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Operation Typhoon Shore
Ben Mowll, Julek Heller, Niroot Puttapipat, Joshua Mowll
Synopsis: Get ready for Book II of the thrilling, novelty-packed Guild of Specialists trilogy.

After being lashed by a typhoon on their uncle's ship, THE EXPEDIENT, intrepid siblings Becca and Doug MacKenzie want nothing more than to escape from the volcanic island on which they're stranded and resume the search for their parents. But their uncle, Captain MacKenzie, seems more concerned with the missing gyrolabe than their missing mother and father, and he refuses to discuss the role the mysterious Guild of Specialists played in their disappearance. As the formidable Kalaxx warriors close in on their hidden cove, Becca and Doug unearth a riddle linked to a 1533 painting, which may hold the key to the Guild's dark secrets and to finding their parents. But how can they possibly solve the puzzle and escape with their lives — before their enemies attack?
Publication Date: 10/24/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Hearts of Stone
Kathleen Ernst
Synopsis: When her father goes off to join the Yankee troops, fourteen-year-old Hannah fears her family will be torn apart by the Civil War. But nothing prepares her for her mother's sudden death. Hannah now finds herself responsible for keeping the young family together in a world where even her best friend, Ben, sympathizes with the Confederacy. On a long and dangerous journey from Cumberland Mountain to Nashville, Tennessee, in search of their only living relative, Hannah and her brother and sisters come to realize the true meaning of family and hope. This is a beautifully crafted novel about the tragedy of war and the power of love even in the toughest of times.
Publication Date: 10/19/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Great Tree of Avalon
Synopsis: Avalon, the great tree world connecting the earth and the heavens, is about to be destroyed. The warlord Rhita Gawr is bent on conquest—and using an army of deathless warriors, a corrupted crystal, and a plague of arrogance and greed to succeed.

Three unlikely heroes are Avalon's only hope. Tamwyn, the wilderness guide, must travel the secret pathway to the stars. Elli, the brave young priestess, must defeat a terrible sorcerer in a realm of utter darkness. And Scree, the eagleman, must lead his winged people to do what seems impossible . . .

This spectacular final volume of T. A. Barron's bestselling trilogy combines gripping adventure with profound ideas about the powerful connections between humanity and the world.

Publication Date: 10/19/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
Synopsis:

Now more than ever: Aldous Huxley's enduring masterwork must be read and understood by anyone concerned with preserving the human spirit

"A masterpiece. ... One of the most prophetic dystopian works." —Wall Street Journal 

Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine” (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New World likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites. 

"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune

 

Publication Date: 10/18/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Sheer Bliss
Frances O'Brien
Synopsis: It's tougher than you might think to stay sane and normal when your mother is the most famous actress on the planet - but Bliss Drew is one Celebrity Spawn with a serious attitude. As she approaches her thirteenth birthday she's forced to face a peculiarly Hollywood-blend of family problems: her plastic surgery-obsessed Grandma Ellen is suddenly engaged to a gold-digging, boy-toy, and her super-famous actress mother, Angel, has decided that Bliss' new rebellious streak must be subdued with the help of Moyra, a celebrity "parent/teen consultant." Growing up beneath the watchful gaze of the ever-present paparazzi and seeing your Mom's tonsils sell for big bucks on eBay can leave a girl with some serious trust issues. Can Bliss navigate her way through her Mom's crazy fans, even crazier entourage and over-zealous caregivers to emerge sane and free of Moyra? "The writing is so good it gave me goosebumps." R.L. Stine, children's author
Publication Date: 10/12/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Skate
Michael Harmon
Synopsis: There’s not much keeping Ian McDermott in Spokane, but at least it’s home. He’s been raising Sammy practically on his own ever since their mom disappeared again on one of her binges. They get by, finding just enough to eat and plenty of time to skateboard.

But at Morrison High, Ian is getting the distinct, chilling feeling that the administration wants him and his board and his punked hair gone. Simply gone. And when his temper finally blows–he actually takes a swing at Coach Florence and knocks him cold–Ian knows he’s got to grab Sammy and skate. Run.

Their search for the one relative they can think of, their only hope, leads Ian and Sammy across the entire state of Washington in the cold and rain–and straight into a shocking discovery. Through it all, Ian knows exactly what he has to do: protect Sammy, and let no one split up their family of two. Michael Harmon tells a nuanced and unflinching story of wilderness survival, the fierce bond between brothers, and teen rage–and redemption.
Publication Date: 10/10/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Incantation
Alice Hoffman
Synopsis: Hiding her faith in kabbalah during a time in Spain when living openly as a Jew was a dangerous thing to do, Estrella struggles with her identity and her faith as events unfold around her that force her to come to terms with who she really wants to be in life.
Publication Date: 10/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Haters
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
Synopsis: From the first day at her new Southern California high school, Pasquala Rumalda Quintana de Archuleta ("Paski") learns that the popular students may be diverse in ethnicity but are alike in their cruelty. While Paski tries to concentrate on mountain biking and not thinking too much about ultra-hot Chris Cabrera, she is troubled by the beautiful and wicked Jessica Nguyen. Jessica is the queen of the haters and she's got her eye on Paski.
Publication Date: 10/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Vampirates
Justin Somper
Synopsis: Twins, Connor and Grace, never dreamed that there was any truth to the Vampirate shanty their father sang to them before he died, but that was before the two were shipwrecked and separated from each other. For Connor, who is taken aboard a pirate ship, there's the chance to learn to swordfight, but for Grace, aboard a mysterious ship of vampire pirates, the danger is great. What will it take for them to find each other?

