Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library TEEN CENTRAL

Great Books Suggested by Teen Readers    Send us mail to suggest a book you liked.

TBC (Teen Book Club)
for grades 10-12
Weds, 7:30-8:30 pm  Weekly meetings from July 6-August 10
We meet on Wednesdays to talk about books, play games, and have fun.  Registration is required and limited.  Please do not register for this program unless you plan to commit to attending.
End of Summer Party on August 24, 6:00-8:00 pm
 
 

These suggestions are from Allison

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks - Noah and Allie fell in love 15 years ago, but meet again.  Allie is engaged, but discovers
that she never fell out of love with Noah and must decide what to do.  The entire story is told as a flashback, and when the author goes back to the present,another complication arises.

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde - Two friends feel the need to escape their lives every once in a while, and
therefore invent "friends" who they need to visit.  Mix-ups occur because of mistaken identity, and they must tell the truth t
o avoid losing the ones they love.

The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King (a short story in the book Different Seasons) - Andy Dufresne is accused of the
murder of his wife and her lover.  He denies the crime, but all evidence points to him and he is sent to Shawshank, a
high-securi ty prison.  His one friend there, Red, notices that he never becomes the way most prisoners get.  He never gives up
hope.  If he can keep it up for long enough, he might be rewarded.

Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy - Four boys with not much in common become best friends when they are made roommates
at military school.  They struggle to survive through the treacherous hazing of freshman year, and after that the decision of
how to treat the incoming underclassmen.

They Cage The Animals At Night by Jennings Michael Burch - This autobiography documents the early life of Jennings
Michael Burch, who as a child was sent to various orphanages and foster homes when his mother could not take care of him.
Every time he makes friends, they are taken away.  He searches for a place that he can call home and people he can consider
a real family.

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan -  Four teens try to forget what happened last summer.  They made a pact not to tell anyone - no family, no boyfriends or girlfriends, no friends.  Now, almost a year later, each of them get a little surprise, showing them that somebody else has discovered the truth - someone dangereous.

Twenty Pageants Later by Caroline B. Cooney - Scotty-Anne's big sister is always in beauty pageants, usually coming out the winner.  Scottie-Anne, the brainy one, is dragged along to all of them, and doesn't like it one bit.  Suddenly, her school has a fashion show and Scotty-Anne discovers that she's actually interested- in fact,she really wants - needs - to win!  She finds her own way to show that she can be different, and that brains are worth something too, not just beauty.

Fallen Into Darkness by Christopher Pike - Ann Rice is missing, assumed dead.  Her best friend, Sharon McKay, is blamed for her supposed death, and on trial for murder.  Sharon knows that she didn't push Ann off the cliff; maybe it was suicide.  Nobody believes her.  She has to find some way to change their minds before her life is ruined forever.

Remember Me by Christophen Pike - Shari Cooper wakes up one day, just in time to hear her mother answer a horrible phone call- one saying that her only daughter had killed herself.  Shari knows this isn't true, and must find out the secret to what happened the night before.  She encounters a Shaddow, which scares her, no pun intended, to death.  She must find out what happened before the Shaddow claims her and the murderer acts again.

The Prom Queen by R. L. Stine - All of the candidates for prom queen are dying.. one by one, brutally murdered.  Lizzie McVay must figure out what is happening,because she's the next to go.

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks - Landon Carter and his friends are always mean to the minister's daugher, Jamie Sullivan.  When Landon signs up for drama class and hopes for an easy A, he ends up getting to know Jamie and discovers that his opinion of her is completely wrong.  They spend more and more time together, and Landon begins to fall in love.  Soon, though, he finds out a secret that Jamie has been hiding that will change his life forever.  The book is slightly different than the movie, though I loved both of them.

Flight # 116 is Down by Caroline B. Cooney - Suddenly Heidi hears a huge crash.  A plane has crashed in her backyard! She must overcome the feeling of uselessness try to help the victims however she can.

Violet Eyes by Nicole Luiken - Angel always knew she was different from everyone else. Only Michael Vallant, who also has violet eyes, understands her.  Together they begin to realize that nothing around them is what it seems. Someone is watching them, night and day.

