Friday, September 30, 2011

Interested in NCS Notables, Our Middle School Book Club?

Do you like to read?
Do you enjoy talking about books with friends?                                       
Do you want to eat snacks and learn creative ways to share books?

YOU might be interested in joining NCS Notables, the Middle School Book Club! We will meet during the Tuesday morning clubs/structured free time period every three weeks to share the books we're reading for fun with each other. 

 If you want to learn more about NCS Notables, stop by the library  Tuesday October 11 at 9:30am for cookies and information!


Monday, September 26, 2011

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Recently, many novels with magical or supernatural elements have been set in some version of our world rather than in very different, completely invented universe.  For example, paranormal romances such as Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy (Shiver, Linger, and Forever) have magical elements but are grounded in present day America while popular fantasy adventures such as J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series create a magical world existing as a hidden part of the ordinary world.  Even most dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins or Matched by Ally Condie take place in a potential future of Earth and the United States as we know them.  I find these stories exciting and intriguing, frequently because they tie so clearly into our lives now.  However, I first fell into love with the fantasy genre through books that fit into a specific type of "high fantasy": stories in which our known world does not exist and instead the author creates an entirely new universe for the novel.  Some of my favorites in this subgenre include Tamora Pierce's Tortall books, Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel, and Malinda Lo's Ash and Huntress.  So, I was very excited to enter a new magical world with Elizabeth C. Bunce's Star Crossed, an imaginative novel that Tamora Pierce has listed as one of her "Picks for Cool New Books" on her website.     

As a thief and spy for hire on the street of the busy city Gerse, Digger knows the rules of survival.  When a job goes horribly wrong, Digger is desperate to obey the first two rules to the letter: stay alive and don't get caught.  Through street smarts and luck Digger falls in with a group of young nobles leaving the city and so Digger the criminal becomes Celyn Contrare the lady's maid.  Along with her new identity, Digger gains new friends and new home with the generous Nemair family.  However, the peaceful mountain estate turns out to be full of hidden passages, illegal magic, and high stakes secrets--including Digger's own.  Suddenly Digger finds herself breaking her last and most important rule: don't get involved.  Now this professional liar must try to handle her most dangerous job yet: deciding where her loyalties truly lie.

Since I greatly enjoyed and admired Bunce's first novel, A Curse As Dark As Gold, I was very excited to read Star Crossed.  Bunce brings the same rich character development and elegant plot creation that she displayed in Curse to her second novel.  The world of this novel is fully developed and exciting to inhabit as a reader; drawing on diverse aspects of the Western European Renaissance, the fictional world has an established culture and complex political and religious structure that intensifies the drama and the suspense of the story's plot.  Digger is a great main character; she is a strong and smart survivor with a complex past and hidden vulnerabilities. Also, as a sneak thief and an outsider, she is a perceptive observer and interesting narrator.  However, the supporting characters are also strongly developed and equally complicated, a fact that makes the novel even more enjoyable.  The story is exciting and Bunce reveals the intriguing complications slowly, pulling the reader in more and more as the plot enfolds.   Occasionally, the complexities of the plot and cast of characters can become a little confusing and, while the novel has plenty of suspense and action, it might feel slow at times to readers who might be used to the more non-stop pace of sci-fi/fantasy adventures like The Hunger Games. 

