Go to Town

Paper Towns

John Green

Dutton Books, 2009

Genre: Realistic fiction

Read if: You want a complex and thought provoking read (with a lot of pee jokes).

Best for: High School aged teens, adults, and anyone else who's interested in the human experience (and pee jokes).

If you like it try:

Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson

How i live Now by Meg Rossoff

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Rating: 5/5

A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;

How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is, any more than he.

-Song of Myself, Walt Whitman

At the age of ten, Quentin "Q" Jacobsen and his neighbour Margo Roth Spiegelman, find a dead body in the park. Too young to make full sense of the event, but not young enough to forget it, Margo concludes that the man must have died because "maybe all the strings inside him broke."

Years later, Margo and Q still live side by side, but have very separate lives: she is a living high school legend, known for her free spirit and barely believable capers, and he is just another face in the crowd. But a night of wild pranking, followed by a disappearance leads Q on the trail of a mystery that changes everything.

Paper Towns is about many things: a mystery, Walt Whitman, the possibility of the future, Orlando, Black Santas, love, and how hard it is to pee during a road trip. But at the heart of it all, this novel is a thoughtful exploration of what it means to try and really imagine another person. The idea that it is both impossible and imperative to imagine the other fully is what makes Paper Towns a very moving and worthwhile read.

 I have been a fan of John Green for a while, having read both his previous books (Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines). I think Green's greatest strength as an author is that he is able to be both really funny and very emotionally honest simultaneously. His books carry big laughs and big ideas, and this latest effort carries the biggest yet, with the most success. This book will appeal to older teens (and adults too) who want a funny and thoughtful book that will stick with you long after its finished. 

YA Reads Special Feature: Reading 2.0

I experienced Paper Towns in an unusual way before I had even read it. As I have mentioned before in posts, Green is one half of a youtube project known as Brotherhood 2.0. Green was writing Paper Towns during the project, so several of his vlog posts discuss the writing process of the book. After the novels release, Green did several vlogs answering reader questions about the book. 

The cynic in me wondered whether this was partly a marketing ploy, and while selling the book is obviously an element, I really think Green cares about his readers and is interested in connecting and interacting with them. Being able to both see the glimpses of the writing process and getting questions answered about the finished product adds another dimension to the reading experience, one that I think is ultimately positive.

YA Clearinghouse (There's Always More to Read)

I've reviewed a few sources for this project, but its just the tip of the young adult iceberg. After reading contemporary YA titles (and a few oldies but goodies), I'm convinced that young adult literature is one of the most exciting areas in the writing world right now.  

I have a few theories about why YA is so exciting right now (the words "Golden Age" are being bandied around quite a bit in the media). My unscientific, unfounded opinion is that authors are catching on that teens today are intelligent, diverse, hungry for really good stories, and ready to take whatever authors throw at them. Contemporary YA authors seem willing to experiment, to write complex, introspective, funny and searching novels that play with form and explore deep issues. This is the kind of writing teens want and deserve, and YA today is a great read, no matter what walk of life you're from.

And there's so much of it! So much that I couldn't possibly talk about it all. But I've read some really amazing young adult novels in this past year that I didn't get to talk about here. So, to finish off the project, welcome to the YA Clearinghouse: where this Future Librarian tells you about more things she's read and  she thinks you should read too.

Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (Realistic fiction)

John Green is probably one of my favourite young adult authors today. He's written on his blog that he tries to make his novels all-the-way-funny and all-the-way-serious, and the result is amazing.

How I Live Now by Meg Rossoff (Science fiction/Speculative fiction)

This is a devastating, beautiful, intense, original novel about not-so-distant dypstopia. So unique its difficult to describe, but its a must read for fans of contemporary young adult lit

AngelMonster by Veronica Bennett (Historic fiction)

My blog has been very North American centric. This doesn't mean that there isn't great YA coming out of other parts of the world. This English author (who I've had the pleasure to meet on a few occasions) writes great historic novels for young adults featuring famous figures. This one is about Mary Shelley and her dramatic love affair with Percy Bysshe Shelley. This is just a really lovely and heart wrenching novel that I highly recommend.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn (Romance)

Just made into a big screen feature, the superior book is a clever look at the ups and downs of new love. The 'he said' 'she said' chapters alternating between Nick and Norah's point of view is a clever device that gets across the misunderstandings and insecurities inherent in all romantic relationships. And there's lots of fun music talk too!

