Do You Know Jenna Fox? No? Neither Does She...

My book of the week is called The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson. I read this book in an hour it was that good. It takes place in the future and young Jenna Fox has just woken up from a coma. You see, she was in an accident a year ago and, now 17, doesn't remember anything. A lot has happened while she was out, new planets have been discovered a new president has been elected, etc. She has missed it all.

Her dad is trying to help her remember...


              But she doesn't remember anything....nothing, not a thing.....For now....



Soon, her memory begins to return and she starts to ask question, questions no one wants to answer...





                     

Short Story and Poetry Contest! Plus, Book-o-da-Week

3rd Annual Short Story and Poetry Contest!

Do you write poetry? Or maybe you have a story to tell... Well now is your chance. Here are the rules:

- All stories and poems must be original

- Stories should be short, but have a beginning, middle, and end

- Anything genre is acceptable: mystery, adventure, realistic fiction, science fiction, what ever you want!

- All submissions must be in by April 12, 2013. 

Prizes include gift cards to Dunkin Donuts, Barnes & Noblem, and Subway (mmmmmmm...)

For more updates, "Like" SCLA SCSD on Facebook!

Book of the Week! - Stitches, by David Small

Mrs. Karr's English class is doing graphic novels and while I was up there this morning giving a short lesson, I couldn't believe I forgot about this book. STITCHES tells the story of a young boy who develops a growth in his throat. He goes in for a routine surgery and when he wakes up he discovers the growth was actually cancerous and they had to remove a vocal chord, leaving him barely able to talk...now, he's angry at everyone. 

This book is dark and a little twisted, but it reads like a movie. The images are so distorted and off-putting that it makes you not want to turn the page...but you HAVE TO because together, the pictures and story make this an incredible read!

Book of the Week and Library Update!

Library update first - We are just short of 1100 books circulated for the year! That is awesome and just to give you an idea of how awesome it is, we average 4.2 books circulated per student. We have a goal of 1500 books circulated before June. Let's do this!

I am sure some of you have heard by now that we have to tighten our belts here in Schenectady. We are amongst the poorest districts in the state and we don't always get our fair share. I STRONGLY urge you to learn about how you, the student, is losing out on some serious $$$$. Our Superintendent, Mr. Spring, has put together some information here. Take some time to read, sit down with your parents/guardians and read, and find out what you can do. Without proper funding, we are going to lose some critical services.

Book of the Week - Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

I love Shakespeare...this is not Shakespeare- but that doesn't mean it's bad, heck no! I loved this book. It's a twist on Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet's love story which we all think is tragic, but this digs a little deeper...

The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.


OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Get it from the SCLA Library today!

Mr. Bott's Book of the Week! Fine...I'll read about Zombies...

Each year it's something different. Last year it was all about VAMPIRES. I'm sure the culmination of the Twilight film series had something to do with that. This year, it's ZOMBIES. The TV series The Walking Dead is huge and the adaptation of the book World War Z into a major movie starring Brad Pitt is definitely driving interest in the genre.

Now I'm a simple librarian. I like Lord of the Rings and Walter Dean Myers and Sharon Draper and Ellen Hopkins and the list goes on and on...but I could never get into ZOMBIE books. They always seemed like the same plot over and over. So when I picked up ASHES, the first book of the trilogy by the same name, I thought it was going to bore me to death. I was wrong.

The story is about Alex, a young girl who is having a rough go of it. She goes for a walk in the woods....

                                                   Then there's an explosion......

                                                                                    And people are...."CHANGED"

check it out:

I loved this book...Not your average Zombie story!

Book of the Week & Regents!

Hi SCLA Students!

1. Regents is next week...Yes...NEXT WEEK! With that said, you might want to brush up on the information presented on the Regents exams. I have every workbook known to man that will help you with some of the more difficult Regents questions. Stop by the library to check them out today!

2. Book of the Week- Oddly enough, my Book(s) of the Week are the aforementioned REGENTS WORKBOOKS!



GET IN HERE...TAKE OUT THESE BOOKS...PASS YOUR REGENTS!

Mr. Bott's Book of the Week!

This book deals with my favorite protagonists, Ingrid....she's cool- plays soccer, smart, and just snagged the role of Alice in the production of Alice In Wonderland. Now, she usually gets a ride from her mom to soccer practice, but her life is about to change when she decides to walk home...and gets lost...

Thirteen-year-old Ingrid Levin-Hill decides to be independent and walk to soccer practice.  After getting lost on the way, she meets a woman people call Cracked-Up Katie and calls a taxi from Katie’s house.  Ingrid is horrified to hear Katie’s murder announced on the news the next day.  She is afraid to tell anyone she was at Katie’s house, and then realizes she left her soccer shoes in Katie’s living room.  Thinking she might be fingered as a suspect, she secretly heads off to retrieve her shoes in the middle of the night.  The plot thickens when she sees another intruder in the house while she is there.  She knows the wrong men have been arrested for the crime—but is afraid to talk, even when the police chief questions her directly about those red soccer shoes.  In the meantime, the chief’s cute son starts calling her, she gets the lead role in the community play, and her relationship with her older brother Ty has its ups and downs.  She continues a positive relationship with her Grampy, a lively character in the family.  Ingrid independently investigates, trying to figure out whodunnit.

Happy New Year- Book of the Week TIME!

Happy New Year Everyone! Welcome back- So what does January bring us?

1. The second batch of new library books have arrived. I will be advertising the covers around the school and Marcus will be reading a couple reviews on the announcements.

2. REGENTS ARE THIS MONTH - There will be a review session on Saturday Jan. 12...stay tuned

3. Overdue notices will be sent out via Facebook and, if books are not returned, phone calls will be made home!

4. BOOK OF THE WEEK TIME! This is a slight twist on the Cinderella Story...and by slight I mean, wicked awesome! This book is called Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Just think if Cinderella was a cyborg (robot human hybrid) and the fate of the world lay in her hands...

From Amazon.com

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.