Playground / Fifty Cent

TITLE: Playground
AUTHOR: Fifty Cent
OWNED BY CCLS? Yes.

Playground is the story of thirteen year old Butterball; a modern day bully. Butterball is a teen growing up in suburban Long Island who finds himself meeting with a therapist twice a week after viciously attacking a fellow classmate with a sock filled with batteries. Maurice (the boy who he attacked) is so traumatized that he transfers out of Watkins (the school that both boys attend) and out of Butterball's life. Will Butterball take his therapy seriously and open up about why he did what he did? Or will Butterball resists therapy and continue down the same destructive path?

M's Verdict: Want to know what made me pick up this book? Similar to Hilary Duff's Elixir, I wanted to see if 50 Cent (a.k.a. Curtis James Jackson III) could actually write a book that would appeal to teens and be worth reading. In my opinion, it's good. I don't know how much 50 Cent wrote and how much co-writer Laura Moser wrote, but the tale is believably harsh, realistic, and honest.

Author (and rapper) 50 Cent created an authentic story of a teenager growing up in a dysfunctional family in a less than stellar neighborhood. Supposedly semi-autobiographical, Playground tells the story of a teen bully (similar to the author) who made some terrible choices and had to live with his consequences and decide whether or not he wanted to change. Although there may be a connection between the author and main character in regards to being a bully in school, which opens itself up to both a great novel and a great lesson for teenagers, there are many differences between the author and main character of Playround.

Here's what the real 50 Cent story includes but Playground did not:

• In the story...


• Butterball lived with his mother who spent all of her time working and going back to nursing school
  


• In real-life...


• 50 Cent's mother was a crack dealer who was murdered when he was only eight years old


• 50 Cent was raised by his grandmother
  


• In the story...


• Butterball's father lived the bachelor life in NYC
  


• In real-life...


• 50 Cent's father abandoned him shortly after his mother died

For Additional Information:
http://allmusic.com/artist/50-cent-p372609/biography
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/50-cent/biography

NEW Graphic Novels

Alright, so I just recently acquired a Kindle Fire and although you'd think this would provide me with additional opportunities to read, it (along with the upcoming holiday season) has kind of put the brakes on my reading. Instead, I find myself getting sucked into various games/apps that I was able to download from free from Amazon (and I'm not talking about Angry Birds, I'm talking about old-school Bejewled/Tetris kinds of games).

Anyhow, I'm saying this because I fortunately have some saved up graphic novel info. that I am able to post now. I promise that I will try to get some reading done over the holiday season and I'll post some reviews of whatever I read. For now, here's some new graphic novel news...

TITLE: Mangaman
AUTHOR: Barry Lyga ; illustrated by Colleen Doran

SUMMARY: Interested in manga, but not quite ready to dive in? Try Mangaman. It's a kind-of-crossover between manga and the traditional comic. Ryoko is a manga character who has fallen through a rip in the "real" world and finds himself trying to function in a modern American high school setting. It's a great tale of teen angst and of fitting into a new environment while still trying to stay true to yourself.


TITLE: George R. R. Martin's Doorways
AUTHOR: George R. R. Martin

SUMMARY: Dr. Mason treats a rather unusual woman named Cat in his ER one night who speaks in broken English, wears skimpy torn clothing, and has a weapon of futuristic types attached to her arm. Of course, after this initial encounter, things only keep getting more bizarre. Dr. Mason tries to protect Cat from the sci-fi monsters that are in pursuit of her and in an attempt to flee from these ne'er do wells, both of them are transported into an alternative Earth. How will it end?


TITLE: Shadoweyes in Love
AUTHOR: Ross Campbell

NOTES: Sequel to Shadoweyes (which was awesome!), and even though I'm still in the process of reading it--it's good:) If you haven't read Shadoweyes, I recommend it. If you loved Shadoweyes, then definitely read Shadoweyes in Love.

Upcoming TEEN Program

WHAT: Teen Fundraiser
WHERE: Five Below @ Camp Hill Mall
WHEN: December 16, 17 & 18th

Five Below Holiday Teen Fundraiser Friday, December 16 through Sunday, December 18 The Fredricksen Library’s Teen Advisory Group is raising money to purchase teen materials, as well as furnishings for the teen area in the library. You can help by shopping at Five Below in the Camp Hill Mall on December 16 - 18. Vouchers will be available at the library, on the library’s website, and here: VOUCHER. Bring a voucher with you to the store and 10% of your purchase will go to a fund for the teens. This is a great way to get some fun holiday gifts and help the library.

Upcoming TEEN Program

WHAT: Gingerbread House Extravaganza

WHERE: Fredricksen Library
WHEN: Sunday, December 18th from 2-4:30PM

Join us for our 2nd Gingerbread House Extravaganza for teens! Teens are challenged to create a spectacular holiday gingerbread house using graham crackers, candy, and frosting! Join us as we welcome the holidays with this yummy event! For teens in grades 6 – 12 with a $2.00 fee. Register starting Dec.1. Sponsored by the Friends of Fredricksen.