Title: Angels and Demons
Author: Dan Brown
# of pages: 608

Review:

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor and renowned symbologist, has conducted extensive study on the secret organization called the Illuminati, that once comprised of all of the most brilliant scientists during the Renaissance on and rebelled against religion. One night, he is assigned the task of investigating an extremely peculiar case involving the death of a CERN physicist. There are no clues - except for the prominent Illuminati brand on the late Leonardo Vetra's chest, and Langdon knows that the Illuminati, after centuries of relative inactivity, has resurfaced.

To make matters worse, the messenger of the Illuminati has notified the Roman Catholic Church of a time bomb that has been hidden at the heart of Vatican City, prepared to detonate at midnight and destroy the world's smallest nation in size and population. With the company of Vittoria Vetra, Leonardo Vetra's adopted daughter, Langdon sets off on a journey against time that takes him across the city of Rome.

Angels and Demons is filled with adventure and suspense from the beginning to the end. The twists in the plot leave the reader baffled by the circumstances, and the large cast of characters allows for more suspense to build up as reporters in the media itch to be the first to reveal the story, Langdon and Vittoria attempt to find the culprit and the time bomb, and the Vatican Guard ponder over their decisions.

As many websites have identified, there are, however, several notable similarities between Angels and Demons and Dan Brown's other notable bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. They still had their respective differences in the plot, but perhaps it would be better if there were more.

Angels and Demons is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading action-packed stories, or would be interested in Roman art and architecture.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Waterfall of Destiny is our blog winner

Hi, Everyone:

After counting reviews, we have found that Waterfall from Angus is our summer blog winner.

The prize to our winner was a $25.00 gift certificate for Chapters.

Waterfall, we will arrange pickup with you directly.

Catherine

The nature of jade

Title: The Nature of Jade
Author: Deb Caletti
# of pages: 288

Review:

Jade DeLuna occasionally suffers from panic attacks, and she already has scheduled therapy sessions and prescribed medication. She realizes that she can also help treat her anomaly by spending more time at the nearby zoo. She sets up the elephant exhibit's webcam in her room so that she can watch the elephants' daily routines, until she notices a boy around her age carrying a baby who visits the elephants every day. Intrigued by him, she eventually volunteers with the elephants, admiring their grace and semblance to human minds, and meets Sebastian.

Later on, she struggles to balance her life of hiding her relationship with Sebastian from her friends and family, increasingly-estranged friends and family, and maintaining good grades in her Advanced Placement courses. Although she feels at times that she has not done so successfully, she still tries her best to make ends meet.

The Nature of Jade was quite an interesting read for me. Jade faces the same obstacles in her life as many other teenage girls do. She seeks solace in caring for the elephants. When the members of her own family distance themselves from each other, she almost treats Sebastian's family as her own. She uses alternative methods to deal with stress that prove to be very useful.

In some way, this novel was similar to Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies). Jade is trying to find herself amidst several looming problems in her life, the same as when Patty Ho was in a stage of self-discovery. There are conflicts to deal with on the way, but through all of the struggle, they learn to appreciate themselves and their families.

The Nature of Jade is highly recommended for people of all ages: those who understand well enough to accept who they are, and those who have yet to find themselves.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

For which categories are the draws this week gonna be? And is there a prize for the most reviews/comments?

Mina

The DaVinci Code

Title: The Da Vinci Code

Author: Dan Brown
# of pages: 454

Review:

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor and renowned symbologist, is suddenly awakened by a phone call, discovering that a curator of the Louvre museum has been murdered. To make matters worse, he is the prime suspect for the crime thanks to a cryptic message left by the curator in his dying moments.

Fortunately, for him, though, the curator's cryptologist granddaughter Sophie Neveu knows that he is innocent, and accompanies him on his proceeding quest for the true culprit behind the murder, leading him to travel the world in search for justice.

Filled with twists and turns in the plot, it is no wonder that The Da Vinci Code became a worldwide success, later being adapted for the silver screen. Dan Brown's writing is filled with action and adventure, along with strong elements of mystery. The completely unpredictable events will keep the reader yearning for more, until the twist in the conclusion that finally puts everything into perspective.

I would highly recommend reading this and Angels and Demons, despite the already large numbers of rave reviews in recent years.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

HP and The Deathly Hollows

Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J. K. Rowling
# of pages: 607

Review:

Harry Potter has been left with an extraordinarily difficult, yet crucial task of finding all of Voldemort's Horcruxes, pieces of his soul that have been separated from Voldemorts physical being. Doing so will finally bring down the Dark Lord and his reign of terror over the magical world, but every minute he and his best friends Ron and Hermione spend is filled with fear of fatal discovery by the Death Eaters.

And so, they set off to hide in the wilderness for the duration of what would have been their last school year at Hogwarts if not for Voldemort. The Death Eaters have now taken over the Ministry of Magic, and several stringent regulations regarding Muggle-borns, Muggles, and "blood traitors" who are pure-bloods but support the Muggle cause have been enacted. The evil regime poses an enormous problem for witches and wizards who mean good, but Harry remains true to his destiny and works to

Though some were unsatisfied with the last instalment of the bestselling Harry Potter series, I thought it to be a fitting conclusion to the series save for certain parts of the ending. Had Harry died, readers would see a dynamic close to the saga. Some of the deaths that did occur, however, seemed unnecessary in that they didn't influence the emotional aspect of the novel.

Nevertheless, J. K. Rowling did a wonderful job of putting in many twists and turns in the plot, piqueing the reader's attention and making the story an absolute thriller from the beginning to the end.

I would highly recommend reading this and the other Harry Potter novels, even if the fanbase is already at a quite substantial size.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny

Branch: Angus Glen

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Author:Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, written by a illustrious author Roald Dahl, focuses on a little and unfortunate boy named Charlie Bucket. He may seem young, but he has a big heart. It was just like every other day-CHarlie woke up, got dressed and went to school. But that day, a miracle happened. He found money on the ground. He eventually uses the money to buy Willy Wonka's chocolate bar. He was anxious and eager to open it, as the five LUCKY people who discover golden tickets in their chocolate bars are given a lifetime supply of WIlly Wonka's delicious chocolates. What was more important and exciting was that those five fortunate people get an opportunity to tour around Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. This was a one-time opportunity as no one except Wonka and his employees-"his OOMPA LOOMPAS" has been allowed to see the factory. Four other people have already found the golden tickets and luckily, Charlie was the fifth one.

CHarlie takes his grandpa with him to the factory. Before his arrival at the factory, Willy Wonka's rival asked Charlie to find Wonka's secret in his chocolates and tell him. He had promised money to CHarlie, but to his dismay, Charlie did not respond. Inside the factory, the five winners and their family members experience various emotions. Some had fun and were amazed; some were pleased and others were not. At the end of their trip, everyone except Charlie is offered a lifetime supply of chocolate. When he and his grandpa go to ask why is this, Willy Wonka proudly says that Charlie just won't get a lifetime supply of chocolate. Instead, he'll get the opportunity to be the owner of this factory. Charlie and his grandpa were stunned by his response. Wonka responds to them by reasoning to them about how old he was getting and therefore, is too old to take care of this facotry anymore. He revealed that the main reason he announced this event was because he was looking for a responsible person who can take care of this factory and make it expand more. He reflected on Charlie's character throughout the tour and how he's proud of his morals at a young age. WOnka continues on about his secrets of the factory. Eventually, Charlie, his grandpa Joe and WIlly WOnka go on a trip in a "flying glass lift" after Charlie's inheritance of the factory---the end.

