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 elements of physics applied in competitive figure skating. To start, she visits a skating club run by former professional skater Tina Harwood (Kim Cattrall). Casey eventually finds that in order to better understand the principles she’s using, she will have to become her own test subject, and joins the skating school. The more she gets involved, the more she falls in love with figure skating….and must ultimately make a choice; Will it be Harvard – which her mother (Joan Cusack) and Casey have both dreamed of, or will it be her new dream – as a competitive figure skater?

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 presents the story of his passage out of life, and his subsequent reflection on his life.

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 regular celebrity and clothing themes and it is well supported by advertising keen to reach the big-spending demographic of fourteen to early-twenty-year-olds.

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 new queen. Aza quickly becomes an accomplice to her deceptions, but when their tricks are discovered, Aza is the one who must flee from the castle to save her life.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

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 of the show create a Star Wars special; molding together two very prolific fandoms. In this special, hour-long episode, Peter Griffin and family are reenacting the Star Wars saga to entertain themselves. It is full of witty remarks and clever statements made by the traditional family guy cast. It is another example of the comedic genius of producer Seth MacFarlane.

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 other teams to win the ultimate prize, $250,000 to split with their teammate. Each show of the season consists of challengies for the beauties and the geeks. Some will test the book smarts of the beauties while others test the social smarts of the geeks. Teams that win challenges are granted immunity from being voted off the show. Each episode results in the loss of one team until there is a winner.

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.

(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 they can then add people as friends and keep up with the events of their lives (or whatever information that user choses to include) through this remote Web site. Users can find new bands through myspace music and even up and coming comedians through myspace comedy. This extremely versatile site allows people to stay connected even when they are apart…such as when friends graduate and go away to separate colleges.

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 keep track of recently played songs, top played artists and various other statistics of their music listening habits. Once a member of the site (which is free!), users are able to add friends if they know their user name as well and meet new people who may or may not have similar music tastes. Last.fm is a way to connect with your friends along the most common of bonding elements; music.

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 as such it is recommended for older students. In this volume of the story, Dream has his personal items back and is back in business as a creator of dreams. The main focus of this installment is Rose, granddaughter to Unity Kincaid (of Vol. 1). Rose and her mother are called to meet dying Unity, unaware of their relationship to her. Rose has a brother who has gone missing and Unity requests that she find him. Rose encounters Dream and she is told that she is a vortex and that creates several problems regarding the realms between dreams and the living.
Librarian’s rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