MTPL Teen Newsletter
Winter 2016/2017
Volume 2, issue 3
Contents
3rd Murder Mystery a Success
By Katherine Lombardi
On Wednesday, Oct. 26th, the
Middletown Library held their
third annual Murder Mystery from
7 to 8:30pm in the
community room. This year’s
mystery was “An Assassin in our
Midst” (written by Stephanie
Chadwick) and featured suspects
“Suspect Lineup”, Photographed by Katherine
from
multiple countries, all set in
Lombardi
a futuristic time. Refreshments
were offered throughout the night, including baked ziti and a large sub sandwich.
The community room had also been decorated for the event with tablecloths
and candles. Any teen or tween who completed the Fall Reading Challenge was
invited to participate, and teen volunteers played the suspects.
The event began with the killing of a character, and then one by one, the
suspects individually spoke to the guests about themselves, their relations with
the victim, and why they were innocent. After all suspects had spoken, the guests
had an opportunity to ask questions and review their notes before the final
guesses were made. It was then announced who was the murderer really was
among the suspects, along with their accomplice, to the surprise of many of the
guests.
The event drew in a large crowd of participants, and garnered positive
feedback from the teens and tweens who attended, along with their parents/
guardians. The teen volunteers working at the event also found it to be an
enjoyable night. The event was a success!

