Lumberjanes v. 5: Band Together

If, a couple years ago, you'd asked me if I would enjoy reading graphic novels as much as I do, I'd have probably given you a very strange look. Oh sure, I'd read and liked Smile (everyone has read Smile), but when I thought of a typical "graphic novel" I thought of superheroes (not really my thing). Also those strange backward things from Japan (really not my thing) I'll never understand and don't really want to. Nope. Give me a book where the word to picture ratio is 100/0. Even 90/10 to account for books like Harry Potter where chapter headings feature small illustrations.

But I've gotta say: I totally heart the Lumberjanes series!

In the fifth volume, Band Together, Jo, Mal, Ripley, Molly, April, and their counselor Jen have a very strange encounter while hanging out by the lake. Of course strange encounters are nothing new to the girls of Cabin Roanoke, who have survived parallel universes, endured weather anomalies, and faced off against more Monsters of the Week than Mulder and Scully (of X-Files fame). But this time the adventure involves mermaids. And not just any mermaids, but mermaids who play in a rock band. 

Or...at least they used to play in a rock band before all that drama happened. 

It is then that the mermaid-obsessed April decides to make it her life's mission to reunite the rock band. No matter what.

In typical Lumberjane fashion, things don't go as planned. But do they ever?

In fact, the situation turns from bad to downright apocalyptic. And the angry sea serpents are the least of April's worries.

If things are going to work out, the girls are going to have to put aside their differences and work together. 

No spoilers, but if you love mermaids, music, and things that sparkle, you'll love Lumberjanes: Band Together.

--AJB

I "Heart" My Library Because...

Throughout the month of February, we asked you, our Teen patrons, to fill out sticky notes about why you love Oxford Public Library.

Here are some of your answers:

I love my library because... "it is nice and quiet and there are a lot of books."

I love my library because... "lock-in programs!"

I love my library because... "it has a lot of good series books to read"

I love my library because... "it is awesome!"

I love my library because... "the people are so nice"

I love my library because... "they trap faries inside glass containers in the adult area" (we assume this teen was joking, but the answer made us laugh)

I love my library because... "all my favotire books are here."

I love my library because... "it is a fun awesome place"

I love my library because... "I can read my favorite books"

I love my library because... "More books to choose from."

I love my library because... "Varieties of amazing books and marvelously nice librarians."

I love my library because... "there's so much to explore!"

I love my library because... "Yes! :)"

After reading all these wonderful answers, we are definitely feeling the love! It makes us happy that so many of you love your library :)

Alive by Chandler Baker

I really, really enjoyed this book.  Really.  Enough that it almost got five stars.

Stella has a shot at a newish beginning.  She has just received a heart transplant and after months of recovery, she is ready to go back to school and live like she hasn't lived before.  She is happy to be back with her best friends, Brynn and Henry, even though she has left Henry hanging for far too long.  Henry asked her out when she was sick but she didn't want him to be "the sick girl's boyfriend" and then have to be "the dead girl's boyfriend" if something went wrong.  Stella isn't sure what she wants out of her new life, but she thinks it might not be safe old Henry.  Plus, she's still dealing with the side effects of her transplant: hallucinations and a searing pain every day at 5:08 PM.  It's hard enough just trying to pretend that everything is normal.

Then she sees the new boy, Levi.  Levi is gorgeous.  Levi is intense.  And Stella doesn't feel the pain when Levi is around her.  It isn't long before they become inseparable and Levi begins to educate Stella on music, taking her to concerts and in search of records.  Stella longs for the relief she feels when she is around Levi, even when she begins to suspect that there is something very wrong with their relationship and something very wrong with him.

Then a girl is found dead and her heart has been cut out.

Okay, reasons I loved this:  Even though I had an idea of what was going on, the twists and turns in the plot felt twisty and turny.  They made me gasp.  They made me need to shove the whole book in my face right this instant.  It was entertaining even with the flaws.  It tickled my horror bone, which needs tickling once in a while, and there was even some gore.  Also, I really admired Stella's voice.  I liked how determined she was to change and I related to her for that.

RYQ

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

I started keeping a journal religiously when I was in high school.  Recently, I read back through some of my earliest entries and rolled my eyes and laughed at myself while also being struck but how serious things were.  I don't remember a lot of those serious things that were going on but they were there.  Maybe this is part of the reason I LOVED this book, which is presented in diary form.  Also, having spent some time as the resident fat girl in high school, I could really relate to Gabi.

Gabi is a seventeen year old Mexican-American whose life is crazy to begin with and about to get even crazier.  She is overweight and her mother is constantly poking at her to lose weight.  She's gotten very clever about hiding her secret jerky stash.  She's entering her senior year of high school with high hopes for college and a low Algebra II grade.  Her brother is a little bit of a delinquent.  Her father is a meth addict.  Then, at the very beginning of the book, her best friend announces that she is pregnant.  Gabi is shocked because, well, Cindy never told her that she had even done it.  Next, her friend Sebastian comes out to his parents and finds himself sleeping on Gabi's couch for a while.

Gabi takes us through her tumultuous senior year with honesty and humor.  She gets her first and then her second boyfriend.  Her very religious aunt comes to live with the family.  She has to help her enemy out of a situation.  Gabi is never overly dramatic about the big stuff but can be humorously over dramatic about the little stuff.