Overall, Star Crossed is well-crafted and enjoyable entrance into a new fantasy universe.  I was very pleased to see that the sequel, Liar's Moon, will be published in November; I can't wait to see where Digger's adventures take her next! If you're a fan of rich fantasy adventures such as those written by Tamora Pierce, Sherwood Smith, Malinda Lo, or Shannon Hale, then check out Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Here's one thing you might not know about me yet: I love fairy and folk tale retellings.  When I read the inside flap of a new book and notice that it's based on a fairy or folktale, I am immediately interested.  Some tales are retold more often than others.  For example, Cinderella stories exist in many cultures and provide some of the most frequent fodder for novelists; a few of my favorite titles include Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and Ash by Malinda Lo.  On the other hand, the Norwegian folktale known as "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" is less frequently adapted in novel form.  I think that this fact can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.  Since readers might be less familiar with this tale, it remains fresh;  there are no widespread versions of the story (as there are for tales like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarves--all stories that have been adapted by Disney, for example).  But, since it is a more unfamiliar folktale, writers might be able to get away with being less creative in their adaptions.  This particular retelling,however, manages to strike a good balance.  Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow is a lovely and very enjoyable retelling that both keeps most of the original tale's plot and makes the story feel fresh and new.  Jessica Day George also embraces the tale's cultural origins by incorporating Norwegian language and folklore traditions into the novel. 
In a land covered by unending winter, there lives a girl without a name.  Known only as "the pika" (the girl) or "the lass," she appears to have very little to offer her poor family.  As a girl, she cannot earn money and marriage--her primary choice for the future-- will eventually cost her parents the amount of her dowry.  However, when a white bear appears at their cottage door, the lass' special gift of speaking with animals gives her a chance to help her family.  She agrees to travel with the bear back to his strange castle across the ice and remain with him there for a year.  In exchange, the bear promises that her family will receive untold riches.  But nothing is what it seems in this land of ice and snow and there is dark magic at work.  Suddenly the lass must go on a journey east of the sun and west of the moon to save the man she has only just begun to love.

 Even though the main character remains nameless for almost the entire novel, she is sympathetic and interesting.  The reader learns a great deal about the lass and her past experiences within the first few chapters and so when she leaves on her strange journey, the readers are happy to follow her.  The story moves along quickly with steady action and the mystery is revealed slowly, keeping the reader hooked through the final chapters.  The romance is sweet and satisfying and the villains are powerful and frightening.  The conclusion feels a little rushed but overall, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George is fun pick for lovers of fairy and folktale retellings or romantic fantasies.  If you enjoy this novel, you also might want to check out Edith Pattou's East, another amazing retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon.  

Monday, September 12, 2011

Ms. Dickinson's Purple and Gold Pick of the Week: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

When I first picked up Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss, I looked at the shiny cover image of the coy girl and the Eiffel Tower and felt pretty doubtful about my chances of enjoying the novel.  Despite glowing reviews from magazines and from some of my favorite authors (like John Green, Maureen Johnson, and E. Lockhart), I thought that the blurb inside the front cover sounded like an overused cliche: girl likes boy but boy is taken.

But then I started to read and quickly found out that my expectations were very wrong.  Stephanie Perkins' first novel is far from cliche.  It is, in fact, one of the most refreshingly realistic yet romantic novels I've read in quite some time!

Anna has been sent off to Paris by her Hollywood sell-out father who suddenly decided that his daughter should send her senior year at an international boarding school instead of at an average American public school.  So Anna is forced to leave behind her little brother, her best friend, and her crush on the verge of becoming more to start a whole new life in Paris.  And she doesn't even know French! Anna is not pleased.  But then she meets Etienne St. Clair--part British, part American, and all around gorgeous.  However, St. Clair has a serious girlfriend and so Anna pushes her attraction to the very back of her mind.  As the year goes on, Anna finds herself whirling through Paris with a quirky new group of friends and suddenly St. Clair has become her closest confidant and friend.  The world of friendship, attraction, and love is full of confusions and misunderstandings that even the magic of Paris might not be able to untangle.

Anna and the French Kiss is a great love story, pure and simple.  It is about two people who are stumbling from a strong friendship into something new and different.  Anna and Etienne both feel an intense mutual connection but both also remain afraid to take the leap into unknown territory.  Stephanie Perkins has given us a great gift: a romance grown from an intimate and real friendship between two strongly developed characters.  But the detailed character development goes beyond the main pair; there a great cast of equally interesting and believable supporting characters.  While the story is unashamedly a romance, Anna's growth over the course of her senior year is widespread, involving her best friend at home, her family, and her new friends in France.

This novel is witty, well-written, and full of great three-dimensional characters and complex human relationships.  It is the best kind of romance: sweet but not sappy or fluffy.  So, if you're a fan of Sarah Dessen or Maureen Johnson or if you're just looking for a fun new romance to kick off the school year, check out Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

What's Happening in DC: Exciting New Exhibit at Museum of Natural History!

