New manga are here!

So get yourself on over and check it out already. Yes, you -- you've been asking me about this for three weeks, you know who you are.

Cactus's Secret
Dance In the Vampire Bund
D.N. Angel
Emma
Fullmetal Alchemist
Inuyasha
Millenium Snow
Oh! My Goddess
Otomen
Ouran High School Host Club
PandoraHearts
Pumpkin Scissors
School Rumble
Skip Beat!
Slam Dunk
Trinity Blood
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles
XXXHolic
Your & My Secret
Yuyu Hakusho

Countdown to Mockingjay!

Only 28 days left till the release of Mockingjay and the Hunger Games trilogy reaches its glorious conclusion. Who will live? Who will die? Who will die in a spectacular fashion? Who will die in a spectacular fashion and be resurrected as a creepy were-beast? And -- very very important -- without Cinna's help, what in tarnation is Katniss going to wear?

Check out the official Facebook page for trailers, MP3s and more stomach-churning excitement!

Road Trip!

While there is not an official definition, I say you cannot have an official road trip unless it takes place during summer or spring break. Or during a zombie apocalypse. I know there are those who will argue that "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" is one of the greatest road trip movies of all time, but I say trying to get home for Thanksgiving is not a true road trip scenario.



I love road trips; many of my best memories involve car camping. And then there was that infamous spring break trip when we all fell asleep and crashed the van (attention college freshmen everywhere: drinking coffee is not enough).

Which brings us to As Easy As Falling Off the Face of the Earth. Summer break? Check! Hapless hero stranded in the middle of nowhere with only $83 dollars and one bar of cell phone life? Check! Random kindness/craziness of strangers? Check! Flying in a homemade airplane over the Atlantic Ocean? Whoa...

Thank you, Lynne Rae Perkins, for giving us an amazing road trip story! I haven't even finished it yet, and I'm already telling you guys about it because you are going to want to read this book.


Ry is on his way by train to an archeological dig/summer camp in Montana. His parents are away on a cruise around the Caribbean islands; his grandpa is home taking care of the dogs. While en route, Ry finds out camp has been canceled, gets off the train to call his grandpa, and yeah, you get the picture. Meanwhile, Grandpa falls down a hole and Ry's parents are blown off course by a storm. Even the dogs wander off -- their story is interspersed in cartoon format throughout the book. Ry can't get ahold of anybody but is determined to travel -- by foot, car, plane, boat -- until he finds his family.



Do you have a great road trip story?
Or a favorite road trip book or movie?

Do you love Legos?

Of course you do!

Here's an opportunity to mess with Legos and learn you some science at the same time.






Make Useful Lego Science Kits for High School Students to Learn Biology

Wednesday, August 4
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Pizza dinner (optional) $8 per person, 5:45 to 6:15 PM
MIT, Cambridge


Volunteers will be assembling Legos representing DNA, RNA, and amino acids (don't worry, there's a pattern to copy).

Volunteers should be 12 or older.* Volunteers under age 16 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or mentor.

To sign up, register online at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AVM7PVUBA by Sunday, July 25.

*Volunteer age exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis, depending on Lego experience and ability to stay focused until 9 PM.

Salsa in the park

Don't know how to salsa? Don't worry, these folks are giving free lessons every Monday at the Blackstone Community Center park in the lovely South End. DJ and everything. Beginner lessons and advanced lessons for those of you who are mas suave with the moves.

Scary read, real place

Straight out of Danvers! If you ever saw the horror movie, Session 9, then you are already familiar with Danvers State Hospital, which provided the spooky exterior setting. Also known as the Danvers Lunatic Asylum, the building opened in 1878 and closed in 1990, and was crumbling into ruins last I heard.

Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz is also set at Danvers State Hospital, and also brings the creepy. You cannot set a story in a place rumored to be "the birthplace of the lobotomy" and have anything but serious heebie jeebies.


Quick summary: six teens sneak into the abandoned asylum to spend the night and make a film. Hmmm...I wonder what happens?

I mean, just look at the place! I guess at some point they wanted to turn it into luxury condos, but does this say anything but "HAUNTED?"














You can learn more about it here. Make sure you look at the pictures of the tunnels! I'm telling you: Perfect Horror Setting. Come check out the book -- just promise me you won't get any crazy, late-night building exploration ideas.

NEW books are HERE!

Hosannah! The long wait is over and we've got piles of shiny books in the Teen Lounge. Some of these are much-desired but if you get yourself in here today you might get lucky and snag a couple before they fly off to fill requests.

Happy Day!

Monday Night Movie

Here in the blessed coolness of the Main Library's Lecture Hall. We are celebrating the 50 year anniversary of Harper Lee's most famous work, and that's all I'll say about that.

Showtime is at 6:30 p.m. This is a family-friendly feature, so feel free to bring along Mom, Dad, Grandma or other Designated Family Member. I am super-excited, not only about the film, but about having a film screening in our spanking new space!

As always, this event is FREE FREE FREE.

Teen Lounge magazine survey

Are you happy with the magazine selection here at the Teen Lounge? Are there magazines you wish we had? Fill out a survey next time you're visiting the teen lounge, or post your suggestion in the comments section here!

Absolutely Maybe & the Joys of Kool Aid

I love, love this girl's hair. If you have not yet had pink hair, you really ought to consider it.

Maybe (short for Maybelline Mary Katherine Mary Ann Chestnut) lives in Kissimmee, Florida with her mother, who runs a charm school for teen beauty pageant hopefuls and is addicted to matrimony. Father unknown, but Maybe has survived six marriages so far and is waiting for her mom to hurry up and marry (and then divorce) fiancee Number 7. When Number 7 turns out to be a creep beyond compare, Maybe hits the road with her best friends Ted and Hollywood, driving to Los Angeles to find her father.

I was looking for a little lighthearted funny after more serious reads, and Lisa Yee certainly delivers. Sometimes the story was a bit of a fairy tale (Ted becomes the manager for an elderly film star, moves into her mansion and gets to drive the Rolls) but the wackiness served to move the story forward, and the humor was a counterpoint to Maybe's rougher experiences.

Other highlights: Maybe's job at Benito's Taco Truck #4 (oh Boston, where is thy taco truck?) And Ted is just hilarious; here's an excerpt:

[Ted has just handed Maybe his cell phone.]

"So we can keep in touch," he says. "I've programmed my number in.
It's speed dial number one and I'm listed as 'National Treasure.'"

Don't you wish you'd thought of that?

What can I say, it's a summer read -- not least of all because of











Yes, Kool-Aid as hair dye! (You may never want to drink Kool-Aid again when you consider what color it's turning your insides, but as long as you buy it for something, do the Kool-Aid people really care?)

This really works, but take Maybe's advice and make sure you use the unsweetened kind. Otherwise, stickiness, tears, and swarms of bees. Be kind to your loved ones and clean up the bathroom afterwards. And don't use the good towels! Believe me, I know.