Even though this would have been a book you guys read a long time ago, I have never read this book. Almost all students have read this book. This book is different to the type of books I usually read. It was still an interesting fiction read. I am happy I read this book. There are still a few books I still have to finish reading like Charlotte's Web.

Mina
Miliken Mills

Black Tuesday

Black Tuesday by Susan Colebank

264 pages

This brand new book came in this week and I just had to read the story.

Black Tuesday is about Jayne. some of it is typical, successful high school student who has it all and was well on her way to Harvard where her mom wanted her to go.

One Tuesday afternoon when she is running around doing the usual many activities, teens do, she is driving with her cell phone taking calls when she has an accident.

This book is different that Driver's Ed by Caroline Cooney because it deals not only with the accident and its' effects but it also focuses on the changes this girl made in her life as a result.

Good read!

Catherine
Teen Services
Angus Glen

Portrait of a Lady

Title: The Portrait of a Lady
Author:Henry James

Isabel wants to have her independance and freedom at all time. SHe fears that if she gets married she will lose it all. At her home town, Casper Goodwood, someone Isabel like, proposes to her but she says that after travelling with her aunt for one year in Europe, she will answer Casper on marriage. In Europe , her aunt's neigbor Lord Wuburton proposes to her,she rejects it. After some time, Isabel's uncle dies and leaves half his fortune to ISabel. Isbel travel to Florence with her aunt and aunt's friend. There she meets an another man named Gilbert Osmond. He also proposes to her, and she accepts it. Her aunt's friend has planned this so that Osmond has access to Isabel's wealth. Also Osmond has a daughter name Pansy who's mother died. They get married. Soon, Isabel sees Osmond's selfish, inaffecionte character. Isabel plans to visit her cousin Ralph who is dying of a disease, but Osmond opposes. During the the time Isabel learns that Pansy's mother is her aunt's friend, who has a secret relationship with OSmond. Isabel was shocked, and went to England to see Ralph. At there, Casper again begs ISaabel to marry him and forget about her old marriage. But, again Isabel refuses and goes back to Rome.
Altogether Isabel's thought of losing her freedom and independance and reject Lord and Capser, made her to go and get married to a person in where she did lose all her freedom and independance.

Mina
Miliken Mill

Some Blog Reviews will be used for teen webpage

We hope to use some of your great reviews for the teen web page. The web page should be driven by you and have content that would be of interest to you and other teens.

If you have any questions about this, let me know.

Thanks.

Catherine

Book Reviews - on blog and webpage

By the end of September, we are going to have a teen web page. If you would like to submit, further reviews, in the fall, please email them to: teens@markham.library.on.ca.

It will be the same as now. We will use only your screen name. I like to protect your privacy so when you email the review, you can give your real name but know it will not be used.

Keep up the good work and we will look forward to your further reviews, in the fall.

Catherine and Andrea

Wings

Title: Wings
Author: Julie Gonzalez
# of pages: 208

Review:

Ben is determined that one day, he will sprout his wings from his back and fly, despite everyone in his surroundings rejecting this belief and calling it off as naiveness and a wild imagination. He is fascinated with all flying animals, even documenting the wing structures of insects and birds with sketches and diagrams, or studying Leonardo da Vinci's wing design. He jumps off his roof, off the top of his tree, off a railroad track over a roaring river, to see if his wings come out. He insists that others call him Icarus after the character in Greek mythology. He does well in school, but refuses to dedicate the rest of his life to anything other than independent flight. One day, his dream comes true, surprising those who knew him, and he sets off to find people who are just like him, human-like creatures with wings.

Wings portrayed the value of believing in oneself no matter what opposition or consequences there are. I would say that it gives a realistic picture of self-confidence, had human-like creatures sprouting wings been a well-documented event - hence, the novel won't likely serve any purpose as a self-help book.

Otherwise, this novel was mainly dull. It constantly focuses on Ben's dream to fly, and while it shows how strongly he believed in it, many of the small occurrences hardly meant anything in the end.

I would not recommend this novel to anyone, though I strongly advise that those who do read it, fully understand the dangers of jumping off high elevations. In real life, Ben's fate would be forever changed if he had a spinal cord injury and lost his motor skills (therefore having no chance of flight).

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

P.S. I apologize if my sudden review submissions have caused any inconvenience. I had some reviews that were half-completed from the past few weeks and I only recently finished them.

A swift pure cry

Title: A Swift Pure Cry
Author: Siobhan Dowd
# of pages: 310

Review:

After her mother's death, Michelle "Shell" Talent is struggling to take care of her younger siblings Jimmy and Trix alone, in her small village of Coolbar. Her father has quit his job and his previous life, becoming an angry and often delusional man who claims to dedicate his life to God and preaching the Gospel. Although Shell lost her faith in God after the tragedy in her family, a new curate comes to her parish and renews the faith in all of those who attend Mass.

Meanwhile, Shell Talent's life is further troubled when she realizes that she is pregnant with the child of a boy who has left for the New York. She tries her best to hide it, but when it is born, an entirely new crisis emerges and throws the village out of balance.

Based on a true story, the plot of A Swift Pure Cry seemed to lack originality. Teenage pregnancies are a common issue that has been dealt with in many, if not all, developed countries. Often, teenage mothers resort to abandoning their babies. Therefore, Shell's situation in terms of the baby could have easily been another regular occurrence.

Nevertheless, the concept of faith expressed in the novel was quite interesting. A single priest who arrived in Coolbar completely changed the views of the congregation with his passion, and he is described as a person with a kind heart. Shell immediately fell in love with religion, even having frequent hallucinations of her mother.

Because of the deplorable lack of creativity in the story, however, I would not recommend this novel to anyone.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Title: The End of East
Author: Jen Sookfong Lee
# of pages: 245

Review:

The first member of the Chan family to arrive in Vancouver was Seid Quan, a poor man from a Chinese village who looked toward a job in Canada as a great opportunity. With his passage being paid for by the village, he set off in 1913, determined that he will pay back his debt, send enough money back to China to feed his family there, and save up so that his wife and children can settle in the city with him.

Two generations later, his granddaughter Sammy is looking back on her family's history, uncovering Seid Quan's mementos hidden in an old crate and an aged cigarette tin. She has been assigned the task of taking care of her outrageous mother now that all of her elder sisters have moved away to live with their husbands.

While The End of East did not have the format of typical historical fiction, I found Lee's style to be very entertaining. We learn about the difficulties Seid Quan faced for most of his time in Canada, especially the racial discrimination that was prominent in society at that time. The characters are given real personalities, and it almost seems as though the reader knows them in person. The events that occurred could have easily happened in real life.

I would highly recommend this novel to everyone with an interest in historical affairs, or simply anyone who enjoys reading novels.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Number the Stars

Title: Number the Stars
Author: Lois Lowry
This story takes place during the when Nazis were ruling and were against Jewish. Annemarie is Jewish and her best friend Ellen is also. However Ellen lives with parents who are not. One day, back to school both of them were stopped by Germans to ask them some questions. Because of situations getting serious, Annemarie’s family leaves. Annemarie’s uncle helps them to flee to Sweden for some peace. Days passed by and the war has stopped. Anne’s parents explain to Ann that her older sister Lise has died because she was part of Resistance, and also the fiancé of her older sister. Ellen hasn’t also returned to where Ann is now. Anne starts to wear the Star of David pendant chain, since now there is no fear of wearing of it. She believes that Ellen and she will meet again and will live together.
This story at many times were sad. It makes me think of how it has been to many of the children and adults during the wars years. We are all lucky to be living in a peaceful country and live a happy childhood. Compared to our diffculties and struggles these children has went through much more than us. I would reccommend everyone to read this book.

