Teen Tech Week-DIY: Great “Tech” Reads
If you want a bit of technology in your reading, check out these great books.
The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Josh and Emma have been neighbors for as long as they can remember and up until the incident last November they were best friends. Now it is May 1996 and they haven’t been in each other’s houses in six months. Emma just received a computer from her father and so Josh brings over an AOL CD-ROM that she can download to get 100 hours of free Internet. What she didn’t expect was to get access to a strange website called Facebook. Sure, you know what Facebook is, but did you know it wasn’t actually launched until 2004?
As Emma and Josh begin to investigate this Facebook, they realize what they are seeing is their future selves in 2011, fifteen years in the future. And every time they log on or refresh Facebook their future is a little different.
If you could see your future, would you like it? Would it make you want to change the present? How would it affect your relationships with others, and most importantly for Josh and Emma, the future of us ?
Why I picked up the book: In May 1996, I was a sophomore in high school and did NOT have my own computer until the summer before my junior year of college in 2000! I remember going to my other parents’ house to use their computer to type papers and listening to that horrible pinging dial of the Internet when my younger brother would log on. We never used AOL but constantly got the CD-ROMs in the mail. (when did that stop anyway??) I wonder if any of my teens would even remember the sound of dial-up, which I haven’t had since 2003. I kept thinking about myself in high school and if that girl would be content with where I am today (by the way, I am!). I loved all the funny lines about why anyone would want to share what they had for lunch.
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
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Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Think back to your memories of 9-11. Were you afraid? Were you confused? Did you wonder if Wyoming may become a target? While you may have been too young to be fearful, you may remember your parents’ reactions. But whether or not you remember that day, imagine a terrorist attack happening now. Would you want our government to act immediately? Would you be willing to give up some of your personal freedoms and privacy in order to be safe? Think airport security measures, computer monitoring, etc.
What if you were detained as a possible suspect, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Now how likely would you be to allow those freedoms to be taken from you? I know what you are thinking. That could never happen to us, right? We are Americans, with unalienable rights, like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution provides protections like rights of the accused, due process, protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Besides we are just teenagers.
You might be surprised with the lengths our government will go in the name of national security. Follow Marcus, a teenage hacker otherwise known as W1n5t0n or M1k3y, on his fight against an out of control US government.
I’d give this book to: Fans of George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Anyone who likes to question authority and even those who believe that our government can do no wrong.
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
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The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
Adoration noun the state of being adored; Adore verb to worship or honor as a deity or as divine
In a perfect world we would all have parents that adore us, worship our every thought, word, and deed; parents who would do whatever they could to make us happy and in tandem do whatever was humanly possible to save us from suffering, being hurt, and from all evil. But it isn’t a perfect world. Accidents happen and parents can’t always be there to intervene. How far a parent should go to save their child? Is there a limit to how much we should be adored and in turn adore another? What is it that really makes us human?
I listened to the audiobook, which includes a short interview with the author and gives insight into her inspiration for a novel.
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
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Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde
Ever wonder what it would be like to ACTUALLY be a part of the video games you love to play? Be able to really make the slam dunks in NBA Live, go fishing in Runescape, or be a sniper in Halo?
Well—here’s your chance. Rasmussen Enterprises now offers a total immersion video game, where your brain is wired to the computer for the total experience of the game –sounds, smells, etc. You are in the game. And it’s only $50 for a half hour of play. Rasmussen Enterprises newest Total Immersion game is Heir Apparent. In this game, you are a sheepherder and the illegitimate child of the newly deceased king and must return to the kingdom to be crowned Heir Apparent. There are many ways to win but along the way you must… find the magic ring, outwit your 3 half-brothers and the queen, recite poetry to a head chopping statue, save the kingdom from barbarians, find the stolen treasure, chase away a group of pesky ghosts, answer riddles from a lonely dwarf, and steal a crown from a man-eating, gold loving dragon.
Sounds easy, right? And like all video games, if you die, you have to start the game over from the beginning. But there is one catch. The group Citizens to Protect Our Children has broken in and damaged the computer system. So time is limited, not just for your character but for you. If your character loses another life, so could you… Wanna play?
Want to read it? Click here to place the book on hold!
Reviews by Jenn, YA Librarian (View all my Goodreads reviews)
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