Fangirl – a tale of fiction, family & love

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Summary: Cath is a Simon Snow fan (a spoof of Harry Potter) and for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, surrounded themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words… And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

Six Word Review: A tale of fiction, family and love.

I started reading because: It caught my interest with its relatable story line and I fell instantly in love. I feel as if I am a part of Cath because I am so much like her.

I kept reading because: I was taken in by her story and I couldn’t put it down until the end.

I would give this book 9/10 stars because it’s interesting and unique. I feel as if this is the perfect tale for anyone to read because it’s so relatable. I loved the snippets of her fan fiction story that the author puts in her story. The only things that hung on me were some of the characters.

I loved the fan fiction stories that Cath wrote. I don’t usually like fan fiction but something about her writing felt fresh and original. Packed with action and romance I couldn’t turn away from them.

I hated the way some of the characters were established. Some of them started out in the book with good intentions but ended as nothing more than selfish pricks.

If the lead character was in a high school yearbook, they would be voted Most Likely To:    Write Fan Fiction.

– Rachel, Green Lake, Teen Volunteer

Shadow and Bone: Dark Tale in a Magical World

Title: Shadow and Bone

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Six Word Review: Dark tale in a magical world

Summary: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart. (Book summary from author Leigh Bardugo’s website.)

I liked the Darkling’s character. His character seemed to be a perfect balance between evil and good. Bardugo did a nice job characterizing him.

I hated the main character, Alina. She was your typical naive character who had no idea what was happening. She acted confident but she was lying to herself.

I rate this book 7/10 stars, because the story was amazing and the world was captivating. The only thing I hated were a few of the characters.

I kept reading because I loved the story and I wanted to see what would happen with Alina and the Darkling. It was so beautiful and rich that I couldn’t put it down. The world Bardugo created was so captivating that I had to keep reading. The twists kept me on the edge of my seat.

–Rachel, Green Lake Branch

Library Goings-on: 7/22 – 7/25

Teen Social Hour:

What do you do for fun? Do you like playing video games or board games? Do you like listening to music or surfing the Internet? Do you like talking and texting, laughing out loud? Do you like snacking and chatting with friends? If you answered “yes,” at least once, then the Teen Social Hour may be just the place for you. Come by yourself, bring a friend, or join your friends for video games, board games, music, computers, food, and fun. This is a Teen Space event not to miss!

• Tuesday,  July 22 From 4 – 5:30 @ NewHolly
• Wednesday, July 23 From 3 – 6 @ Rainier Beach
• Thursday, July 24  From 3 – 5 @ Columbia

Wednesday, July 23

From 12-1:30 @ West Seattle: Vintage Photo Poetry. Explore captivating images from the Museum of History and Industry’s archives and create poems and short stories using vintage typewriters!

 

 

From 2-3 @ Northgate: Art of Manga.  Calling all sketchbook warriors! Do you have a stash of drawings itching to be shared? Need help with a tricky plot point? Share your frustrations and skills with other manga-ka in the making.

 

 

From 2 – 4 @ Lake City: Flappy Birds. Create a Flappy Birds game app with Hour of Code’s drag & drop programming, then play it on your phone or share with friends! This is an independent, self-paced program. Laptops are available.

 

Thursday, July 24:

From 3 – 4 @ Northeast: Arduino Adventures: Technology, Art or Both? Learn what Arduino micro-controller boards can do with experimental artist Meghan Trainor, who uses a small computer that can sense its environment to produce motion, lights or sound.

 

Friday, July 25

From 10:30 am –  12 pm @ Columbia: Zoom In: Photography Your Community.  Learn photography basics with Youth in Focus. Do on-location shooting, learn about composition & using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. No camera required but registration is!

 

 

From 1 -3 @ West Seattle: Teen Re-Creation Drop-In.  Need some space and support for your digital projects this summer? Drop in for help, ideas and snacks!

 

 

 

 

From 6 – 7:15 pm @ Broadview: Science & Fiction: Tween book Group.  Challenge your inner scientist, mathematician or engineer! Read a mix of real science and science fiction books this summer and talk about them with other tweens.

 

Check back often as we’ll be sharing as many of our programs as we can.  You can also find all of our Summer Programming by going to the Calendar of Events and limiting the audience to “Teens.”

We’d love to hear back from you if you attend a program.  You can take pictures, make visual art, write us a reaction post, or just share general thoughts.  Touch-base with your local librarian, or e-mail them to us and we’ll share them here or at our new Tumblr!

Here’s to a great summer, Seattle!  😀

Library Goings-on: 7/16 – 7/18

Wednesday, July 16:

From 2 – 3:30 pm @ Greenwood:  Teen Advisory Board (TAB) Meeting.  As part of our monthly TAB, high school students can earn service learning credit at the library while working on projects as a group. Applications are required.  (Greenwood’s TAB meets most months, to check in on projects and have group work time. You can write book reviews, blog or vlog posts, help with programming, create displays, and more.)

