March Bookmobile Highlights

Ms. Barrows’ Highlights

The 5th Wave -Rick Yancey

Yancey masterfully weaves together classic elements of sci-fi, dystopia, and adventure fiction in The 5th Wave. The world of Yancey’s creation undergoes five “waves” of destruction orchestrated by an alien species, and each installment leaves his world and its main characters more destroyed and fragmented than before. The characters – Cassie, Sam, Ben and Evan – lead adult-less lives (an often employed tactic of YA literature)  and are therefore forced to struggle and survive amidst the devastating and seemingly irreversible five “waves” of annihilation. There’s nothing technically “new” in Yancey’s story, but the masterful layering of elements creates a rich, fulfilling read. Bonus points to Yancey for making the leading female character 12 and therefore that much more likeable.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post -Emily M. Danforth

The day before her parents die in a car accident, Cameron Post is kissing her best friend Irene. In the fallout, Cameron finds herself cultivating a shoplifting habit and barely surviving the guardianship of her ultra-conservative religious Aunt Ruth. As Cameron struggles to hide something she has barely discovered, she cannot help but seek information and experience. When Cameron befriends Coley, the heterosexual picture-perfect cowgirl, it becomes a matter of time before Cameron’s sexuality is discovered. A tribute to Montana and the early 1990s, The Miseducation of Cameron Post transcends coming-out tropes and YA stereotypes.

The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy -Kate Hattemer

A sleeper hit of 2014, The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy follows Ethan and his three best friends as they react to the takeover of Selwyn by a reality TV show designed to exploit the talent of the art academy’s students. As the title suggests, the protest takes the form of poetry – specifically, guerrilla poetry inspired by Ezra Pound’s Cantos. However, Ethan and his friends soon understand the depth and detail masterminded by the creators of the reality TV show.

Mr. Gette’s Highlights

Graceling –Kristin Cashore

People who are Graced have a special talent; dancing, painting, or – in Katsa’s case – killing. Forced to be  a thug for a tyrannical king, Katsa figures out a way to make her life – and her world – better, by setting up a secret resistance. The sequel, Bitterblue, delves into espionage. Both are a lot of fun.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl -Jesse Andrews

I’m going to be straight with you: this is a book about cancer. It is also very, very funny. If those two facts seem irreconcilable to you, trust me – Andrews manages to pull it off. When Greg’s mother insists that he rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel (who has leukemia), the socially-awkward  Greg’s best idea is to show her the terrible movies he makes with his friend Earl. Don’t dismiss this as a John Green rip-off –  this is a very different book that stands on its own. The film is coming out in July, and got great reviews at Sundance. Read the book first!

Seraphina –Rachel Hartman

In the kingdom of Goredd, an uneasy peace exists between humans and dragons. It’s the 40th anniversary of the peace treaty, the dragon ambassadors are coming to the human capital, and a member of the royal family has just been murdered in a very dragon-like way. In the middle is Seraphina, assistant court musician – and secret half dragon. She teams up with the brave, smart, and (unfortunately) engaged Prince Lucian to figure out whodunnit. The much-awaited sequel comes out tomorrow (March 10)!

Junior School Bookmobile: October Spooktacular

Photo credit: Justin Snow via Flickr

JB: Fall foliage → Trees → Books. Fall should make you think of books…because they are made from trees.

KG: Except for Kindle books. Those are made from Benjamin Franklin and kites.

JB: PRINTING PRESS! PRINTING PRESS! Ben Franklin can also remind you of REAL BOOKS.

KG: Everything makes you think of books. Coffee? Curling up with a book. Clouds? That one looks like a book. Taking books up to Thompson so students can check them out and read them over the weekend? Makes you think of books, for some weird reason.

JB: Mmmmmmm books. I have been gently brainwashed to think only of books, have you? You have? Excellent. Good news. We have done our jobs.

KG: And since you’re as obsessed with books as we are, you should join us this Thursday (that’s tomorrow!) at 12:10 in the Thompson South Atrium (that’s on the left).

JB: Mr. Gette and myself (Ms. Barrows) will be laden with books and Kindles, so please stop by and pick out a book (or books) to enjoy over the long weekend.

KG: If you’d like to get a preview of what will be available (and plan out what you’d like to get), check out our J School Bookmobile shelf on Goodreads.

-Signing off, Jenny Barrows and Kit Gette (who are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow)

Bookmobile in Review and Spring Break

KG: It’s 1:30 on Friday afternoon, which means there’s only 2 hours left until Spring Break.

JB: It’s actually 2:49 on Friday afternoon, which means Librarians Barrows and Gette ignored the task of writing this post for over an hour. Now, Librarian Gette is teaching the likes of Health 9 and Librarian Barrows must author these meager words solo.

Yesterday’s Junior School Bookmobile saw success unlike any other Bookmobile, ever.* Students jostled aggressively, vying for an opportunity to check out a coveted Kindle/Kindle Fire or even a, dare I say, book. We enlisted Mr. Saunders for crowd control, and immediately lost him to the crowd. Last time we librarians spotted Mr. Saunders, he was grabbing sought-after books and Kindles by the armful, laughing maniacally all the way to the Breakthrough Office.**

Thank you JSchool for your toleration and participation.

To students near and far:

Read. Amidst elaborate (or totally un-elaborate) travels, missed episodes of The Walking Dead, post-term paper sleep, read. Whether badly written chick-lit, James Joyce, John Green, narrative non-fiction, The Economist, or Shel Silverstein, read as if books were rare and expensive and difficult to locate. Read as if Gutenberg was still kickin’ and the printing press was still in its infancy. Read as if the Chinese hadn’t developed printing even earlier. Read as if an impending invasion of your country threatened (and subsequently destroyed) all physical manifestations of collected knowledge. Read as if free K-12 education was not a right, but a privilege.

Read stuff and get excited about it.

-Signing off, Jenny Barrows (public service announcement courtesy of being surrounded by ALL the books ALL the time)

*Slightly exaggerated

**True or untrue? You decide.

Junior School Spring Break Book Mobile

Dear Junior School,

In celebration of our impending Spring Break (so close, yet so far), we neighborhood librarians invite you to…

Spring Break Bookmobile

Thursday, March 14th, 12:10 pm

Thompson South Atrium

Come visit us in the atrium where you can view this episode’s selection of books, kindles and clay tablets. In the interest of time, we will be organizing materials into broad/vague categories that may or may not be helpful to interested parties. They aren’t really rules, more like guidelines. And we probably won’t be following them too closely, so be bold and ask for help and reading suggestions. Bring your friends, teachers, adviser, imaginary pets, and etc. The more the merrier!