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Showing posts from December, 2014

Review: All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry

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All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry My rating: 4 of 5 stars An intriguing, dark tale about two teenagers with mythological connotations, an evocative Pacific Northwest setting, and characters who are products of the punk and grunge scene, including the main characters Aurora (based on a combo Frances Bean, Kurt Cobain's daughter, an imagined daughter of Jimi Hendrix, and Edie Sedgwick?) and Maia, her best friend. Aurora is the daughter of a deceased rock star who owns the town. She is a tragi-glamorous figure whom Maia, the daughter of Aurora's mother's ex-best friend (they were groupies back in the day) loves and protects until Jack, an incredible, mysterious musician comes along. They are both pulled towards him, but in different ways: Maia is in love with him, and Aurora shares his need for darkness to survive. Can Maia have her best friend and the man she loves? Or is this asking too much? Where does Maia end and Aurora begin? How will Maia survive without Auror

Review: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ooh, this is a good one. Ms. Reimer recommended it to me, and happily it was in our latest order of new books, so this was a no-brainer vacation read for me! A total page turner filled with suspense, superb use of parallels to describe and illuminate character, subtle and not so subtle explorations of racial identity, and finally, what it means to make and be a family. Teens should love it because the main character around whom the story revolves is Lydia, a teenaged girl who goes missing. Lydia's disappearance introduces the previously unexamined question: "who was Lydia?" Everyone has a different idea about her identity, what happened to her and why: her brother, her mother, her father, and the police. A fascinating exploration of where our identity and others' conceptions of us begin and end, and what kind of power we have over these ideas. The book can be read on two satisfying levels: as a page-

Review: Neverhome by Laird Hunt

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Neverhome by Laird Hunt My rating: 5 of 5 stars Wow. One of the best books I've read in a while. A masterful historical novel about war, gender, memory and how we make sense of our lives and fears. Set during the Civil War, Constance Thompson leaves her farm and husband in Indiana to satisfy her urge to fight for the Union, where she is noted for her bravery, gallantry and good sense and shot (yes, disguised as a man). I know there is a body of powerful Civil War historical fiction--however, I am not familiar with it, so I can't make any comparisons for you. The narrative becomes a phantasmagorical epic told from the first person perspective, with interlacing dreams, and evocative yet beautifully simple language. Meaty symbolism, adventure, suspense, and brief, simple and powerful meditations on meaning and memory make this an excellent choice for readers looking for a challenging and satisfying novel. In addition, the simple language, first person voice, and (mostly) line

Review: Nothing by Janne Teller

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Nothing by Janne Teller My rating: 5 of 5 stars A spare, allegorical, very bizarre and European tale about meaning. A group of Danish middle schoolers grapple with the question of meaning after one climbs up a tree declaring that nothing matters, nothing has any meaning. His peers desperately try to prove him wrong by sacrificing the most important things to them (conceptual and physical) and adding them to a pile in a barn. The pile and the kids transform into something no one could have predicted. I read this in about an hour--it was that compelling, simply and beautifully written. If you're in the mood for something unusual, short and satisfyingly European (they can be so satisfyingly symbolic in their literature), spend some time with Nothing. View all my reviews

What the freshmen learned

The Magnificent Makerspace

The Maker Lab at Brandeis University Why does a librarian care about makerspaces?  3d printers, laser cutters, and sewing machines? Isn’t that the province of engineering or the home ec department of old? All I can say is, the librarian’s job revolves around technology and inquiry. We spend lots of time helping students with the (sometimes dreaded) printer: Is the printer working? Why is it taking so long for my paper to print? How do I print this bizarre document in a weird format? So, it’s natural (and brave, considering the challenges we have with 2d printing) that librarians would think about 3D printing and makerspaces. Not sure what a makerspace is or why they are a thing? Makerspaces are learning labs in libraries, schools, universities, and shared commercial spaces where people of all ages make things. The things they make vary according to age of the maker and the equipment in the space. Elementary students experiment with rudimentary circuits using Little Bits

Review: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

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I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson My rating: 4 of 5 stars These twins love each other but almost destroy themselves in the process of competing for affection and approval from their mother, an art school, their peers, their crushes. The novel's elements of suspense, romance, magical realism, and a series of great "reveals" at the end make it unique and appealing to almost anyone. A big plus is the HAPPY ENDING for which so many of us yearn. Jude (girl) and Noah (boy) are quirky twins, children of academics who live in a coastal community in Northern California. Their mother is an eccentric art scholar who decides the children should apply to a prestigious and highly competitive local arts academy for high school. Not only are they competing for admission to the school, they are also competing for their mother's favor, which drives them apart in a ferocious and tragic way. A fun, compelling, imaginative read especially suited kids interested in art. The m