K'NAAN - Troubadore

K'NAAN - Troubadore
Label: A&M/Octone
2009
image retrieved - http://adrianruhi.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/knaan.jpg

Comments

When I first heard of K'Naan, I was standing in a crowd of people at the Montreal Jazz festival three summer's ago. He was performing on stage rapping his heart out. It was pouring rain that evening, and if his voice and passion had not been so powerful, I would have left for the safety of my dry flat. The more it rained that night, the more excited and energized the crowd became. I was transfixed by his stage presence, his passion and his musical lyricism.

With the release of his latest album, Troubadore, his reputation is growing along with the messages that his songs convey. His lyrics speak of frightening situations in Somalia, his birth-country, however, his messages always encompass a true sense of hope and freedom.

I have not been able to stop playing this album. It is so catchy, and I think that any teen, adult or kid would enjoy this music.

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If you want to hear sample tracks from this album - visit:
http://knaanmusic.ning.com/

To view the video for his latest single "ABC's", go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu3biFTak2I

The Door in the Hedge: The realm of enchantment lies beyond - The Princess and the Frog

The Door in the Hedge: The realm of enchantment lies beyond
by Robin McKinley
Published by ACE Books
1981
Image retreived - http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~susan/sf/books/m/covers/door.jpg

Plot Summary

This book is comprised of four short stories; The Stolen Princess, The Princess and the Frog, the Hunting of the Hind and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
The Princess and the Frog is an adaptation from the original fairytale. The story has similar themes, but is written with a very dark tone.
The princess lives in a castle with her father - the king - and her brother - the Crown Prince. The princess has reached the age for marriage, and an arrangement has been made for her to marry a prince from the neighboring community. Upon his arrival, Prince Aliyander gives the Princess a string of beautiful pearls. These pearls have an enchanting, yet dark and magical quality about them, they elicit fear in the princess.
With the new string of peals, she goes for a walk in the woods and stops at a near-by pond. While inspecting and pondering these pearls, she accidently drops them in the pond. A talking frog appears and offers to retrieve them for her, but he will only get them under one condition; she must bring him to live with her in the castle.
The story follows the princess and the frog as she prepares to marry. During the ceremony, the to-be-husband takes exception to the frog and forcefully throws him against a wall. The frog suddently turns into a handsome young man, and an epic battle ensues.

Comments

Fit for a young adult audience, this story offers the familiarity of the classic fairy-tale with an evil and dark twist. Although the story ends in a happy ending, the audience is encouraged learn from the lesson offered in the book --- listen to your inner-most intuition.

Age Range - 10-13

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The Subtle Knife

His Dark Materials - Book II - The Subtle Knife

by Philip Pullman
Published by Yearling
1997

Image Retrieved: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/31/56298319_72e7ce5efa.jpg

Plot Summary

The Subtle Knife is the second book of Phillip Pullmans's Trilogy - His Dark Materials. The book begins by introducing us to Will Parry, a twelve year old boy who has just accidently killed a strange man who had broken into his house to steal his father's papers. Will has never met his father, as he dissapeared a few months before Will was born.

Terrified at what he has just done, Will flees to Oxford to hide. He meets a friendly and enchanting cat who leads him to a door. Will enters this door with his father's limited possesions in hand, and ends up in Citagazze, the city between worlds, deserted by grown-ups and stragely haunted.
This is where Will meets Lyra (the protagonist from the first book in the trilogy series). Together they embark on a journey to find their lost fathers and uncover secrets from the past and present.

Comments

I really loved reading the first book of this series, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second. I really liked how the book started out; I knew that I was in for a completely different adventure. However, the more that I read, the less engaged I became. Lyra's spirit seemed to have dissapeared. She was what compelled me to read the Golden Compass as quickly as possible, however, it took me weeks to get through the second in the series.
The tale was less convincing, and I could not escape that little voice in my head telling me that the situations that the two friends got themselves into were far too unbelievable (and gorey at times).
The one thing that I did like about the book was that the characters had matured a bit from the first book. I would recommend this book, however I do not think that it should be read back to back. I grew tired of Pullman's style of writing and may have enjoyed it more had I not tried to read the second book so soon after the first book.

Age Range - 12-18

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Away Laughing on a Fast Camel

Away Laughing on a Fast Camel
Audio Book
written and narrated by Louise Rennison
Image Retrieved - http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/18120000/18127049.JPG

Plot Summary

This is the fifth book about Georgia Nicholson's life. We follow sixteen years old Georgia as she cries over the "Sex God", leaving her behind, as her unending crush on "Dave the laugh" continues, and as she deveops a new crush on a new guy.

