My Gift to You ~ New Books for December (part 9)

The Ultimate Unofficial Encyclopedia for Minecrafters by Megan Miller

Nonfiction 

From abandoned mineshafts to mini-games, mods, and zombie sieges, The Ultimate Unofficial Encyclopedia for Minecrafters reveals expert tricks of the trade for gamers. Want to know where you’ll find the most diamonds or how to protect your villagers at night? This A–Z reference is a quick guide to all the tips you want to know, including:

• How to spawn and kill the Wither boss
• How to rescue a baby zombie villager
• How to make a portal without a diamond pickaxe
• How to make a secret passageway using paintings

This exciting book will cover everything players need to know about mining, farming, building, villagers, the Nether, and more! A big book of players’ hacks for Minecrafters organized in an easy-to-reference A–Z encyclopedia format, this book will show readers the ins and outs of the game, how to survive and thrive, and various mods that can improve play. The book will be illustrated with screenshots throughout, making it easy for new and experienced Minecrafters to build, fight, protect, and survive in their creative worlds.

Untwine by Edwidge Danticat

Contemporary Fiction 

Identical twin teenagers Giselle and Isabelle Boyer have always been inseparable, and expected to stay that way even though their Haitian American parents are separating--but when when the entire family is caught in a car crash, everyone's world is shattered forever.

Violent Ends by various

Contemporary Fiction 

Relates how one boy--who had friends, enjoyed reading, playing saxophone in the band, and had never been in trouble before--became a monster capable of entering his high school with a loaded gun and firing on his classmates, as told from the viewpoints of several victims. Each perspective is written by a different writer of young adult fiction.

What We Left Behind by Robin Talley

Contemporary Fiction 

Toni and Gretchen are the couple everyone envied in high school. They've been together forever. They never fight. They're deeply, hopelessly in love. When they separate for their first year at college--Toni to Harvard and Gretchen to NYU--they're sure they'll be fine. The reality of being apart, though, is very different than they expected.

What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler

Contemporary Fiction 

The party at John Doone's last Saturday night is a bit of a blur. Kate Weston can piece together most of the details: Stacey Stallard handing her shots, Ben Cody taking her keys and getting her home early. . . . But when a picture of Stacey passed out over Deacon Mills's shoulder appears online the next morning, Kate suspects she doesn't have all the details. When Stacey levels charges against four of Kate's classmates, the whole town erupts into controversy. Facts that can't be ignored begin to surface, and every answer Kate finds leads back to the same questions: Who witnessed what happened to Stacey? And what responsibility do they have to speak up about what they saw?

Willful Machines by Tim Floreen

Action/Adventure

In a near-future America, a sentient computer program named Charlotte has turned terrorist, but Lee Fisher, the closeted son of an ultraconservative President, is more concerned with keeping his Secret Service detail from finding out about his developing romance with Nico, the new guy at school, but when the spider-like robots that roam the school halls begin acting even stranger than usual, Lee realizes he is Charlotte's next target.

College Financial Planning

Tuesday, January 20th 6:30-8:30pm

College4Less is an independent CT firm offering guidance and assistance to parents and students to better position themselves to get into the colleges of their choice at the least possible cost.  Dorothy A. Mautte, Owner and Advisor of the firm, brings her 30+ years of experience in the financial planning field to the table assisting those who chose to work with the firm in developing a cost-efficient method of paying their out-of-pocket share of college costs.

The 2 hour workshop will discuss the FAFSA form, CSS Profile form along with other important information parents need to understand in order to maximize the amount of financial aid they are eligible to receive.  
Our workshop is about Financial Literacy and educating families on the process of getting their student into the best fit college.

My gift to you...New Books for December! (part 8)

Random by Tom Leveen

The night before going on trial in a sensational felony case that has ruined her life, sixteen-year-old Tori Hershberger receives a random phone call from a stranger contemplating suicide and she begins a race against time to save him.

Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat by Gail Jarrow

One hundred years ago, a mysterious and alarming illness spread across America's South, striking tens of thousands of victims. No one knew what caused it or how to treat it. People were left weak, disfigured, insane, and in some cases, dead. Award winning science and history writer Gail Jarrow tracks this disease, commonly known as pellagra, and highlights how doctors, scientists, and public health officials finally defeated it.