Mina
Miliken Mills

nothing but the truth

Title: Nothing but the Truth (And a few White Lies)
Author: Justina Chen Headley
# of pages: 256

Review:

Patty Ho was born to a Taiwanese mother and a white father. Since her father left her family, Patty's mother has been working tirelessly as an accountant to feed the family. However, her mother is subject to performing lengthy lectures and screaming in the public when she is unsatisfied with something. As the school year ends, the Truth Statement that was meant to be her end-of-the-year project was labelled by the teacher as "incomplete" because it did not seem to portray the truth about herself.

The following summer, Patty is sent to math camp at Stanford. There, she meets teenagers she once considered as nerds, but who are really people just the same as she is and have a passion for math (or were otherwise sent by their parents to study mathematics). Though she used to deny her mathematical abilities, she learns from her mentor at Stanford that one must not hide their strengths, and that she must be proud of her heritage regardless of common stereotypes. By the end of the camp, Patty finally realizes the truth about who is , and it is with that knowledge that she finally completes her Truth Statement and hands it in to her teacher.

Justina Chen Headley did a fantastic job of portraying the process of self-discovery and how the support of mentors and friends can help one accept the identity of oneself. It takes a series of events before Patty transforms from a girl who downplayed her mother's origins after constant bullying at school, to a confident young adult. Headley also gave an interesting perspective on the common stereotypes regarding Asians, describing how a seemingly harmless stereotype could have such effect on a person.

Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) is recommended for all teenagers, and may be of particular interest to those of Asian or part-Asian descent. The novel also contains some significant elements of chick lit.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Love is a many trousered thing

Title: Love is a many Trousered Thing
Author: Louise Rennison
# of pages: 271 (250 when appendices and glossary excluded)

Review:

Georgia Nicolson, after several long weeks of wondering where her future love life lay, has finally received not one, but two offers of being the girlfriend of either Robbie, her handsome first boyfriend who just returned from Kiwi-a-gogo-land (aka New Zealand), or Masimo, the charming singer for the Stiff Dylans who replaced Robbie after he left England. In the eighth instalment of Georgia's story, she must decide who will ultimately be her boyfriend, even if the situation is only more complicated with Dave the Laugh's constant presence in her life.

Finally, three novels since the introduction of Masimo as a romantic interest in the series, do we see any progress in terms of the plot. That expanse was filled with a few events that managed to carry on for pages and pages, to the point that the repetition occurring in the series was unnerving. Of course, there were some hilarious situations here and there, but for the most part, it was Georgia ranting about how depressing her life was when in fact, it seems that she lives life with no worries besides those of her love life. I enjoy the humour expressed in Rennison's writing, but I find that the events that have occurred in the eight novels so far could have been consolidated into 4 at most, to save readers from reading about the same complaints over and over again without many plot developments, and to have a sense of conclusion and the end of each novel that I had only seen in Love is a many trousered thing and the first few books.

I would recommend this novel to all fans of chick lit, and (previous) fans of the series will be satisfied with it.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Everything Worth Knowing

Title: Everyone Worth Knowing
Author: Lauren Weisberger
# of pages: 367

Review:

Bette Robinson works at UBS as an accountant, and spending long work hours doing mindless work bores her. One day, she suddenly decides to quit her job, though she admittedly has nothing in mind concerning her future prospects. She does, however, enjoy unemployed life and the immense freedom it brings.

Perhaps in an act as sudden as quitting her job, her trustworthy columnist Uncle Will lands her one at his ex-assistant's firm: a PR company specializing in planning events, with strong connections to the most prominent celebrities. She is an immediate success, meeting new faces, going to parties, and suddenly being part of the "cool" crowd - meaning, thinking nothing of a $1000 price tag, or enthusiastically keeping track of her place in the wait list for the next Hermes Birkin bag. However, as she soon finds out, all of her life is published onto accusatory tabloids, and appearances are often deceiving.

One of the things I noticed about this novel was that it bore strong resemblance to another, perhaps more well known, of Weisberger's works: The Devil Wears Prada. The main character experiments with a job that seems to bring great opportunities, only to realize how much it destroys her personal life and the relationships with the ones she loves most. Perhaps one of the few significant differences between the two storylines was that the characters landed on different jobs.

In all other respects, Weisberger has done an excellent job of documenting Bette's life throughout the course of the story. The storyline is imaginative, for the most part. Nevertheless, I found the conclusion quite disappointing - it seemed a bit rushed, when Bette's revenge against those who defamed her during her stint as a PR girl and her relationship with her new boyfriend a not as well-described as the rest of the novel.

A prime example of chick lit, Everyone Worth Knowing is recommended for all young women who enjoy reading the genre, but don't keep your hopes up for a good ending.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Next week - Prize draws

Next week, we will make the draws for the final prizes.

I will then send all the prizes (trivia etc) to the home branches (branch nearest your house) for pick up.

Catherine

Last week for blog - Survey

Hi,

This is the last week for blog, this summer.
Unfortunately, it was not as successful as last year.

1. What would you like to see instead for next year's reading club?

2. Would you like it to be a different format, like Facebook?

3. Would you prefer a meeting in the library, instead?

4. What kind of program would you like for next summer?

5. Final question about programming: Is there a program you wish the library would offer for teens?

Thanks.

Catherine and Andrea

P.S. one survey entry will be drawn for a prize.

Fall Programs

Andrea has set up some great programs for fall:

Volunteer Orientation October 16

Knitting for Teens - 90.00

Study Skills - 90.00

Book a Librarian - Free

Research help for High School Homework: English, Social Sciences, History - Free

Essay Writing - $90.00

Tag Team - (Teen Advisory Group) Free

If you have any questions, please let us know.

Catherine

We Need Your Great Reviews for the Teen Webpage

Hi Everyone,
The Teen Webpage is going to be launched this October (hopefully!) and one of the features will be a "featured book" or CD, DVD review - basically, it can be anything that we have in our collections. Would anyone like to volunteer to prepare a review for this section? It can be a review you have previously prepared for the blog - it should include title, author, a brief synopsis of what happens in the book and what you thought of it - it doesn't have to be long at all. Please email your reviews to teens@markham.library.on.ca.

If you enjoy writing reviews and need volunteer hours, you could consider joining the Teen Advisory Group. Beginning September 25 at Angus Glen Library, the TAG will meet every tuesday from 6:30-8:00 to work on a variety of projects including preparing reviews and recommended reading lists for the teen website. If you are interested in joining, you can sign up after August 18 at Angus Glen, or by calling 905 513-7977 x.7133. If you would like more information about the TAG, email teens@markham.library.on.ca.

Survivor Update

Angus Glen - 4 (Stephie and Water Fall of Destiny)

Milliken Mills - 5 (Mina and writer rider)

Thinesch - I will have to find out which branch he is from.

Canadian Trivia

I came across this book, a few weeks ago.

See how smart you are! Email answers to: teens@markham.library.on.ca Deadline, next Wednesday for a book prize.

1. How much was Parliament Hill purchased for?

2. Many Chinese Canadians came to Canada looking for gold. They went to work for the railway instead. What is the saying, "How many Chinese died for each metre of the railway?"
The saying is that for each metre of the Canadian railway X number of Chinese workers died.
How many workers died

3. In 1934, five baby girls were born to a family in North Bay. They became famous and a tourist attraction taken advantage of by the Ontario Government. Who are the famous sisters?

