Saturday, December 22, 2007

New in January

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac: Gabrielle Zevin: 271 pages
After a nasty fall, Naomi realizes that she has no memory of the last four years and finds herself reassessing every aspect of her life.
Hush: An Irish Princess’ Tale: Donna Jo Napoli: 308 pages
Fifteen-year-old Melkorka, an Irish princess, is kidnapped by Russian slave traders and not only learns how to survive but to challenge some of the brutality of her captors, who are fascinated by her apparent muteness and the possibility that she is enchanted.
1212: Year of the Journey: Kathleen McDonnell: 288 pages
During the religious crusades that pit Muslim against Christian against Jew, a young shepherd has a vision that prompts him to gather children of all faiths and lead them on a crusade for peace.
Cover-Up: John Feinstein: 298 pages
Fledgling fourteen-year-old sports reporters Susan Carol and Stevie investigate suspicious activities at the Super Bowl after Stevie gets fired from his co-anchor job on a ground-breaking teen sports show.
Redwall: The Graphic Novel: Brian Jacques: 143 pages
When the peaceful life of Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat
Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword which will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy the enemy. A graphic novel adaptation of the fiction series.
Cool Stuff 2.0 and How It Works: Chris Woodford and Jon Woodcock: 256 pages
Uses computer-generated images to explain how many devices and processes of modern technology work, covering such inventions as HDTV, game consoles, robot cars, helicopters, space probes, oil rigs, mass dampers, biometric id's, and tsunami alert systems.
Thirteen Reasons Why: Jay Asher: 288 pages
When high school student Clay Jenkins receives a box in the mail containing thirteen cassette tapes recorded by his classmate Hannah, who committed suicide, he spends a bewildering and heartbreaking night crisscrossing their town, listening to Hannah's voice recounting the events leading up to her death.
Transformers: The Movie Guide: Simon Furman: 69 pages
With breathtaking stills and in-depth character profiles, a guide to the new live-action Transformers movie starring Jon Voight and Bernie Mac lets readers get up close and personal with their favorite robots in disguise.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

New in December

The Restless Dead: Ten Original Stories of the Supernatural: Deborah Noyes: 253 pages

Vampire romantics, grave stalkers, prankster devil worshippers, and others in the world of the undead are featured in a collection of ten spooky tales for young adults written by diverse authors, including Holly Black and Marcus Sedgwick.


Schooled: Gordon Korman: 208 pages

After his hippie grandmother ends up in the hospital, Cap Anderson is forced to leave the commune where he is homeschooled and attend Claverage Middle School, where his odd looks and behavior make him the target of bullies.


A Company of Swans: Eva Ibbotson: 374 pages

A young woman in early twentieth-century England must escape the strict confines of her proper Cambridge family to fulfill her dream of becoming a ballet dancer.


The Black Book of Secrets: F.E. Higgins: 273 pages

When Ludlow Fitch's parents cruelly betray him, he leaves the city for a remote village where he gets a job with a mysterious pawnbroker who trades people's deepest, darkest secrets for cash.


Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarian: Brandon Sanderson: 308 pages

When he comes into the possession of a special bag of sand that has the power to transform information, Alcatraz realizes the importance of this mysterious gift when it is stolen by a group of Evil Librarians who use it to suppress truth and spread lies in order to achieve world domination.


The Specialists: Model Spy: Shannon Greenland: 206 pages

Sixteen-year-old Kelly James, a beautiful but socially awkward orphan with an IQ of 190, is recruited by a secret government spy agency to go undercover as a model and rescue the kidnapped father of the boy she has a huge crush on.


Football Genius: Tim Green: 244 pages

Troy, a student with an unusual gift for predicting football plays before they occur, attempts to use his ability to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons, but he must first prove himself to the coach and players.


Remembering Raquel: Vivian Vande Velde: 137 pages
Various people recall aspects of the life of Raquel Falcone, an unpopular, overweight freshman at Quail Run High School, including classmates, her parents, and the driver who struck and killed her as she was walking home from an animated film festival.

Friday, October 26, 2007

New in November

Love, Stargirl: Jerry Spinelli: 274 pages

Still moping months after being dumped by her Arizona boyfriend Leo, fifteen-year-old Stargirl, a home-schooled free spirit, writes "the world's longest letter" to Leo, describing her new life in Pennsylvania.

Crow: The Third Book of Pellinor: Alison Croggon: 511 pages

While his sister, Maerad, pursues her dangerous destiny in the frozen North, Hem is sent south to Turbansk for his own safety, but soon the forces of the Dark overrun the great city and Hem flees with his mentor Saliman, his white crow Irc, and a young orphan girl to join the Light's resistance.

