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City of Screams
John Brindley
Synopsis: Life already hangs in precarious balance for Phoenix and her family and friends as rebellion bubbles beneath every surface, but when the Adults return, offering desperate acts of salvation, they seem to forget that nature itself is calling the shots. By the author of The Rule of Claw.
Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Liar
Justine Larbalestier
Synopsis:

Micah is a liar. That's the one thing she won't lie about. Over the years, she's duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents. But when her boyfriend Zach dies under brutal circumstances, Micah sets out to tell the truth. At first the truth comes easily-because it is a lie. Other truths are so unbelievable, so outside the realm of normal, they must be a lie. And the honest truth is buried so deep in Micah's mind even she doesn't know if it's real.

The ultimate unreliable narrator takes readers on a thrill ride in this highly acclaimed novel. Prepare to grasp for truth until the very last page.

"Readers will get chills . . . [and] be guessing and theorizing long after they've finished this gripping story." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[Micah's] suspenseful, supernatural tale is engrossing. . . . The chilling story she spins will have readers' hearts racing." -School Library Journal, starred review

"An engrossing story of teenage life on the margins." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Girl in the Arena
Lise Haines
Synopsis:

During the week, Lyn lives in a big house in Cambridge and hangs out with friends in Harvard Square. But over the weekend, she cheers her father on as he gears up for neo-gladiator competition-a high-profile televised blood sport that rivals the NFL. Lyn's father is the top player in the league, and the paparazzi that have always swarmed him have started to dog Lyn's every move. All this fame comes with another price--Lyn's family lives with the constant presence of violence, uncertainty, and a strict cultural code set by the Gladiator Sports Association. When a skilled young fighter slays Lyn's father, the GSA imposes an unthinkable sentence-Lyn must marry her father's murderer. Though her mother has made a career out of marrying into Glad culture, Lyn is prepared to do whatever it takes to claim her independence. Even if it means going into the arena herself. . . .


Lise Haines' debut novel, a dark satire for our time, is a mesmerizing look at a modern world addicted to violence, fame, and greed-a world eerily close to our own.

Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Saved by the Music
Selene Castrovilla
Synopsis: The last place fifteen-year-old Willow wants to spend her summer is on a run-down former coffee barge in a boatyard in Rockaway, New York. But that's where her aunt is converting the broken down hulk into a floating concert hall and Willow has no choice but to help; her unstable mom has kicked her out for the summer. Willow's miserable when she sees that there isn't even a shower on the barge, and she has to deal with Craig, the leering hunk of a construction worker working with her aunt. The only bright spot is Axel, an older teenage boy living alone on a neighboring sailboat. Introverted and mysterious, he has the soul of a poet, a deep, philosophical mind, and loves Shakespeare. He's also scarred by a painful, disturbing past, and the two bond through their shared pain and laughter. But when devastating events threaten to destroy them, Willow and Axel struggle to save each other--and themselves--before it's too late.
Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Demon Princess
Michelle Rowen
Synopsis:

Nikki Donovan has enough trouble fitting in at her new school without the weird guy who keeps following her around. And when he approaches her, claiming to be sent by her long-lost father, Nikki finds out the truth: the father she never knew is the demon king of the Shadowlands- the realm between our world and the Underworld-and now that he's dying, she is his sole heir to the throne. Maybe it's because she's in shock, or maybe it's because the messenger, Michael, is actually kind of cute, but Nikki follows him into the Shadowlands. There, she learns about her half-demon powers, about the potential war between the Shadowlands and the Underworld, and that her father wants her to assume the throne-forever. Not to mention that her growing crush on Michael is completely forbidden-he's a Shadow creature and destined to be her slave. What's a teenage demon princess to do?

Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Rebound
Bob Krech
Synopsis: It looked like every black kid in the school was going out for the team. And then me. Pale skin, long nose, sandy brown hair, and a cowlick that won’t stay down. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t being the only white guy.

Black kids play basketball. White kids wrestle. That’s the way it is at Franklin High School and especially in Ray Wisniewski’s neighborhood, the tight knit Polish-American town of Greenville, New Jersey. But Ray’s got a passion for basketball, even after the varsity coach cuts him two years in a row. When a new coach comes on the scene, Ray’s luck rebounds, but now he has to deal with Robert, the team’s high scorer, a kid who hates Ray simply because he’s white.

