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
Thursday, August 16, 2007
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
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
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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
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
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
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
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.
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.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
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
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
Friday, August 10, 2007
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.
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.
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