Chris Crutcher, award winning young adult author, will be visiting Bloomington High School on September 30, 2009. His appearance coincides with Banned Books Week. The Bloomington Public Library, Bloomington High School/District 87 and Unit 5 schools welcome Mr. Crutcher to the community lecture at 7pm in the Bloomington High School auditorium. Please plan to attend, and bring a friend. The topic for discussion will be censorship and banned books. The Reading Raiders have read Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and are anxious to ask questions after the in-school lecture. The two main characters in this novel, Eric Calhoune and Sarah Byrnes, have been best of friends since elementary school. Eric believes that their friendship may be based on their designation as outcasts. That's
why, when Eric begins to lose weight, because of his spot on the swim team, he forces himself to eat; so that he and Sarah will remain friends. In Crutcher's books, his characters tend to be well-developed - teenagers, generally. The main teen characters tend to have a major physical, emotional and or developmental flaw; but are genuine, thoughtful, considerate young people facing nearly insurmountable problems. Crutcher understands that not all young people are altruistic, so he regularly includes flawed teens, and sometimes he will include a bully or two.
Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic horror story suited for the scariest month of the year. Stoker was born in Ireland and died in England. This story seems to be a familiar tale to all Americans. Dracula is known more as a folktale;
from stories passed down over generations. Although the Reading Raiders are familiar with the story, through oral tradition and from various films and videos; none of us had read the original book. The story begin with a young lawyer on assignment in Transylvania and he finds that he is being held as prisoner in the castle of his mysterious host. I believe that the films will prove to have created a different kind of monster than the one found in the original work. Stoker appears to have woven themes of philosophy, religion, doubt, mystery, and vampires into a decadent Gothic tale. In the process of telling this tale he created an iconic image of vampires that is embedded in the psyche of all those who celebrate the ritual of Halloween or those who might read Twilight, the novel by Stephanie Meyer.
Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic horror story suited for the scariest month of the year. Stoker was born in Ireland and died in England. This story seems to be a familiar tale to all Americans. Dracula is known more as a folktale;
from stories passed down over generations. Although the Reading Raiders are familiar with the story, through oral tradition and from various films and videos; none of us had read the original book. The story begin with a young lawyer on assignment in Transylvania and he finds that he is being held as prisoner in the castle of his mysterious host. I believe that the films will prove to have created a different kind of monster than the one found in the original work. Stoker appears to have woven themes of philosophy, religion, doubt, mystery, and vampires into a decadent Gothic tale. In the process of telling this tale he created an iconic image of vampires that is embedded in the psyche of all those who celebrate the ritual of Halloween or those who might read Twilight, the novel by Stephanie Meyer. The Brief History of the Dead
by Kevin Brockmeir, published in 2005, is Brockmeier's second novel. This award winner describes the relationship of the living world with the afterlife. Critics claim that the novel is "moving and disquieting, a 'futuristic' novel that is really an elegy for how we live now". The story is set in the fictional metropolis called The City. To take up residence, citizens must meet two requirements: 1) They must be recently deceased and 2) they must exist in the memory of at least one living soul. Laura Byrd is the one living soul keeping our troop of residents in The City alive. The story moves between Laura's life and experiences on earth and those residents who have passed on to life in The City. Laura is a researcher in Antarctica with dwindling supplies. Upon her quest to stay alive, she fails to encounter one living soul. Soon, she realizes that virtually all of the residents of earth have succumbed to a lethal virus; and she may actually be the sole survivor. In sharp contrast to Laura's life-threatening difficulties, her counterparts in The City find that the are free from disease and aging, but only so long as someone on earth (Laura) remembers them.
by Kevin Brockmeir, published in 2005, is Brockmeier's second novel. This award winner describes the relationship of the living world with the afterlife. Critics claim that the novel is "moving and disquieting, a 'futuristic' novel that is really an elegy for how we live now". The story is set in the fictional metropolis called The City. To take up residence, citizens must meet two requirements: 1) They must be recently deceased and 2) they must exist in the memory of at least one living soul. Laura Byrd is the one living soul keeping our troop of residents in The City alive. The story moves between Laura's life and experiences on earth and those residents who have passed on to life in The City. Laura is a researcher in Antarctica with dwindling supplies. Upon her quest to stay alive, she fails to encounter one living soul. Soon, she realizes that virtually all of the residents of earth have succumbed to a lethal virus; and she may actually be the sole survivor. In sharp contrast to Laura's life-threatening difficulties, her counterparts in The City find that the are free from disease and aging, but only so long as someone on earth (Laura) remembers them.Coraline by
Neil Gaiman is best described as a creepy tale set in opposite universes. It's a disturbing correlation of Alice in Wonderland, where the Wonderland is more threatening and macabre than Lewis Carroll ever conceived. Coraline crawls through a door that leads her to an alternate universe where her mother and father seem to be the ideal parents Coraline has longed for. Yet, this other mother and other father have buttons for eyes. Since "the eyes are the window to the soul", Coraline's hesitancy proves to be her saving grace. This disturbing story is peopled with characters both evil and good. Horrific fiction seems to relish in these two poles battling it out for the soul of one good person. There are characters straddling the line of good and evil here in Gaiman's story, and that in itself is an underlying disturbing element. This story has also been published as a graphic novel and is available as an animated movie.
Neil Gaiman is best described as a creepy tale set in opposite universes. It's a disturbing correlation of Alice in Wonderland, where the Wonderland is more threatening and macabre than Lewis Carroll ever conceived. Coraline crawls through a door that leads her to an alternate universe where her mother and father seem to be the ideal parents Coraline has longed for. Yet, this other mother and other father have buttons for eyes. Since "the eyes are the window to the soul", Coraline's hesitancy proves to be her saving grace. This disturbing story is peopled with characters both evil and good. Horrific fiction seems to relish in these two poles battling it out for the soul of one good person. There are characters straddling the line of good and evil here in Gaiman's story, and that in itself is an underlying disturbing element. This story has also been published as a graphic novel and is available as an animated movie. Stephanie Meyer's, The Host, rounds out our selections for October. In this science fiction fantasy Meyer incorporates aliens and humans but is still able to tie in a love story. The main 
character/human is Melanie Stryder. Although the entire earth has been invaded by a parasitic alien that take over the minds of most of humanity (leaving their bodies intact); Melanie refuses to give over her mind to the invader, known as "Wanderer" . Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with thoughts and visions of the man Melanie loves, Jared, who still lives in hiding. As outside forces combine to force Wanderer and Melanie to become unwilling allies, they set off in search of their one true love, Jared. Along this journey the reader will encounter a tale of survival, friendship and love. Critics cannot resist the temptation to compare this novel with the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
character/human is Melanie Stryder. Although the entire earth has been invaded by a parasitic alien that take over the minds of most of humanity (leaving their bodies intact); Melanie refuses to give over her mind to the invader, known as "Wanderer" . Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with thoughts and visions of the man Melanie loves, Jared, who still lives in hiding. As outside forces combine to force Wanderer and Melanie to become unwilling allies, they set off in search of their one true love, Jared. Along this journey the reader will encounter a tale of survival, friendship and love. Critics cannot resist the temptation to compare this novel with the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
