PML YA Yakkers!

Film Festival and Rock Stock

2010-06-30T17:24:00.006-04:00

Calling all film and video enthusiasts!!!

The 2nd Annual Teen and Young Adult Film Festival will be held on Monday, August 9 from 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Submit your film for showing. Invite your friends and family.

The deadline for film submission is August 2.

Click here for the application and guideline packet, or come into the young adult department in the library to pick one up.

If Rock and Roll is more your thing, ROCKSTOCK 2010: TEEN BAND FEST will be held on Main Street in Patchogue at Alive After 5 on July 16th!

Complete applications, CDs and lyrics are due by Friday, July 9. Only 7 bands will be able to play, so get your application in. Click here for the application and rules, or come into the young adult department to pick up a packet.

Duck Your Fines

2010-06-24T08:48:00.002-04:00

Have fines on your card that are preventing you from taking out materials or using the computers? Want to get the fines cleared? Or if you just want to join in the fun and win a rubber duckie - Play DUCK YOUR FINES!

Ask for a DUCK YOUR FINES card in the Young Adult Department. For each bingo line you complete, up to a maximum of five lines, you can earn $3.00 off your fines or a rubber duck.

Here's a clue: the code word is DAISY.

For teens entering grades 6 - 12. Please note that DUCK YOUR FINES applies only to existing fines, and does not apply to fees on lost or damaged items.

Drop-In Lounge Reopening!

2010-05-05T14:31:00.002-04:00

Patchogue-Medford Youth and Community Services is reopening their Drop-In Lounge. Activities include video games, pool, foosball and special events such as guest speakers and field trips, along with the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.

The Lounge is located at 390 Bay Avenue in Patchogue, and is open to youth between the ages of 12 and 18 who live in Patchogue and Medford. The schedule varies by season - check it out on their website .

Van service will be provided from the Library's back entrance. Pick up time will be 15 minutes before the event is scheduled to begin. Participants will be dropped back at the library after the program ends.

In order to participate, you must complete a membership application and a permission slip. You can pick one up at the Young Adult desk, or contact Patchogue-Medford Youth and Community Services at 631-758-4100.

Career Day at Patchogue-Medford High School

2010-04-06T09:45:00.003-04:00

Toren and Jeri had a great time at Career Day at PMHS last week! The gym was full of local businesspeople and company representatives talking about what they do.

Thanks to everyone who came to talk to us about working in the library. We hope to see you all soon.

Upcoming YA Programs in March and April 2010!

2010-03-22T17:23:00.001-04:00

Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament – Friday, March 26 from 6:30-8:00 PM
Make a winning deck, and come to our Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament and we’ll have snacks and raffles as usual!

YA Train Trip to the Museum of Modern Art and the Tim Burton Exhibit in New York City – Saturday, March 27

Are you a fan of the movies The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice, Corpse Bride and the just-released Alice in Wonderland? Then join us for an all-day trip to see the Tim Burton exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art and explore the history of his work through his drawings, sketches, concept art, photographs, amateur films and other items. The cost is $16.00 cash per person, and requires a permission slip. Please see a YA librarian for more details. Space is limited and registration closes on Wednesday, March 24!

This trip is restricted to young adults between the ages of 11 and 21.

For more information on the exhibit please go to:
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2009/timburton/

Animangamania – Wednesday, March 31 from 2:00 – 3:30 PM and Friday, April 16 from 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Come and help us make a mural starring your favorite manga and anime characters. There will be new manga to preview, plus snacks and an anime-themed craft.

Video Game Tournament – Junior Division – For teens in grades 6-9 – Thursday, April 1 from 12:00 – 2:00 PM and Friday, April 23 from 5:00 – 6:30 PM

Come join us and compete in a fun tournament and play Rock Band 2 while you wait your turn. We’ll provide the games; you bring the skills!

Video Game Tournament – Senior Division – For teens in grades 10 – college age – Thursday, April 1 from 2:30 – 4:30 PM and Friday, April 23 from 6:30 – 8:00 PM

Bring your skills and try to win bragging rights in this cool tournament with your peers. Play Rock Band 2 while you wait your turn.

Project BookRead!

2009-12-22T10:02:00.001-05:00

Project BookRead

What’s new and hot in the world of YA Lit? It’s not the weather! It’s our NEW Winter Reading Club, Project BookRead!

Pick up a book and write a very short summary in our online reading club and win some fabulous prizes.

If you read 2 books, you will get a delicious mouthwatering cookie from Swan Bakery in Patchogue! For 4 books, win a free book! And for 6 books, you will get a very useful, personal USB Flash Drive! It’s that simple!

Tell us what books are IN and what books are OUT, and win some wonderful prizes in the process! Make it work!

Calling all Patchogue-Medford Teen Artists and Filmmakers!!!!

2009-11-02T15:09:00.011-05:00

It's time to prepare your entries for our Winter art and film shows!

Teen Artists: Submit your 2-D artwork (drawings, paintings, prints, photos, collages, etc.) for our upcoming exhibit OUR COMMUNITY: Portraits in Diversity. Works will be displayed in the Library Gallery during January. The deadline for submissions is December 18th.

Teen Filmmakers: Submit your film for showing at our WINTER FILM FESTIVAL to be held on Febraury 19, 2010. The deadline for submission is February 8, but the time is NOW to start writing, filming and editing.

Application packets for these programs are available at the YA Desk, or click on the links below.

Winter Art Gallery Entry Packet

Winter Film Festival Entry Packet

Vote for your favorite book!

2009-09-10T16:09:00.002-04:00

Voice your choice for their favorite books by voting in YALSA’s annual Teens’ Top Ten poll! Voting is open now through Sept. 18 at www.ala.org/teenstopten. The winners will be announced during Teen Read Week in October.

This year's nominated books are:
Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Lady Katsa is born with a Grace (super talent) of killing and her uncle, the king, makes her his brute squad. When she meets Po, a rival kingdom's Graceling, she becomes more powerful as a woman of justice, self knowledge, and romance.
Untamed by Kristin and P.C. Cast. At finishing school for young vampyres, Zoey makes a shocking discovery about the school's leader, but no one will listen to her as her undead friends and 3 boyfriends turn against her. Loyalties are strained, truths are revealed, and an ancient evil is awakened in Cast's fourth House of Night novel.
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. The second in the Mortal Instruments trilogy, this volume continues the saga of Clary and her best friend Simon as they struggle to find their place in a magical world parallel to their NYC home. Demon-fighting shadowhunters, vampires, warlocks, werewolves, faeries, and a master villain named Valentine provide a heart-pounding backdrop as Clary uncovers secrets about her past.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. To save her young sister from competing, Katniss Everdeen takes her place in the annual Hunger Games, a televised competition in which only one person, the winner, survives. By turns an adventure, a love story, and a futuristic thriller, this is the first in a planned trilogy.
Truancy by Isamu Fukui. In the totalitarian society that Tack lives in, a rebel group called the Truancy is fighting for freedom. But Tack vows revenge on the Truancy when someone he loves is killed accidentally during one of their attacks on the government.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. When a toddler wanders away from his home just before assassins slay his family, he ends up in a graveyard. Named Nobody Owens, the ghosts and other denizens of the cemetery adopt him and teach him important skills he will need to survive.
Paper Towns by John Green. When they were little, Margo Roth Spiegelman was Q’s best friend. Now, a month before high school graduation, she disappears after taking Q on a night of pranks involving dead fish and a depilatory, sending him on a quest to find her.
Runemarks by Joanne Harris. Maddie is shunned by the town because of the mysterious rune mark on her hand. This same rune mark will shatter her dull existence as it propels her into the center of a war between the new controlling religious government and the Norse gods of old.
Identical by Ellen Hopkins. Identical teenage twins, Raeanne and Kaeleigh, respond in totally opposite ways to the abuse and abandonment from their parents. One twin finds bulimia and cutting eases the pain and helps her to maintain her passivity, while the other, more rebellious twin sinks into the world of drugs and sex.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. When Frankie's boyfriend joins a secret society that she isn't supposed to know anything about, she surprises everyone—including herself—by trying to beat them and become the biggest prankster of them all.
Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott. Zira bears scars from the battle that left her orphaned and in the care of the Ruan people. When a tyrant king threatens her home, Zira seeks help from an unlikely romantic interest and uncovers the truth about her past.
Wake by Lisa McMann. Going to sleep isn't a big deal for most of us, but for Janie, falling asleep means getting sucked into other people's dreams. The supernatural ability she's always considered a nuisance quickly becomes a nightmare when she blunders into a dream and witnesses a murder.
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. In this, the fourth and final installment of the Twilight Saga, Bella’s new life as the wife of vampire Edward Cullen is wrought with unexpected obstacles, difficult decisions, and potentially overwhelming outcomes.
Bloodline by Katy Moran. In the brutal world of Dark Age Britain, Essa fights for his life, his identity, and the lives of those he loves. Paolini and Tolkien fans will be drawn in.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Dangerous secrets can even be hidden in a world where all men and animals hear each others' thoughts. Because all women died shortly after he was born, Todd Hewitt is the last boy left in his town. When he learns a dangerous secret, he runs for his life with his dog and finds something even more surprising: a girl!
Evermore by Noel Alyson. Her life ripped apart by a tragic accident that killed her family, Ever struggles with her newfound ability to hear people’s thoughts. Enter Damen, the new boy who seems the perfect distraction — except he doesn’t eat or drink, and soon Ever discovers a supernatural new world of which she is now part.
Geek Charming by Robin Palmer. Dylan’s middle name is “crisis.” It seems to follow her wherever she goes. First she catches her boyfriend staring at another girl. Then her beautiful designer bag takes a swim in a fountain. However, along with crisis comes opportunity, and Dylan's Beverly Hills world is about to be turned upside-down.
Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce.All life, both plant and animal, on the Battle Islands is mysteriously dying. Stone mage Evvy responds to the islander’s call for help. They need her magic to solve the mystery. Accompanied by her friend and mentor, Luvo, she uncovers the deep secret revealed by the stones and the volcano. Will it be in time to rescue the children?
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Alice was kidnapped when she was young and is forced to pretend to be a little girl to please Ray. She could never escape and wishes for death. Soon her wish will become true, as she had become too old and now she must find Ray a replacement for her.
Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Zachary, a guardian angel has, against all rules, fallen in love with his charge. When he sees Miranda sleeping in the shadow of death, his attempt to save her hurls her into life as a vampire princess and exiles him from heaven.
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. Because she wants to fly and to support her soldier brother, 18-year-old Ida May Jones passes for white amidst obstacles of race and gender and joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II.
Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten. Two years after 16-year-old Ellie's older sister, Nina, disappeared, Ellie pieces together clues to her whereabouts and heads out on a road trip that leads to murder and mystery with her hot new boyfriend, Sean.
Impossible by Nancy Werlin. This gentle story details young teen Lucy's rape and subsequent pregnancy, with an amazingly supportive cast of a faithful boyfriend and loving parents. A fairy tale set in the present, with flashes of realism and romance.
Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee. Maybe (short for Maybelline, her mother's favorite mascara) leaves home and heads to California on a mission to find her biological father, and avoid her mother's planned wedding number seven.

