Get 15% off tickets to see The Importance of Being Earnest and other shows at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
Welcome to a new review series featuring book reviews written by teens, for teens! Each season, our reviewers will share their thoughts, critiques, and recommendations based on what they’ve read.
Dress Coded by Carrie FirestoneIn a school (FMS), the main character, Molly Frost, is fed up that girls keep getting dress coded for wearing tank tops or shorts below their fingertips. So she creates a podcast that turns into a protest for girls’ rights. Carrie Firestone was able to give Dress Coded the most interesting plot twists and gossip in the story. Every time I turned a page, another new or interesting thing with a character would pop up and tangle with the plot. One thing I didn’t like about the story, though, was some of the family drama. Teens are definitely able to read this stuff but some of it was dark and depressing, and almost a bit extreme. Overall, the book was highly enjoyable and fun to read, and I completely recommend!
Submitted by Athena Karambelas
And Then She Was Gone is an engaging mystery that will hook any reader very early on. Laurel is a middle aged woman whose daughter, Ellie, disappeared ten years ago. She believes her life is over until she meets a newfound lover. However, his many connections to Ellie’s disappearance can’t possibly all be a coincidence and Laurel finds herself beginning to wonder what really happened to her daughter and if her new boyfriend has anything to do with it. Lisa Jewell’s And Then She Was Gone is a great read for anyone looking for a story that will captivate them quickly. However, this book can be easily predicted towards the end which can take away from the suspense.
Submitted by F. Gabre
Want to share your book opinions as a reviewer? Email the YA Librarian at abigail.hsu@mmt.mainlib.org.
From NOVL:
“This duology is everything and more, so of course I had to make a playlist to celebrate this epic finale. Listen now if you need convincing, listen while reading for the vibes, listen afterward to revisit the emotions, but whatever you do, read So Let Them Burn and This Ends in Embers. You won’t regret it. This fiery saga will burn its way right into your heart.”
Anyone who tried visiting the History Center in late January noticed we were closed following a significant leak that occurred on January 22nd and impacted several floors of the Library. Fortunately, our librarians and archivists acted quickly to move the historical collections out of harm’s way and evaluate nearby materials for water damage while first responders dealt with the emergency upstairs. Library staff assisted Department Head James Lewis, Digital Librarian Chris Larlee, and Library Assistant Cynthia Muszala to vacate the affected storage room.
Of the thousands of rare books, photographs, and maps that were at risk, damage was limited to a few dozen items which are now offsite for conservation. The Library remained closed for several days as disaster recovery professionals dried flooded areas of the building, and History staff were onsite through the weekend checking for damage, stabilizing affected items, and assisting other departments of the Library with their cleanup efforts. Archivist Jeffrey Moy led the disaster response team over the following three weeks while coordinating with recovery workers to ensure storage areas were repaired, as well as overseeing conservation efforts.
As the main building reopened and resumed operations a week later, History Center staff continued performing collection recovery work while contactors completed repairs to our storage areas. Unfortunately for our visitors, the only available space to temporarily keep the displaced materials was the reading room where they occupied every flat surface including rolling book carts.
Department Head James Lewis responded to questions from researchers eager to resume their work and coordinated day to day logistics. Library Assistant Leigh Whitworth conducted the time-consuming task of checking each book as Assistant Archivist Katelyn Leffler inspected the condition of the glass plates. Digital Librarian Chris Larlee provided crucial collections management support throughout the recovery effort.
With storage room repairs completed in early February, staff returned collections as quickly and carefully as possible and reopened the reading room to a steady stream of researchers beginning February 11th. We appreciate everyone’s patience throughout the disaster recovery process and look forward to helping you explore history soon. For additional information on the History Center and its collections, as well as where to follow us on social media, please visit our About Us page.
Welcome to a new review series featuring book reviews written by teens, for teens! Each season, our reviewers will share their thoughts, critiques, and recommendations based on what they’ve read.
Six of Crows by Leigh BardugoKetterdam is a mischievous city filled with gangs, robbers, and shady businessmen, but the main character, Kaz Brekker, may be the most cunning of all. In Six of Crows, Brekker leads an unlikely gang of six to try and pull off the biggest heist Ketterdam has ever seen; if they succeed in their impossible journey, the gang will end up becoming some of the richest people in the whole city. With this novel, Bardugo creates an creepy, yet infectious world with complicated rivalries and shocking twists by using vivid, grimy imagery. She develops each character in such a way that the reader cannot help but root for them, despite their many human flaws.
In a future world, humanity has found a way to get rid of death, sickness, and sadness, which could only be described as a utopia. However, to help deal with overpopulation, scythes are instructed to be the only killers in the world. The book follows two teens’ journey to becoming the only people who can take another’s life, crushing any dreams of creating a perfect society. Shusterman creates one of the most well-developed worlds in any sci-fi book, taking time to set up a complex, yet easy to grasp dystopia. On the other hand, the novel takes a long time to set up the world and develop the characters, and only towards the end of the book and in future novels in the series does the plot truly begin to pick up.
Lying in the Deep by Diana UrbanAfter the feeling of betrayal and heartbreak have taken over Jade’s life, she embarks on her Campus on Board journey, hoping that she will make new friends and forget about the old, all while learning and exploring 11 different countries in a span of 4 months. Jade’s plan is foiled, though, when her ex-best friend and ex-boyfriend show up on the ship as well, hoping to enjoy their own journey together. To top it all off, after traveling to both London and Lisbon, Jade and her newfound friends realize they aren’t safe when their fellow CoB classmates start turning up dead. Now it is up to Jade to clear her name before the ship reaches the mainland, and before any more bodies turn up. This fast paced story line will have any reader on the edge of their seat, as the characters develop and the plot unfolds. Most of the story takes place in the span of about two days, and Diana Urban executed this perfectly, keeping the story engaging all throughout.
Want to share your book opinions as a reviewer? Email the YA Librarian at abigail.hsu@mmt.mainlib.org.
A partir del 2 de febrero de 2025, el periódico The Star-Ledger dejará de publicarse en papel y va a ser un periódico exclusivamente en línea. Ofrecemos acceso a la edición digital del Star-Ledger desde cualquier lugar a través de NewsBank.
Haga clic en el botón para comenzar:
Cuando acceda al Star-Ledger desde su casa, se le pedirá que ingrese el número de su tarjeta de biblioteca.
Se abrirá la página de la Colección Star-Ledger. (También puede encontrar la Colección Star-Ledger en nuestra página de Bases de datos de investigación.)
Una vez que esté en la página de la Colección Star-Ledger, haga clic en el enlace de la versión de imagen del periódico para abrir la edición digital completa.
Desde aquí, puedes ver los últimos 5 ediciónes recientes y también ver un archivo de ediciónes más antiguos.
Uno de nuestros bibliotecarios pueda ayudarle a obtener acceso.
As of February 2nd, 2025, The Star-Ledger newspaper will cease print publication and become an online-only newspaper. We offer access to the digital edition of the Star-Ledger from any location and device through NewsBank. Here’s how!
Click the button below to get started:
This will open up the Star-Ledger Collection homepage. You can also find The Star-Ledger Collection on our Research Databases page.
When you are accessing the Star-Ledger from home, you’ll be prompted to enter your Library Card Number.
Once you are on the Star-Ledger Collection page, click on the link for Image version of the newspaper to pull up the complete digital edition.
From here, you can view the past 5 days of recent issues, and view an archive of older issues as well.
Feel free to ask a librarian for any further assistance.
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