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Realistic Fiction)

An unassuming little novel with one of the most engrossing narrators I've read in a long time. Tackling dark issues in a sensitive and real way, this is a great novel that's earned much acclaim.

Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner (Humour/Realistic)

Shakespeare Shapiro has to write his memoirs for his Grade 12 English class, and we get to read about the embarassments and mishaps that have made up his life. This book is laugh out loud funny, and a great guy pick.

Happy reading!

Music that rules

Fantasies

Metric

Last Gang Records, 2009

Produced by James Shaw

Artists: Emily Haines (lead vocals)

      Joules Scott-Key

      James Shaw

      Josh Winstead

Genre: Canadian Indie-pop

Listen if: You like synth-heavy alternative pop with a national edge

Best for: Older teens (16+ - there's some minimal questionable language)  who like pop hooks and clever lyrics

If you like it, try: Stars

Rating: 4/5

Fantasies is the fourth effort from Canadian indie-pop band Metric. Emily Haines and co. Based out of Toronto, the band has a is poppy, with lots of catchy hooks and heavy synth. But unlike more manufactured pop, the band has a distinct sound and interesting lyrics ("after all this is gone/who would you rather be/ The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?/ Oh seriously/ You gotta make mistakes, you're young").

Fantasies is a catchy, addictive album that will appeal to teens who aren't into top 40 music, and want something mellow but fun. With songs like "Gimme Sympathy" , "Sick Muse", "Help, I'm alive" and "Twilight Galaxy", the band talks about growing up in a surreal, imagistic way. Metric isn't marketed as strictly "teen" music the way artists like Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers are, but they have a lot of teen appeal. This is an album you to over and over and get something new out of it in every listen.

Providing teens access to good Canadian music is something I think all Canadian libraries have a responsibility to do, especially local indie music. Metric's Fantasies would be a great addition to a young adult collection.

Teen 2.0

Halifax Public LIbrary Teens Website

www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/teens

Genre: Teen Library Website

Use it if: You want to know what's happening at Halifax Public Library, you want to find book suggestions, and you want to connect with other teens in the community. 

Best for: All teens who use the Halifax Public Library

Rating: 3/5 (and rising)

Teen webpages have been cropping up on public library websites for a number of years now. Having a dedicated virtual space for teens is becoming an increasingly important way for libraries to connect with teens. Booklists, forums, contests and more all contribute to a space that teens can call their own. The best teen websites are interactive and allow teens to contribute to the site, rather than just take information from it.

Halifax Public Libraries (the home system of this future librarian) just launched their teen website in the new year. I was curious to see what they had produced, as I'm not particularly enamored of the HPL's main website: I find it hard to navigate, and not very visually appealing (the colour scheme is a rather matronly dusty rose and murky blue). Their kids' site, which I looked at for a class last year, is not a very useful resource either. 

So I was pleasantly surprised to see an attractive, easy to use teen site with lots of great features. The site includes:

• Contests - Features current HPL contests. The teen poetry contest is going on right now

• Creative Warehouse - teens can post drawing, writing, and other creative projects for others to check out.

• Teens RC - connects to the national Teen Reading Club online forum, where teens can discuss books, participate in author chats and create booklists with peers from across Canada

• Read: Book lists - book lists organized by themes like "Vampires" and "Chick Lit". Book lists allow you to access the catalogue so you can see what's in and place holds

•  Programs - links to HPL's list of current programming in various branches

• Volunteer - lists teen volunteer opportunities at the library

HPL has really stepped up to the challenge of a teen website, and created something that teens can make their own. I was really pleased with the interactive elements, especially the creative warehouse. Its great that teens have a place to display what they've worked so hard to create. The link to the Teen Reading Club is really great too - the TRC is probably the biggest and best run teen library forum in the country. Organised and moderated by librarians, teens are able to connect with the library, librarians and each other without having to physically be in the library. My only criticism of using the TRC is that it might be nice to have it in addition to an HPL created forum. Having both a local and national forum might help connect teens even further to their local library system. I don't think the interactive portion is finished - more could be added to make this truly the teens' site, like interactive booklists etc. But I think its a great start.

