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Teens, you have constitutional rights. And not just the right to remain silent (although this is a useful one that many teenagers have invoked since the Fifth Amendment was ratified in 1791…haha). Understanding exactly what your freedoms are can be confusing, but let me affirm the United States’ Bill of Rights are not exclusive to adults…they protect you too. How do I know? I read some books about it!

“What Are My Rights? Q&A about Teens and the Law” by Judge Tom Jacobs is my new obsession. This Young Adult (YA) nonfiction book answers so many interesting and nuanced legal questions…things like “Can my property be searched and seized?”; “Do I have complete freedom of expression in school?”; “Can I be prosecuted for comments I make online?”; and “What are my rights as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender teenager?” I’m telling you; you will be hooked. This book is easy to jump around in…just read the table of contents and flip to the topics that interest you. It’s written by a judge who knows his way around the law, and he explains complex things in a way that makes readers feel like we can find our way around too. Read it and feel confident leveraging your rights…and better understanding their potential limits.

I wanted to know more about teenagers’ First Amendment Rights specifically, so I read on. “Your Freedom, Your Power: A Kid’s Guide to the First Amendment” by Allison Matulli with Clelia Castro-Malaspina can be found in the children’s nonfiction section, and it’s an absolute heavy hitter when it comes to figuring out your freedom of expression. Again, it’s organized in a way that makes it easy to jump around to the sections that interest you most. Want to know more about book banning in public schools? Prayer in the classroom? Your HAIR (and if your principal can dictate how you style it)? All of these topics and more are covered in this book, which will leave you feeling empowered and prepared to defend your liberties (and your mullet).

Did I stop there? No, I couldn’t. Reading about rights is addictive. I then turned to some books from the adult nonfiction section, including “Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media” by Jacob Mchangama, “You Can’t Always Say What You Want: The Paradox of Free Speech” by Dennis Baron, and “Guardians of Liberty: Freedom of the Press and the Nature of News” by Linda Barrett Osborne. Among other important things, these books examine the tension between uninhibited discourse and the abuse, misinformation, and hyperbole that can come with it. Free speech carries a weighty price, but could democracy exist without it? Teens, read these books and answer this existential question with me!

Something great I learned while immersing myself in these books is that in many instances, it was teenagers themselves who went to court to challenge violations to their constitutional rights, and in the process, really helped the courts define the rights of minors more explicitly, saving other minors from censorship and suppression. Maybe one day I will pick up a new book about teenagers’ rights and you’ll be in it. It will be my new favorite book.

Kristina Naftzger is a Youth Services Librarian at A.K. Smiley Public Library.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am happy to announce that it is finally, Halloween season. I have literally been waiting an entire year to celebrate Halloween again. And on that note, here is your annual Shannon’s spine-chilling Smiley Library selections. Read if you dare (enter menacing laugh here).

My first frightening find is “The Staircase in the Woods” by Chuck Wendig. Wendig tells an alternating timeline story about a group of high school friends who would do anything for each other, until they don’t. One fateful weekend changes their lives when a strange staircase shows up in the middle of the woods where the five friends are camping. Out of anger and frustration, one of the friends decides to climb the staircase to see what will happen, and when he reaches the top of the staircase, he disappears never to be seen again. Decades go by, and when one of the friends calls the group for one last epic hangout, as his dying wish, the friends acquiesce. The group of friends come to realize that the dying wish is actually a trap that brings the past and present together. Come and check out this frightening tale to find out what fate has in store for this group of friends.

If you want something on the lighter and more romantic side, then I suggest “Ghost Business” by Jen DeLuca. Sophie runs and operates the only ghost tour of the haunted town Boneyard Key, Florida, that is until the newcomer, Tristan moves into town. Much to Sophie’s chagrin, Tristan starts his own ghost tour business of Boneyard Key, and a ghost tour rivalry has begun! Will Sophie and Tristan be able to exorcise their demons? Read this book to find out which business gets ghosted.

If neither of these two books sound appealing to you, then I suggest Sarah Pinborough’s latest novel, “We Live Here Now.” After an accident that nearly killed her, Emily and her husband, Freddie, decide to move to the English countryside for a new start. The house is immaculate, but something feels wrong, very wrong. The lights turn off by themselves, books fall out of the bookcase, and she is sensing a paranormal presence in the house, but Emily is the only one witnessing these happenings and her husband doesn’t believe her. Is the house really haunted or is Emily hallucinating? Come and check out this haunting read to find out the truth.

Come and down and check out these and other haunting novels.

Shannon Swamp Witch Harris is a Library Specialist at A.K. Smiley Public Library who loves Halloween.

Halloween is already right around the corner! Our Halloween books in the Young Readers’ Room are so popular, they barely hit the shelves before they’re snatched up. Here are a few of my favorite scary children’s books for you to hunt down here at Smiley Library.

I adore pop-up books. It’s amazing how much the added dimension can craft a completely new experience out of a familiar story. We have only a select few circulating here at Smiley Library – they’re delicate, and tend to get damaged easily. One is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, a creepy classic presented in this form by David Pelham and Christopher Wormell. It opens to a scene of our narrator lifting a book to his face, already looking grim with anguish as he begins his lament. You can find this book displayed in our Poetry section in the Young Reader’s Room today. Scare-o-meter level: 8/10.