Summer Reading Program 2009 is coming to an end!

2009-08-09T19:48:00.003-04:00

It the last week of our Summer Reading Program, and that means it's your last chance to join, report on books and earn prizes! It all comes to an end on Saturday, August 15.

Report on at least one book by then to receive an invitation to our End of Summer Party!

URBAN WORD!!!!

2009-07-14T10:36:00.002-04:00

Urban Word NYC is coming to Patchogue. Don't miss it!!

All teen poets, emcees, spoken word artists, ranters, and literati should come to the Patchogue-Medford Library on Friday July 31, 5 - 7 p.m. to learn to create freestyle poetry with this great group.

Founded on the belief that teenagers can and must speak for themselves, Urban Word NYC is at the forefront of the youth spoken word, poetry and hip-hop movements!

REGISTER NOW!!!! Call 654-4700, x251, or click on the calendar link on the right sidebar.

Teen Film Festival, Art Gallery, Talent Show and Rock It! Band Showcase

2009-06-30T11:58:00.029-04:00

The sign up information and rules for our 2009 Film Festival, Teen Talent Show and Rock It! Band Showcase are now available. Use the links below to access the audition forms, rules and information packets.

Film Festival
Our 2009 Teen Film Festival will be held on Wednesday, August 19 from 5:00 - 8:30 p.m. Deadline for submission is August 8. Fill out this application, and bring it in to the YA department.

Art Gallery
We will be holding a Teen Art Gallery in August. Deadline for submission is August 1. Here are the gallery rules and application.

Teen Talent Show
The Teen Talent Show will be held at Alive After 5 on Main Street in Patchogue on August 7. Here is the audition application form, and here are the rules.

Rock It! Band Showcase
Rock It! Teen Band Showcase will be held at Alive After 5 on Main Street in Patchogue on August 14. Here's the entry form.

Summer Reading - Express Yourself!

2009-06-15T13:43:00.003-04:00

Our Teen Summer Reading Program starts on June 26. Our theme is EXPRESS YOURSELF. Sign up, and come to our Karaoke Kick-off that evening, featuring D.J. Daddy-O. Call the YA Desk at 654-4700, x251 to sign up for the Karaoke Kick-off.

Come into the library to sign up for summer reading, or do it from home on your computer. The link will be on this blog, and on the library webpage, www.pmlib.org . Get a prize just for signing up!
Read a book each week to earn a weekly prize. The more books you read and report on, the more chances you have to win one of our great raffle prizes. Write book reviews to earn chances to win a special prize.

You only need to read and report on one book this summer to be invited to our fabulous end-of-summer event!

Don't forget to check our program calendar (the link is on the sidebar) and sign up for some of the programs we have scheduled this summer:
Movie Night * Anime Programs * Battle of the Bands *
Battle of the Books * Teen Talent Show * Dungeons and Dragons *
Urban Word Poetry Workshops * Craft Programs * Game Nights *
and more!

Exam Assistance

2009-05-08T16:11:00.001-04:00

The end of the school year is almost here, and the Patchogue-Medford Library is offering several regents review classes to help you prepare.

Call the Young Adult Department to register to attend these classes - 654-4700, x251, or register online at www.pmlib.org

EARTH SCIENCE - Thursday May 28, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
LIVING ENVIRONMENT - Saturday, May 30, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
CHEMISTRY - Saturday, May 30, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
GLOBAL HISTORY - Saturday, June 6, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
U.S. HISTORY - Saturday, June 6, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.
ENGLISH - Tuesday, June 9, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
MATH B - Friday, June 12, 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
GEOMETRY - Saturday, June 13, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
INTEGRATED ALGEBRA - Saturday, June 13, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Our Math Tutor is also here at the the library every Thursday through June 11 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. No registration is necessary.

We also offer an on-line tutoring service that you can access using your home computer or a library computer. Tutors are available on-line in English, Writing, History, Math and Science from 2:00 - 11:00 p.m. daily. Look for the Homework Help icon on our homepage, www.pmlib.org.

More Science Fiction!

2009-03-23T17:57:00.010-04:00

For those of you who missed our Science Fiction book talks, here they are in no particular order:

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
In the not-too-distant future, biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible, although total replacement is illegal. Jenna, seriously injured in an accident at age 17, awakens from a coma and needs to relearn about herself. In the process, she discovers a startling secret. How much of a person can be synthetic before he or she is no longer human? And how does that affect society?

Skinned by Robin Wasserman
Lia Kahn was perfect, rich, beautiful and popular until an accident nearly killed her. Now her mind has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. She will never feel pain, she will never age, and she will never really live or die. She is rejected as a freak by her friends, betrayed by her boyfriend, and makes her family uncomfortable. People hate and fear what she has become. She has only one human friend, an outcast she would never have looked at before. Can she live a human life, with human friends, or should she give it all up and stay with others of her kind, using her new capabilities?

Epic by Conor Kostick
New Earth is a colony world based on a video role-playing game. Your status in the game determines your status in the world. Fourteen-year-old Erik persuades his friends to aid him in some unusual game strategies to save Erik's father from exile and safeguard the futures of each of their families.

Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde
Fourteen-year-old Giannine is playing a total immersion virtual reality when demonstrators damage the equipment she is connected to. She must defeat the game, or be hurt or suffer probable damage herself.

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
In this first in the Hungry City Chronicles, we learn of a post-apocalyptic future where wheeled cities travel the earth battling and cannibalizing each other for slaves, materials and spare parts. London is now a huge 7-tiered city where Tom, an apprentice historian, saves a famous man’s life only to be left for dead in the mud of an earth he has never touched before.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, there are only 12 districts. In retribution for a long-ago war by the districts again them, the ruling city of Panem stages the annual Hunger Games where 2 children from each district are selected by lottery to compete in a fight to the death. The event is televised nationally – both participation and watching are compulsory. The terrain and rules change as decreed by the rulers to keep the game interesting.

Time’s Chariot by Ben Jeapes
In an overcrowded future, Earth’s surplus population lives on colony worlds. The Home World lives in the Home Time, a place in space and time that is thought to be coming to an end in about 40 years. People travel back in forth in time, as students and as tourists. Field Operatives try to keep everything in order. Field Operative Rico Garron’s difficulties start when a Commissioner’s supposedly accidental death looks like murder to him. It’s possible that not everyone is following the Home Time Rules and Regulations.

Feed by M.T. Anderson
"We went to the moon to have fun, but it turned out to really suck…" is the first line of this book set in the future. A trip to the moon usually meant a party in low gravity. But some crazy hacker made the implants in the teens' brains malfunction, sending all of them to the hospital to have their feeds repaired. Without the feeds, their heads were empty, with no info on the latest trends.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender is only 6 when he is sent to battle school on a space ship. He grows up playing simulated battle games, and at 11 is the youngest in command school. He is the one selected as the earth’s best hope to overcome the alien buggers and save the human race.

The Silver Ship and the Sea by Brenda Cooper
The colony planet Fremont has grass that can cut people to ribbons and predators bigger than anything humans ever dealt with on earth. The colony has existed for 200years. Then a new group arrives, genetically enhanced to deal with the environment. A war between the two groups drives off the newcomers, but six genetically enhanced children are orphaned and left behind. The winners want no part of genetic modification, and as the children grow, so does their mistrust of both the youngsters and their powers. As teens, the abandoned children need to either find a way to live with people who hate them, or find a way to use the abandoned spaceship to take them away.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
In the future, following a war between Pro-Choice and Pro-Life armies, termination of pregnancy is illegal. But the “Bill of Life” allows parents to send their teens to be “unwound” – they can be taken apart and their parts used for transplants. Unruly teens, unwanted teens and religious offerings are all sent to the same fate. Some escape, and seek a way to survive in a world that wants them gone.

Larklight by Philip Reeve
In an alternative Victorian England, a young brother and sister are separated from their parents and leave their home in space, called Larklight, and travel through the universe after discovering a plot to destroy the solar system.

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
In this vision of the future, humans hate clones, who are created as laborers and have their intelligence destroyed at birth. But in his home, Matt enjoys special status as the hidden clone of a rich and powerful man, not realizing that his destiny is to provide spare parts for the old man as necessary.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Seventeen-year-old Marcus and his friends are arressted and held secretly after a terrorist attack in San Francisco. Marcus decides to use his technical expertise to get back at a Department of Homeland Security that has virtually taken control of the city.

Teen Tech Week

2009-03-04T11:12:00.004-05:00

For this year's teen tech week, March 8 - 14, we are celebrating SCIENCE FICTION.

On March 11, Brian and Jeri will flash talk a selection of science fiction books in our SCI-FI SPEED DATING program from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Bring your favorites to share. We'll have prizes for the people who meet the most books.

Also on March 11, from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m., Melissa will lead a book discussion of Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. Don't have a copy? Download it at Cory Doctorow's website: http://craphound.com/little brother/

On Friday, March 13, from 5:00 - 8:00 P.M., Brian will host a SUPER VIDEO GAME COSPLAY TOURNAMENT. Come dressed as your favorite video game character, have fun and win prizes!

Come in and join us! While you're here, take advantage of the library's music and media resources, including cds, dvds, audiobooks, playaways, video games and internet access. Use your library card at home to access online materials and download e-books, audiobooks, movies and music.

Advanced Battle of the Books

2009-01-24T16:37:00.002-05:00

It's that time again - The Patchogue-Medford Library Advanced Battle of the Books Team is forming.

Like to read? Competitive? Or just looking for fun? Come join our team.

Read three great books and demonstrate your knowledge in a battle against other Suffolk County libraries.

This year, our battle titles are:

THE ASTONISHING ADVENTURES OF FAN BOY AND GOTH GIRL by Barry Lyga

DAIRY QUEEN by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED by Carol Plum-Ucci

The battle will be held at Sachem Public Library on March 20, 2009.

Come to the YA Desk, sign up and pick up the books. Even better - come to our next meeting on Monday, January 26, 2009 at 3:30.

Want to join, but can't make the meeting? Call 654-4700, ext. 257 for more information.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T14:45:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year from all of us in the Young Adult Department.

We have more great programs planned for the new year! Check out our Valentine Karaoke Party on February 13.

If you like anime or manga, animangamania is continuing to meet monthly. We are also doing a program of 16 bit pixel art - create a character using plastic fuse boards.

Dungeons and dragons is meeting in January and February, as is Random Acts of Kindness and Fiber Freaks.

Into the Mic is continuing its work on their oral history project.

We also have craft programs, video and board game nights, yu-gi-oh, and the teen bake-off scheduled.

Advanced Battle of the Books is having its first team meeting on January 12. Teens in grades 9 - 12, come in and pick up the books to start reading.

Of course, we have the weekly math tutor and S.A.T. prep classes, and don't forget the Safe Boating Class

And all of this is just for January and February. Click on the calendar link on the right sidebar for more information or to register for programs, or call us at 631-654-4700, ext. 251.

Remember, registration is required for many programs.

Book Trailers

2008-12-11T14:27:00.008-05:00

Book Trailers are like movie trailers - short video clips about books. Try some of these, or go to your favorite author websites and see what they've got!