4. What comic book hero was brought to life by Joe Shuster?

5. Aside from being Pierre Trudeau's secretary, Suzanne Perry is famous for her American sitcom son who was part of a group of friends. Who is her son and what was his role?

6. What famous book about a red haired girl is the most popular book ever in Canada? It was first published in 1908.

7. Real trivia: Following Santa's sleigh in the Toronto Santa Claus parade from 1905 to 1982, a car with darkened windows carrying a doctor, a nurse and a substitute Santa in case the real one became sick during the parade. What store sponsored the parade up til that time?

8. Everyone knows Tim Hortons is famous for doughnuts and coffee. What did Tim Horton do first to earn the money to pay for his shops/

9. A famous baby cereal invented by Doctors Tinsdale and Drake helped to start the Sick Kids Foundation. What is it?

10. A pingo would be especially handy to have during a summer black out. What is a pingo and why would we all be happy to sit in one, this week?

Good luck! entries due by August 8th.

catherine

Theme for the Week: Courage

We all can think of people who displayed courage: Mother Theresa, Ghandi, Mandela etc.

In books, who do you think shows courage:

I have three stories to start off:

Hanging on to Max: this is the story of a young man who wants to raise his son after his girlfriend wants to adopt their baby. I think the character was very courageous because of how he handled the situation but also how the story ended.

Room on Lorelai Street is the story of a young woman who decides to leave home because of difficult circumstances. Her actions and her decision to make this move all show courage.

The Lottery by Beth Goobie is about a high school girl and how she is bullied and abused by a secret society. In the story, you feel empathy for the character but also admiration for the way she copes with this difficult situation on her own.

Can you think of a story you read that showed courage?

Catherine

Television Series on Dvds

Mina raised the question about t.v. series dvds. We have many series like Gilmore Girls, ER, 24, etc.

They are not the latest season (from last May) but as we get them, they are brought into the branches.

Another thing worth mentioning, if you have relatives visiting from your homeland or relatives who do not speak English, we also have multilingual dvds. We do not keep all languages in all branches but they can be couriered in from one branch to another.

I was wondering if there are any friends series videos in any of the markham libraraies?

Mina

MPL Got Games

Catherine previously blogged that console games are coming to MPL. Some have arrived. For list of games, please go to Catalogue and use “Series begins with” search for

• Playstation
• XBox Platinum
• XBox Family Hits

BTW, has anyone read the new Harry Potter? This is the best of her last four titles. It was so good that I couldn't put it down. I was sad, satisfied and cross-eyed when I finished it in 2 days.

PotterNut.

Prizes

We will email you when the prizes are ready for pickup.

Mina has won two (Harry Potter; music trivia) and Deyisi has won one for the movie trivia.

Answers to Music Trivia

Congratulations to Mina who is our only entry. She had three questions wrong but did an excellent job on some tough questions.

1. Daughtry is presently the most successful contest from what reality show? What is ironic about his success?

American Idol. He did not win the competition.

2. Nellie Furtado is presently on a commercial with a bunch of school children. What song is she singing from early in her career? Who is the sponsor of the commercial?

“Turn off the lights” for Toronto Hydro Powerstream.

3. Who did Carrie Underwood beat out on Idol? What type of music did Carrie sing that Simon Cowell said would not make her the American Idol?

Beau (Bo) Brice. She sang country music.

4. What is Timbaland's real name? He allegedly plagarized a song that was made famous by what artist? (You can see both versions on You tube. You decide.)

Timothy Moseley. Nellie F’s.

5. This 80's rocker is back on the charts again. What song did his group make famous for the LA Lakers? This is too hard. I will make it easy. Where did this singer come from?
Hint: One member of the band was married to Heather Locklear.

Jon Bon Jovi, New Jersey

6. This band's name means to injure or impair. They have only been together since 2005. Their first album, Extreme Behaviour sold 5000 copies. What is the name of the group and their current hit? P.S. this is my son's favourite song, right now.

Hinder, Home Coming Queen

7. This singer from the Bahamas presently has 3 songs on billboard's top 40. What does she have insured for one million dollars? Hint: I always forget one of her three songs on a rainy day.

Rihanna, her legs and my umbrella.

8. This Black Eyed Peas singer went out on her own. What member of the royalty is she naming herself after? What is her album titled?8. This Black Eyed Peas singer went out on her own. What member of the royalty is she naming herself after? What is her album titled?

Fergie, the Duchess (named after Fergie, the former Duchess of York.)
Song: Big Girls Don’t Cry and the title of the cd, The Duchess.

9. This No Doubt singer went out on her own and made a sweet escape. Talk about summer jobs, she worked at Dairy Queen. she has a clothing line named lamb. Who is it named after?

Gwen Stefani worked at Dairy Queen. Her clothing line is named after her dog.

10. The U.S. Presidential campaign is well underway. Hilary Clinton did a spoof on what famous show to announce her campaign song. What is the show and what song did Hilary's bloggers pick for her campaign? What is the Canadian connection that has some people upset?

Hilary and Bill spoofed the last episode of the Soprano’s. Her bloggers picked, Celine Dion’s song, . Many people thought this song choice was inappropriate because Celine is Canadian even though she resides mostly in Florida and Las Vegas. Mina our winner also knew that this song was originally chosen for an Air Canada campaign.

Great Reviews

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's reviews this week. I'm going to try to check out the Blue Blood books sometime (I have a weakness for vampire novels).

We're currently working on developing a Teen webpage for our MPL site - it's been in the works for some time and it looks like it will finally go live this autumn. One of the features we'd like to include on the webpage is book reviews, and I'm planning to ask the members of the Angus Glen Teen Advisory Group to be the official reviewers. For those of you who don't know, we have two TAGs - AG and Milliken Mills both have groups. The TAG members meet with librarians to discuss how to improve the library for teens, develop programme ideas, work on projects and help out with special events. If anyone is interested, we're going to be recruiting for autumn starting mid-August (you can email teens@markham.library.on.ca for more info on the TAG). It would be a great way to meet new people, help out at the library, earn volunteer hours AND keep sharing your excellent reviews with people.

In the meantime, keep posting those reviews! Week four is almost finished, which marks the half-way point for the summer reading programme. There are still more prizes to come!

Angels on sunset boulevard

Angels on Sunset Boulevard
By: Melissa de la Cruz
Pages:230

TAP.com began as a website for everyone to share and meet new people; much like a blog. That’s where Johnny Silver started out with posting up his songs for others to download. Soon these had become a huge hit and he found himself becoming the world’s soon-to-be biggest rock star. On the night of his anticipated debut concert, he mysteriously disappeared in front of millions of people. Taj, his close friend sets out to find the answers behind his abrupt disappearance. Her search crosses path with those of Nick Huntington, a preppie whose sister had also gone missing. Their search led them to the website which began it all; TAP.com - The Angel’s Practice. At the exclusive parties hosted by TAP’s founder, there is said to be a drink served in the back room which tap into otherworldly sensations. Nick is sure that the website and the drink is connected to the disappearances and is keen to unlock its secrets. Little does he know that Taj has a secret too and is not who he thinks she is…

The story was fast-paced and exhilarating as it swapped perspectives with the two main characters between each chapter. It took on a darker side of situations; talking about the drink as if it was an addictive drug, the themes revolving the activities within the back room, and the allegiance to a cult and the horrible things being done if an individual decided to quit. Nonetheless, still an enjoyable read.

s.t.e.p.h.i.e.
branch: angus glen

Sister to the Wolf by Maxine Trottier

Hi everyone!
Last year, I came upon this book at Milliken Mills Library, and it's REALLY good!