 

From 4 – 5 pm @ Douglass-Truth:  Need to Know.  What do you need to know about working, going to college, or other responsibilities? Learn something new every week when you stop by the teen area for answers, advice and activities.

 

 

Thursday, July 17:

From 3 – 5 pm @ Green Lake:  Teen Adviser Meeting.  As part of our Teen Adviser Group, students entering high school can earn service learning credit at the library while working on special projects as a group. Applications are required.

 

 

From 3 – 5 pm @ Beacon Hill:  Game On!  Move with the music, hit a home run, crash Mario Karts, cheer on other gamers and meet other teens. Whether you are a gaming expert or a newbie, here is your chance to get some game time.

 

 

From 6 – 7 pm @ West Seattle:  Tai Shan Performs “Living Fiction.”  Enjoy the sounds of Seattle pop-folk artist and songwriter Tai Shan playing new songs with her band.  The band will perform songs from “Living Fiction,” Shan’s new CD with music inspired by her favorite books.

Shan is a Seattle-based pop-folk artist and songwriter who is known for her unusual chord voicing, wide sweeping melodies and detailed lyrics. As a music teacher, performer, composer and collaborator with a wide variety of jazz, folk, and pop musicians, she has gained a dedicated fan following through performances across the West Coast. Shan is also an active contributor to the Seattle chapter of The Bushwick Book Club, a group whose passion is not only to read books, but also write and perform songs about the books.

Friday, July 18:

Zoom In: Photograph Your Community.  Learn photography basics with Youth in Focus. Do on-location shooting, learn about composition & using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. No camera required, but registration is!

 

 

From 2 – 4 pm @ Broadview: Lego Mindstorms Workshop.  Work in teams to assemble and program a digital Lego Mindstorms robot, and then watch it come to life. No experience needed. Registration is required.

 

 

From 2 – 4 pm @ Southwest:  Science Exploration + Legos.  Need a space to be creative and have fun? Come to Teen Space at Southwest, it’s a place to meet up and hang out! This month, we’re doing messy science experiments and building creative things out of Legos.

 

Check back often as we’ll be sharing as many of our programs as we can.  You can also find all of our Summer Programming by going to the Calendar of Events and limiting the audience to “Teens.”

We’d love to hear back from you if you attend a program.  You can take pictures, make visual art, write us a reaction post, or just share general thoughts.  Touch-base with your local librarian, or e-mail them to us and we’ll share them here or at our new Tumblr!

Here’s to a great summer, Seattle!  😀

Reading Marathon Winners!

Well, everyone who participated in the library’s middle school Reading Marathon last month is a winner.  Tons of prizes, food, books, and plenty of time to read.  Sounds like a perfect day to me.  🙂

Today, though, we want to recognize the winning school (with braggin’ rights and a championship banner) and the grand-prize winning reader (with a Kindle Fire HD!).

The winning school is….Pinehurst K-8.  This little school of 60 students had 35 readers in attendance…that’s over 50% of their student body!  They read a total of 133.5 hours, which means most of them read for all six hours.  I could go on, but we’ve asked Nancy from Lake City to write us an awesome recap of the event.  We’ll post that soon.  For now, we just want to say, “Way to go, Pinehurst!!”

And the grand-prize winning reader is… Elizabeth from Montlake.  Elizabeth read (for all six hours…see a trend?) at Green Lake and had a great time at the Reading Marathon.  We hope to have more from Elizabeth soon, but for now, she wants to say how happy she is to win the prize & how much she thanks the library…and thanks to you, Elizabeth, for reading, representing your school, and coming to the library!

The Reading Marathon was a huge success… all over the city.  315 teens participated between the six locations and read a whopping 1815 hours!  We couldn’t be happier with the awesome turn-out.

Did you attend the Reading Marathon?  Any stories or thoughts about it?  Want to share what you read or are reading now?  We’d love to hear from you!

Way to go, Seattle-area middle schoolers.  That was a crazy good time.  Hope to see you next year!

Sundays are Special! @ GLK

Join us for a Sundays are Special celebration! @ Green Lake today from 2 – 3:30pm!

15 branches have new Sunday hours and we’re celebrating at each location with the Check-Out Challenge, refreshments and crafts.

Thanks to the passage of the Library levy, 15 more branches will be open on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. beginning in 2013. That means that every Library location will be open on Sundays.

Sundays are Special celebrations feature refreshments and a craft event for families, along with the Check-Out Challenge game and information about new Library services.

Check-Out Challenge
Pick up a Check-Out Challenge game card. Visit any Library location on Sundays between Jan. 6 and May 5 to get your card stamped. Patrons with 15 stamps can enter a prize-drawing for a chance to win a book lover’s basket and lunch with the city librarian.

Apply for a new Library card
New cards feature iconic images of Seattle and an illustrated card designed to appeal to children!

Call Green Lake @ 206-684-7547 or Ask a Librarian