Friday, March 02, 2007

Beautiful Weather and a Review

After last night I was not sure I wanted to go back to work, but I did. And everything was much calmer. Yesterday, the head of circulation found a few books in the stacks with the insides razor-bladed out. They were not popular titles or subjects. I had not heard of them. It was vandalism plain and simple. This goes along with the DVDs and CD's that were stolen out of their cases a couple of weeks ago. And then the teenagers were running wild again. Our security guard was busy all night running them off. And my co-worker (whom I really like working with) was chattier than usual. Today was better. It was quieter. Its the weekend and the weather was sunny and warm so the teenagers did not hang around either.

I just read a teen book called London Calling by Edward Bloor. Teenager Martin Conway has been attending a private Catholic school that he absolutely hates. So when he gets the opportunity to do an independent study project instead of attending class, he jumps at the chance. And he knows just what his topic will be. The antique radio from world war 2 left to him by his grandmother. One night Martin falls asleep with the radio on and is awoken by a British boy who died more than 50 years earlier and he needs Martin's help. Martin is sure that it was just a dream. But the "dreams" continue and they are amazingly vivid. Its almost like he is in 1940 London during the Blitz. And when Martin realizes that the people and events that he is dreaming about are real, he begins to wonder: is he going back in time, or is he going crazy? And just what can he do to help the British boy? The book is a quick read with interesting characters and good historical detail.

3 comments:

Joan said...

Unfortunately vandalism and theft in libraries is an ongoing reality...sigh...

What a great "book talk." London Calling sounds like an interesting read for teens..particularly for boys. Thanks for the recommendation.

Caro said...

What thrill could somebody get from vandalizing a book? Yeesh.

Too bad it wasn't one of those books with teeth like in a Harry Potter movie. It could chase them across the library while they run screaming.

Linda said...

I will never understand what thrill a person gets from destroying property. It is stupid!!