YA Summer Movies

So far this summer, I've already gone to two movies that really speak to young adults.  Now I'm looking ahead at the movies coming out the rest of this season to see what, aside from the blockbusters, will make for great dialogue with teens at the library.

1. The Way, Way Back (Now Playing)

 

Duncan is a 14 year old boy forced to spend a summer with his mother's overbearing boyfriend. While his mother, her boyfriend (played by Steve Carrell in a role completely opposite of Michael Scott), and their adult friends regress to teen like behavior, Duncan finds himself a job at a nearby water park and comes into his own.  The movie is hilarious, but hits home with heartbreaking scenes of teens and adults being unsure of their value.

2. The Bling Ring (Now Playing)

This movie is based on real events from 2009: a group of teens repeatedly stole from celebrities who for some reason didn't lock their doors. The movie is great social commentary on our obsession with celebrity, selfies, and labels.  Teens (and most audience members) will mostly recognize Hermione Granger with an American accent in this movie.

3. Girl Most Likely (July 19)

A comedy where a playwright (Kristen Wiig) moves back to her Jersey home after becoming yesterday's news. She has to grow to love her family as a part of her regrouping process. Teens are in that awkward stage where they want to be independent, but have no choice but to listen to their parents. I think they'll relate. Also, Darren Criss from Glee is in it, so there's that.  There's always that.

4. The Spectacular Now (August 2)

The preview for this movie played before both The Way, Way Back and The Bling Ring, and it's safe to say that I am now on board and must see this movie. 1. Kyle Chandler (Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights) is in it.  2. From the writers of 500 Days of Summer.  3. It just looks good.  Sutter, a high school senior whose philosophy on life is to party hard and live in the now, meets a "nice girl" who changes his viewpoints.  It's based on the novel of the same name which hands you a nice book vs. the movie discussion to hold at your library.

5. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (August 23)

Speaking of potential book vs. the movie discussions, the hugely popular YA series is finally coming to the big screen.  Clary discovers that she comes from a line of Shadowhunters when her mother is captured by demons.  She has to dive into the world in order to save her mother, learning about her true past along the way.

What other movies are coming out this summer that you think teens would love? What movies are you looking forward to?

March Madness Round 4

It's official!!!! It's a Hunger Games vs. Harry Potter showdown!!!

We, the librarians, are happy about this. Why? Well for starters because it's two well-written, popular series going against each other. But it's also an older series against a modern series and it shows how long-lasting good quality book series can hold up over time. I know I'm being a hypocrite here because I often voice my distaste for the reverence that the "classics" receive, but that's more of a distaste for relying on them for education. It is important because it means that these books are holding up in popularity despite the fact that kids can now just watch all of the books in movie form. That is the power of a well-written book, people.

Now, the students are not happy about this. There have been many complaints about how it's impossible to choose which series they like more. They love Harry, but they love so many others as well. Hunger Games has actually received the majority of the votes in the past 2 rounds. Harry held strong over Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus, but those books had more weight in the voting. There might be an upset in this round, but I'm not worried. Overhearing the students complain about the difficulty proves to me that they love both.

Also, my bracket may sway them towards Harry Potter without them realizing. A student pointed out to me that the bracket color choices are clearly Gryffindor propaganda! Oops :)

March Madness Round 1

For this month's library display, we're playing March Madness with YA Series!  I'm so excited about this project.  As I was putting the board up this afternoon, the students passing by were already starting arguments about which series should come out on top.

I took 16 popular (amongst our students) YA series, assigned them a number, and put the numbers through a random number generator to figure out the pairings.  We've got:

Matched by Ally Condie vs. Uglies by Scott Westerfield

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare vs. The Selection Trilogy by Kiera Cass

Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter vs. The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins vs. Heist Society, by Ally Carter

Divergent by Veronica Roth vs. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy by Kristin Cashore vs. Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Harry Potter by JK Rowling vs. Gone by Michael Grant

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan vs. Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

We've set up an online ballot for students to vote each round.

So far the prediction is that we're looking at a Hunger Games vs. Harry Potter showdown.  However, the students are significantly dedicated to the other represented series and there's a solid chance of a Cinderella story!