Graceling by Kristen Cashore

Airman by Eoin Colfer

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Alchemyst by by Michael Scott

Missing Persons

2008-12-01T16:11:00.004-05:00

Every so often, a trend appears in what I'm reading. Right now, it seems to be missing people.

Gone by Michael Grant
Everyone over the age of 14 suddenly disappears, setting off a power vacuum between factions of kids.

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks
A night out with some people he knew from high school turns into a nightmare for Pete. His best friend disappears, as does a young model they went to high school with. His friend is a suspect - and so is he.

Paper Towns by John Green
Quentin's beautiful next door neighbor disappears, leaving a trail of clues he is determined to follow.

As Simple as Snow by Gregory Galloway
Meeting a girl named Anastasia changes a boy's life. But when she mysteriously disappears, he is left with many questions.

Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne
Life changes after Phoebe's cousin Leonard comes to stay with them. Then he disappears, and Phoebe realizes that things and people are not as she thought.

The Invisible by Mats Wahl
A Swedish teenager is missing, and a local detective is determined to find out what happened.

Click on the "Our Book Reviews" link at left to see our Library Thing book reviews.

Our book reviews and links

2008-11-12T14:24:00.001-05:00

Remember to check out our book reviews at Library Thing, and our favorite web links on Delicious. Send a comment, and let us know what you think! What links should be add? What books should we be reading? Do you agree with us on the books we've read?

The links on on the right-hand sidebar, along with links to the library's homepage, and our calendar, so you can sign up for programs.

Teen Read Week - earn library dollars or prizes

2008-10-13T08:14:00.002-04:00

It's teen read week. Come on in and visit us for some "Books with Bite" themes activities. Tonight, we are showing Blood and Chocolate. See how the movie is different than the book. Wednesday, bring your favorite book with bite for a book discussion with Melissa. And Friday, Brian is running Monster Trivia.

All week long, you can earn library dollars to pay off your fines, or to purchase earbuds or memory sticks from the main desk. All you need to do is report on a book - any book. Reporting cards are on the YA librarian's desk. Pick one up and complete it. When you're done, give it to the librarian, and tell him/her whether you want a library dollar or a prize. We have a selection of vampire books and some fun "bite-themed" prizes to give away.

downloadable books, music and movies

2008-10-02T13:54:00.004-04:00

did you know that the library offers downloadable books, music and movies? Using the Suffolk Wave service you can download audiobooks, music and videos to your computer or portable device. A second service, Net Library, offers a wide selection of audiobooks to be downloaded. Both services can be accessed via our website www.pmlib.org - check for the link at right.

My favorite audiobook at the moment? Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher. This book was MADE for audio, and the performances by Debra Wiseman and Joel Johnstone are outstanding. The main character, Clay, receives a box of audiotapes in the mail, sent by a classmate named Hannah who committed suicide. On the tapes, she explains her 13 reasons for killing herself. We have this book available on cd and as a download through Suffolk Wave. Try it!

The Teen Friends Get New Officers!

2008-09-24T15:42:00.003-04:00

The Teen Advisory Board of the Patchogue Medford Library has elected a new group of officers!

Our new president is Rebecca G.

Our returning vice president is Deanna L.

Our new secretary is Amber T.

Our returning treasurer is Christina H.

Come and find out what the Teen Friends are! Our meetings are the 1st and third Friday of every month!

--Brian

Back to School

2008-09-06T10:39:00.003-04:00

It's September, and school has started again.

Don't despair - there's still plenty of fun and activity here at the library!

We have game nights, knitting/spinning/crocheting, crafts, dungions and dragons, PML Players Theatre, kite construction, book discussions, trivia and more. On the serious side, we have SAT and ACT prep classes, as well as math tutoring. If you need volunteer hours for honor society, confirmation or civics, call us about our Random Acts of Kindness group, book buddies and tech buddies.

Check the library newsletter, the on-line calendar or call us for more information on any of our fall programs!

Summer Reading Club is Ending!!!

2008-08-11T16:11:00.002-04:00

It's the last week of Summer Reading Club! If you haven't signed up yet, this week is your last chance - it's all over on August 16.

If you want to come to our invitation-only End-of-Summer DJ Party, be sure to log at least one book. We'll have music, food and fun!

Remember that each book you log gives you an extra chance at winning one of our great raffle prizes. The raffles will be held at the party, though you don't need to be there to win. For even more chances to win, write reviews of your favorite books.

Sign up, report on books and write reviews! Use the link for Metamorphosis Teen Summer Reading Club from the right sidebar.

Breaking Dawn Release

2008-07-28T18:04:00.003-04:00

Have you signed up for our Breaking Dawn Release Party? It's on August 4 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. We'll discuss the book, make Bella bracelets, get glittery and have a snack. Call the YA desk at 654-4700, ext. 251 to register, or register on-line using the link to our calendar on the right hand sidebar ------->

Also on our sidebar, check the Twilight Saga Fortune Teller. Ask any question, and receive an answer from one of the Twilight books. (Many thanks to Joseph Wilk of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for creating and sharing the fortune teller!)

Strictly Broadway and Battle of the Bands

2008-06-30T18:54:00.002-04:00

Want to sign up for Strictly Broadway or Battle of the Bands 2008? Scroll down on the sidebar to the right for pdfs of the entry forms.

If you need more information, call the Young Adult Department at 654-4700, ext. 251.

Ready to Rock???

2008-06-26T17:49:00.002-04:00

Sign up for our Summer Reading Program ROCK BAND kickoff event!

Kick off the summer with our favorite DJs and MCs from 2-Xtreme entertainment presenting Rock Band game sessions for you and your friends! Sign up for the Summer reading Club, get wild with Rock Band!

There are still some openings for this great program.

Sign up on-line (see the program calendar link to the right), or call the YA department at 654-4700, ext. 251

PML Happenings!

2008-06-20T15:09:00.000-04:00

Summer Reading Club

2008-06-16T13:42:00.002-04:00

Did you sign up yet? Click on the link at right to join. Start reporting on books on June 27. Each week that you report on a book, you are eligible for a weekly prize. The more books you read, the more chances you have to win our raffle prizes at the end of the summer. Read and report on only one book this summer, and you will be invited to our end-of-summer party.

If you like to review books, submit book reviews on the site (beginning June 27) to be eligible for even more prizes!

V-Blog Volume 5

2008-06-16T13:15:00.001-04:00

Summer Expo

2008-06-03T15:53:00.002-04:00

Come to our Summer Expo this Saturday, June 7. Bring your family and get information on fun-filled summer programs here in the Patchogue-Medford area. About 15 local organizations will be here to answer questions about their summer programs - there is sure to be something for everyone. Refreshments will be served.

Register for Summer Reading Club while you are here, and pick up a prize! The theme of our club this year is Metamorphosis: Change Yourself, Change Your World. We'll have lots of great activities all summer long.

The official start date for Summer Reading Club is June 27 - but you can register starting Saturday, either by coming into the library or from home, on-line. Look for the link here on the blog (see our links to the right) or on our homepage, www.pmlib.org.

Last week....

2008-06-02T16:20:00.001-04:00

Gosh, another one!

2008-05-19T13:25:00.001-04:00

What is going on?

2008-05-09T16:13:00.000-04:00

What have we here?

2008-05-07T14:37:00.003-04:00

Advanced Battle of the Books

2008-04-10T09:37:00.003-04:00

Advanced Battle of the Books was held last Friday at the Sachem Public Library. Teams from 11 Suffolk County Libraries competed, displaying their knowledge of three books: Black and White by Paul Volponi, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevon and Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar. The winning team, the Schnoopers, came from the Harborfields Library, and best costume was won by the Biblios from East Hampton.

Thanks to members of the Patchogue-Medford team, the Machine, who did a great job representing our library - Samantha, Brianna, Tiffany, Hannah, Shira, Daniel, Deanna, Hannah and William!!!!

Teen Bake-Off Results!!!!

2008-04-01T14:26:00.006-04:00

Congratulations to the winners of our Teen Bake-Off!!! Here are the names, and pictures of some of their delicious creations.

Cookies

1st place: Rebecca Amoroso's Krackle Cookies

2nd Place: Stephen Puckli's Cherry-Nut Rum Fingers

3rd place: Samantha Woolhiser's Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies

Cakes:

1st place: Anne Claire Pernot's Queen Anne’s Spiral

2nd place: Christina Heifferon's Apple Cake

3rd place: Nicole Casamassina's Pineapple Paradise Cake

Honorable Mention: Mike Feehan's Michael’s Crumb Cake

Matthew Corr's Torta Al Formaggio di matta

Alexandra Longo's Heavenly Angel Food Cake

Mary Fonseca, Stephanie Golden, and Laura Golden's Funfetti Cupcakes

Bread:

1st place: Christina Maragiolio's Zucchini Bread

2nd place: Casey Cleary and Dakota Herbert's Irish Soda Bread

3rd place: Caitlin Corrigan-Orosco's Mother Nature’s Organic Banana Nut Bread

Honorable Mention: Victoria Heifferon's Chocolate Chip Bread

Pie:

1st place: Shannon Fisher's Chocolate Chip Pie

Lots of thanks to all who participated, and to the staff members who judged the entries!

Some of our judges enjoying the treats

Teen Tech Week 2008 - Show Us How It Works!

2008-02-29T10:41:00.001-05:00

What
Help us keep up with the latest techie innovations by showing us new devices (handhelds, gaming systems, communication tools) websites and tech tools that you think we haven't seen yet.

When
Anytime between 1:00 pm Sunday, March 2 and 4:00 pm Saturday, March 8, 2008.

Where
At the YA desk, during library hours, or post a comment here on the blog.

How
Bring in the cool device and give a demo to the librarian on duty, or send us a hot link and a brief description of the website. In both cases, we want to know why you think this latest thing is so hot. Be sure your pitch to us is lively and convincing!

2008 Printz Awards

2008-02-20T11:03:00.008-05:00

Here are the winners of this year's Printz award for young adult literature. We have ALL these books, so come in and check them out!

Winner

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Fourteen-year-old Symone's vacation to Antarctica turns into a dangerous adventure when her uncle becomes obsessed with seeking Symme's Hole, an opening that may lead to the center of the earth.

Honor Books

Dreamquake: Book 2 of the Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox
Aided by her family and her creation, Nown, Laura investigates the powerful Regulatory Body's involvement in mysterious disappearances and activities and learns, in the process, the true nature of the Place in which dreams are found.

One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke
As her irritating family prepares to celebrate her grandfather's eightieth birthday, sixteen-year-old Lily yearns for just one whole perfect day together.

Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins
A fallen angel, tired of being unappreciated while doing his pointless, demeaning job, leaves Hell, enters the body of a seventeen-year-old boy, and tries to experience the full range of human feelings before being caught and punished, while the boy's family and friends puzzle over his changed behavior.

Your Own Sylvia by Sylvia Hemphill
The author interprets the people, events, influences and art that made up the brief life of Sylvia Plath.

Audiobooks add to the story!

2008-01-30T11:06:00.000-05:00

Have you checked out our great selection of Young Adult audiobooks lately? Books are available for download to your MP3 player, or on Playaway, CD or cassette.

