The First of Many

LOLcats never get old. Enjoy.

Librarian's Pick of the Week: The Maze Runner

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Published: 2009
Age: 12+

"For those of you who liked Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and are anxiously awaiting her third book, Mockinjay (set to come out August 24th) here's a similar book full of suspense and nail-biting intrigue that will assuage your impatience for Mockinjay for a few days."

Synopsis: When Thomas wakes up in an elevator, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade---a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got there. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened and close again every night. And every 30 days a new boy arrives in the elevator. But the next day, a girl is sent up---the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Review: Dashner offers up a dark and gripping tale of survival set in a world where teenagers fight for their lives on a daily basis. It starts when Thomas, a teenage amnesiac, wakes up in the Glade, a fragile oasis in the middle of an enormous maze. Here, a group of teenage boys eke out a hazardous existence, exploring the Maze by day and retreating to the Glade at night. No one knows how they got there; no one has ever found a way out ("Old life's over, new life's begun. Learn the rules quick," the group's leader tells Thomas). Bizarre technological monsters called Grievers patrol the Maze's corridors, almost certain death for any who encounter them. Thomas struggles to regain his memories, but soon the rules of the game change. With a fast-paced narrative steadily answering the myriad questions that arise and an ever-increasing air of tension, Dashner's suspenseful adventure will keep readers guessing until the very end, which paves the way for the inevitable continuation. Publisher's Weekly (Oct.)


If you're intrigued, don't forget to check our library's catalog for this book!

Most Influential People

Recently, TIME Magazine named what they thought to be the 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD for the year 2010. These people chosen are considered to be “the people whose ideas, innovations and actions are shaping our world.” The candidates under which these people fall are Leaders, Artists, Thinkers and Heroes. The Influence Index measured Twitter followers and Facebook connections.
Here are some of the Artists they've named:

Lady Gaga
Conan O’Brien
Kathryn Bigelow
Oprah Winfrey
Valery Gergiev
Robert Pattinson
Ashton Kutcher
Suzanne Collins (of "The Hungry Games" fame)
Taylor Swift
Neil Patrick Harris
Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof
Prince
Lea Michele
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik
Simon Cowell
Neill Blomkamp
Elton John
Marc Jacobs
David Chang
Banksy
Chetan Bhagat
Sandra Bullock
Han Han
Ricky Gervais
James Cameron

What do you guys think about this list? Is there any one you would add? Anyone you wouldn't agree with?

Book List: Summer Reading

{Image from Flickr}

Summer vacation is here! Now the big question is, what to read!? Here's a list of our sunshine-beach-cookout-wakeboarding-sunglasses-watermelon-rollercoaster-fun-related picks.

Title: Peaches: A Novel
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Published: 2005
Synopsis: Three teenaged girls from very different backgrounds, thrown together to pick peaches in a Georgia orchard, spend a summer in pursuit of the right boy, the truest of friends, and the perfect peach.

Title: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Author: Ann Brashares
Published: 2001
Synopsis: Carmen decides to discard an old pair of jeans, but Tibby, Lena, and Bridget think they are great and decide that whoever the pants fit best will get them. When the jeans fit everyone perfectly, a sisterhood and a memorable summer.

Title: Sleepaway Girls
Author: Jen Calonita
Published: 2009
Synopsis: When the exceptionally people-pleasing Sam spends a summer as a counselor-in-training, she learns how to say no, to stand up for herself, and what it feels like to have a crush on a great guy.

Title: Two Steps Forward
Author: Rachel Cohn
Published: 2006
Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Annabel's extended family gathers in Los Angeles for several weeks over the summer where she must contend with step- and half-sisters and brothers, and her own mother's failing marriage.

Title: Fireworks: Four Summer Stories
Author: Lauren Myracle; Sarah Mlynowski; Erin Haft; Niki Burnham
Published: 2007
Synopsis: Four of today's bestselling authors for teens come together for a romantic collection of summertime love stories. Each author shows us a different side of summer romance, from the first flush of a seaside crush to the sting of breakup.

Title: How I Survived My Summer Vacation; and Lived to Write the Story
Author: Robin Friedman
Published: 2000
Synopsis: Determined to write a novel during the summer before he starts high school, thirteen-year-old Jackie struggles with his inability to finish anything and with the advice of others.

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty
Author: Jenny Han
Published: 2009
Synopsis: Belly spends the summer she turns sixteen at the beach just like every other summer of her life, but this time things are very different.

Title: I'm Exploding Now
Author: Sid Hite
Published: 2007
Synopsis: This summer Max has no job and nothing to do, but after spending a lot of time hanging out in Manhattan, thinking about life, writing, and visiting his aunt in Woodstock, he develops a personal philosophy called "coolism" which seems to help turn things around.

Title: The Canning Season
Author: Polly Horvarth
Published: 2003
Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Ratchet spends a summer in Maine with her eccentric great-aunts Tilly and Penpen, hearing strange stories from the past and encountering a variety of unusual and colorful characters.

Title: Spells and Sleeping Bags
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Published: 2007
Synopsis: Rachel and her younger sister, both witches, spend the summer at Camp Wood Lake, where Rachel tries to have a normal camp experience while surreptitiously honing her newly discovered talents.

Title: Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks
Author: Lauren Myracle
Published: 2009
Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Carly's summer volunteer experience makes her feel more real than her life of privilege in Atlanta ever did, but her younger sister starts high school pretending to be what she is not, and both find their relationships suffering.

Title: Lawn Boy
Author: Gary Paulsen
Published: 2007
Synopsis: Things get out of hand for a twelve-year-old boy when a neighbor convinces him to expand his summer lawn mowing business.