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The Jade Notebook
Laura Resau
Synopsis: Down-to-earth Zeeta and her flighty mom, Layla, have spent years traveling the globe and soaking up everything each new culture has to offer. Now they've settled in the beachside town of Mazunte, Mexico, where Zeeta's true love, Wendell, has an internship photographing rare sea turtles. At first glance, Zeeta feels sure that Mazunte is paradise—she envisions dips in jade waters, sunsets over sea cliffs, moonlit walks in the surf. And she is determined to make Mazunte her home . . . for good. But as she and Wendell dig deeper to unearth her elusive father's past, Zeeta finds that paradise has its dark side.
Publication Date: 02/14/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Lethally Blonde
Patrice Lyle
Synopsis: If Elle Woods were a teenage demon, her name would be Morgan Skully. Morgan is the world's only blonde demon girl, and she's got a brand new, very unusual afterschool job. Spying for the Devil. She'd much rather use her cloak-and-dagger skills to spy on hottie-licious Derek with her friends, but the Devil won't take no for an answer. Luckily for Morgan, her new boss is kinda hot. Her assignment is simple: find out who at Pitchfork Prep is funneling secrets to the Siberian Werewolf Council. If she succeeds, pedicures and platinum highlights are just the beginning. But if she fails...there's more on the line than killer shoes.

"I so totally could not put down this book...before I knew it, it was three in the morning and I was looking at the screen in disbelief when I didn't have any more pages to read. Morgan is such a loveable character, and her thinking is JUST like a 16-year-old, high school student. I found myself laughing out loud at just how much she reminded me of myself when I was that age. The world that Patrice Lyle paints in this book is simply amazing." ~ Night Owl Reviews, Top Pick
 
"I have a deep-seeded affection for all things 'Legally Blonde' and this book is no exception...it was cute, fun, lighthearted (despite the demon/devil/etc. stuff) and I ended with a smile on my face." ~ I Love YA Fiction
 
"I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the main character, Morgan with her spunky attitude...the story line is very original with quirky phrases...a cute, funny, entertaining read with colorful characters, that I couldn't get get enough of." ~ Livin' Life Through Books
Publication Date: 02/14/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Throne of the Crescent Moon
Synopsis: From Saladin Ahmed, finalist for the Nebula and Campbell Awards, comes one of the year's most anticipated fantasy debuts, THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON, a fantasy adventure with all the magic of The Arabian Nights.

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, land of djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, Khalifs and killers, is at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince.  In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings:

Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, "The last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat," just wants a quiet cup of tea.  Three score and more years old, he has grown weary of hunting monsters and saving lives, and is more than ready to retire from his dangerous and demanding vocation. But when an old flame's family is murdered, Adoulla is drawn back to the hunter's path.

Raseed bas Raseed, Adoulla's young assistant, a hidebound holy warrior whose prowess is matched only by his piety, is eager to deliver God's justice. But even as Raseed's sword is tested by ghuls and manjackals, his soul is tested when he and Adoulla cross paths with the tribeswoman Zamia.

Zamia Badawi, Protector of the Band, has been gifted with the near-mythical power of the Lion-Shape, but shunned by her people for daring to take up a man's title. She lives only to avenge her father's death. Until she learns that Adoulla and his allies also hunt her father's killer. Until she meets Raseed.

When they learn that the murders and the Falcon Prince's brewing revolution are connected, the companions must race against time--and struggle against their own misgivings--to save the life of a vicious despot.  In so doing they discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.
Publication Date: 02/07/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Forest Moon Rising
P. R. Frost
Synopsis: Tess Noncoiré, successful fantasy writier and Celestial Blade Warrior, has made a deal with the Powers That Be, trading her own dreams for the future for the safety of those nearest and dearest to her. Having survived this unprecedented experience, Tess—along with her imp Scrap—is determined to hunt down a demonic intruder from another dimension, the Nörglein, who seems bent on bespelling and seducing young women, leaving them pregnant, and then waiting for the proper time to steal the babies away for his own purposes. 

Injured in her first encounter with the Nörglein, Tess will be forced to turn to the two men she swore she'd have nothing more to do with, as well as several unexpected allies. But whether she can stop the Nörglein and rescue his offspring from the fate he has planned for them is very much in doubt. And if she has to face the Powers That Be a second time, getting out alive will be the least of Tess's worries....
Publication Date: 02/07/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Almost Everything
Tate Hallaway
Synopsis: Ever since her father banished the half-witch, half-vampire Ana Parker and vampire knight Elias from the court of the Northern vampires, Ana has been trying to live a normal life. But when the Prince of the Southern Region vampires informs Ana that they're on the brink of war and she accidentally offers up Elias as a peace offering, the princess knows that she's going to need some help to get out of this situation.

With Ana's boy drama meter hitting an all time high, summer in St. Paul is heating up for all the wrong reasons...