Here's my reveiw:

Cecile is a headstong, 15-year-old who has just returned to Quebec after a stay in the wilderness (and with Natives). Her mother has just passed away, and Cecile is still coping. As she walks down the streetone day, she sees a cruel master branding a pani (native slave) boy. Defying convention, Cecile buys 17-year-old Lesharo's freedom and treats him as an equal.

Lesharo is Pawnee - The people of the Wolf. Sworn to protect Cecile, he accompanies Cecile and her father, Robert to the new fort at Detroit.

Cecile hates life at the palisades where most look upon Lesharo as a pani. It is also where 2 scheming woman plan to "hook" Cecile up with a French officer.

Torn between 2 worlds, they can only be free in the wild - where the wolf waits.

A budding romance grows between Lesharo and Cecile - but there is one problem Cecile is Catholic and Lesharo is Pawnee. Will that stop them? Freedom will not come easily. One terrible night Cecile is forced to make a dreadful choice...

This book is the BEST of historical fiction EVER! Milliken has 3 copies, so one will always be there. I LOVE this book! It has adventure, girl power, a spice of romance, wilderness,history, and Pawnee lore. I'm sure a lot of u will agree with me.

sorry for mispellings, etc.

spoilers

people, please don't ruin the harry potter book for me, i already know the ending, and every1 who dies(thnx A LOT cuzins and mom!), but ppl plese dont ruin it anymore!

peace

Masquerade

Title: Masquerade - A Blue Bloods Novel
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
# of pages: 311

Review:

Schuyler van Alen is a Blue Blood, an immortal vampire with superior powers compared to humans (known as Red Bloods). Amidst the Blue Blood community of New York social elites, there is a dangerous force, called Silver Bloods, that is terrorizing Blue Bloods and murdering their souls. Now that her grandmother has "died" to be reincarnated in another human-like form, Schuyler has been given the quest of searching for her grandfather to seek answers regarding the many questions surrounding Silver Bloods and how to defeat them.

She travels all the way to Italy, but all the trip does is leave her in further despair. The Committee that governs all Blue Blood affairs seems to be hiding secrets from the general population. As the annual Four Hundred Ball, Blue Blood tradition, is being organized and preparations are underway, mysterious events continue to bring suspense and Schuyler's only hope is that her friends are safe.

The sequel to Blue Bloods, Masquerade was filled with adventure and suspense from cover to cover. Many of the Blue Bloods were constantly on alert for any suspicious activities that would underlie Silver Blood presence, while the Committee seemed not to be taking action against the looming threat of losing another Blue Blood. To add to Schuyler's troubles, she was quite unpopular in society because of her relative lack of wealth compared to the other social elites, and the most popular girl despised her out of jealousy.

I would highly recommend this novel to any fans of horror or fantasy novels, though there are also some hints of a chick lit novel (not very surprising considering de la Cruz has written a myriad of novels in the genre). With its many plot twists, Masquerade will surely entertain the reader.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Milliken Mills Party Cancelled

Hey Everyone,

I've only had two teens sign-up for the party scheduled on Tuesday, July 31st at Milliken Mills library. That means I'll have to cancel it :(

My apologies to the 2 who registered.

Lana

Beauty Trix for Cool Chix by Caroline Naylor

hi,

This is a great book with inexpensive beauty ideas. Some of the recipes include:

hair fixes, hand creams, manicures, and pedicures. I love the candy stripe manicure and angel face glitter. They also have some neat quizzes for astrology, love, etc.

catherine

Same Blog... New Week

Hi Everyone,
My name is Andrea and I'll be checking in on the blog this week. I am the Teen Services Librarian at our Angus Glen branch so next time you are up in my 'hood, come by and say hi.
I hope everyone is having a great summer so far and reading many great books.
I'm looking forward to reading your reviews. In the meantime, it is half-way through the summer and for those of you who are avid readers (or those of you who aren't), reading can be a great summer past-time. For me, I don't feel like I've had a summer unless I can spend at least one day on the beach up at a lake doing nothing but reading. If any of you are feeling like you are at a loss as to what to read next, I just thought I'd put a plug in for one of our library services that help match up books based on your personal preferences. It is like a customized, personalized reading guide. If anyone is interested, check out our website (mpl.markham.ca/readersresource/suggestion.htm) to fill out a what to read next?". If you decide to give it a try, let me know how you find it.

Music Trivia
Hey Catherine, did you yet get a winner for the music trivia?

Ending for Harry Potter

This is my guess on the ending:
Harry collapses to the floor. Before he fall, and as he fall his two best friends Hermione and Ron holds him and brings him down more slower and less hurtfully. Plenty of steams arise upon his body. The steam fills up the whole room. Harry says his last words. Afterwards he softly closes his eyes. Hermione and Ron leave Harry's body alone on the ground and stand up. Harry magically stands up and stay up on air. And the grey steam changes to colourful steams. Stars start shining at certain places. Hermione and Ron stands right next to him. And slowly and slowly Harry moves upwards, and sooner he is disappeared in the sky. And one special star shines after he is gone.

~~The End~~

Mina
Branch:Milliken Mills

Posted by Mina at 6:44 PM

Labels: Harry Potter Ending

Truth

Title: Truth

Author: Tanya Llyod Kyi

Genre: Teen Fiction/Mystery

Its 1 am. Jen just came from a teen party. The police are knocking on the door and are asking to talk to Jen. There has been a murder at the party. The police are asking Jen questions on what happened at the party. Jen lies to police and doesn't tell much, she just mentioned that she was down stairs in the kitchen and never knew about the murder, which has took place upstairs. After asking Jen questions the police has also asked everyonne else who were in the party. On the next day, Jen's in the newshow kind of club, her teacher for that club ask Jen and the video guy Scott to go and investigate and report on the murder. From tallking to one of the police officers, Jen finds out something, and might just know the murderer. After a few days, Jen get to know that her boyfriend and his friends Ross, and Nate who were also at the party has went to the police station to answer question three times. Also the person who Jen suspected is one of this person. Scott once calls, and tells Jen to meet him at th media lab since he has some new info on the case, but when Jen goes there, Scott is not there, she waitet, still he never showed up. After school, from her doctor father, Jen finds out that Scott is in the hospital. She goes and sees hims at the hospital, Scott says the person who beated him said in his ear "Silence is the best policy." Also in Jen's locker someone has left a not saying the same thing. The rest of the story continues on finding out who killed the victim, who were part of it, who beated up Scott, and if Jen's boyfriend is involved in the crime or not.

This book was fairly good. Even though it was genred as a Teen Fiction, it has many elements in which a mystery book has. As Jen was trying to solve the crime, I was trying to guess who did it, but there were a little to many suspects to suspect, cause the way everyone act brings them into the murder.

