Teen Space (Hastings District Libraries, New Zealand)

"Teen Space." Accessed April 2, 2007, from http://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/libraries/teenmenu.htm.

Comments:
The colors of this web page are appealing, but there's not much else that is. At first I thought that it looked ok, and then I realized that the teen page is inside the larger Hastings District web site. The "Teen Space" just has an extra navigation bar (in lime green) on the top of the few links that make up this teen web site. Since all the navigation bars from the parent web site are still visible when viewing the teen web site, navigating away from the teen site is quite easy (and recommended!).

The main sections of Teen Space are "Teen Reviews," "New Stuff," "What We Have," and "Helpful Links." The reviews are very limited, and the first outside link on that page doesn't work. The new stuff is one post about a New Zealand YA book award won last May. "What We Have" consists of a general overview of what's available for teens at the library, along with links to two databases. The "Helpful Links" sections is the only one that might be useful, as it has links to homework help (it also has links to the same two databases from the previous section).

I can't see teens using this web site very often. The parent web site has much more information available and is easier to navigate. If the Hastings District Libraries added some more content, they could definitely improve the teen web site. It has some potential!

Louisiana Hurricane, 1860

Duey, Kathleen. (2000). Louisiana hurricane 1860. New York: Pocket Books.

Reading level: Grades 7-10

Summary:
Madelaine LeBlanc is a sheltered, plantation owner's daughter. This particular year, Louisiana has been hit with a number of hurricanes. Slave labor isn't enough to keep the plantation running, so Mr. LeBlanc has to hire Cajuns as temporary workers. One of these Cajun's is Francoise Jarousseau, a handsome man who comes from mixed blood. Can Madelaine and Francoise overcome society's barriers, or will they be torn apart?

Comments:
One thing that was good about this book was its description of Louisiana. I've been fascinated with Louisiana ever since the Mayfair Witches books by Anne Rice, who often uses New Orleans as her setting. There's not much else of value in this book. It may be historically accurate, but the characters aren't authentic. Madelaine's instinct that slavery is wrong is innate; no one else talks about the issue with her. As discussed in the seminar presentation on historical novels, Madelaine's thoughts on slavery reflect today's society, not her own. Madelaine's character was also very passive. She didn't effectively speak up for herself or make her own decisions. The last line of the book is, "Madelaine leaned close to be kissed." She can't ever take the initiative to kiss the man she is supposedly madly in love with! There was lots of talk about the imminent civil war, yet the book ends before the war starts. This leaves too many questions about how the characters' lives are going to change.

Strangely, this book is part of a series of teen historical romances that focuses on disasters. Other books in the series include, Hindenburg, 1937, San Francisco Earthquake, 1906, and The Great Chicago Fire, 1871. I guess the concept is interesting, but perhaps a bit morbid. I prefer modern teen chick lit to this historical romance. Since there was hardly any flirtation, all the fun of an adult historical romance was missing. I would recommend this book to teens who aren't quite ready for adult romance, but who want to see what the genre's all about.

Rating: 2/5

FutureSex / LoveSounds (CD)

Timberlake, Justin. (2006). Futuresex/lovesounds [sound recording]. Jive Records: distributed by Sony BMG Music (Canada).

Audience: Grades 7+

Summary:
Pop/dance music. Tracks include: FutureSex/LoveSound, SexyBack, Sexy Ladies/Let Me Talk to You, My Love, LoveStoned/I Think She Knows, What Goes Around/Comes Around, Chop Me Up, Damn Girl, Summer Love/Set the Mood, Until the End of Time, Losing My Way, and (Another Song) All Over Again.

Comments:
While listening to this CD, I was wondering who exactly the intended audience is. I can't imagine teenage boys would choose to listen to this (at least while anyone else is around). The subject matter, I would say, involves people in their 20s. Yet the CD is held in the YA collection of libraries, with a parental advisory label. Who is Justin singing to? It's really hard to judge what music can be classified as "Young Adult." Teens listen to all types of music, and not much of it is targeted specifically towards them. I hope Justin wasn't targeting teens on this album!