Comments

I thought that it would be interesting to listen to Louise Rennison read one of her books aloud, so I went to the local public library and borrowed the audio-book. I listened to this book for a few weeks as I rode the bus to and from school. I found myself trying to contain my laughter, as I was sitting in a very public place, surrounded by strangers. I'm sure that some people thought that I was crazy.
This book is hillarious! I really enjoyed hearing it told from the writer of the book. I was able to hear how her expressions were said aloud. I would highly recommend anyone read or listen to these books. They will brighten your day and lighten the stress filled lives that so many of us lead.

Age Range - 14-20

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Teen SRC website

Teen SRC
teen reading club website
http://www.teensrc.ca
image retrieved - http://dawsoncreek.bclibrary.ca/site-files/teensrc_logo_green1.jpg/image

Content

Teen SCR is available for any teen to use, anywhere in Canada. It is a website built to encourage discourse among teens about their reading habits. It includes book discussion forums, reading recommendations, contests, teen-p0etry and much more.

Comments

I spent some time exploring Teen SRC and I think that the website itself is great! I think that if teens are excited and interested in reading, then Teen SRC could be a great tool; with portholes into new and exciting realms.
I really like the forum porthole, especially the book discussion section and the off-topic section. The large selection of topics on the site will prevent boredom from avid teen readers.However, I wonder if this site will attract reluctant readers. My guess is that teens who are not inclined to engage in reading will probably not visit and interact with this site.

Age Range - 12-20

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It's My Life Website

It's My Life Website
PBS Kids Go!
image retreived - http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/index.html

I found a questionnaire on the website, I thought that it was really cute and funny. Here is an exerpt.

What would be the most embarrassing for your crush to find in your house?

Your diary?
Your old Barbie car?
Your Elmo blanket that you sleep with every night?

Content

It's My Life Website by PBS is a website designed for kids and teens. It covers a plethora of topics and subjects and offers insightful advice on subjects such as alcohol abuse, eating disorders, celebrity drug abuse as well as issues related to puberty and dating.
There is a lot of helpful information and advice for teens about school, friends, family, emotions, body image and money. The site also includes educational and interactive games aimed at teaching teens about these topics.

Comments

A teenager that I know recommended this site to me, she told me that she is "obsessed with it". When I explored it for myself, I couldn't help but think that this was a super positive thing to be obsessed with. The insightful advice offered by teen 'mentors' is written in an intelligent manner, in a way that teens can relate to.
This website also allows teens to share their stories on various topics. In the school section of the website, there is an embarassing moments page. Teens have written in to share their most embarassing moments at school. Here is a snippet:

"At lunch in school my boyfriend started kissing me and my teacher was right there!!�
--No name, 13

While this is cute to me, I image that many teenagers can relate to this situation and also find the comedy in it.
I would highly recommend any teenager explore this site. It offers seriousness, hilarity and also some silliness. It's Great!

Age Range - 10-16

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Teens Now Talk Magazine

Teens Now Talk Magazine - written by teens for teens
Spring 2008 - Volume 1 Issue 2
image retreived - http://www.teensnowtalk.com/tnt/images/tnt%202008%20winter%20p01.jpg%20mock%20onlysmall.jpg

Content

Writen exclusively by teens for teens, this Maritime provinces based magazine features articles and topics surrounding teens interests, issues and aspirations. This issue features articles titled "Threads n' Trends", " Tunes n' Technology", and "Think Green n' Think Gobal". With over 20 teen contributers to the magazine, each issue is sure to be interesting and chalk full of original material.

Comments

Teens Now Talk is a very exciting undertaking. The content is aimed at both boys and girls and therefore has something to offer every teen. The best thing about this magazine is that all of the articles are written by teens themselves. In the letters to the editor section, one teen wrote, " I love the concept of the magazine, letting everyday teens give advice. I'm very excited you guys decided to launch this magazine"(p.10).
I would highly recommend this magazine to any teen interested in today's hottest issues, poetry, fashion, romantic advice, environmental issues..............and so much more.

Age Range - 13-20

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Vibe Magazine - Tabloid Issue
January 2009
image retreived: http://4.bp.blogspot.com

Contents

Clearly aimed at an african-american/canadian audience, this magazine depicts all of the popular urban stars in their best and worst moments in front of the paparazzi in 2008. The magazine features 22 pages of advertisements, 20 articles about famous people including titles; "Do you believe Ne-Yo lost his virginity?", " Are guys out there still sour over Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy?"" and " Secret Lovers".
Chock full of photos of the urban communities favorite stars, their clothes and hair-do's, every page offers the viewer new insights into the lives of others.

