I am a GENIUS of UNSPEAKABLE EVIL and I want to be you CLASS PRESIDENT

"What is evil?"you ask.
To which I reply, "Who are you? Friedrich Nietzsche?"
To which you respond, "Duh...wha? Me no understand."
Then I put you back in your cage.

And that, my friends, is your introduction to Oliver Watson. He is perhaps the most diabolical, most manipulative, intelligent, richest seventh grader alive. He doesn't care about you, he just wants to control you. That is, after you've voted him your class president. Will he sucker you in and win complete domination of the middle school? Will he defeat his arch nemesis who also happens to be his father? Will he obtain the elusive Boba Fett the bounty hunter action figure that fires real rockets out of it's backpack?

To find the answers to these questions check out I am a GENIUS of UNSPEAKABLE EVIL and I want to be your CLASS PRESIDENT by Josh Lieb. Read chapters entitled: "Girls Can Be Cruel", "What Use Is A Newborn Baby?", and "Evil Is Made, Not Born." Filled with instructions on how to be evil, ideas for bettering your school, and illustrative photos, this book is sure to please. Oliver Watson is a totally unique character with a voice that has not been heard in young adult literature ever before. I laughed. I laughed some more. I called everyone I knew to tell them to READ THIS BOOK!

Tuesdays with Morrie

Do you have a favorite teacher? Whether it was an art teacher who consistently praised your creativity or a biology teacher who helped sooth you through your first frog dissection, for many people there has been one teacher who made a difference and stood out in their mind as the best. Mitch Albom knew one such teacher.

A successful columnist for the Detroit Free Press, Albom graduated from Brandeis University and quickly became engrossed in his career. Unfortunately, Albom’s strive to be a great journalist lead him to disconnect emotionally and physically from those around him, including his family and friends. When Albom learns a former university professor is ill and nearing his final days, an emotional catharsis leads him to reconnect with his once-cherished confidant and teacher, Morrie Schwartz.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a retelling of Albom’s final months with Schwartz – a compilation of life’s lessons that include forgiveness, trust, love, happiness, and how to lead a balanced and rewarding life. Listed on many young adult booklists, the title is currently on the Young Adult Library Services Association’s list of Outstanding Books for the College Bound. The title is available at The Urbana Free Library in print and on disc.

Coincidentally, the Krannert Center Summer Studio Theatre 2009, at the University of Illinois, will be performing Tuesdays with Morrie on June 25, June 30, and July 1. For information about dates and times of performances, visit the Krannert Center website.