Teen Book Club

We're having a little trouble getting copies of October 6th's book club pick, Glow, by Amy Kathleen Ryan, so we're going to try something else out -- we'll discuss Jonathan Maberry's Rot and Ruin, since last week's meeting didn't work out, and we'll have a chance to talk about everything else we've been reading. So, read anything you want to and we'll talk about it.

We'll skip our reading and discussion of Glow until the winter, and at next week's meeting, we'll have copies of Want to Go Private? for you to pick up.

I'm sad because I think Glow would have been an excellent discussion, but we'll have a chance to get to it when more copies become available. Plus, I'm eager to hear what you guys are reading, and I'm eager to pass on some of the books I think you'll love to you, too.

See you next Thursday, October 6, at 3:30 pm. We'll meet upstairs, rather than in the meeting room.

This week @ APL

Join us Thursday at 3:30 pm for our teen book club! We'll be discussing Cris Beam's I am J. Here's the description:

J, who feels like a boy mistakenly born as a girl, runs away from his best friend who has rejected him and the parents he thinks do not understand him when he finally decides that it is time to be who he really is.

If you don't have a copy, there are some available at the upstairs desk to check out.

Can't make it? We'll have another book discussion September 1 @ 3:30 pm. Copies of Clarity (click the link for a description!) will be available by the end of the week at the desk upstairs.

All-You-Can-Read Cafe chats with Nova Ren Suma (author of IMAGINARY GIRLS)

Last week, the teen book club had the chance to chat with author Nova Ren Suma about her book Imaginary Girls. She was kind enough to agree to let us post the chat for anyone who might be interested in knowing more about the book -- enjoy!


Nova Ren Suma: Hi there!

AramTeens: Hello from Wisconsin!

AramTeens: I am handing you over to Ashley, one of our teens.

Nova Ren Suma: I'm ready! Thanks for having me on today.

Nova Ren Suma: Hi, Ashley.

AramTeens: we're glad to have you.

AramTeens: 1st question- where did this strange and eerie idea come from

Nova Ren Suma: Ah! The idea first started as a short story about two sisters, Ruby and Chloe... As a sister myself with a little sister I adore, it's something I always wanted to write about. But the idea got more eerie when I began writing about the reservoir in the story (much like the reservoir in the town where I lived as a teenager). I read about the history of the reservoir, and the towns drowned and it began to inspire some very strange things in my own writing.

AramTeens: Is that how it grew into a full length novel?

Nova Ren Suma: I wrote the story first and took it to a summer workshop. There was no magical realism in it at all... and there was something missing. So when I started writing it again, it turned weirder, and became a novel. Writing workshops can be so helpful that way.

Nova Ren Suma: (Not in making your fiction weird! I mean in helping you focus your ideas.)

AramTeens: So was it a more realistily based story before you took it to the writing workshop?

Nova Ren Suma: Yes, it was entirely realistic. The story was called "Mythical Creatures" — though there were no "creatures" in it. And it was simply about Chloe moving in with her older sister's new boyfriend.

AramTeens: Is there a reason why the story was set where it was? Small town on the east coast?

Nova Ren Suma: I live in New York City and I have for over ten years, but I'm from the Hudson Valley. That's where I grew up, and the town in the novel is very much like the town where I lived when I was in high school. For some reason, even though I moved away, I find myself very inspired to write about the place where I grew up. So I write about small towns like that often.

AramTeens: As we're all small town residents we appreciate having a setting we can relate too.

AramTeens: Do you relate too or see yourself in any of the characters in the book?

Nova Ren Suma: I do relate.

Nova Ren Suma: I think I'm more like Chloe than Ruby. But in real life I'm the older sister... my baby sister is named Laurel Rose. (I call her Rose.) She and I joke about how Chloe and Ruby have traits of both of us. But they are definitely their own people.

AramTeens: I'm an older sister too- the rest of the group doesn't have sisters and think I'm the real life version of Ruby but less crazy.

