Ice Princess [DVD] 2005

Wilson III, William W. (Executive Producer), & Fywell, Tim (Director). (2005). Ice Princess [Motion picture]. US: Walt Disney Studios.
17-year-old physics whiz Casey Carlyle (Michelle Trachtenberg) is urged by her physics teacher to work on a physics project over the summer for presentation to Harvard. As a skater, Casey decides on a project that shows the [...]

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My Chemical Romance – The Black Parade

My Chemical Romance. (2006). Welcome to the Black Parade [CD]. Burbank, CA: Reprise Records.
The Black Parade is the third studio album release of My Chemical Romance. It is a concept album classified as a rock opera centering on a character known as “the Patient” who dies over the course of the album. The album [...]

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Seventeen Magazine – September 2007

Seventeen Magazine, September 2007
The content of Seventeen includes information and advice about fashion and trends, celebrities, beauty – skincare, hair and make-up – and lifestyles. It also has a health section about nutrition and exercise, a sex and body section, and quizzes and horoscopes. The article length is kept deliberately brief, high quality photographs emphasize [...]

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Fairest – Gail Carson Levine

 
Levine, Gail Carson. (2006). Fairest. New York: HarperCollins Publishing.
Recommendation source: It was a book chosen for the LSC 531 Materials Promotion Project
Reading level: Grade 7+
Brief summary: After a chance encounter with a duchess at her family’s inn, fifteen-year-old Aza is invited to attend the royal wedding. There she is befriended by the beautiful but manipulative [...]

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Family Guy – Blue Harvest

MacFarlane, S. (September 23, 2007). Blue Harvest, Family Guy. Fox.
Family Guy is a prime example of a cult cartoon. The show was originally cancelled after it’s third season, only to come back three years later when there was enough a following to get it back on the air. In this sixth season premeire, the writers [...]

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Beauty and the Geek

Kutcher, A., Goldberg, J., & Santora, N. (2005-present). Beauty and the Geek. The CW.
This Reality show teams up eight female beauties and eight male geeks in what is called “The Ultimate Social Experiment.” Each team consists of a male geek and a female beauty. Throughout the season the beauties and the geeks compete against the [...]

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The Shins – Wincing the Night Away

The Shins. (2007). Wincing the Night Away [CD]. Seattle, WA: Sub Pop Records.
The Shins first gained popularity when a selection of their songs appeared on the Garden State Soundtrack in 2004. They have a fun jingly sound and compelling lyrics that could interest any young adult listener.

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Myspace.com – a place for friends

(2003-2007). Myspace.com: a place for friends. Retrieved December 6, 2007 from http://www.myspace.com.
Myspace is a place where users can create profiles and do a variety of other things such as, messaging other users, adding friends, creating bulletin posts, listen to music, post pictures and potentially dozens of other things. Myspace users have a main profile and [...]

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Last.fm – the social music revolution.

 
Miller, F., Stiksel, M., & Jones, R. (2002-2007).  Last.fm – The Social Music Revolution.  Retrieved December 6, 2007 from http://www.last.fm.
This revolutionary site allows users to download a program that will track and log songs that they listen to with certain media players already installed on the computer. Users can set up profiles where they can [...]

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The Sandman (Vol. 2): The Doll’s House – Neil Gaiman

Gaiman, N. (1995). The Sandman (Vol. 2): The Doll’s House. New York: DC Comics.
Recommendation source: The second volume of a Graphic Novel I previously enjoyed
Reading level: Grades 10-12
Brief summary: This second installment of the Sandman Graphic Novels is just as excellent as it’s predecessor. The themes of this series are slightly more mature and [...]

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The Sandman (Vol. 1): Preludes and Nocturnes – Neil Gaiman

 Gaiman, Neil.  (1995). The Sandman (Vol. 1): Preludes and Nocturnes. New York: DC Comics.
Recommendation source: A librarian at the Warwick Public Library
Reading level: Grades 10-12
Brief summary: An excellent graphic novel intended for an older audience. In this first volume, the reader is introduced to a variety of characters that are suffering because Dream has been [...]

