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Anatopsis
Chris Abouzeid
Synopsis:

Princess Anatopsis Solomon wants to be a knight-errant. But hermother, chairwoman of Amalgamated Witchcraft Corporation, plans for her immortal daughter to take over the family business. The Queen has even hired a new tutor: a demigod named Mr. Pound. But Mr. Pound’s plans go far beyond completing Ana’s education. He is searching for the mysterious and powerful Os Divinitas. And if he finds it, nothing will survive. A shocking and powerful gift will catapult the Princess into an unlikely quest through the rich worlds of Anatopsis, inhabited by magic immortals, a rebel army, and the last dog in the Universe.

Publication Date: 03/02/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Under the Sun
Arthur Dorros
Synopsis: Part My Side of the Mountain and part The Red Badge of Courage, a gripping journey of survival across a country at war

From Arthur Dorros, author of many highly-acclaimed picture books, comes this thrilling first novel.

Thirteen-year-old Ehmet, separated from his parents by the violence in his native Bosnia, travels alone across the country to a place he's heard rumors of, a village of children living in peace. Along the way, Ehmet uses all his skills, remembered and read, to find food, shelter, direction, and a new life for himself.

This important and timely book, based on extensive travel and research, shows readers the cost of war and the importance of young people in building peace.

Praise for Under the Sun

"With vivid description and telling detail that speaks of the extensive research, Dorros pulls the reader into a fictional story that has the chilling ring of truth."--The Oregonian

"A story that transcends setting to chronicle the adaptability and creativity of young adults everywhere."--Pages Magazine

"The facts are astonishing, and the contemporary war docunovel will grab readers."--Booklist
Publication Date: 03/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
ttfn
Lauren Myracle
Synopsis: Sequel to the New York Times best-seller ttyl

This sequel to the breakout bestseller, ttyl (a novel told entirely in instant messages), follows Maddie, Zoe, and Angela through their next year in high school, 11th grade. There's trouble and lots of IMs ahead for the Winsome Threesome.

Angela has just found out that her family is moving to El Cerrito, California, and she seriously doesn't know how she'll survive without her best friends. Maddie makes some really bad moves with Clive, a pot-smoking hipster who wants to be "friends with benefits." And Zoe finds herself falling for Doug, the sweet poet who has had a crush on Angela forever, a crush that Angela has come to count on.

Lauren Myracle has concocted another funny, touching look at the rocky road of real friendship--bumpy, nutty, and marshmallow-sweet.

Praise for ttyl

"Perfectly contemporary" -Kirkus

*"Revealing and innovative, this novel will inspire teens to pass it on to their friends." --School Library Journal (starred review)
Publication Date: 03/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Nobody's Fault
Pearce Jonathan
Synopsis:
Publication Date: 02/28/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Desert Blood 10pm 9c
Ronald Cree
Synopsis: After his parents died in a terrible car accident and he is adopted by a famous TV-star, Gus Gonzales' life works out as best as it could under the circumstances, but when he learns that his adoptive parent played a role in his parents' death, the whole truth must be uncovered and all the facts, good and bad, made known once and for all. Original.
Publication Date: 02/28/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Corydon and the Island of Monsters
Synopsis: A young shepherd, Corydon, is driven out of his village because of his unusual appearance and then captured and put on display as a monster. Alongside him in the traveling freak show are Medusa, the Minotaur, the Sphinx, and other classical beasts. When Corydon helps these monsters to escape their cages, they scatter to seek peace and solitude away from prying eyes. But then an army of “heroes” arrives hoping to win glory by killing the monsters, and Corydon must unite these unloved and unlikely allies to fight for their survival and for their island home.
Publication Date: 02/28/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Georgie's Moon
Chris Woodworth
Synopsis: Georgie Collins knows exactly how to make it through life in
a new town. Before her father left for Vietnam, he gave her
standing orders never to let anyone mess with her, and she
won't. As long as she doesn't allow the enemy to smell her fear,
Georgie will survive seventh grade in Glendale, Indiana, just
fine. But that doesn't mean she'll like it. How could she? Her
school has forced her to participate in a "Good Deeds
Program," so she's stuck visiting old people in a nursing home.
What's more, her classes are filled with "peacenik" kids who
think the war is wrong - including her only friend. At home,
it seems that the kids her mom is babysitting are constantly
whining at her. Worst of all, Georgie's father has been gone a
long time - and even though he promised to send her his love
every night on the moon, sometimes that's not enough.

This story of a feisty girl's fierce devotion to her father is a powerful reflection on the ravages of war.