Friday Five: 30 Rock

30 Rock ended last night and I am feeling ALL THE EMOTIONS.  So, to satisfy my need for the show to forever remain in existence, here are five awesome, but sadly fake, books used in one of the best television comedies ever:

1. Dealbreakers: A Girl's Guide to Shutting it Down

Liz Lemon's self-help book that she unknowingly based on the ridiculous men in her workplace.  It includes gems like: "If your man asks you to pay for chicken wings, that's a dealbreaker, ladies!" and "He thinks he deserves a vajayjay upgrade. He doesn't; he's not Tom Brady. Shut it down." It eventually leads to her getting her own talk show, which in turn leads to her developing crazy actor tendencies which leads to this treasure:

2. Jack Attack: The Art of Aggression in Business

Jack's book first makes it's appearance in Season 1, when Liz's boyfriend, Floyd references it before meeting the legendary businessman.  It then makes an appearance when a 14 year old uses it to take down Jack in her pursuit of becoming CEO of Kabletown. With a K.  Pearls of wisdom: Never let someone arrive first (Chapter 2 of the book), "I want to kiss your boyfriend on the mouth" (Chapter 12), and I'm sure there's some reference in there about your hair being your head suit.

3. You're Doing It Wrong!

Dr. Spaceman gives this to Liz when she mentions having a boyfriend. "It's about having a satisfying love life. For life!" Also, his techniques guarantee male orgasm.  You could pair with it his compilation album: Love Storm.

4. Geiss Cubes

This would also be a great book

"It means the book is full of cubes of knowledge. It's a good title." - Jack on CEO Don Geiss' book, where he provides "timeless" wisdom like: "Because a woman's brain has fewer folds."  It's good stuff.

5.  Tracy's Autobiography
Tracy realizes that the deadline to write his autobiography is the following day.  The TGS writers quickly attempt to write out the story of Tracy's life, looking to Wikipedia when the man himself is of no help. They come close to pulling off the massive project, but then Tracy remembers the publisher passed on his book and the whole day was a waste.  Okay, so this never actually exists as a book, but work is done to complete it.


Oh 30 Rock. How I will miss your ridiculousness.

Book Review: All Unquiet Things

I'll be honest, I picked this book up because the cover grabbed me.  Finding out it was a murder mystery only made me want to read it that much more, because a good chunk of YA murder mysteries tie in great insight to a teenager's first brush with the idea of mortality.

Anna Jarzab's All Unquiet Things focuses on the unsolvable mysteries left behind when someone dies.  However, with the help of a hidden diary, cell phone records, and a safe deposit key, the mysteries are all solved.  So it's a little disappointing.

Let's rewind.  The plot: A year ago, Carly was murdered.  An investigation leads to her uncle being found guilty of the murder.  In the present day, Audrey, Carly's cousin, seeks out the assistance of Neily, Carly's ex, to clear her father's name.  They explore the world of wealth, privilege, entitlement and drugs in order to find the truth.

All in all, it was a capable mystery.  It has the standard mystery elements: the obvious suspects, stereotypes, suspense, and a twist ending.  I just wish it had the oomph of The Body of Christopher Creed, by Carol Plum-Ucci, a novel that uses an alleged murder mystery to highlight parent-teen relationships.  For me, All Unquiet Things only worked to tell a typical 'drugs are dangerous' story.

After reading this book, I immediately watched Brick, a 2005 film noir set in a modern day high school starring Joseph Gordon Levitt (SWOON).  This film incorporated all of the elements of All Unquiet Things, murder, deep love, secrets, drugs, etc.  Ultimately, the stories are very different, but I think that a teen who, provided s/he likes non-Hollywood movies, enjoys this novel, would like Brick.

#TheList, No. 987: The Running Man

First things first.  This book was not what was advertised.  Don't call something a "thriller" unless it's a thriller.  It's one of my biggest pet peeves. Like the re-issued classics that have Twilight styled covers.  One of those fans who now wants to rip Kristen Stewart's heart out will be hypnotized by the cover, go home expecting a sheriff father observing an abusive relationship that is deemed perfectly acceptable, and be saddened when that's not s/he they gets.

Other than that misleading bit of information, Michael Gerard Bauer's The Running Man was a fairly competent young adult novel. 

The premise: A young teen, Joseph, needs to complete a portrait for an art class and ends up using his recluse neighbor, Tom, as a subject.  Tom is the focus of much gossip spread by the token nosy neighbor, Mrs. Mossop (rhyming!), causing Joseph to feel hesitant about undertaking such a project.  But while working, he comes to know Tom better, and learns why he's become the recluse he is today.  He also helps him take care of silkworms...it's part of a whole symbolism thing.

The story is a typical "kid reaches the age where he learns that adults have problems too." To quote the first episode of Friends: "Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You're gonna love it."  What sets The Running Man apart from similar stories, is that Tom isn't the only adult shown to have problems.  The titular figure, the "running man," a seemingly psychotic man who runs raggedly around the town and the subject of many of Joseph's nightmares, also has deeply rooted problems that impact his behavior.    Even Joseph shows signs of experiencing some of these "grown-up" problems as the novel progresses toward the revelation of Tom's terrors. 