Scary, Scary Halloween is a story in rhyme for a younger audience by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jan Brett. Four pair of glowing emerald eyes peek out from their mask of darkness to issue warnings of monsters roaming the streets on Halloween night. But thanks to some Scooby Doo-esque reveals, nobody is actually as scary as they initially seem… Scare-o-meter level: 4/10.

 

What’s your favorite scary monster? The Atlas of Monsters and Ghosts identifies mythical creatures of lore, both familiar (Chimera, Yeti, La Llorona) and unfamiliar (Smok Wawelski, Humbaba, Yara-Ma-Yha-Who) by region. It is a wonderfully atmospheric experience, reading this book – it has a similar feel to the Dragonology and Wizardology books, sure to have children imagining that they’re monster hunters dusting off some enormous, long-forgotten volume to get to the bottom of a case… with an introduction written by none other than Van Helsing. Scare-o-meter level: 5/10.

Halloween A B C is a series of poems by Eve Merriam, each paired with an illustration by Lane Smith. Smith is known for his collaborations with Jon Scieszka — most popularly, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. His illustrations have such depth and texture that spawn an unsettling, intriguing aura: they’re bizarre in the best, most hypnotizing way. Paired with Merriam’s poems, you’ll turn the page haunted with questions more often than not.      Scare-o-meter level: 7/10.

One last pop-up book for your consideration: Haunted House by Jan Pieńkowski. It truly feels like a campy carnival ride: skeletons are jumping out of closets, cockroaches are hiding in the cabinets, bats are swooping down from the attic. Treat yourself and explore this 1970s neon-infused fever dream of a haunted house with silly, spooky surprises at every turn. Scare-o-meter level: 3/10.

Celebrate with us at Smiley Library this Halloween! Choose a few scary books and show off your costume to Miss Kristina and me in the Young Readers’ Room — we will be also be dressed up in the Young Readers’ Room on Friday, October 31!    ~Miss Emily

Sometimes it’s best to take a pause and do some introspection. These works are the result of three authors taking the time to look inward and write unflinching accounts of what they found.

“I Want to Burn This Place Down: Essays” by Maris Kreizman is a look at what happens when the promises of good grades and dutiful rule-following fail to result in stability. Kreizman was raised to be a good child, fed the ideas that all her hard work would pay off in a well-paying job and a nice house. What occurred instead is confusion, instability, and being taken advantage of. And that is what happens to a lot of people. Kreizman faces her own precarious situation as a person with a chronic illness and shows how few protections there are. She writes how the world was never set up for people like her to succeed and the only way to amend it is to try to take care of each other. Yes, she wants to burn it down but in order to build something better in its place.

Aiden Arata’s “You Have a New Memory” is a look at the strange world that now exists between the physical world and the digital. Arata dives deep into the world of influencers and likens them to modern day grifters, creating illusions of health and wealth. She zeroes in on the genre of stay-at-home girlfriends and their shiny but precarious lifestyle. It isn’t all filters and poised shots though, there is the fact that we have begun using the internet as our external memory and moral compass while ceding our own abilities to modulate either. The work looks at how we have boiled down political belief from facts and deep soul searching to just going on vibes. It’s a thoughtful look at what we have gained from the digital world, and the price that we paid.

Rax King is definitely someone who knows who she is, including all the bad parts. In her latest work “Sloppy: or, Doing It All Wrong,” King reflects on her own behaviors, including lying, sobriety, and her issues with relationships. King explores the problematic but also sympathetic relationship with her parents, both fervent followers of the 12-step program. It impacts her future struggles of addiction and sobriety which now are under control, save for her love of shoplifting Brandy Melville items. She doesn’t shy away at looking at her own anger issues and how it affects those around her. King looks at the messy parts of what it means to be human and invites us to do the same.

Enjoy these books and more at your local library!

A.K. Smiley Public Library has a large selection of new books waiting to be checked out. Did you know you can check out up to twenty items at a time for two weeks? Here are some non-fiction books chosen at random for your consideration.

“Lost Loot: Cursed Treasures and Blood Money,” written by author Jim Willis, explores legends, rumors, treasures, mysteries, and curses. The stories pertain mainly to North and South America and include everything from pirates, to shipwrecks, lost mines, royal treasures, robbers, curses, and lost relics.

“Beneath our Feet: Everyday Discoveries Reshaping History,” by Michael Lewis and Ian Richardson, explores archaeological treasures found in Britain by ordinary people. Armed with metal detectors and shovels they find objects, sometimes by accident, that are then researched by archaeologists. Color pictures show many of the objects and locations where they were discovered and the authors piece together these finds into the bigger historical record and age of origin. Their finds range from small tools and adornments to caches of coins, jewelry, figures, and vessels.

A fun and lighter read can be enjoyed by checking out author and screenwriter Arie Kaplan’s “The Encyclopedia of Curious Rituals and Superstitions: Ancient and Remarkable Traditions that will Captivate Your Mind.” Find out the origins of some of the things we do or say without really thinking about it. Why do we knock on wood, throw salt over our left shoulder, toss a bridal bouquet, or blow out candles on a birthday cake? These curious and fascinating explanations, some going back to ancient times, might make for some interesting topics of conversation.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, so if you want to enjoy everything our Library has to offer, Smiley Library provides two easy ways to sign up. A free full-use library card may be obtained by coming in to our Circulation Desk with your photo identification and proof of your current address. A free library e-card may be obtained by going to our website at www.akspl.org and filling out the application that will give you access to e-books and our e-databases.

~ Nancy McGee, exceptional library specialist and book-reviewer of all things adventurous! ♥