Don't forget to get your band together for....

Rock Band @ the library on December 28th. "The Rock Band" video game offers teens in 7th-12th grades the opportunity to be part of a virtual band! Bring your band (a group of 3 or 4), or join a band when you get here. Prizes will be awarded for best costumes, best performance, and mad skills. Come dressed to impress and be ready for a good time! Online registration begins December 21 - All Members of a Band MUST Register Individually!

Time: 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Room: Community Room
Registration: pending 12-21-2007 @ 9:00am

Slam by Nick Hornby

From Booklist *Starred Review* For Hornby, author of About a Boy (1988) and High Fidelity (1995), the move from adult to young-adult fiction represents more of a natural progression than a change in course. So it should come as no surprise that he has written an accomplished teen novel featuring a character whose voice hits its groove at the downbeat and sustains it through the final chord. Sam is a disarmingly ordinary 15-year-old kid who loves to skate (that's skateboarding, to you and me). But then he is blindsided: his girlfriend gets pregnant, and he lands in the middle of his mum's nightmare (she had Sam when she was 16). This may sound like an old-fashioned realistic YA problem novel, but it's a whole lot more. Sam, you see, has a sort-of-imaginary friend: the world's greatest skater, Tony Hawk, whose poster Sam talks to when he has problems. And the poster talks back, maybe, or maybe Sam is just reciting quotes from Tony's autobiography. And is it really Tony who is "whizzing" Sam into the future for glimpses of what is to come? With or without Tony's help, Sam gives us the facts about his very eventful couple of years, but as he reminds us, "there comes a point where the facts don't matter anymore . . . because you don't know what anything felt like." Which is where Hornby comes in. We know exactly how Sam feels—even when he feels differently from the beginning of a sentence to the end—and it feels just right: a vertiginous mix of anger, confusion, insight, humor, and love. Ott, Bill

Are you a great writer?

Would you like to enter an essay contest for great prizes? The Friends of the Canton Public Library, the Canton Public Library, and the Canton Observer are sponsering a Martin Luther King, Jr. student essay contest. Check out the address below for more information!


http://www.cantonpl.org/aboutus/cplnews/kingcomp.pdf

An extremely interesting read for older teens!

Barry Lyga's Boy Toy is a fictional story that could just as likely be non-fiction. It is a book about a boy who begins a relationship with his 7th grade teacher. The language is honest and rough and sometimes blush worthy. I would not suggest this book for young teens or anyone who isn't well prepared for the issues this book deals with.

The story invites different feelings by the chapter. One minute you are feeling sorry for a character and the next minute hating them. You can see the real damage of sexual abuse and understand how it impacts the victims life. Though this book made me feel awful at times, it also made me understand something I was never able to relate to before.

November 15th is America Recycles Day

This is a great oppertunity to start recycling or encourage someone you know to recycle. For more information, check out:

http://nrc-recycle.org/americarecycles.aspx

November is Peanut Butter Lovers month

Don't forget to eat a PB&J in honor of Peanut Butter Lovers month. I know I love peanut butter, how about you?!

Don't forget about the veterans!

November 11Th is Veteran's Day but many will observe this day on Monday. To learn more about this holiday visit: http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/. In honor of this day take the time to write a solder. You can do it here at: http://anysoldier.com/.

What's going on at the library?!

Looking for something to do?! Come to the library!

Tuesday November 13th- join us for Mario Party open play

Saturday November 24th- join us for the book discussion Freaks: Alive On The Inside

Thursday November 29th- join us for CD Clock Making at 6 p.m.

We also have many more programs coming up in December! Don't forget to check out Cantonpl.org for the program calander!

Feed

If you are looking for something fun and not too heavy to read, I would suggest M.T. Anderson's Feed. This book is also excellent on audio. The story deals with a group of friends who decide to take a "road trip". However, this book takes place far in future, in a time when your "feed" runs your life.

Even though this book takes place in a time we can not relate to, the characters and drama are relateable. This is a book for all ages, genders, and interests. If you are a teen, were once a teen, or are so to be a teen, you can relate!

Lizard People

Lizard People by Charlie Price is a great book about mental illness. You are able to step inside the mind of someone who is suffering with this disease and also see the impact it has on a family. This books also has a couple mysteries intertwined keeping it action packed and interesting.

