Author Caitlin Alifirenka Visits LFHS!

Those able to attend the author visit this month were treated to something extraordinary. Caitlin Alifirenka visited LFHS on October 18 and shared the true story of how one class assignment changed the course of her life. She also made LFHS students an interesting offer.

Here’s part of her story. In 7th grade, Caitlin’s teacher announced it was the final year of the pen-pal project and that every student in the class must pick a country they’d be interested in sending a letter to. Her interest was peaked, and wanting to break with convention, Caitlin picked the last country on the list, Zimbabwe, and her adventure began. In Africa, Martin Ganda received her letter because he was the smartest student in his class of 50, and when he responded, their friendship over the years across thousands of miles – and who knows how many letters – impacted their lives and steered them both in completely awesome directions.

Caitlin and Martin wrote the book I Will Always Write Back with the help of Liz Welch, sharing the actual letters they sent each other and telling the rest of their story. Caitlin offered to match LFHS students, based on age, with international students in Thailand and Zimbabwe but made it known that our students would have to initiate the letter writing. She shared how the kindness that developed between her and Martin became contagious, the theme of her talk:  Kindness is Contagious.

Her offer still stands so contact Caitlin if you’re interested in making a new international friend. Find her on social media here: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Instagram. Are you up for the adventure?

Here’s Caitlin signing our author wall in the Silent Study Room as well as Martin and Caitlin’s podcast by PW KidsCast. You can also check out their book from our library.

Best Books: Amy

Meet Amy, LFHS Class of  2018, and her best book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. She says, “I have always loved The Great Gatsby, as well as other novels written by Fitzgerald. I am particularly drawn to Fitzgerald’s ability to create two completely different worlds (east and west egg) and indulge the reader in understanding how each world works. Fitzgerald has always been my favorite author.”

“I think I have fallen in love with the idea of how one man goes from having nothing, to eventually having everything and more. The creativity and imagination is amazing and it is such an easy read. I have read the Great Gatsby at least 7 times outside of school. Every time I read it, I learn something knew/pick up on a part that I didn’t quite notice before. I love writing so after being exposed to Fitzgerald’s books, I felt empowered to further my writing. His writing is so authentic and raw. Overall it’s an amazing book and I highly recommend it, even if you have read it before.”

Synopsis on Goodreads:

“This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island…it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.”

Want to know more about this book? Check it out on Goodreads by clicking here.

Teen Read Week – Unleash Your Story

With first quarter finally complete and Halloween just around the corner, it’s time to loosen up here in the library! In celebration of Teen Read Week Oct. 23 – 27, the library will be offering students (and the young at heart) some crazy, free activities during lunch periods.

Bernie’s Book Bank Book Drive– Encourage young readers! All week long the library will be collecting donations of new and gently used children’s books, age level preschool – 6th grade.

Monday – Unleash your Inner Activist:
Our week-long Bernie’s Book Bank book drive will be kicking off and students can Claim their Cause by making buttons and vinyl stickers.

Tuesday – Unleash your Inner Altruist:
Learn faux calligraphy and make cards for hospitalized children and decorate bookmarks for local children.

Wednesday – Unleash your Inner Artist/Architect/Author:
Join the group Zentangle, adding your unique touch, and compete in a timed Marshmallow Construction competition, plus more.

Thursday –  Unleash your Inner Athlete:
Come play the Dynamic Duo Mini Golf course with a friend, then hang out and play Giant Jenga.

Last Chance Friday – Unleash your Alter Ego:
Decorate a mini pumpkin, create Bookface photo portraits, and more!

Here’s the full scoop of next week’s events.

Best Books: Mrs. Derdiger

Meet Mrs. Derdiger from the Special Education department and her best book, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson. She says, “Larson weaves together the story of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and H.H. Holmes (one of America’s first serial killers) so perfectly that the reader is simultaneously mesmerized by the history of the stunning architecture of Chicago and horrified by the darkly detailed construction of Holmes’ house of horrors.”

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds—a torture palace complete with dissection table, gas chamber, and 3,000-degree crematorium… What makes the story all the more chilling is that Holmes really lived, walking the grounds of that dream city by the lake.

To read more about this book on Goodreads, click here.

Best Books: Vivian

Meet Vivian, LFHS Class of 2020, and her best book, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. She says, “I love this book because it’s about summer love and it’s a book that I can laugh to all the time… I’ve re-read it because it’s so good.”

Synopsis on Goodreads:

“Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.  Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad… But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.”

Check out Goodreads to find out more about this book – click here.

Best Books: Mr. Finley

Introducing Mr. Finley of the English department and his best book, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Moon. “This is a charming, thoughtful, very original teen love story.” He highly recommends it, and it is, interestingly enough, the Library’s Varsity Reading Club pick this month, Tues. 10/17 at 7:30 am or Wed. 10/18 at 6:30 pm.

Synopsis on Goodreads:

“Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that…”

“Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts… I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica…”

To find out more about The Sun is Also a Star on Goodreads, click here.