Book Bite: "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

The snow drifts into our zombie mouths crawling with grease and curses and tobacco flakes and cavities and boyfriend/girlfriend juice, the stain of lies. For one moment we are not failed tests and broken condoms and cheating on essays; we are crayons and lunch boxes and swinging so high our sneakers punch holes in the clouds. For one breath everything feels better.

Then it melts.

The bus drivers rev their engines and the ice cloud shatters. Everyone shuffles forward. They don't know what just happened. They can't remember.

- Wintergirls (2009) by Laurie Halse Anderson

Teen review of "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" by Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
TEEN BLACK

It takes a lot for me to get excited about a vampire novel. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown was one of those books that just screamed for me to get it. After reading and absolutely loving The Immortal Rules, I was interested to see where Coldtown went with the premise of vampires. From the jacket flaps they sounded quite similar. It took me a little while to fully get into the story, but once it got going, I could not stop reading. (Which was a good thing since I was snowed in and had nothing better to do with my time.)

I was absolutely fascinated at how the vampires were completely integrated into pop culture. Unlike The Immortal Rules where the world falls into dystopia, everything pretty much stays the same, with the only difference being the existence of vampires. There are reality shows about vampires, commercials stating that their chicken nuggets will make you “hungrier than a new born vampire,” feeds of parties broadcasted from inside the Coldtowns. These video feeds being broadcasted from inside the quarantined cities make it seem that being a vampire or living among with them makes life one big party. There are message boards, blogs, and communities for those who want to move to a Coldtown, willingly. We get to see characters, all with different reasons for being in Coldtown. Those who are infected by a vampire, those who want to become creatures of the night, those who already are, and those who were stuck when the walls went up. The latter especially reminds me of the Berlin wall.

This whole concept of vampires becoming celebrities to those outside the Coldtowns really reminded me of how vampires became huge after the Twilight franchise hit the big time. It really amuses me because vampires have become so romanticized in the public eye, through movies, books, etc. Holly Black does an amazing job of exemplifying that fact by almost satirizing those obsessed with the vampire culture, and then turning it around to show how desolate and dangerous the Coldtowns really are. The writing itself was amazing. I was completely mesmerized by the eloquence of it all and how the syntax fit the story and the world completely. I knew Holly Black was a popular author, but I hadn’t really read any of her novels before now. Now I need to read all of them.

Overall, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown was one of those works that will stick with me. I absolutely loved that it was a standalone. When it comes to paranormal/supernatural books, they always seem to be in trilogies, which is nice in some cases. But because it is only one book, I felt completely satisfied upon my completion. It was the perfect balance of everything that a story needs.

- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.

New books to check out

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner	Two star-crossed lovers must fight for survival when they crash land on a seemingly uninhabited planet.
The Vow by Jessica Martinez	Mo is not only eighteen-year-old Annie's best friend, he is the one who helps her cope with the loss of her older sister, so when he learns he must leave Kentucky and return to Jordan with his family, Annie suggests a shocking alternative.
The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine	When the passive strategy she has always adopted proves injurious to her heart's goals, ordinary girl Wren inadvertently saves the life of expelled lacrosse player Grayson and embarks on an awkward romance that compels both to start over.
World After by Susan Ee	In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world. When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken. Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go. Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?
The Third Lie's the Charm by Lisa & Laura Roecker	Third book in The Liar Society series. To avenge her best friend's death, Kate must put her relationship with Liam on hold to infiltrate the Sisterhood, a secret society at Pemberly Brown Academy.
The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean by David Almond	Trapped in his bedroom by a father who fills his mind with mysterious tales and warnings, Billy Dean goes outside for the first time when his father disappears, and he discovers his abilities to heal the living and contact the dead.
Swagger by Carl Deuker	High school senior point guard Jonas Dolan is on the fast track to a basketball career until an unthinkable choice puts his future on the line.
Daylighters  by Rachel Caine	While Morganville, Texas, is often a troubled town, Claire Danvers and her friends are looking forward to coming home. But the Morganville they return to isn't the one they know; it's become a different place--a deadly one. Something drastic has happened in Morganville while Claire and her friends were away. The town looks cleaner and happier than they've ever seen it before, but when their incoming group is arrested and separated-vampires from humans-they realize that the changes definitely aren't for the better.
Killer of Enemies by Joseph Bruchac	In a world that has barely survived an apocalypse that leaves it with pre-twentieth century technology, Lozen is a monster hunter for four tyrants who are holding her family hostage.
Firebrand  by Antony John	Second book in the Elemental series. In a dystopian United States, the colonists of Roanoke Island must find safety at the mysterious Fort Sumter, but as they get further from their home, their elemental powers begin to fade.
The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson	Hayley Kincaid and her father move back to their hometown to try a 'normal' life, but the horrors he saw in the war threaten to destroy their lives.

Online Photo Editing for Teens

If you enjoy taking pictures and want to learn how to make those photos even better, come to our Online Photo Editing for Teens program on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.

I will introduce you to a few free, easy to use photo editing sites that will allow you to make awesome photos and graphics. Transform photos for birthdays, holidays, any celebration, or just for the fun of it. Create amazing collages and graphics to use on blogs and other social networks. I promise warn you, once you start on one photo, you won't be able to stop.

