Teen Review Thursday

Here's what teens are reading and talking about this summer in Norwich. I love seeing what teens think about the books they're reading. This week, they're talking about fun fiction... And this is the last week of Teen Reviews - until next summer.

Bunheads: 4 stars

Even regardless of the focus on ballet, I think "Bunheads" was a wonderful novel. I'm not a dancer, but Hannah's struggle shows the importance of pursuing your dreams and listening to your heart. The book also gives great insight about the huge effort it takes to be a dancer, which I never considered before reading this novel. I would recommend it to anyone, especially those who are interested in dancing, sports, etc. because most likely you'll make a big connection to the main character.

The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight: 4 stars

One of my main concerns about reading this book was off the bat, the fact that Oliver's mystery study was no mystery at all. After all it is the title of the book itself.

But as you read, you follow the life of Hadley who is having a hard time dealing with her father's new marriage. She is sent away to be a bridesmaid in England which she abosutely dreads until she meets cutie Oliver, an English student at the airport and who she instantly has this sort of connection with.

The two of them end up sitting next to each other on the plane and speak for hours.

It's a nice quick read for those who enjoy the "fluffy" romance scene. It takes place over a course of 24 hours.

The story is pretty short and the reading level isn't that high. If you'd enjoyed a novel similar to the Notebook, this would be for you.

Teen Review Thursday

Here's what teens are reading and talking about this summer in Norwich. I love seeing what teens think about the books they're reading. This week, they're talking about nonfiction...

Cool stuff and How it Works: 5 stars

I love electronics and science and this book is about electronics and how they work. It has really good quality pictures that walk you through the process.

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way: 5 stars

Learn to draw comics from the comic pioneer Stan Lee an even gives you advice to draw you own heroes!

Teen Review Thursday

Here's what teens are reading and talking about this summer in Norwich. I love seeing what teens think about the books they're reading. This week, they're talking about mysteries...

Sprinkle with Murder: 5 stars

Sprinkle with Murder was a perfectly sweet mystery novel. It kept my attention with suspense and new clues up to the very end when the murderer was revealed and the two love interests got together.

Fatally Frosted: 5 stars

This murder mystery was very interesting to read. It captivated my attention with the perfect mixture of sweets, recipes, romance and of course suspense and mystery! I really enjoyed it.

Death by Bikini: 5 stars

A great mystery novel full of romance and escape tactics that every teenage girl is sure to love.

Teen Review Thursday

Check out what the teens in Norwich, CT are reading this summer:

The Wizard Heir

Jessica

I love the fantasy and adventure in this book. It is an extraordinary twist to the classic fantasy genre. I recommend this book to everyone.

Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan

Julia

A book about an orphaned boy named Will whose accepted into the Mysterious Ranger Corps, A group that the commen folk belive practice the dark arts. Pick up this book today to follow Will in his first adventure.

Rocky Road Trip

Anita

The main character Courtney, who was struggling to make her long distance relationship work, turned out to like the college she is attending, Cornwall Falls. She worked at Bagle Finagle, her work-study job, and formed a strike against the use of the letters CFC as school initials while trying to make her long distance relationship work. I really liked this book and would like to check out other books written by this author.

Monster High

Brittany

I really enjoyed reading this book. I started to read these because I like the shows.I also like the misteriouse mythical characters. I like this book so much that I am going to read book number 2. Yes I do recommend this book to others.

Why I LOVE my Library

Otis Library is one of my favorite libraries in the world - and as a librarian, I make it a point to visit other libraries wherever I go. I'm one of the lucky people who LOVES my job. The Norwich Bulletin has been running several letters to the editor and I'm compelled to add my thoughts.

Reasons why I LOVE my library:

I LOVE my library because I'm a HUGE reader. Last year I read 300 books. This year, I'm hoping to read a book a day. Due to my love of book blogs, I have a crazy long list of books I want to read. No one library can possibly purchase all of these books, so it's great to be able to have them shipped to my library. This is possible due to C-CAR - which is an AMAZING program. Books from all over Connecticut come to Otis Library for our patrons and we ship books to other libraries for their patrons. It's a Win-Win for everyone - especially me. Right now, I have roughly 40 items checked out and another 30 items on hold.

I'm a library lover. I bought a house in Norwich BECAUSE of the library. When the library completed their renovation, I scored the most amazing job here. I'm head of the Young Adult Department. I'm responsible for ordering teen books, hosting teen programs, advocating for teens, and staffing the desk in the teen section. It's the best job in the world.

I think Otis Library is one of the best libraries in Eastern Connecticut. We have a great big building with program rooms, nooks and crannies of different collections, and it's always filled with people.

However in order to maintain our standing as one of the best libraries in Eastern Connecticut, we need funding. The past two years, the library budget's been hit. We've lost money for the collection, we've lost hours, and we've closed for a two week furlough in the summer for the past two years. While we've tried to maintain the same services, it's impossible. We need more from the City of Norwich.

We're more than a community center, more than a center for information, more than a place to grab the latest DVD, CD, bestselling book. We're all of these things combined. We're the place people come to print out their resumes. We're the place teens come to type their papers. We're the place mom brings their children for story time to help build their child's social and developmental skills. People come here to learn, to have fun, to gain knowledge, to learn new skills, to get out of the cold, and to relax with friends.

The Otis Library is the fundamental cornerstone of the community.