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Showing posts from July, 2014

Dandelion Clocks

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By: Rebecca Westcott Location: FIC WES Genre: TFIOS but a Mum and a Daughter. Another sad book, another book about fighting the big C, another book that needs tissues, this one deals with an eleven year old girl and her dying Mum. Cancer is a horrid evil, it is a robber, a stealer, a hunter,- it has no mercy, no friends and it is indiscriminate. It hurts, it destroys and it leaves in its path a carnage of pain, regrets, emptiness and hopelessness. It does not matter if you are young and in love like TFIOS  or old and journeyed like my recent friends death- the pain of cancer is relentless. Dandelion Clocks is about eleven year old Liv. She has a Dad who's a photographer, a fourteen year old brother with Aspergers Syndrome and a loving, fun Mum. However, Liv's whole world seems to cave in when her Mum is diagnosed with a terminal illness. As the illness takes hold, Liv has to learn to cook, put on make-up and set new rules for her brother, learn to navigate the unfa

Street Art

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Two books Street Art by Johannes Stahl Burn After Reading by Romanywg   Graffiti annoys me- I hate it. It is like a dog marking its territory. but Street Art- now that is clever, it is a statement, it is a moral opinion, it has political comments, it is  a true and pure art form. It our generations Picasso. These books are mesmerizing, consuming and fantastic. I was tempted not make them "Not for Loan" which I do so rarely, I am scared if they leave the library they may not come back- yet I reckon they will be awesome for some great discussion around a dinner table, or on a coffee table. So here you go- take them home, engage, debate, form an opinion, be moved, angered, and challenged- for that is what Street Art wants you to do!

The Museum of Extraordinary Things

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By: Alice Hoffman Location: FIC HOFF Genre; Mystery, Love and Historical Fiction.   Water for Elephants x Night Circus! This book goes beyond Fiction/Literature with adding Romance and Historical Fiction to the story. The story takes place in the early 1900’s in New York City. Alice Hoffman gives insight what it must have been like to live at this time in a city that contained unbelievable wealth and unbelievable poverty. She frames her story around two major fires that took place at that time. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire where over 140 people died to a locked door, absence of a sprinkler system, and inadequate fire equipment, and most importantly greedy management. The second fire was the Dreamland Fire that for all practical purposes destroyed the area of Coney Island. The story chronicles the lives of two young people. Coralie Sardie whose father owns a museum that today would be considered a freak show. He conditions his daughter to become a mer

Pandora Jones: Admission

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Location: FIC JONS   Genre: Plague. Pandemic. Intuition. Secrets. Truth. Courage. Action. Survival. By: Barry Jonsberg Miss Bigge reckons you guys will LOVE this book- she did!!! Pandora Jones wakes in a changed world at The School - a sanctuary for survivors of a plague pandemic. Haunted by terrible dreams, surrounded by traumatic events, Pandora must trust her instincts if she is to stay safe. And her instincts suggest that The School is hiding secrets. The first book in a brilliant YA series by a multi-award-winning author- check out the trailer!

The Castle Heart

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By: Sophie Masson Location: FIC MAS Genre: Kind of like a real people Shrek! Shrek x Princess Bride x Sleeping Beauty x Rapunzel x Frozen. Can there be such a thing? Well it is true love and that does not happen every day! Oh yeah, pretty chick stuck in tower, needs rescuing, handsome guard falls for it, a prophecy  of death. Its all here- the true love story. A deftly woven tale of warring kingdoms and the redeeming power of love. Another winner from Sophie Masson.' - Juliet Marillier, author of the Shadowfell series - See more at: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/sophie-masson/the-crystal-heart-9780857982070.aspx#sthash.D1ubANOz.dpuf A deftly woven tale of warring kingdoms and the redeeming power of love. Another winner from Sophie Masson.' - Juliet Marillier, author of the Shadowfell series - See more at: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/sophie-masson/the-crystal-heart-9780857982070.aspx#sthash.D1ubANOz.dpuf  A deftly woven tale of warring kingdo