Nova Ren Suma: Ha! Glad to hear less crazy

Nova Ren Suma: I love being an older sister, and it was interesting to put myself in the shoes of the little sister while writing.

AramTeens: Was it hard to write from a younger sister's perspective?

Nova Ren Suma: Sometimes it was. But Chloe really grew as a character for me... I couldn't help but see the story through her eyes. And like I said, she's a lot like me sometimes. (Except she can swim and I really can't swim that well.)

AramTeens: Is London really dead?

Nova Ren Suma: Ooh tricky question!

Nova Ren Suma: I think there are different ways to see the story at the end... and I'd never say that any one perspective is wrong.

Nova Ren Suma: But, to me, London is no longer dead at the end. I believe Chloe, and Chloe believes London has been brought back to life.

AramTeens: oooooh good answer

Nova Ren Suma: Do you think anything different?

Nova Ren Suma: I get some emails with different views on what happened, and I love that.

AramTeens: We all have a different idea on the subject

Nova Ren Suma: That's awesome.

AramTeens: What's your favorite inturptetation?

Nova Ren Suma: I don't have a favorite... but sometimes people tell me they think Chloe made it all up in her head. That the story isn't actually magical at all. And I find that fascinating.

AramTeens: We can see the logic behind that inturpretation.

Nova Ren Suma: I like that. I like that it can be read more than one way.

AramTeens: Burning question from the group- have you ever written a request on a balloon and let it go?

Nova Ren Suma: GOOD QUESTION.

Nova Ren Suma: No, I have not!

Nova Ren Suma: And now I will have to.

AramTeens: We just did it, with red ribbons, it was fun!

Nova Ren Suma: Seriously??? That is so amazing!

Nova Ren Suma: I hope all the requests come true for you.

AramTeens: Why was Ruby obsessed with sunglasses?

Nova Ren Suma: Heh. That's taken from my sister. She is OBSESSED with sunglasses.

Nova Ren Suma: She always gets very fancy movie-star sunglasses...

AramTeens: There's no deeper meaning?

Nova Ren Suma: ...and I guess as I was writing Ruby it slipped in, and I couldn't take it back out.
Nova Ren Suma: I didn't write it originally with that intention, but I do see so much symbolism for it now. It's one of those perfect little details that were meant to be, I think.

AramTeens: Last question...

Nova Ren Suma: Ready

AramTeens: Who would you cast to play the characters in the movie adaption of the book?

Nova Ren Suma: Aha! The question I've been mulling over...

Nova Ren Suma: I hope this doesn't disappoint, but this thing happens when I write. The characters have very clear faces in my mind. I know exactly what Chloe and Ruby and Owen and Pete and Jonah and London look like, so I have a hard time picking an actor to play them.

Nova Ren Suma: But someone suggested Megan Fox as Ruby, and I can see that.

Nova Ren Suma: If you can recommend a movie cast for me, I'd love it.

AramTeens: We agree with the Megan Fox suggestion.

Nova Ren Suma: I've heard it more than once. So maybe the part is meant for her... who knows.

AramTeens: Dakota Fanning is our suggestion for London.

Nova Ren Suma: Oh, that is perfect.

AramTeens: Kelly suggests we resurrect devin sawa from his 90s hey day and make him Owen

AramTeens: A younger Luke Wilson would be good for Jonah

AramTeens: (if he could be serious )

Nova Ren Suma: Ha! Could work. He'd have to dye his hair.

Nova Ren Suma: I love these casting suggestions!

AramTeens: (we're glad you got that reference)

AramTeens: There's also a crowd suggestion for R Pattz to play EVERYONE

AramTeens: We aren't sure on Chloe

Nova Ren Suma: Hahaha. Amused.

Nova Ren Suma: Chloe would be hard to cast. If there ever is an IMAGINARY GIRLS movie, I wonder who they'd pick.

