Youth Summer Reading Club 2008

Twilight: Not your regular sappy romance novel

Entering the world where mythical creatures exist is no joke. There are the vampires, one of the strongest, fastest, and most striking species. But fangs are the far-fetched effect of human creativity. There are also the werewolves; the cunning, muscular beings who resemble a gang of bodybuilders when in human form. Scratch the full moon nonsense, though-again some humans’ dim assumption. Although humans have been able to make up the dullest of characteristics, the funny thing is, nobody has ever assumed vampires and werewolves to be mortal enemies. Sadly, this is the evident truth. Lastly, there are the humans; the regular, imaginative humans who are clueless to the feuds of the mythical world.

There’s only one trouble maker, one root of all dilemmas.

Love

Meet Bella Swan, a regular teenage girl, a new resident of the quaint city of Forks, Washington. Living with her separated, police-officer father, Bella has no idea of the fate about to befall her. Slowly and obliviously, she falls hopelessly in love with a handsome vampire, mesmerized by his honey-coloured eyes, and flawless qualities.

On the other end of Cupid’s arrow is a vampire, one of a subspecies that does not suck human blood, but resorts to animals instead. His name is Edward Cullen, an immortal and eye-catching vampire, living with his vampire family. Although against his own instincts, he cannot help but fall irreversibly in love with Bella and develops a relationship with her despite his unsuccessful attempts to sever ties and to keep her safe against the dangers of the mythological world.

Letting Bella in on the vampire secret isn’t the hard part; she quickly becomes accustomed to the welcoming Cullen family. However, complications arise when Bella befriends a werewolf, and becomes the victim of a bloodthirsty vampire who will stop at nothing until she is killed. But at the end, it all narrows down to choice: doing the correct, responsible thing, or doing what seems the most tempting. Decision making becomes difficult, when irrevocable love gets in the way.   

This is the Twilight world, where the unimaginable seems to find itself on Bella’s path. But when you throw in her romantic vampire boyfriend and her sensitive werewolf friend, matters get far, far worse, especially because these three groups of beings were never meant to be merged.

If you’re thinking that this is another one of those series of sappy, teenage romance novels, this is the moment when I have to prove you wrong. The Twilight Saga is a gripping set of books, and Stephenie Meyer has portrayed each character so boldly, and has developed the plot in such a manner, that, though romance plays a large part of the storyline, the heartfelt emotions of desire, terror, and sorrow, tied together in a love story brimming with action develops a new and satisfying style.

Being a Twilight fan myself, I definitely recommend this best-selling series as a summer read, for those of you who have resisted the temptation to grab it off the shelf and become captivated by Edward’s perfection, or by the large array of expensive sports cars described.

For those of you who are already hooked onto the Twilight Saga, living only to see the release of Breaking Dawn; the final book of the quadrilogy, aspiring to own a 911 Turbo Porche (Alice Cullen style), or dreaming of one day becoming a werewolf: cheers! Until the release of Breaking Dawn, remember to watch the sneak previews of Twilight: the movie, read lots of Team Edward or Team Jacob fanfiction, double-check Breaking Dawn release party dates, or, if you’re really bold enough, put on one of those temporary tattoos that came with the special edition of New Moon, the sequel of Twilight.

An absolutely compelling series; truly one of the most phenomenal, genuine series to have ever hit shelves: Twilight.

Sharon, 14

"Summer" by Ariel

   

March of the Penguins

March of the Penguins

            A lot of young people dislike documentaries. They find them boring and dull. I would say that I was one of those people, too. However, March of the Penguins is one documentary that you will love. While it is a non-fictional film about the life of emperor penguins in Antarctica, it is told in such a way that you cannot help but fall in love with the penguins.

            This 85-minute film, narrated mainly by Morgan Freeman, begins by introducing itself as a love story. As the film progresses, you can see the truth in this statement. The touching tale of how the emperor penguins brave the harshness of the Antarctic in order to bring new life into the world is as real and heart warming as any other.

The emperor penguins must make a long 70-mile march from their home in the sea to the nesting grounds, where the ice is thick enough to ensure it won’t break through. There, the penguins, who practice serial monogamy, find their mates for the year, and begin the breeding process. When the female lays the egg, she must transfer it to the father, as he is the one who must take care of it while the female makes the long journey back to the sea to feed. This is one of nature’s greatest role reversals, and it is touching to see the father care for the egg and protect it with such love. When she gets back, it is the father’s turn to return to sea, to gain back the weight he lost over 4 months of complete starvation. The chick is finally born, and the mother and father take turns caring for it, and going back and forth to the sea to feed and bring extra food for the baby. This continues till spring, when the parents can finally leave the chick to fend for itself.

Throughout it all, we get to see the bitter winters of the South Pole, the cruelty of predators, the starvation the parents must go through for months at a time, the struggles that the penguins face as they encounter nature’s obstacles, and ultimately, the very human-like love and tenderness with which they nourish their egg and chick. The similarities between humans and penguins are apparent throughout the film, and in fact, humans could learn a few things from the penguin society.

March of the Penguins has won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Documentary Feature, and has been translated in many languages. It is truly a poignant story about nature’s way of ensuring life, told in such a way that it is enjoyable for all. 