As Ray fights to make his way onto the Franklin High Varsity, he finds that things are not as simple as he once thought—that a kind friend can be full of hate. A beautiful girl can be ugly inside. A well-intentioned coach can cause more harm than good. And prejudice can be defined in many ways in a world that isn’t black-and-white.
Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Something Terrible Happened On Kenmore
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of a child murder in 1930s-era Chicago, three teenagers' lives are about to change dramatically. From different sides of the tracks, Zane and Fred forge a bond through their shared love of cartooning. But Fred quickly realizes that Zane has a dark undercurrent, especially when he violates Maizy, the sturdy but naive working class neighborhood girl whose lack of self-esteem and lifelong love for Zane overwhelm her judgment. Meanwhile, Zane's father harbors a shocking secret that only Maizy and Fred discover, and the events that follow lead all three teens to make difficult, life-changing decisions. Told with compassion and honesty from each teen's perspective, Something Terrible Happened on Kenmore unflinchingly examines love and loss, friendship and sexuality, all significant factors on the path to becoming an adult.
Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Star in the Middle
Carol Larese Millward
Synopsis: At 16, Star's life has changed drastically now that she's become the mother of a baby boy. To learn what's best for him, Star's taking parenting classes at a center for teen moms. But she's having trouble keeping up with the baby's demands, and her grandmother is threatening to force her to put the baby up for adoption. To top it off, Wilson, a popular star athlete, is in denial about being the father. He doesn't know about Star's terrible, painful secrets. But as Wilson's friends and family push him to accept his responsibility, he learns the truth about Star's disturbing past, facts that change his life forever. Told from Star's and Wilson's points-of-view, Star in the Middle reveals a compelling snap-shot of the difficult lives of teenage parents.
Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Sistrsic92 (Meg)
Tyler Beauford, Cheryl Dellasega
Synopsis: Meg, a.k.a. sistrsic92, can’t help having a serious inferiority complex—you would, too, if you had a sister like T2P2 (The Totally Perfect Person), who can usually be found surrounded by a circle of her adoring friends and her ultra-popular boyfriend. But Meg soon learns that she has one thing T2P2 never had—blog pals who are the VBFs a girl could ever hope for. When Meg’s sister develops an eating disorder and reveals to Meg a huge secret, Meg will have to decide how far sisterhood goes and what secrets are worth keeping—before it’s too late.