I was also really impressed by the book lists provided on the site. Readers' advisory is an important function of a teen website (many teens find choosing material a big challenge). The lists were attractive, available for download in PDF so you could keep them on your own computer or print them out, and connected to the catalogue so that teens can get the title they want quickly and easily. Covering a wide variety of genres and interests, these lists are balanced, up-to-date and useful. An cool extra feature on the bottom of the site is a scrolling display of "quick picks" - click on the book cover and you get sent to the catalogue record. Connecting teens to books is at the heart of young adult library services, and its nice to see the website supporting it. This portion could be further improved by highlighting other parts of the teen collection, like the audio and film collections.

The visual elements of this site are really pleasing too. Many library websites fall into the trap of trying way to hard to be hip. They scream in desperation LOOK! We are cool! Our website is LIME GREEN and there are NO ADULTS ALLOWED! WE ARE DOWN WITH YOUTH CULTURE!  This approach doesn't work. Teen sites are tricky because they should look appealing and distinct without trying so desperately to be young. HPL succeeds in this area. The golden background and graphic typeface are artistic and kind of funky but still pretty subtle. The layout is easy to navigate, and its the kind of site you'd want to explore.

That's not to say this is the paragon of teen library websites - it has some weaknesses. The programming portion just connects teens back to the matronly web page of the regular site.The volunteer portion of the site is a vague paragraph about one volunteer opportunity with a link to the sign up sheet. This page would be a lot stronger if it described volunteerism at the library more generally and thoroughly, and then had specific postings. Because HPL's teen services revolve a lot around teen volunteering, it is important that this part of the site be expanded.  And there is a glaring omission on the site - there is no homework help. Traditionally teen library sites used to be only homework help, so it is understandable that HPL wanted to get away from that - but this service is still important. It shouldn't be the whole site, but it should not be left out.

Because the HPL teen site is so new, I'd anticipate that it is going to grow and adapt as they gain feedback and figure out its strengths and weaknesses. It's off to a good start, and I look forward to seeing it get stronger as time goes on.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Fearless

Taylor Swift

Big Machine, 2008

Genre: Country/Pop

Listen if: You like songs about new love, young love, and betrayed love

Best for: teens who like sweet, sugary mainstream country

If you like it, try: Carnival Ride - Carrie Underwood

Rating: 2.5/5

Fearless is nineteen year old Taylor Swift's second album. In 2006, Swift released her first, self-titled album to good acclaim in country music circles. It is Fearless however, that has made her into a mainstream teen queen. Released in November of 2008, the album went #1 on the Billboard charts and broke several records.

Fearless is full of slow love ballads and mid-tempo songs about romance. Swift writes her own lyrics (she works occasionally with a collaborator), and most of her songs are about her personal relationships. Songs like "Fifteen", "White Horse" and "Breathe" speak wistfully about past experiences. The more feisty tracks, like "Your Not Sorry", "Love Story" and "Forever and Always"  are break-up tunes that question romantic ideals: "Romeo save me/I've been feeling so alone/ I keep waiting for you/but you never come". There's been lots of talk in the press lately about how the angry "Forever and Always" was written for Swift's famous ex, Joe Jonas. Swift's public airing of her breakup with the famous boy band brother probably has something to do with her recent extreme popularity.

 The album itself is fine, although its nothing special. After listening to it a few times, the songs melted together, so that I had difficulty distinguishing one from the other. There's also not a lot that is truly "country" about this album. Swift has a little twang, but it doesn't fit into the traditional country music mold. This is definitely "new country", much more pop than anything else. 

The lyrics are very simplistic, but they are also honest, and they deal with subjects on most teens' mind: love and breakups. This is probably Swift's main appeal. She is a teen herself, writing straightforwardly about her teen life. These songs aren't clever or particularly original, but they are genuine, and I think a lot of teens connect with that. This is very mainstream music, but its focus on emotions rather than exhibitionism makes it less crassly commercial than some of the popular music of today.

Fearless is extremely popular, and so it is probably an item that would be in demand in a libraries young adult music collection. It wouldn't be appropriate for a specialized or indie collection, but as a popular item it will probably be much used. Fearless will appeal to a wide age range, from junior high to high school students who like easy listening, light, poppy country.

The Zine Scene

Broken Pencil

Edited by Lindsay Gibb

Produced by the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Foundation for the Arts 

Issued 3 times per year since 1995

Genre: Magazine (Arts/Indie)

Read if: You're interested in zines, indie art culture and DIY

Best for: This magazine is very detailed and text-heavy, and assumes the readers knowledge of the indie art scene, so it is probably best suited to older teens (16+).

