"Journal Jots..."

There's a new interactive blog just for teens!
Journal Jots...
The place to find new titles, upcoming programs, Loretta's picks and more! Plus a space named "Jeneral Jots..." reserved just for YOU to post comments, book reviews, poetry, artwork... let your creativity show! So send Loretta an email at lswift@mvlc.org for an invite to get started!

Create a Path to a Financially Successful Career

Tuesday, September 19 at 6:30 p.m.

Which college is best for you? What career makes the most “cents”? Dr. Louis Giamarco will guide high school and college students (and their parents) into high-paying post-graduate careers.

(The opinions of the speaker are not necessarily shared by the Flint Library.)

And the winners are...

Congratulations to Miranda and Natalie!

Their names were pulled for the two raffles, and each won a gift certificate to the place of their choice. Thanks to both of them for being such avid readers and taking part in the teen summer reading program!

Teen Summer Reading Wrap-Up!

We'll be having a summer reading wrap-up party on Thursday, August 31st for teens participating in the program. Drop-in between 11:30 and 1:00 for pizza, the raffle drawing, and the unveiling of the Review Scrapbook. (Check online for a sneak-peek!) If you'd like to make your own scrapbook page for the book, we'll have supplies available -- just provide the review!

Michelle will be available to answer any questions about the program and party after August 23rd.

Learning Express Library

Are you feeling unprepared for an upcoming nursing exam? Try our new free service - Learning Express. After you log in with your library barcode, you will have access to courses designed to help you prepare for a number of exams.

Example Courses:

AP English / European History / Government
Middle School Diagnostic
Corrections Officer
Cosmetology
ASVAB (Military Entrance)

...And many more!

You just select the test preparation course that would most benefit you. Courses vary in duration.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the library.

Teen Summer Reading Raffle

Pick up a raffle review slip for every book you read this summer (including those required ones!) Fill it out and return it to the main desk for a raffle slip. At the end of the summer, we will pick out two winners (one for the manga raffle and one for the fiction/non-fiction raffle.) Each winner will get to pick a gift certificate from one of the following locations:

• AMC Movie Theater
• Borders
• Newbury Comics
• Harrison's Comics & Collectibles
• Barnes & Noble
• Hobs Board Shop
• iTunes

Two runners-up will get to select a book they would like the library to own and will have the purchased copy dedicated to them!

Need some help finding a book for the raffle?
Here are some possibilities!

• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• Storm Front (or any other title in the Dresden series) by Jim Butcher
• The Nimble Man by Christopher Golden
• Kiki Strike by Kirsten Miller
• The Notebook Girls
• Diary of a Crush series by Sarra Manning
• Gossip Girls series by Cecily Von Zeigesar

Have fun and read lots this summer!

Staff Recommendations

Michelle Recommends...

Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer

"Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balance precariously on the point of a knife -- between desire and danger."

Michelle's Note: Don't let the fact that this is a YA novel fool you. Stephenie Meyer has created a novel that will mean something different to anyone willing to pick it up, no matter the age. I have reread this novel so many times since first experiencing it, and continue to be amazed at the sway it has over my thoughts. For those of you who become as enchanted as myself, there's many more Edward and Bella novels in the works.

The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf
by Mark Frost

"In 1913, British golfer Harry Vardon, the Tiger Woods of his day, encountered an unexpected roadblock to winning the 1913 U.S. Open: an unknown 20-year-old American amateur named Francis Ouimet. Nobody was more surprised than Ouimet himself: The former caddie from the wrong side of the tracks had entered the match mainly to catch a few glimpses of Vardon, his hero. Instead, the young Massachusetts golfer matched Vardon and his British colleague Ted Ray stroke by stroke, round by round. At the end of 72 holes, the three golfers were tied, necessitating a playoff."

Michelle's Note: I'm not a golfer (and not for lack of trying on my father's part,) I don't particularly enjoy sitting down to a "rousing" game of televised golf, but...I loved this book. After watching the movie of the same name (numerous times, I might add), I decided to finally pick up the book -- which had been sitting on my shelf since the movie came out in the theaters. After reading the initial pages, I was completely sucked in by the many tales that Frost expertly wove throughout. It's not just a story about golf, about how different generations and nations viewed the game, or even about a young man who did the unthinkable by beating the very best. It's...it's...well, perhaps you should read it for yourself to find out (and see the movie, too!!)

New in YA

• Blue Bloods - Melissa de La Cruz
• Surrender - Sonya Hartnett
• Rebel Angels - Libba Bray

Dresden Files series - Jim Butcher:

• Blood Rites
• Dead Beat

Balefire series - Cate Tiernan:

• A Chalice of Wind
• A Necklace of Water

Weather Warden series - Rachel Caine:

• Chill Factor

The A-List - Zoey Dean:

• Some Like it Hot

The Gossip Girls - Cecily Von Zeigesar:

• Nothing Can Keep Us Together
• Only in Your Dreams

Daughter of Destiny series - Jenna Solitaire

• Keeper of the Winds

In Graphic Novels....

• From Far Away, vols. 9 & 10
• Amazing Agent Luna, vol. 2
• Howl's Moving Castle Film Comic, vols. 3 & 4