AramTeens: Selena Gomez, maybe. But we dont like her being with Justin Bieber.

Nova Ren Suma: Hahaha. Laughing again.

Nova Ren Suma: Agreed on Justin Bieber.

AramTeens: Miranda Cosgrove!

AramTeens: From iCarly (I didnt know that reference)

Nova Ren Suma: I just Googled! She looks the part.

AramTeens: Thanks so much for chatting with us! We appreciate your time.

Nova Ren Suma: Thanks so much for having me on! And for reading IMAGINARY GIRLS.

This Week for Teens @ Aram Public Library

It's time for the All-You-Can-Read Buffet! Come out on Thursday from 3-4:30 to talk about Holly Black's White Cat. Here's the description:

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Need a copy of the book to read? We've got some upstairs you can check out with your card. We'll also pass out copies of our last summer book club pick, Imaginary Girls, this week.

What's up this week @ Aram Public Library

Don't forget -- the All-You-Can-Read Buffet (aka: teen book club) will be meeting on Thursday from 3-4:30 in the meeting room. We'll be discussing Lish McBride's Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. What's it about?

Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of harbingers, werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising the dead.

This book's supposed to be a rollicking read, and it's even earned a nod from the American Library Association as one of last year's best debut (aka: first time author) books. Should be a blast to talk about.

Need a copy of the book? Bring your library card to the upstairs desk and ask. We've got one for you there.

This week @ APL

This week's event:

Come out this Thursday from 3-4:30 pm to the library to join in our discussion of Siobhan Vivian's book Same Difference. Here's the book's description:

Feeling left out since her long-time best friend started a serious relationship, sixteen-year-old Emily looks forward to a summer program at the Philadelphia College of Art but is not sure she is up to the challenges to be faced there, including finding herself and learning to balance life and art.

Pick up a copy of the book at the desk upstairs. You can keep this book and have it signed by the author next week, too!


This week's prize
This week, you have the chance to win a $25 giftcard to Best Buy. Read for 5 hours (or more) and/or complete 5 activities on the Teen Passport to Summer to enter. Easy!

All-You-Can-Read Buffet Upcoming Books

At last night's book discussion, it seemed everyone's really excited about our next book, Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King. If you want to join in the discussion, we're meeting at the library from 3:30 - 5 p.m. on April 21. There are extra copies of the obok available, so just ask at one of the desks at the library and we'll get you set up.

Here's the description -- When her best friend, whom she secretly loves, betrays her and then dies under mysterious circumstances, high school senior Vera Dietz struggles with secrets that could help clear his name.

If you want to plan ahead for our next meetings in May, June, and July, have no fear! We've got dates and (tentative) titles for each one. Join us:

May 5 @ Starbucks to discuss Susan Bartoletti's The Boy Who Dared. Here's the description -- In October, 1942, seventeen-year-old Helmuth Hübener, imprisoned for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, recalls his past life and how he came to dedicate himself to bring the truth about Hitler and the war to the German people.

May 19 @ McDonald's to discuss Kiersten White's Paranormalcy. Here's the description -- When a dark prophecy begins to come true, sixteen-year-old Evie of the International Paranormal Containment Agency must not only try to stop it, she must also uncover its connection to herself and the alluring shapeshifter, Lend.

Here's the tentative list of next reads, as well, though we don't have locations set. Have a suggestion for where you'd like to meet, let us know.

June 2: Break by Hannah Moskowitz. Here's the description -- To relieve the pressures of caring for a brother with life-threatening food allergies, another who is a fussy baby, and parents who are at odds with one other, seventeen-year-old Jonah sets out to break every bone in his body in hopes of becoming stronger.

June 16: Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian. Siobhan will be at the Aram Public Library June 22 to give a writing workshop, as well. Here's the description of this book -- Feeling left out since her long-time best friend started a serious relationship, sixteen-year-old Emily looks forward to a summer program at the Philadelphia College of Art but is not sure she is up to the challenges to be faced there, including finding herself and learning to balance life and art.