Publication Date: 02/07/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Drowning Instinct
Ilsa J. Bick
Synopsis: There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.) Jenna Lord's first sixteen years were not exactly a fairy tale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother--until he shipped off to Iraq. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire. There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and everyone cries for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.) Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain...magnetism. And there are stories where it's hard to be sure who's a prince and who's a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.) Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds--and the rules.
Publication Date: 02/02/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Tangled
Erica O'Rourke
Synopsis: Constance started to keen as the air around us began to thrash and twist, the caustic scent of ozone burning my nose. As I watched, her dark gold hair began to lift and kink into knots.

"I'm here. It'll be okay." It was the last thing I said before my best friend's little sister went supernova in the second-floor girls' bathroom, taking me with her.

A month ago, Mo Fitzgerald risked her life to stop an ancient prophecy and avenge her best friend's murder. Now, she only wants to keep her loved ones safe. But the magic – and the Chicago Mob – have other plans.

Mysterious, green-eyed Luc is back, asking for help – and a second chance. Colin, her strongest protector, is hiding a shocking secret. And inside Constance, the magic is about to go terribly wrong. Tangled in a web of love and betrayal, Mo must choose between the life she's dreamed of and the one she's destined for.

Praise for Erica O'Rourke's Torn

"Dark, magical, and delicious!"

--New York Times bestselling author C. L. Wilson

"Exciting and totally addictive! Just. . .wow!"

--Kristi Cook, author of Haven

Be sure to read Erica O'Rourke's magical debut novel!

"Torn will keep you turning pages ‘til the very end."

--New York Times bestselling author C. L. Wilson

Publication Date: 02/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Knife and the Butterfly
Ashley Hope Perez
Synopsis: After a marijuana-addled brawl with a rival gang, 16-year-old Azael wakes up to find himself surrounded by a familiar set of concrete walls and a locked door. Juvie again, he thinks. But he can't really remember what happened or how he got picked up. He knows his MS13 boys faced off with some punks from Crazy Crew. There were bats, bricks, chains. A knife. But he can't remember anything between that moment and when he woke behind bars.

Azael knows prison, and something isn't right about this lockup. No phone call. No lawyer. No news about his brother or his homies. The only thing they make him do is watch some white girl in some cell. Watch her and try to remember.

Lexi Allen would love to forget the brawl, would love for it to disappear back into the Xanax fog it came from. And her mother and her lawyer hope she chooses not to remember too much about the brawl--at least when it's time to testify.

Lexi knows there's more at stake in her trial than her life alone, though. She's connected to him, and he needs the truth. The knife cut, but somehow it also connected.
Publication Date: 02/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The White Zone
Carolyn Mardsen
Synopsis: Nouri and his cousin Talib can only vaguely remember a time before tanks rumbled over the streets of their Baghdad neighborhood when books, not bombs, ruled Mutanabbi Street. War has been the backdrop of their young lives. And now Iraq isn't just at war with Americans. It's at war with itself. Sunnis fight Shiites, and the strife is at the boys' doorsteps. Nouri is Shiite and Talib is half Sunni. To the boys, it seems like only a miracle can mend the rift that is tearing a country and a family apart.

In early 2008, Iraq experienced a miracle. Snow fell in Baghdad for the first time in living memory. As snow covered the dusty streets, the guns in the city grew silent and there was an unofficial ceasefire. During these magical minutes, Sunni and Shiite differences were forgotten. There was no green zone, no red zone. There was only the white zone.

Against this real-life backdrop, Nouri and Talib begin to imagine a world after the war.
Publication Date: 02/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Plunder
Mary Anna Evans
Synopsis:

Faye Longchamp and her Native American husband Joe Wolf Mantooth are working near the mouth of the Mississippi, researching archaeological sites soon to be flooded by oil. The Deepwater Horizon disaster has morphed her run-of-the-mill contract job into a task that might swamp her fledgling consulting business.

Then her injured babysitter leaves Faye to work with a toddler underfoot. Thankfully, Amande, a bright and curious teen lives nearby with her eccentric grandmother. But when the girl's grandmother and her no-account uncle are murdered, Amande's prospects worsen. The girl has but two known relatives, both battling over her small inheritance: a raggedy houseboat, a few shares of stock, and a hurricane-battered island that's not even inhabitable.

Pirate-era silver coins are found and disappear. A murderer is on the loose, and as the oil slick looms, Faye can see that Louisiana is still being plundered....

Publication Date: 02/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Lenobia's Vow
P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Synopsis:

A great journey…

A new love….

A dark secret revealed.

Evreux, France, 1788: Before she is Zoey's favorite professor and the House of Night's powerful horse mistress… Lenobia is just a normal 16-year-old girl – with enough problems to last a lifetime. As the illegitimate daughter of a powerful baron, she has never quite belonged, and instead has to watch her spoiled half-sister, Cecile, get anything she wants. As if that's not enough, her remarkable beauty draws unwanted attention wherever she goes. For once, she would like to just fit in.