Fingerprints series by Melinda Metz - Rae Voight suddenly disovers she has an incredible, though strange, ability- she can read peoples thoughts through their fingertips.  This gift, she discovers, can also ruin her life.

Rules of the Road by Joan Baur - Jenna Baller is hired by the president of Gladstone Shoes, the store she works at, to drive her across the country, visiting stores along the way.  On this trip, Jenna meets many new people and has unforgettable experiences.

Emergency Room by Caroline B. Cooney- Discover how hectic and emotional it really is in teh ER, as you meet the volunteers and the victims.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - 16 descendants of a millionaire must play an interesting game to see who gets the fortune.
Great ending.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares -  This is a new book about four best friends who are going to spend their first ever summer apart.  They find a pair of pants that fits all of them, and decide to mail the pants to each girl's summer location, as a way of staying in touch.  This book is very funny, and I loved all four stories it told.

Harry Potter series by JK Rowling - Obviously, I'm not the only one that liked Harry Potter.  My favorite is the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but if you haven't read any of them yet, I suggest that you start from the beginnning. If you liked the movie, the first book, in my opinion, was even better.

Face on the Milk Carton series by Caroline B. Cooney-  This series has stories about a girl named Janie who discovers that the people she has grown up with are not really her parents.  She finds her picture on a milk carton, and sets out to find her real family.

Homecoming  by Cynthia Voigt - Four kids are stranded in a mall parking lot after their mother leaves them. They set out on a journey to find the only family they have left, and meet some very interesting people along the way. This is also a series.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli - Stargirl doesn't care what people think.  She dresses in weird clothes, and plays the ukulele to people on their birthdays.  Leo starts off thinking she's weird, but eventually they become good friends.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher- Eric and Sarah were best friends for a long time.  They were both always made fun of, Eric because of his weight, and Sarah because of the burns that covered her face.  When Eric begins to lose weight and become more popular, he looks back at Sarah and wonders what to do. Suddenly, Sarah's abusive father comes into the picture, and Sarah runs away.  Eric must do what is right, and find out the truth.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - Francie Nolan must continue to look on the bright side of things, even as her family's life grows more troubled.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot - This book is the diary of Mia, a girl in high school whose whole life was turned upsidedown when she found out that she was the pricess of a small country in Europe.  This book was made into a movie recently.

Flowers for Algernon - by Daniel Keyes - This book, which was made into a movie called "Charlie", tells about a mentally-retarded man who gets involved with an experiment that turns him into a genius.  Unfortunately, the experient has huge side effects.

Whirligig by Paul Fleischman -  This book, actually, I read in the Teen Book Club at the libray this past summer.  Brent Bishop, in an attempt at suicide, causes a car accident that kills a teenage girl.  Instead of going to jail, the girl's parents have an intersting assignment for Brent, which involves a journey around the country, and changes his perspective on life.

Send us mail to suggest a book you liked.

You've got an assignment!  Where do you start?
Read the assignment carefully.  Read your textbook if the assignment is based on the text.

Look for an overview of the subject.  Try Britannica Encyclopedia or InfoPlease

Check what books are available in our library and other BCCLS libraries in the BCCLS catalog

Search for full text magazine articles on the topic in a database.   Click for a link to the BCCLS catalog and databases.  To use the Ebsco magazine database from home click here.  If you are asked for a user ID type in your library card number (without the spaces)

Search the Internet with a good search engine such as Google.com or metacrawler.com

Homework Help from About.com        High School Hub    Homework Help

Study Guides - SparkNotes - free study guides by students,  GradeSaver ClassicNote - more free study guides

Egyptian Gods and Religion - TJ Middle School
Directory of Egyptian Gods        Egyptian Myths         Egyptian Mythology

Do a Google search on the name of your god.

PROGRESSIVE ERA
The Progressive Era from El Centro History Department - foreign policy, women's suffrage, labor, politics, - much information, original sources,  and many, many useful links.

The American Memory (Library of Congress) Progressive Era  includes overview and articles on  prohibition, women's suffrage,  immigrants, etc.

Progressive Era Resources on the World Wide Web.

The Civil Rights Movement from Yahooligans

The Civil Rights Movement from Britannica.com