Teen Zone Cafe
Fridays, 4:30-6:00 pm
Join us every Friday for board games, hot drinks, and sweet snacks from around the world.

Gaming with the Pro
Tuesdays, 3:30-4:30 pm
Have you upped your game over the holidays? Come test your skill against Philip, our resident pro,  and learn some secrets of Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Teen Tutoring
Sundays, 3:00-5:00 pm
Our experts are back and are ready to help you with studying and homework. Most subjects are covered.

See our calendar for other programs. For more info about any of our programs, please call us at 785-843-3833.

Registration is now open for the  ACT practice test!

We’ve partnered again with Kaplan to give Lawrence area students a chance at taking real college entrance exams. Why take a practice test?

• Higher scores help you gain entrance to college and could mean potential scholarship money.
• Our practice test sessions are administered by Kaplan representatives and gives you a feel for what taking the test will be like.
• Kaplan comes back after you’ve taken the test to hand out results, go over scores, and offer advice on how you can improve for the real thing!

Since we’re on the move and don’t have as much room in our temporary home at 700 New Hampshire,Free State High School is graciously letting us use their space to administer the exam.  Here are the details for the test and the give back session:

ACT Practice Test
Sat, Mar 2, 9:30-1:30pm
Free State High School Black Box (RM 152)

ACT Test Taking Tips and Results
Weds, Mar 13, 7:00-8:00pm
Lawrence Public Library
Parents welcome!

We welcome any 7th-12th grade students to sign up. We have limited seats available and spots fill up quickly. Please call 785-843-3833 x121 to register yourself or child soon in order to secure a seat. Happy testing!

What is it about? It is about a girl who tries to make it into the talent world and get revenge on the guy that ditched her.

What did you think of it & why did you pick it up?  I loved it!!!!!!!! I picked it up because is my other manga book it had a page advertising it so I thought I would read it.

Star Rating:  It was awesome! Everyone should check this out!

I would suggest this for: Anyone who likes manga

Name: Megan D.  6th grade

What is it about? The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is about 4 girls, Bridget, Carmen, Lena, and Tibby. This summer is their first summer apart. Before they leave they find a pair of magical pants that fit them all perfectly. They then decide to pass the pants a long to each other to keep them together for the summer.Finally when they all come back to reunite they write down all their adventures, feelings, etc. This book is also about true friendship, trust, loyalty and love.

What did you think of it & why did you pick it up: I really enjoyed reading this book and the rest of the series because I can connect to all of the characters in some way. It is a well written story showing some of the things we need most in life. i decided to read because some of my friends had read it and they recommended it to me.

Star Rating:  It was awesome! Everyone should check this out!

I would suggest this for: Anyone who enjoys realistic fiction and any one who likes reading about friendship, adventure and just a little romance.

Name: Ting Ting S., 7th grade

Thanks for the review Ting Ting!

What’s it about? It’s 1973 and Karl Shoemaker’s life is in disarray. After his dad died Karl’s mother forgot how to be a mother so she became an alcoholic instead. She steals all the money he makes from his five-after school jobs and goes to bed with a new man each night. Because of his life situation, his high school sends him and seven other kids to group therapy. His best friend, Paul, calls them the “Madman Underground”. This year though, Karl is determined to be normal, or, at least, as normal as a guy with his life can be. The first step to normalcy is leaving the Madman Underground for good. But can Karl really leave the people who not only know all his stories, but have shared all of theirs as well? Find out in this hilarious, uncensored, and utterly crazy novel by John Barnes.

What I thought of it & why I picked it up: Oh. My. Gosh. You have no idea how hard it was for me to write that summary. Mostly because I was just dying to tell you guys all about how amazing this book was. Seriously, I know I’ve said this before but this time I’m being legit, DROP EVERYTHING AND GO GET THIS BOOK! The five hundred pages may seem daunting at first but trust me it is so worth it. The thing that really amazed me about Tales of the Madman Underground was how much history was in it. And I don’t mean actual stuff about the history of America and such. I mean all of the backstory’s that each and every character had. Everything was just so…developed. Karl, the town he lived in, his family, coworkers, friends, even his mother’s friends! The book really only spans about six days but its massive and you’ve got to wonder how they could take up so many pages but that’s why. There was just so much to tell the reader. And you know me. A sucker for anything with good characters. I fell in love with this book immediately. By the end of the novel, Barnes had me relating to every character, EVEN the bad ones. He also had me cracking up and feeling nostalgia for the seventies. Not that I was alive during the 70’s…BUT STILL. That’s the point. Barnes made me feel included. Another thing I liked was that the author didn’t “use” characters. I have issues with this myself while writing. I tend to just put certain characters in a situation just so that I can have the main characters have some kind of moment. Doing this you tend to forget that every person has a story and that you can’t just mold them for your own benefit. Barnes didn’t do this. Everything was relevant and flowed nicely and if some scene ended up being all meaningful then that was great but it didn’t rush the philosophical moments. I think anyone who wants to be an author someday should read this. You’ll certainly learn a thing or two about how to write and create characters as real as you or me. Overall, Karl is an awesome narrator (although he cusses like a sailor) and the plot was surprising but still great. I’m not asking you to read this book. I’m TELLING you to.

Star rating:   It was awesome! Everyone should check this out!

I would suggest this for: Everyone…except maybe kids under the age of 13…

Reviewed by: Lauren B, grade 8.

Thanks Lauren!