Identify the "old tech" win some "new tech"!

Teen Tech Month starts today!

Stop by the LMC windows and see the assortment of "old stuff".  Can you identify it?  If you can, you will win some new tech!  Enter the contest here:  http://bit.ly/1EKEuEa  The deadline is March 31.  Good Luck!

Silver by Chris Wooding

This new book should appeal to horror fans.  One piece of advice....don't stop and start....I did that because the opening of the book didn't engage me, but once I got into it....Watch out!

Paul is a new student at an English boarding school.  Think out in the country, old buildings, massive campus, and ivy-covered walls.

On a science excursion to identify bugs, students report finding a strange silver-colored beetle. Even the biology teacher can't identify it. Things get rapidly worse.  A bite, or even a scratch from the beetle, morphs any creature, even a human, into a silver killing machine.

Initially the morphed creatures are slow-moving.  They remind me of zombies,  but they quickly band together, becoming more aggressive and smarter.

Paul and a group of students barricade themselves in the Science Building.  It isn't long before the "infected" are breaking down doors and climbing through windows. It's almost like a zombie apocalypse.  Cell phones don't work in the country and the power is out.  There appears to be no way to get help.

How do Paul and his small group survive? Do they survive? You'll have to read the book and see.

Wild by Alex Mallory

I can't even imagine growing up in the woods.  No house or cabin; only a cave and a cot.  No electricity, no technology, no refrigerator with food.....yet that is exactly how Cade is growing up.  At the age of 4 Cade's parents removed their family from civilization.  They feared a pandemic was about to kill humankind and wanted to avoid the disaster. Cade is now 17 years old. He honestly believes that he is the only human survivor of a terrible disease.  Both his parents are dead and he is alone in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Dara and her boyfriend, Josh are spending spring break camping in the forest.  Dara continually has that "creepy feeling" that someone is watching them.  That "someone" happens to be Cade. When a grizzly bear attacks the two of them, Cade comes to the rescue.  He is injured and needs medical attention. 

Cade receives the help that he needs, but authorities are perplexed.  Who is this "primitive boy"?  Initially the doctors and police don't believe Cade's story.  Who would believe that someone has lived off the land for 12 years?  Who doesn't know what a cell phone, computer......or even school is?  But Cade really doesn't understand anything about life in the 21st century.  Dara is trying to help the best she can....she feels a connection with Cade.  What will she risk to get closer to him?

I always love survival stories....and this modern-day "Tarzan" story fits the bill.  If I have a criticism it is that it was too long.
#owhsreads

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

I liked this new book for several reasons......

I loved the setting. It is set in the fictitious town of Gill Creek in Door County.  I could almost imagine moving from Chicago to the ramshackle old Victorian house on the shores of Lake Michigan, as the main character, Maggie and her family, did.   It made me want to visit Door County again.

It is easy to relate to Maggie.  Maggie is uprooted from her Chicago apartment when her mom gets a new job in Gill Creek.  Money is tight and the family leaves the big city.  The next-door neighbor, beautiful, but friendly, Pauline, becomes a new friend, replacing those she left behind.

What I didn't like..........

A serial killer is at work in beautiful Door County.  No!  Teen-age girls are found dead, often floating in Lake Michigan.  At first suicide is suspected, but as the numbers increase murder is the only assumption.

The conflict ...........After Pauline's mother sends her away to safety, Maggie and Liam develop a sweet relationship.  Once the killer is caught Pauline returns home and steals Liam's affections.  A love triangle and a tragedy.  I didn't see the ending coming!

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

What happened to Cadence during her 15th summer?

If only she could remember....but the migraines and painkillers don't allow her to find her memories.

Cadence spends every summer on Beechwood Island, a private island that her grandfather owns.  She comes from a very wealthy family, as do the other "liars",  her cousins Mirran and Johnny....along with a friend named Gat.  Something happened that summer and now, one year later, Cadence's amnesia persists.

Whether you call it a mystery or suspense, I did not see the end coming.  John Green has described the book as "Thrilling, beautiful, and blisteringly smart.  We Were Liars is utterly unforgettable."  It is all that.

Why all the talk on immigration?

If you've been anywhere near  a TV in the last few weeks, you know that immigration reform is all the talk in Washington.  Whether you're a conservative, liberal, or have middle of the road views, the LMC has resources to explain both sides of the issue.
To me, it is much more interesting to put a personal spin on immigration.  The books listed below are memoirs about real people and the real challenges they faced as they tried to make a different life for themselves!

Enrique's Journey:  The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with his Mother.  When Enrique was only 7 years old his mother left their home in Honduras to come to the United States.  She only hoped for a better future for her family.  The family separation was too difficult for Enrique.  At 16 he made the 12,000 mile journey to find mom.  Read about his perilous journey as he tries to enter the United States as an undocumented immigrant.

In American Gypsy by Oksana Marafioti, you meet the  author from the Soviet Union.  In 1994 when she was 15 she moved to the United States with her family.  Her memoir is a funny look at American life. All Oksana and her sister know about life here they learned from MTV ....and that doesn't really prepare them to immigrate:)

Angel Island: Gateway to Gold Mountain is a newer nonfiction book about the lives and treatment of Asians at Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco.  During the time of the California Gold Rush San Francisco was known as "Gold Mountain" because it was seen as a place of prosperity and freedom.  The author, Russell Freedman describes the people who came, the screening process they went through, and how they often were detained and deported.  It's an interesting read with lots of pictures.

The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande is an adult book for young adults. Reyna came to the United States from Mexico when she was 9 years old. She was surrounded by much family turmoil in her childhood and teenage years.  Despite it all she was the first person in her family to graduate from college.

Next up........fiction stories about immigration.

Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon

I  couldn't stop reading this new book.  If you loved Fault in Our Stars, you will love this book!

Richie is a "hospice hostage".  He is 17 years old and dying of cancer.  When asked what his disease is, he says he has SUTHY Syndrome.  This translates to: Someone Up There Hates You.  He's not going "to go" without doing the stuff that "normal" teenagers do.

Richie meets 15 year old Sylvia in hospice.  She is in the same "end of life" spot that Rich is in.  Despite their illnesses, they have fallen for each other....and want the same thing out of their relationship that other teens may want.

The book is dark, it is humorous and it is hopeful and it is romantic.  It makes you think.  What if you had one month left to live?  How would you live your life?