If you're looking for a tear-jerker...

Look no farther than If I Stay by Gayle Forman. The main character of this novel is Mia, a talented cellist and high school senior. She's just auditioned for Juilliard. She has a cool musician boyfriend a year older whose band is just starting to get noticed on the rock scene. She's got understanding, supportive parents who used to be hippies and an eight-year-old brother who pretty much adores her. The four live in Oregon, and when the book begins, a one-inch "blizzard" has cancelled school so the family decides to take advantage of the unexpected day off to drive over and visit their close friends who have recently had a baby girl. They set off and then on page 14 you read the following:

The car is eviscerated. The impact of a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour plowing straight into the passendger side had the force of an atom bomb. It tore off the doors, sent the front-side passenger seat through the driver's-side window. It flipped the chassis, bouncing it across the road and ripped the engine apart as if it were no stronger than a spiderweb.

So starts the compulsively readable story of Mia, in a car crash with her beloved family, hovering between life and death, and looking back at her past as she tries to decide whether or not to "stay." Keep the tissues handy and don't say I didn't warn you.

Saturdays at 5:02 pm

If you've ever worked at a busy public library for an 8-hour Saturday shift, you know what happens at 5 pm. Your legs are tired, your shoulders achy, your smile is getting a little bit forced--but less so when you realize you've only got 1 more hour to go. I don't mean to imply that library customers are mean or that working at the library is as hard as pouring concrete. It's just that running around answering questions for that many hours is physically tough for most of us. But now it's 5:11. I think I'll make it through.

You can't go wrong with...

Wii. Wii is the secret weapon that teen librarians can pull out whenever we're feeling like we will never again host a program that teens like. You don't even have to know how to play Wii. (I'm living proof of that.) I mean, you do have to know how to turn on the machine and get the system set up at your library, which can be surprisingly challenging at times. But after that, you can sit back, counting on the superior knowledge of one of the guys playing to troubleshoot.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl is the favorite game of the middle school students I've worked with. We started out with Wii Sports, which is easy and makes sense even to me; had a brief fling with a Naruto game; but ever since I brought my son's Brawl game in, that's the one they've clamored for. Four people can play at a time, and we've got a cool drop-down screen and projector, so I think part of the appeal is that your gaming finesse is shown larger than life, like a blockbuster movie. It's also fun to have that many people playing at once; if you beat someone, you can say "ha ha" triumphantly.

So there's the secret revealed. If no one attends your book club, your carefully planned research skills program is a flop, your kind decorating expert is forced to share tips with two boys you bribed with Hershey's kisses to attend, just take sigh quietly and pull out your Wii.

Graphically challenged?

I finished The Eternal Smile the other day. It's the new graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang & illustrated by Derek Kirk Kim. Yang wrote the award-winning graphic novel American Born Chinese, which I liked a lot. This new book has gotten rave reviews, including from Publisher's Weekly where the reviewer called it "riveting storytelling" with "bold masterfully crafted fables with real staying power."

I kind of liked the three stories in The Eternal Smile--I mean, they were okay. But I didn't find them riveting and they haven't stayed with me. So, I'm thinking that perhaps some of us are graphically challenged. We are so used to reading written words that we're just not well trained in the subtleties of appreciating the complexity of the artwork. I don't want to look in depth at each drawing, so I scan it briefly and move on. And I think I'm missing things that a more experienced graphic novel reader would appreciate.

I will definitely keep trying graphic novels, but I'm not certain I'll ever fully "get" them.

Never read it, but embarrassed to admit it

When you work in a library, most people expect you to be well read--not an unreasonable expectation. So sometimes the gaps in your reading seem huge and unseemly and a disgrace to your family honor. Recognizing the problem could be the first step in recovery. But where do you start to fill the hole? I'm the teen librarian, so I thought I'd start with missed teen books. And since I work full-time and get tired at night, I decided to start with short teen books.

With that worthy goal in mind, I recently finished The Giver by Lois Lowry. This is a title that is still popular today and--yes, I'll admit it--I'd never read it. Whew. It was one of those books that you read and then you immediately want to talk to someone else who's read it so they can help you figure it out. This is an upsetting book. I don't know what more to say because I don't want to wreck anything for anyone who hasn't read it. But don't go into it expecting something fluffy, that's for sure.

So,it's not too late for you to read The Giver and then we can talk. One embarrassing omission crossed off my to-read list; thousands and thousands to go.

Sarah's Back!

Sarah Dessen is an author that I find very comforting to read, and her latest book Along for the Ride was no exception. The story follows recent high school graduate Auden during her last summer before college. Auden is the daughter of two college professors, both authors, who divorced three years earlier after years of fighting. Auden is a classic good girl and overachiever, a child who always excelled at academic subjects, but was never given the opportunity to play with other kids or just have fun. So when Auden gets a phone call from her careless, carefree older brother lazing his way across Europe, she decides to try something new herself. She leaves her impossible-to-please mother's home to spend the summer at her father's house on the beach with his newborn baby daughter and much younger second wife. And guess what? During the summer, Auden discovers a lot about herself and what she wants out of life.


I read the book in just two sittings (funny how a power outage can provide a golden opportunity for hours of reading) and I was sorry when the book ended. I didn't enjoy Dessen's last book Lock and Key that much, so I was relieved and delighted by the complicated, satisfying relationships explored in Along for the Ride.

Watchmen Woes

The high school book club met Monday night to discuss the classic graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The good news? All four students who attended read and liked reading the book. They were intrigued by the thought-provoking ideas presented in this alternate world and captivated by the artwork. The bad news? I had to read the book, too. I suspected from the cover--the vivid bloodstain above the eye of the smiley face--that this was probably not a book that I'd love. But I didn't realize just how much I wouldn't love it. I found the artwork coarse and hard to look at; the characters repelling and often committing atrocities; and the story dark, upsetting, and depressing. I'm glad that others enjoy the story, but I won't be re-reading this one.