Maya

TFIOS (again) + X-MEN!!

For those of you who can't wait to see X-Men: Days of Future Past this weekend, but don't know where the characters stand, don't worry! This article from the Huffington Post will catch you up.

And did you honestly think I was going to make a blog post without mentioning TFIOS? This other article from HuffPost compares The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack to The Breakfast Club, in terms of defining a generation. What do you think?? Does the newly released TFIOS soundtrack define Gen Y/Z? Comment below!

EDIT: Also, Brilliance Audio is having a great John Green sale. All books by him (+ This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl, the real-life inspiration for TFIOS's protagonist, Hazel Grace Lancaster) for only $9.99!

NPR's 100 Must-Read Books (Ages 9-14) + SUMMER READING PROGRAM!

It's almost that time! Are you ready? Are you stoked? Do you even know what I'm talking about?

It's almost time for the Summer Reading Program!

Here's more information about that, but let's just say it's totally awesome and if you participate you get free stuff just for reading. That's it. All you have to do is read. Ridiculous, right?

To give you inspiration for what to read, here's NPR's list of 100 books 9-14 year-olds should read. (Although honestly, anyone should read them! Some of them I want to check out again!) Here's the link, but I'm going to post the list in full, just to make it easy on you.

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
2. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
3. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
4. The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
6. A Long Way from Chicago series by Richard Peck
7. Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
8. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
9. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
10. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
11. All-Of-A-Kind Family series by Sydney Taylor
12. The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
13. Watership Down by Richard Adams
14. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
15. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
16. Poppy by Avi
17. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
18. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
19. Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery by Deborah and James Howe
20. The Redwall series by Brian Jacques
21. The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
22. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
23. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
24. The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden and Garth Williams
25. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
26. The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming
27. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
28. Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman
29. Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - The World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Steinkin
30. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
31. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
32. Half Magic by Edward Eager
33. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
34. The Borrowers by Mary Norton
35. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
36. A Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket
37. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
38. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
39. The Ramona series by Beverly Cleary
40. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
41. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963: A Novel by Christopher Paul Curtis
42. Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
43. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
44. The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
45. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
46. The Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
47. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
48. The Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander
49. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
50. The Oz series by L. Frank Baum
51. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
52. The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau
53. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards
54. The Earthsea Cycle series by Ursula K. Le Guin
55. The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
56. The Giver by Lois Lowry
57. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
58. His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
59. The Hobbit: Or There And Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
60. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda series by Tom Angleberger
61. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
62. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
63. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
64. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
65. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
66. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
67. Holes by Louis Sachar
68. Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt
69. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
70. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
71. Matilda by Roald Dahl
72. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer
73. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
74. The Bone series by Jeff Smith
75. The Arrival by Shaun Tan
76. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
77. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
78. The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs
79. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
80. The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick
81. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
82. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
83. The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper
84. D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire
85. The Little Prince by Antoine de Sant-Exupery
86. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
87. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
88. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
89. The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar
90. The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
91. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
92. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
93. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
94. A Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle
95. My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
96. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
97. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
98. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
99. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
100. The Twenty-one Balloons by William Pene Du Bois

We even have almost all of them at the library for you to check out! (All but one. We have 99 books on this list and The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar isn't one. But we have other fairy tales, so it's okay.)

What do you think of the list? Are there any books you would add? Comment with your suggestions!

TFIOS Livestream Event TONIGHT!

You guys, so much TFIOS stuff has been happening lately. First of all, the TFIOS folks have been going on a nationwide tour screening and promoting The Fault in Our Stars movie. There have been lots of screaming fans, adorable moments, and definitely tears. My fave photo so far: Ansel Elgort and Nat Wolff recreating the poster.

From John Green's Instagram

Also,

• Some more tracks have appeared from the soundtrack. Notable music videos:
  
• People have been having #littleinfinities parties and the details are SO CUTE, you guys.



From iconosquare.com

• This happened:

• Okay, so the most squee-inducing thing was that the TFIOS movie created Instagram accounts for Gus and Hazel.
  
  I KNOW, RIGHT?! Their instagram accounts are here and here, and They're so heart-wrenching. Gah. These producers, man. Can you imagine what they're going to do for Paper Towns?? Road trip IGs for Q and Crew?
• Also, there will be a livestream concert/Q&A TONIGHT at 9 PM EST! You can submit questions via Twitter and Shailene/Ansel/Nat/John might answer them LIVE! Watch here!
  

"How Author G. Neri and Librarian Kimberly DeFusco Changed a Life"

Have you ever been hit hard by a book? Not physically, I mean emotionally. Check out this awesome article about how one book made a profound difference in Raequon's life.

Source: School Library Journal

April's Most Popular Books

It's that time again--were you waiting with bated breath?--time to find out what the most popular YA books of the month were.

1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
2. Divergent by Veronica Roth
3. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
• It's no surprise that after the March release of the movie version of Divergent, people were interested in what happened next. Let's hope they weren't too disappointed. (In other news, movie execs have announced that, like THG, we can expect a 4-movie run from Divergent. Good news/bad news? Comment with your opinion!
4. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
5. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• THG is aaaalll the way at the bottom of the list, but the rest of the trilogy is still thriving in checkouts! This is the time to make a note that sound recordings are quite popular in the YA section. In fact, we have a whole wall of books on CD at the Main branch. (It's a small wall, but still!) Also, don't forget about our downloadable media! We have a nice selection of audiobooks, ebooks, and magazines for you to enjoy on-the-go, and all you need is your library card.
6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Is anyone else counting down the days 'til June 6? After the release of the extended trailer, I'm about to start a countdown clock on my phone. ...Oh, you didn't see it? Don't worry, I've got you covered. Be sure to grab some tissues first. Okay? Okay.
7. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Book Thief continues to be popular, too. Why? Because it's incredibly unique and unlike anything else on this list. (You can say the same for some other works on this list, but...) If you haven't picked it up yet, I suggest you try it out sometime. Plus Markus Zusak is super inspiring. You might see some more from him on this blog in the near future.
9. Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama, translated and adapted by Shelton Drzka, lettered by Steve Wands
• As the first manga we've seen on the list in a while, this must be good. It's also going to be turned into a movie (shooting begins this summer), but I'm a little skeptical as to how they're going to adapt such crazy-good illustrations onto live-action film. For the time being, just check out the book and bask in its gory glory.
10. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
• This guy never strays far from the top of the list. His books are ridiculously popular. And so is he. According to this article, someone drove her son five hours to see him (and four other extremely popular authors). Would you?