Legion and The Emperor's Soul

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By: Brandon Sanderson Location: Fic San Genre: Sanderson- he gets his own! But if you don't know- he writes awesome Fantasy! We have EVERY Sanderson book there is, we will get everyone he writes and the fan club at Cambridge High School is growing. His books get issued to  students who are not frequent  library users, they sneak in here and gobble them up. This book has two short novels, one called Legion and the other The Emperor's Soul . When we process this book- it will get the heavy duty treatment- tape all over it, we know it will be hot!!!   LEGION ' , is a man whose unique mental condition allows him to generate a multitude of personae. As the story begins, Leeds and his 'aspects' are drawn into the search for the missing Balubal Razon, inventor of a camera whose astonishing properties could alter our understanding of human history and change the very structure of society. The action ranges from the familiar environs of America to the ancient,

IF I STAY : The Movie

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OK - have to say it,  yep- I got tears in my eyes.... The movie is coming out in November - so come and read the books first, it is by Gayle Foreman Would you chose to live, or would you want to die? This is going to be good and  I reckon a great topic for a good few discussions in the library office with my Yr 12 gang! As always- READ THE BOOK FIRST!!!! !

My Two Blankets

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By: Irena Koblad and Freya Blackwood Location: PIC KOB Genre: ohhh Bless OK, I know, we are a secondary school, so what the heck are we doing having picture books in here. Well- it is about blankets and I love snuggling into my blankie at home. It is red and rich, soothing and wrapped in a soft humanity. My blankie tells me I am at home and safe, it has memories and a story. My blankie is fully a piece of me. This story is about a girl and her family who have run from war in Africa. They have come to a strange land, a land that is frightening, a land where no-one understands her words, a place where all she wants to do is hide under her blankie. But then a friends helps her, and gradually she gets to know a new language, and  become less frightened of her new life and this weaves a whole new blanket, a different one that becomes worthy to snuggle into.

Kill your Boss

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By: Shane Kuhn Location: FIC KUH Genre: Mystery/Thriller that is funny Of course if I killed my boss, I would not have a job and so I could not blog. I like blogging so I will not kill my boss. Unless of course I was an assassin. “44% of my kills came from my superior coffee-making ability. It’s simple, puts you in direct contact with the target and it can be a vector for a variety of weapons. ” John Lago is not your average intern. He’s actually a highly trained stone cold contract killer who infiltrates multinational corporations and government agencies to eliminate heavily guarded executives for Human Resources Inc, his shady employer. The FBI believes HR Inc is responsible for the deaths of over 100 corporate figureheads across the US. Kill Your Boss opens with Lago explaining that the book you’re holding is an unofficial survival guide for new recruits to HR Inc. Being a contract killer is a dirty job and life expectancy is short. He supplies various rules th

Dorothy must Die

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By: Danielle Paige Location: FIC PAI Genre: Wizard of OZ revisited as Youth Fiction This is another re-write of a classic, it is souped up, fantasied up, has a gutsy heroine, an assassin, romance, clones and magic!! All in one book. I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.   But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know? Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still the yellow brick road, though—but even that's crumbling. What happened to Dorothy? They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe. My

Daemon and Freedom

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By: Daniel Suarez Location: FIC SUA Genre: Internet Fiction- Techno Thriller Already an underground sensation, a high-tech thriller for the wireless age that explores the unthinkable consequences of a computer program running without human control—a daemon—designed to dismantle society and bring about a new world order. What does technology do in my day today- it is 90% of my working day, all my communication, it manages my finances,  it is my news provider, my music supplier, my evening entertainment tonight, my connection with my family. I will email, snapchat, twitter, facebook, I will be online banking, booking accommodation in Ghana, and filling out an online visa for India. I even rely on it for the lights and heating I use in my home and the gas I use in my cooking. I am connected and I rely on it- it controls me. I like my fellow beings are totally reliant on our connectability. What if someone had the power to unplug me, or even more vitally- the ability to disco

All my Friends are Super Heroes

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By: Andrew Kaufman Location: FIC KAU Genre: Profound- yet humorous This is a tenth anniversary edition so this book has been around a bit, but here at school we have just discovered it! It is quirky, it is gwarfing, it is desperate, is is very funny, it is sad. Most of all- it is very clever! The lists of possible superpowers is very mind boggling and down right funny!  I reckon they had great dinner conversations making them up. If I had a super power I think  I would want it to be teleporting. How awesome it would be to be able to be in one place- say in Italy, near the beach, with pizza and wine, with music and sun and then GaZam- be hanging out with my friends at the foot hills of the Himalaya's and then whammy- be back in New Zealand to watch a Test Match with my family and boof- be in Africa at dusk, watching elephants meander to their murky water hole... so much fun. I could be with all the people I love at the times they needed to celebrate, or grieve, or be listene