Dragon and Judge: Timothy Zahn: 318 pages

Just when fourteen-year-old Jack Morgan thinks he and his symbiont, the dragon warrior Draycos, are on the brink of finding information about the destruction of Draycos's race, he is kidnapped by aliens who ask him to serve as a judge, as his parents did before him.

Seeing Redd: Frank Beddor: 371 pages

When Alyss Heart returns to her rightful place on the throne of Wonderland, she is put to the test as enemies, both inside and outside the borders of her queendom, push their own agendas and wield horrific weapons, while she strives to unify them all.

Hot Lunch: Alex Bradley: 276 pages

When Molly and Cassie are assigned to work in the kitchen as a punishment for their food fight, they realize that the only way they are going to be released from the duty is to cooperate and learn to cook.

The Very Ordered Existence of Merilee Marvelous: Suzanne Carlisle Crowley: 380 pages

In the small town of Jumbo, Texas, thirteen-year-old Merilee, who has Asperger's Syndrome, tries to live a "Very Ordered Existence," but disruptions begin when a boy and his father arrive in town and the youngster makes himself a part of the family.

Extras: Scott Westerfeld: 417 pages

Fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse, an Extra, just wants to lay low, so when she discovers the secret lives of the Sly Girls, she wants to report their story, but she knows that would propel her into a celebrity status she's not prepared for.

M is for Magic: Neil Gaiman: 260 pages

Eleven fantastical--and spine-tingling--stories include a sinister jack-in-the-box that terrorizes all who own it, a boy raised in a graveyard who confronts the much more troubling world of the living, and a stray cat who will do anything to protect his adopted family from evil.

Monday, September 24, 2007

New in October

The Wednesday Wars: Gary D. Schmidt: 264 pages

Set during the 1967-1968 school year, Holling Hoodhood finds his seventh-grade year one filled with many challenges as he spends afternoons with Mrs. Baker discussing the plays of Shakespeare, defends his tasty cream puffs from a determined bully, and prepares for his big debut in the school play--all while the issue of Vietnam looms on a daily basis.


Runner: Robert Newton: 209 pages

In Richmond, Australia, in 1919, fifteen-year-old Charlie Feehan becomes an errand boy for a notorious mobster, hoping that his ability to run will help him, his widowed mother, and his baby brother to escape poverty.


The Curse of the Romanovs: Staton Rabin: 273 pages

In order to escape the dangerous hand of Rasputin, Alexei, heir to the Russian throne, travels in time from Russia in 1916 to New York City in 2010, but when she meets a distant cousin who tells her of her family's assassination in 1918, the two friends must risk their own lives and travel back to help save her beloved family.


Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy: Ally Carter: 240 pages

When the Gallagher Academy, a secret spy school for girls, hosts male guests from Knowlton-Hale, Cammie is blamed for a series of security breaches that forces her to clear her name while trying to deny her attraction to an incorrigible hottie named Zach. Sequel to I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You


If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period: Gennifer Choldenko: 216 pages

Kirsten and Walker, seventh-graders at an elite private school, alternate telling how race, wealth, weight, and other issues shape their relationships as they and other misfits stand up to a mean but influential classmate, even as they are uncovering a long-kept secret about themselves.


Dance with a Vampire: Ellen Schreiber: 179 pages

When eleven-year-old Valentine, younger brother of vampires Jagger and Luna, comes to Dullsville looking for them, he threatens goth-girl Raven's younger brother, Billy Boy, as well as her relationship with her vampire boyfriend, Alexander. Book 4 in the Vampire Kisses series.


High Fashion: Nicole Clarke: 224 pages

Born into London high society, sixteen-year-old Olivia tries to make a name for herself during a summer internship at a New York City fashion magazine while also trying to hide her family connections from her new American boyfriend.


More Horowitz Horror: Anthony Horowitz: 210 pages

A day at the beach ending in murder and a cell phone that dials directly to hell are just a few of the horror tales presented in the second suspenseful collection for middle readers.


The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian: Sherman Alexie: 229 pages

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.


Mississippi Jack: A Bloody Jack Adventure: L.A. Meyer: 611 pages

In 1806, the exploits of Jacky Faber continue as she heads west to avoid capture by the British and discovers adventure aboard a keelboat on the mighty Mississippi River.