Hearing a story can help pass a long car trip, or help you catch up with reading while you exercise or travel back and forth to school.

In addition, often audiobooks are more than just the written word. The reader or readers will have the accent of the country or region the book is set in. The pronunciation of unusual or foreign words is there for you.

And even better - sometimes there are sound effects that add to the story. Some examples:

Feed by M.T. Anderson - you hear the "feed" inputs directly to the teenagers' brains.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar - nursery music is played when Scott talks to his unborn sibling, Smelly.

The New Policeman by Kate Thompson features a piece of tradition Irish music highlighting each chapter.

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going and Born to Rock by Gordon Korman feature pieces of music appropriate to the stories.

ch-ch-ch-changes

2008-01-04T09:25:00.000-05:00

We have a couple of changes in and around the YA area to tell you about.

First, the YA audiobooks have been relocated! The CD books are now on the shelves next to the new books, facing the YA librarian's desk. The cassette books are on the back of the same shelf.

Second, the access management software for the computers will be updated on January 15. The new version will be verifying that you have parental permission to access the internet. If your library card does not already have a "NET" sticker on it, remember to stop at the main desk for the internet permission form. AFTER JANUARY 15, IF YOU ARE LESS THAN 18 YEARS OLD, YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE "NET" PERMISSION IN ORDER TO ACCESS THE INTERNET FROM THE PUBLIC COMPUTERS. Please ask your parent or guardian come in to sign the form. If you already have a "NET" sticker, the new software will recognize that.

See you all soon!

Happy 2008

2008-01-02T10:47:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great vacation, and wish you all the best in the New Year.

Check out the program calendar link on the left to see what's going on in the library over the next few weeks. Scheduled programs include:

Game Night: Family Feud
S.A.T. Review
Insider's Guide to PML: A Behind-the Scenes Tour
Battle of the Books: Advanced Division Team Meeting
Video Game Night
Dungeons and Dragons
Knit Wits Teen Knitting Group
Random Acts of Kindness Community Service Group
Valentine's Day Craft and Food programs
Movies and Book Discussions
Bake-Off and Bread Making
PML Player Audtions
Safe Boating Course
Karaoke

and much more. Remember to register for programs so you don't get closed out!

Gee Wiz! Double Vote out!

2007-12-14T15:53:00.001-05:00

This just in! We have had two books voted out! Click Here and Bucking the Sarge1

Click Here: To Find Out How I Survived 7th Grade by Denise Vega tells the story of a 7th grader who makes her own online journal. Here is the School Library Journal review:
Grade 5-7–Erin Swift, who is beginning middle school, keeps a diary on her own private Web page, which she never intends to post on the Internet. The year gets off to a rough start when she discovers that she and her best friend, Jilly, will not have any classes together. Then Erin punches her archenemy, Serena, for calling her Jilly's puppet. Worst of all, Erin begins to wonder if she does follow Jilly's wishes instead of her own and resolves to make some new friends and pursue her own interests. Things become more difficult when the boy Erin secretly likes becomes infatuated with Jilly. The only bright spot is the Intranet Club, where her computer skills earn her a lead role in designing the school's new Web site. Then disaster strikes when Erin's secret Web page is accidentally posted on the school Intranet for everyone to read. Suddenly, she is faced with her biggest problem yet. The characters and situations are believable, and readers will relate to and sympathize with Erin's dilemmas. Entries from the diary supplement the first-person narrative, an approach that works well with the story. The Erin at the end of the semester is hardly recognizable from the earlier Erin, and the result is pleasing to everyone.–Linda L. Plevak, Saint Mary's Hall, San Antonio, TX

Check it out!

The other book, Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis is a story that takes place in Michigan.

Check out this website:
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/christopherpaulcurtis/buckingthesarge.htm

Woo hoo!!

And here is a review on it written by Amazon:
Fifteen-year-old wannabe philosopher Luther T. Farrell knows a few things about life. He knows the Sarge (his rich, shrewd, slumlord mom) is tougher than nails and that he better not cross her. He knows his chances of using Chauncey, the ancient condom in his wallet, are slim to none. And, he knows that despite his goal to attend Harvard, he may end up stuck in Flint, Michigan, cleaning toilets in his mom's loathsome empire. Luther spends much of his time helping the Sarge run "Happy Neighbor Group Homes" around the city, including shaving and bathing elderly men and driving residents around with an illegal license. In spare moments he tries to win first place in the science fair at school and hang out with his best friend Sparky, all the while fantasizing mightily about his one true love, the beautiful Shayla.
Readers will be moved as Luther, a thoroughly decent if sometimes naive boy, rails against his mother's cold, ruthless notions of what it takes to get ahead in the world. Up-to-the-minute slang and pop culture references will resonate with teen readers, as will the funny, first-person narrative; crisp, often hilarious dialogue; and wonderfully vivid characters. Christopher Paul Curtis, winner of the Newbery Medal for Bud Not Buddy tells a warm, witty, heart wrenching story where the good guy gets his due. (Ages 12 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Want to write a book review?

2007-12-14T12:19:00.000-05:00

Have you read anything good lately? Want to tell other people about it? Read anything bad that you want to warn people about? Write a book review, and we'll post it here. Put your book review on youtube, and we'll post the link.

Looking for something good to read? Check out our display of great first lines in the YA department.

Here are a few to get you started:

I'm a slut for a good rumor. (Love Sick by Jake Coburn)

Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. (The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi)

The way it looks is not the way it is. (Inexcusable by Chris Lynch)

The gunman is useless. (I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak)

Rock and Roll All Night! (Book Survivor)

2007-12-05T11:40:00.000-05:00

Hello there!

We are sad to announce the Rockin' departure of Born to Rock by Gordon Korman in Book Survivor V! The interesting thing about Gordon Korman is that he was a published author at the age of 14! Can you believe it? And he's written a mondo load of books, dude!

Check it out, courtsey of Wikipedia:
This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall (1977)
Go Jump in the Pool (1979)
Beware the Fish (1980)
Who is Bugs Potter (1980)
I Want to go Home (1981)
Our Man Weston (1982)
The War with Mr. Wizzle (1983)
Bugs Potter Live at Nickaninny (1983)
No Coins Please (1984)
Don't Care High (1985)
Son of Interflux (1986)
A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag (1987)
Zucchini Warriors (1988)
Radio 5th Grade (1989)
Losing Joe's Place (1990)
Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood (1991)
The D- Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)
The Twinkie Squad (1992)
The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993)
Why Did the Underwear Cross the Road (1994)
Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall (1995)
The Last Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)
The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)
Liar, Liar Pants on Fire (1997)
Quarterback Exchange: I Was John Elway (1997)
Running Back Conversion: I was Barry Sanders (1997)
Super Bowl Switch: I was Dan Marino (1997)
Heavy Artillery: I was Junior Seau (1997)
Ultimate Scoring Machine: I was Jerry Rice (1998)
NFL Rules! Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets and Touchdowns (1998)
The Sixth Grade Nickname Game (1998)
Slapshots 1: The Stars from Mars (1999)
Nose Pickers from Outer Space (1999)
Slapshots 2: All-Mars All Stars (1999)
Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)
No More Dead Dogs (2000)
Slapshots 3: The Face-Off Phony (2000)
Slapshots 4: Cup Crazy (2000)
Your Mummy is a Nose Picker (2000)
Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)
Island Trilogy
Island: Shipwreck (2001)
Island: Survival (2001)
Island: Escape (2001)
Son of the Mob (2002)
Everest: The Contest (2002)
Everest: The Climb (2002)
Everest: The Summit (2002)
Maxx Comedy: The Funniest Kid in America (2003)
Jake, Reinvented (2003)
Clue Me In! (2003)
Dive: The Discovery (2003)
Dive: The Deep (2003)
Dive: The Danger (2003)
Son of the Mob: The Hollywood Hustle (2004)
On the Run Series (2004-2006)
Chasing the Falconers
The Fugitive Factor
Now You See Them, Now You Don't
The Stowaway Solution
Public Enemies
Hunting the Hunter
Born To Rock (2006)
Kidnapped: The Abduction (2006)
Kidnapped: The Search (2006)
Kidnapped: The Rescue (2007)
You Smell (2007)
Schooled (2007)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Korman"
Categories: Canadian children's writers

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS: ADVANCED DIVISION

2007-12-03T20:13:00.000-05:00

Students in grades 9 - 12 - it's time to come join the Patchogue-Medford Library's Advanced Division Battle of the Books Team!

Read 3 great books, and demonstrate your knowledge in a battle against other Suffolk County libraries. We need you to help make this our best battle ever!!!
This year's battle titles are:

Black and White by Paul Volponi

Two star high school basketball players, one black and one white, experience the justice system differently after committing a crime together and getting caught.

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar

While navigating his first year of high school and awaiting the birth of his new baby brother, Scott loses old friends and gains some unlikely new ones as he hones his skills as a writer.

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

After fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds herself in a place that is both like and unlike Earth, where she must adjust to her new status and figure out how to "live."

Come in to the library or call now to sign up! Pick up the books and start reading!

We will have our first team meeting on January 7, from 6:30 - 7:30 pm - and hope to see you there!

If you want to participate, but can't make the meeting, call the YA desk at 654-4700 ext. 251 for more information. The Battle will be held on April 4

Triplicate Vote Out!

2007-11-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

Book Survivor has lost three titles! Yes! After a long three way tie, three books were voted out:

Bras and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski

This fun series is about a girl who has a sister who has magical powers! Way to go! But the poor main character doesn't have any of her own! Boo!

There are several books in this series, including the title. Some other books in the series are Frogs and French Kisses and Spells and Sleeping Bags!
Yay!

Sarah's Very Own Page!

The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck

Richard Peck is an award winning author! He wrote many books including "Here Lies the Librarian!"

Check out an interview with him:
Interview!!

Mates, Dates and Chocolate Treats by Cathy Hopkins
This series, written by Cathy Hopkins, contains many other books, as cited by Wikipedia:

Mates, Dates and Inflatable Bras- A turning point has come in Lucy's life but she doesn't want it. Her best friend Izzie seems to be becoming way too close to new-girl Nesta and she feels increasingly pushed out. But then Wonder-boy crosses the street and her whole life begins to change.

Mates, Dates and Cosmic Kisses- The cool and kooky Izzie is getting desperate as the divine Mark never returns her calls when he says he will. Izzie begins to lose her perspective of things and her sense of fun. Her best friends Lucy and Nesta try to bring her out of it but will she like what she hears?

Mates, Dates and Portobello Princesses (Designer Divas in the U.S.) - Nesta meets the perfect Simon on a train-from hell. But she runs in problems as he comes from a rich, upperclass background and she feels out of her league. To top it all there is Cressida, the ice queen who sneers at her clothes and her life. Can Nesta see what really matters?

Mates, Dates and Sleepover Secrets- This book shows TJ's debut as she slowly becomes friends with Lucy. But problems arise as she is running for editor of the school magazine and so is classmate Wendy Roberts who has it in for her. Will Izzie and Nesta accept her and will her problem of always being "one of the guys" be resolved? And what happens with her crush on the next door neighbor?

