Teen Tech Week is right around the corner: March 7th until March 13th, 2010.

What is Teen Tech Week? It is a celebration of the technology around you and that the library uses! We’ll have programs, book displays and a raffle during the week to win a cool prize, just for attending our programs! Attend one of the programs below and you are entered into the drawing! (All events are open to teens ages 12-18, in grades 6-12).

Monday, March 8, 6:30 PM until about 7:45 PM – Teen Advisory Board Meeting
Have you visited our  Teen Advisory Board Meeting? Now is a great time to do so and learn about the awesome programming we’re brainstorming for summer.

Tuesday, March 9, 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM – After School Cafe: Mario Kart Wii Practice Rounds
Do you like Mario Kart Wii? Never tried it out? Planning to attend our BIG EVENT on Friday? Here is your chance to stop by and try out Mario Kart Wii against other players! Free snacks! No registration!

Friday, March 12, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM – Mario Kart Wii Tournament
Play against your friends and see if you are the Mario Kart Champion! Registration required and there will be pizza!

Have questions or want to register? Call us at 610-696-1721 or e-mail us at wcplteens [at] gmail [dot] com!

Teen Movie Night is happening tonight at West Chester Public Library from 7 PM to 10 PM!

The event is open to any teen ages 13-18 and wants to see a movie on the library big screen, FOR FREE. We’ll also provide the snacks and pizza. Call before 5 PM today to reserve your seat, or take a chance and arrive at our doors at 7 PM as we’ll start the movie shortly.

Call the library to find out the title of the movie or ask your friends and see if they know!

Hope to see you there!

It seems 2010 is shaping up to be a busy year concerning books being turned into movies.

Titles to look forward to:

• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carol (Movie Release: March 5, 2010)
• Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer (Movie Release: June 30, 2010)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) by J. K. Rowling (Movie Release: November 19, 2010)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis (Movie Release: December 10, 2010)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (Movie Release: April 2, 2010)
• Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan (Movie Release: February 12, 2010)

These are just a few titles. If you haven’t read the book, stop by the library today and read the book while you wait for the movie! Visit CCLS.org for the catalog!

GAME ON at WCPL
After School Cafe will be all about board games! Challenge your friends with some of your favorite games and try some new ones!

• Date and time: Tuesday, February 2, 2010, 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM
• For Teens in Grades 6-12
• Where: WCPL’s Meeting Room
• NO REGISTRATION! Stop by whenever you want or show up when you open and stay the whole time! Bring a friend!
• Board Games include: Apples-to-Apples, Blokus, Rubik’s Race, Mad Gab, Chess, Checkers, Boggle, Clue, Chicken Out, TV Scene It!, Word Spot, and MORE!

Did you know…that every Tuesday after school, we offer a hangout just for teens in grades 6-12? We call the hangout After School Cafe and it happens Tuesdays, 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM. You’ll find snacks, friends, computers, sometimes the library Wii and other fun things for you to do! If you have not checked out After School Cafe, why not stop by February 2, 2010.

Today at 7:45 AM, the American Library Association announced the winners of the Newbery, Printz, Caldecott, and other famous book awards. Click the titles for a link to the CCLS Catalog.

2010 Newbery Winner is (outstanding contribution to children’s lit):
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

2010 Printz Winner is (outstanding YA title):
Going Bovine by Libba Bray

2010 Caldecott Winner (outstanding picture book):
The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Visit this link to learn more about the awards, the winners, and the honor books! Let us know what you think in the comments.

Pretty Dead
By Francesca Lia Block

Rethink everything you thought you knew about the life of a vampire. According to Charlotte Emerson, the least of her problems are perfect skin, perfect hair, and living a luxurious life in vintage fashions. Instead, Charlotte finds herself surrounded with everything a girl could want, but wishing for something she can’t seem to find. For her, the life of a vampire has only brought her death, sadness, and a loneliness and emptiness she was “born” (as a Vampire) with. Nothing for her will change as she tries to cope. That is, until the day she breaks a fingernail. Vampire’s nails don’t break, and this is only the first sign of events to come involving her growing feelings for a human and the need to face her past.

In this wildly different vampire love story about Charlotte, author Francesca Lia Block asks, “What if a vampire doesn’t want to live forever?”

Pretty Dead was a compelling read. I found it difficult to put down since I wanted to learn about Charlotte’s past and what was happening to her. While this book is a small book, it is a mature read and only recommended for older and mature teen readers. If you enjoy vampire stories and are open to a new interpretation, this novel is worth trying.

Seven Paths to Death
By Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

When a body with an elaborate tattoo is found in the rice fields of a remote village, Seikei, a samurai-in-training, and his father, Judge Ooka, are called out to investigate. Judge Ooka and Seikei begin by hunting for the tattoo artist and the reasons for the tattoo. As they investigate, they discover that there are seven tattoos in total and they seem to be a map to something very dangerous and important. Seikei and the Judge must act quickly as there is another person looking for the men with these tattoos, and he is not leaving the men alive.

Seven Paths to Death is a gripping mystery that will have you turning the pages to find out what will happen next. The language is a little simple for those who like their mysteries to be suspenseful and dark, but it is a good escape for a few hours. While the mystery is a little weak and the strong mystery reader will see the connections quickly, the action, suspense, and intrigue are likely to keep your attention. I have read a few of this series before and it is not necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy this one. Reader beware: this is not for the faint of heart or easily grossed out.

Review by Agent Y.A.

As 2009 closes and we’re only days away from the New Year (2010!), how about a quick round up of a few Top Ten Teen Fiction Book Lists by various places and people. If you’re looking for something to read, check out one or all of these lists. Compare the lists and see how each seems to have a different “Number 1 Book for 2009.”

Amazon’s Best Books of 2009:  Teens Top 10
Check out what Amazon’s Editors found to be their best books and what Amazon’s Customers seemed to purchase the most this year.

Barnes & Nobel: Best Teen Books for 2009
See what B&N had to say for the Best Books for this year. This list goes from 10 up to 100.

2009 Teens Top Ten
Teens vote for these books every year before Teen Read Week.

Reading Rants!
2009 Top Ten List
Ten Most Under appreciated Books of the Decade
This book review blog tells you how it is and these are her picks.

Here we are at the end of an eventful year and decade. Many media outlets, bloggers, etc have compiled best-of and notable-events-of lists. A few of my favorites are below:

Time has a Best Websites list, and note the other Best and Worst lists..another interesting one is the Best Inventions (and worst) list.

Then there’s WXPN’s albums of the year playback - updates here!

Popular Science has a number of Best of lists for innovations of the year.. includes gadgets and “Green Tech.”

Click your way through the photos on Stylelist for a fun review of the 2009 fashion. Then go through the decade’s Best and Worst fashions.  Some of the Worst Fashion list is worth the visit alone.

National Geographic has a list of 23 fabulous photos of 2009 that can be set as wallpaper on your PC… hard to pick just one!

But, the absolute Best of 2009, in the LG’s opinion, is this Canadian round-up of You Tube videos from 2009.  It includes the immortal “United Breaks Guitars.”

Just in time for the New Year and Winter Break, WCPL is now offering a weekly blog post dedicated to teens. What you’ll mainly find are book reviews of interesting books (or maybe not), book lists, program information, movie “stuff” (reviews, upcoming book to movies, etc), and other interesting stuff to help pass your time. I hope you enjoy the new feature!

Happy Holidays!