Mean girls

Why do some teenage girls have to be such evil, mean bitches? Yesterday a few girls asked if they could borrow some pens and paper to draw, and as all they usually do it just sit by the computers and talk loudly about how drunk and stoned they were the night before, I welcomed the chance to let them be creative and got out a small box of art supplies for them. Seeming to have a good time, they made some drawings, including one that said "We love library ladies" (that they gave to me), and went on their merry way. Well, this morning I came into work and found them posted all over the teen area, the rest of the library, and the nearby city park, with varying messages about how another teen girl is infected with AIDS and how people shouldn't get close to her or fuck her for fear of being infected. There's cruel, and then there's slander - and this is absolutely terrible! To make matters worse, the targeted girl (who used to be friends with the ones who made the posters) came in with one she'd found, crying, and obviously a little distraught. I spent all day dreading the moment that these girls would come into the library, because I knew I would have to discipline them in some way but I've never been especially good at that, and unfortunately only one of them came in - and she was one who was just along for the ride and didn't initiate the plan. If and when these girls do come back, we will ban them from the library for at least a month - because really, what else can we do? I'd love to have them apologize to the girl, but it will never happen - and I can't exactly call their parents, because I don't know any of their last names and even so, they would give me fake phone numbers. Some days I am pleasantly surprised by teens, but it's on days like this that I want to run kicking and screaming back to the world of storytimes ansd puppet shows - little kids may push each other, but at least they don't pull this kind of nasty shit!

The Amnesia Clinic

James Scudamore is one of those little brats that you hate ... just 30 years old, and has written his first novel The Amnesia Clinic, which is absolutely fantastic. Of course I'm happy that it is fantastic because it means that I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm also jealous as shit that someone could write such a brilliant piece of fiction as his first novel ... isn't your first novel supposed to be ok, maybe even a little thought-provoking, but just crappy enough that there is always room for improvement? Anyways, The Amnesia Clinic is about storytelling and the friendship of two teen boys, and is set in Ecuador. I have read more than a few books set in South America since travelling there in 2003, but this one gave me shivers as the sights, sounds, and even personalities of the characters brought to mind memories of my travels - descriptions of rain, of salted banana chips, or exotic fruit juices - it's all there, and written beautifully. Set in 1995, shortly after the body of Juanita, the Inca Ice Princess was discovered in Peru (and is now housed in a museum in Arequipa), the two boys set off to make a name for themselves, and in doing so one of their lives in cut tragically short (which is no surprise, as the death is introduced in the first few pages). Bound and determined to find an Amnesia Clinic that does not even exist (in which one of the boys is convinced his long-disappeared mother may be living), the boys set off on a journey to the Isla del Plata (a smaller version of Galapagos) and have many adventures along the way. But while the events are captivating, hilarious and depressing, the real treasure is the way the story is told - in a Life of Pi sense, it's all about storytelling; how you tell the story is more important than the actual truth of the story being told. What else can I say - it's great, so read it!