Mates, Dates and Sole Survivors- Lucy seems to going through a tumultuous time. When she finally wants to go out with Tony, he already has a girlfriend. But then at a spa weekend she meets Daniel. He seems perfect, good looking, in to fashion and reliable. But she begins to feel as he is taking over her life. Maybe being single isn't so bad.

Mates, Dates and Mad Mistakes- Izzie is sick of being treated like a kid so she makes some changes in her life. But is she not ready to face the consequences as new bad boy Josh comes into her life and her mother is against the whole new Izzie.

Mates, Dates and Pulling Power (Sequin Smiles in the U.S.) - The stunningly beautiful Nesta is in agony. She has to have a brace. And this happens to be at the time at which she meets Luke a sizzingly hot young actor like her. In this book Nesta learns more about her family's history and about herself.

Mates, Dates and Tempting Trouble- TJ is getting hot under the collar as Nesta's boyfriend Luke declares passionate love for her. Can Nesta's and TJ's friendship continue and what will TJ's boyfriend Steve say?

Mates, Dates and Great Escapes- Tony, Lucy's boyfriend keeps wanting to get serious while Lucy wants to cool down. So a school trip to Florence seems the perfect escape. There she meets Teddy, a cute and sophisticated American who seems the perfect gentleman. But will she be able to forget Tony?

Mates, Dates and Chocolate Cheats- Izzie, who is usually on top of the world is feeling down. None of her clothes fit. She tries many diets but none of them seem to work and she loses her confidence and starts to become obsessive about losing weight. Can her mates help her out of this hole or will she keep digging herself down?

Mates, Dates and Diamond Destiny- Nesta is sick of being thought shallow so raising money for charity seems a god-sent way of banishing those comments. But there she meets William, friend of her former flame, love-rat Luke. But can she bring herself to trust him?

Mates, Dates and Sizzling Summers- TJ is resigned to being single when two boys come along at the same time! She is torn between them and comes off looking like a two-timer. With the support of her friends can she overcome this?

Awesome! Check out her website!

Cathy Hopkins!!

Enter Contests - Win Prizes

2007-11-26T14:28:00.000-05:00

Want to win some prizes for your essay-writing skill? Or maybe you write poetry, or are a whiz at vocabulary? How about art, video or photography? Here are some contests you might want to consider:

Freedom of Speech Essay Contest
The Suffolk County Library Association and the Suffolk Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union are sponsoring this contest. Write an essay on the theme What Does the Freedom of Speech Mean to Me, and you can win an i-pod or gift certificate to Borders or Blockbuster Video. Entries will be judged on originality/creativey, clarity/grammer and persuasiveness. For more information and entry requirements, go to www.scla.net/IF/

Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest
Write an essay on Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Lewis Stevenson, and win a $1000.00 scholarship. Rules at: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/html/services-academic/essayhome.html

Profile in Courage Essay Contest
Write an essay about an elected official who has demonstrated political courage. Total prizes awarded are $8500.00. For more information, go to: http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/-Profile+in+Courage+Award/Essay+Contest+for+High+School+Students/

VOYA Teen Poetry Contest
Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA) magazine is sponsoring this poetry contest. Up to three poems can be submitted - they must be written by teens, but submitted by a teacher or librarian. For more information: http://www.voya.com/contests/#poetry

Wicked Lovely Art Contest
Author Melissa Marr is sponsoring an art contest. Win art gear for your art representing a character, scene or event from her book Wicked Lovely. More information at: http://www.melissa-marr.com/mwritingcontests.html

VOYA's Cover Photo Contest for Teens
VOYA magazine is sponsoring this contest where your creation can appear on the front cover of the magazine. The theme is Teens on the Planet Read. Rules at: http://www.voya.com/contests/#photo

Letters About Literature Competition
Write a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work affected you. Win a $500 gift card from Target for yourself, and a grant for your school or community library. Rules at: http://library.syr.edu/nybook/documents/LAL2008EntryGuidelines.pdf

Funny Funny Ha ha! (Book Survivor Vote Out)

2007-11-14T09:41:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

I am sad to announce that Hoot has been voted out! The book is authored by Carl Hiaasen, who is an very funny author. Most of his works are written for adults, but he wrote Hoot and Flush for the YA audience. If you would like to check out Hiaasen's website, http://www.carlhiaasen.com/.

Hiaasen is known for his humorous writing style and his novels that center around the state of Florida.

Halloween Masqueradathon

2007-11-01T11:37:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Halloween Masqueradathon yesterday! We had snacks, prizes, and a good time!

All of you who came in costume - the photos are up on the wall, and you all look great posing with our resident vampire, Vlad the Imposter. Vlad is returning to his wooden box until next October, but please come in and pick up your framed copies of the photographs we took.

Native American Heritage Month

2007-11-01T11:35:00.000-04:00

November is Native American Heritage Month. To mark the 13th anniversary of Native American Heritage Month, the National Education Association has posted a booklist on their website:
http://www.nea.org/readacross/resources/nabooklist.html

We have a display of books and audiobooks up in the department, including fiction, non-fiction, and audiotapes to learn native american languages. Come check it out!

Teen Health & Wellness: Real Life, Real Answers

2007-10-25T11:12:00.000-04:00

We now have access to a new award-winning database, specifically to answer teens' health and wellness questions.

The Teen Health and Wellness Database can be accessed either in the library, or from your home computer. It offers:
- comprehensive articles about issues essential to teen health and well-being
- regularly updated homepage features connecting medical news and social issues to database articles
- automatically generated citations for use in school papers, plus the ability to print and e-mail articles
- resource sections with Web sites, organizations and recommended reading
- interactive polls and quizzes
- authentic, first-person teen narratives
- listings of national 24-hour hotlines for teens in crises.

You can search by keyword, or go in through the main category headings, which include:
* Body Basics
* Developmental Disabilities and Disorders
* Diseases, Infections and Conditions
* Diversity
* Drugs and Alcohol
* Eating Disorders
* Family Life
* Friendship and Dating
* Grief and Loss
* Mind, Mood and Emotions
* Nutrition, Fitness and Appearance
* Safety
* Sexuality and Sexual Health
* Skills for School, Work and Life

Articles and content in the database are thoroughly reviewed by professionals in the appropriate fields.

Last Post about 2007 Teens Top Ten

2007-10-25T10:32:00.000-04:00

Here are the results from the American Library Associations national on-line vote for the 2007 Teens’ Top Ten:

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer (got more than 6000 votes!)
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
Maximum Ride: School’s Out – Forever by James Patterson
Firegirl by Tony Abbott
All Hallows Eve (13 Stories)by Vivian Vande Velde
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
River Secrets by Shannon Hale
Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe
Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks

Nominations for the 2008 Teens’ Top Ten vote will be posted in April at www.ala.org/teenstopten.

Patchogue Medford Teens Top Ten

2007-10-22T19:25:00.000-04:00

The American Library Association hasn't posted their teens top ten list yet, but the votes are in and counted here in Patchogue Medford.

And our winners are:

Born to Rock by Gordon Korman - 7 votes
High school senior Leo Caraway, a conservative Republican, learns that his biological father is a punk rock legend.

Clay by David Almond - 6 votes
The developing relationship between teenager Davie and a mysterious new boy in town morphs into something darker and more sinister when Davie learns firsthand of the boy's supernatural powers.

Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks - 6 votes
Two brothers, sons of an incarcerated gypsy, leave London traveling to an isolated and desolate village, in search of the brutal killer of their sister.

The Unresolved by T.K. Welsh - 6 votes
In 1904 NYC, the spirit of a deceased teenage girl searches for the person responsible for the Slocum steamboat fire that claimed her life and the lives of more than 1000 other passengers.

The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson - 6 votes
On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her knowledge of forensic medicine to catch the killer of a friend while putting herself in terrible danger.

Firegirl by Tony Abbott - 5 votes
A middle school boy's life is changed when Jessica, a girl disfigured by burns, starts attending his Catholic school while receiving treatment at a local hospital.

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles - 5 votes
When 16-year-old Amy goes to Israel for 3 months with the father she barely knows, she is not prepared for his family and the changes they cause in her life.

Hello Groin by Beth Goobie - 5 votes
Dylan discovers that friendship can get in the way of love.

All Hallow's Eve by vivian Vande Velde - 5 votes
13 tales of Halloween horrors, including ghosts, vampires, and pranks gone awry.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen - 5 votes
Isolated from friends who believe the worst, 16-year-old Annabel finds an ally in a classmate whose honesty and passion for music help her face what really happened at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.

Every book on the nomination list received at least two votes, and as you can tell it was a very close race!

Thanks for voting!

Book Survivor V: LOL@PML: First Vote Off!!!!

2007-10-16T14:55:00.000-04:00

Our very first vote off from the new Book Survivor is.....

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman.

This very entertaining book features a teenage boy who is just trying to fit in. He wants a girlfriend, and to simply survive high school. But his life is complicated just a bit by his family who are tied to the Mob.

There is sequel to this book called Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle.

If you'd like to learn more about Gordon Korman, check out his website:

http://gordonkorman.com/

Remember to Vote!!

2007-10-12T13:08:00.000-04:00

The ballots for the Teens Top Ten vote will be online later today:

www.ala.org/teenstopten

This is where you get to tell the American Library Association what books you liked best this year! You also get to help choose the theme for next year's Teen Read Week.

Our ballot box is open at the Library, too! Come in and fill one out so we can determine what the Patchogue-Medford Teens Top Ten books are.

The reporting cards for Teen Read Week will be available at the YA Desk, starting Sunday, October 14. For each book you report on, you can pick something from our special LOL@PML prize box (hint: the prizes are all themed to match the Laugh Out Loud theme)or, if you prefer, you can get 2 library dollars per book. Library dollars can be redeemed at the main desk, just like cash, to pay any fines or to purchase earbuds or memory sticks.

2007 Teens Top Ten

2007-10-02T11:12:00.000-04:00

Vote for your favorite book during Teen Read Week, October 14-20. To vote, go to www.ala.org/teenstopten/.

We'll be having our own vote in the Library to pick a Patchogue-Medford favorite, so don't forget to come in during Teen Read Week. For each book you report on (any book of your choice) you will receive library dollars or a prize.

Here are the nominations for Teens Top Ten 2007, arranged alphabetically by author:

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 Kirsten 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

31 Flavors

2007-10-01T20:50:00.000-04:00

The readergirlz divas and YALSA will be hosting 31 of your flavorite authors for 31 days in October -- all in honor of Teen Read Week.

From vamps to vampires, the creators of your favorite characters in YA lit will chat nightly at our group forum at 5 PM PST/8 PM EST (with the exception of the Halloween chat, which will be held at 9 PM PST/MIDNIGHT EST with Stephenie Meyer). So, readergirlz across the world, check it out at:
http://www.readergirlz.com/issue.html

1. Join the readergirlz group forum on MySpace. You must be a member of the forum to participate in the 31 Flavorite Author chats. (http://groups.myspace.com/readergirlz)
2. Friend readergirlz at MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/readergirlz)
3. Chat every night throughout October (5 pm PDT, 8 pm EDT) with your 31 Flavorite Authors.
4. Win FREE books! The thirty-first person each night to comment on the Flavorite Author chat will win a FREE book.

