Friday morning music video

Yeah, that's more or less how we roll.




Clean hands are important.

Great Moments in Graduation, Part...wait, what part are we up to? Part 4!

I am a townie of this great city of Cambridge, which means I have a love-hate relationship with our Crimson neighbors.  On the one hand, thanks to them we have that many more bookstores, theaters, museums, burger joints, and cell phone stores.

On the other hand, tomorrow is Commencement, and that means the Square will be overrun with happy, harangued parents who want to know where McDonald's is.  Plus I can't cut through the Yard, curse it.

So I just stay away and give them all some space.  And if any of you guys are going to be in the graduating class of 2015, I am wicked proud of you.  Those of you who are going to be in M.I.T.'s class of 2015, come talk to me, because I have a lot of ideas I'd like you to work on with your Science.

Anyway, Great Graduation Moments!  I give you (drumroll) Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Commencement Speaker!

Best. Graduation. Ever.  Some will live.  Some will be eaten.  Some will die and then rise again to cameo in Season Four.




Yay! thank you, slakat at Youtube!  Just skip all the solemn kissy-face bits and go straight to the demonslaying!  How on earth did they kit the whole graduating class out with bows and arrows?  And maces?*

Please note that all the books were safely removed from the library before detonation.**




*Please don't be packing on graduation, though.
**I in no way endorse blowing up your school.  Or your library!

Guys, tell me this isn't going to be like Axe bodyspray...

USE SPARINGLY! Even if you get to go on a magical flight with the Beibster every time. Because my sinuses can only take so much.

Great Moments in Graduation History Pt 3: YIKES.

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

"The way it looks is not the way it is."

Oh goodness, this is not your average senior-year story. It's got all the right pieces -- parties, football, prom, family. It doesn't take long, though, to realize there is something slightly wrong with the story you're reading and something terribly wrong with the boy who is telling it to you. As he plows through prom and graduation the reader gets a chilling look at the thin line between believing in yourself and lying to yourself.

End of the world and other disasters

George Romero's Night of the Living Dead

The Center for Disease Control has posted an excellent zombie preparedness plan on their website.  I am so pleased about this, because I have always said: when you are ready for zombies, you are ready for anything.  So get your supplies together kids, and decide who you are going to let into the bunker.  (It really is better to work this out ahead of time, so you don't hurt anyone's feelings.)

Hunger Games movie casting

I haven't thought to check in with y'all on this, being overwhelmingly excited about Francesca Lia Block, but an awful lot of casting has been going down for the Hunger Games movie.

and now voila!

Girlfriend looks pretty boss, if you ask me -- she's probably my favorite casting decision in this whole shindig.

Even though I have an abiding fondness for Woody Harrelson, he's just not Haymitch to me.  I was thinking Hugh Laurie, or even Hugh Grant.  Someone suggested John C. Reilly -- another excellent choice!

But you know, I'm all up for being pleasantly surprised.

What do you think?  Are you psyched for this movie, or do you consider both it and its cast a travesty against all that is noble and decent in our society?  Or okay, maybe you're just not all that into it.

Whatever.

Francesca Lia Block coming to CPL!!!

Saturday, June 11

2:00

Main Library Lecture Hall

This is super-astonishing and exciting!  I am so thrilled that we are hosting this acclaimed author whose books were so important to me as a teen reader.  And still are.  (Remember my Halloween costume?  Weetzie Bat, my chickadees.)

If you are not already familiar with Block's work, run do not walk to your nearest library and check out her books.  She's written short fiction, poetry, memoir, novels for teen and adult audiences, and even a mythological dating guide.

Seriously, this is EPIC --  do you understand how big a deal this is yet?  I know, you're saying to yourself: Maya gets all worked up about every author visit.  That's her job.  Trust me: this visit is a rare opportunity to meet an author who helped shape young adult fiction (and this young adult librarian) into what they are today -- don't miss it!

DIYA recap!

Part of the reason my brain is so foggy is that I am still recovering from the most excellent evening last Thursday when we hosted our six Diversity in Young Adult Fiction authors.  The discussion ranged from talking about cover art to racist vampires to disabilities in the fantasy world to BFFs in the YA writing community.

Photo credit: Diversity in YA Fiction

I had an excellent time, especially because everyone else did too!  The book signing was jubilant, with the authors and their fans talking excitedly for an hour.

Were you able to go?  What did you think?  Were there questions you felt were especially important?  I hope these conversations continue; while diverse representation in fiction for children and teens has certainly improved, there are still characters and situations I wish I was reading about more often.

Great Moments in Graduation History Pt 2: Look at These Old People Graduating!

The year was 1993.

The place was West Beverly High School.

The show was Beverly Hills 90210 (THE ORIGINAL, FOLKS).

The drama: Donna Martin was NOT going to graduate high school.

It's a really long story. She accidentally got drunk at prom (I know, I know, how do you accidentally get drunk at prom? Like I said, it's a long story). They weren't going to let her graduate. Her friends were all devastated. Donna was mortified.

The whole thing culminated in one of the cheesiest scenes in graduation history: the Donna Martin Chant.

