Teen Book Club December Meeting and Year in Review!

Hey YAs, yesterday the TBC met to discuss this month's book, Stardust by Neil Gaiman and to watch the movie to compare!

Here are the discussion questions we used:

Pre-Movie

1.  What did you think of the book in general?
2.  Did you have a favorite character or scene?
3.  What do you think of Victoria Forester?  Is she worthy of Tristran's love?  Does Tristran love her?
4.  Have you seen the movie before?  What parts of the book are you most excited to see in the movie?
5.  Rating and final thought for the book.

Post-Movie

1.  What did you think of the movie in general?
2.  What are some of the changes between the book and the movie?  Which did you like, dislike?  Why do you think these changes were made?
3.  Were the characters how you imagined them?  Better, worse?
4.  This story is available in many forms; book, movie, audiobook, and graphic novel.  How does the format change the story?
5.  Rating and thought about the movie compared to the book?

Melanie: 10!  I love the writing and found it amazing how he could fit such a wonderful adventure story into as little as roughly 200 pages.
Miss G: 9  I listened to this on the audiobook version and loved it, but not quite as much as I love the movie.  They're almost two different stories, because of some major changes in the movie.

For January we are reading...

Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories by various

A collection of fourteen fantasy stories by well-known authors, set in the age of steam engines and featuring automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never existed.

Meeting, discussion, and snack on Wednesday, January 29th 5:30-6:30pm

Now...for the year in review.  A reminder, here is what the book club read in 2013~

Everyone voted on their favorites, so, here are the overall rankings~

1.  Seraphina

2.  The Year of the Gadfly

3.  Stardust

4.  Delirium

5.  Code Talker

6.  Life as we Knew it

7.  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

8.  Nobody’s Princess

9.  Bloody Jack

10.  Zom-B

11.  Skinned

12.  Trapped

Individual favorites were...

Melanie

1.  Code Talker

2.  Stardust

3.  Seraphina

Catherine

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

2. Seraphina

3.  The Year of the Gadfly

Clare

1.  Seraphina

2.  The Year of the Gadfly

3.  Delirium

MissG

1.  Seraphina

2.  Delirium

3.  Stardust

Now on to the new year!

April Teen Book Club Recap - NOBODY'S PRINCESS

Hey YAs, the TBC met on Tuesday to discuss Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner.  Here are the discussion questions we used~

1.  What did you think of the book in general?
2.  Did you have a favorite character? (Besides Helen of course)
3.  How was Helen's relationship with her sister?
4.  How was Helen's relationship with her brothers?  How was it different from her relationship with her sister?
5.  Why is it important for Helen to understand herself as 'the pretty one' or the 'future queen?'  Why is seeing herself in the mirror important to her?
6.  Why did Helen want to train to fight?
7.  How important is religion & mythology in their lives?  Why does the King dislike Athena?
8.  Did you have a favorite scene in the book?
9.  What did you think of the writing style?
10.  Ratings and final thoughts!

Here are our ratings~

Clare - 7.5/10 - Would be a great summer read since the writing flows easily.
Melanie - 7/10 - It made me enjoy Greek mythology and it was one of the better YA books I've read recently.
MissG - 7.5/10 - An interesting and unique historical fiction that caught my attention right away and kept it throughout the book.

If you liked Nobody's Princess then you may enjoy:

Nobody's Prize by Esther Friesner - Still longing for adventure, Princess Helen of Sparta maintains her disguise as a boy to join her unsuspecting brothers as part of the crew of the Argo, the ship commanded by Prince Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece.

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter -  Eden, Michigan, high school student Kate Winters strikes a bargain with Henry, Greek god of the underworld, if he'll cure her dying mother of cancer. The bargain she strikes with him is a grim one, but the full enormity of what she has undertaken--"live forever or die trying"--is not revealed until it's too late to recant.

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs - When her mother suddenly decides to marry a near-stranger, Phoebe, whose passion is running, soon finds herself living on a remote Greek island, completing her senior year at an ancient high school where the students and teachers are all descended from gods or goddesses.

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman - Persephone runs off to the Underworld with Hades, with whom she has fallen in love, but when her mother Demeter threatens to destroy the earth to save her, Persephone finds a way to come back once a year, bringing spring.

For the month of May we are reading:

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.

Copies of the book are available at the front desk.

Discussion & snack on Tues., May 28th 6:30-7:30pm

Teen Book Club March - TRAPPED

Hey YAs, last night we had the March meeting of the Teen Book Club.  We discussed Trapped by Michael Northrop.  Here are the questions we discussed:

1.            What did you think of the book?

2.            What do you think of Scotty, Pete, and Jason?  Which would you want with you if you were trapped during a snowstorm?

3.            What do you think of Krista and Julie?  Les and Elijah?

4.            The school provided food, shelter, and some warmth.  What other public buildings do you think would be a good place to be stuck during a snowstorm?

