Let's talk about the book!

Join us at the Franklin Branch Library on February 23 at 6:00 for a discussion of Life as We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer. It is open to kids in 6th - 12th grades. Sign up at the library and ask for a copy of the book at the circulation desk.

A meteor strikes the moon, knocking it much closer to the Earth, resulting in worldwide calamity. Devastating tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions take place around the world. Most forms of communication become nonexistent and travel is made nearly impossible. In a small town in Pennsylvania, sixteen-year-old Miranda and her family struggle to survive as they become more isolated from the outside world.

Garden State Teen Book Awards

Did you vote for the 2009 Garden State Teen Book Awards? The votes have been tallied and New Jersey teens have selected these books to receive this year's award:

Fiction Grades 6 - 8: Life as We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Miranda is living in rural Pennsylvania when world-wide catastrophe strikes. The moon is hit by a meteor and knocked closer to the earth, setting off a series of disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. In her journal, Miranda tells of her family's struggle for survival.

Fiction Grades 9 - 12: The Book Thief, by Marcus Zusak

In this powerful story narrated by Death, young Liesel, orphaned and struggling to survive a hardscrabble life in Germany during the Second World War, finds salvation in stolen books.

Nonfiction Grades 6 - 12: Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement, by Ann Bausum

A compare-and-contrast method of exploring the lives of Civil Rights activists John Lewis and James Zwerg that helps teens understand the segregated esperience of our country's past.

All of these books are available at the Warren County Library.