Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King



Is it OK to hate a dead kid? Even if once he was the love of my life? My best friend? Is it OK to hate him for being dead?

I spent my whole life secretly in love with my best friend, Charlie Kahn. Over the years he betrayed me and kept alot of secrets. I still love him even after he ruined everything.

This is how Vera Dietz feels about Charlie Kahn. After Charlie dies under dark circumstances, Vera who knows more about Charlie then anybody else, struggles with whether she should provide information that could clear Charlie's name. But why does Charlie's name have to be cleared? Why would the police want this information? For Vera, this is could be the biggest decision of her life.

This is an unforgettable novel. Smartly written, funny, edgy and always surprising.

Highly recommended.

Friday, August 19, 2011

BYOD and the library

Welcome back for the 2011-2012 school year. Hopefully you had a fantastic summer and are as excited about this school year as I am. Once again, there will be lots of exciting things happening in the library. Included among these is bring your own device, an author presentation and book signing.

Visiting author Matt de la Pena will be in the FHS Library on the morning of October 5th. Look for more posts to this blog with details about this books and his visit. Matt is a wildly popular young adult author who writes books about teens faced with tough decisions and tough life circumstances. His debut novel, Ball Don't Lie was made into a major motion picture. Check out more about de la Pena at http://www.mattdelapena.com/.

One of the goals of the FHS Library is to embrace, teach and promote a 21st century digital learning environment. To support this commitment, students will be able to use their own devices (laptops, smart phones, eReaders, iPads, etc) for learning while in the library. For specific details, see the BYOD guidelines on the FISD homepage, ask the librarian or look for signage throughout the library.

Ms. Bivins (library-media specialist) is available to assist you in learning to use and navigate Google Apps for students. Ask for help on Google Docs, Google Sites, Gmail and Google Calendar.

Welcome back! I hope you have a great school year.