Breakdancing Workshop, Thurs. Sept. 3 at 4:00

Hey Teens! Have you always wanted to learn how to do headspins and stalls? Well come out to the Library! at Collister for a demonstration by local breakdancing crew the Boise B-Boys. Learn some moves and find out why b-boying is bigger than ever!

Teen Game Hour, Thurs. Aug. 20 at 4:00

Come by the Library! at Collister this thursday to have a snack, hang out with some friends and play Nintendo Wii.

The Lost Fleet: Dauntless

“The Lost Fleet: Dauntless” is a hard sci-fi
novel by former Surface Warfare Officer John G. Hemry
writing under the pen name Jack Campbell. 
Dauntless is named partly for the flag ship of the fleet,
partly for the SBD Dauntless Dive Bombers
and the airmen who flew them (and because his original
title had been given to another author).
It is the first book in his lost
fleet series of six books.
Hemry took his experience as a Surface Warfare Officer
(the officer in the US Navy that pilots a ship)
to create realistic naval engagement in space. 
The physics is mostly all there. Opposing forces have
to deal with time-late images due to the finite
speed of light.  Ships are ponderous and have to
deal with relativistic distortions as they accelerate
to fractions of the speed of light.
The only time the book strays from strictly realistic
physics is for Faster-Than-Light travel.

Hemry’s protagonist is a Captain John ‘Black Jack’ Geary,
a survivor of the first battle of the war.
He awakes from survival sleep almost a hundred years
after the war began. Only to find himself the highest
ranking officer in a fleet trapped behind enemy lines.
Much to his chagrin he has become a hero of his nation.
He has to deal with not only getting a poorly equipped
and trained force out from behind enemy lines
but also with the expectations of all those he commands.

Hemry took his inspiration from mythical sources
such as the King Arthur myth and the real world
history of the long retreat of ancient Greek
mercenaries from Persia as chronicled in Xenophon’s
March of the Ten Thousand (Anabasis),
including the deaths of all high ranking
officers at the beginning of the book.

Hemry’s gift is in describing situations,
battles, and locations, not
necessarily characters. 
His descriptions are not bad but lacking.  His
protagonist can be a little too heroic
at times and some characters can
be a bit one sided or shallow.

“The Lost Fleet: Dauntless” is a worthwhile read.
It is a good beginners hard sci-fi book and
fans of the genre will not be disappointed. 
In the end it leaves you wanting to read the other books
in the series.  Which is always a good thing.

Reuseum + Game Hour, Thursday, May 21st

Hey Teens! Come by the library on Thursday, May 21st from 4:00 to 5:00 for an hour of Rockband 2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, and more! Also, Dave from the Reuseum will join us for a demonstration of the gadgets some of you put together from our circuit bending program. See you at the Library!

Study Abroad Program, Thursday May 7th

Hey Teens! Want to see the world, learn another language, gain international perspective, and make your college, and job applications stand out from the rest? Learn how, at a presentation on study abroad opportunities at the Library! at Collister on May 7th, at 4:00 p.m.
Studying in another country is one of the most exciting, and valuable things that you can do in high school or college. And it doesn’t have to be difficult, expensive or scary. Join Study Abroad/National Student Exchange Coordinator, Corrine Henke from BSU, National Student Exchange and high school study abroad veteran Alex Hartman, and recently returned study abroad students for a presentation about the challenges, pleasures, and practicalities of studying in another country.

The Hitchhinker's Guide to the Galaxy, By Douglas Adams

You may not know it but a towel is the most useful device ever invented
by man, as evidenced by Douglas Adams sci-fi humor classic, "The
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy." The saga of Arthur Dent begins
with his house being demolished and then his home planet. Adams then
takes our reluctant traveler to the far corners of our galaxy and
finally to discover the answer to life the universe and everything.

Widely considered Adams’ best work, The Hitchhiker’s Guide is a
well-written humorous jaunt though the odder parts of the galaxy. Adams develops characters that are both strangely believable and totally
outrageous, from a man who’s Earth name is Ford Prefect, to an
intergalactic ne’er-do-well who is also the President of the Galaxy.