Mina

Branch:Miliken Mills

Liza's Lucky Break

Title: Liza's Lucky Break
Author:Suzanne Weyen
Genre: General
(Pcture not available)
Liza loves singing, dancing and acting. In school plays she always gets the primary role or the secobdary roles. At, due to her luck, at the hotel where Liza and her friends work, a movie shooting is taking place. Liza thought this was her chance, and with the help of her best friends Chris and Sam, Liza makes an audition tape. WIthout her mean, rude ordering boss noticing them, Liza drops of the tape in the room's VCR where the Director Miles is staying. Also due to her luck, the director at that night has to change rooms because of leaking water, and he didn't get the chance to see the video, therfore the video was left there. Fortunately, rescently the Plucky CHicken's employees and it owner are visiting the place and are staying at the hotel. After, the room got fixes, the owner of the Plucky Chicken goes and lives in the room where the director stayed. The Plucky Chickken's owner sees the video and loves Liza's acting. He hires her for doing the commercial for his chickens. Although Liza didn't get a chance to be in the movie, she sees the commercial as a start to stardom. At the time when Liza has to perform in front of all newsppaers, the invited director, the owner and other sales poeple, Liza gets stage fright. She messes up the whole thing. However, after performing her worst Liza thinks of a brillant idea and performs again, where adudience applaude. Seeing Liza's acating made the director to give a Liza a part in his movie. Liza was soo happy.
This was an ok read. It wasn't boring like the last book I read. This book reminds oof me how i always get stage freight. I always practice doing my presentations at home perfectly and with confidence, but when I go and present in front of my class, I always end up doing a worser job at it compared to what i practiced.

Mina
Branch: Miliken Mills

Annette Sierra Summer

Title:Annette-Sierra Summer
Author:Doris Shroeder
Genre: Mystery?
For her summer vacation Annette visits her best friend (who is also her cousin) Tonia. As Annette drives to her cousin's place, at one point in her journey, she ends up with a flat tire. She goes to a nearby house and asks to phone, however the house does not have a phone. The teen boy at her house volunteers for him to go to a nearby gas station and phone her while she rests a little. As soon as Annette mentions the name of her uncle, Stan the boy gets mad, and cancels his trip to the gas station and goes outside. Annette was surprised, why Stan was acting like this, Stan's little sister Margie explains why. At this point is when the mystery's story started. Throughout the book, there were a few mentions of the mystery. I didn't find this book to be mystery genred, cause only at the last chapter is when they talked about the myster that is when it was solved, also the characters didn't solve the mystery in a interesting way.
This book was boring and long. I kept on continuing to read as if something interesting will come up, but nothing. Also the author wasn't a good writer, some of his wordings were confusing, and he didn't solve all the mini problems in the book. A few parts were confusing and didn't make sense as what is happening in the plot. Boring book!

Mina
Branch:Miliken Mills

Gossip Girls coming to t.v.

Hi,

The book series, the Gossip Girls is coming to tv. I wonder will it be as successful as Gilmore Girls. By the way, Gilmore Girls also has couple of paperbacks out based on the series.

Catherine

Are you going to be in line to buy HP?

It is a little more than six hours away: the midnight hour.

One of the bigger drug stores is offering the book at 40% off.

The library has over 100 copies. There are already 500 holds on the copies we have.

In each branch, there will be one or two copies that are marked fast track(they cannot be put on hold) which means that they can be borrowed for one week. They will be gone almost immediately after we open.

Get ready for HP!

Catherine

Book Review - Snitch

Summer reading program book report


The book I am going to talk to you about is called SNITCH. It is about a boy named Joshua who has to deal with his anger management problem to save himself. The characters in the story are Joshua he is the main character, Andrew he is Joshua’s older brother that josh lives with, Miranda she is Andrews’ wife, Scott he use to be josh’s friend but then Scott snitched on josh so their now can identify him by his leather jacket enemy’s and the last character is Travis he is a person who is involved with gang activity you.

Josh has anger management problems so he has to go to a dog training class or an anger management class he decides to go with the dog training class. The class is supposes to help you deal with your anger in a fun and productive way towards the community. The class is supposed to help because training a dog will teach you a lot about yourself there stray dogs so it will help the dogs to.


The dog he is assigned to be Sully a dog that looks like a pit-bull. At first things go bad but as time goes on Sully and Josh build a relationship. The problem is that two of josh ‘s most hated people on Earth are in that class Travis and Scott. So it’s hard for him to concentrate on training Sully.


The climax of the story is when Scott has been beaten up and nobody knows who did it. Everybody thinks its Josh since he has had some bad history with him. The police find some leather pieces at the scene of the crime so Josh is able to prove himself innocent because Travis wears a leather jacket so he is the one who did the crime. In the end Josh completes the program successfully and Scott and josh become friends again.

by Thinesch.

popular

Title:Popular:BOYS!BOYS!BOYS

Author: Nancy Krulik

Teen Fiction

The novel's story revolves around teenager's high schoo life. The boys gang up together and the girls gang up together to make each of their gender to win the Carnival Queen. Even though the boys are not friends, they all are just getting together to make the girls lose, and the same story with the girls. The story starts of with Harrison, Sam, Lily, and Carmen being friends, and them all hating Nicole, Brooke, Mary, Poppy (the popular girls at the school who make fun of others, and are rude). When Nicole made fun of Harrison's hair, and embaressed him in fron of the whole school, is when Harrison thought he should take revenge. Therfore, he took the Carival Queen as an oppotunity and started running for it, with his friends supporting him and especially Sam. However, Sam lost interest, and got caught up with other stuff, therfore she couldn't help Harrison, this makes him mad, and makes him to reveal one of Sam's secret out. This makes Sam go to Brooke's side. The fight for Carnvial Queen continues with the Girls against boys. But the person who actually won the competition is someone else, who didn't even run for the competition but sure was someone who deserves to represent all school bodies.

The book was an ok read. It wasn't boring or that much of an interesting read. However the ending was a quite a surprise, and sure taught the both teams some lessons on life and popularity.

Branch: Miliken Mills

Mina

secrets on 26th street

Title: Secrets on 26th Street
Author: Elizabeth McDacid Jones
Genre: Mystery
The story took place during 1914. Susan, (main character) is the oldest child of her family. She has two younger sisters and a widowed mother. Susan's mother has to work full time, and night shifts to have enough money for the family. They are 4 months late on rent. To help make more money, her family invites a boarder Bea to stay with them. Susan really like Bea, they share a lot of secrets with each other, Susan believes that they both have a special relationship with one and other. As the story continues, Susan disguises herself as a boy and works at a barbershop to earn some money for the family. At once, when she was going to work, she saw Bea talking to a rich society woman, and Susan's mean and rude landload. Susan started to be curious. And later one day Susan's mother and Bea had an argument. After a few days, Susan's mother disappeared. Susan got worried and started searching for her mother, and followed Bea one day. The story continues on finding Susan's mom, finding about who Bea really is, and some more hidden secrets.

I liked the book. The book made me not to put it down. I was very anxious to find out what happened to Susan's mother, and who Bea is. If any of you likes mystery/suspense genre books, then this will be a good one.

Branch: Miliken Mills

Mina

Parties Cancelled at TC, UL and AG

Hi,

We were hoping to have a get together at the branches for the bloggers.

Due to lack of interest, these events have been cancelled at: Angus Glen, Unionville and Thornhill.

Thanks.

catherine

Acceleration by Graham McNamee

I actually read this one last summer. Category; mystery, thriller

Duncan works for the TTC as a summer student. His job is in the Lost Articles Department. While working there, he comes across a journal lost by a man that contains information which is extremely frightening. The journal depicts crimes that are beyond scary.

Follow Duncan as he tries to catch the man, he calls "Roach."

This book is highly acclaimed by students and teachers. Some readers thought it was a little slow starting but i found the ending very fast paced.

A definite read if you like a mystery or thriller.

Catherine
Angus Glen

Survivor Game - Book Reviews

Angus Glen - 2 Book reviews - at the moment, Angus is winning.

where are Milliken, Markham Village and Thornhill branches?

Catherine

P.s. If you do a review, please put the tag, book review in the labels.