Publication Date: 02/21/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Adventures of Vin Fiz
Synopsis: Ten-year-old twins Lacey and Casey Nicefolk have always wanted to fly, but kids can’t fly . . . or can they? They can if they know the mysterious Sucoh Sucop, a man who claims to have an enchanted box that can transform any toy into the real thing! Before you know it, the twins, along with their droopy-eared basset hound, Floopy, are soaring cross-country in a real-live Wright brothers biplane, which they name Vin Fiz (after Casey’s favorite grape soda). But dangers lurk everywhere, and if the twins are to make it all the way to New York, their courage will have to make heroes of them many times over. Thank goodness they have the magical Vin Fiz on their side!
Publication Date: 02/21/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Dreamhunter
Elizabeth Knox
Synopsis: Laura comes from a world similar to our own except for one difference: it is next to the Place, an unfathomable land that fosters dreams of every kind and is inaccessible to all but a
select few, the Dreamhunters. These are individuals with special gifts: the ability to catch larger-than-life dreams and relay them to audiences in the magnificent dream palace, the Rainbow
Opera. People travel from all around to experience the benefits of the hunters’ unique visions. Now fifteen-year-old Laura and her cousin Rose, daughters of Dreamhunters, are eligible to test
themselves at the Place and find out whether they qualify for the passage. But nothing can prepare them for what they are about to discover. For within the Place lies a horrific secret kept
hidden by corrupt members of the government. And when Laura’s father, the man who discovered the Place, disappears, she realizes that this secret has the power to destroy everyone she loves . . . In the midst of a fascinating landscape, Laura’s dreamy childhood is ending and a nightmare beginning. This rich novel, filled with beauty, danger, politics, and intrigue, comes to a powerful crescendo, leaving readers clamoring for Book Two.
Dreamhunter is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Publication Date: 02/21/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Invisible Detective
Justin Richards
Synopsis: When their friend, Charlie, gets mixed up with a mad scientist who is in the process of creating an army of mutant soldiers, the Invisible Detective and his team must work to put an end to the evil plot and free their friend from the scientist's powerful grip before time runs out.
Publication Date: 02/16/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Enthusiasm
Polly Shulman
Synopsis: Julie and Ashleigh, high school sophomores and Jane Austen fans, seem to fall for the same Mr. Darcy-like boy and struggle to hide their true feelings from one another while rehearsing for a school musical.
Publication Date: 02/16/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Killer's Tears
Anne-Laure Bondoux
Synopsis: On the afternoon when Angel Allegria arrives at the Poloverdos’ farmhouse, he kills the farmer and his wife. But he spares their child, Paolo–a young boy who will claim this as the day on which he was born. Together the killer and the boy begin a new life on this remote and rugged stretch of land in Chile.

Then Luis Secunda, a well-to-do and educated fellow from the city descends upon them. Paolo is caught in the paternal rivalry between the two men. But life resumes its course . . . until circumstances force the three to leave the farm. In doing so, Angel and Luis confront their pasts as well as their inevitable destinies–destinies that profoundly shape Paolo’s own future.
Publication Date: 02/14/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Clair de-Lune
Sophie Blackall, Cassandra Golds
Synopsis: Clair-de-Lune lives with her grandmother in the tippy-top of a peculiar old building. Every day she practices ballet, just like her mother before her—the famous ballerina who died when Clair-de-Lune was just a baby. Since that day, Clair-de-Lune hasn’t uttered a word.
Then one day the girl who cannot speak meets a remarkable mouse who can. Bonaventure dreams of founding a dancing school just for mice—but he dreams of helping his new friend, too. Soon the brave little mouse introduces Clair-de-Lune to a hidden world inside, and yet somehow beyond, her building—a world that slowly begins to open her heart. Maybe one day her dreams will come true, too.
Publication Date: 02/14/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life
Synopsis: Simone’s starting her junior year in high school. Her mom’s a lawyer for the ACLU, her dad’s a political cartoonist, so she’s grown up standing outside the organic food coop asking people to sign petitions for worthy causes. She’s got a terrific younger brother and amazing friends. And she’s got a secret crush on a really smart and funny guy–who spends all of his time with another girl.

Then her birth mother contacts her. Simone’s always known she was adopted, but she never wanted to know anything about it. She’s happy with her family just as it is, thank you.

She learns who her birth mother was–a 16-year-old girl named Rivka. Who is Rivka? Why has she contacted Simone? Why now? The answers lead Simone to deeper feelings of anguish and love than she has ever known, and to question everything she once took for granted about faith, life, the afterlife, and what it means to be a daughter.
Publication Date: 02/14/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Freedom of Jenny
Julie Burtinshaw
Synopsis: Jenny Estes shares her father’s dream of freedom. But for Jenny — born into slavery in Missouri in the 1840s — freedom seems an impossible dream. She toils alongside her mother in the steaming kitchen of the Leopold plantation, trying her best to be humble and obedient so that Mrs. Leopold won’t sell her to a slave-trader. But when she's not drying dishes or mixing biscuits, Jenny finds time to practice her reading, a skill that ultimately helps the family plan their migration and realize their dream. The Estes face a formidable journey: a grueling passage from Missouri to Saltspring Island, Canada. Along the way, Jenny’s family confronts scarlet fever, racial persecution, the arduous Oregon Trail, warring native Haidas, and finally, the challenges of homesteading. Jenny’s spirit and fortitude in the face of many adversities make her a heroine all young readers can look up to. Based on a true story, this tale is a gripping account of one young girl's coming-of-age in troubling and unsettling times.
Publication Date: 02/10/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Keeper of the Winds
Jenna Solitaire
Synopsis:

My name is Jenna Solitaire and everything I thought I knew about myself, my family, and my future is wrong. My life is not my own. It never has been. I just didn't know it―until now…

After the death of her grandfather, nineteen-year-old Jenna Solitaire finds an ancient wooden board hidden away in the attic of his house. Scorched by fire and covered in mysterious symbols, the board fascinates her―and scares her―at the same time. As does Simon Monk, the handsome stranger who has come into her life, claiming to know about the board. Even more frightening is the voice whispering in Jenna's head, calling her "Keeper." Does Jenna have power over the winds, as Simon claims? Is she truly the Daughter of Destiny?

Publication Date: 02/07/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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