Shotgun!

Nothing signals the start of Rochester's warm season like a festival! Take a road trip to Martha Brown School in Fairport for the Teen Book Festival on Saturday, April 5th. Authors will be on hand for meet-and-greets, autographs, and presentations. Live music provided by local bands. Pizza, books, and prizes galore.

The festival runs from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Grab your friends and go!

Glamour & Intrigue

If you enjoyed watching the glamorous Academy Awards -- the winners, the losers, the dresses, the hair, the jewelry -- then you certainly would enjoy reading The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen. Taking place at the turn of the century, The Luxe chronicles Manhattan's high society, following its characters through one grand party after another. No details are spared as outfits are described, secret trysts are discovered, and dramatic events unfold.

As one reader said, "From page one, her [Godbersen's] lavish descriptions of old time New York City, and high society hooked me; while her gossip-loving, well-dressed characters reeled me in. The scandal and mystery wrapped inside this charmed world, of course, didn't hurt the story at all."

This book has the makings of a winner!

The play's the thing!

If you've ever read Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, you may have been left wondering about Ophelia -- what was her story? Now you can find out by reading Ophelia, by Lisa Klein. Klein takes the liberty of telling the story of Hamlet from Ophelia's point of view -- all the nitty gritty about their love affair, the scandal, the intrigue...
Follow the original Shakespeare characters through Denmark, as the king is murdered, the queen falls from grace, and chaos reigns the land.

Ophelia is one book in a list of many being nominated as a Best Book for Young Adults 2008. View the complete list of nominated books, and the winners on Monday, January 14th, 2008.

Life is Golden

After much anticipation and publicity, The Golden Compass was released in theatres this weekend, grossing $26.1 million. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, the IHS Library owns multiple copies of The Golden Compass, Book 1 in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. Follow Lyra Belacqua as she navigates her way from Oxford, England to the far north, encountering all varieties of animals and people.

Planning to see other movies this month? Read the book before the movie:

Beowulf

829.3 SUT

The Kite Runner

FIC HOS

The Golden Compass

FIC PUL

Don't forget the popcorn!

Tough Life?

Tests, college applications, review sessions, extra credit... Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the school work you have to do just to stay afloat in your classes? Have you ever been tempted to just give it all up, even for one day? In It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini, 15-year-old Craig Gilner goes from successful and motivated, to overwhelmed and lethargic in a matter of months. He falls into a deep depression, so bad that he begins to have suicidal thoughts and calls the Suicide Hotline for help. He is directed to the emergency room at his local hospital, from which he is admitted to the mental ward. There, Craig spends 5 days with a quirky bunch of patients, all trying to cope in the best way they know how.

To join a discussion of this book, come to IHS Book Club on Monday, December 3rd at 3:15 in the library.

Safe travels & Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Happy Halloween!

Will you be staying in tomorrow evening? Why not check out a frightening book to get you in the Halloween mood? Perfect example: What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles. Cass is a beautiful, ambitious, "IT" girl who goes to sleep one night, only to wake up the next day buried underground. Her abductor torments her by communicating via walkie-talkie, which has been buried alongside her. Cass must figure out how to talk her way out of the ground, before the ground she's in becomes her grave.

Twilight

I read Twilight after hearing about it in an article Life After 'Harry Potter'? It is the story of Bella Swan as she moves to Forks, Washington. Bella feels she is not wanted at home. She doesn't really expect too much from her new hometown. It isn't a big city and it is cloudy most of the time. But when she begins school, she is drawn to a handsome boy. Things might be looking up after all. But Edward seems to be repulsed by Bella. What did she do to offend him? She hasn't even talked to him yet. As she gets to know Edward and his family, she comes to understand why Edward reacted to her as he did. And she also comes to understand more than she ever imagined. If you want to read a very different kind of love story, check out the Twilight series by Stephenie Myers.