Harry Potter News
From seeing the news, I got to know that each page of the last Harry Potter book is online in internet sites. Some people has somehow found the book and photographed each page and put it on the net. A person from Vancouver, Canada said he searched on google and found the book. It is not wise to trust this site, cause some pages might be messed and mixed. Also, the person who ever did it spoiled the fun. It is nice reading the book, but we should also go through the waiting part, there is a thrill in it. Many Potter fans are very cautious of not spoiling the book for themselves. They are really careful on what they talk to people with about the books. They don't want anyone to ruin the ending, or the plot.


Mina

Next volunteer workshop in October

Hi,

We are constantly asked when our next volunteer workshop is happening.

At Angus Glen, it will be the middle of October. Registration starts after school begins, in September.

by the way, we have more than enough volunteers for the summer but if you are planning for the fall, keep the date in mind.

Milliken Mills and Unionville run these workshops as well.

Catherine

Hot Topics

Hi,

Our staff are constantly doing Hot Topics, all year long that we think are of interest to our customers.

Is there something you would like to see as a hot topic? I am always looking for ideas.

Here is the link for the hot topic archive:



there is one for scholarship information.


Catherine

Hot Topics

Hi,

Our staff are constantly doing Hot Topics, all year long that we think are of interest to our customers.

Is there something you would like to see as a hot topic? I am always looking for ideas.

Here is the link for the hot topic archive:

http://mpl.markham.ca/Hot%20Topics/ht_archive.htm

there is one for scholarship information.


Catherine

New items, new items and more new items

Hey you guys!

Just a reminder that we are constantly getting new items, every week.

I had so many new items, last week, I made a display upstairs and downstairs at Angus.

If there is ever anything you are looking for, phone us or email: teens@markham.library.on.ca. I am happy to help you find what you need.

catherine

Net Library - Online Database - Graphic Novels

Our Online Database - Net Library - has graphic novels online.

Go to our website: http://mpl.markham.ca/

Then to our online databases, and sign in using your library card.

Once there, double click on Net Library. It may ask you to create an account. the icon is located on the top right of the screen.

Once you create this account, you can access net library through the web.

The other great thing about this database is that it has many of the Shakespeare plays and notes online.

Many of the classic books are also online.

If you have any questions about this database, let me know.

Catherine

Harry Potter is coming to MPL on July 21, 2007

Place hold.

This is it. We are coming to the end of the Potter saga. How do you think it will end? Do you have an idea on the perfect ending?
Share your imagination and the most creative ending will win a prize.

Mine is "...lightning flashes, as Harry collapsed to the floor. Tendrils of smoke arose from his body. His face was deathly white and his eyes shut. Hermione stood over him, her smoking wand tightly clasped in her hand and sobbed. The end."

PotterNut
AKA Susan of Unionville

If you like Harry, try...

Eragon




THE GOLDEN COMPASS, THE DARK MATERIAL TRILOGY




INKHEART




HOBBIT



MAGYK


Recommendations from PotterNut

Pretty Little Liars

Pretty Little Liars
By: Sara Shepard
Pages: 304

In the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, there were four popular girls who were once BFFs with Alison DiLaurentis; the queen bee of their elite seventh grade group. However, she mysteriously disappeared one night and was never seen again. Each girl was sad over this incident but nonetheless a little bit relieved that their own secrets (which only Alison knew about) would never be mentioned. After three years, they have grown apart from each other; now in 11th grade, Spencer is coveting her sister’s boyfriend, Aria is having an affair with her teacher, Emily is attracted to a new female friend, and Hanna makes herself throw up to stay skinny and popular. When they started receiving threatening messages from “A” which brought up their past secrets, the girls are sure that Alison was back. But this is not something to celebrate over for, with their dirty little secretes uncovered, it could very well destroy them.

At first glance, this just might be another chick-lit because of the cover (Barbie dolls, haha), but don’t get fooled by it! It turns out to be quite a page turner involving mystery and murder. Unfortunately, readers will be left with a cliff-hanger as the ending, but no worries, it has a sequel.

s.t.e.p.h.i.e.
Branch: Angus Glen

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoniex

is the latest movie tie-in.

Are you one of the lucky ones that attended the midnight opening? I'm going to see it this weekend.



How is it different from the book? Let's make a list.



Read the reviews at Rotten Tomatoes and post your critic here.

PotterNut.

Rowling promises to write again

After a million name petition, Rowling has promised to consider writing another HP.

Unfortunately, I see the dollar signs as well as the loyalty to her fans.

Catherine

What book would make a great movie?

Hey Everybody!

Did you know that Cheaper by the Dozen was an original book based on a real family who lived in the 30's?

One of my favourite books and movies was also the Diary of Anne Frank. The original movie in black and white was very realistic.

Another book that has been remade into a movie, a few times, is Helen Keller: the story of blind girl.

Marvel Comics is now remaking many of its' comics into movies like the Fabulous Four.

At Angus, we have a graphic novel to the movie, Road to Perdition.

If I get a chance, this week, I will make a display of movie tie ins.

catherine

Movie Trivia Contest

In light of this weeks theme I've created a trivia contest...

Name the title of the movie the clue is referring to:

1. This movie, based on a book by Annie Proulx, won 3 Oscars in 2006
2. This Sci-Fi movie directed by Steven Spielberg was a blockbuster in the summer of 2005
3. Canadian actress, Rachel McAdams, starred in this movie based on a book by Nicholas Sparks
4. This movie, released in the spring of 2007, was based on a graphic novel written by Frank Miller
5. This movie, based on the book written by Thomas Harris, chronicles the early life of a notorious fictional serial killer

Email your entries to teens@markham.library.on.ca and write "Movie Trivia Contest" in the subject line by July 21. All correct entries will be entered into a draw for a prize package. The winner will be notified via email.

Good Luck!

Week 2

Hey!

My name's Lana and I'll be monitoring the blog this week. I work at the Milliken Mills library where I run the branch TAG… Let me know if you’re interested, we’re always looking for new members!

The theme for this week is movie tie-in books. Can you think of any movies you've seen that were based on a book? Have you seen The Pursuit of Happyness, Children of Men, or Freedom Writers? They were all based on a book!

Although you don't have to read books that have been made into movies this week, you might be surprised to find how many movies are actually based on a book. If you're looking for some reading ideas, check out the following website called Based on the Book: http://www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/movies/

Book Review: Angels in Pink - Raina's Story

Title: Raina's Story
Author: Lurlene McDaniel
# of pages: 201

Review:

After Raina persuaded her closest friends Kathleen and Holly to volunteer at the Parker-Sloan Hospital as "Pink Angels" in the summer, the three have found it to be such a fulfilling experience that they have decided to continue their volunteer activities into the school year, this time for credit.

In the meantime, Kathleen is uncertain whether she can still be together with Carson when they attend different schools. Holly has difficulty at home, trying to find ways to rebel against her parents' conservative beliefs without getting into trouble all the time. Raina is trying to cope with the fact that her ex-boyfriend, Tony Stoddard, has returned to her school to make her life miserable. Her current boyfriend, Hunter, is leaving for college in the fall. Worse yet for her, she has only recently discovered the truth about her family, and the life of a sister she never knew before now depends on Raina's bone marrow.

As always, the author has managed to write a tale that touches the heart of the reader and has such complexity that can only be defined as that of Lurlene McDaniel's. Each of the characters has realistic challenges to face, that one could easily relate to even if they did not experience the same circumstances. Furthermore, each of those characters is unique in their own right, bringing a diversity I greatly appreciate.

