You Are Here: SUMMER

School's out, and three glorious months of freedom stretch out in front of you. So what's the plan? Sure, you've got that family trip to the Grand Canyon, and you agreed to babysit your cousins on Wednesdays. But where do you really want to go this summer? Well, we've got a just a couple of options for you!

You Are Here: Hogwarts

Is a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter out of the question this year? CHPL has the next best thing: A Hogwarts Party complete with an epic trivia battle where your Harry Potter knowledge will be put to the test! Also: we'll head out to the Quidditch pitch for some friendly competition. Winner takes the House Cup!
Monday, July 11 6:00-8:00 PM

You Are Here: The Zombie Apocalypse

You knew this day was coming! The undead have risen, and no place is safe -- except for CHPL! It's time to put all those months of survival training to the test. How long do you think you'll survive in our sudden-death game of Humans vs. Zombies?
Wednesday, July 20 6:00-8:00 PM

You Are Here: District 13

Ever wonder what it'd be like to be a Tribute in the Arena? Why wonder when you can find out for yourself? We're holding our second CHPL Hunger Games, with challenges inspired by the actual Hunger Games  -- and in our version, there can only be ONE Victor!

Monday, July 25 6:00-8:00 PM

You Are Here: Camp Half-Blood

Do you have near-superhuman strength? Ever find yourself randomly comprehending Ancient Greek? Then you, like Percy Jackson, may be a demi-god, and you, like Percy, probably have many mythical creatures chasing after you! Escape to Camp Half-Blood, where you'll discover your ancestry, train for battle, and feast on blue food!
Wednesday, August 3 6:00-7:30 PM 

You Are Here: Rosewood High

Who is A? Where is Ali, really? Is there anyone in Rosewood High that you can actually trust? Do you think you have all the answers? If you do, or if you just love the intrigue and deception of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series, you will not want to miss this night of trivia, games and mystery.

Monday, August 15 6:00-7:30 PM

With so many places to go this summer, you might just have to bail on the Grand Canyon! You can start the adventures by registering on our online event calendar.

**All of the above events are being held in the Conference Center in our basement**

May Brings Murder, Mysteries & More!

In honor of "Get Caught Reading Month" we at CHPL have compiled a list for you of our most compelling mysteries, true crime and forensic science reads. 
Check 'em out!

                       

Newer Titles - Fiction:

All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab

After the death of his ex-girlfriend Carly, northern California high school student Neily joins forces with Carly's cousin Audrey to try to solve her murder.

The Big Splash by Jack Ferraiolo

Matt Stevens, an average middle schooler with a glib tongue and a knack for solving crimes, uncovers a mystery while working with "the organization," a mafia-like syndicate run by seventh-grader Vincent "Mr. Biggs" Biggio, specializing in forged hall passes, test-copying rings, black market candy selling, and taking out hits with water guns.

Black Rabbit Summer by Kevin Brooks

When two of sixteen-year-old Pete's childhood classmates disappear from a carnival the same night, he is a suspect, but his own investigation implicates other old friends he was with that evening--and a tough, knife-wielding enemy determined to keep him quiet.

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Seventeen-year-old Kendall, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, lives with her parents on a potato farm in a tiny community in Montana, where two teenagers go missing within months of each other, with no explanation.

Elixir by Hilary Duff (yes, that Hilary Duff)

Clea Raymond, a talented young photojournalist who has spent her life in the spotlight, and her best friends, Rayna and Ben, travel the globe trying to unravel a centuries-old mystery that could reveal her soul mate's identity and the secret of her father's disappearance.

Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers

As she searches for clues that would explain the suicide of her successful photographer father, Eddie Reeves meets the strangely compelling Culler Evans who seems to know a great deal about her father and could hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death.

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

Seventeen-year-old Emma Paxton steps into the life of her long-lost twin Sutton to solve her murder, while Sutton looks on from her afterlife.

Trash by Andy Mulligan

Fourteen-year-olds Raphael and Gardo team up with a younger boy, Rat, to figure out the mysteries surrounding a bag Raphael finds during their daily life of sorting through trash in a third-world country's dump.

Theodore Boone by John Grisham

With two attorneys for parents, thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone knows more about the law than most lawyers do. But when a high profile murder trial comes to his small town and Theo gets pulled into it, it's up to this amateur attorney to save the day.

                                                      True Crime, Forensic 

                                  Science, & More - Nonfiction:

The Black Dahlia: shattered dreams by Brenda Haugen

Seventeen real girls, real-life stories: true crime by Seventeen Magazine

An Unspeakable Crime: the prosecution and persecution of Leo Frank by Elaine Marie Alphin

Who Killed My Daughter? by Lois Duncan  

The Year We Disappeared: a father-daughter memoir by Cylin Busby & John Busby

The Zodiac Killer: terror and mystery by Brenda Haugen

Crime Scene: the ultimate guide to forensic science by Richard Platt

The Dark Game: true spy stories by Paul B. Janeczko

The Medical Examiner by Toney Allman

Police Lab: how forensic science tracks down and convicts criminals by David Owen

Coming Soon!

Every Bone Tells a Story: hominin discoveries, deductions and debates by Jill Rubalcaba

How They Croaked: the awful ends of the awfully famous by Georgia Bragg

Spies of Mississippi: the true story of the spy network that tried to destroy the civil rights movement by Rick Bowers

Teen Pick: Hourglass

Imagine being crazy. No, worse than that, imagine knowing you are crazy. Imagine waking up every morning, knowing that you are missing more than a few marbles, seeing things that you know aren’t there. It sucks right? For the past five years, this has been Emerson’s existence. Emerson sees dead people. That sounds bad, but they’re not ghosts or anything, more like apparitions. Emerson and her brother have tried everything to get rid of the visions, but nothings worked. In a last ditch attempt, Emerson’s brother has called in one last consultant from a organization called Hourglass. Emerson says she’ll give it one more try, but when the person they send is barely any older than her she knows it’s just another phony. That is until she finds out that he can see the weird visions too.

