Teens Know

Teen Newsletter

     

In this issue:

eAudio

HCPL Traveling Pants

HCPL YA Staff

New Young Adult Books

 

July/August 2007

   
 
     

Downloadable eAudio Books

Traveling Pants

Did you know you can download eAudio Books, eBooks, and Music 24/7 to your PC at home?  Now the library never closes!  Harris County Public Library's digital media collection is powered by technology from Overdrive, Inc. 

Getting started is easy. Just visit http://hcpl.lib.overdrive.com, install the free Overdrive Media Console software from our website and browse the collection for the titles you want. It’s a lot like shopping. Just put the items you want in your cart and when you’ve completed your “trip to the library” you can check out using your library card. You can then download your titles to your home computer. Once downloaded, you can transfer them to a portable device (MP3) or burn selected audio books directly to CD. Currently, you can download titles from your home computer but not at the library.  These items return themselves in two weeks so there is never a late fee! Harris County Public Library’s digital collection is open 24/7.

Digital Media Collection

Harris County Public Library is presenting Traveling Pants programs for teens at several of their branches this summer.  Teens will help decorate the pair of pants that is traveling from library to library and will also have the opportunity to decorate a pair of their own pants that they bring to the program.

Traveling Pants Slideshow

     

Meet the HCPL Young Adult Staff

Harris County Public Library has 26 branch libraries across the county.  Many of these libraries have staff dedicated to working with the young adults in the community.  Let's meet one of them!

Monique Franklin

 

Monique Franklin is the Children's Materials Selection Librarian for Harris County Public Library.  She works with the Young Adult Librarians on program planning and training.

 

What do you like to read?

I like science fiction especially books based on Star Trek, Star Wars or about time travel.  My favorite genre is alternative history which is stories where some important event or person in history changed or didn't exist.  My favorite alternative history author is Harry Turtledove.

What was your favorite book when you were a teen?

My favorite book was Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson.  It is the first book in a trilogy.  Think Lord of the Rings, except the "hero" is transported to a magical world he doesn't believe in nor does he believe in himself.

What do you like best about your job?

I like the fact tha things are always changing.  There is always something new--books, websites, programs and technology.  I love books and technology which is why I became a librarian.  It's a perfect blend of both!

What was your most embarrassing moment as a teen?

I was visiting Disney World.  My sister and I decided to see the Reflections of China in the China Pavilion at Epcot.  The Reflections of China is a Circle-Vision 360° movie about China.  Everything was fine until the movie started which went in circles above our heads.  Next thing I know I was on the floor, the movie had stopped and everyone in the exhibit was looking at me.  I must have fainted.  The guides helped me up and let me out through the emergency exit door.  I was too embarrassed to go back to Epcot during the rest of the trip.

If you could relive your teen years what would you do differently?

I would probably never ask my grandfather or my mother to teach me to drive.  I think it took years off their lives.  The amount of terror I instilled in them resulted in me not getting my license until I left home.

If you could give advice to your "teen self", what would it be?

Being able to stand out in a crowd can be a good thing.

     
 

New Young Adult Books

 
     
   
     
 

New Young Adult Fiction

 

Holly Black.  Ironside

As the possessor of Roibin's true name, sixteen-year-old Kaye returns to Faeryland to try and complete a nearly-impossible quest that will release him from the spell of the faery queen who holds him in thrall.

 

Cecil Castellucci.  Beige

Katy, a quiet French Canadian teenager, reluctantly leaves Montréal to spend time with her estranged father, an aging Los Angeles punk rock legend.

 

Alan Dean Foster.  Transformers:  a Novel

The official novelization of the eagerly anticipated, live-action, motion picture adaptation of "Transformers."

 

Valerie Hobbs.  Anything But Ordinary

Bernie and Winifred have been in love since they were fourteen, but when Winifred goes away to college in California and Bernie stays in New Jersey, things change for the two of them, and each must try to forge an identity separate from the other.

 

David Lubar.  True Talents

Over a year after fourteen-year-old Eddie "Trash" Thalmeyer and his friends from Edgeview Alternative School find out about their psychic abilities, Trash is kidnapped and Torchie, Cheater, Lucky, Flinch, and Martin must join forces to rescue their friend, discovering their true talents in the process.

 

Robert B. Parker.  Edenville Owls

Fourteen-year-old Bobby, living in a small Massachusetts town just after World War II, finds himself facing many new challenges as he tries to pull together his coachless basketball team, cope with new feelings for his old friend Joanie, and discover the identity of the mysterious stranger who seems to be threatening his teacher.

 

Kelly Parra.  Graffiti Girl

A Mexican American high school student in a small California town is drawn into the underground world of graffiti art, feeling that it is the only way to express herself artistically and still remain true to her cultural identity.

 

Michael Dylan Scott.  The Alchemyst

While working at pleasant but mundane summer jobs in San Francisco, fifteen-year-old twins, Sophie and Josh, suddenly find themselves caught up in the deadly, centuries-old struggle between rival alchemists, Nicholas Flamel and John Dee, over the possession of an ancient and powerful book holding the secret formulas for alchemy and everlasting life.

 

Doug Wilhelm.  Falling

Fifteen-year-old Matt's life has been turned upside-down, first when the brother he idolizes turns to drugs, then when a visit to a chat room leads him to a classmate, Katie, who he likes very much but cannot trust with his family secret.

 
     
 

New Young Adult Nonfiction

 
 

Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg.  The Plain Janes

When Jane moves to the suburbs, she thinks her life is over, but she meets three friends who form a club P.L.A.I.N., but can art really save a group of misfits from high school?  Graphic Novel

 

Rosa Waters.  Beyonce

A biography of the popular and successful singer and role model.

 

Lemony Snicket.  Horseradish:  Bitter Truths You

Can't Avoid  Lemony Snicket's newest work is the ultimate treat for fans as the master of misfortunes serves up an alarming collection of life's delectably discouraging truths.

 

Ed Sobey.  A Field Guide to Household Technology

This fascinating handbook explains how everyday household devices function and operate. More than 180 different household technologies are covered. With helpful sidebars describing related technical issues, such as why a cheap dimmer switch can interfere with radio reception, this handbook for curious readers provides carefully detailed descriptions and the history behind many of the older household technologies like toasters and faucets to newer technologies like motion detectors, TiVo, and satellite radio.

     
 

New Young Adult Audio

 

John H. Ritter.  Under the Baseball Moon

Andy and Glory, two fifteen-year-olds from Ocean Beach, California, pursue their respective dreams of becoming a famous musician and a professional softball player.  Read by Dan Woren.

 

Sharon Dogar.  Waves

While on vacation Hal begins to channel his hospitalized sister's memories of the accident that has left her comatose.  Read by James Clamp.

 

Mary Hoga.  Perfect Girl

Ninth-grader Ruthie Bayer realizes that she is in love with her best friend Perry, the boy next door, but when competition appears, Ruthie calls on her glamorous aunt for advice.  Read by Ann Marie Lee.

 

Robert Cormier.  The Chocolate War

A high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school's annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies.  Read by Frank Muller.

 

Laura Ruby.  The Chaos King

Thirteen-year-old Georgie and Bug, a year older, have been pulled apart by the demands of their newfound fame and fortune, but join forces again when a punk, vampires, a giant sloth, and other creatures come after them on the streets of a New York City of the future.  Read by Renee Raudman.
 
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