The second in the Angels in Pink trilogy, Raina's Story is a memorable read that will captivate the audience until the very last page.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Favourite Movie

The American Film Institute picks the top 100 movies of all time.
http://connect.afi.com/

They have a few neat features on this site: 100 top laughs, thrill, stars, etc. Check it out for movie trivia.


What is your favourite?

catherine g.

Favourite Song

I was watching the news, last night and they were asking celebrities for their favourite song.

When they asked the celebs, most of their choices were romantic.

What is your favourite song? I cannot tell you my current one because it is on the Music Trivia contest.

Catherine g.

We are watching less television

T.v. executives are very upset. We are watching less and less television. This also means that we are watching less advertisements and buying less products.

Do you watch less television?

I am into the game shows: 1 versus 100, are you smarter than a 5th grader.

What do you watch?

Catherine g.

Where did you all go?

We need your advice. Every week, we get new materials in the teen department: cds, books, dvds.

We have noticed that since November, you guys are not taking as much out.

Could you tell us why?

Catherine G.

Screen savers

I think a person's screen saver tells a lot about them.

All through hockey season, my son had Cujo on our computer. Last week, when I was closing my floor of the library, I asked this library about her screen saver. It looked like the picture was from a trip. in the end, she did not know where the place was but she just liked the picture.

What is your screensaver and why?

Chatting and texting

my son was playing something on DS when my daughter's boyfriend started sending him online messages. I thought this was a neat feature because he used to call his friends to meet him online, then as technology advanced you could see who was playing when you started the game.

At the library, we are hoping to start down the road doing reference through instant messaging. We are trying meebo with some of the staff. Unfortunately, it is not working all that well. Some of the people are older and are not getting the idea.

What im service do you use? Do you chat more than you text?

catherine g.

Blogging, MySpace, Wikis, Facebook etc.

My kids are into facebook, in a big way. Many of the libraries are not into social software which is why we do not have msn. We wanted a safe way to have teens share their ideas which is why we are using blog. I almost wanted to go facebook but we will try one more year with blog.

Do you use facebook, blogs, wikis? What do you like about Facebook?

Catherine G.

Websites for Music

Aside from i-tunes and allmusic.com, I rarely use other websites for music. If I am looking for information on an artist, I will instead go directly to the artist's own website.
Is there any artist's/group website that you love? DO you have music websites you use?

Catherine g.

Gaming; Coming soon to the library

By the end of the year, you will be able to borrow games from the library.

What is your favourite game and why?

Catherine g.

RSS feeds

Do you ever use RSS feeds?

What is your favourite?

Catherine g.

Using the library

How often do you use the library?

What do you do at the library?

do you ever borrow materials?

catherine g.

What technology do you use everyday?

and what do you no longer use?

My kids rarely use the phone anymore and rarely read the newspaper.

How do you talk and keep in touch with your friends?

Catherine g.

Ring Tones for The Queen, A Teacher Etc.

What ring tone do you think the following people should have and why?

The Queen

A Teacher

Brittney Spears

Paris Hilton

Your best friend

Your mom

Catherine g.

Ring Tones

Working in the library, we hear peoples' phones constantly ringing. I am always amazed at the unusual ring tones.

An acquaintance had the William Tell Overture on her phone. This should not have been her signature tone. She did not fit the type.

A customer came up with one that played the "cucharacha, the cockroach." this is also one, I would not want.

What is your favourite ring tone?

Catherine G.

I-Phone

Last year, my son was very upset because when we were driving in the car, a little girl, no more than 7 or 8 was walking along, talking on her flip phone. After much nagging and many months, he eventually got a better phone.

I love technology and must admit when I saw the people lining up in the States, for the new I-Phone, I wanted one. Unfortunately, the $600. price tag and fact, I can never find my phone would quickly stop me.

What new technology would you love to have, if money was no object?

catherine g.

Music and Media Week

Hi, Everyone!

It is my week for blog. I am following the theme of Music and Media.

There is a trivia contest that ends July 18th. Try and see how well you do.

Catherine g.

Welcome to Blog!

Hi, Everyone!



Welcome to Blog!



If you would like, please share some information about yourself with others.



For example, name (first only or screen name), what grade you are in school and anything else you would like us to know.



Catherine G.

Music Trivia Contest

This contest is a bit tricky but all the information can be picked up off the web. I had no trouble.

Deadline for contest: July 18th. Email answers to: teens@markham.library.on.ca.


1. Daughtry is presently the most successful contest from what reality show? What is ironic about his success?

2. Nellie Furtado is presently on a commercial with a bunch of school children. What song is she singing from early in her career? Who is the sponsor of the commercial?

3. Who did Carrie Underwood beat out on Idol? What type of music did Carrie sing that Simon Cowell said would not make her the American Idol?

4. What is Timbaland's real name? He allegedly plagarized a song that was made famous by what artist? (You can see both versions on You tube. You decide.)

5. This 80's rocker is back on the charts again. What song did his group make famous for the LA Lakers? This is too hard. I will make it easy. Where did this singer come from?
Hint: One member of the band was married to Heather Locklear.

6. This band's name means to injure or impair. They have only been together since 2005. Their first album, Extreme Behaviour sold 5000 copies. What is the name of the group and their current hit? P.S. this is my son's favourite song, right now.

7. This singer from the Bahamas presently has 3 songs on billboard's top 40. What does she have insured for one million dollars? Hint: I always forget one of her three songs on a rainy day.

8. This Black Eyed Peas singer went out on her own. What member of the royalty is she naming herself after? What is her album titled?

9. This No Doubt singer went out on her own and made a sweet escape. Talk about summer jobs, she worked at Dairy Queen. she has a clothing line named lamb. Who is named after?

10. The U.S. Presidential campaign is well underway. Hilary Clinton did a spoof on what famous show to announce her campaign song. What is the show and what song did Hilary's bloggers pick for her campaign? What is the Canadian connection that has some people upset?

Other topics

Hi,

If you have other things you would like to discuss go ahead. For example; if you saw a great movie, went somewhere interesting, etc.

This is your blog. Share whatever you would like.

Catherine G.

Blog runs from July 3 - August 24th

Hi, Everyone!

Blog runs from July 3rd to August 24th.

Some weeks will have themes and there will be special contests throughout the summer.

At the end of the summer, there will be a party to wrap things up.

Teen Summer Reading Program Parties Ages 12 - 18
All members of the TSRP are welcome! Come out for fun, prizes, snacks and to meet your fellow bloggers to share your thoughts on your favourite reads of the summer.
Free. Registration required.
Angus Glen Library, ext. 7133
Monday, Jul. 30
Milliken Mills Library, ext. 5336
Tuesday, Jul. 31
Thornhill Community Centre Library, 3536
Monday, Jul. 23
Unionville Library, 5522
Tuesday, Jul. 24

You can call us for information or just blog if you have questions.

Markham Public Libraries Version of Survivor

This year, we are trying something different.

Each person will be assigned to a tribe (their home library: Angus Glen, Unionville and Markham; Thornhill and Thornhill Village; Milliken). All the reviews will be counted and a person from the winning branch will be our winner.

Here is the format for reviews:

Title
Author
Pages (Nice but not necessary)

Review (A few paragraphs)

Your name: For example, Catherine G. (Never give your last name. You can use a screen name like Star Angel. Always use the same name, please.)
Branch: For example, Angus Glen.

There will be small prizes along the way for trivia contests, etc.

We will provide weekly updates to let you know who is winning.

No volunteer hours are earned for belonging to the club.

Catherine G.