Well, I have to admit that I've always been a JT fan, so I greatly enjoyed this album. I didn't like any of the slow songs (only 2 I think), and "Damn Girl" was very, very bad. But other than those, the music is catchy and upbeat. Some of his lyrics can be a bit macho ("I was about to give you my name" - did I ask for your name?), but they're mostly fun. Almost every song is about boy-girl love/attraction/betrayal. One song, "Losing my way," is about a pothead. This breaks up the sap nicely, but the lyrics seem insincere coming from JT. This music is great for school dances, for girls to listen to while hanging out, or to cheer you up if a boy's been mean to you.

Rating: 4/5

Seven for a Secret

Sheppard, Mary C. (2001). Seven for a secret. Toronto: Groundwood/Douglas & McIntyre.

Reading level: Grades 8-12

"One for sorrow / Two for joy / Three for a wedding / Four for a boy / Five for silver / Six for gold / Seven for a secret that can't be told"

Summary:
Three cousins (Kate, Rebecca, and the narrator, Melinda) live in rural Newfoundland in the 1960s. They think they know everything about everybody in there tiny community. However, as the summer progresses, the girls find out that there are secrets in their very own family. The girls must also deal with tough decisions about boys, school, and independence.

Comments:
This book is a very detailed portrayal of small town Newfoundland in the 1960s. The community is just on the brink of coming out of their splendid isolation; a road doesn't reach the town until the very end of the book. A lot of the story felt like the author's own nostalgia about Newfoundland, and a close-knit community. There's a lot of description, which slows down the storyline, making it hard to stay interested. While I appreciate the limited choices the girls had in the book, I didn't like the ending. I kept waiting for one of the girls to stand up to the adults and make her own decisions, but this didn't end up happening.

The cover of the book didn't fit with the story at all, which seems strange. On the cover the girls look modern and cartoonish, yet in the book they are old fashioned and serious. The book seems like an adult book that happens to have a YA protagonist so the publisher tried to market the book to teens by creating a young-looking cover. Maybe I'm too hung up on the cover, but it really bothered me! The story itself is OK, and would likely be of interest to females who grew up in Newfoundland, or who are interested in Canadian fiction.

Rating: 3/5

Stratford Public Library Teen Website

"The Lounge." Accessed March 23, 2007, from http://www.stratford.library.on.ca/teens/lounge.asp

Comments:
At first glance, this website looks appealing. The main page has nice colors if you ignore the red and blue amateur-looking boxes on the right of the screen. The main headings all are useful for teens, but the order of the headings seems pretty random.

The actual pages are simply lots of links to other web sites. It would be nice to see some more original content on the pages. Again, the order of links on the pages doesn't seem to have any sort of structure or purpose. The "Study Sites" page looked really helpful. It's broken down into subject, then into relevant web sites. The "Jobs" and "College?" links also contained some good information.

One thing that looked a bit outdated was the "Get Hip" section which directs you to the library catalogue. The phrasing is bad, let alone the fact that they're trying to say the library catalogue will make you hip! Most of the web site's pages haven't been updated since mid 2006, which could lead to broken links (though I didn't find any) and outdated information. This website would be great if they got rid of the boxes on the main page, added some original content, and rearranged the links on the pages to be in some sort of order.

Pigboy

Grant, Vicki. (2006). Pigboy. Victoria, B.C.: Orca Book Publishers

Reading level: Grades 7-10

Summary:
Dan Hogg is bummed that his class is going on a field trip to a farm. A farm with lots of hogs. It's bad enough that Dan is the skinniest, funniest-looking kid in the class, but with a last name like Hogg, he doesn't stand a chance against bullies like Shane Coolen. When they get to the farm, the farmer is not exactly what they expected. In fact, he seems a bit crazy...

Comments:
A very complete book. Grant is quite good at tying everything together very nicely. It was a quick read, but not childish. Dan is a pretty likable guy, so you feel for him when he's bullied. I had the strange feeling that I'd read this book before, or something similar. I expected more people to die after hearing the presentation on Hi/Lo books. I would recommend this book to teen guys (especially those with bullying tendencies!), but it could also be of interest to girls.

Rating: 4/5

Bindi Babes

Dhami, Narinder. (2003). Bindi babes. London: Corgi Yearling Books.