Feast your eyes:


DID DONNA MARTIN END UP GRADUATING?!?! *

*yes she did

-Beth

Epic FAIL

Oh my goodness you guys...I am SO SORRY.  I completely forgot that today was the Teen Book Discussion group day.

So for all of you who came into the Teen Room looking for an avid discussion of books, comics, film and the like and went away disappointed -- I owe you a cookie.  Gah!  Can we try again?

We are having a craft program on Wednesday -- Beth has got it all planned out (yay Beth!) -- so it is definitely happening.  For those of you who witnessed the S.A.T. Quiz Bowl Smackdown last month, you know that Beth does not fool around.  If she says there is craft then craft there shall be!

Great Moments in Graduation History (pt. 1)

Let's start with a book shall we?

The View from the Top by Hillary Frank

In the months leading up to high school graduation there are about a million things you could choose to focus on. How awesome your post-graduation life is going to be. How terrifying your post-graduation life is going to be. All the people you never have to deal with again. How broken your heart is going to be because of all the people you aren't going to see everyday anymore. It seems like everything is about planning all the sudden, but what about right now? The View from the Top is about a group of seniors and the pressure they're feeling to define their friendships, to declare their love, and to figure out who they are -- all before graduation day.




(Stay tuned for more books, movies, shows and songs about graduation, and leave your own suggestions in the comments!)

An aside about our sidebars

While your teen services librarians will of course continue to post the weird, informative and heartrending, you can also find all kinds of nifty in our sidebar.  Authors' blogs and websites, book reviews, sites to help you with homework, career choices and health, and stuff that is just amusing.*

Our sidebar also features ways for you to talk back to us, whether you visit our facebook page, Twitter feed, or Meebo chat.  And today I've just put up a new widget [LibrariUS] which is asking for your input on how you use the library.  This helps us provide better service for y'all, so please check it out.

Thus endeth the public service message.  Here's some cuteness:



*Amusing is critical; it is how I structure most of my day.

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month

This fantastic site has keen virtual exhibits and resources.

New month, new book displays!  Stop by the Teen Room and check them out.

Great Moments In Graduation History

It is officially nice out, summer is officially in sight, the countdown to graduation has OFFICIALLY BEGUN.

To celebrate juniors become seniors and seniors becoming DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL FOREVER we're going to be running a new series on the blog called "Great Moments in Graduation History". Book reviews, movie clips and sad sad songs - all on the theme of graduation, new lives and saying goodbye.

Keep checking back, and leave your suggestions for great moments in the comments. And seniors? Don't forget to drop by the Teen Room and say goodbye to your Teen Librarians before you set off into the world. We'll miss your loud mouths.

Essay contest for high school seniors

The Cambridge Police Department (CPD) invites high school seniors in Cambridge who are entering college to participate in our High School Senior Essay Challenge.  The winner and runner up of this competition will be awarded a brand new laptop computer, courtesy of Micro Center, to assist them in their academic journey. The purpose of this contest is for students to examine the community in which they live and analyze how it relates to public safety.
The essay should demonstrate the writer’s understanding and appreciation for the importance of community partnerships and how each individual plays a role in strengthening their community. For information on requirements and eligibility, click here. Entry packets are available at all Cambridge neighborhood youth centers. The contest deadline is June 1, 2011.

My fondest dream

is that someone will enter this contest and also let me be in their trailer.  Seriously, I'll play a yeti or anything.  You could win $1000! plus books for your school!

Maybe I should start a book trailer club, 'cause all I want to do is make book trailers all day.  And redesign crappy book covers.

 
So, you love the series, and I respect that, I do! and you know not having read the books, maybe there's some context that would make this more -- MY GOD PEOPLE! it's a crazy angel in the ocean like some sort of deranged perfume ad!  What exactly is he trying to do here, keep her feet dry?  What what was the marketing department smoking the day they signed off on this?  I ask you.

Real World: Francisco

The last Diversity in YA author is also a departure from the fantasy genre -- unless you consider any work of fiction to be a fantasy, or perhaps all works of fantasy to be possible realities...?

In either case, I present to you Francisco X. Stork.

Marcelo in the Real World

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

Marcelo: The summer he is seventeen, Marcelo's father insists that he enter the "real world" by taking a job at his law firm.  Marcelo has high-functioning autism, so the real world presents challenges in everyday behaviors most people take for granted.  A discovery about one of his father's clients puts Marcelo face to face with an even harder decision.

Death Warriors: Pancho only has one goal when he is sent to St. Anthony's Home: to find the man who caused his sister's death and kill him.  D.Q., a fellow resident of the orphanage, has terminal brain cancer and asks Pancho to go with him to Albuquerque where he will be undergoing experimental treatment.  D.Q. is working on the Death Warriors Manifesto, which he insists on sharing with Pancho.  When faced with death, can Pancho choose life?

Even if you don't get a chance to read these books, take a visit over to Mr. Stork's blog.  He only posts every month or two, but his entries have great thoughtfulness and candor.

The DIYA event is only 10 days away!