Chronicling the main events throughout are hand drawings by teen-illustrator Tyler Beauford.
Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Silent Gift
Cindy Kelley, Michael Landon Jr.
Synopsis: The 1930s were a decade of enormous uncertainty--for the world, for America, and in particular for one lonely, struggling mother and her disabled son. Their story is one of love and enormous sacrifices in the face of circumstances horrendous beyond belief. When her husband leaves her for someone whose time isn't wrapped up in a silent, handicapped kid, Mary and little Luke are out on their own in a world that has no room for the poor and disabled. Especially not at a time when most Americans are simply trying to survive their economic woes and job losses. But then arrives The Gift...Where has it come from, and why? How can a young boy who can neither hear nor speak provide comfort, direction, and sometimes challenges to seekers who learn of the special ability? Whatever the source, its presence brings a single shaft of light and hope to Mary and her beloved Luke. Will it be enough?
Publication Date: 10/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Summer and Shiner
Nolan Carlson
Synopsis: Carley and Troop, blood brothers for life, spend a summer together like no other. Releasing a trapped raccoon, battling their club rivals, the Spiders, climbing Cave Springs Mountain at night, and skinny dipping in crazy old Luke Webster's pond are just a few of their adventures. Travel back with Carley and Troop to a simpler time...a time for growing up, adventure, and fun!
Publication Date: 09/30/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Ring
Bobbie Pyron
Synopsis: Plagued by slipping grades and a budding criminal record, at 15, Mardie's heading down a path of self-destruction she can't seem to avoid. Unlike her perfect older brother Michael, who does everything right according to their father, Mardie can't measure up. But when she discovers a girls' boxing club at the gym, Mardie's drawn in by the fighters' fearlessness and strength. Having already lost her parents' trust, and shunned by her boyfriend and friends, the ring is the only place left where no one judges Mardie. Angry and hurt, Mardie can't wait to start throwing punches. But Kitty, her wise and patient trainer, a former boxer who's coached her share of troubled girls, shows Mardie that boxing isn't just about fighting--it's also about strategy and mental discipline--the things that make a fighter into a winner. Mardie begins to apply the lessons she's learned in the ring to her own battles, especially at home, where she finds she's not the only one struggling for acceptance. As she trains for her upcoming championship bouts, Mardie hopes to make her parents proud. Filled with exciting sports action, The Ring is the inspiring story of a girl learning to believe in herself.
Publication Date: 09/30/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Listen
Nancy Coffelt
Synopsis: Three lives intersect unexpectedly in this unique, compelling story. First there's Will, an eighteen-year-old living alone since his mother died and his drug- and alcohol-addled brother went to jail. Then there's Kurt, a troubled fourteen-year-old loner still reeling after the death of his mother's abusive boyfriend and from his part in it. And finally there's Carrie, a middle-aged schizophrenic who "hears" the thoughts of the abused and neglected neighborhood animals she rescues. When Carrie and Kurt meet, she offers to pay him for each "stray" cat or dog he delivers. But when Carrie's "rescuing" goes too far, events spiral dangerously out of control. Told from alternating viewpoints, Listen is the haunting story of people thrown together by fate, each struggling to come to terms with their harrowing past.
Publication Date: 09/30/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Dear Big V
Ellen W. Leroe
Synopsis: Courtney Condon, a funny, off-beat junior, is caught smack in the middle of the war between the Lewds and the Prudes at Delaware-Valley High School. Court's the founder of an abstinence club at Dull-Val. But when she's assigned an Op Ed piece for the school paper that forces her to work with Lance, the major player and hottest guy at school, this up-close and personal contact with Lance throws her into a Whirlwind of Confusion over her chaste ideals. Meanwhile, Courtney's staunchly devout, strict-Catholic mom is pushing her own form of prudishness to the point of alienating the entire family, especially when Mom catches Court in a lip-lock with Lance in his car, right in her very own driveway! Laugh-out-loud funny, Dear Big V illuminates the conflict between hormones and values that teens face every day.
Publication Date: 09/30/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Twilight Companion
Lois H. Gresh
Synopsis:

Everyone's in love with vampires, and if the vampire's name happens to be Edward Cullen, then readers of the wildly popular Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer can't help but be crazy about him. For all those who adore Bella Swan, Edward, and the rest of the Cullen family and can't get enough, this companion guide is a must.

The Twilight series follows an unlikely couple: Bella, a teenager, and her boyfriend, Edward, a vampire who has sworn off human blood. Added to the mix is Jacob Black, a werewolf who also loves Bella. Seductive and compelling, the four-book series has become a worldwide phenomenon.

With legends and lore about vampires and werewolves throughout history, insight into the series, quizzes, and heaps of fascinating facts, this companion guide will give millions of readers the information they've been hungering for since book one! As a special bonus, the companion guide helps readers determine if they are compatible with a guy like Edward!

Publication Date: 09/29/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Pastworld
Ian Beck
Synopsis:

What if all of London were really an amusement park―a whole city returned to Victorian times to entertain visitors from the twenty-first century? That's the wildly original premise of Ian Beck's Pastworld, a high-stakes mystery set in a simulated past.

Eve is a lifelong resident of Pastworld who doesn't know she's living in a theme park until a mysterious threat forces her to leave home. Caleb is a visiting tourist who finds the lawlessness of the past thrilling―until he suddenly becomes a fugitive from an antiquated justice system. And in the midst of it all, in the thick London fog a dark and deadly figure prowls, claiming victim after victim. He's the Fantom, a creature both of the past and of the present, in whose dark purpose Caleb and Eve will find their destinies combined.

Page-turning, complex, and haunting, Pastworld masterfully exposes the human experience of the past, of violence, of technology, and of entertainment.

Publication Date: 09/29/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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