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Trail of the Spellmans: Document #5
Trail of the Spellmans
Lisa Lutz
The fifth installment in the New York Times bestselling series by Lisa Lutz, featuring the fearless private investigator Izzy Spellman and her quirky, yet endearing, family of sleuths.For the first time in Spellman history, Isabel Spellman might be the most normal member of her family. Mom has taken on an outrageous assortment of extracurricular activities. Dad has a secret. Her brother and sister are at war, but neither will reveal the source of the conflict. While domestic disturbances abound, there is one source of sanity in the Spellman household: Demetrius Merriweather, employee of the month for eighteen months straight. Things aren’t any simpler on the business side of Spellman Investigations. First, Rae is hired to follow a girl, only to fake the surveillance reports. Then a socialite has Isabel tail her husband, despite a conspicuous lack of suspicion. A man in a sweater vest hires the Spellmans to follow his sister, who turns out to be the socialite. Izzy won’t stop hunting for the answers—even when they threaten to shatter both the business and the family.Readers are sure to love the next novel in a “series that keeps getting better and better” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). 

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Ghost Diamond! (Agent Amelia)
Agent Amelia No, 1: Ghost Diamond!
Michael Broad
Secret agent Amelia Kidd has saved the world loads of times from evil geniuses and criminal masterminds—thanks to her great disguises, gadgets (which sometimes work), and her brilliance at improvising in sticky situations. The three secret agent case files in this book are:The Case of the Ghost Diamond, in which Amelia foils a daring jewel theft during a class trip to the museum, thanks to her convincing granny disguise and her mirror-on-a-stick gadget.The Case of the Cat Nappers, in which Amelia discovers the reason for all the disappearing cats in her area—they have all been trained to become burglars! Cat burglars! Luckily Amelia's quick thinking foils the robbery and catches the thieves!The Case of the Whispering Weeds, in which an innocent trip to the garden center results in Amelia meeting an evil genius who has cultivated a weed army to control every crop on the planet. Weed killer—and Agent Amelia smarts—to the rescue!

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Moon Pie
Moon Pie
Simon Mason
Someone has to keep their head, as Mum used to say, and 11-year-old Martha is used to being that someone in her family. Her little brother, Tug, is too small. Her dad has been acting too strange. And Mum's not here anymore.So when Dad falls off the roof, it's Martha who ices his knee and takes him to the doctor. And when Dad doesn't come home, it's Martha who cooks Tug's favorite pie and reads him his bedtime story. And when Dad passes out, it's Martha who cleans him up and keeps his secret. But eventually Dad's problems become too big for even Martha to solve, and she realizes it's not all up to her—there are people and places she can turn to.

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The Dead Gentleman
The Dead Gentleman
Matthew Cody
A many-worlds adventure novel from the acclaimed author of Powerless!   The Dead Gentleman is a wild ride between parallel New York City timestreams—1901 and today. Eleven-year-old Tommy Learner is a street orphan and an unlikely protégé of the Explorers, a secret group dedicated to exploring portals—the hidden doorways to other worlds. But in the basement of an old hotel, his world collides with that of modern-day Jezebel Lemon. Now, Jezebel and Tommy must thwart the Dead Gentleman, a legendary villain whose last unconquered world is our own planet Earth, a realm where the dead stay dead—for now. Can two kids put an end to this ancient evil and his legions of Grave Walkers?

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Project Jackalope
Project Jackalope
Emily Ecton
Jeremy's troubles begin when his eccentric neighbor leaves him an "experiment" for safekeeping—a jackalope! This so-called mythological creature looks like a bunny rabbit, but comes with razor-sharp antlers and is purported to be a ruthless killer. When government agents show up at Jeremy's house seeking the jackalope for their own nefarious purposes, Jeremy must find a way to protect the jackalope, and himself. So he reluctantly joins forces with Agatha, his holier-than-thou genius neighbor. Together, with the jackalope (and his weapons-grade antlers) tucked away in a backpack, they have only one chance to save Jack and still get their science fair projects in on time. With her striking sense of humor, Emily Ecton has created a hilarious and suspenseful adventure, complete with a compelling and unforgettable cast of characters.