The silkworm symbolism was a little heavy, but for young readers, it'll help them understand the novel's happenings. 

Who would I give this too: Not someone expecting a thriller, that's for sure.  I still don't see how that reviewer could see "thriller." Maybe an emotional thrill? Anyway, I would give this to someone who likes realistic fiction and serious subject matters. 

Also, this novel has nothing to do with the popular dance move of the same name.  I know, I was sad too. 

Friday Five: Teen Comedies Based on a Classic

I love teen comedies, especially the 90s ones.  I also love to make fun of them.  But some people like to berate teen comedies by saying they have no substance or they're too sexual or they poison the minds of youths or blah blah blah.  Well, fun fact: some of those movies are based on the classics you force them to read in school.  So HA!

Five Teen Comedies Based on Classics

1. Clueless

Yup. That valley girl you love and quote in your spare time and your busy time (I do, at least) is based on Emma.  Emma as in the girl from Jane Austen's Emma.  I've read two Jane Austen books in my life, and Emma is the only one I paid any attention to just because I wanted to see how it was possible that one of my favorite movies could be based on a book by an author I'd grown to detest just because I saw the ways girls acted about some old man in that other book I could never finish (similar to how some girls moms react when they read Twilight and think Edward is romantic, but slightly more respectable).  But it is.  It is spot on.  Obviously there are some liberties taken, i.e. there are no sophisticated homosexuals in Emma (unfortunately), but it's fairly close.  Even down to the creepy-when-you-think-about-it romance between a girl and her ex-stepbrother.  

My favorite part to quote. 

2. 10 Things I Hate About You

This one is based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.  Oh Billy, you had such a way with the ladies.  Callin' em shrews. #Classic.  The plot: boy meets girl, girl isn't allowed to date unless sister dates, sister listens to indie rock and reads feminist books so she's INDEPENDENT and obviously doesn't need a man to tie her free spirit down, so boy convinces a rich boy to bribe another boy to get INDEPENDENT girl to realize she wants to date so that the cute sister will want to date the rich boy, but realize in the end that it's the first boy she wants.  I don't know why I shouted INDEPENDENT, but I felt I needed to get that across because the girl doesn't wear glasses, which is always the visual clue for girl who is nerdy/independent and doesn't need anyone else.  Some lines from Shakespeare's play are quoted throughout, but none are as great as the quotes from the principal.

3. Easy A

This one's kind of obvious because they say it in the movie about a zillion times, but this movie's influenced by Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a.k.a. one of the most boring books about sex ever written.  Emma Stone, this generation's Lindsey Lohan, decides to help out a friend by saying she's slept with him, and then turns that into a nifty little business: lying about sleeping with guys to get some monies and social status. It's win/win until people start calling her a slut, so she brands herself with her own scarlet letter until she can come up with a way out of this mess.

4. She's the Man

Alright, this is the one movie on this list I haven't seen yet.  So I can tell you that it's loosely based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and that it starred a pre-retired and pre-DUI'd Amanda Bynes who crossdresses in the movie and gets away with it apparently because of her clear masculine features.  Kind of like how Barbra Streisand totally looked like a dude in Yentl.

5. She's All That

A guy bets his friends that he can make the nerdy girl into prom queen.  He gets her to take off her glasses and he almost succeeds. It's a more modern take on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, a play that's usually associated with the musical My Fair Lady (which does not use Audrey Hepburn's real singing voice, fyi).  She finds out about the bet, but it's okay because we get to watch a ridiculously choreographed dance scene at the prom that is DJd by Usher.  Plus, they end up together because of course her weird, artistic ways teach him the true meaning of love and life, her glasses were just blocking those lessons in the beginning.

New Project!

Reading and commenting on 1001 children's books and other books that cross my path, ranting about various issues, and discussing library related topics isn't enough for me.  So I've come up with a new blog project idea that I'm really excited about.

Everyone always reminisces about books they used to read (guiltiest person of such behavior), but when you move on to bigger and hopefully better things, what do you select?  The same goes for tweens and young adults, they've just reached the end of that acceptable Baby Sitters Club phase, but aren't quite sure what they should attempt next.

So the plan is a recurring theme of "you used to read this, now read this" and it will consist of lists of books connected by subject matter, themes, prominent literary features, etc.  I'm actually using some of this work at a high school library where I volunteer, so, per usual, the selections will be a little young adult heavy.  But everyone needs a good YA read every now and then. =)

When you read, try to look like this guy.  Or maybe not.

I do not like the Taylor Swift

Usually my gym has it down with the playlists.  Hall & Oates, NKOTBSB, Huey Lewis and the News...basically all the 80s and 90s nostalgia I need to pretend that I'm a runner.  But yesterday, it was nothing but fail, unless the gym was hosting some weird tween scene for all the middle-aged people on their lunch breaks.  If that's the case, it passed with flying colors: Biebz, Selena Gomez, and the worst of 'em all, the T-Swizzle. 

