Jack Perdu is a Classics geek, a ninth grader who spends his free time helping a Yale professor translate the Metamorphosis.  After he’s hit by a car, he begins to see ghosts.  When his worried Dad sends him to a doctor in New York, Jack gets led down into the New York underworld: the home of New York ghosts beneath the city.  Remembering the Greek myth of Orpheus, who attempted to travel to the underworld to return his dead wife Eurydice to life, Jack begins to search for his mother, who died when he was a child.  He is accompanied by Euri, a ghost who becomes his friend as the two work to find Jack’s mom and elude the Underworld guards.

There is a lot to The Night Tourist: Jack’s sadness over losing his mom and his hope that he may soon find her, his friendship with Euri, who has her own sadness, the mythology that colors the story, as Jack recalls the myths that have been his obsession.  It’s a really good adventure, and a fun read.  The audio version is also available, and is a really great listen!  You can check out the sequel, The Twilight Prisoner as well.
 

On Monday at 3:30 p.m.

in the Teen Lounge

We're screening Up. 

It's the story of an elderly man with a dream to visit South America, the eager Wilderness Explorer who stows away on the trip, and a dog who can talk. 

It's a great way to start the week!

Melinda is starting the first day of the ninth grade as an outcast.  No one will speak to her, but more than a few people will talk about her behind her back, or just loudly enough for her to hear their laughing.  Her former friends have all found new cliques, and when Melinda walks into the cafeteria she’s greeted by a wad of mashed potatoes launched at her shirt.  It all started at the party, and there is nothing to do but endure it.  Melinda’s parents are mostly absent: they communicate via fridge post-its and the occasional lecture.  Her teachers have either maliciously written her off as a troublemaker, or are so weird that there’s no hope of getting through to them.  Melinda stops speaking, but will anyone notice or care?

Speak is a story about pain and isolation.  Melinda, whose thoughts and experiences the reader knows, is deeply hurt, but in her world, she feels like she has no support.  Her friends, parents and teachers have failed her or ignore her, and in her state she is unable to reach out.  Speak involves both descent into depression and recovery—there is hope in this story, but also terrible events. 
 

Image courtesy of flickr user jdxyw

Today at 3 p.m.

Tony Stark: Billionaire. Weapons Manufacturer. Superhero.

The government wants the Iron Man suit. 

A physicist with a personal vendetta is trying to destroy Tony.

His best friend has become the War Machine.

Iron Man 2

in the Teen Lounge

We Love Wednesdays and we love our new blue glittery duct tape wallets.

Photo courtesy of flickr user cmak

It's that time again for the annual Super Smash Brothers Brawl National Gaming Tournament to be held on National Gaming Day, Saturday, November 13th from 1 - 5pm. The event will be held in the Community Room on the big screen! The qualifying round starts at 1 pm where Darien Library will battle against other libraries around the United States. At 3 pm, the top eight (8) libraries with the most points will advance to the final round. Participation in this tournament is open to children aged 10 - 18. Invite your friends, and prepare to brawl Nintendo Wii style!

Snacks will be provided. See you there!

*This event is one in a series of gaming events happening at the library on National Gaming Day 2010.

Spirit White’s story begins with pain and depression: her entire family has been killed in a car accident, and Spirit herself is seriously injured.  When her health insurance runs out and Oakhurst Academy begins to pay her medical bills, Spirit learns that her simple-living hippie parents had set up a guardianship for her with the prestigious orphanage/private school.  Once she is released from the hospital, she learns that Oakhurst is more than it seems, more even than the luxurious-but-strict boarding school it seems to be.  When kids start to go missing, Spirit fears that the teachers may know more than they are admitting to the police, and she begins to fear that she may not survive long enough to graduate.

Legacies is the first book in the Shadow Grail series, so while the plot resolves itself, there are lots of unanswered questions. Spirit is a good character and you will wonder about all the other characters: their motives and relationships, and who Spirit can really trust.  This book is a mystery, a book about loss and growing up without parents, fantasy, and a boarding school drama.   Without giving too much away, I can tell you that Harry Potter & Percy Jackson fans will like this new series.
 

Art courtesy of flickr user Pringle Hill

Today at 3 p.m. in the Teen Lounge!

Play BINGO and win books.

Brooklyn Nine

In The Forest of Hands and Teeth

North of Beautiful

Genius Squad

Origins

1) Did you know you can text message our librarians with comments, questions, room booking requests or to renew your stuff?  Text AskDL to 66746 and then reply to our automatic message with your questions! (standard message rates apply)

2) Teens!: Everyone's making viral xtranormal videos-- if you make a (library appropriate!) xtranormal movie, send the link to teenstaff@darienlibrary.org (or text us the link) and we'll feature it here.

Kevin & Lisa Get An A: Text A Librarian from Darien Library on Vimeo.

Daniel X is not an ordinary kid.  He has intelligence and physical skills far beyond any normal teenager, and his psychic powers allow him to will objects and people into existence.  When Daniel was three, his parents were killed by an oversized insect called The Prayer, a creature who is #1 on the Most Wanted Aliens list.  Soon after, Daniel found his parents’ final message.  Now, he is Daniel X: Alien Hunter… and he is all alone in the world. 

   
Daniel has a couple of problems: First, The Prayer is still after him; Second, he needs to kill #6 on the Most Wanted List before #6 manages to commit a genocide or something equally horrifying; Third, he needs to keep the truant officer off his back.  With all that in mind, Daniel heads to California, #6’s home base, and enrolls in high school for the first time.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X has all the makings of a great series.  It’s by James Patterson, the same author as Maximum Ride and Witch and Wizard.  It’s perfect for anyone who likes scifi and aliens—like a serious Men in Black, with an alien hero who works alone and takes no prisoners.  The sequels, Daniel X: Watch the Skies and Daniel X: Demons and Druids are already out.  The graphic novels are also coming out, which offer a different view of the stories.