Chess Club Simul This Saturday

(Cross-posted from the main library page)

Our Chess Club instructor, Ben Corcoran, is going to play a "Simul" with all interested players on Saturday, April 2, 2011. A Simul means that Ben will take on multiple players at the same time. This will be Ben’s third Simul at the Menomonee Falls Public Library.

If you are interested, come to the Meeting Room by 12:30 p.m. on the day of the event to register. Play will start around 1:00. Prizes will be awarded to those who can beat Ben or play him to a draw.

Following the Simul, Ben will be available for a short lecture and demonstration for those who are interested in improving their chess game.

All are invited to attend, and there is no registration fee. Contact Kifflie Scott at 532-8910 if you have any questions.

More details on the event and prizes can be found at Ben's chess blog.

Book Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia lives in the Society, where all important decisions are made from above -- even decisions about who will be married, or "Matched," to each other. At a special ceremony, Cassia learns that her Match is Xander, who has been her best friend since childhood. However, when she looks through her Match datacard, another face comes up -- that of Ky Markham, an Aberration, an outsider who, theoretically, should never have been Matched to anyone.

So begins Ally Condie's debut novel, the first of a planned trilogy. I have read plenty of dystopic fiction over the years, from 1984 to The Giver to The Hunger Games, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this story. However, I found it compelling enough that I finished it in one day. Condie writes in the first person present tense, which is a difficult way to tell a story, but after the first few chapters of the book, I didn't even notice this.

The next book in the series, Crossed, is scheduled for a November 2011 release. It will be a long wait. But if you've enjoyed books like The Giver and The Hunger Games, give this one a try.

-- Kifflie

"Hunger Games" movie news

Jennifer Lawrence has just been cast as Katniss in the upcoming "Hunger Games" movie, scheduled for a March 2012 release. She was a recent Oscar nominee for "Winter's Bone." No definite word yet on who will play Prim, Gale or Peeta.

More New Books!!

Our catalogers have been busy! Here are some more new teen books that we've just received:

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel
Star-Crossed by Elizabeth Bunce
Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr
Trapped by Michael Northrop
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Grace by Elizabeth Scott
The Lying Game by Sara Shepard
Blessed by Cynthia Leitch Smith
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Stop in and pick up a hot new read!

New Books Added to the Young Adult Collection

Below is a list of new books that have been added to the Young Adult collection in the past few weeks:

X-Isle by Steve Augarde
The Book of Spells: a Private Prequel by Kate Brian
Matched by Ally Condie
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
Hold Me Close, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Pegasus by Robin McKinley
The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller
Trash by Andy Mulligan
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Stop in and check them out!

-- Kifflie

Teen Advisory Board Meeting

The Teen Advisory Board will meet this Monday, March 14, at 3:45 PM in the Library Board room. Topics will include choosing a logo for the teen area and planning for a teen movie showing over spring break.

Any teen who uses the Menomonee Falls library is welcome to attend and share your suggestions.

Teen Writers Group

The Teen Writers Group meets this Saturday, March 12, from 2:00 to 3:30 PM in the Library Board Room. Refreshments will be served. Any teen with an interest in writing is welcome to attend.

Teen Movie Night March 10

The library will have a FREE showing of "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" on Thursday, March 10, at 6:30 PM in our Meeting Room. Bring your own snacks and drinks in covered containers.

The movie is based on the popular graphic novel series by Bryan O'Malley. It is rated PG-13 for stylized violence, language, sexual content, and drug references.

March 6-12 is Teen Tech Week. Stop by the display in our Young Adult collection to browse classic and recent sci-fi and tech-related titles.