Powers: Ursula K. Le Guin: 502 pages

When young Gavir's sister is brutally killed, he escapes from slavery and sets out to explore the world and his own psychic abilities, in the third title of the Annals of the Western Shore series.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

New in September

Shining On: Various Authors: 159 pages

From a cheerleader's breakup to dark family secrets, a collection of short stories by authors like Meg Cabot, Lois Lowry, and Celia Rees provides engaging tales about joys, dramas, and tribulations young people endure as they come of age.



Tantalize: Cynthia Leitich Smith: 310 pages

When multiple murders in Austin, Texas, threaten the grand re-opening of her family's vampire-themed restaurant, seventeen-year-old, orphaned Quincie worries that her best friend-turned-love interest, Keiren, a werewolf-in-training, may be the prime suspect.



While I Live: John Marsden: 299 pages

Even though the war is over and she is back on her family's farm, Ellie Linton is haunted by the memories and now must discover how to find the enemy within herself in order to move on with her life.



The Mysterious Benedict Society: Trenton Lee Stewart: 485 pages

After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.



What Makes You Happy: Jimmy Gownley: 167 pages

The second collection of comics about Amelia and her friends, the Gathering of Awesome Super Pals (G.A.S.P.), in which Amelia tries to come to terms with her Aunt Tanner's fame and goes to Manhattan with her father.



How to Take the Ex out of Ex-Boyfriend: Janette Rallison: 265 pages

Giovanna rashly breaks up with her boyfriend Jesse when he refuses to help her twin brother with his campaign for Student Council president, but fixing her mistake may be more difficult for her than she realizes.



The Rose Bride: Nancy Holder: 245 pages

After Rose's father's new wife, Ombrine, moves in with her evil daughter, the two will stop at nothing to ruin her life, so when they attempt to destroy the relationship between Rose and King Jean-Marc and tear out her late mother's beautiful garden, Rose's only inspiration for living lies in the beauty of a single blossom that survived the attack.

Monday, July 30, 2007

New in August

The Off Season: Catherine Gilbert Murdoch: 277 pages

High school junior D.J. staggers under the weight of caring for her badly injured brother, her responsibilities on the dairy farm, a changing relationship with her friend Brian, and her own athletic aspirations. Sequel to Dairy Queen.



H.I.V.E.: Higher Institute of Villainous Education: Mark Walden: 309 pages

Swept away to a hidden academy for training budding evil geniuses, four teens plot to beat the odds and escape the prison known as H.I.V.E.





Eclipse: Stephenie Meyer: 640 pages

The sequel to Twilight and New Moon!




Dark Blue: Color Me Lonely: Melody Carlson: 205 pages

Two sophomore girls, best friends since kindergarten, grow apart when one wants new friends and decides the other is a popularity liability.





Girl at Sea: Maureen Johnson: 323 pages

High school junior Clio reluctantly gives up her dream job and a potential first kiss to take a working vacation with her estranged father on a yacht in Italy.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

New in July




The Recruit: Robert Muchamore: 342 pages
James is recruited into CHERUB, a secret division of MI5 which consists of teenage spies. (Book 1 of a series)








A Countess Below Stairs: Eva Ibbotson: 383 pages
After the Russian Revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, flees to England and takes a job as servant in the household of the esteemed Westerholme family, determined to keep her identity a secret but secretly in love with young Rupert Westerholme.




Nobody’s Princess: Esther Friesner: 305 pages
Determined to fend for herself in a world where only men have real freedom, headstrong Helen, who will be called queen of Sparta and Helen of Troy one day, learns to fight, hunt, and ride horses while disguised as a boy, and goes on an adventure throughout the Mediterranean world.






Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: J.K. Rowling
Coming out July 21! Put yourself on the hold list now.








Duchessina, A Novel of Catherine de Medici: Carolyn Meyer: 261 pages
While her tyrannical family is out of favor in Italy, young Catherine de Medici is raised in convents. Then in 1533, when she is fourteen, her uncle, Pope Clement VII, arranges for her marriage to Prince Henri of France, who is destined to become king.





Games: Carol Gorman: 279 pages
When fourteen-year-old rivals Boot Quinn and Mick Sullivan fight once too often, the new principal devises the punishment of having to play games together at his office, where they learn which battles are worth fighting.







How it Happened in Peach Hill: Marthe Jocelyn: 232 pages
When fifteen-year-old Annie Grey and her “clairvoyant” mother arrive in Peach Hill, New York, in 1924, each finds a reason for wanting to finally settle down, but to reach their goals they will have to do some serious lying and Annie will have to stand up for herself.