Video Games: They Can Save Your Life

Did you hear about this? That's right, thanks to his experience playing World of Warcraft, a 12-year-old boy was able to dodge one angry moose.

Has a video game ever saved your life or helped you in a practical way? Thanks to Mario Kart, I am now really good at throwing banana peels out of the back of my car. It really helps when dragons are chasing me.

For real though, what do you think? Are video games, for the most part, just for fun? Or do they do more than that? Are some games more educational than others?

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: The Movie!

The splendid book by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan will soon be a movie!

According to imdb, it stars Michael Cera from Superbad and should be released in 2009.

Find more info on the book here, complete with character blogs and other awesomeness! This is one of the coolest book sites I've ever seen!

Has Uglies "jumped the shark?"

Cool names such as Tally and Shay. A futuristic world complete with hoverboards. Forbidden love. Spag Bol. The ethics of beauty. It's the complete package.

I gotta admit, I am a huge fan of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series. Or rather, maybe I was a huge fan? I devoured Uglies, couldn't wait for Pretties. And Specials? I didn't exactly love it. Now I have the newest installment, Extras, sitting in my pile of library books at home. Should I even bother reading it?

Are you a fan of Westerfeld's books? Do you think he's taken the series too far? When in general, has an author taken a series too far and, in other words, "jumped the shark?" Is the first book in a series always the best, hands down?

If you choose to leave a comment, no spoilers allowed in your post! :)

Haven't read the series yet? Want to see what the hype is all about? Find out what you've been missing! Start with the first book: Uglies.

Author Patricia McCormick Makes a Splash!

If you weren't one of the lucky teens who got to see Patricia McCormick, author of popular books like Cut, speak during Teen Read Week, check out this video to find out what you missed.

What people are saying about her visit, her books, her awesomeness:
"Guys and girls alike were floored by her descriptions of the conditions facing young Indian women like Lakshmi, the protagonist of Sold." --Candy at the Karl Road Branch Library
"The Teen book group at Franklinton loved her immediately. She was more like an old friend that someone who is widely known." -- Tina at the Franklinton Branch Library
"Most students finished Sold in one night and came back the next day unable to stop talking about it." -- Teacher at Indianola Middle School
"Students from A+ Arts Academy were completely riveted by her and the slides of her trip to Nepal and India. They had so many questions that Patty did not have time to answer them all." -- Katheryn at Main Library

Did you get to see Patricia McCormick speak? What did you think of her visit?
What other authors would you like to see speak at the Library?

Shiny New Spectacularness

Welcome to the library's teen blog (and our new teen site)! Look here for juicy bits of news and interesting stuff. And of course we love your comments more than we love free Chipotle. So, comment OR ELSE!

What do you think of the new site? Remember that we heart comments!