Teens

Help track biodiversity in our community with this BioBlitz program for the Wisconsin Science Festival! Meet us at Hickory Hill Conservancy to identify different plants and animals using either the iNaturalist app on your phone, or using the paper forms we'll also have available. Learn more about what a BioBlitz is on the Wisconsin Science Festival website.

Wednesdays starting September 17 — 5:30 to 7:00 PM

Get ready for another exciting Dungeons and Dragons campaign, just for teens ages 13 and older. We will start on Wednesday, September 17 and run for six weeks through October 22.

This six-week campaign will be limited to 6 players, so get your reservation in as soon as possible! Email cabaer [at] rgpl.org (cabaer[at]rgpl[dot]org) or talk to Catherine at the library to sign-up.

No previous DnD experience is necessary. Sessions will be led by veteran DnD player and Dungeon Master Lynx Schlautman. Here is a description of the campaign from Lynx:

This campaign will take place in space, specifically an area known as deadspace, far beyond civilization and inhabited worlds. The party has been hired to find an elusive megastructure which has, allegedly, been sporadically spotted and reported for years but no one has ever brought back any evidence it actually exists. Any large scale investigation launched either returned empty handed, or not at all. What mysteries lie in wait for this crew of intrepid adventurers? Will they bring back wealth and fame? Or will they be lost to this long forgotten graveyard?

You are cordially invited to dine with the Detective Club, the the crème de la crème of the crime-writing elite, in celebration of their 50th anniversary. But when Sir Aubrey St. Clair, one of your own, turns up dead in his study, it's up to the club to determine how it happened. Everyone falls under suspicion as they have secrets to hide—will the truth be able to come to light?

Join us for a role-playing murder mystery game featuring a short plot written by mystery author Ruth Ware! Attendees will each be assigned a character to act out as we spend the evening determining which of the guests is the culprit behind the murder of Sir Aubrey. Instructions and light refreshments will be provided.

Registration is required for this program, as there are a minimum and maximum number of attendees needed to play the game. Email Kelly at kmckewin [at] rgpl.org to sign up. The program is open to ages 15+.

Monday, October 27 @ 4 PM

All Better Now by Neal Shusterman

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From New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman comes a young adult thriller about a world where happiness becomes contagious and the teens caught in the conspiracy by the powers that be to bring back discontent.

An unprecedented condition is on the rise. It behaves like a virus, with the first symptom being a fever, but those who contract it experience long-term effects no one has ever seen utter contentment. Soon after infection, people find the stress, depression, greed, and other negative feelings that used to weigh them down are gone. 

Almost everyone revels in this mass unburdening. But people in power—who depend on malcontents tuning into their broadcasts, prey on the insecure to sell their products, and convince people they need more, new, faster, better everything—know this new state of being is bad for business. Soon, campaigns start up convincing people that being happy all the time is dangerous. There’s even a vaccine developed to rid people of their inner peace and get them back to normal because, surely, without anger or jealousy as motivators, productivity will grind to a halt and the world will be thrown into chaos.

It’s nearly impossible to determine the truth when everyone with a platform is pushing their own agendas, and two teens from very different backgrounds who’ve had their lives upended in different ways by the virus find themselves enmeshed in the center of a dangerous power play. Can they reveal the truth?

We're wading in the Black Earth Creek again in October! Join the Black Earth Public Library, Mazomanie Free Library, and Rosemary Garfoot Public Library as we wade and explore the Black Earth Creek at H.M. Zander Community Nature Park in Cross Plains with Stream Biologists and the Black Earth Creek Watershed Association (BECWA). 

We’ll have waders available for kids in 1st grade and up, as well as for teens and adults! Don’t forget to bring a towel and come dressed to get wet. Also, older and secure footwear is recommended since we’ll be walking through grass and mud. Adult supervision is required for kids. Please note: Everyone wades at their own risk.

Join us for a talk about all things Jane Austen with author Tirzah Price! In celebration of 2025 marking Jane Austen's 250th birthday, Price will be Zooming in to discuss Austen's lasting impact on pop culture. From cheesy 2000's rom-coms based on her work to eclectic spin-offs like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Austen's work has persisted in our minds and media for centuries—even if you've never read an Austen novel, you've likely seen, read, or enjoyed something inspired by her! Price will delve into the what's and why's of Austen's continued impact on pop culture, including Austen's impacts on her own work.

This program is sponsored by Beyond the Page, the National Endowment for the Humanities and Madison Community Foundation. Price will be Zooming in for this discussion. The discussion will be screened live in-person at the library, but attendees are welcome to join remotely as well. Registration is not required for in-person attendees. Participants who wish to attend remotely should email Kelly at kmckewin [at] rgpl.org (kmckewin[at]rgpl[dot]org) before noon on November 20 in order to receive the Zoom link.

About the Speaker

Tirzah Price is the USA Today bestselling author of the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries and the spin-off Lizzie and Darcy Mysteries. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and has worked in the book industry for over a decade. When she’s not writing, reading, or talking about YA books, she splits her time between experimenting in the kitchen and knitting. She lives in Michigan.

Song for a Whale, by Lynne Kelly

The story of a deaf girl's connection to a whale whose song can't be heard by his species, and the journey she takes to help him.

From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, twelve-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she's the only deaf person in her school, so people often treat her like she's not very smart. If you've ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be.
When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. Then she has an idea: she should invent a way to "sing" to him! But he's three thousand miles away. How will she play her song for him?

The Tween Book club read Song for a Whale, by Lynne Kelly for their February 2021 book discussion. The author graciously agreed to answer questions from the group. Take a look at the interview, which includes a link to a fascinating article, complete with recordings of whale sounds.

Check out this interview with the author of one of our favorite reads, The True Meaning of Smekday. We have often read the book for an end of the year selection (just because we like it so much). Adam Rex offered to answer questions for our group, take a look at what he had to say.