Books

Libraries are Getting Teen Friendly
Libraries around the country are getting makeovers, adding cool new teen spaces. In addition to creating comfortable and user-centered spaces for teens, many public libraries are including a gaming area. Why? Because libraries are finding that teens are more likely to use other library resources and services when there’s an activity such as gaming that interests them. Gaming has figured prominently in the design of the teen spaces in the following public libraries.

What would you like to see in your local library? How can it become more teen friendly to suite your needs?
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Taylor Swift and Scolastic Team Up
Scolastic, along with the launch of global literacy campaign, Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life, will target kids, parents and teachers alike. As part of the classroom component, Taylor Swift will appear in a live webcast exclusively for schools on October 27th discussing the importance of reading in her life. More on this story

How has reading impacted your life?
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=Snooki To Publish Debut Novel Next Year=

'Jersey Shore' star's book tells tale of 'a girl looking for love on the boardwalk.'
Publishers announced it will be releasing "A Shore Thing," the debut novel (yes, //novel//) from Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, the pint-size star of MTV's hit series, //Jersey Shore//. According to a press release, the book, scheduled for publication in January, tells the story of "a girl looking for love on the boardwalk (one full of big hair, dark tans and fights galore)."

But do readers really want to read a book by "Snooki", a self-proclaimed non-role model?
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Teen Remixes The Works Of Others Into Best Selling Novel... And Critics Love It
Music is remixed, artwork inspires new pieces, and we change them around and create something new and powerful, it is a wonderful expression how artistic culture is often about shared experiences and sharing works of art. But what about in the literary world?

17-year-old German teen, Helene Hegemann, whose critically acclaimed book, Axolotl Roadkill, a wild, tumultuous coming-of-age story, is plagiarized from other lesser known novels currently on the shelves? Hegemann lifted whole lines and scene setups; but, believe it or not, the critics have been raving about it, calling is a,"Superb stylistic aplomb!" read more

Should such plagiarism be allowed, and is there no originality left that young writers can get away with taking others' ideas?
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[[image:will_grayson.png width="138" height="210" align="right"]]
If you've spent any time in the kidlitosphere lately you probably already caught wind of the much-anticipated collaboration between two young adult author powerhouses: David Levithan (co-author of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Executive Editorial Director at Scholastic) and John Green (author of Paper Towns and co-ringleader of Nerdfighters, one of the most popular online fan communities on the net). read more

Hear a bit of the book as read by co-author, John Green

'WIl Grayson, Will Grayson' a big hit on the teenlit scene: What is your review?
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What books can you recommend to others? Give a short synopsis, but don't give anything away.
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