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The Resonance.
The Resonance
Michelle Dry
The resonance is a humorous, teenage fiction novel about love, death and the heart connection set in Gardenstown, Scotland. It appeals to both teenagers and adults.Question: Do you really believe you can fall in love in an instant? What if that instant becomes eternal?Marty has a dilemma; the girl he thought was drowning has ‘connected’ to him. It is not the usual 'attraction thing' either. The girl seems to be able to read his thoughts and penetrate his mind. What’s more, her eyelids move from the side.Marty’s housemates are concerned, but they have made their own discovery: Gardenstown, where they are staying, conceals a dark secret known as the resonance. The local myths refer to ‘it’ but what exactly does the resonance do? Why is death involved and is there a link?

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Tua and the Elephant
Tua and the Elephant
Taeeun Yoo, R. P. Harris
Ten-year-old Tua—Thai for "peanut"—has everything she needs at home in Chiang Mai, Thailand, except for one thing she's always wanted: a sister. In the market one day, Tua makes an accidental acquaintance—one with wise, loving eyes, remarkable strength, and a very curious trunk. And when Tua meets Pohn-Pohn, it's clear this elephant needs her help. Together, the unusual team sets off on a remarkable journey to escape from Pohn-Pohn's vile captors. From the bustling night market to the hallowed halls of a Buddhist temple and finally, to the sanctuary of an elephant refuge, this clever girl and her beloved companion find that right under their noses is exactly what each has been searching for: a friend.

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My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan
My Awesome/Awful Popularity Plan
Seth Rudetsky
Justin has two goals for sophomore year: to date Chuck, the hottest boy in school, and to become the king of Cool U, the table in the cafeteria where the "in" crowd sits. Unfortunately, he has the wrong look (short, plump, Brillo-pad curls), he has the wrong interests (Broadway, chorus violin), and he has the wrong friends (Spencer, into Eastern religions, and Mary Ann,  who doesn't shave her armpits). And Chuck? Well, he's not gay; he's dating Becky, a girl in chorus with whom Justin is friendly.But Justin is determined.In detention one day (because he saw Chuck get it first), Justin comes up with a perfect plan: to allow Becky to continue dating Chuck, whom Becky's dad hates. They will pretend that Becky is dating Justin, whom Becky's dad loves. And when Becky and Justin go out on a fake date, Chuck will meet up with them for a real date with Becky. Chuck's bound to find Justin irresistable, right? What could go wrong?Seth Rudetsky's first novel for young adults is endearingly human, and laugh-out-loud funny, and any kid who ever aspired to Cool U will find Justin a welcome ally in the fight for popularity.

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Someone Else's Life
Someone Else's Life
Katie Dale
When 17-year-old Rosie's mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington's Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty percent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when Rosie tells her mother's best friend, "Aunt Sarah," that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie wasn't her real mother after all. Rosie was swapped at birth with a sickly baby who was destined to die.Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, joining her ex-boyfriend on his gap year travels, to find her birth mother in California. But all does not go as planned. As Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonizing decision of her own, one which will be the most heart breaking and far-reaching of all.

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Gil Marsh
Gil Marsh
A.C.E. Bauer
Good looking, athletic, and smart, Gill Marsh is the most popular kid at Uruk High School, even though he is only a junior. When Enko, a new kid from Montreal, shows up, Gil is wary. Yet Enko is easy going and matches Gil's athletic prowess without being a threat. Soon, the two become inseparable friends, practicing, studying, and double-dating. Then suddenly, to everyone's shock, Enko succombs to an aggressive cancer. When Enko's parents take his body and return to Canada, Gil is unable to even say good bye. He is inconsolable. Determined to find Enko's grave, Gil sneaks away and heads north.Closely based on the ancient story of Gilgamesh, the Sumerian King from 3000 BC, A. C. E. Bauer has carefully woven the classic elements of myth to follow Gil's quest and explore the grief and growth of a young man.

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