CGHS Library

2011 Teens Top Ten: Books 1 and 2

These books were nominated, read, and chosen by popular vote by real teenagers. We have them in the library.

                    1. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (FIC Clare)

                    2. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (FIC Collins)

2011 Teens Top Ten: Books 3-6

            These books were nominated, read, and chosen by popular vote by real teenagers. We have all of them in the library.

                3. Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (FIC Fitzpatrick)

                4. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (FIC Lore)

                5. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (FIC Kagawa)

                6. Matched by Ally Condie (FIC Condie)

2011 Teens Top Ten: Books 7-10

These books were nominated, read, and chosen by popular vote by real teenagers. We have all of them in the library.

          7.  Angel: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson (FIC Patterson)

          8. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (FIC White)

          9. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (FIC Oliver)  

         10. Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (FIC Cremer)        

Online Encyclopedia

Encyclopedia Britannica is freely available to KS residents. The high school edition features some helpful study guides under the Learning Materials tab as well as news from The New York Times, a dictionary, biographical information, and a This Day in History feature. Students can also expand their search beyond the encyclopedia. For example, I searched Julius Caesar and found a solid article. To the right were links to Journals and Magazines, the Web's Best Sites, and Additional Reading specifically on Caesar. The web sites were particularly helpful. If you are in a hurry and want good information without a lot of fuss, this encyclopedia is a good place to start. One note: the audio tool feature is not as good as the text to speech feature built right into the Mac.

Divergent (FIC Roth)

            Dystopian fiction has become quite the popular genre. Everyone wants to hop on the Hunger Games bandwagon and reap the benefits. Divergent isn’t a copy of The Hunger Games, but it did pull me in with the dystopian setting. (The fourth word in the description was ‘dystopian’ after all.)

            The basics of this particular dystopian society are actually pretty interesting. Five factions live together in what use to be the city of Chicago. Each faction promotes a certain virtue – bravery, honesty, peacefulness, intelligence, and selflessness. When someone turns sixteen, they get to decide which faction they will live in; they decide which ideal they believe the most in.

            The title comes in at this point. The main character, Beatrice (later Tris), doesn’t fit into just one faction. Her mind doesn’t work in just one way and so she is labeled divergent. This turns out to be a dangerous quality and gets her in and out of trouble throughout the book.

            This book was definitely a page-turner for me. The writing was a little “jumpy” at some points, but the plot made up for it. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked The Hunger Games, who likes lead female characters, or who likes fight sequences. 

Review by Mary Alsobrooks

Auto Repair Reference Center

One of the freely available online databases available to any Kansas resident is the Auto Repair Reference Center. The database includes information about repair, video about how auto components function, guides to vehicle ownership and maintenance, and in-depth troubleshooting resources.

Liked The Hunger Games?

The Teen Zone staff at the Lawrence Public Library in Lawrence created these incredible flowcharts to suggest next reads for those who loved the Hunger Games series. You can search the library catalog to see which titles we have in the CGHS Library, and suggest to Miss House titles you would like to see in our collection.

Chime (FIC Billingsley)

"I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged.

Now, if you please.

I don't mean to be difficult, but I can't bear to tell my story. I can't relive those memories--the touch of the Dead Hand, the smeel of eel, the gulp and swallow of the swamp.

How can you possibly think me innocent? Don't let my face fool you; it teels the worst lies. A girl can have the face of an angel but have a horrid sort of heart."

That is how Chime begins, and I loved this book from first to last. It is not for everyone because it is not a normal fantasy novel as this less than glowing review explains. However, if you are in the mood for something different, give it a whirl. (MHouse)

Recycle

Bring your toner cartridges and cell phones to the high school library for recycling. CGHS can earn points and save a bit on technology expenses. Thanks to everybody who has donated in the past. 

Student Research Central for Kansas Students: Sample Search

Looking for solid information on synesthesia, a student was coming up short until she accessed EBSCOhost last week. The search engine here is so much better than some of the magazine databases we have used in the past. She just typed in "synesthesia" and did fine, but I drilled down a little farther just now. I did a 9-12 reading level search, limited to full text articles, of magazines, newspapers, film and video, and books and encyclopedias. The database kicked back sixteen solid articles. Then I conducted the same search at the middle school reading level. There was some overlap, but the resources all looked relevant and accessible.