Archive for February, 2009

Hunger by Michael Grant

February 26th, 2009


I just finished book two of the Gone series today. Hunger continues life in The Fayz where everyone 15 and older jumps out. To where, we don’t know, and we still don’t know by the end of this book.

But!

We do get to see what The Darkness is, we do get to see Drake take on Caine, and we get introduced to even more characters. The story plays out like a TV show, with little segments introducing new characters. Sometimes these characters are developed, and sometimes a new grave has to be dug in town square.

What’s great about the series is that, like I mentioned at AzLA, it’s Lord of the Flies with superpowers. Tough issues like addictions and eating disorders are amplified when adults are gone and the world is mutating. What I appreciate, though, is that Michael Grant maintains a decent balance between edgy and respectful with serious issues that teens face.

Expect this one in late May/early June. Definitely add it to your collection. It’s good to see a series improve with each book. I read 300+ pages, immersed in the book, this weekend while my wife was out of town. Never before have I eaten so much food, like my food supply would be in shortage.

Check out Sinder’s blog at thefayz.com (for when the Internet comes back up).

iPhone Voting

February 25th, 2009

Click here to submit your picture of the perfect iPhone application.

Voting is closed.

Celebrity Reviews

February 24th, 2009

What I find funny in Scope magazine is what celebrities recommend for teen readers. Jack Black suggests A Wrinkle in Time.

Miley Cyrus recommends Don’t Die, My Love by Lurlene McDaniel. I can believe that.

Also of note – I guess Massachussetts has an official state epic novel.

Handout for Session 4

February 23rd, 2009

The handout for session four is now online. Tonight we’ll be talking about Daniel X, our perceptions, and trustworthy narrators.

Remember, you can find the handout archives at http://briangriggs.com/teenlit.

Hear from Jeffrey Townsend, director of Skeleton Creek

February 20th, 2009

If you remember, Skeleton Creek has quite a bit of spooky videos important to the plotline. Hear from Jeffrey Townsend on Monday, February 23 at 4:30pm on his Internet broadcasting channel. Click here to visit the channel.

Don’t Judge a Girl by her Cover by Ally Carter

February 19th, 2009

Many people have seen me reading this book; many want a copy of it. A funny thing that has happened is that as I’ve been answering questions about the book, people are saying, “Sounds like a great book. I just don’t like the cover.”

I have an advanced reading copy. There are only words on the cover. So… people were judging…based on the cover. I found it funny.

Fans of the series will be happy. More questions are answered, but just like any good spy story, more questions arise as you delve deeper.

We see more of Macey as her dad is on the campaign trail for vice president. We’re no longer just in training, though, since the book starts out with a helicopter and a kidnapping attempt.

We see more of Zach, but he may have some connections to the villains. Intriguing.

We learn more about Gilly Gallagher, the sword, and spy heritage. Very cool.

The best part for me? Sure, there’s great character interactions, funny dialogue (I was glad that Ally fulfilled a promise by putting in a “boys do make passes at girls who…” line from Liz), and all of that. But the spies confront lethal situations. I liked Cross My Heart, but I wished that there was more spy combat. Just like any good series, it’s building progressively as they become more proficient pavement artists.

It’s always good to know that a series continues in quality and what made it successful in the first place. Definitely pick this one up when it comes out this June.

Thankfully I’ve been marked as dubious.

February 17th, 2009

This morning I put up a page on Wikipedia about myself:

Students, remember: Wikipedia shouldn’t be your only source of information. Anyone can edit the page. Let’s see how long it takes for my page to be removed/edited. The issue is that you’re relying on other users to catch the error, and not everyone knows what they’re talking about.

Paper Rollercoasters

February 12th, 2009

One of our science teachers is working on paper rollercoasters. Here’s a demo online and I’m planning on recording her students’ designs.
The inspiration:

Florence Superintendent Sets up Budget Cut Website

February 12th, 2009

Dr. Gary Nine has set up a great website to get information out about the Arizona educational budget cuts: http://respectforregularfolks.com/

Files for the iPhone Contest

February 11th, 2009

iphone-menu1
sms
iphone_phone-1

We’ll put them up and vote on the best next Wednesday.