Hey Josh

A Hey Josh Book Review: Defining Twilight

Good evening, young readers. Question for ya: What recently-released pop-culture-themed workbook involves vampires, SAT vocab words, and the brilliance of a gentleman named Brian Leaf? If you answered Defining Twilight, you’re a psychic master with surprising powers. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you’re in for a treat:

Yes, there was a surprise quiz tucked away in there, so I hope you were paying attention. First two people to answer correctly in the comments box below get a copy of the book. The rest of you get personal satisfaction. Godspeed, young human.

// josh

Student Review of Willow

Student Review of Willow by Julia Hoban

Review written by Kim

The first and only word that came to mind after reading this book was, “Whoa!”

Ok, you’re probably thinking I need to expand my vocabulary, but Willow is easily one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. 

I admit that when I first heard about this book from Josh Shipp and read the synopsis, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be reading a 342-page book about cutting. It’s a touchy subject and it wasn’t something I would normally read about, but my curiosity won out in the end.

Read more…

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow + 5 FREE BOOKS!!

I’m not going to lie.  I’m not a big fan of reading.  It’s not that I don’t know how (I swear) its that most books are, hmmmmmm, boring!  Irrelevant. Lame. Smell of radishes.

Forgive me.

My buddy Kirk put LITTLE BROTHER in my hands, I hoped on a flight to New Hampshire and finished it by the time I landed.

I loved this book. You will love this book.  You will not smell of radishes.

I’m giving away a free signed book to the first five people who can complete the online scavenger hunt below.  Good luck! Read more…

Looking Glass Wars Finale to Hit Bookstores Fall ’09!

If you’re like me, you’ve been holding your breath for 2009 for a number of reasons—one of them being the release of the third and final book of The Looking Glass Wars trilogy! (And we SO worried that we wouldn’t anticipate any other new releases after wolfing down Deathly Hallows. Silly us!)

I cannot WAIT until the next book this year! What do you think will happen? Will Bibwit and his old buddy from tutor school face off? Will Redd and Arch have a lovechild that looks uncannily like Jack of Diamonds? Will the scenes, wicked inventions and weapons, and characters get even more intense than they did in Seeing Redd? What do you think?

Read more…

Unbutton Your Eyes

The film version of Coraline (trailer), directed by Heny Selick, comes out in February, and the footage looks, well, completely incredible. Selick directed the smash-hit A Nightmare Before Christmas (I know, I know, it’s Tim Burton’s movie… but Selick actually directed it), and Coraline is done in a similar stop-motion process that sucks you right into the world of the film. Oh… also it’s in 3-D, so… be prepared to be awed. But before you go running out to the theater, you should check out Neil Gaiman’s original Coraline, the book that the movie is based on. It’s the sometimes silly, sometimes scary, and always eerie tale of a girl named (duh) Coraline, who moves into a new (old) house, and discovers an alternate world where everything is a bit… strange. She finds odd versions of her mom and dad, and while they seem nice at first, Coraline soon learns that they don’t want her to go back to the “real world.” And did I mention they have buttons instead of eyes? Spooky.

Here’s the trailer:

FTW? Vampirates

I was shopping at a Borders the other day. Has anyone else noticed that they are closing a lot of them down? Of course I go straight for the discount bin to see what treasures will unveil themselves for $1.99. I come across this book called Vampirates! Yes, you heard me right. They are one part pirate, one part vampire. Honestly, at first, I couldn’t stop laughing. My initial impression was that this book, its author, and anyone who has ever been within five feet of a copy are completely made of awesome.

But then it occurred to me, vampires would make the worst pirates in the world. First off they can’t be out in the day. That makes sailing anywhere very hard. Secondly, there are old vampire myths about how they can’t cross water by themselves. In Bram Stokers’ book Dracula had to stay boarded up on his way to England. They tend to freeze up and are unable to move. So now I’m thinking, bring it on. I could take on like fifty of these guys.

So I have two questions for you:
1. Are these guys awesome or lame?
2. How many vampirates do you think you could take?

Here is a link to the official website. You can read excerpts from each of the four books online.

What Your Librarian Might Not Tell You

Once again, there is something so cool for teens that adults can’t help but get their hands on it.  “Hunger Games,” a new novel by Suzanne Collins, is the next big thing in young adult (that’s you!) literature.  The book is getting rave reviews all over the internet and lots of attention in magazines.  Bookstores are selling them faster than Soccer Moms stole “Twilight.”

Hunger Games is set in the not-so-distant future, and America is now a dictatorship  overrun by reality television.  The most popular event is the Hunger Games, an annual kill-or-be-killed contest.  Each year, teens are chosen by lottery to participate in a fight-to-the-death match.  It’s like The Super Bowl meets “Survivor,” only there is literally only one survivor.  Yikes!  Katniss, our heroine, steps up to the plate when her younger sister is chosen.  Her fighting partner is Gale and, of course, he is in love with Katniss.  Tension and potential heartbreak run rampant among the action.  Their district hasn’t won the Hunger Games in over 30 years, so the pressure is on here.  And you thought a pop quiz in math class was bad!

Have you read it?  Let us know what you think.  Any thoughts for who should play Katniss and Gale in the movie?