The Outsiders

The Outsiders

By: S.E Hinton

            The Outsiders was one of those books for me that meant more than just the story I was reading.  After finding out the author was sixteen when she wrote it was incredibly inspiring to me.  Any teen wishing to write should hear her story.  She wanted to write about greasers because she felt they had a bad reputation and she used a pseudonym because she felt she wouldn’t be accepted as a female writer.  The main fact that inspired me has always been her young age at which she wrote this.

            Of course, I wouldn’t recommend a book just because of the author as this was a very intriguing story.  If my memory serves me well I read this in one sitting (something I haven’t been able to do for years).  It centers on a group of teenagers known as greasers.  They smoke, have gel in their hair and leather jackets, and usually no parents or at the least abusive ones.  The main character is Ponyboy who lives with his older brother.  He has a very tough life being raised by his older brother, as well as the other greasers.  After Sodapop and Johnny are pushed to the limits by an opposing group and do something unthinkable they have to hide out.  They are helped out by another greaser named Dallas who is in my mind is the most interesting character in the book.  He’s tough and violent but has a soft spot for the abused and traumatized Johnny.  The characters face incredible challenges in their lives for people so young.  Outsiders isn’t the greatest book I’ve ever read but it is one of the grittiest. It features everything from class struggles that boil over and explode into a horrible fight, to a Romeo and Juliet type love affair (star crossed lovers, so to speak).  And even though it was written forty years ago it is still relevant and definitely one of my favourite books for teens. 

Once Upon A Marigold

Once Upon A Marigold is…lame.  The first thing that probably pops into your head when you hear this piece of information is probably that this book must be bad then.  Actually, however, Once Upon A Marigold is a very good book, that is also well written. How?  Yes, the book is lame…but it was purposely written that way, making it, in the end, good.  Confusing, I know.  Let’s get back to this later.

So the basic plot is that there is a young man who was raised by a troll in a forest, and who, of course, must fall in love with a princess.  The princess, of course, must fall in love with him.  She must also be engaged to be married to royalty or another.  She must have an evil mother who has plans to kill off her daughter and husband in means to become the ruler herself.  Like I said, lame, and very typical.

But…very, very good.  It’s an adorable book, with the funniest characters ever.  A troll is trying to take over the tooth fairy business; the tooth fairy is muddled, lost, and way over her head with her industry.  It’s really cute, and because it was written lame on purpose, it really does make it good.  Hard to explain, I know, but you’ll understand once you read it.  And you will read it.  Trust me.  It’s good.

Waiting

The book tells a story of a man, Lin, who was caught between two worlds. In one, he has an old wife in an old village in China and in the other, a mistress in the city. The mistress is  young and importantly, more appealing to the eye. Throughout the story, the author writes from the point of view of different characters. This is his way of gradually drawing you into the story.

            This story gives you a taste of the Chinese history, tradition and custom, which some people may or may not relate to. The content of the book connects with the title in a unique way. You will not only find Lin waiting but so is everyone else around him. The author’s style and the structure of his writing makes it possible for anyone to emotionally understand what he is trying to say.

We might feel sympathy for a character one time and the next we can be totally against them. As you read on, you can feel the struggle of Lin as he lives every day with regret and agony. He is torn between what he really wants in life and then later, wondering if it was the right choice. This is a book that will leave an engraving in your mind and one that is “waiting” to be passed on to someone else.

The Birth House

Finally summer is here! I cannot believe that the school year went by so fast. It was so tough to get some “fun-reading”  done when I had so much school work and school related things to read and study that I had very little time to get any reading done that I actually WANTED to do. Although  I’m working a lot this summer, it hasn’t stopped me from hitting up the local library to get some books that I’ve wanted to read all year. So many times I have went to the library this year, checked out books, and had to return them because I had no time to read them. However now its not a problem.

                Recently I read  “The Birth House” by Ami McKay. I was not sure how I would like this book, but as soon as I picked it up I could not put it down, I read it in just a few hours. In the novel you are introduced to Dora Rare, who was the first female in five generations to be born into her family. Dora finds friendship with the town midwife and learns of her profession and trains with her to become a midwife as well. After the midwife disappears it becomes Dora’s job to help those in the Canadian city of Scots Bay try to have easy childbirth and some light cures to common maladies. However the year is 1916, and new forms of medicine have made there way to the common folk of Scot’s Bay and to the rest of the world. Making friends and enemies along the way Dora Rare comes to terms with the changing world in her own ways. This book was a read I definitely recommend.

                Hope everyone has  great summer, and hopefully for all it is off to a good start!

by Jennifer, 18

Welcome

Thanks for checking out the Toronto Public Library's Youth Summer Reading Club Blog!

Teens and Youth will be using this blog to talk about the cool things they're up to this summer and make recommendations on fun things to do and enjoy.

You can also join the library's Youth Summer Reading Club because there really are some pretty cool prizes ($$$$) that you can win, just for reading! How sweet is that?

And if you don't know what to read, here's a list of books made by Toronto youth.

So join up and smell the smokin' plastic prestige of a well used library card this summer.