Comments

With depictions of famous people in sexy poses, wearing provocative clothing, this magazine makes no pre-conceptions to be censored. Its raw, street-lit style is perfect for the average urban teenager. Its no-holds-bar attitude aims to reach teens where they are coming from. The articles are relatively well written, they act as tools to access gossip. I do not necessarily think that the messages that are conveyed in this magazine are overtly positive, however I can see their appeal.
This magazine holds very little appeal for me, however, I watched several teenage girls at the public library gather around one of these mags. They were reading and giggling about something that they were looking at.

Age Range - 13-22

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The Hemingway Tradition

The Hemingway Traditon
by Kristin Butcher
Orca Book Publishers
2002
image retrieived - http://us.orcabook.com/client/Products/ProdimageLg/2420.jpg

Plot Summary

The Hemingway Tradition is the story of high school student Shaw and his mother. Shaw's father, a relatively famous writer, commits suicide in their family home. Mother and son decide to move from Vancouver to Winnipeg to try to escape the negative stigma that has been attached to them. The book follows Shaw and his mother; whom have a lovely and warm relationship, through their collaboration to come to terms with the death of their loved one in a way that still honours his memory.

The book deals with three relevant and important issues
homosexualityprejudicesuicideThe story is believable, the characters are well developed and the situation is thought provoking.

Comments

I had never read a Hi-Lo book before, therefore I did not really know what to expect. I really enjoyed it. In a sense, Butcher has written a detailed, well organized outline; she could expand on all of her ideas to increase the descriptive detailing throughout the book, however that would defeat its purpose as a Hi-Lo book. The book is complete in its entirety; it has a well established introduction, with a well developed body and a subtle, yet well thought out conclusion.
The mature-themed issues that the book deals with are suitable for an older teen audience, and I think that its appeal would be for a teen who likes to think about the 'bigger picture', to recognize the injustices of our North American society.
I would definitely recommend this to any reluctant teen reader. The book is written in short sentences,with the use of common language, however, it in no way belittles the reader with its simplistic approach to language. The Hemingway Tradition comes across as an authentic account of a teenager and his emotional turmoil surrounding his fathers death and the secrets that are uncovered about his suicide.

Age Range- 13-18

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Save the Last Dance

Save the Last Dance
starring Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas
Director - Thomas Carter
Produced by Paramount Pictures/MTV Films
2001
image retrieved - http://heightsteenspot.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/savethelastdance1.jpg

Plot Summary

Save the Last Dance is the story of high school student and ballet dancer, Sara. The film begins on "the most important day of her life", at an audition for Julliard. Sara's mother, rushing to make it to the audition, gets into a car accident and dies.

Sara moves in with her absent father in inner-city Chicago. She leaves all of her childhood friends behind and her dream to become a ballerina. Attending a new high school where white kids are the minority, Sara meets a new group of friends. They take it upon themselves to include her in their world, and they take her to their favorite hip-hop dance club.
Having grown up in a primarily white middle-class neighborhood, Sara does not know or understand hip-hop culture or dance. Derek, a smart and handsome class mates notices Sara's inability to dance hip-hop style, he begins giving her lessons everyday after school.
These instructional sessions lead to romance, and the rest of the movie deals with the social challenges of being in a inter-racial relationship.

Comments

Sara's high school situation is somewhat unbelievable in that she is immediately excepted as the new kid on the block and embraced by the cool kids in the school. However, I think that the overall message of the movie is a positive one.
Save the Last Dance does not solely focus on the inter-racial relationship between Derek and Sara, it deals with many situational elements of life that I would argue many people can relate to. For instance, the relationship between Sara and her father at the beginning of the movie is removed, fearful and apprehensive. Throughout the movie, their relationship slowly develops into a more substantial and trusting relationship. If anything, I think that this sub-plot speaks to the slow process of trust building in any relationship.
The death of Sara's mother touches on the challenges of dealing with loss. The overall message stemming from this theme is that loss can provide us with strength and courage to face the many scary challenges of life.

The relationship between Sara and Derek is very respectful in that they are depicted as two intelligent, sensitive, perceptive yet insecure teenagers. Their relationship is not overtly sexualized, instead, they are depicted as two people who see each others inner beauty, strength and personality. I like this positive message, especially because overt sexuality seems to be the trend in today's media.
I would recommend this movie even though all of the challenges and struggles that the characters face work out, it has a classic happy ending. It would not be a movie without elements of the unbelievable, and I sometimes like those elements of escapism and hope.

Age Range - 12-18

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