Teen Classic Movie: December 3 @ Noon

"You'll shoot your eye out!" A now-familiar holiday catch phrase from an even more familiar holiday movie, A Christmas Story. Stop by the Teen Area on Saturday December 3 @ Noon and watch this classic (again).

Join Ralphie in his quest for his most-wanted Christmas present: A Red Rider BB Gun ("with a compass and a stock and this thing which tells time"). His requests are blocked at each turn by his parents, his teacher, and even Jolly Ol' St. Nick, each uttering the dreaded excuse of "You'll shoot your eye out." Will Ralphie's Christmas wish ever come true?

Also discover what happens when a neighborhood bully takes things too far! Find out what sort of triple dog dare causes the fire department (and the cops) to be called! Learn what happens when one gets soap poisoning!And discover how to celebrate Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant (in style)! And just what sort of atrocity is inside that crate marked "Fragile"?

Find out Saturday December 3 @ Noon.--AJL

Teen Book Reviews by Teens

The Summoning, Book 1.

The Dark Power Trilogy

by Kelley Armstrong

Chloe Saunders is a troubled teen, but not in the way most would think. She sees dead people all the time. Thinking herself to be crazy, she finds herself confined to Lyle House, a halfway house for troubled teens. Little did she know they were all like her.

Soon wierd things begin to happen. Friends disappear. This leads Chloe on a search to try and understand what's going on at Lyle House. With the help of two other inmates, Simon and Derek, Chloe begins to investigate the dark and mysterious past of Lyle House. Learning about a world she never knew existed, Chloe is drawn not only into her past, but her future as well. A future no one sees coming.

There is so much more to this story, but I don't want to ruin it for you. But trust me. It's worth the read! And don't forget to pick up the other two books in the trilogy: The Awakening (book 2) and The Reckoning (book 3). --Rachel Young, teen reviewer

The Fame Monster

Wonder Blake never felt she measured up to her uber talented older sister Lucky, who was on the way to becoming a pop star before she died. Wonder and her family are left to deal with the tragedy. What happens next is straight out of a made-for-TV movie: While singing along with the radio while mopping the floor of the local Dairy Queen, where she works, Wonder is discovered by a big-time talent scout. Before Wonder knows it, she is thrown into the life of a pop diva. At first it's fun, but the more she lives the life, the more she's sure it's not the life for her.

Pop Princess may appear to be light and fluffy. And parts of it are. But deeper down it's about discovering your own identity, your own dreams and goals, and making them happen--even though they may not be what everyone else thinks is best for you. A fun, thoughtful read. --AJL

Cause a Scene--This Sunday!

Whose Line is it Anyway? Yours! Stop in at the Teen Area this Sunday (November 19) and experience the fun and spontaneity of We Cause Scenes, OPL's new Teen-Run improv group. Try your hand at acting, play interactive games, and be prepared for the unexpected.

We Cause Scenes will be held 2-4 p.m. Sunday November 19. No registration necessary. Just stop in. Snacks will be served.

Not a Disney Ending

Happily Ever After? Hardly! In Black Pearls: A Faerie Strand, Louise Hawes re-imagines several well-known fairy tales to much darker ends. Find out what happend after Cinderella married the Prince--and why she never really found her happy ending. Learn who the real victim was in the story of Rapuzel. Discover the sinister truth about the seven dwarfs (or, rather, one dwarf in particular) and read of the disturbing horror the helpless Snow White was subjected to again and again when left alone with this warped little man. And more.

If you're looking for light and fluffy fairy tales, pass on this one. But fans of dark fantasy will devour Black Pearls. --AJL

Pants On Fire

Everything Micah tells readers is the truth. But that could be a lie. Or is it? A compulsive Liar, Micah has tricked everyone she encounters: peers, teachers, her parents--and she's always managed to keep good track of her lies. Until now. Micah's boyfriend turns up dead, a victim of possible murder, and Micah is the number one suspect. Trouble is, she's lied so much no one knows if they can believe her claim to innocence.

Here is her story. Believe it--or don't.

--AJL

Aweome!

In Laini Taylor's newest novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, a seemingly ordinary teenager is caught up in a deadly otherworldly war--and learns she plays a more important role in that war than she ever could have imagined. Karou was lovingly raised by the Chimera magician Brimstone, for whom she travles the world collecting teeth. When the Seraphim, enemy to the Chimera, burn the portals linking Earth and Elsewhere (the Chimera's world), Karou finds herself exiled from the only family she has ever known. Desperate to get back to them, Karou enlists the help of Akiva, a renegade angel who, after falling in love with a Chimera, has been harboring a secret dream of peace between the races. The two rediscover love and Karou will finally learn the answer to the greatest question of all: Who she really is. But can she handle the truth? Or will it destroy her?   Daughter of Smoke and Bone is not your typical tale of romance between human and paranormal creature. There is true creativity here. Taylor does an awesome job creating fully-rounded characters and setting the scenes in which they interact.  Check this one out if you're looking for an awesome fantasy. Just be prepared for the crazy plot twist! --AJL

Saying Goodbye In Robot

Don't be fooled by the pink cover-- How to Say Goodbye in Robot is no girly, sentimental romance story. In fact, main character Beatrice is so unemotional that her mother actually refers to her as a robot-- hard, cold, and unfeeling.  

It is because of her stoic nature that Beatrice doesn't exactly fit in with the gossip-obsessed girls at her new school. Instead, she finds herself drawn to Jonah, a quiet, ghost-like loner who seems to be as impressed with his classmates as Beatrice is. As Beatrice slowly learns more about the mysterious Jonah, she discovers that everything that has made her an outcast before, such as a love of bizarre late-night radio, also brings her and Jonah closer together. 

The only question is, how close does she want to get? --OEO

Get Ready for the Apocalypse!

Who knew the cello could rock so hard? New to Oxford Public Library's music collection is Amplified by Apocalyptica. Not your typical string quartet, this band is perhaps best known for their instrumental covers of Metallica's hits. But they do other, more classically-inspired songs as well--with a metal edge, of course. Check out their head-banging rendition of Hall of the Mountain King. You may forget you're actually listening to music played on instruments typically reserved for orchestras. A bonus disc features vocals by some of today's hottest metal bands. You can find Amplified in the Hard Rock drawer of the library's newly re-organized music collection. Why that category and not "classical"? Check it out today and find out!  --AJL

A Comedy of Errors

It's the year 4022, more than 2,000 years after a global catastrophe wiped out most of civilization. The story centers around Howard Carson, an amateur archaeologist. One day, Howard stumbles through a hole in the ground and makes a fantastic discovery: In front of him is door to an ancient burial chamber, perfectly preserved. Inside is a treasure trove of ancient wonders and mysterious artifacts from a time long past. Read how Howard and his team carefully catalog the strange objects found inside the burial chamber and try to guess how each one was used by the ancient civilization of their studies. And how very wrong their guesses are!

The Motel of Mysteries is part dystopia, part science fiction, and part satire. And keep in mind this last part. This book is not meant to be taken seriously (example: the everyday object the archaeologists believe was used as a Sacred Headdress by our society). Along with the humor is an interesting message about how wrong we can be in our assumptions about societies and cultures we actually know nothing about. And it begs the question: In our real-life studies about peoples long gone (Aztecs or Incas, for example), how accurate are we really when it comes to knowing about them from the artifacts they left behind? We could be as wrong as Howard and his team. Makes you think, doesn't it? --AJL