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Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks
Synopsis: Wealth. Privilege. Way too many pastel-tinted opinions. That is Carly’s life, and . . . It’s. Getting. On. Her. Nerves. Carly is ready to ditch the southern princess act and become real. The thing is, she’s always counted on her little sister, Anna, to love and support her—and tell her how right she is. But when Anna turns “hot” over the course of a single summer, everything goes weird. Suddenly Anna’s swimming in the deep end with the big girls while Carly watches from the kiddie pool, alone. Carly’s always relied on the constancy of her sister, but now everything is different, and she’s not so sure she likes it.
Publication Date: 05/13/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Still Sucks To Be Me
Kimberly Pauley
Synopsis: With vampire boyfriend George and best friend Serena by her side, Mina thought she had her whole life—or rather afterlife—ahead of her. But then Mina’s parents drop a bomb. They’re moving. To Louisiana. And not somewhere cool like New Orleans, but some teeny, tiny town where cheerleaders and jocks rule the school. Mina has to fake her death, change her name, and leave everything behind, including George and Serena. Not even the Vampire Council’s shape-shifting classes can cheer her up. Then Serena shows up on Mina’s doorstep with some news that sends Mina reeling. Mina may look a lot better with fangs, but her afterlife isn’t any less complicated!
 
In this eagerly awaited sequel to the popular Sucks to Be Me, Kimberly Pauley addresses many of her fans’ most pressing questions (Will Serena become a vampire? What happened to Raven? What’s next for Mina and George?) with signature humor and breezy bloodsucking style.
Publication Date: 05/11/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Cardturner
Louis Sachar
Synopsis: From Louis Sachar, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Newbery Medal for HOLES, comes the young adult novel THE CARDTURNER, an exploration of the human condition.
 
How are we supposed to be partners? He can’t see the cards and I don’t know the rules!
 
The summer after junior year of high school looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to hook up with his best friend. He has no money and no job. His parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner—whatever that means. Alton’s uncle is old, blind, very sick, and very rich.
 
But Alton’s parents aren’t the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp’s good graces. They’re in competition with his longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family, who seem to have a mysterious influence over him.
 
Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda. As the summer goes on, he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life.
 
Through Alton’s wry observations, Louis Sachar explores the disparity between what you know and what you think you know. With his incomparable flair and inventiveness, he examines the elusive differences between perception and reality—and inspires readers to think and think again.
Publication Date: 05/11/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Folly
Marthe Jocelyn
Synopsis: Three fates intertwine in this moving and passionate love story set in Victorian London. 


Mary Finn: country girl, maid to a lord in London

Caden Tucker: liar, scoundrel, and heart's delight

James Nelligan: age six, tossed into a herd of boys

When Mary Finn falls into the arms of handsome Caden Tucker, their frolic changes the course of her life. What possesses her? She's been a girl of common sense until now. Mary's tale alternates with that of young James Nelligan, a new boy in an enormous foundling home.


In Folly, Marthe Jocelyn's breathtaking command of language, detail, and character brings Victorian London to life on every page, while the deep emotions that illuminate this fascinating novel about life-changing moments are as current as today's news.
Publication Date: 05/11/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Your Life, but Cooler
Crystal Velasquez
Synopsis: Have you ever read a story and wondered what you would do in that situation? Would you run into the abandoned house after the killer? Or run screaming from the scene to analyze the whole thing with your friends? Would you be bold enough to flirt with your crush—even though he has a girlfriend? Or would you quietly back off, in hopes of meeting a better guy to crush on?

In Your Life, But Better, you don’t just read a story—you become the story. Take a quick personality quiz at the end of each chapter, and find out how you would act if you were confronted with the scene you just read. Are you star material? Or the queen of romance? What will you learn about yourself?
Publication Date: 05/11/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Seaglass Summer
Anjali Banerjee
Synopsis:  
Eleven-year-old Poppy Ray longs to be a veterinarian, but she's never had a pet. This summer, she's going to spend a month with her uncle Sanjay, veterinarian and owner of the Furry Friends Animal Clinic on an island off the Washington coast.
 
Poppy is in for big surprises. She loves tending to the dogs, cats, and even a bird, and she discovers the fun of newborn puppies and the satisfaction of doing a good job. But she learns that there's more to caring for animals than the stethoscope and cotton swabs in her Deluxe Veterinarian First-Aid Kit. She's not prepared for quirky pet owners, gross stuff, or scary emergencies. With help from a boy named Hawk, a chunk of seaglass, and a touch of intuition, Poppy gains a deeper understanding of the pain and joy of working with animals.
 
With warmth and humor, Anjali Banerjee tells the story of a resourceful, determined girl who can't wait to grow up, but begins to realize just how much she has left to discover.
Publication Date: 05/11/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Amigas: Fifteen Candles
Veronica Chambers
Synopsis: Summer has arrived in Miami and that means quinceanera season. With an internship at the mayor's office, Alicia isn't giving much thought to anything but work. But after meeting Sarita, a new girl in town, on the first day of the job, Alicia ends up volunteering to help organize Sarita's quince. She also volunteers her friends. Soon Alicia is drowning in preparation and turning into a quincezilla--and it isn't even her party! But there is just so much to do--there are shoes to be bought, dances to choreograph, and then there is Gaz. He is being flirtier than usual with Alicia and she's not sure what to do. It seems like Alicia is dangerously close to losing her friends...and her mind!  Will she learn to trust her amigas and rock the party?
Publication Date: 05/11/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Red Umbrella
Christina Gonzalez
Synopsis:

The Red Umbrella is the moving tale of a 14-year-old girl's journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro's revolution.

