PML YA Yakkers!

Patchogue Medford Library Young Adult Department

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Vampire Love


Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

17-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Washington State, where she meets an inhumanly beautiful boy. His whole family is smart, beautiful and aloof. Bella watches them in the cafeteria in school, where they never seem to eat. She is overwhelmingly attracted to Edward, and he to her. But he must control himself – he’s a vampire and the blood lust is almost overwhelming. Being assigned seats next to each other in science class is almost more than he can bear. Bella, in turn, takes tremendous risks just to be with him. This is a beautiful fantasy and an exquisite love story, with tension running through it, as both sides risk everything to be together.

Want more vampire love? Try The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause.
Zoe is 17 and lonely. Her mother is dying of cancer, her father is overwhelmed, and her best friend is moving away. Then she meets handsome, mysterious Simon. As they become closer, Simon reveals that he is a vampire, and he has come to find and destroy his younger brother who murders humans for fun. The two rely on each other as Zoe struggles to cope and Simon resolves his family issues.

Tired of vampire love? Try some ghost love: A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

Helen was a young mother when she died. Due to a sense of guilt, she did not leave earth, but instead has attached herself to a series of hosts and followed them silently through their earthly lives, invisible and unheard. Being too far from her host terrifies her, and makes her feel like she is being dragged underground. Her current host is a high school teacher, and in his class one day, she realizes that one of his students can see her. This has not happened in over 100 years. James is also dead, but has inhabited the body of a young boy who overdosed on drugs, and has adopted his identity. James and Helen fall in love, and Helen finds a host body so they can be together physically, as well as spiritually. James lives as Billy, foulmouthed and irresponsible. Helen lives as Jenny, whose personality was overwhelmed by her strict, controlling family. James and Helen struggle to be together, as Billy and Jenny’s families try to keep them apart. Can the ghosts restore Billy and Jenny to their own bodies and still remain together?

Friday, May 26, 2006

Your favorite summer activity

What is it?

Thursday, May 25, 2006

European Travel

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Ginny is 17, and her favorite aunt has died. Aunt Peg was artistic and free-spirited, and Ginny misses her and the excitement that surrounded her. Suddenly, Ginny receives a letter from Aunt Peg. The letter contains instructions and money for a trip through Europe. She picks up a package of 13 blue envelopes, which are to be opened one at a time when she arrives at her various destinations. Ginny leaves her home in New Jersey and travels throughout Europe to follow the cryptic instructions her aunt has left for her, accomplishing her assigned tasks and having her own adventures along the way.

Are We There Yet? by David Levithan

The Silver brothers seem to have very little in common. Danny is 23, and is a workaholic, determined to get ahead. His brother Elijah is a laid-back 17 year old with no specific plans. Hoping to bring them closer together, their parents trick them into traveling to Italy together. Flashbacks from their childhood, the people they meet, and the experience of travel give the brothers a clearer view of themselves and of each other.

- Jeri

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Book Survivor Fantasy Carnival a Smash Hit!

The Book Survivor Fantasy Carnival was a success. The Carnival occured this past Saturday, May 20th from 12-2. There were plenty of games to play including a digging game, a coin toss, as well as a box to decorate. We also had delicious ice cream!
There were many prizes awarded as well, including some Harry Potter DVDs!

The winner of our first Book Survivor was...Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, beating out 15 other titles. Our runner up was East by Edith Pattou.



We have begun our next leg of Book Survivor, entitled "Book Survivor: Adventure Mountain." The titles this time around are:

Redwall
Robinson Crusoe
The Fellowship of the Ring
Holes
Around the World in 80 Days
The Cay
The Skeleton Key
Bloody Jack
The Wizard of Oz
Artemis Fowl
Adrift
The Incrediable Journey
Hachet
The Island of the Blue Dolphins
Airborn
Treasure Island

Voting has begun already and the first book will be voted off on June 1st.
Expect some twists this time around!

-Brian

Friday, May 19, 2006

Step Right Up....

Tomorrow, for the first time, we'll be having a "Carnival" in the library! Yes, a carnival! But not the carnival you would imagine. We will be having our final Book Survivor voting session live at the Book Survivor Fantasy Carnival. Anyone who has voted will be invited, and you will enjoy a variety of games and events that center around our 16 books!

Tune in here on Monday to find out the winner..

Will it be East or Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to win Book Survivor??!

Find out!

-Brian

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

I've been reading....Nazi Germany

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

Death tells this story – the story of “a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter and quite a lot of thievery.”

Death does his job, but is sympathetic to the human souls he collects, especially in this busy period of WWII. The girl is Leisel Meminger, foster child to a working class family in Molching, Germany. The accordionist is her beloved foster father, Hans Hubermann. Some fanatical Germans are the Nazis, including several of their neighbors. The Jewish fist fighter is hidden in the Hubermanns' basement. And thievery sometimes became necessary to survive as money became scarce.

But Leisel, whose story Death takes the time to tell, stole books. She stole her first at her younger brother’s funeral. Another was taken from a Nazi book-burning. Others were taken from the mayor’s wife. The books were Leisel’s comfort, and the comfort of others as they tried to make sense of their world, and survive.


Also try:
Daniel Half-Human by Daniel Chotjewitz. Daniel is half Jewish, making him only half human by Nazi criteria. This changes his life forever when the Nazis come to power, his family is destroyed and his best friend becomes an enthusiastic member of Hitler Youth. Their paths cross again at the end of the war when Daniel must make a decision

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bertoletti. This non-fiction book chronicles the rise of Hitler Youth and uses primary sources and interviews with people who joined as teenagers to get a picture of what it was like to grow up in Nazi Germany. The author focuses on 12 people, telling their stories and portraying their patriotism, belief, doubt and disillusion.

- Jeri

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Live Homework Help

Look at our home page (www.pmlib.org)! On the upper right there is an icon for free, on-line homework help. Chat with a real tutor! Homework help is available EVERY DAY from 3 - 11 p.m. Tutors are available for grades 4 - 12 (and college intro) in virtually every subject: math, english, science and social studies. This includes the regents level classes like algebra, biology, chemistry, earth science, geometry and calculus.

You can send files to the tutor to be proofread, and he or she can recommend sources and get you material for projects you are working on.

Try it!! You will need your library card barcode to log on. If you don't have a library card, come in and get one. If you have any questions about the service, give us a call, or send an e-mail to PMLYAYakkers@yahoo.com!

Friday, May 12, 2006

Ahoy and welcome aboard!

Welcome to the PML Young Adult Department's first ever blog! Here you will learn some of the inner secrets of the library, as well as hear the thoughts of some of your favorite librarians!

Of course you'll hear about some hot and exciting upcoming programs, as well as new and exciting books that we've read. Comments are appreciated and encouraged, but are subject to review, so watch your P's and Q's.

Introductions to Blog Posters:

My name is Brian Schwartz and I'm a Young Adult Librarian. I just finished library school. You may know me as the organizer of Game Night as well as the advisor to the Teen Friends. I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts (as deep as they are!)

I'm Jeri Cohen. You may have seen me on the desk, but mostly I work behind the scenes. I choose the books and audio books you see on the shelf! I also do a lot of the displays and the bibliographies you see around the department. Recommendations and suggestions are welcome!

Farewell Dear Brian Story

One of our favorite YA Librarians, Mr. Brian Story is departing from our staff. Mr. Brian Story is a unique and animated individual. He is a great person to work with and we will miss him..

We will be dining on bagels and assorted spreads. Young Adult Librarians enjoy bagels, FYI. We wish him the best, and if you'd like to post goodbye comments, feel free.

Brian Schwartz