As always, let us know what you think! Comment below with your thoughts about the list. And be sure to keep checking out books!

'80s Manga Cyber Punk Harry Potter Vid

The title says it all.

If I Stay + TFIOS News!

The trailer for If I Stay was released this week and it looks awesome! (Although we think it should have ended halfway through, but...wishful thinking.) Check it out for yourself below, then check out the book from the library!

The TFIOS metaphor scene debuted at the MTV Movie Awards and stirred up a little controversy. BUT, before you watch the clip, know that the award show cut out two minutes from what's going to be in the movie. So reserve final judgement!



Now, the controversy was that people thought Augustus was pretentious in the clip. Uh, yeah, that's how Gus was in the beginning of the book. John Green defended him, saying:

Gus wants to have a big and important and remembered life, and so he acts like he imagines people who have such lives act. So he’s, like, says-soliloquy-when-he-means-monologue pretentious, which is the most pretentious variety of pretension in all the world. 

And then his performative, over-the-top, hyper-self-aware pretentiousness must fall away for him to really connect to Hazel, just as her fear of being a grenade must fall away. That’s what the novel is about. That is its plot.

People also complained about the clip's flow, saying it was too choppy. We turn now to director Josh Boone:

Yes, the clip you saw last night on MTV was edited for time, which is why the cutting seems choppy. 1 min clip. They cut 2 minutes out of it
— Josh Boone (@JoshBooneMovies) April 14, 2014

Feel better now? Now, let's get to the cool stuff. If you have a Tumblr, you can Demand Our Stars. Reblog your state's post and the most popular posts will get special visits from Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, and John Green! You only have until April 25, so if you have a Tumblr, get to reblogging!

Oh yeah, and it's National Library Week, in case you didn't know! Enjoy this quote from Neil Gaiman. We know we do!

It's still National Library Week. You should be especially nice to a librarian today, or tomorrow. Sometime this week, anyway. Probably the librarians would like tea. Or chocolates. Or a reliable source of funding.

Teen Lit Day!

Teen Literature Day is tomorrow, April 17! To celebrate, come visit the library! We have a ridiculously full shelf of new books in the teen room, including titles like:

Captain America: Living Legend
by Andy Diggle, Adi Granov, and Augustin Alessio

 

Belle Epoque

by Elizabeth Ross

 

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

 

Storm

by Donna Jo Napoli

 

Endangered

by Eliot Schrefer

 

My Friend Dahmer

by Derf Backderf

 

Peanut

by Ayun Halliday and Paul Hoppe

 

Kindness for Weakness

by Shawn Goodman

 

 Photos from Goodreads

Eleanor & Park Movie!

Wow, you must think all I care about are YA-movie adaptations. You aren't 100% wrong.

But OMG GUYZZ!!! Rainbow Rowell's unbelievable YA novel Eleanor & Park is being turned into a movie!!! I'm sorry I can't contain my unbiased and overly enthusiastic opinion, but here are the reasons why this adaptation is cool beans:

1. Rainbow herself is writing the screenplay. ("I have never written a screenplay! Suckers!" she said, laughing. "But I had never written a book before I wrote a book. I'm going to do my best.")
2. She wants virtually unknown actors to be in it. Why? "They are unusual people to be in movies and to star in movies. There's not a lot of chubby redheads and 16-year-old Korean guys who star in movies."
3. Even the studio bigwigs felt a connection with the book. (Holly Bario, DreamWorks president of production, admitted: "It reminded all of us of our own sort of awkwardness, or family dysfunction.")
4. Rainbow wants to get The Mountain Goats to do the music for the movie. ("I listened to them pretty much constantly while I was writing the book.")
5. She also wants a female director for the film. ("I would love it if it were a director who could make it her own.")
6. This quote hints to maybe some special effects--perhaps like a comic book??

"The book is uniquely structured in that one chapter is told by Eleanor and one chapter is told from Park’s perspective, and they alternate,” Bario points out. “So we’re trying to figure out how to do that in a movie. There are all storts of groovy stylistic things you could do with voice over, or words on the screen, but we want something that’s real Rainbow."

7. Can you imagine the amazing 80's hair and makeup and clothes they're going to have?? Between Eleanor's mane of red hair and Park's mom's Avon makeup skillz and Eleanor's DIY clothes sitch and Tina's 'tude, it's going to be off tha hook! Look for every homecoming/party/prom to be 80's throwback themed.

Whew, I can't handle this, you guys. I'm going to be on an IV drip by the time the movie comes out.  Luckily DreamWorks is looking to start shooting by 2015, so I'll have plenty of time to prepare myself.

BTW, I almost don't want to ask, but any thoughts for a dreamcast? I know Rainbow wants unknowns for Eleanor and Park, but I couldn't keep Chloe Bridges (Donna LaDonna from The Carrie Diaries) out of my head as Tina.

via rtroncampus.com

She's the perfect example of cliquish mean girl with a few moments of genuine conscience.

What do you guys think? Comment with your suggestions!

Quotes from EW & MTV News