Ben Mander is a great character who I was able to relate to even though I had not experienced most things he had. This book is a quick read and one worth checking out.

It is always better the second time around!

I decided to reread The Uglies, The Pretties, and The Specials this week. I enjoyed these books even more the second time around. The main character is easy to ... even if the situation isn't. I love the idea of this society of "pretty heads" and those who run away to "the smoke" and "the new smoke".

I always wonder which type of person I would be... a special, a pretty head, or a smokey.

A book I really love....

Is Spud by South African author John Howard van de Ruit. This book is extremely funny. It is the story of a teen boy in school dealing with typical teen boy issues. Spud is called spud for a reason... and for this reason, you can't help but feel a little sorry for him. He runs around with his dorm mates (a serious cast of characters) called the "crazy eights".

This books also details the political and social issues of South Africa. I wouldn't pass this book up, even if it doesn't look like your usual cup of tea!

In Honor Of Banned Books Week....

I decided to read Chris Crutcher's new book Deadline. This book is yet to be banned, but Chris Crutcher is a constantly challenged writer. The book doesn't disappoint in dealing with hard issues (ones which often got him challenged). However, this book is different, and sad. Ben Wolf is a relatively normal teenager. One day he goes in for a physical and finds out he has one year to live.

He makes the decision that he wants his last year to be jam packed and as normal as possible... so he decides not to tell anyone about his terminal illness and the fact that he refused treatment (which had little chance of working).

This book will leave you laughing one minute and choking up the next. This is another great success for Chris Crutcher. I suggest you read it.

How Do YOU Feel About Being Told What To Read?!

I am pretty sure none of us like being told that we can't read something. In fact that makes me want to read it even more! In honor of Banned Books Week, pick up a book that has been challenged or banned. I know I will be reading lots of juicy books! Not sure what books have been banned, check out ALA's list of 100 most challenged books here: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm

or ALA's list of most frequently challenged books of 2006 here: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.htm#mfcb

Calling All Teen Journalist

The Observer Newspapers is looking for sophomores, juniors and seniors interested in producing local newspaper pages and on-line material for teens by teens.

Interested, Click the link below:

http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070916/NEWS03/709160515/1020/rss17

Teens choose the winner

It is that time of year again... Teens' Top Ten nominations for 2007 are out! However, only you the teens can vote and decide who wins. It is your job to read as many nominations as possible and then vote during Teen Read Week (October 14th-20th). The nominations are:

Firegirl by Tony Abbott

Clay by David Almond

Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks

Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles

In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth

The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson

What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles

Hello, Groin by Beth Goobie

River Secrets by Shannon Hale

Shock Point by April Henry

Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe

Born to Rock by Gordon Korman

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kristen Miller

Prom Anonymous by Blake Nelson

Maximum Ride: School's Out- Forever by James Patterson

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Penelope Bailey Takes The Stage by Susanna Reich

All Hallows Eve (13 Stories) by Vivian Vande Velde

Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

The Unresolved by T. K. Welsh

Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass- Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog by Ysabeau S Wilce

Don't forget to vote at : http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten.htm

during Teen Read Week!

Looking for a truely wonderful read?!

.......Try Laura Whitcomb's A Certain Slant of Light. This book is one I may have passed up if I had only looked at the cover. At first glance it made me think of a cheap romance novel... but once I read the first page I was hooked.

The writing is absolutely delightful with many tasty words and clear descriptions. I was also pleased with the ending which wasn't one you would expect.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

illustration: John McCoy

International Talk Like A Pirate Day is Wednesday September 19th. This is a great opportunity to show your inner pirate and have some fun! We will have a pirate quiz that will earn you some great pirate booty. Bonus prizes will be given for those who dress as a pirate! Check it all out at the East Reference desk outside of the Teen Room!

What's your favorite book?!

I wanna know what you are reading... or what you have read that you just can't stop thinking about. For me it is the third installment of Stephenie Meyers Twilight. Eclipse has left me with so many unanswered questions.

What Can Your Library Do For You?!

What is it that you would like to see from the Canton Public Library? A Battle of the Bands? Information about colleges? Or maybe a vampire series you just can't get enough of... Let us know!

Future Tournaments?

Tell us what you think! Do we need more tournaments? Do we need to change the rules? What else do you want to see at the library?!!