The Revelation of Gabriel Adam by S. L. Duncan

Seventeen-year-old Gabriel Adam is used to relocating a lot. When a mysterious assassin burns his home to the ground, Gabriel’s father reveals the truth of why they are always on the move: Gabriel is one of four archangels, born human and sent to stop Armageddon. Now Gabe must set aside dreams of attending NYU to try to fulfill his newly discovered role.

Separated @ Birth: A True Love Story of Twin Sisters Reunited by Anais Bordier and Samantha Futerman

It all began when design student Anaïs Bordier viewed a YouTube video and saw her own face staring back. After some research, Anaïs found that the Los Angeles actress Samantha Futerman was born in a South Korean port city called Busan on November 19, 1987—the exact same location and day that Anaïs was born. This propelled her to make contact—via Facebook. One message later, both girls wondered: Could they be twins?

Thus begins their remarkable journey to build a relationship as sisters, continents apart. Over Facebook, Twitter, and Skype, they learned that they shared much more than a strikingly similar appearance. Eventually, they traveled to Korea together to discover more about the land of their separation. Separated @ Birth is a story that spans the world and peels back some of the complex and emotional layers of foreign adoption.

Seventeen Ultimate Guide to College: Everything You Need to Know to Walk Onto Campus and Own it! by Ann Shoket

Offers college-bound young women advice on maneuvering life on the college campus, sharing tips from real students on such topics as how to bond with roommates, navigate the hookup scene, and avoid going broke.

College Admissions & Testing Explained!

Recent Yale graduate Brandon Wang's presentation will focus on insider tips on college admissions and standardized testing, and will feature a Q&A session. Attendees will be granted a coupon for a free SAT class at the end of the presentation.

Brandon Wang is a recent graduate of Yale University with a degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Brandon serves as the General Manager of Bulldog Tutors and is an expert on standardized testing and the college admissions process. He himself boasts a track record of a nearly perfect SAT and 3 perfect SAT II scores. In his spare time, he enjoys reading books on philosophy and medicine, singing in an A Cappella group, and going to the gym.

Wednesday, Oct. 22nd
7-8pm
Students & Parents
No Registration Required

New Books ~ August 2014 ~ Part 5

Mother Nature is Trying to Kill You: A Lively Tour Through the Dark Side of the Natural World by Dan Riskin

It may be a wonderful world, but as Dan Riskin (cohost of Discovery Canada's Daily Planet ) explains, it's also a dangerous, disturbing, and disgusting one. At every turn, it seems, living things are trying to eat us, poison us, use our bodies as their homes, or have us spread their eggs. In Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You , Riskin is our guide through the natural world at its most gloriously ruthless.

Chasing Shadows by Swati Avasthi

Acting out superhero fantasies on the streets and rooftops of Chicago, best friends Corey, Holly, and Savitri are shattered by a murderous act of violence that leaves two of them disillusioned and unable to move on.

Ivory, Horn, and Blood: Behind the Elephant and Rhinoceros Poaching Crisis by Ronald Orenstein

Describes the illegal trafficking of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horns and the implications for these endangered animals.

Independent Study by Joelle Charbonneau

Now a freshman at the University in Tosu City with her hometown sweetheart, Tomas, Cia Vale attempts to expose the ugly truth behind the government's grueling and deadly Testing put her and her loved ones in great danger.

The Marvel Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the Marvel Universe

Bring the Marvel Universe home with this all-inclusive encyclopedia detailing little-known facts and information about the iconic Marvel characters. This essential tome has been fully updated with 32 additional pages. Created in full collaboration with Marvel Comics, the revised pages of Marvel Encyclopedia now feature new entries on the latest characters and teams, updated facts on existing ones including their latest looks and story lines, and expanded entries on major superheroes such as Spider-Man, Thor, and The Avengers. Special double-page features have also been added highlighting recent major crossover events in the Marvel Universe, such as Fear Itself, and the new Marvel Now series. 