5.            Did you have a favorite scene or part of the book?

6.            Did you like the style of writing in Trapped?  Would you read something else by this author?

Then we gave our ratings and final thoughts:

Melanie: 5/10 - Characters seemed poorly written and the way he told the story of survival did not impress.

Clare: 5/10 - Book was overall weak and didn't enjoy reading it.

MissG: 6/10 - Some of the situations seemed so unrealistic (the fire setup) that it really bothered me.  

MissG recommends these books if you like survival fiction~

The Raft by S. A. Bodeen:  Robie's last-minute flight to the Midway Atoll proves to be a nightmare when the plane goes down in shark-infested waters, but the real terror begins when the co-pilot Max pulls her onto the raft.

Survive by Alex Morel:   A troubled girl is stranded in an arctic winter terrain after a plane crash and must fight for survival with the only other boy left alive.

If We Survive by Andrew Klavan:   When revolutionaries seize control of a country in Central America where sixteen-year-old Will is serving at a mission, he and the other volunteers find themselves in a desperate race to escape the 'p violence and return home.

For the month of April we are reading...

  Determined to fend for herself in a world where only men have real freedom, headstrong Helen, who will be called queen of Sparta and Helen of Troy one day, learns to fight, hunt, and ride horses while disguised as a boy, and goes on an adventure throughout the Mediterranean world.

Meeting, discussion, snack, and preview of May new books on Tuesday, April 30th at 6:30.  Copies of the book are available, ask a librarian!

 

Teen Book Club - November - Feed by MT Anderson

Hey YAs~

The November Teen Book Club recap is a little late this time, cause well we were a little late.  I got sick and had to push the meeting back until Dec. 8th.  But we did it and here we go!

For Novemeber we read Feed by M. T. Anderson.

In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble.

The questions we discussed were:

1.   What did you think?  Did you like it?
2. Would you want to have The Feed installed in your body?  Why or why not?  What are the benefits and drawbacks?
3. Do you think that The Feed is something that might actually happen in the future?
4. What did you think of Violet and her actions?  What did you think of Titus?


Our overall ratings:


Clare - Did not finish - "Didn't like the writing or the characters.  Didn't think that the author had a validated point of view."
Melanie - 5/10 - "Understood the point he was trying to get across but it didn't show what needs to be fixed."
Catherine - 6/10 - "It was stimulating, but didn't like the author's point of view."

We also voted on the next 4 months worth of books.  Here are the decisions:

January (audiobook) - Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
February (being made into a movie) - Delirium by Lauren Oliver
March (disaster/disease/virus) - Trapped by Michael Northrup
April (mythology) - Nobody's Princessby Esther Friesner


for the month of December we are reading:

After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

Meeting for discussion and snack will be on Tuesday, December 18th 6:30-7:30.  It's a week early because Christmas falls on a Tuesday this year.  We will also be discussing all the books we read in 2012 and voting on our favorites.

Happy birthday to you dear Esther!

Happy birthday to you!

Determined to fend for herself in a world where only men have real freedom, headstrong Helen, who will be called queen of Sparta and Helen of Troy one day, learns to fight, hunt, and ride horses while disguised as a boy, and goes on an adventure throughout the Mediterranean world.

Still longing for adventure, Princess Helen of Sparta maintains her disguise as a boy to join her unsuspecting brothers as part of the crew of the Argo, the ship commanded by Prince Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece.

Although she is a dutiful daughter, Nefertiti's dancing abilities, remarkable beauty, and intelligence garner attention near and far, so much so that her family is summoned to the Egyptian royal court, where Nefertiti becomes a pawn in the power play of her scheming aunt, Queen Tiye.

Chased after by the prince and his soldiers for a crime she did not commit, Nefertiti finds temporary refuge in the wild hills along the Nile's west bank before returning to the royal court to plead her case to the Pharaoh.

In ancient Japan, Himiko, the privileged daughter of her clan's leader, fights the constraints and expectations imposed on young women and finds her own path, which includes secret shaman lessons.

Books coming out today ~ And we have them!

These three books are being released today and I have 1 copy of each.  Check 'em out!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

**Also to be a TV show this fall!!**

Sixteen-year-old America Singer is living in the caste-divided nation of Illea, which formed after the war that destroyed the United States. America is chosen to compete in the Selection--a contest to see which girl can win the heart of Illea's prince--but all she really wants is a chance for a future with her secret love, Aspen, who is a caste below her.

 Thumped by Megan McCaffery

Melody and Harmony are without a doubt two of the most powerful pregnant teens on the planet, and there's only one thing they could do that would make them more famous than they already are: tell the truth.

 Spirit's Princess by Esther Frisner

In ancient Japan, Himiko, the privileged daughter of her clan's leader, fights the constraints and expectations imposed on young women and finds her own path, which includes secret shaman lessons.