But when fate intervenes, Lenobia suddenly finds herself surrounded by other girls, on a ship bound for New Orleans, where they will be married off to the city's richest Frenchmen. And they're not alone…. An evil bishop who is skilled in Dark magic makes the same journey. His appetite for lovely young women makes him dangerous – most of all to Lenobia, who caught his eye back in France. So she remains hidden, making secret visits to the ship's stables, where a handsome young man and his beautiful Percheron horses soon capture her attention.

Will they make it to land before the bishop discovers her true identity and a powerful evil breaks loose? And will Lenobia follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? Find out more about one of your favorite professors in Lenobia's Vow, the next heart-thumping House of Night Novella by PC Cast and Kristin Cast.

Publication Date: 01/31/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Survivors
Will Weaver
Synopsis:

Two years ago, the ash started falling like gray snow. The volcanoes had erupted. . . .

For Miles and his sister, Sarah, the real disaster started in the violent aftermath—when they were forced to leave their cushy suburban home and flee to the north woods for safety. Miles got them to a cabin, but now winter is setting in. All they have to get them through is the milk from Sarah’s prized possession—her goat—and Miles’s memory of wilderness survival skills.

When Sarah tries to regain some normalcy by attending the local school, she realizes she is no longer quite the person she used to be. Now she is Goat Girl, a Traveler, and it’s hard to pretend she isn’t. And when a horrific twist of fate robs Miles of his memory, he discovers the heart of his true identity. They knew the volcanoes would change the world. Now, in order to survive, they must change with it.

Will Weaver delivers an extraordinary sequel to Memory Boy, showing that several basic instincts lie deep inside us all: love, fear, and survival.

Publication Date: 01/31/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Daughter of the Centaurs
Synopsis: A new character joins the ranks of pwerful, kick-ass heroines such as those written by Tamora Pierce, Kristin Cashore, Esther Freisner, and Robin McKinley—Malora Ironbound. A great read also for anyone who loves horses and the Greek myths.

Malora knows what she was born to be: a horse wrangler and a hunter, just like her father. But when her people are massacred by batlike monsters called Leatherwings, Malora will need her horse skills just to survive. The last living human, Malora roams the wilderness at the head of a band of magnificent horses, relying only on her own wits, strength, and courage. When she is captured by a group of centaurs and taken to their city, Malora must decide whether the comforts of her new home and family are worth the parts of herself she must sacrifice to keep them.

Kate Klimo has masterfully created a new world, which at first seems to be an ancient one or perhaps another world altogether, but is in fact set on earth sometime far in the future.
Publication Date: 01/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Jungle Book
Neil Gaiman, Rudyard Kipling
Synopsis: Imagine growing up among wolves, being friends with a panther and a bear, and hunting the most fearsome animal in the wild—the man-killing tiger Shere Khan. Rudyard Kipling portrays the exciting and adventurous jungle upbringing of Mowgli in this timeless classic. Still amazingly contemporary even though it was written more than 100 years ago, the pacing, language, and characters will keep readers young and old turning the pages, and then begging for more.

Originally published in two volumes, this edition collects all the Mowgli stories and adds the very popular Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and Toomai of the Elephants. This edition will feature an introduction by Newbery-award winner Neil Gaiman.
Publication Date: 01/24/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Girl Who Was on Fire (Movie Edition)
Synopsis: Includes 3 brand new essays on Gale, the Games, and Mockingjay!

**Already read the first edition of The Girl Who Was on Fire? Look for The Girl Who Was on Fire - Booster Pack to get just the three new essays and the extra movie content.**

Katniss Everdeen’s adventures may have come to an end, but her story continues to blaze in the hearts of millions worldwide.

In The Girl Who Was on Fire - Movie Edition, sixteen YA authors take you back to the world of the Hunger Games with moving, dark, and funny pieces on Katniss, the Games, Gale and Peeta, reality TV, survival, and more. From the trilogy's darker themes of violence and social control to fashion and weaponry, the collection's exploration of the Hunger Games reveals exactly how rich, and how perilous, Panem, and the series, really is.

• How does the way the Games affect the brain explain Haymitch’s drinking, Annie’s distraction, and Wiress’ speech problems?
• What does the rebellion have in common with the War on Terror?
• Why isn’t the answer to “Peeta or Gale?” as interesting as the question itself?
• What should Panem have learned from the fates of other hedonistic societies throughout history—and what can we?

CONTRIBUTORS: Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Mary Borsellino, Sarah Rees Brennan, Terri Clark, Bree Despain, Adrienne Kress, Sarah Darer Littman, Cara Lockwood, Elizabeth M. Rees, Carrie Ryan, Ned Vizzini, Lili Wilkinson, Blythe Woolston, Diana Peterfreund (NEW), Brent Hartinger (NEW), Jackson Pearce (NEW)
Publication Date: 01/17/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Solo
Sarah Schofield
Synopsis: Eliana Davis is no stranger to moving from one place to another, but moving in the middle of the school year to the small town where her parents grew up is something she never thought would happen. Knowing she will only be there the year her dad is deployed, Eliana is torn between letting people in or keeping to herself. Will she listen to her heart or keep flying solo?
Publication Date: 01/17/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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