June 30 @ Aram Public Library: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride. Here's the description -- Sam LaCroix, a Seattle fast-food worker and college dropout, discovers that he is a necromancer, part of a world of harbingers, werewolves, satyrs, and one particular necromancer who sees Sam as a threat to his lucrative business of raising the dead.

We're nothing if not diverse readers! Pick up a book, drop in, and join us for discussion and lots of fun (we pull out the Legos and Playdoh, too).

Upcoming Book Discussions

Want to come hang out with the All-You-Can-Read Cafe? Here's our schedule for the rest of the school year. We'll continue through the summer, so if there is book you're dying to read, let us know and we'll add it to the calendar.

Remember: you can get a copy of the book by asking at the library. We'll make sure a copy is sent your way.

All meetings are from 3:30 - 5 p.m. If you have to come late or leave early, that is totally fine.

March 24 @ Starbucks: Gentlemen by Michael Northrop. He'll be joining us in a chat that day!

April 7 @ Starbucks: Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick. This book is a little hard to get into, so give this one at least 100 pages before you quit. The wait is WORTH IT.

April 21 @ the library: Please Ignore Vera Dietz by AS King.

May 5 @ Starbucks: The Boy Who Dared by Susan Bartoletti.

May 19 @ McDonald's: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

Hope to see you soon!

Straight from the author: Courtney Summers

If you missed book club last week, you missed our exciting chat with Courtney Summers. Fortunately, she's given us permission to reprint the chat. Here's a little insight into her book, Fall For Anything, a bit of talk about RPatz, and a look into the publishing process -- something that will interest any aspiring writer!

all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: first question: where did your idea come from?




courtney: Hi! The idea for Fall for Anything sort of happened a little after my Grandfather died. I always knew I wanted to write a book about death/grief, but I kept putting it on the backburner. After he passed away, it was sort of cathartic to explore the topic. The specifics about the idea--the photography, the suicide etc--just kinda happened!


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: what character is most like you/do you most relate to in the story?


courtney: Hmm. That's a good question! I try not to cop to being like any of my characters, just so I can keep people's ideas of them separate from me. The ones I relate to most--I think Eddie. She has a hard time letting stuff go! I'm like that and understand it. I think her father, Seth, had a complicated relationship with art that I can relate to (though I do not relate to the lengths he went to... at all!).


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: well that's good.


courtney: Definitely!


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: are any of your characters based on anyone you know?


courtney: Nope. Although I do sometimes insert the names of family + friends to fill in for minor characters.


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: we're impressed how everything is off the top of your head -- "it's crazy!"


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: next question!


courtney: Hee!


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: Was Culler a good guy or a bad guy?


courtney: I think Culler was good! But I know a lot of people think he's bad. But I always see Culler as someone who is really struggling with the loss himself. Seth validated him as a photographer, which was important, and in losing Seth he lost a bit of his spark. I really think he believed he was helping Eddie, or didn't anticipate how badly it would go because he romanticized the outcome, like he romanticized his photographic process. So I think he's a good guy who did a not-so-smart thing.




all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: that was a great answer


courtney: Thank you. It was a great question.


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: what interests you about the topic of teen relationships?courtney: Hmm! In terms of my own writing--I am interested in how fragile and volatile they can be, how uncertain, but that could because I throw my teen characters into volatile situations that make them fragile. It's exciting to write about how many times characters can screw up before they get it right (or they don't!).


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: do you think the situations in fall for anything could really happen?

courtney: I think they are certainly within the realm of possibility... but maybe they wouldn't all happen at the exact same time. But then--life is often stranger than fiction!


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: if your book were to be made into a movie, who would play the main characters?


courtney: Aaah, so difficult to answer! I'm not sure. I'm bad at casting--my characters are vague in my head. St. Martin's got Eddie exactly right on the cover but as far as I know that model isn't also an actress. I always pictured some kind of young James Dean look-a-like. Milo's a blank for me! And this was not a real answer to that question. Sorry!