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Death Note (Volume 2) – Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Ohba, Tsugumi & Obata, Takeshi. (2005). Death Note (Volume 2). San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC.
Recommendation source: The following volume of a previous item choice that I enjoyed
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: Light is learning more about the uses of the Death God’s notebook and he is truly testing the limits of it’s power. He knows [...]

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Death Note (Volume 1) – Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

 
Ohba, Tsugumi & Obata, Takeshi. (2005). Death Note (Volume 1). San Francisco: VIZ Media LLC.
Recommendation source: I watched the anime videos and enjoyed it so the novelization seemed to be a good place to find my first manga.
Reading level: Grades 9+
Brief summary: Light Yagami is a star pupil in Japan, always coming in at the [...]

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American Born Chinese – Gene Luen Yang

 
Yang, Gene Luen. (2006). American Born Chinese. New York: First Second.
Recommendation source: Classmates from LSC 531, book promotions project
Awards: 2007 Printz award
Reading level: Grade 7+
Brief summary: American Born Chinese tells the story of Jin Wang, a Chinese-American boy trying to fit in at his predominantly white school. Intelligent,
creative, and extremely funny, this book will [...]

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John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth: a biography – Elizabeth Partridge

Partridge, Elizabeth. (2005). John Lennon: All I Want is the Truth: a biography. New York: Viking.
Recommendation source:
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: (from School Library Journal) Partridge cuts through the mythology and misinformation surrounding the life of the legendary singer/songwriter and goes a long way toward revealing the complexities of his personality. She relies heavily on [...]

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Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories about Being a Guy

Mercado, Nancy (ed.) (2007). Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories about Being a Guy. New York: Speak.
Recommendation source: YALSA booklist
Reading level: Grade 8+
Brief summary: A collection of 10 short stories written by a variety of prominent male authors, such as; Walter Dean Myers, David Lubar, and Craig Thompson. These authors share stories that [...]

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Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott – Russell Freedman

Freedman, Russell. (2006). Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. New York: Holiday House.
Recommendation source: 2007 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults nominee
Reading level: Grades 5-7
Scholarly review: (School Library Journal) Freedman begins this outstanding history by reminding his audience that the injustices of racial segregation did not happen that long ago in the [...]

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Quinceañera: Celebrating Fifteen – Elizabeth King

King, Elizabeth. (1998). Quinceañera: Celebrating Fifteen. New York: Dutton.
Recommendation source: www.amazon.com
Reading level: Grades 5-8
Brief summary: Like a bat mitzvah or a sweet-16 party, the quinceanera is a coming-of-age ritual, and it takes place in the context of a Latina’s family and church. Its origins come from Aztec and Mexican customs transmuted through Spanish and Latino [...]

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Hole in My Life – Jack Gantos

Gantos, Jack (2002). Hole in My Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Recommendation source:
Awards: 2002 National Book Award Finalist, 2002 Printz Award
Reading level: Grade 7+
Brief summary: In this memoir, Jack Gantos gives the reader a glimpse into his life as a wannabe writer. He had difficulty finding inspiration and ultimately made some bad decisions which [...]

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Riding the Bus with my Sister – Rachel Simon

Simon, Rachel. (2002). Riding the Bus With My Sister: A True Life Journey. New York: Plume.
Recommendation source: A Rosie O’Donell recommended book.
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: Rachel Simon’s sister Beth is a spirited woman who lives intensely and often joyfully. Beth, who has mental retardation, spends her days riding the buses in her Pennsylvania city. [...]

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Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli

Spinelli, Jerry. (2000). Stargirl.  New York: Knopf
Recommendation source: A Student from LSC 531
Reading level: Grades 6-10
Brief summary: Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a [...]

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Crash – Jerry Spinelli

 Spinelli, Jerry. (1996). Crash. New York: Knopf.
Recommendation source: A student from LSC 531
Reading level: Grades 5-7
Brief summary: Crash feels passionately about many things: the violence of football; being in charge; the way he looks in shoulder pads; never being second in anything; and the most expensive sneakers at the mall. Although a stereotypical bully, the [...]