Murder Mystery……..…….1

Book Review…..……..……..1

Teen Art Exhibit: Meet the
Artists………………………..….2

Teen Art Exhibit: Meet the
Artists………………..………….3

Upcoming Programs…..….4

Cheesecake Recipe………..4

Happy Winter Puzzle……..4

TAB Members…………….….4
Middletown Township Public Library
55 New Monmouth Rd
Middletown, NJ 07748
http://www.mtpl.org
(732) 671-3700
Facebook: MiddletownPL
Pinterest: middletownp
Twitter: @MTPLteens
YA Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Reviewed by Katherine Lombardi
Cinder, the debut YA novel by Marissa Meyer has a steady fanbase of readers for the right
reasons. The book is a dystopian retelling of the fairytale classic Cinderella, and takes place in a
futuristic Beijing. Cinder is a cyborg, who works for her elite stepsisters and stepmother following
the death of her parents. The futuristic society is dealing with a rapidly spreading plague with no
cure, and a lurking threat of the “Lunars”, powerful aliens who reside on the moon, and their
frightening queen.
The overall dystopian setup, with setting and characters, varies from most novels of that genre,
and it is a refreshing change from the usual. The characters within the novel are relatable, unique and developed,
enhancing the novel. My only possible complainant with Cinder was the weak conclusion. While it was structured to
form a bridge between the novel and the sequel, I feel like it could have been done better. However, this ending does
not really bring down the general enjoyability of the novel and I still believe Cinder is a YA novel that everyone who
enjoys sci-fi, YA novels, or fairytale retellings should check out.
Farren Cardinale, Middletown High School North Senior
Farren has been taking applied arts every year since her freshman year of high school.
This piece is one her favorites. When working on this piece, she discovered her love for
working with chalk pastel pencils. This has led her to incorporate this medium within
many of her other pieces. The thing she loves most about this piece is the
incorporation of a different time period, which drew her to create this piece. She chose
the 1920s as for the time period because she loved that style that people exuded
during that time in history.
Rebecca Long,
Middletown High
School North Junior
Katie Marino,
Middletown High
School North Senior
Rebecca is a very
focused art student,
and is currently taking
Graphic Design and
Fine Arts at school. She is also an athlete. She plays
soccer, lacrosse, and runs track. The painting you see
was inspired by a photograph taken by Rebecca of the
Verrazano Bridge. She was looking through her camera
roll, and came across a picture of the bridge. Using the
photograph as inspiration, Rebecca used acrylic to
capture the beauty of the bridge.
Katie is a senior at
Middletown High
School North and a
very active member
of her school and community. She has loved art
since a young age. She was inspired to create this
piece from her love of the beach and vintage
California.
Charlie Gravina, Middletown High School North Senior
Charlie is a senior at MHSN and enjoys painting, drawing, and
playing piano, among other activities. His chalk pastel picture (right)
was inspired by the unique style of the 1920s with all of the jewelry
and glamorous clothing. His watercolor portrait (left) is of Katniss
Everdeen from The Hunger Games, which is one of his favorite
movies.
Sandie LiVolsi, Middletown High School North Sophomore
Sandie is 15 years old and a sophomore at Middletown High School North. She
started photography about two years ago when she got a DSLR camera for her 8th
grade graduation. This past year, she has also become interested in shooting with
35mm film. Although most photography now is used with digital cameras, she enjoys
the vintage-like feels that 35mm film gives you. The three pieces she submitted are
all created with 35mm film and taken with a Canon a35f, which was made in 1978.
She has always enjoyed looked at vintage photographs of events in the summer, so
she decided to recreate those 40 years later.
Amanda Wiedmyer, Middletown High
School North Junior
Amanda is 16 years old and lives with her
parents and younger sister. She really got
into art in the 9th grade through school.
She has taken art every year so far in
high school. Her art teacher, Mrs.
Kuzmin, is what inspired her to challenge herself to make
this piece. Without her, Amanda’s piece would not have
existed. Amanda’s parents are also very supportive and she
is so thankful for their continuous support.
Erin Casey, Middletown High
School North Senior
Erin has been interested in art
ever since she can
remember. It gives her an
outlet to express herself
creatively. Her wave painting
was inspired by her love for the
sea. She loves going to the beach
with her dog, Hank. The painting
of the girl was inspired by the
bright and beautiful colors of
spring and summer. These are
just a few of her works. Enjoy!
Come see all of the
artwork in person at the
Middletown
Township Public
Library! Teen artwork
will be displayed in the
Community Room
throughout December
2016. Stop by to view
our art gallery! All art is
created by local high
school students.
Abigail Weigel,
Middletown High
School North Junior
Abigail has always been
influenced to draw by
her emotions, and by the people and items around
her that she feels the most passionate about. Art
allows her to express limitless thoughts into just one
piece. Growing up, she taught art to 2nd graders with
her mothers, and has always been empowered that
no matter what age you are, everything you create is
different and individual. Looking at other’s work
urges her to improve everyday, and to one day be
able to achieve a masterpiece.
Kristen Parkins, Middletown High
School North Senior
Kristen Parkins is 17 years old. She
loves art and she painted both of
these pieces for a school project.
The painting to
the left is called
“Desert of Color” and is created
with mixed media. The painting on
the bottom right is called “Motion
in the Ocean” and was created
using acrylic on canvas.
Sandie’s Eggnog Cheesecake Recipe
(serves 8)
By Sandie LiVolsi
Ingredients:
16 oz regular or non-dairy cream
cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla
¾ cup eggnog
2 eggs
1 9-inch deep-dish graham cracker crust
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, salt, and nutmeg
Beat in vanilla and eggnog
Beat in eggs
Pour into crust and bake 25-30 minutes
Chill
Upcoming Programs
DIY Holiday Craft Fair: Wednesday, 12/14 at
7pm.
Cocoa and Canvas Art Workshop: Friday, 12/16
at 3:30pm.
TableTop Gaming : The first Wednesday of the
month, at 7pm.
Teen Writing Club: Mondays at 3:30pm, all year
round.
Robotics Programming Workshop: The 3rd
Wednesday of the month at 4:15pm
Pizza and Pages Book Club: The 2nd Wednesday
of the month at 7:30pm
Handmade with Love: Teen and Tween Knitting
and Crocheting : Every other Thursday at
3:30pm starting 1/5.
Fun with Physics: 2nd Wednesday of the month
at 3:30pm.
Be the Composer: Write a Song: Fridays 1/13
and 1/27 at 3:30pm.
Anti-Valentine’s Day Party: Wednesday, 2/15 at
7pm.
For all other library programs, see our online
calendar at http://www.mtpl.org. Sign up online
or call (732) 671-3700 ext. 340.
Across
5. The coldest season of the year.
6. Trees that do not lose leaves
7. What you use to remove snow from your driveway.
8. The song "Frost the _____".
10. Where penguins live.
11. What you wear to keep your hands warm.
Down
1. What bears do when it is too cold to go out and find food.
2. Large snowstorm.
3. Chocolate A delicious drink that makes you warm after you are out in the
snow.
4. The holiday on December 25th
9. Ice Melted snow that freezes and makes you fall.
2016/2017 Teen Advisory Board Members
Katelyn Brink, Evan Gulino, Sandie LiVolsi,
Katherine Lombardi, Delia Noone, Erik Ossner,
Jack Toohey, Daphne Yang, and Ryan Wu
(Secretary).
Advisor, Stephanie Chadwick , Teen Librarian
If you would like to join the Teen Advisory
Board, email Stephanie at
[email protected].