Hourglass by Myra McEntire seems like another paranormal romance novel at first glance. Orphaned teenage girl who thinks she’s crazy? Check. Handsome and mysterious young lad? Check. Suffocating amounts of teen angst? Nope. Wait, what? You’re telling me this novel is missing the key component of all paranormal romance novels? Yep, that’s right.

The thing that makes Hourglass stand out from the rest of the books on the paranormal romance shelf at your local Barnes and Nobles is not its super swoony plot line or supernatural creatures. It’s the fact that if you take away the paranormal aspect it’s full of characters you adore or, at the very least, relate to. Emerson isn’t some sort of beautiful, graceful model-type. She’s short, strong and can flip people twice her size over her shoulder, not because of magic, but because she trained. Michael isn’t dark or angsty. He’s actually a pretty normal guy. He’s funny, nice and at times, he can even be - wait for it  - awkward. The thing that makes Hourglass stand out period, is that when you add the paranormal back in you get an brilliant book with an unbelievable plot.

Myra McEntire’s Hourglass is funny, engaging, intelligent and all the other things you want your books to be (unless you want your books to be sucky, in which case, you're out of luck). If you’re a fan of shows like Doctor Who or books like When You Reach Me, you’ll enjoy this book. If you’re a fan of strong female characters, you’ll enjoy this book. If you’re a fan of memorable one-liners, you’ll enjoy this book. Basically, what I’m trying to say is this: you’ll enjoy this book. Read Hourglass by Myra McEntire.

 Hourglass will be released on May 24, 2011.

Advanced Reader Copy reviewed by Maya J, 8th grade

Teen Tech Week: Book Trailers!

It's Teen Tech Week, which means all of this week's teen programs have a techie-themed spin. At TABs U-Nite, teens competed in the Fastest Text contest, answered technology-related trivia questions, and competed in a high-school vs. middle-school game of Sheen or Gaddafi? (The victors? Middle school!)

Finally, we created book trailers for some of our favorite books using Animoto, a free slideshow creation program. Check them out!

Paper Towns by John Green:



Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling:

Teen Tech Week: Short Story Tweets!

At Writer's Block this week, we talked Twitter and blogs. What is a blog? What kinds of blogs are out there? Why might an aspiring writer want to start one? Then we wrote some Short Story Tweets -- that is, short stories that are only 160 characters long. Needless to say, it was pretty difficult to write anything intelligible in so few words, but we tried our best! Here they are for your enjoyment:

By Maya J:
Yellow is a color. It is very bright. I had a yellow ball. It rolled out into the street. A car came. I was very scared. The man swerved and swore at me. Yellow.

By Gabrielle M:
Once upon a midnight (Wait! I can't use that. Damn Poe!) there was a girl, a girl who was prompted to write a 160 character story. She was unable, so this is it.

By T.J. S:
"Hello." No answer. The black door taunts me with its golden knob. I step closer, feeling a terrible revelation coming. Knock knock. "Hello." I say. Nothing.

By Savannah M:
Once upon a time, I had to write a really short story and I couldn't think of anything. I thought and thought and thought, but never came up with anything. So sad.

By Julia D:
The once was a unicorn name Bob. He lived in a kingdom under the sea. One day, a zombie came, and a fight ensued. Obviously, Bob won by using the power of rainbows. (OK, even though this one was over 160 characters I had to share it just for the Zombies vs. Unicorns reference!) 

Also by Maya J: Imagine you are sitting in a car. The car is not moving. Do you get out & push? Call for help? Yes? Wrong answer. There's a serial killer behind your car. Oops.

By Sarah K:
This is a pretty short story because it ends right here. (Well played, Sarah K. Well played.)

Teen Pick: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Charlie just needs someone to talk to. Someone who listens and understands and doesn't try to sleep with people even if they could have. And he finds someone, a person he only ever refers to as "friend." He tells them everything through the letters he writes. Through these letters we watch Charlie as he goes through his freshman year. We're there, helping him to deal with his grief after his best friend Michael commits suicide, leaving Charlie all alone when he starts high school. We're there when Charlie makes his first friends, Patrick and Sam. When he falls in love for the first time. When he learns that all it takes is the right song to feel infinite. Most importantly, we're there as Charlie begins to grow up.

I suggest this book to anyone who feels they can handle it. Charlie and his friends don't just sit around playing board games or frolicking in fields. They smoke. They drink. They act like real people with real flaws. In some ways that's one of the best things about the book. You can imagine Sam and Patrick as people you know. Charlie, who is awkward, bookish, and terrible asocial is in some ways the type of person I imagine myself to be. But if you can handle the adult themes that appear in this novel every now and then, read it. Don't hesitate, run to the library and pick up a copy. The Perks of Being a Wallflower isn't the type of book you forget. It's not the type of book you regret reading or never finish. It's the type of book that makes you think, the type of book that makes you feel. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is the type of book you want to read.

Reviewed by: Maya (8th grade)

Staff Pick: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

It is the week before Christmas. You are in your favorite bookstore, and you come across a red journal. Inside is a list of questions along with a dare. Do you dare to take the challenge from someone you don’t know? In this holiday story, set in New York City, two young teens take this challenge, and by doing so, they write back and forth in a way of getting to know one another. But to find the journal each time, Dash and Lily dare each other to do things that they would not normally do. This is a good story about discovering oneself while discovering a new friendship. I was cheering for these two the whole way!

Reviewed by: Jacquie