Farmingdale Library Teens

  Cobra Kai  Netflix, TV-14 Out Now In this reboot of the 1984 Karate Kid movie, Johnny Lawrence has grown up and opened his own dojo to train Miguel Diaz. The show originally appeared on YouTube Red but was acquired in 2020 by Netflix, which released the third season this January. Teen and nostalgic adults are watching. READ-ALIKES Becoming Muhammad Ali by Kwame Alexander and James Patterson. Gr. 4-8 Written in both verse and prose by two superstar authors, this biographical novel focuses on Muhammad Ali's childhood and his drive to become a champion. Middle school readers who enjoy character-driven sports fiction will like this spotlight on a boy challenging himself to rise to the top. The Berlin Boxing Club by Rob Sharenow. Gr. 7 & up In pre-WWII Berlin, 13 -year -old Karl Stern takes up boxing after being beaten up by a group of pro-Nazi students at his school. A compelling historical read for young people who relate to the characters in Cobra Kai taking up martial a...

by  Amanda MacGregor   Jan 04, 2021 / SLJ         As I Descended.  Robin Talley. HarperTeen. 2016. Something wicked comes to Virginia’s elite Acheron Academy in this modern retelling of  Macbeth , one of Shakespeare’s darkest works. A séance reveals cryptic prophecies and opens the door to spirits, leaving the characters unable to control their actions. A tale about fate and ambition that addresses racism, classism, and homophobia. Exit, Pursued by a Bear.   E.K. Johnston. Dutton. 2016. A gripping take on  The Winter’s Tale , this is an intensely emotional look at cheerleader Hermione Winters, who is drugged and raped, and the aftermath of this horrific crime. An empowering story of support and female friendship. Foul Is Fair.   Hannah Capin. Wednesday. 2020. Macbeth  meets #MeToo in this brutal, rage-filled, bloody tale of sexual assault and vengeance. A sisterhood of girls plays out an over-the-top revenge fantasy as they sch...

To Teach or Not To Teach: Is Shakespeare Still Relevant to Today’s Students? by  Amanda MacGregor    Jan 04, 2021 SLJ Here’s a sentence we couldn’t write without William Shakespeare, who invented or introduced nine of these words: Ask if Shakespeare’s time-honored works and syllabus fixtures should be bumped to embrace the multitudinous other writers and you get hostile, fretful, quarrelsome, or sanctimonious reactions. Shakespeare was a genius wordsmith who created engaging works that spoke to the human condition, psychology, and identity. His masterful wordplay, creative use of language, biting wit, puns, and innovative characters and plots have delighted generations of readers and made a lasting impact on literature and the English language. The plays, sonnets, and poems the Bard wrote in his lifetime (1564–1616) are mainstays of the high school English syllabus. But should all that ensure him a spot in the curriculum in perpetuity? Ben Jonson, Shakespeare’s contempora...