Rating: 4/5

zine (noun): a non-commercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter  (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Broken Pencil is a tri-annual print magazine devoted to "zine culture and the independent arts" (as its tagline states). This Canadian publication is full of interesting articles including:

•  profiles of zine and other underground artists (one issue profiled Sarah Evans, who started the Anchor Archive in Halifax)
  
• Tons of reviews of zines, books, and music
• Samples from current zines
• Reader submitted fiction
• How to's and DIY instructions for a variety of projects (ex. how to make your own vampire blood, how to throw your own covert film screening)

Each issue revolves around a theme - zombies, multiculturalism, games, food to name a few - and content reflects each theme. Articles in this publication are well written, substantial and very detailed. Although it is shelved in the Young Adult section of my local library, it isn't aimed specifically at a teen audience (although teens are often mentioned). Rather, its value as a YA resource is that many teens will find the subject matter really involving. Unlike most magazines that focus on consumerism, Broken Pencil focuses on creation.

Broken Pencil is a great magazine about an underwritten topic. It is the only Canadian magazine devoted to zine culture. Every article demonstrates the grass roots, do-it-yourself aesthetic of the indie art scene. The biggest strength of this magazine is its value as a resource: readers are informed about what is going on all over Canada in the independent arts, and are exposed to a huge number of zine titles  and artists. Teens who want to feel connected to the indie art scene will find this magazine invaluable.

The only criticism I have of this magazine is about the layout. This is a publication payed for by Canadian arts grants, so by necessity it is not flashy. Nor should it be - clearly the agenda of a magazine like this is different than Bop or YM. However, the magazine is entirely in black and white. Visually, there is not a lot to grab the reader, which is unfortunate for an art magazine. Teens may not be immediately attracted to this magazine, which has to compete with flashier publications on the shelf. This aside, this is a really well done magazine that obviously has a lot of devoted people behind it.

Broken Pencil is a great source for information about the zine scene. 

YA Reads Special Bonus Features: Broken Pencil's website is almost as good as getting your hands on a print copy 

Whistle While You Watch

Sydney White

Directed by Joel Nussbaum

Written by Chad Gomez Creasy

Morgan Creek Productions, 2007

Starring: Amanda Bynes, Matt Long

Genre: Movie/Re-told Fairy Tale

Watch if: You like modern updates of classic fairy tales

Best for: This movie will appeal to a wide age range of junior high and high school students. Probably best suited to the 13-16 range.

If you like it try:

Ella Enchanted

She's the Man

A Cinderella Story

Rating: 3.5/5

Sydney White has had a dream since girlhood: to join the fraternity that her mother was part of in college. Sydney sees becoming a Kappa Phi Nu as a way to connect to her absent mother, who died when Sydney was a child.  So she packs her bags, kisses her father goodbye and journeys towards her destiny at Southern Atlantic University. 

But college is no fairy tale. Genuine and spunky Sydney doesn't fit in with the vain Kappa Phi's, and she's soon kicked out by sorority president Rachel Witchburn. With nowhere to live, Sydney ends up at "the Vortex", the residence of seven nerdy guys excluded from college society. With the help of the 'seven dorks' will Sydney triumph against Rachel and find her prince charming?

Hi ho, hi ho, its off to college in the 21st century we go

Sydney White is one of many teen movies that re-work traditional fairy tales. Like the recent A Cinderella Story starring Hillary Duff, this movie takes a popular young comic actress and makes her the every-girl who triumphs over evil and gets the guy in the end. I have to admit I didn't have high expectations for this movie - I was dissapointed by the aforementioned A Cinderella Story  and thought this movie would be more of the same. To my surprise, this is actually quite a clever adaptation of the Snow White story. This is thanks to both the writing and the acting. There are clever allusions to the original tale throughout the film, and there are lots of genuinely funny jokes. And Amanda Bynes is an engaging heroine that teen girls will be able to relate too. She's not afraid to laugh at herself, and a lot of what she does in the movie is goofy - its nice to see a girl-lead who isn't prissy or bland . Being yourself is the message here, and the movie pulls it off with humour and charm.

This movie will probably appeal most to teen girls in the 13-15 year range, although the 'seven dorks' put in a funny performance that many guys might find surprisingly appealing. This is a fun and clever re-worked fairy tale that's well worth the watch.