Posts by Lindsy Serrano

Dating violence is a problem that is unfortunately all too common in teenagers' lives.  Abuse comes in many forms.  It can be physical as well as emotional, verbal and sexual, and it can happen to anyone.  This week, Marie Hansen, superstar librarian at Jefferson Market, posted a list of resources for people who are either in an abusive relationship or who know someone who is in an abusive relationship. 

YA literature has tackled this difficult subject in many books that can be checked out at your local library. 

Have you always meant to start a craft or hobby and froze when faced with a blank canvas, empty music paper or a glowing computer screen? You are not alone. Starting creative projects has always been on my New Year's resolution list. This year, I’m doing some prep work before facing that blank canvas and looking at books about developing your creativity written by people who are established artists in their own right.

At our last Teen Advisory Group (TAG), I asked members what books they would recommend to other YA readers. After some debate, we put together a list and I learned a few things. The Hunger Games still reigns supreme, Harry Potter is now a classic, and Twilight is so 2010. Enjoy!

Last Friday, Muhlenberg’s Teen Advisory Group got together and played Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. Everyone had an opinion and I thought it would be perfect for the very first “TAG reviews” installment. Let me just say that the reviews were very mixed…

I read an interesting article recently about the lack of strong female characters on television. The article mainly looked at Gossip Girl as a show without any positive role models and then curses the networks that canceled Veronica Mars and My So Called Life. In some ways, I have to agree. I mean, Gossip Girl is just crazy, who visits prison inmates in backless dresses?! And I’m also in the special group of people who still hope for a Veronica Mars movie (time to let that one go I think). Luckily for teenage girls everywhere, YA novels are celebrating smart and savvy young women and they don’t have to kick 

In December, you can always depend on yearly round ups.  The best movies are debated online and in magazines along with favorite albums and the most entertaining celebrity train wrecks.  I love going through these lists and comparing them with my own personal favorites.  While I was putting together a "Best Books of 2010" display here at Muhlenberg (which was inspired by my need to display our TEN copies of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins) I came across some "Best of 2010" lists with really great suggestions.  Perfect if you have a big reader on this year's holiday shopping list.   

Kelly Link’s Pretty Monsters is a collection of beautiful short stories ranging from fanciful to scary horror. To give you an idea of what the stories are like I'll just tell you about the first one I read.  It’s about a teenage boy who leaves a collection of his poetry in the coffin of his dead girlfriend.  After a few months, he decides that he wants his poetry back and has to dig it up.  The story is called "The Wrong Grave" so you can only imagine what happens next. 

The holidays are on their way, and nothing says holidays like mandatory time with family! 

Sometimes your family is your rock and sometimes your family is the rock that is chained to your leg after you are thrown in the ocean. Usually they are something in between. I put together a booklist about families; the good, the bad, the creepy and the homicidal. Consider it my holiday gift to you. 

Many local branches have been offering special programs relating to NYPL’s major fall exhibition, Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Recently, I was excited to host a calligraphy program for our teens at the Muhlenberg branch.

Muhlenberg's budding jewelers got together at last Thursday's Unplugged event (A bimonthly crafts and games program we have on Thursdays) to make some spooky necklaces and bracelets with local artist Pamela Isaac.  

We were given some twine, metal wire and elastic, along with tiny skulls, chains, tons of cool beads and metal pieces. We spent the next hour making our own wearable art. 

Full disclosure: I’ve always been a Mark Bittman fan. I love the Minimalist column in the New York Times and my copy of How to Cook Everything has been used so much there are sauce splatters and spills all over it.   When I saw his book, Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express: 404 Inspired Seasonal Dishes You Can Make in 20 Minutes or Less, I checked it out immediately and imagined a week’s worth of delicious, seasonal dishes that I would whip together and have extra time to challange friends to a MarioKart tournament on the Wii… or make graphic t shirts. 

Fellow librarian (and super-blogger) Marie just posted a great interview with the amazing librarians that work at the various sites of Passages Academy, an education program run in NYC's juvenile detention centers.  Please, check out the interview HERE.  The librarians at Passages Academy also have a wonderful book review blog called What's Good in the Library?, definitely worth checking out. 

The New York Public Library is no stranger to incarcerated youth, many librarians do outreach in detention centers and Rikers' Island and books about incarcerated teens and their loved ones are becoming more and more popular in the branches.  Here 

Is there a hobby that you've always wanted to try but you don't know where to start?  Try the library!  We have the information; all you need to do is bring curiosity and the courage to try something new!

I spend way too much time at Sephora.  Are you familiar?  It’s a huge store filled with products that promise to make you shiner, beautiful, and less tired looking.  I'm embarrassed to say how much money I've spent there and that I have no idea what I'm putting on my skin.

Teen Advisory Group meets once a week at Muhlenberg.  There, local teens talk about the things that they like in the library and the things they'd like to change.  Each month, we recognize a TAG member.  The first is a new member to TAG, we'll call Lady C to protect her secret identity.

Listen, I know you have a lot to read right now.  Maybe you are finishing up your summer reading, maybe you got your first assignments for English class. But I just can't help but ask for you to consider some of my favorite books about going to high school.  Some are funny, some are really dark but they are all great reads.  Take a look!

10. I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Leib

This book is only number 10 because our favorite evil genius is in middle school instead of high school.  But this has to be one of the funniest books I've read in a while.  AND it makes fun of required 

Last Friday we had our first annual Uno Tournament during Teen Advisory group. There were snacks, prizes, and a lot of competition. I had a really great time and I think our eight participants did as well. As I said before, it was our first tournament that didn't involve the Nintendo Wii, here are some things I wish I knew before:

Muhlenberg's Teen Advisory Group met last Friday to play team Pictionary for both prizes and, of course, the glory on winning. It was boys against girls that day and the boys won by a very narrow margin of 12 to 9. Pictionary is one of our favorite games to play together and I love it because its so easy to put together!

Here's what you need:

The teens of Muhlenberg's Teen Advisory Group have spoken, MORE CRAFTS! And I am more than happy to deliver. Last Friday was our first summer craft day, our topic? Stamps.

Marcelo really wants to spend his last year of high school at Patterson, a school for students a lot like him. Students who need a little extra help learning the rules of the Real World, and who can spend extra time thinking about the things that they are really interested in. But Marcelo’s father gives him an ultimatum; spend the summer in the Real World, working in the mailroom of his law firm, or go to public high school for his senior year.