New Books ~ August 2014 ~ Part 3

The Moe Manifesto: An Insider's Look at the Worlds of Manga, Anime, and Gaming by Patrick Galbraith

MOE is a huge cultural phenomenon and one of the driving forces behind the enormous success of Japanese anime and manga-not just in Japan now, but throughout the world. In Japan, avid fans of manga comics, anime films and videogames use the term MOE to refer to the strong sense of emotional attachment they feel for their favorite characters. These fans have a powerful desire to protect and nurture the young, beautiful and innocent characters they adore-like Sagisawa Moe in Dinosaur Planet and Tomoe Hotaru in Sailor Moon . They create their own websites, characters, stories, discussion groups, toys and games based around the original manga and anime roles. Author Patrick Galbraith is the world's acknowledged expert on MOE and a journalist based in Tokyo. For this book, he interviewed twenty important figures in the world of Japanese manga and anime to gain their insights on the MOE phenomenon.

Undecided: Navigating Life and Learning After High School by Genevieve Morgan

Deciding what to do after high school is one of the biggest decisions you'll ever make. This book will help you come to grips with this often-overwhelming time of transition. It begins by helping students think seriously about who they are and what they want and then moves on to dissect the various options that are available after high school, such as enrolling in a training program, attending a community college, taking a gap year, enlisting in the military, or pursuing a traditional four-year degree, and more. It also takes an in-depth look at what you can expect to earn, the kind of lifestyle you may lead, and the possible pitfalls of all of these scenarios. Full of checklists, anecdotes, brainstorming activities, and journal exercises.

Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura (books 1 and 2)

As a child, Thorfinn sat at the feet of the great Leif Ericson and thrilled to wild tales of a land far to the west. But his youthful fantasies were shattered by a mercenary raid. Raised by the Vikings who murdered his family, Thorfinn became a terrifying warrior, forever seeking to kill the band's leader, Askeladd, and avenge his father. Sustaining Thorfinn through his ordeal are his pride in his family and his dreams of a fertile westward land, a land without war or slavery-- the land Leif called Vinland

Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

Tella's brother Cody is sick and getting worse, so when she finds instructions on how to become a contender in the dangerous Brimstone Bleed race where she can win a cure for him, she jumps at the chance--but there is no guarantee that she will win, or even survive.

Heads Up Psychology by Marcus Weeks

An introduction to psychology surveys the ideas of over sixty famous psychologists, discussing topics ranging from psychoanalysis and intelligence to groundbreaking experiments and mental disorders.

New books to read during those April showers! (Part 6)

Scared Stiff: Everything You Need to Know about 50 Famous Phobias by Sara Latta

Explains how the primal human emotion of fear can sometimes manifest in the form of extremes, describing common phobias ranging from arachnophobia to zoophobia to reveal their histories, treatments, and famous sufferers.

Roomies by Sara Zarr

While living very different lives on opposite coasts, seventeen-year-old Elizabeth and eighteen-year-old Lauren become acquainted by email the summer before they begin rooming together as freshmen at UC-Berkeley.

September Girls by Bennett Madison

Vacationing in a sleepy beach town for the summer, Sam is pursued by hordes of blonde girls before falling in love with the unusual DeeDee, who compels him to uncover secrets about the community's ocean-dwelling inhabitants.

Digital Art by David Cousens

Shows readers how to create all types of digital art using different software platforms and includes artworks of varying styles and all levels of complexity.

New Hot Nonfiction!

Hey YAs,

Still haven't finished that summer reading?  Bet the one you need is a nonfiction book! Check out these new nonfiction books being put out today!

Super Pop! Pop Culture Top Ten Lists to Help You Win at Trivia, Survive in the Wild, and Make it Through the Holidays by Daniel Harmon

Feeding the Young Athlete: Sports Nutrition Made Easy for Players, Parents, and Coaches by Cynthia Lair

The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond by Steven L. Kent

Spook: Science  Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach

Women Aviators: 26 Stories of Pioneer Flights, Daring Missions, and Record-Setting Journeys by Karen Bush Gibson

The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College by Harlan Cohen

Elephants on Acid and Other Bizarre Experiments by Alex Boese

Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks by Arthur Benjamin

My Crazy Beautiful Life by Kesha

A Million Little Bricks: The Unofficial Illustrated History of the Lego Phenomenon by Sarah Herman

Ideas That Changed the World: Incredible Inventions and the Stories Behind Them 

The Walking Dead Chronicles: The Official Companion Book by Paul Ruditis

Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story by Justin Bieber

Study Smart, Study Less by Anne Crossman