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Reading Connections @ the Guilderland Public Library! |
As we celebrate the fourth year of our Reading Connections @ the Guilderland Public Library parent/teen book discussion series, we are very pleased to welcome Jen Bryant as this year’s visiting author for teen readers!
As a writer, Jennifer cites a love of books, an exposure to fine music (her Grandfather was an excellent pianist!), living in historic places, and a love of poetry as major influences. Just read any of her works, including Pieces of Georgia and The Trial, and you will feel the musical quality her verse will take on, and the care with which she treats her historical subjects! She once commented, "Human behavior has always fascinated me. The choices people make, their fears, fantasies, struggles, and achievements provide an endless pool of stories...”
Our Reading Connections group members will be reading Ms. Bryant’s novel-in-verse (or story-in-poems), The Trial, about the small town of Flemington, New Jersey in a state of upheaval surrounding the 1935 Trial of Bruno Hauptmann for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s infant son, Charles Jr. The Trial takes a look at the “Trial of the Century” (20th century!) and how people’s prejudices, the news, and other opinions may have influenced the outcome of this very real event in American history.
Participants will have a chance to sit, talk, and share a meal with her on the March 9 evening before her March 10 presentation to the community. On Saturday, March 10 at 2 pm, Jen Bryant will talk to all of you who come about her life, her writing, and the fascinating research done while writing The Trial and other historical novels! Still interested in becoming part of the group? Give me (Trevor) a call at 456-2400 ext. 40 on weekdays after 1 pm, or simply visit http://www.uhls.org/guil/teen/ and use the email link from there and I’ll make sure you have all the details
See below for the high school dates, times, and books!
To sign up, see Mrs. DiMaggio or Mrs. Dicker in the FMS Learning Center or see Trevor at the Guilderland Public Library’s Teen Desk!
Tuesday, 11/28 7 pm: Discussion #1: The Last Universe by William Sleator
Tuesday, 1/30 7 pm: Discussion #2: Heck, Superhero by Martine Leavitt
Wednesday, 3/7 7 pm: Online discussion of The Trial by Jennifer Bryant
**Books will be available for pick-up at the Farnsworth Middle School Learning Center or at the Guilderland Public Library**
This year, the dates for the Reading Connections high school group are as follows: Wednesday, October 18, 7 pm; Wednesday, November 15, 7 pm; and Wednesday, January 17, 7 pm. Here’s what we’ll be reading:
Split Image by Mel Glenn |
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| Award-winning poet Mel Glenn weaves a brilliant web of authentic voices in this riveting story, told in poetry, about what happens when one teenage girl is denied the freedom to determine her own identity. Mel Glenn will be visiting the Guilderland High School this Fall! Stay tuned for more details! | |
| Heavy Metal and You by Christopher Krovatin discussion 11/15 |
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| Boy listens to lots of loud music and hangs with his friends. Boy meets girl. Boy falls dippy-happy-scared-as-hell in love with girl. Friends meet girl -- and aren't impressed. Girl meets friends -- and isn't impressed. Boy meets big dilemma. Boy plays music even louder. Big dilemma meets big, complicated resolution. With humor and heartfelt observations, Heavy Metal and You strikes some very loud chords about life, love, and friendship. | |
| Uglies by Scott Westerfeld discussion 1/17 |
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| Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever. | |
Reading Connections is a book group for teens and offers an optional, separate group for their parents. It’s also a collaboration between the Guilderland Central School District and the Guilderland Public Library. Everyone reads the same books over the course of a few months, and each month, there will be a book discussion at the Guilderland Public Library. The parents will meet with GPL Teen Services Librarian, Trevor Oakley. Students will meet separately with the school librarians It’s a great opportunity for everyone to explore the rich diversity of great books for teens, full of exploration, humor, teen issues, and fantasy! There will be two groups of students and parents: One group for grades 7-8, and a second for grades 9-12. For the past three years, a visiting author has been the high point of the program. We have had Vivian Vande Velde (Heir Apparent, Being Dead), David Lubar (Hidden Talents, Sleeping Freshman Never Lie), Chris Crutcher (Whale Talk, Ironman), and Joseph Bruchac (Code Talkers, The Winter People).