Film Complements Book

Christopher McCandless will not be forgotten. He, his thoughts, and his actions will be discussed from various perspectives for some time. At least this is what I hope. The book, written by Jon Krakauer, presents McCandless in an objective light, allowing for conversations debating his actions and rationale. The film, produced and directed by Sean Penn, presents a different exposure to McCandless.

The "writing" on the screen of his journal entries and the narration of his sister throughout the film provide a greater understanding of why McCandless acted as he did. Some of the relationships he develops during his journey give him a sense of love, importance, and purpose. And he impacts those he meets along the way. His idealism is admirable, and I wish that he would have had the opportunity to continue to act on and fulfill such dreams. I continue to think "if only he was prepared better; if only he had organized his trip in a thoughtful and purposeful manner."

I appreciate that both the book and the film are thought-provoking and allowed me to understand McCandless more fully, as we all are multi-dimensional. May his spirit live in the people who knew him, and may his actions encourage everyone to take flight with a sliver of caution.

More sources to check out....

Here's a link to The New York Times' podcasts of Book Reviews which appear every Friday. This page in turn links to NPR, New Yorker and other podcast book reviews.


For more books to read, check out the Google eBookstore
Enjoy!

Book True to Reality

Theories of Relativity by Barbara Haworth-Attard (2003) is true to life, according to youth who live just like Dylan and the other characters in the book. Dylan is 16 years old and lives on the street; he was forced onto the streets by his mom on his 16th birthday.
He must survive, and will do almost whatever it takes to survive; though, he won't give in to Vulture, a guy who is as conniving and manipulative as his nickname suggests.

Dylan develops his own personal "theories" as he lives on the streets, yet certain experiences challenge these theories, for better and for worse, and challenge his ability to survive physically and mentally.

Haworth-Attard includes an Author's Note to all the young adults who read this book, and it's an important message they need to know: "be aware of that kid on the corner of a city street.....You will grow up to help run this country and inherit the problem. We must all work toward a solution" (230).

Thank you, Barbara Haworth-Attard.

2011 ALA Award Winners

2011 ALA Award Winners
Alex Award winners announced today in San Diego:


The Alex Awards were created to recognize that many teens enjoy and often prefer books written for adults, and to assist librarians in recommending adult books that appeal to teens.

·  The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To by DC Pierson, published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc. (ISBN 9780307474612)

·  Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard, by Liz Murray, published by Hyperion (ISBN 9780786868919)

·  Girl in Translation,by Jean Kwok, published by Riverhead Books, an imprint of the Penguin Group ( (ISBN 9781594487569)

·  The House of Tomorrow, by Peter Bognanni, published by Amy Einhorn Books, an imprint of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of the Penguin Group (ISBN 9780399156090)

·  The Lock Artist, by Steve Hamilton, published by Thomas Dunne Books for Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press (ISBN 9780312380427)

·  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel, by Aimee Bender, published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. (ISBN 9780385501125)

·  The Radleys,by Matt Haig, published by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. (ISBN 9781439194010)

·  The Reapers Are the Angels: A Novel by Alden Bell, published by Holt Paperbacks, a division of Henry Holt and Company, LLC (ISBN 9780805092431)

·  Room: A Novel, by Emma Donoghue, published by Little, Brown and Company a division of Hatchette Book Group, Inc. (ISBN 9780316098335)

·  The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: A Novel, by Helen Grant, published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group,  division of Random House, Inc.(ISBN 9780385344173)

Follow the conference on Twitter #ALAMW11

Morris Award

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first awarded in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. Use this short URL: www.ala.org/yalsa/morris. 

From the ALA website:

The award's namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults. Bill Morris left an impressive mark on the field of children’s and young adult literature. He was beloved in the publishing field and the library profession for his generosity and marvelous enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens. 

Click here to see the 2011 Finalists.

100 Notable Books of 2010

.... as described online by the New York Times today. See links to previous years' lists also.