I loved this book.  It made me laugh out loud and bite my fingernails.  Don't let the cover throw you off.  This one is definitely worth the read! -RYQ

Staff Picks: Rachael's Favorites

Dangerous Angels, by Francesca Lia Block: Love is a dangerous angel...Francesca Lia Block's luminous saga of interwoven lives will send the senses into wild overdrive. These post-modern fairy tales chronicle the thin line between fear and desire, pain and pleasure, cutting loose and holding on in a world where everyone is vulnerable to the most beautiful and dangerous angel of all: love.

The Beautiful Creatures (Series), by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Nimona, by Noelle Stevens: Lord Blackheart, a villain with a vendetta, and his sidekick, Nimona, an impulsive young shapeshifter, must prove to the kingdom that Sir Goldenloin and the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klaus: Having fallen for a human boy, a beautiful teenage werewolf must battle both her packmates and the fear of the townspeople to decide where she belongs and with whom.

On Writing, by Stephen King: "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write."In 1999, Stephen King began to write about his craft -- and his life. By midyear, a widely reported accident jeopardized the survival of both. And in his months of recovery, the link between writing and living became more crucial than ever.Rarely has a book on writing been so clear, so useful, and so revealing. On Writing begins with a mesmerizing account of King's childhood and his uncannily early focus on writing to tell a story. A series of vivid memories from adolescence, college, and the struggling years that led up to his first novel, Carrie, will afford readers a fresh and often very funny perspective on the formation of a writer. King next turns to the basic tools of his trade -- how to sharpen and multiply them through use, and how the writer must always have them close at hand. He takes the reader through crucial aspects of the writer's art and life, offering practical and inspiring advice on everything from plot and character development to work habits and rejection. Serialized in the New Yorker to vivid acclaim, On Writing culminates with a profoundly moving account of how King's overwhelming need to write spurred him toward recovery, and brought him back to his life.Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower -- and entertain -- everyone who reads it.

--RYQ

Make It Up: The Essential Guide to DYI Makeup & Skin Care

I picked up Make It Up: The Essential Guide to DYI Makeup & Skincare because it looked interesting and because I was curious. I have a friend who works in the beauty industry, and, for the past several months, she's been posting all sorts of "natural alternative" stuff on Facebook. Articles ranging from practical to trendy to completely out there. I'm not sure if she actually tries any of the tips she shares, but one thing's for sure: If something pops up enough on your Newsfeed, you can't help but eventually take notice and, at the very least, do a bit of research.

So when Make It Up appeared on our New Book shelf, I thought it sounded like a fun book to browse. And who knows: Maybe I could even find a few simple recipes to try. After all, I already know how to make lip gloss using petroleum jelly, Kool-Aid powder, and a bit of coconut oil. We did it for a library program a few years back. And it was easy and fun. Simple.

And I am all about simplicity.

Well... This book is anything but that. Sure, it is packed with recipes on how to make everything you could find at Sephora or Rite Aid (or wherever) and more, and while many of the ingredients are natural (healthier?), it's lacking in the area of accessibility. 

A few of the ingredients, like Coconut Oil and corn starch, are easily available at your local grocery store. Most, though... Where would one even begin to locate them? Online, maybe. But that could quickly get expensive. Likely more so than purchasing the ready-made product outright. And then there's the matter of measuring and mixing and brewing, all of which is time consuming and probably difficult. And what if you mess the recipe up? Or get the color all wrong? Then you're out on all counts. Bummer. 

Overall, the book seems more like a lesson in advanced chemistry (or Potions, if you prefer) than a DYI beauty guide. In short: The recipes seem more trouble than they're worth. It's easier (more cost effective, less time consuming) to stop by your local drug store and just buy the cosmetics you need. 

--AJB

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (DVD)

I will own this confession now: I adore Tim Burton. The darkly-twisted quirkiness of his storytelling totally appeals to the strange and unusual side of my movie-viewing preferences. So imagine how thrilled I was when I learned Burton would be directing the live-action adaption of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I mean, who else BUT Burton could handle a story like this? M. Night Shyamalan, perhaps (he does do pretty good with the bizarre, although he tends to lean more toward the horror side of the genre). But, if asked, Burton would be my #1 choice for a movie adaption of this most excellent book.

Overall: I liked it.

Sure it fell victim to the usual movie pitfalls: Things were left out of the movie that were in the book... Characters were different (namely, some of the powers/pecularities were switched around)... Things were added to the movie that weren't in the book... And the ending! Well, yes, it was different. Completely. But recall that the book ended in a major cliffhanger. Also note that no film sequels were in the plan. I can see why Burton decided to do what he did. And I'm glad he went that particular route. I'm sure the purists, thos who critique every bit of book-to-movie adaptions, have (and will) find all kinds of fault with this film. But I had no complaints. Basically, I thought it was a great film. Not my favorite Burton offering (that honor still belongs to Frankenweenie), but worthy. 

So what DID I like about it? 

The setting, for one. Burton was able to capture the eerie creepiness of the book. The fog-shrouded island populated by suspicious and unpleasant people, the deserted ruin of a house, and, in contrast the surreal beauty of life in the Loop. 

And the special effects were pretty sweet. Even the haters can attest to that. 

And yes, I liked the story. I liked what Burton did with it, the creative license he took, the changes he made. And I liked the ending. Liked how the bad guys were defeated and how everything worked out in the end.

So yes, I definitely recommend it. 

Although... My advice for those who have read the books: When seeing this movie, don't view it as an exact adaption. Take it for what it is and enjoy the story.

--AJB