet. Instead of having a long list of websites or links that you have no idea why you bookmarked in the first place, you can go on Pinterest and look through the pictures of your pins.  For a visual learner like myself, it is fantastic.  I never looked at my bookmarked websites before and now I go to Pinterest all the time for library program ideas and crafts that I pinned.

All you teens who are new to Pinterest, have just started to use it or just plain love it like I do, come to our Pinterest Party here at the library during Teen Tech Week!  But before the party, check out the Franklin Public Library Teens Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/fplteen/. Then go and vote for your favorite craft and snack pins on the Teen Zone website - www.franklinpubliclibrary.org, click on Teen Zone. Finally, on Tuesday, March 12 at 6pm we will have our Pinterest Party and make the crafts and snacks that received the most votes! No registration is needed, but your votes are!  Please go and vote today and I hope to see you at the party on the 12th!

Miss Keri

OMG, You Must Read This! Book Review: Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick

Shadows is the second book in the Ashes trilogy and it picks up right where the nail-biting, scream-your-head-off "NOOOO!!!!", the-next-book-can't-come-soon-enough ending of Ashes left off.

If you haven't read the first book in the series you should stop reading this NOW.  SPOILER ALERT!

Alex encounters a tribe of Changed almost immediately as she leaves Rule behind. But these changed are organized, with a good stash of weapons and seem to almost share a form of unspoken communication amongst themselves. Instead of killing her, they add her to their cadre of captives, all old people who look close to death in the first place. She will be dragged through unspeakable horrors as the tribe travels, picking up more humans, alive and dead to add to their food stash.

Alex has figured that Tom has been long dead after the rescue party came back and Tom was not at the gas station.  But he was rescued days after Alex left by a kindly couple.  Jed, a Vietnam vet, and Grace, his wife, whose brain had all but turned to mush before the zap and was now back to her former analytical self, nursed Tom back to health in secret.  It was dangerous for any Spared young people to be out in the open, unprotected. Jed and Grace knew they took a risk by harboring Tom.  The bounty hunters would do anything to get a live Spared and they paid a hefty price for one that was alive and kicking.

Tom knew Alex was still alive and he knew he had to get to her. He was strong enough now. His destination: Rule.

Chris is the supposed next leader of Rule, but he knows nothing of the inner workings of the Council. After Chris tries to go after Alex as she leaves Rule, he is arrested by the Council.  But when freed by other "concerned citizens" of Rule and sent off to find Isaac Hunter, a enigmatic man that may not even be alive, Chris may finally realize just how devious the old folks of Rule can be...that is if he ever makes it back.

With complex zombies unlike any other, bounty hunters grabbing up young Spareds and delivering them to whacked out milita members and the village politics of Rule, you will not want to put this book down! I literally felt my chest ready to burst with anxiety over some of the amazing scenes in the book!

Check out Shadows at your Franklin Public Library today.

Miss Keri

Doodle 4 Google

I always love it when I open up my browser and there staring me in the face is a special Google Doodle.  It's even better when they are interactive, like the Zamboni game yesterday :). But one Doodle that I always look forward to seeing is the winner of the Doodle 4 Google contest. 

For the past 6 years, Google has held its Doodle 4 Google contest, which is open to all students in grades K-12 in the United States.  The national winner gets a pretty awesome prize package. From the Doodle 4 Google website: "The National Winner will have his or her doodle featured on the U.S. Google.com homepage. He or she will be awarded a $30,000 college scholarship to used at the school of his or her choice, a trip to New York City for the final awards ceremony on May 22nd, 2013, a Google Chromebook computer, a Wacom digital design tablet, and a t-shirt printed with his or her doodle on it. We’ll also award the winner’s full-time school a $50,000 technology grant towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or technology program." That's pretty sweet!  Even if you don't win the overall prize, national finalists receive a $5,000 scholarship and the state finalists still get an awesome trip to NYC!

This year's theme is "My Best Day Ever...". Your doodle doesn't have to be limited to something you yourself have done, it can be something you hope for in the future, it can be an achievement for your school, your state, country or the world! Draw something meaningful to you that makes you think of your best day ever.

I encourage everyone to send in a submission and give this contest a shot.  Submissions must be in to Google by March 22, 2013.

For all the contest rules and to download an entry form, check out http://www.google.com/doodle4google/index.html

Miss Keri

I'm Baaaack.....

Hey Teens!

You probably noticed that there was a large chunk of time where there were no blog posts.  That is because I was on maternity leave!  I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl at the end of September.

But now I am back and there is a whole lot going on for teens at FPL!

I conducted a poll on our website about what days you would like to see teen programs on and a majority of you said Saturday.  Now I can't be here every Saturday, but I am trying to give you what you want.  There is at least one Saturday afternoon program for teens each month through June. Check out the calender on the Teen Zone website for a complete program listing.

Saturday, January 19 from 2-4, head to the library for our "Beat the Winter Blues with a Book" program.  We will play Book Speed Dating - what is Book Speed Dating, you ask? There are a number of  books you can "interview" for 90 seconds each.  Get to know them and then decide which one you would like to "date" (i.e. - check out).  You will have a chance to check out the latest teen titles that haven't even hit the shelves yet!  There will be snacks provided and door prizes raffled off!  No registration is necessary, so get on over to the library on the 19th!

On Tuesday, January 29, from 5-6:30, we have our Teen Tuesday - Snow Fun! program.  We will head outside to play in the snow!  We will make snow sculptures, paint the snow and more.  If there is no snow, there will be winter crafts and hot chocolate instead.  No registration is needed!

Check out our website calendar for all the upcoming programs or like us on facebook at: www.facebook.com/fplteens/.

Miss Keri