In this post I'll share a few examples of how I transformed my own photos. Here is a picture I took of Cinderella Castle at Disney World:

Here is the picture with the added radiance effect from PicMonkey:

Here is a neon version of the castle, an effect available on FotoFlexer:

One of my favorite effects, Pop Art, also from FotoFlexer:

I don't know if you can tell, but I love chipmunks and squirrels. As a result, I have tons of photos of grey squirrels, black squirrels, red squirrels, white squirrels, and nutty chipmunks. I had fun adding overlays and text to my photos, with the following results:

For this photo I used overlays from PicMonkey's Celebrate theme, and added the birthday message at the bottom. I know what you're thinking. I can add tiny birthday hats to chipmunks and other small mammals?! Best news ever! 

I first created a collage of this adorable red squirrel in PicMonkey, then edited the collage using the Sweethearts theme. I added heart bokeh, a few heart graphics, a banner, plus text.

I also created this collage using PicMonkey (obviously it's my go-to site for collages). I opened a couple photos I had already edited, and then inserted them into a FB Cover layout. I decreased the size of the margins as much as possible, and made sure the photos were centered in each of their respective slots. Once I was happy with everything, I saved the file, and then uploaded it to my Facebook page as my cover photo!

I will show even more effects and helpful tips on these sites on Tuesday. Registration is open to grades 6-12 for this program. If you cannot make Tuesday's session, we will hold a second session on Tuesday, February 4.

Teen review of "The Immortal Rules" by Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
TEEN KAGAWA
RO TEEN KAGAWA

I’ve had a bit of a string of books that were not so good and The Immortal Rules made up for all of it. I absolutely loved everything about it. Now, I’m not a huge fan of vampires. They’re okay, but I don’t really see the appeal. It takes a lot for me to really get into a vampire book, and boy, it didn’t really take me long to get into this one. I love Julie Kagawa’s writing and I’m a huge fan of The Iron Fey, but I believe that, not only has this series become my favorite of her’s, but that she can also write anything. If it wasn’t for her name on the cover, I would have never guessed that it was written by Julie Kagawa. The tone is so completely different from The Iron Fey. It’s much darker and morbidly sarcastic then her romps through the land of faerie. But the one thing they have in common: fantastic world building.

The dystopian landscape was just so well imagined and put together. I had no trouble picturing the landscapes. One element that really added to the experience were the rabids. The rabids are pretty much failed vampires that are almost zombie-like. The rabids mixed with the dystopian setting was really what I need to fill the hole that the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead left. And speaking of rabids and other monsters, I thought The Immortal Rules had the best depiction of vampires and vampire life that I have ever read. I feel that vampires are so romanticized in popular culture, and the book does a really excellent job of dispelling that. They may have been human once, but the will never rid themselves of the hunger and the demon inside them.

And speaking of vampires, Allison has to be one of the best heroines ever. I absolutely loved her character and her progression into becoming a vampire. She is such a strong character. She’s grown up pretty much on her own, living on the fringe of this vampire city and is always on the run, trying to survive, and I think that is what makes her an even strong vampire. She knows how to take care of herself and she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty if she has to. I was also quite happy to see that, although there is a romance, there were no love triangles and it wasn’t that prominent. Allison is a loner and her way of life requires her to be. I guess I like my protagonists to be tortured in some way.

Overall, The Immortal Rules was an excellent novel, and was just the thing I needed to help me wrap up the year and get me out of a reading rut. It had twists that I wasn’t expecting and elements in the plot that made me want to *bookshimmy* (Especially when that have to take a detour to a run down, dystopian Chicago. I always love me some dystopian Chicago). And if anything, it has just exemplified my need to read everything by Julie Kagawa. I’m so glad I already have the second book.

- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.

Teen review of "Into the Wild Nerd Yonder" by Julie Halpern

Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern
TEEN HALPERN

I don’t read much realistic fiction. It just doesn’t appeal to me. But when I saw this at the library book sale, I just had to get it. I mean, Dungeons & Dragons, nerds, skirt making? Yes please! I was a little wary when starting the novel, but upon completion, I wanted to start over and read it again. This rarely happens.

There were two main factors, other than the awesome nerdyness, that really caused me to love the story. One was the main character. Jessie sews her own skirts (something I would love to do), loves Harry Potter and audiobooks (I always have an audiobook to listen to), and just has a funny, quirky personality. The only thing we don’t have in common is that fact that she loves math. Numbers allude me… The second factor was the fact that the storyline kind of mirrored my senior year. Not the my-best-friend-betrayed-me part, but all the rest of it. Jessie has to expand her horizons and find a new group of friends to be around, and she finds the nerds.

Despite the premise and the title, it’s not super nerdy. If you absolutely nothing about Dungeons & Dragons, you can totally go into the book without any problems. While I’ve never played D & D (I really want to), I knew enough to go on. What’s really at the heart of the novel is the journey one takes to find oneself. Jessie has to go on a quest to find out where she really belongs, and through that she create an alternate personality, her in game character Imalthia. Imalthia takes out all Jessie’s anger and frustration, and by doing that, I think Jessie becomes much happier. That’s one of the reasons why I love RPGs. You can become anyone you want to be and act a certain way that you probably wouldn’t in real life, but then you can go back to real life with none of the consequences.

I’m really sad that the novel is so short. That’s one thing I would’ve liked: more nerddom. Other than that, I think this has earned the spot of Favorite Realistic Fiction. Into the Wild Nerd Yonder was hilarious, well written, and really nailed the stereotypes of high school. And it also made me realise that I need to find friends who play D & D.

- Caroline
Originally posted on The Attic blog.