Sometimes teens will read books that are classified as adult fiction, but hold appeal for other teens. The Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden is one of those series with enough action and history to appeal to older teen boys. The latest in the series is Genghis: Bones of the Hills, which came out in 2009.
Genghis: Lords of the Bow, by Conn Iggulden
Book review by: Zilun Zhang
Genghis: Lords of the Bow, by Conn Iggulden, is a well researched sequel that is even more engaging than the first novel of the Conqueror series, Genghis: Birth of an Empire. Genghis has united the Mongols into a single nation and proceeds to bring down the great Chin Empire, city by city. The battles are bigger and the great Khan faces his greatest challenge yet. The empire is crumbling on the eve of one of the bloodiest battles in history.
Conn Iggulden succeeds in bringing forth another gripping novel as he retells the history of Genghis, more thrilling than ever. Iggulden not only weaves a tale exemplifying leadership but delves into Genghis’ complicated social life regarding a could-be bastard son. Learning about history is almost never fun but Conn Iggulden’s novels are definitely exceptions. The series is a pleasure read that will keep the reader on the edge of his seat.
Thanks for the review!
Sharon Long
Teen Services Librarian
Archive for February 24, 2010
Genghis: Lords of the Bow Book Review
Book discussion for Thirteen Reasons Why
Please come join us in TeenSpace on Monday, February 22, from 7:00-8:00 PM to discuss the best-selling novel, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. It’s been a very popular young adult novel with our teens as well as being on the Syosset School District’s summer reading list. So, there’s a good chance you might have read it and want to discuss it. There will be refreshments and books are still available at the circulation desk if you are interested.
This novel deals with teenage suicide in a sensitive and thought-provoking way. When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah’s voice recounting the events leading up to her death. (No spoiler alert needed: the main character, Hannah is already dead at the start of the book).
It is a heavy topic, but the story is written with humor and insight and should lead to a lively discussion.
Sharon Long
Teen Services Librarian
Happy Anniversary of the Burial of St. Valentine!
To commemorate the beheading of St. Valentine, (don’t believe me, look it up!) why not stop by the library to check out a book from our TeenSpace display: Love Rocks! Love Stinks! The actual booklist that I created is printed so that you have to flip it around to read both versions, which was hard to do, but came out really cool-looking (if you ask me.)
One of my favorite books on the Love Rocks! side is Artichoke’s Heart by Suzanne Supplee. Love the chocolate box cover too:
When she is almost sixteen years old, Rosemary decides she is sick of being overweight, mocked at school and at Heavenly Hair–her mother’s beauty salon–and feeling out of control, and as she slowly loses weight, she realizes that she is able to cope with her mother’s cancer, having a boyfriend for the first time, and discovering that other people’s lives are not as perfect as they seem from the outside.
And on the Love Stinks! side we have, Getting dumped and getting over it! by Cylin Busby:
This non-fiction book explores what it can feel like when a boy ends a relationship and how to deal with those feelings, including suggestions from girls who have survived break-ups. And you will survive, trust me!
Oh, and then tomorrow, come by the library with your friends to watch Mean Girls in the theater at 6:30!
Whatever you make of the holiday, remember: at least you don’t have school next week, which should make you happy!
What I read over these snow days – Goth Girl Rising
With snow days keeping us indoors, we are granted some extra time for reading, right? Well, maybe first you caught up on your DRV list, played some video games and shovelled and then managed to read a little something? One can hope. Anyway, after digging out of the snow, I picked up Goth Girl Rising by Barry Lyga.
Six months have passed since the events of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. We pick up with (Goth Girl) Kyra Sellers as she returns to school after a stay in a mental hospital after her latest suicide attempt. Kyra harbors a lot of anger and resentment towards Fanboy as she tries to find her place among her friends and with her father at home. Fanboy has changed into a more confident and popular version of himself ever since his graphic novel, Schemata, has been serialized and published in the school literary magazine. She has more issues than Newsweek, ranging from her unresolved grief regarding her mother’s death, to questioning her sexuality in a male-dominated society. She might not always come across as a sympathetic character, but her voice is very realistic and sarcastic. You begin to root for her as she calls out the truth as she sees it – eventually, even her own truth.
I would recommend reading The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl first, as opposed to letting this stand alone. Definitely more appropriate for older teens, and best-suited for fans of the first novel.
Teen Ink
I wanted to highlight the website http://www.teenink.com/
Teen Ink is a monthly journal dedicated to publishing a variety of works written by teenagers.
If you are interested in sending your work, poetry, fiction or non-fiction, sign up and join Teen Ink on their website. It’s free, and you can then submit your work, get feedback from others and be considered for publication in the print form of Teen Ink.
There are also additional resources and writing courses available on the website, such as the NYC Summer Writing Course.
Stop by and check it out today!
Project Runway for Teens
“Designers…make it work!” – Tim Gunn
Last night we had our Project Runway design challenge for our teens: create a prom dress for the “runway”. The program was in two parts – week 1, we had a fashion design workshop with Ivy Bell-Bazer, teaching the girls how to sktch like a professional designer and create pieces for their portfolios. Some examples of the drawings:
For week 2, we introduced the design challenge: we had them choose fabric and trim to create a prom dress.
Fabric
Trim
We gave them time to create and when time was up, we assembled the runway for the show:
We had the girls “walk” their designs down the runway and tell us a little bit about their designs.
Everyone did a fabulous job and there were many fierce creations! Thanks again to Ivy and all of our talented designers!
For more photos, become a fan of the Syosset Public Library TeenSpace page on Facebook to check out photos from this and other Teen Programs!
Teen Movie Night winner – Mean Girls
The votes are in for our Teen Movie Night and you overwhelmingly voted for Mean Girls!
We will be showing the movie during President’s Week on Monday, February 15 from 6:30-8:30 in the theater.
Some of you though it would be funny to write-in some other movies that you would like to see that were not on our official list. Ahem. But because I have a sense of humor, I wanted to share the results.
The breakdown of votes went as followed:
Mean Girls – 23
Bring it on – 2
Teen Wolf – 1
These were official choices.
Then we had:
Twilight (we DID show this over the summer) – 6
New Moon (it’s not on DVD yet, be patient!) – 1
Casino Royale – 1
Bad Boys I – 1
Bad Boys II (hmm…I sense a pattern here) – 1
And my personal favorite…
Chickens – 1 (not sure if that’s a movie or the actual bird?)
If you’ve never seen Mean Girls – it’s a hilarious look at cliques and frienemies as portrayed by a young Lindsay Lohan. Here’s the official description:
“The story centers on an adolescent girl who has been on safari with her zoologist parents but must navigate new terrain when she moves to an Illinois public school and falls in love with the ex-boyfriend of one of the most popular girls. Things turn ugly when she’s reduced to using the same mean-spirited methods as the other girls. Adapted from Rosalind Wiseman’s book, Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence. Rated PG-13 and 97 minutes long.”
Come watch Mean Girls in the theater on February 15!