Teens

Teen Book Club - Monday, May 19

4-5 PM

Rez Ball by Byron Graves

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This exciting debut novel by Byron Graves tells the story of a young athlete determined to play like the hero his Ojibwe community needs him to be. 

These days, Tre Brun is happiest when he is playing basketball on the Red Lake Reservation high school team—even though he can’t help but be constantly gut-punched with memories of his big brother, Jaxon, who died in an accident. When Jaxon's former teammates on the varsity team offer to take Tre under their wing, he sees this as his shot to represent his Ojibwe rez all the way to their first state championship. This is the first step toward his dream of playing in the NBA, no matter how much the odds are stacked against him. But stepping into his brother’s shoes as a star player means that Tre can’t mess up. Not on the court, not at school, and not with his new friend, gamer Khiana, who he is definitely not falling in love with. After decades of rez teams almost making it, Tre needs to take his team to state. Because if he can live up to Jaxon's dreams, their story isn’t over yet.- Goodreads.com

Copies of the book are available now at the service desk in the library.

Join the line dancing craze! This introductory class will cover a few beginner line dances with step-by-step breakdowns, and include some practice time to review what you've learned. Absolutely no prior dance experience is necessary to enjoy this program. Please wear a pair of shoes you feel comfortable moving around in. This class is geared towards adults and teens, but children may attend with parental supervision.

Questions? Reach out to Kelly at kmckewin [at] rgpl.org

Zines are small, handmade, self-published art books or pamphlets. Join seasoned Zine artist Tova Gorman-Baer and create a one-of-a-kind piece for your own personal library. 

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.