Adams does not try to make his science remotely believable which only
adds to the humor, as the reader is introduced to a star ship that can
do anything as long as you know exactly how improbable it is that it
will do that thing.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is irreverently humorous and
accessible, in much the same way that Seinfeld makes us laugh at
relationships and contemporary American culture. The Guide, makes us
laugh at our own humanity, our science, our history, and in the end
ourselves.

Sherman Alexie Chat Tuesday at 4:00

Sherman Alexie, author of one of the very best YA books written in the past several years (IMHO) "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," will be online to chat on Tuesday, April 28th at 4:00. Check out this website to see how you can register for the chat session. http://www.commongroundfoundation.org/thecorner.html
If you can possibly be there, don't miss your chance to chat with this guy. Sherman Alexie is not only a great writer, but he's one of the funniest people of all time. Hope to see you there!

Hey Teens,
Come by tomorrow and get loud at the library! At 4:00 we will have a Teen Advisory Board meeting where we will get ready for the event. Then from 6:30 to 8:00 we will paint a giant mural that will be displayed in the library. Also, for any of you who were involved in the circuit bending program, Dave from the Reuseum will be back on Thursday of next week to bring in the finished gadgets for a demonstration. I hope you're having a good week, and I'll see you at the library!

Teen Book Club Discussion of "Airborn"

Hey Teens!


Come by the library Tuesday April 7th for a discussion of Kenneth Oppel's "Airborn."

Game Hour, Thursday April 9th!

Hey Teens! Come out to the library for Game Hour this Thursday. We now have Rock Band 2!

Impossible, By Nancy Werlin

Lucy Scarborough was adopted as an infant and everyone assumes that her parents are dead. She lets most people believe that this is the case because the truth is way more complicated. The real story is that Lucy’s mother Miranda is still a presence in her life, albeit, largely a disturbing presence. After giving birth to Lucy at 18, Miranda lost her mind and began living on the streets. Throughout Lucy’s life, her mother’s sporadic, sometimes explosive visits always leave her shaken.
Despite certain similarities with her mother, (who was also raised by foster parents for instance) confident, grounded Lucy is certain that her life will be different than Miranda’s. After all, she has the benefit of foster parents who love her as much as any birth parents could, and the support of her friend since forever, Zach, the only person outside of her family who knows about Miranda. But when Lucy becomes pregnant at 17 after being raped at a school dance, that confidence begins to erode. Then Miranda’s diary surfaces, suggesting that there’s something strange about her family. When Zach investigates, he finds that each of the women in her family going back at least 5 generations have had a daughter at 18, and then gone crazy. Is Lucy’s family cursed?
Impossible is a modern fairy tale about love, tragedy and family, and is a pleasure to read.

Stormbreaker Series, By Anthony Horowitz

Stormbreaker, by Anthony Horowitz, is a book for teens seeking a good action story. Alex Rider, a fourteen year old boy, learns that his uncle, Ian Rider, died in a mysterious car crash. Both of Alex's parents died in a plane accident when he was a few months old so he lives with his "maid" (houskeeper, cook, and Alex's friend) Jack. Alex knows nothing about his uncle's supposed car-crash so ho goes into a junkyard to investigate his uncles car. When he comes across the junkyard he notices bullet holes in his uncle's car. Was Ian Rider more than just a bank manager? All of his questions are answered the next day when Alex gets a call from the bank where his uncle used to work. He comes to the bank where they tell him that his father worked for MI6, the brithish intelligence agency. He hadn't really died in a car crash. He hed died on a mission. Alex becomes recruited for MI6 and he goes on a mission to try and stop a mad-computer manufacturer who wants to wipe-out all of the British school children!!! Can Alex save his country or will he fail? Stormbreaker is a break-neck paced novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Also in the series are Point-Blank, Skeleton Key, Eagle Strike, Scorpia, Ark Angel, and his newest release, Snake Head. If you can't get enough of the Alex Rider series check-out Anthony Horowitz's book, Alx Rider: The Gadgets.