Trying to think of something interesting to do this weekend? Maybe you should check out the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's newest exhibit, Race: Are We So Different?.  This fascinating special exhibition was created by the American Anthropological Association and the Science Museum of Minnesota and is currently touring around the country.  It will be here in DC at the NMNH until January 8, 2012.  The RACE Project explores the idea of race from three different perspectives: history, science, and lived experience.  The project's website has a whole range of interesting videos, interactive activities, and information about race from these three perspectives.  The History section of the site has a huge, interactive timeline and the Human Variation portion has articles and videos about genetics, skin color, and many other scientific topics related to race.  The Lived Experience area of the site has a bunch of quizzes about the different ways race affects how people are perceived in cultures and societies. 


The NMNH is open everyday of the year except December 25 from 10am to 5:30pm.  The museum is located on the National Mall at the intersection of 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.  You can see exactly where it is on the Mall here on a map the museum created.  The nearest Metro stop is Smithsonian Station on the Blue and Orange line.  While you're there, you might want to check out the preview of the new exhibit Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt ; the full exhibit opens in November.  

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

My Summer in Books: Greetings from Your New Assistant Librarian

Welcome back to NCS! Your friendly neighborhood library staff hope that you had a wonderful summer full of great adventures, especially some adventures in reading! One of my favorite parts of summer has always been the sudden freedom to read whatever I wanted without worrying about homework or school requirements. This summer, I had homework and very little extra free time but I still found time to read a bunch of great books.  Here are a few of them! 

I kicked off the summer in the best way--with zombies! In May and June, I speed through Carrie Ryan's thrilling zombie apocalypse trilogy.  Mary's world is governed by a few basic rules: listen to the Sisterhood, obey the village traditions, and stay inside the fences separating the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.  Following these rules has allowed Mary's small community to survive in the uncertain world following the Return, when a strange disease spread throughout the country killing people and then causing them to rise again after death and become the Unconsecrated, who exist only to grow their ranks.  But when Mary discovers that the village's ruling religious order the Sisterhood is hiding secrets about the Unconsecrated and the world beyond the fences, she must decide between her past and an uncertain future in The Forest of Hands and TeethMary's tale is exciting and scary and romantic and I absolutely could not put the book down!  If you like zombie flicks and/or fast-paced dystopian romance, this novel is for you! The thrilling story then continues in The Dead Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places.

In June and early July, I was excited to read new books from a couple of my favorite authors, Libba Bray and Maggie Stiefvater.  Libba Bray, whose other books include A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine, always creates really interesting characters and stories and her newest book, Beauty Queens is no exception!  A plane full of contestants in a teen beauty pagent crashes on a mysterious island, leaving the girls stranded without food, shelter, or lipgloss. Faced with a sudden reality of survival, this group of very different young women learn about themselves and connect with each other in ways that might never have happened back in the pressure-cooker of civilization.  This book is both completely hilarious and deeply thought-provoking.  

Meanwhile, I was thrilled when, after months of waiting, I finally got my hands on the last book in Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy (which began with Shiver): Forever.  In the ongoing debate of werewolves versus vampires, I usually have been more of a werewolf fan and this trilogy has pretty much sealed the deal on my loyalty.  Since her survival of a wolf attack as a child, Grace Brisbane has always felt a strange connection to the wolf pack living in the woods behind her home in Mercy Falls, Minnesota, especially a particular wolf with yellow eyes.  Then she learns that 'her wolf' is in fact not a wolf at all but a boy named Sam who turns into a wolf when the temperature drops.  Grace and Sam's connection strengthens as they struggle to save Sam from losing his humanity forever in Shiver and their relationship is tested further when Grace must face her own unpredictable link to the wolves in Linger.  I love Stiefvater's lyrical writing and her three-dimensional characters; I feel completely immersed in the world and emotions described when I read these novels.  In Forever, we follow Grace, Sam, and the rest of the pack as they discover more secrets behind the werewolves' transformations and face serious danger from the people of Mercy Falls.  


This summer I also fell in love in with Stephanie Perkins' first novel Anna and the French Kiss and since we just got our copy in the NCS library, I'll be posting a review later this week!  

                                                                                                            ~ Ms. Dickinson


Where did books take you this summer? 

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