So this might seem out of place here in a blog about being a librarian-in-training.  But being a librarian isn't all about pushing books on the children.  It's also about embracing other forms of media as sources of education and entertainment.  As such, it allows me to vent about one of the most popular musical acts among kids, tweens, teens, people who think they're country music fans, and college boys.  Here goes:

Alright, she's cute.  They're all cute.  And she didn't start on Disney, so she's most likely got a few more years up the sleeves of her sparkly dresses before she reaches the pivotal point where teen stars need to pick their path as if they were in that Robert Frost poem: will she go down the well-worn path of drugs and shaved heads (yes, I love the Brit Brit, but I'm not blind to that horrible year), or will she take the "one less traveled by" and go for a respectable career?  Probably the latter, although I would much rather she fade away into obscurity.  I get that her stuff is all about cutesy puppy love, but it's sooooooo bad. Please, someone make this girl write something that doesn't sound like she put a bunch of cliches and phrases into a hat and pulled them out one at a time to make a song. Just...please.  I know my taste in music is questionable, but let's just examine one of her "hits," the one that plagued me at the gym yesterday:

This is the Swift version of a  fairy tale

"Today was a Fairytale" - [too bad she doesn't mean one by the Brothers Grimm]

Today was a fairytale

You were the prince

I used to be a damsel in distress

You took me by the hand and you picked me up at six

Today was a fairytale

[Oh good, way to stuff people into forced gender roles.  Also, if this were actually a fairy tale, you would still be a damsel in distress.  Or did you stop becoming a damsel in distress sometime before he picked you up at 6? If that's the case, then by traditional fairy tale lore, you're cheating on the person who saved you, because once you're saved you can't ever leave that person, meaning he shouldn't have to pick you up.  So how sweet of you.  Also, in what fairytale is someone picked up at 6? Midnight, dawn, dusk, etc. tend to be the go-to times, not 6.  Actually, people tend not to get picked up at all.  Maybe lifted in the air as a troll is about to pummel them, but never picked up.  You must mean saved.  He saved you at...6.]

Today was a fairytale

[Yes, you've told us.]

Today was a fairytale

I wore a dress

You wore a dark grey t-shirt

You told me I was pretty

When I looked like a mess

Today was a fairytale

[A dress?  You wore a dress.  Okay, that's...fitting, I guess. But who wears a dark grey t-shirt in a fairy tale? I can't say I recall reading about "Prince Charming" in a dark grey t-shirt.  He told you you looked pretty when you looked like a mess.  Okay, let's dissect this.  You condone lying and you're on a date with a liar.  Also, why do you look like a mess? You just told us you were wearing a dress.  Did you not pick a clean one out of the closet? Even Ariel knew how to make herself look spiffy without a dress.  If you want today to be a fairy tale, think about stepping up your game.]

Time slows down

Whenever you're around

[No. No, it does not.  That's what happens when you're miserable.  Time goes too fast when you're happy.  Get it right.]

Can you feel this magic in the air?

It must have been the way you kissed me

Fell in love when I saw you standing there

It must have been the way

Today was a fairytale

It must have been the way

Today was a fairytale

[Love doesn't happen until you either dance with him or he kisses you to wake you up from a long sleep, thereby obligating you to be in love with him.  Silly girl.]

Today was a fairytale

You've got a smile that takes me to another planet

Every move you make everything you say is right

Today was a fairytale

[That third line makes you seem like Little Red Riding Hood believing your "Grandmother" when she tells you that her eyes are so big because that makes it all the better to see you with.  Or like Michelle Bachman when she believed the lady behind her who said her daughter suffered from mental retardation from the HPV shot.  Now, I realize that this isn't a fairy tale, but as fairy tales were designed to teach moral lessons, I plan on making it one so that future children can learn how to not talk to strangers about health care.  So I guess you're playing up to that gullible female fairy tale role.  Brava!]

Today was a fairytale

All that I can say

Is now it's getting so much clearer

Nothing made sense until the time I saw your face

Today was a fairytale

[So this is one of those fairy tales where you've been sleeping for 100 years, and now that you've been allowed to open your eyes, things have become clear.  Got it.]

I can feel my heart

It's beating in my chest

Did you feel it?

I can't put this down

[WHERE ELSE IS YOUR HEART SUPPOSED TO BEAT?????]

Swift, T. (2010). Today was a fairytale. On Valentine's Day. Big Machine.

This is a 1909 illustration from a
real Brothers Grimm fairy tale.