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A Mango Shaped Space – Wendy Mass

Mass, Wendy. (2005). A Mango Shaped Space. New York: Little, Brown.
Recommendation Source: www.amazon.com
Awards: 2004 Schnieder Family Book Award winner
Reading level: Grade 6+
Brief summary: 13-year old Mia sees and hears things differently from almost everyone else she knows. Ever since an embarassing moment in the third grade she has never told anyone about her differences. Eventally [...]

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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Ann Brashares

Brashares, Ann. (2003). The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. New York: Delacorte Press.
Recommendation source: Popular book among young adult females
Reading level: Grade 6+
Brief summary:A pair of jeans purchased at a thrift store is the unlikely bond that keeps four best friends emotionally connected during the first summer that they spend physically apart. Carmen doesn’t think [...]

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Monster – Walter Dean Myers

 
Myers, Walter Dean. (2004). Monster. New York: Amistad.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Awards: 200 National Book Award Finalist, 2000 Coretta Scott King Honor, 2000 Printz Award
Reading level: Grade 7+
Scholarly review: (School Library Journal) Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot [...]

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A Step from Heaven – An Na

Na, An.  (2003). A Step from Heaven. New York: Puffin.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Awards: 2002 Printz award for young adult literature
Reading level: Grade 8+
Brief summary: Young Ju is an immigrant from Korea.  She and her family move to California and she struggles with being both and Asian-American as well as retaining her Korean [...]

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In the Time of the Butterflies – Julia Alvarez

 Alvarez, Julia (1995). In the Time of the Butterflies. New York: Plume.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: Four sisters from the Dominican Republic are growing up in a time of revolution.  María Teresa, Patria, Dede and Minerva all take part in sharing the historical story of the Mirabel sisters through [...]

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Picture Perfect – Elaine Marie Alphin

 Alphin, Elaine Marie. (2003). Picture Perfect. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.
Recommendation source: Librarian at the Providence Public Library.
Reading level: Grades 5-8
Brief summary: Ian is a 14 year-old boy who never can seem to live up to his father’s expectations.  The harder he tries to be the perfect son, the more he sees himself failing.  His friends [...]

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Hidden Roots – Joseph Bruchac

 Bruchac, Joseph. (2006). Hidden Roots. New York: Scholastic Paperbacks.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grades 5-9
Brief summary: Eleven-year-old Sonny and his mother can’t predict his father’s sudden abusive rages. Jake’s anger only gets worse after long days at the paper mill — and when Uncle Louis appears. Louis seems to show up when [...]

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Left Behind – Tim LeHaye & Jerry Jenkins

LeHaye, Tim, & Jenkins, Jerry. (2000). Left Behind.  Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: Late one night, millions of people disappear leaving their belongings as the only traces that they were ever there to begin with.  Rayford Steele lost much of his family in the disappearances and is [...]

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Out of the Dust – Karen Hesse

 Hesse, Karen. (2005). Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Awards: 1998 Newbery Medal winner
Reading level: Grades 6-8
Brief summary: The land in Oklahoma has been over-farmed  and over-cultivated, as a result there is nothing but sand and dust in the air.  Billie Jo writes of her experiences growing up during [...]

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The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd

Kidd, Sue Monk. (2003). The Secret Life of Bees. New York: Penguin Books
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grade 7+
Brief summary: Lily is a young girl who just can’t stand her life at home. She runs away to a town a few hours away and discovers three sisters who teach her about [...]

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The Bluest Eye – Toni Morrison

Morrison, Toni. (2005). The Bluest Eye. New York: Plume.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: Grade 9+
Brief summary: The Breedloves have a reputation in town. No one likes them and everyone lets them know it. Follow Pecola Breedlove as she goes through things that no young girl should ever have to experience.
Librarian’s [...]

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Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J. K. Rowling

Rowling, J.K. (2004). Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury.
Recommendation source: Required reading for the course.
Reading level: All ages
Brief summary: Harry Potter, a young boy, is thrust into a world of witchcraft and wizardry that he never knew existed. Join him in a serious of adventures as he finds out that there is a [...]

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