 

In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. Her friends feel like strangers. And her family is being watched.

 

As the revolution's impact becomes more oppressive, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States—on their own.

 

Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life? Will she ever see her home or her parents again? And if she does, will she still be the same girl?

 

The Red Umbrella is a moving story of country, culture, family, and the true meaning of home.

Publication Date: 05/11/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Summer of the Geek
Piper Banks
Synopsis: The third compulsively readable book in the smart and witty series about a high school for gifted students.

Miranda Bloom has scored an adorable, lacrosse-playing boyfriend, Dex McConnell, and an awesomely easy summer job looking after a ten year old mini-genius, Amelia. This summer is going to be sweet...

Then reality puts the brakes on everything. Though Dex and Miranda are official, she feels like he's keeping secrets-secrets that may have to do with his fashion model ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile, Amelia is harder to figure out than advanced trigonometry. How can they bond if all she does is practice the piano? Plus Miranda's mom just invited her to live in London with her. Living across the pond would be great, but can she really leave Geek High and Dex?

Looks like Miranda has a secret of her own...
Publication Date: 05/04/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Jekel Loves Hyde
Beth Fantaskey
Synopsis:

Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents’ rules—especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father’s office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she’s tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.

To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen’s sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill’s accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything—even Tristen’s love—just for the thrill of being . . . bad.

Publication Date: 05/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Fire Will Fall
Carol Plum-Ucci
Synopsis: ShadowStrike poisoned the water of Trinity Falls two months ago. Now the Trinity Four, the teens most affected by the poison, have been isolated in a remote mansion under twenty-four-hour medical care while scientists on four continents rush to discover a cure. Meanwhile, U.S. operatives scour the world for the bioterrorists responsible for this heinous crime, as two teen virtual spies, also infected, hunt for the criminals on the Internet. The danger remains real—for ShadowStrike has every reason to pursue the Trinity Four, and their evil plan will unleash a new designer virus that’s even deadlier than the first.
Publication Date: 05/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
After The Moment
Garret Freymann-Weyr
Synopsis:

A novel by the Printz Honor author Garret Freymann-Weyr, about a boy who discovers what happens when love fails us—or we fail love.

Maia Morland is pretty, only not pretty-pretty. She’s smart. She’s brave. She’s also a self-proclaimed train wreck.

Leigh Hunter is smart, popular, and extremely polite. He’s also completely and forever in love with Maia Morland.

Their young love starts off like a romance novel—full of hope, strength, and passion. But life is not a romance novel and theirs will never become a true romance. For when Maia needs him the most, Leigh betrays both her trust and her love.

Told with compassion and true understanding, After the Moment is about what happens when a young man discovers that sometimes love fails us, and that, quite often, we fail love.

Publication Date: 05/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
King of the Screwups
K. L. Going
Synopsis: Liam Geller is Mr. Popularity. Everybody loves him. He excels at sports; he knows exactly what clothes to wear; he always ends up with the most beautiful girls in school. But he's got an uncanny ability to screw up in the very ways that tick off his father the most.
When Liam finally kicked out of the house, his father's brother takes him in. What could a teenage chick magnet possibly have in common with his gay, glam rocker, DJ uncle who lives in a trailer in upstate New York? A lot more than you'd think. And when Liam attempts to make himself over as a nerd in a desperate attempt to impress his father, it's his "aunt" Pete and the guys in his band who convince Liam there's much more to him than his father will ever see.
Publication Date: 05/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Zen and Xander Undone
Amy Kathleen Ryan
Synopsis: Zen and Xander are sisters—truly, madly, deeply sisters, and this is their last summer together.

Zen is the "good" girl with a black belt in karate and a newfound penchant for kicking heads. Xander is a wild scientific genius with a self-destructive streak a light-year long. They have three things in common: they’re brown-eyed blondes, they’ve noticed the boy next door has turned into a hottie, and they miss their mom, who died almost a year ago. These sisters are surviving just fine—except Zen keeps getting into fights that are harder and harder to finish, while Xander spirals into a vortex of late-night parties, scary men, and drugs. What’s worse, Xander has scholarships to the most coveted universities in the country, but she’s about to ruin everything. Should Zen keep trying to protect Xander, or finally let her go?
Publication Date: 05/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Ghost Huntress: The Reason
Synopsis: It’s not everyday you have a premonition of your own demise. But two months after Kendall had a vision of her own death, all is well in her world. Maybe some cosmic wires got crossed. Then Kendall gets a request by the mayor of Radisson to investigate the mayoral manor. Emily and Loreen warn her against it: This spirit is dangerous. But not even they can see just how dangerous. But during the aftermath of her run-in with the spirit Kendall learns a life-shattering secret. Now Kendall has an even bigger problem. Somehow, she’s got to pull her life together if she wants to cleanse the mayor’s mansion and bring peace to the home—and herself.
Publication Date: 05/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Lodger
Marie Belloc-Lowndes
Synopsis: A first-class, highly acclaimed thriller that was first published in 1914. It is based on the grisly Jack the Ripper murders that occurred in Whitechapel, London twenty years before.
Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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