Overdrive

Monday, January 6, 2014

New Year

Each year I try and make some goals for myself both as a librarian and in my personal life. For the past two years, I have not quite met the goals and I always get so frustrated. So instead I am going to make some statements..these are things that I will strive for here at Stafford.


  1. I will work to find you a book that you WANT to read. I know that we all of books we have to read, but I want to help you find one that makes you want to read. 
  2. I will work to keep up with the best books in  the Young Adult genre. I will read journals, blogs, and author websites to try and get all the best information to you guys. 
  3. I will work on making the Stafford Library some place that you want to come. I will work on making it available as much as possible. 
These might sound like small goals, but I wanted to make goals that I feel like I need to work on and/or keep up with. 

Happy New Year and Happy Reading! 

The Boy on the Wooden Box and A Matter of Days

Over the break I was able to read two of the Lonestar Books. They were on two different ends of the genre spectrum, but both were very good.



Summary
Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance, and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson's life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory—a list that became world renowned: Schindler's List.

Mrs. Lassley's Thoughts
AMAZING! Leon Lyeson takes you to the heart of World War II and everything that happened. We always hear the stories about what it was like and how whole families were gone. This is a story about hope and what it looked like when a Nazi actually helped instead of blindly going along with Hitler. A must read!! 


Summary
On Day 56 of the pandemic called BluStar, sixteen-year-old Nadia's mother dies, leaving her responsible for her younger brother Rabbit. They secretly received antivirus vaccines from their uncle, but most people weren't as lucky. Their deceased father taught them to adapt and survive whatever comes their way. That's their plan as they trek from Seattle to their grandfather's survivalist compound in West Virginia. Using practical survival techniques, they make their way through a world of death and destruction until they encounter an injured dog; Zack, a street kid from Los Angeles; and other survivors who are seldom what they seem. Illness, infections, fatigue, and meager supplies have become a way of life. Still, it will be worth it once they arrive at the designated place on the map they have memorized. But what if no one is there to meet them?

Mrs. Lassley's Thoughts
Books about a super virus are very popular right now. Amber Kizer did a great job of making this story very real for the age of our readers. This is something that could potentially happen, so for the students they are going to relate and ask themselves..."what if?".  I originally started reading this as an audio book, which I do not recommend. It has a lot of flashbacks and without looking at the way it is written in the book, it can get confusing. I would recommend this to students who like a survival story.