"Totally original...I wish I'd had this idea." -Anthony Horowitz
Publication Date: 10/04/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Making Out: Prom Night
Synopsis: Prom night finds high school student Lisa Marie juggling too many boys and her two girlfriends each hiding a secret.
Publication Date: 10/03/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Fugitive from Corinth
Caroline Lawrence
Synopsis: When Flavia's tutor, Aristo, escapes after committing a violent crime, she and her friends Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus track him across Greece. Why did Aristo do it? And where is he going? As she did with Ancient Rome, Caroline Lawrence brings Greece to life with vivid detail and great excitement.
Publication Date: 10/03/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Fix
Leslie Margolis
Synopsis: It hurts to be beautiful.

Pretty, blond, popular Cameron Beekman has it all -- lots of girlfriends, a hot boyfriend, and a successful family. She's perfection. Gone are her days as the outcast, huge-nosed "Beakface." Which, as it turns out, was nothing a good nose job couldn't fix.

While her little sister, Allie, struggles with doubts about her own approaching "procedure," Cameron wants more. She's headed to UC "Santa Barbie" and needs to look the part. After all, why settle for smart and pretty when smart and drop-dead gorgeous is just a surgery away?
Publication Date: 10/03/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
I Was a Teenage Popsicle
Bev Katz Rosenbaum
Synopsis: Floe Ryan was frozen - or 'vitrified' - at sixteen. She and her parents had a rare disease, so it was their only choice until a cure was found. Now she's been thawed and it's ten years in the future - but she's still a teenager. And her parents are still chilling out...

So now her little sister is her older sister, and she's making Floe suffer for every snotty thing she ever did. It's hard getting used to... not to mention a new school, new technology, and a zillion other new things that happened while she was napping in the freezer. Luckily, she has Taz, the hottie skater boy who was a popsicle too, so they get to reintegrate together. But now they're trying to close the Venice Beach Cryonics Center - with Floe's parents still in it! It's up to her to save the clinic and her parents - so she can finally have a somewhat normal life.

Publication Date: 10/03/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Drawing the Ocean
Carolyn MacCullough
Synopsis: A gifted painter, Sadie comes from California to Connecticut determined to fit in at her new school. Yet her first attempt at making friends in the new town backfires when she reaches out to the loner everyone calls Fryin' Ryan, the very last person who can help her achieve her dream. And to further complicate matters, her twin brother, Ollie, keeps appearing to her, seeming to want something. Her twin brother, who died when they were twelve.
Publication Date: 10/03/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Yanti
Christopher Pike
Synopsis: In Alosha and The Shaktra, thirteen-year-old Ali Warner discovered that she was not an ordinary teenager, but was actually Queen of the Fairies. Through seven painful trials, Ali reclaimed many of her magical powers and defeated an elemental army that was preparing to attack the Earth. In the elemental world, Ali learned the true nature of her greatest enemy -- the Shaktra -- and discovered why it covets the Yanti, a mystical talisman of immense power that Ali now possesses.
Now, in The Yanti, Ali discovers that a mysterious Entity is masterminding the Shaktra's attack on Earth, an attack that will kill billions and leave both Earth and the elemental world shattered. Still reeling from the death of one of her closest friends, Ali finds herself accused of murder on Earth and besieged by enemies in the elemental world.
The Shaktra has had years to develop her magical abilities and her evil plots, guided by the otherworldly Entity. Ali has only known about her fairy powers for a month. There are holes in her fairy memories and her powers are still incomplete, while the Shaktra commands vast armies of hideous monsters and rules over hosts of dragons.
Ali's allies are few: one dragon, one leprechaun, a single troll, a handful of fairies and an African boy, Ra, who has sworn to serve Ali even beyond death. Plus the mysterious disembodied Nemi -- whose love sustains Ali through her darkest moments of despair.
Only the Yanti can stop what is to come. Unfortunately, Ali has barely had a chance to study it. The first time she tries to use it as a weapon, it nearly kills her. Unless Ali Warner can solve the riddle of the Yanti - and the mystery behind the Shaktra's insane bitterness -- then the Earth and the elemental world will be doomed.

Publication Date: 10/03/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Keeper of the Earth
Jenna Solitaire
Synopsis: Having found the Board of Fire, Jenna and Simon hurry to decipher the clues that will lead them to the Board of Earth--and mastery over the very land itself. But on their way to locate the tomb of a mythical English hero while fending off shadowy new attackers who want the Boards for themselves, an offer of help comes from a surprising source. Can Jenna and Simon trust this offer--or are they walking straight into a trap set by the one who has coveted the Boards for millennia?
Publication Date: 10/03/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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