Reading level: Grades 5-8

Summary:
Sisters Amber, Jazz and Gina are the coolest kids in their school. Everyone looks to them as leaders, including their teachers! They have been exemplary students ever since their mother died two years ago. They don't talk about their mother's death, and with any mention of her the subject is quickly changed. The girls think its great that their Dad is always at work, which allows them to order take out, watch whatever tv shows they want, and stay up as late as they want. However, everything changes when their Auntie from India comes live with them. She meddles in all the sisters' affairs, and even dares to talk about their mother in front of them. The girls come up with many schemes to get rid of her, and in the process have to give up their illusion of perfection.

Comments:
This book was quite good. Although a bit unrealistic in parts, the way the sisters reacted to their mother's death seemed genuine and was touching. The tertiary characters were also amusing. I especially liked Kim, who the reader gradually learns has a secret that the sisters haven't noticed as they've been so wrapped up in their own lives. The book shows how there is more to people than their outward appearance and actions, and that you have to get to know someone before you can judge them. It was also refreshing to read a book with a more multicultural perspective. The book would appeal to Indian girls, but the major themes transcend cultural barriers. I would definitely recommend this book to younger teens.

Rating: 4/5

Teen Magazine

Teen Magazine. (2007, winter). Santa Monica: Hearst Magazines. (cover not as shown)

Reading level: Grades 6-10

Summary:
Typical teen magazine for girls.

Comments:
This magazine sits between Faze and CosmoGirl for quality. It truly has a teen focus, and many of the celebrities are teen-ish or at least play a teen on tv. There are some useful sections like book recommendations, how to make over your life, how to deal with false friends, how to break up with a guy, real life stories, and health myths. But there's also lots of ads, lots of filler, and an overload of celebrities (even for me, someone who loves reading about celebs!). There were also the token embarrassing moments and three pinups of boys I'd never seen before. Which must mean they're on some obscure Disney channel show. The magazine looked pretty harmless, but there wasn't any really compelling material either. I would recommend this mag as an alternative to CosmoGirl.

Rating: 3/5

CosmoGirl

CosmoGirl. (2006, June/July). New York: Hearst Communications.

Reading level: Grades 9-12

Summary:
Celebrities, swimsuits, fashion, etc.

Comments:
I couldn't really figure out what qualified this magazine as a teen magazine, besides the title. It seems to contain everything the regular Cosmo magazine has, minus the sex tips. There were a few excerpts from YA books (including one Gossip Girl book), but otherwise I would have guessed that this magazine was aimed at 18-20 year olds. But 18-20 year olds are already reading Cosmo, so I remain confused. There really isn't much to discuss about the magazine. It was a lot of fashion shoots with beautiful stars and models, lots and lots of advertisements, and a lack of stimulating or relevant information. One interesting section was the last page, a manga representation of CosmoGirl interns at a concert...quite a feeble attempt at connecting with their teen readers in my opinion.

There's also a companion website, where the first thing I noticed was a poll asking whether you drink more alcohol during the summer or the school year. This seems a bit irresponsible, seeing that the legal drinking age in the US is 21, an age past girlhood! Altogether a useless magazine that I wouldn't recommend to any teen. They might as well just read the regular Cosmo.

Rating: 1/5

Faze Magazine

Faze Magazine. (Spring 2006). Toronto: Faze Publications.

Reading level: Grades 7-10

Summary:
Faze is a Canadian teen magazine. Along with the typical teen magazine sections like beauty, fashion, and exercise, Faze includes global issues, lots of interaction with readers, and career descriptions. Also visit the fabulous website at www.fazeteen.com.

Comments:
Faze is a great teen magazine. It hardly has any ads, and those that show up are for things like deodorant and continuing education. There were no emaciated models. I was also impressed with the interaction with readers. There are multiple columns where readers' questions are answered, or teens give their opinion on an issue (e.g. whether teachers and students should be friends). There is also a true Canadian focus in the magazine. In the global issues section, the magazine actually criticizes the American invasion of Iraq, not something you'd normally see in a teen magazine! The career sections are also very useful, and not typical. Almost all of the sections are small and divided into manageable chunks. The magazine does discuss some celebrities, but it is more advice than gossip. And the quiz is about anatomy, not whether or not you'd be a good date! The one complaint teens may have about this magazine is that it is a bit on the boring side. There's no hot pinup of Orlando Bloom, and there is a lack of humorous columns. The cover of this particular issue was also rather unfortunate.

Rating: 4/5