Teen Sells Kidney for iPad—Would You?

You want an iPad.  What would you do to get one?  Many teens would get a part-time job: walking dogs, babysitting, working in a restaurant.  Reasonable, socially acceptable options.  Conversely, a 17-year-old in China recently sold his kidney to purchase an iPhone and iPad.  In exchange for his kidney, he received about $3,500—enough to purchase these gadgets.  The teen now suffers from renal insufficiency.  In addition to raising questions about the black market for organs, this exchange has sparked discussions about the ever growing culture of consumerism—both in the United States and in other countries—and the extreme lengths to which we will go to get what we think we want.  These titles explore our obsession with possessions:

Feed by M.T. Anderson

In a future where most people have computer implants in their heads to control their environment, a boy meets an unusual girl who is in serious trouble.









Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

When a plane crash strands thirteen teen beauty contestants on a mysterious island, they struggle to survive, to get along with one another, to combat the island’s other diabolical occupants, and to learn their dance numbers in case they are rescued in time for the competition.






Princess of Neptune by Quentin Dodd

Middle-schooler Theora Theremin and her brother Verbert find themselves whisked from the shores of hometown Lake Philodendron to an intergalactic beauty contest on Neptune.








So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld

Hunter Braque, a New York City teenager who is paid by corporations to spot what is “cool,” combines his analytical skills with girlfriend Jen’s creative talents to find a missing person and thwart a conspiracy directed at the heart of consumer culture.





The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian

Seventeen-year-old Josh, a loner-philosopher who wants to make a difference in the world, tries to maintain his secret identity as the author of a web site that is receiving national attention.

The Birth of Your Apple Product – A Correction

If you read this post from about a month ago, about the This American Life piece about “Mike Daisey, [who] wrote a theatrical monologue that paints an awful grim picture of what he learned there regarding worker’s rights (or lack there of) and just how much that iPhone in your pocket cost – in terms of human price,” then you should know, This American Life is saying…because it has just come out that parts of the piece were fabricated by Mike Daisey – for artistic purposes, of course.  Check this out for more details.

 -LeeAnn

The Birth of Your Apple Product

A few months ago, Corey blogged about an iphone app game that details the beginnings of an iphone, complete with “NES-style graphics, mini games, slave labor, and suicide”.

Lately, there has been a lot more talk and news coming out regarding Apple’s labor practices, particularly in China. After visiting the country and interviewing workers at the Apple factory Foxconn, Mike Daisey wrote a theatrical monologue that paints an awful grim picture of what he learned there regarding worker’s rights (or lack there of) and just how much that iPhone in your pocket cost – in terms of human price. Click HERE for a This American Life piece on this one man show.

Love your iphone? Don’t want to watch, listen, or read anything that will change that  love? Well, just know that Mike Daisey was an Apple product lover going into his research.  This simple fact should help you to see that you can still love your iPhone and look at it with a critical eye, and that you absolutely should consider where it was born and those who assembled it.

Last night at 11:35pm, on “Nightline” they aired the story “iFactory: Inside Apple,” if you caught it – remember that Apple contacted “Nightline” to do this story.

Looking for more information?  Put a reserve on Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired–and Secretive–Company Really Works by Adam Lashinsky.

Until Next Time,

LeeAnn Anna, Teen Services Coordinator

Two Wonderful Events In One Cold Short Month.

Greetings CLP Teen Blogoshpere!

Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Michael Balkenhol and I am the new Teen Specialist at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Hazelwood Branch.

My first blog post is about two wonderful things that happened for me in February. If you haven’t figured it out yet – The first wonderful thing that happened was getting a promotion! The second was getting the Verizon iPhone!

First off, apologies to anyone who hates the iPhone, or hates that they don’t have one yet! BUT so far this phone is hands down the best piece of technology I have ever purchased. The best feature is access to the 350,000+ applications. Although the first apps I downloaded were Facebook and Groupon, there are also plenty of apps available for the bibliophile that I am going to share with you.

For free books to borrow, you might want to check out what the Library has to offer though Overdrive. With the Overdrive app, you can browse, request, and borrow free materials from the library. It can’t compete with the millions of books on our shelves, but the collection is growing by the month and is worthy of a peek.

For books to keep forever, you should check out iBooks and Google Books. With these apps, you can purchase and download a seemingly endless supply of titles. But the real jewel is that both give you access to thousands of books that are free because the copyright has expired. I like Google Books because you can view your library on any computer by simply logging into your gmail account.

Last but not least is my personal favorite. For the disorganized or forgetful reader, there is an app called Good Reads. Here you can create a free account and keep a book log or wishlist, of books you have read or want to read. By simply taking a picture of the ISBN number located on the back of books, you can instantly add a title to your account. You can view new books lists or link up with friends and share suggestions. It’s another great way to make reading more social. An Android app is in the works.

If you are sans iPhone you can check out the web versions of these apps as well by just clicking the links above!

Please if you have any suggestions for apps, drop a comment below!

P.S. Actually, I should have said three great things happened in February – I also saw Lady Gaga in concert and she was AMAZING. More on her another time.

-Michael B.

CLP Hazelwood