Have you voted yet for your favorite Battle of the Bands 2011 contestants??? The deadline is March 5th, and everyone is welcome to check out all 20 of our talented teen bands and performers before casting a vote. The top 5 bands with the most votes will be invited to play at an exciting concert finale at Almaden Branch Library & Community Center on March 19th. You're all invited to attend. I've had the pleasure of attending our past three Battle of the Bands finales, and they have all featured amazing young musicians. Don't miss out on this year's concert as we rock the library once again!

When I was a teen, I played in an all-girl punk band with my friends called Lily Liver. We weren't very good, but it was such a blast to practice out in the garage or play at our friends' parties. Check out these young adult books about other teens that rock, or learn how you can rock, too. Just be sure to give the library a shout-out on your album's liner notes. :)

Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning

Molly Montgomery discovers the high price of fame when her band, The Hormones, is joined by dangerous Dean and his friend T, and they become famous.

Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes

A group of high school students thrown together in detention form a band to play at a school talent show and end up competing against a wildly popular local rock band.

Punk Rock Etiquette: The Ultimate How-to Guide for Punk, Underground, DIY, and Indie Bands by Travis Nichols

Don't let the name fool you...This is an awesome how-to guide for any type of band just starting out! Learn how to find bandmates, make your own shirts, find places to play, etc.

Rock Star Superstar by Blake Nelson

When Pete, a talented bass player, moves from playing in the high school jazz band to playing in a popular rock group, he finds the experience exhilarating even as his new fame jeopardizes his relationship with girlfriend Margaret.

The Rough Guide to Hip-Hop by Peter Shapiro

The definitive guide to hip-hop, from Grandmaster Flash to Outkast and beyond. Learn from the masters before you hit the mic.

6X : The Uncensored Confessions by Nina Malkin

Four teens on the fast track to pop-rock superstardom reveal the unfiltered truth about the glamorous, backstabbing world of sudden celebrity.

Black Swan: The music was amazing!

Eclipse: This was my favorite movie because I really liked the books and Edward Cullen.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I: I enjoyed the action and drama in this movie.

Salt: The movie had a great plot line that made the whole movie interesting. Also, the action was very realistic and amazing.

The Social Network: This is my favorite movie of 2010 because it shows how the dot-com bubble can shape an individual’s life.

Toy Story 3: It wrapped up the series perfectly, it was awesome watching the characters again and it was almost perfect. The only problem is that the next Pixar film (Cars 2) has little potential.

West Valley's teensReach group was so excited to learn that they had won SJPL's LuvYrLibrary video contest! We celebrated the victory with pizza during our teensReach meeting last week. Here's our video again in case you missed it.

West Valley's teensReach group serves as our branch's volunteer and advisory group for teens ages 13-18, and they continue to make us proud with their dedication and creativity. They are currently responsible for running our Homework Hour and Reading Buddies weekly programs at West Valley, and they can always be counted on to lend a helping hand with other library events, even creating their own special events to offer to our community. Our teensReach members also provide invaluable insight and feedback on behalf of fellow San Jose teens about what they want to see in the library and in their city.

Are you (or someone you know) interested in joining teensReach? It's an excellent leadership and service opportunity, and it's fun! Visit the San Jose Public Library's teensReach page for more information about groups at all our library locations, or join us at West Valley on Thursday, March 17 at 4pm for our next monthly meeting.

Audiobooks are not just for commuters like me...They are great for long trips, doing chores, kicking back at home, etc.  San José Public Library has plenty of great audiobook titles for readers of all ages in both CD and eAudiobook formats. If you've read my other posts, you'll know that I love to read and share teen fiction reviews. These are some Young Adult Audiobook titles that I've listened to recently and really enjoyed, thanks to both great stories and great actors.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan (available on CD & eAudiobook)

John Green and David Levithan are both excellent YA authors, and this collaborative novel has everything you should expect from them: quirky dialogue, eccentric characters, lots of humor, unconventional romance, and a dash of drama. This fateful story of two guys named Will Grayson is narrated by two actors playing the two alternating Will Graysons, and they do an excellent and often hilarious job, complete with actual belted-out tunes from the musical featured in the story about Will's best friend: "Tiny Dancer: The Tiny Cooper Story." Good times!

Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn (available on CD)

Cyd Charisse has been sent back to San Francisco to live with her mom and stepdad after getting kicked out of her east coast boarding school. Beware! Cyd is snarky, cynical, and rebellious (think Juno in combat boots), but deep down she's just trying to find her way in life. Voice actor Carine Montbertrand nails what I would imagine to be Cyd's growling and sarcastic tone of voice. Not for the faint of heart...Recommended for the freaks & geeks out there.

The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt (available on CD)

A touching story about a likable yet awkward teenage boy named Levi who loves his brother so sincerely. Boaz has just returned from Iraq and is clearly suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and his younger brother Levi is struggling to break through and reach him. They hit the road on foot, traveling hundreds of miles to Washington, D.C. I enjoyed the sincere voice performance on this one, in addition to the excellent story.

White Cat by Holly Black (available on CD)

In this new fantasy series by Holly Black, curse workers are people among us that are born with the ability to "curse" or manipulate others through touch. There are luck workers, emotion workers, death workers, etc. Cassel's family has a rich history of curse work, with ties to a local crime family that uses curses for nefarious purposes. Cassel begins to discover his role in all of it as truths are brought to light. Actor Jesse Eisenberg of recent Social Network and Zombieland critical praise narrates this one in his charmingly-awkward way.

Now that I have the OverDrive app on my Android phone, I can't wait to download more digital audiobook titles currently available through OverDrive. Happy listening!

In January teens were invited to be part of a fun and exciting contest to show off their creativity by creating a 3-minute video about:

• Why they like their library
• What makes the library a special place for them and other teens

teensReach groups at four participating libraries entered the video contest creating some AWESOME videos!!

After careful consideration, judges agreed that West Valley’s teensReach group had the winning entry – CONGRATS West Valley Teens!! Check out the winning video

Honorable mentions go to …

• Rose Garden teensReach, created a very engaging and lively montage: Video Clip
• Evergreen teensReach, developed a video that makes going to the library fun: Video Clip
• Santa Teresa teensReach featured great teen actors pretending to be ‘just’ customers: Video Clip

Thanks to everyone who participated!!

We have some talented and engaged teens in our libraries :)

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Committee chose two of the King Library’s Bookmark Contest entries to be distributed during its many Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Events in January and February. Kianna and Jaspreet are students at Notre Dame High School and both chose to use quotes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in their original bookmark designs. Kianna picked “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase” and “We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.” Jaspreet’s choice was “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Congratulations to Kianna and Jaspreet for their original bookmarks! If you’re looking for information about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visit the King Library, 3rd Floor, where there is a special collection of books, DVDs and sound recordings about him.