"What could be more perfect than YALSA's Teen Read Week for the darkening days of October? Teens can turn up the lights, ignore the gloom outside, and curl up with a stack of books by authors who write just for them." - Dia Calhoun, readergirlz diva, Avielle of Rhia

Letters About Literature Writing Contest - Win Prizes!

2007-09-28T09:07:00.000-04:00

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores, is sponsoring a contest for readers in grades 4 through 12. To enter, write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre-- fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic, explaining how that author's work changed your way of thinking about the world or yourself.

Don't send the letter to the author! For the address, and all the rules, check out the website http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/letters.html

There are three competition levels: Level I for children in grades 4 through 6; Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III, grades 9 - 12. Winners, announced in the spring, receive cash awards at the national and state levels.

You can win a $500 gift certificate to Target and $10,000 for the library of your choice.

Good luck! and let us know about the books and authors you love!

We're Back!!

2007-08-17T13:36:00.001-04:00

Construction is over and we are back in our newly renovated young adult department on the main floor of the library. come in and check it out!

The new area is larger, with bright new paint and new carpet. We also have 4 computers reserved for young adults.

See you soon!

Did you sign up for summer reading club yet????

2007-06-27T15:49:00.000-04:00

Summer Reading Club has started. This year we have a mystery theme, with lots of fun activities planned. Come on in and join us - get a paperback book to keep just for joining, then get another prize each week for 7 weeks. Report on just one book during the summer to be invited to our End of Summer Party! Each book you read gets you an additional chance to win one of our wonderful raffle prizes. Write a book review, and be entered in an additional, special raffle.

Come join us!!!!

Ning Teen Book Discussion Forums

2007-06-13T16:17:00.000-04:00

Hello, again -

Several new demonstration online social networks have been created for the Young Adult Library Services Association, where any teens who are interested in discussing the current nominated Quick Picks, Popular Paperback and Best Books for Young Adults titles can participate! (These sites are not official sites of the American Library Association, but give you a chance to be heard)

You can now give your opinions on books being nominated for the American Library Association Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers, Best Books and Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Lists. You can discuss your opinions in forums set up for each nominated book, or even post videos of yourselves discussing the nominated books. Since Ning is a social networking tool, you can also create your own pages and form groups.

Here are the addresses:

Quick Picks discussion is located at http://qpteendiscussion.ning.com/
The Quick Picks committee (part of ALA's YALSA division) creates lists of new books for teens who don't like to read.

Best Books discussion is located at http://bbyateendiscussion.ning.com/
The BBYA committee (part of ALA's YALSA division) is responsible for creating a list of great new books for teens.

Popular Paperbacks discussion is located at http://popularpaperbacks.ning.com/
The PPYA committee is responsible for creating paperback theme lists for teens

Note: All reader responses will be tallied for inclusion in the Knowville.org Read a Billion books initiative

We're Moving!!!

2007-06-09T16:51:00.001-04:00

Hi -

I'm sure you have all seen that the library has been undergoing renovations. The reference department already has new carpeting and furniture, and the audio/visual materials area is in process. The old computer lab has closed, and the new computers on the main floor are now ready and available for use. (Remember to bring your valid library card with you to log on!)

Well, today the Young Adult Department starting moving - by Monday afternoon, we will be completely relocated to meeting room A, downstairs. We will be located there for the next several weeks.

Come visit us soon!

Alice Axed

2007-05-18T14:04:00.000-04:00

Book Survivor IV: The Great Character

Howdy! My name is Alice, and no, not the Alice from the Alice Series, but Alice from the Looking Glass of the Great Beyond. I'm here to report the demise of my fellow pallie Alice from the Alice Series by Phyllis Naylor. The Alice series began in the early 90's and has had a new book written in the series in every year since. The series follows the life of Alice, who begins the series as a 5th grader who grows up with her brother Lester and her father. Her mother passed away when she was real little. The Alice series speaks to youth. I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date..but..if you want more information:

http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?pid=368174&tab=4

-Alice

Georgia Gets Chewed Out

2007-05-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

Sob! My name is Brittany Brittony, and I'm from England. Yes, I am British! And I am horrified and sobbing! That poor poor soul Georgia has been voted out! Why! WHY!!
This lovely and hilarious book series by Louise Rennison has made me chuckle and scream with laughter. And I'm now I'm filled with intense tears.
These are the books from the series:

1.) Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging
2.) It's OK, I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers - (On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God in the US)
3.) Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas
4.) Dancing in my Nuddy-Pants (March 2002)
5.) ...And That's When it Fell Off in my Hand - (Away Laughing on a Fast Camel in the US)
6.) ...Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers (May 2005)
7.) Startled By His Furry Shorts (May 2006)
8.) Love is a Many Trousered Thing (June 2007)

And I know you're dying to read more...

http://www.georgianicolson.com/

Fowl Play??!

2007-05-04T14:48:00.000-04:00

Oho! My name is Wingy Chicken and I'm here to cluck out the demise of Artemis Fowl from our latest incarnation of Book Survivor! This well seasoned book is part of a very popular series by Eoin Colfer. The series features criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl pitting against his nemesis, Holly Short. The series has five titles to date, with a sixth coming out in 2008.

For more information:

http://www.artemisfowl.co.uk/

Wingy

Compass Leads Characters off Track!

2007-04-30T15:03:00.000-04:00

Hello,

My name is Nav. E. Gator, and I'm here to report the demise of Lyra and her role in the His Dark MaterialsTrilogy. Oy, vey, what terrible news that this Phillip Pullman series has been pulled out of Book Survivor. The trilogy consists of:
The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and the Amber Spyglass. (Weeps). The trio of books follows Will and Lyra and their adventures.

If you'd like more information, sniff sniff, please check out these links:

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/pullman/

OR

http://www.philip-pullman.com/

Vote again....

Navi

A Series of Unfortunate Vote Offs

2007-04-20T11:46:00.000-04:00

Book Survivor IV: The Great Character Battle

Oh hello, you sad people. Tis I, D. Pressed. I am here to tell you some horrifying news. Yes, The Series of Unfortunate Events and its representative, Klaus Baudelaire has been shamelessly ejected from this game. I bet this was all planned! This depressing, terrible series should not be read, as per Lemony Snicket, if you are faint of hearted or don't enjoy a sad story. The series has thirteen books naturally, and features the sad tale of the Baudelaire orphans who lost their parents in a tragic fire.

If you'd like to read more about this awful book series, check out:
http://www.lemonysnicket.com/

D.

Teen Top Ten Nominations Announced

2007-04-11T14:22:00.000-04:00

25 books have been nominated for the teens top ten list, sponsored by the American Library Association. You can vote for your favorites during Teen Read Week, October 14-20, 2007. Go to www.ala.org/teenstopten/ for more information about this year's nominees and to see the lists of past winners.

And the nominees are (alphabetic by author):

Firegirl by Tony Abbott
Clay by David Almond
Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks
Secrets of my Hollywood Life: On Location 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 Kirsten Miller
Prom Anonymous by Blake Nelson
Maximum Ride: School's Out - Forever by Hames Patterson
Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Penelope Bailey Takes the Stage by Lusanna Reich
All Hallows Eve (13 Stories) by Vivian Vande Velde
Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
The Unresolved by T.K. Welsh
Flora Sequnda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gaxing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (one Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog by Ysabeau S. Wilce

Stormbreaker Broken

2007-04-09T16:06:00.000-04:00

Book Survivor IV

Greetings! My name is James Bundt, James Bundt the IV. And I am here to break you the sad news of Stormbreaker and Alex Rider's departure from the Book Survivor World. Yes, Alex Rider has lost the character battle.

His series features around a teen secret agent who comes into his job after his uncle mysteriously passes on. Can he handle the pressure? Isn't he a little young to be a secret agent? Well, read the series to find out about him, and begin with Stormbreaker! The series was written by Anthony Horowitz.

For more information:

Check out the author's website: http://www.anthonyhorowitz.com/about/index.html

Stormbreaker is also a movie!

Fire-Us Snuffed

2007-03-30T14:27:00.000-04:00

Book Survivor IV

In a move that surprised many and no one at the same time, the Fire-Us Trilogy has been voted out. The trilogy which is by Jennifer Armstrong and features a postapocolytic world. This series contains three books, as all trilogies do. For a brief plot synopsis, check out Wikipedia's page on Jennifer Armstrong:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Armstrong

-The Enigma From the Future (tm)

Battle of the Books: Advanced Division

2007-03-26T14:01:00.000-04:00

The Fedora Family of Patchogue-Medford was proud to represent the library at the Battle of the Books Advanced Division 2007. Congratulations to team members Cathy, Elizabeth, Deanna, Tiffany, Samantha, Daniel and Ali!!!!! Thank you for all your effort.

Here's the summary of the battle's official results, supplied by the Suffolk Cooperative Library System:

The Battle of the Books, Advanced Division was held Friday March 23 at Sachem Public Library. Six teams participated: Harborfields’ Schnoopers coached by Sarah Schnepp and Brian Cooper, Longwood Public Library’s Wild Things coached by Jan Miller and Maggie Moloney, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley’s Balliiiin coached by Stephanie Kyle, Middle Country’s Logophobics coached by Laura Bocklet and Ryan Gessner, Patchogue’s The Fedora Family coached by Jeri Cohen and Danielle LoDolce, and Sachem’s Great and Terrible Fat Mob coached by Cheryl Conenello.

Special recognition goes to judges Brian Schwartz, Kerrilynn Hurley, Sue Tychnowicz, and Lorraine Squires.

The titles that were battled were: Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray and Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going. Rules for the Advanced Division Battle were the same as the annual battle.

Results: Harborfields team in first place, Sachem team in second place, and Longwood team in third place.

Best costume award (tie): Patchogue and Longwood teams.

Congratulations to all on a successful event!

Crinkled in Time

2007-03-22T15:55:00.000-04:00

Book Survivor IV

Herro! My name is Xavier Jonathan! And I'm from the society of double first names. I am very sad to report the demise of Charles Wallace along with his series, A Wrinkle in Time from the Book Survivor world. I feel as though people with double names are extremely special, and this voting out sends shivers down my spine.

The author of the series, Madeline L'Engle has written many many books. If you'd like to know more, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Wrinkle_in_Time

And for information about the author, check it out:

http://www.madeleinelengle.com/

Xavier Jonathan

Hungry City Starves

2007-03-15T15:55:00.000-04:00

Hello,

This is Iata Sewmuchh. I am a reporter for the Book Survivor Daily Gazette. We have a recent development in Book Survivor. Tom Natworthy of the Hungry City Chronicles has been eliminated. The news came to me and left my stomach empty and my heart full. The Hungry City Chronicles is a futuristic series set after an apocolypse involving Nuclear Weapons occured.

If you'd like more information, please check out the fansite for the Hungry City Chronicles.