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: we have a protest that you cant even see the face of the model. one of our teens suggests: wynona rider for eddie since shes good at broken characters


courtney: Awww! Well.... when I picture my characters, I usually just see hair color in my head above all else. So... she works for me!


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: and


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: robert pattinson for culler because he's creepy


courtney: HAH.


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: BUT DEFINITELY NOT TAYLOR LAUTNER


courtney: What about Robert Pattinson for everyone???


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: we're all uncomfortable here


courtney: We can just a wig on him or something to play Eddie.




courtney: Aw.


courtney: It would be unintentionally art housey and brilliant.


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: what teens are you aiming at (this is our second to last question)


courtney: Any teens that feel ready to read my books, really. I write to the upper end of the YA spectrum though. I used to think 14-15 and older was best, but I started getting emails from 13-year-old readers, which reminded me that teens are great self-censors + know best what they want to read or not read.


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: "darn right we do" - justin


courtney: :)




all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: last question!


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: what was the publishing process like? we have interested writers.


courtney: It's intense! It's slow but it's also fast, once things start rolling. Once a book is accepted for publication, it goes through a lot of steps to become a book. It's edited (I'm in the thick of edits now for my next book), it's copyedited, proofed... I read my books so much to prepare them for publication by the time they ARE published, I never want to look at them again. That's pretty vague, I know. If there are more specific Qs about the process, I am happy to take them but there's a summary!


all-you-can-read buffet @ APL: Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to chat with us!


courtney: Thank you for having me! The questions were great!

Upcoming Book Club Books

Want to get involved in the All-You-Can-Read Buffet? We've picked out the next several books we'll read, so grab a copy and join in the fun. We're open to high schoolers and we meet from 3:30 pm until 5 pm. Let your youth services librarian know if you need a book.

OH! And be prepared not to just talk about the books. We do things that might be a little . . . strange. Be ready to have to make things out of Legos, chat with the authors, draw, and much, much more.

March 10 @ Aram Public Library, we'll discuss Paranoid Park by Blake Nelson

March 24 @ Starbucks, we'll discuss Michael Northrop's Gentlemen.

April 7, location TBD, we'll discuss Matthew Quick's Sorta Like a Rock Star.

Hope to see you there!

Next session of the All-You-Can-Read Buffet

We had an excellent book club meeting last week at Starbucks, which included some photos, drawing, and a lot of great discussion about Julia Karr's XVI. We even got to chat with Julia, who let us know there is a second book in the series.

Next up for the All-You-Can-Read Buffet is our meeting February 24. We'll meet at 3:30 in the library meeting room to discuss Courtney Summers's Fall For Anything. She's agreed to chat with us for a bit at 4:30 to answer questions we may have about the book. Oh, and in this meeting, we're going to have a little discussion with Legos.

If you need a copy of the book, get in touch with Kelly, your youth services librarian. You can drop a comment here or email her at aramkids@aramlibrary.org. Hope to see you there!

The All-You-Can-Read Buffet

Wow! The response to our new high school book club -- now known as The All-You-Can-Read Buffet was more than we expected. For those of you who missed out and for those of you who helped plan and launch this, here's more details!

We'll be meeting February 10 at 3:30 at the Delavan Starbucks to discuss Julia Karr's XVI. This promises to be quite a read and quite a discussion. All are welcome to join in, even if you haven't read the book. We'll not only talk this title, we'll also work on reimagining and redesigning the cover, so think about what *you* think would make a good cover for this book as you read. And maybe, just maybe, Julia Karr will answer some of our lingering questions.

You can find out more about our club on goodreads, as well as through the blog and on our facebook page.

Can't make it this time? Keep your eyes posted for our next meeting and discussion title. We've got ideas cooked up to do a discussion in Legos. . .