[http://predatorsgold.freeforums.org/index.php]

-Iata

3 Apples Book Award

2007-03-15T10:38:00.000-04:00

It's time to nominate your favorite book for the New York State 3 Apples Book Awards. The Teen Choice Award is new this year, and the process is designed to give you the opportunity to participate in honoring your favorite books. All nominations must be submitted by March 31. In April, the 15 top nominees will be announced.

After that, we will all READ!, READ!, READ! between April and December. Voting will take place in January 2008 for the award winner.

Leave us a comment with the title and author of your favorite YA book, so we can forward it to the nominating committee!

Gossip Girls! Tee hee!

2007-03-09T14:17:00.000-05:00

Book Survivor IV: The Great Character Battle

Hi there darlings!

My name is Emma Sue Populare! I'm one of the chic-est gallies on this side of the Long Island sound. I'm hee-yah to report on the tragical eviction of Gossip Girls by one Cecily von Ziesegar. The Gossip Girls series revolves around a group of high school girls who live in the tres cool city of NY. Those girls are totally rad.
If you'd like to read this bodacious, outreagous series, start with the first book called "Gossip Girl"

The other books in the series are:
Gossip girl
You Know You Love Me
All I Want Is Everything
Because I'm Worth It
I Like It Like That
You're the One That I Want
Nobody Does It Better
Nothing Can Keep Us Together
Only In Your Dreams
Would I Lie To You?
[[Don't You Forget About Me (coming May 1, 07)]]

If you want more information, word! Check out:

http://www.gossipgirl.net/

Peace out!

E.

Uglies Under Attack

2007-03-01T13:59:00.000-05:00

Book Survivor IV: The Great Character Battle

Subject: The Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

Reporter Assigned: B. Guinning Chapter

Hello! The next character to be eliminated from the Book Survivor game was the likable yet complex Tally Youngblood. Tally is from the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. The Trilogy consists of three books (obviously), Pretties, Uglies and Specials. This reporter is sad to see this book eliminated from the race. We have 15 books left. Which one will take the crown?

If you'd like to learn more, check out Scott Westerfeld's website: http://scottwesterfeld.com/

or his blog: http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/

And continue to vote!

And this just in...Earn a library dollar by voting! All you have to do is vote weekly and you will recieve a library dollar from YA Librarian Brian.

Jack Morgan Slain

2007-02-22T10:36:00.000-05:00

Book Survivor IV: The Great Character Battle

Reporter Assigned to Story: I. C. Booksie

Greetings from I.C. Booksie! Today has been a sad day in the world of Book Survivor! Jack Morgan from the Dragonback Series by Timothy Zahn has been eliminated from the game, bringing our contenders down to just 16! The series feature the adventures of a book and his pet dragon. If you'd like to learn more about this series, please check out the author's homepage via Random House:

http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=34041

Also, please continue to vote using the link on the right side of this homepage!

PML YA Dept Staffers Star at Fashion Show

2007-02-15T13:44:00.000-05:00

Will and Toren were the stars of the Patchogue Rotary Club Fashion show. You saw them on the front page of the Long Island advance, and you see them here at the library!

Congratulations Will and Toren!

Edward has been staked!

2007-02-15T11:49:00.000-05:00

Book Survivor IV: The Great Character Battle

Reporter Assigned to Story: Ivottagetta Book

Hello, this is Ivottagetta Book, corresponding live from the Great Beyond! I'm writing the terrible news that Edward and his companion series, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer has been eliminated from the Great Character Battle.

The series written by Stephanie Meyer focuses around Bella, a human girl who falls in love with Edward, who is an immortal vampire. Can a human really have a relationship work with a vampire? Especially when the vampire is being hunted.

If you would like to learn about Miss Meyer and her series Twilight and its sequel, New Moon, be sure to check out her website:

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

And please, continue to vote!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=416823149328

February is for Book Lovers!

2007-02-09T12:02:00.000-05:00

Come help us create our display in the YA area.

Grab a heart out of the basket, and write the title and author of your favorite YA book on it. Decorate it if you want!

Give the completed heart to the librarian at the desk, and it will be added to our display.

Voting in Book Survivor

2007-02-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

This is Ivanna Reed with a special report:

If you'd like to vote in Book Survivor, check out the links section of the page! On the far right side of the page you are viewing, you should see a column marked links. Four lines down, there is a link to vote in Book Survivor! Your vote CAN make a huge difference!

Elizabeth Expelled

2007-02-07T10:25:00.000-05:00

Book Survivor IV: Week 2

Reporter Assigned: Paige Turner

Elizabeth Wakefield has been voted out of the Book Survivor community. This week was a particularly close race, with a tie for most of the competition, however Elizabeth recieved enough votes to eliminate her from the game!

Here is some information about the series taken from Wikipedia.com:

Sweet Valley High is a young adult book series created by Francine Pascal and written by several ghostwriters, revolving around the lives of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, beautiful blonde twins who live in fictitious Sweet Valley, California. The series began with the book Double Love, which was published in 1984. The Sweet Valley High series contained over 150 books and spawned several spin-off series. The last Sweet Valley book, Sweet 18 in the series Sweet Valley Senior Year, was published in January 2003. The books are generally classified as young adult or kids' fiction.

If you would like to read the full article, please visit Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Valley

If you'd like to learn more about Francine Pascal and visit the official Sweet Valley website: http://www.randomhouse.com/sweetvalley/

Till next week, This is Paige signing off!

Tibby Expelled from Book Survivor

2007-01-31T09:25:00.000-05:00

Book Survivor IV: The Great Character Battle

Week 1

Reporter Assigned: Ivanna Reed

Tibby is the first character voted out of our Book Survivor. Tibby is from the series "The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants." The series currently has four books published: The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, The Second Summer of the Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, Girls in Pants and Forever Blue.

The book has been a very popular read. So popular that it has been made into a movie!

If you'd like more information on the books, please check out the official Sisterhood website!

http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/sisterhoodcentral/

And please, vote for the next character to be voted out!

Click here to take survey

Ivanna Reed, signing off!

Annual Book Awards announced!

2007-01-26T15:18:00.000-05:00

The American Library Association announced the winners of its annual book awards earlier this week.

Check out who won and read reviews of the winning Young Adult books at Teen Reads

Other YA title received honorable mention for the Newbery Children's Book Awards. Check those out at Kids Reads

Do you agree with the committee selections? 232 books were nominated for the Printz award alone. What books would you have nominated?

Baker Baker..Baking a Cake

2007-01-24T16:18:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!

The YA Department will be participating in the PML Bake Off for the second year! Make a dessert from scratch (without a mix)! Win a prize! We will be having the Bake Off on Feburary 23rd. Check at the YA Desk after February 2nd for details and an entry form.

Please continue voting in Book Survivor if you haven't already. Our first book will be voted off next week!

Click here to take survey

Book Survivor IV: The Great Character Battle

2007-01-17T11:59:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome to Book Survivor IV: The Great Character Battle. This edition of Book Survivor will be completely online and a prize will be available if you participate. We have 20 characters this time around and voting will take place weekly!

Here is the link: more information on the books and series will be announced here shortly, but for now, please feel free to vote! Voting will begin on January 17th and will continue until the end of January, when the first book will be voted off! Subsequent weeks will feature an additional book voted off.

Click here to take survey

A Day in the Life of a YA Librarian

2007-01-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

You are about to get a secret glimpse of a life you possibly never knew, and possibly never wanted to know..

A Day in the Life of YA Librarian!

Copy and paste this link to check it out!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98204697@N00/sets/72157594473961376/

Would you like to see another librarian's life at PML?

Please vote if you'd like to see a Day in the Life of:

Martha
Debbie
Danielle
Jeri

---Brian

Some non-fiction

2007-01-08T14:50:00.000-05:00

I haven't written anything about non-fiction books lately, and didn't include any in my list of favorites!

Here's a variety of non-fiction I've liked lately.

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Bartoletti
How did so many young people come to be members of Hilter youth? Many of them were drawn into what seemed to be a scouting type organization. But the organization emphasized loyalty to the Third Reich at any cost. Interviews with surviving members and photographs help us understand what it meant to belong to Hitler Youth, and how members could be influenced even to turn in their own parents.

Men of Salt by Michael Benanav
The author heard that the last remaining camel caravans were threatened by the introduction of trucks, and decided to join one as it headed to salt mines deep in the Sahara desert. He and his guide joined a caravan that travelled for almost 1000 miles through terrain with no landmarks that the author could see and no maps. The book includes pictures taken by Benanav of places and people the author met.

The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin
January 12, 1888 was unseasonably warm on the Great Plains. People went outdoors, and children went to school without winter clothers. Suddenly, a blizzard blew in: during one three minute the temperature dropped 18 degrees. Visibility went down to zero and the snow was so fine is was like a sandstorm, clogging eyes and noses. The European immigrants who were settling the plains were unprepared for the vagaries of the Great Plains weather. Meteorology was a young science, and communications were limited. Approximately 500 people died in the storm, including 100 schoolchildren.

Journey from the Land of No: a Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran by Roya Hakakian
An Iranian American poet and documentary maker recounts her life as a daughter of Jewish parents growing up in Tehran, during the Islamic revolution. This is the story of how her family's life changed, both because they were non-Muslim, and because of the increasinly restrictive political and social atmosphere as the Ayatollah and the extremists tightened control.

When I was a Soldier by Valerie Zenatti
In Israel, everyone is expected to do national service after high school. This is one girl's story of her two years in the Israeli army, following strict routines, going through basic training and never getting enough sleep. She grows away from her old friends and a former boyfriend, and into a position in military intelligence.

Up Before Daybreak: Cotton and People in America by Deborah Hopkinson
This book describes the history of cotton in the United States. Cotton was grown in this country from colonial times, but with the industrial revolution, demand increased, and the southern colonies used slaves to increase production. Young people, young girls especially, began to move to mill towns to work in textile factories. Bartoletti describes how the cotton industry and social structures were related, including slavery, child labor, and social structures and population migrations.

Any aspiring writers out there?

2007-01-04T18:42:00.000-05:00

Lauren Barnholdt, author of Reality Chick is offering an on-line writing class for teens!
She says the class will cover how to get published, what makes good writing, and more.

The class will start in February, and sign up is on a first come, first serve basis.

E-mail Lauren at lauren@laurenbarnholdt.com to sign up or to get more info.

Speaking of teen authors -

Alice Hoffman, author of Incantation will be at the Book Revue in Huntington on Friday, January 12, at 7:30 pm. She will be discussing her newest book which happens to be for adults (and is set partially on Long Island), and will be signing books.

Jeri's Favorite and Least Favorite 2006 Books

2006-12-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hi, all!

Here are some of my favorite and least favorite books published in 2006:

Favorites (in no particular order)

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
loved it! Nick and Norah meet at a club - he's in one of the bands. His old girlfriend walks in, and he asks Norah to be his girlfriend for 5 minutes. Five minutes lasts the night, and possibly longer.

The Book Thief by Markus 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.

Sold by Patricia McCormick
Lakshmi is thirteen and lives in the hills of Nepal. Her father gambles away any money the family earns, and they are very poor. But Lakshmi is not unhappy with her life. She is top girl in her school class and has friends, a loving mother and a pet goat. Until her father sells her to a woman who delivers her to a brothel in India where she is held captive, seeing almost nothing of her earnings as a prostitute. Remembering her mother's words "Simple to endure is to triumph", Lakshmi survives as best she can, hoping one day to be free again.

Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
I couldn't put this down! What happens when the moon is struck by an asteroid, and knocked off its orbit? In this book, the earth is racked by a series of natural disasters: tsunamis, storms, volcanic eruptions and more. How do people survive? What must they do to survive?

Incantation by Alice Hoffman
Estrella lives in a tiny Spanish village where her family has lived for over 500 years. Her family lives as Christians, although they do some things differently than their neighbors. Her life is happy, her best friend lives next door, and she meets a boy she likes - and then it all comes tumbling down, her family and home destroyed and her life forever changed when her friend turns against her.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Edward has left town, and Bella is desolate, sunk in depression for months. She becomes best friends with Jacob Black, the son of one of her father's friends. Jacob lives on the Quilite reservation, where Bella knows they don't like Edward and his family of vampires. But Bella doesn't know what extremities they go to in combatting vampires on their land. This sequel to Twilight starts a little slowly, but has several interesting twists, suspense and a new collection of supernatural beings.

Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury
After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Japanese-Americans enlisted and were drafted like all other young men in the United States. The country was at war, and they were Americans. But many people suspected their loyalty. On the mainland United States, many Japanese-Americans were moved from their homes to internment camps. Eyes of the Emperor is based on the true story of a group of soldiers from Hawaii. The Japanese-Americans among them faced discrimination in many forms. Finally, with President Roosevelt’s approval, they were singled out for special duty – they were used as bait to train attack dogs.

Rash by Pete Hautman
Bo lives in the United Safer States of America. To be safe, you must wear protective gear even when out for a walk. It is a crime to injure anyone else, even slightly, even accidently. But the federal government no longer runs the prisons... they have contracted that out to major corporations who use the inmates as slave labor. When a school rival accuses Bo of spreading a rash at school, his future is sealed - he is sent to a work camp in the tundra.

Books I will NOT read again (my least favorites of the year)

King Dork by Frank Portman
The book is about Tom "Chi-Mo" Henderson, the self proclaimed "King Dork" who muddles through high school with his one best friend, Sam Hellerman. Tom is in a band and throughout the book, he and his friends are constantly changing the band's name. Tom also seems to have trouble with the opposite sex, as well as getting over his father's death, which may or may not have been a murder, or a suicide. This book can be funny, it can be serious, and it can be wordy. For books about teens and music, try Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (see above), Heavy Metal and You, Born to Rock or Fat Kid Rules the World.

Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
There are many good books about the holocaust for YAs. This book, the story of a 9-year-old named Bruno whose father is the commandant of a concentration camp, is overly simplified. The commandant's children are unbelieveably naive for their ages, calling the Fuhrer the Fury, and Auschwitz, out-with. It is marketed as YA, and the reading level is YA, but the language and characters are aimed younger. If you are looking for recently published YA books on the Holocaust, try The Book Thief (see above) or Daniel Half Human.

Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
The main characters in this book are Gucci, Prada and other designers. The premise is that the Blue Blood families of New York City are actually clans of vampires. Their children all go to private school together and they all dress very well and attend fabulous parties. But there is something hunting the teenaged vampires...unfortunately, we never find out what. Read Twilight and New Moon for really good paranormal romance (see above). Sunshine, published for adults, or Peeps are also good. For fun, try Boys that Bite.

Brian's Best and Worst YA Books Read in 2006

2006-12-28T10:51:00.000-05:00

The Best YA Books I Read in 2006

From Lowest to Highest

6. Storytime by Edward Bloor

This book wasn't written in 2006 but I read it (or listened to it) over the summer on tape. I thought the plot was very interesting, with a mix of weird and scary. The characters were well developed, and the ending was fulfilling. READ IT!

5. A Mango Shaped Space

Meet Mia, your average 7th grader. She has a brother, a sister, and two loving parents. Except that she sees colors associated with words. Her name is red with a touch of green. The slamming of a door produces a brown coil. And her cat Mango, produces puffs of Mango colored air when he wheezes. Is she a freak? Is this normal? This book is a great read!

4. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Bella is your typical teen with a modern divorced family. She moves to a town called Forks where she meets a very handsome but mysterious boy. There is one catch though, he's a vampire. This book was very good. Despite it being 500 pages, it is a fast read!

3. The Burn Journals by Brett Runyon

This book was an amazing page turner. Meet Brent Runyon, a 14 year old who decides to kill himself one day by setting his entire body on fire. But he survives. Brent takes you through his journey to recovery, both mentally and physically. He teaches the importance of communication and the value of family. This book was extremely moving and made me pleased to have obtained a copy of it.

2. The Girls by Lori Jansens

Meet Ruby and Rose, who are conjoined twins. They were given up at birth and raised with their Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash. The book takes place between the past and the present and it is a heart wrenching story, that has a ticking time bomb that you KNOW will go off eventually. I dont' want to go into detail as to what that means, but you'll find out. This book was written between the perspectives of the two girls. I found it to be very fresh and enjoyable.

1. Saint Iggy by K. A. Going
This book was gripping and powerful, with a very sad, likable main character who will definitely catch any readers interest. READ IT!

On a pessimist's note….The Worst YA Books I Read in 2006

From Worst to Best

3. Live Bait by Francine Pascal

I started reading the Fearless series when I was in my early days of college. Gaia Moore, the girl who cannot feel fear really caught my attention. And even though the books got worse, I kept reading them. Pascal decided to end her series and start a new one, Fearless FBI which took away all of the lovable side characters and left us with Gaia and a bunch of boring new characters. No thanks!

2. King Dork

With all the hype on this book, I really expected it to be a fun, interesting read. Instead, I got bored, confused and disinterested. I stuck through it mostly because I kept hoping it would get better. But sadly, it never did!

1. Anything by Chris Krutcher

I don't mean to put down Chris Krutcher. I can wholeheartedly appreciate everything he does for the YA community, but so far, when push has come to shove, I CAN'T GET INTO ANYTHING HE'S WRITTEN! This year I tried both Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes AND Whale Talk and the stories simply didn’t grip me!

**Honorable Mention**: Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty.
I've enjoyed her Jessica Darling works since the very beginning, but there was something off putting about this particular volume. It wasn’t necessarily a BAD book, but it was a letdown.

Random Acts of Kindness

2006-12-21T10:52:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to our Random Acts of Kindness Community Service Group on a successful food and toy drive!

Our dedicated volunteers collected a carload of food and toys to be delivered to the Lighthouse Mission. They also assisted at the PML Players puppet show, collecting and sorting the donations brought in by the puppeteers, band members and audience! Our always creative teen performers put on a great show, featuring handmade puppets and original music and stories.

At our last Random Acts meeting, we made holiday cards for hospitalized children. These will be delivered when librarians go on their hospital visits next week. We are awed by the creativity and good will expressed on the cards. Thank you all for your efforts and kindness.

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 17 at 3:30. Join us, help your community, and earn community service hours. We look forward to seeing you there.

Caught reading!

2006-12-11T17:44:00.000-05:00

Read anything good lately? Anything you want to recommend?

Have you been caught reading?

Send us comments and pictures - we'll post them!

advanced battle books

2006-12-01T11:10:00.000-05:00

Today we can announce the titles of the books that will be used for Battle of the Books Advanced Division!

They are:

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Son of the Mob by Gordon Korman

Three great books - now we need a great team!

Call the YA desk at 654-4700, ext 257 or come in to the library to sign up and be on our battle of the books team!

Our first team meeting will be on January 29, 3:30-4:30. The battle will be held on March 23.

musical literature

2006-11-28T10:37:00.000-05:00

A lot of books in the last year or so have circled around music - rock, hip-hop, heavy metal...
Here are some of them:

Born to Rock by Gordon Korman
High school senior Leo Caraway, a conservative Republican, is horrified to learn that his biological father is a punk rock legend

Heavy Metal and You by Christopher Krovatin
High schooler Sam begins losing himself when he meets a preppy girl who wants him to give up getting wasted with his friends and his passion for heavy metal music.

King Dork by Frank Portman
The book is about Tom "Chi-Mo" Henderson, the self proclaimed "King Dork" who muddles through high school with his one best friend, Sam Hellerman. Tom is in a band and throughout the book, he and his friends are constantly changing the band's name. Tom also seems to have trouble with the opposite sex, as well as getting over his father's death, which may have been a murder, or a suicide. Tom is a major rock fan, who feels that the book Catcher in the Rye may hold the key to life's secrets.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Nick O'Leary, member of a rock band playing in NYC's downtown music scene, meets Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for 5 minutes so he can avoid his ex-girlfriend. Five minutes becomes a night with a killer playlist.

Hip Hop High School by Alan Lawrence Sitomer
Theresa Anderson is a student at an inner-city high school in California. As her friends and classmates drop out, and surrounded by violence and poverty, she continues on her college bound course, supported by her family, loving hip-hop music and battling the haters who are trying to beat people down.

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going
Troy is a 300 pound, 6'1" seventeen year old, living in Manhattan with his father and younger brother. He is miserable and lonely and is on a subway platform considering suicide, when a very thin kid talks to him, and asks him to be the drummer in this new punk band he's about to start. Can the Fat Kid do it?

advanced battle!!!!

2006-11-24T10:55:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We did!!

It's time for students in grades 9 - 12 to come join the Patchogue-Medford Library Advanced Division Battle of the Books Team!

Read three great books and demonstrate your knowledge in a battle against other Suffolk County libraries. The battle will be held on March 23rd.

We will announce the book titles on December 1, then start practicing and form our team. WE NEED YOU!

We will have our first team meeting on January 29, 3:30-5:00 pm, and hope to see you there! If you want to participate, but can’t come to the meeting, call the YA desk at 654-4700, ext. 251 for more information about Advanced Battle. Check back here, or call the department next Friday to find out what books we will be reading.

Teens Top Ten

2006-11-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

Remember Teen Read Week back in October? The American Library Association created a web site where you could go vote for your favorite books.

Over 5000 on-line ballots were cast. Here are this year's top ten books selected by teens:

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic Press, 2005).
2. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2005).
3. Eldest by Christopher Paolini (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2005).
4. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray (Delacorte Press, 2005).
5. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (Razorbill, 2005).
6. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2005).
7. Poison by Chris Wooding (Orchard Books, 2005).
8. Captain Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart (Laura Geringer Books, 2005).
9. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince? by Melissa Kantor (Hyperion Books for Children, 2005).
10. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers,

Check our book reviews for more information on some of these books. You can access our book reviews by selecting the "Our Book Review" Link on the right-hand side of this page. Let us know what you think!

Happy Halloween!

2006-11-02T20:34:00.000-05:00

Did you come into the library on Halloween? No? Well here's a taste of what you missed in the YA department....

Judge Judy, AKA Brian (who won a prize for best costume!!!!)

Pocahontas, with her personal physician (Liz and Toren)

Our pirate crew (Deborah and Peter)

Snow White and her favorite ballplayer (Gloria and Phil)

The Dark Side (Jeri and Illya)

The Light Side (Danielle and Anna)