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Mines of the Minotaur
Julia Golding
Synopsis:

"The clock continued to tick calmly in the hall, out of step with the stormy sea of panic surging inside Connie. She could make no sense of this. How had she ended up on the beach? She felt a hum in her bones as if she had been meeting with some powerful creature. But what beast or being had the power to draw her out of her house without her knowing about it? And what had happened when they were together?"

Thirteen-year-old Connie Lionheart is the only Universal Companion, able to communicate with all the mythical creatures hidden in our world. She is the most important member of a secret society sworn to protect the bonds between humans and creatures. But her power brings great responsibility and great danger.

Publication Date: 05/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Dark Power Collection
Synopsis: Some doors are better left unopened. Some doors, you don't want to find out what lies behind them. In the Forbidden Doors series by bestselling author Bill Myers, teenager Rebecca 'Becka' Williams, her younger brother Scott, and her friend Ryan Riordan are swept into heart-stopping encounters with an all-too-real invisible world---a world fraught with deception and spiritual adversaries that promise goodness and enlightenment but will stop at nothing to destroy life, sanity, and human souls. Witchcraft. Reincarnation. Ouija Boards. UFOs. Shamanism. Counterfeit spiritualities are widespread and popular with spiritually searching young adults such as Becka's peers. What's the harm? Find out. Join Becka, Scott, and Ryan as they head for mind-bending clashes between the forces of darkness and the kingdom of God. Combining meticulous research, realistic settings, and masterful storytelling, the Forbidden Doors novels take you from the mountains of New Mexico to the inner workings of a secret society---and into the truth of God's Word, which exposes lies and reveals the reality of spiritual warfare. Each volume in the series contains three books that center around a particular kind of Forbidden Door. Book One: Dark Powers contains The Society, The Deceived, and The Spell; Book Two: Invisible Terror contains The Haunting, The Guardian, and The Encounter; Book Three: Deadly Loyalty contains The Curse, The Undead, and The Scream; Book Four: Ancient Forces contains The Ancients, The Wiccan, and The Cards
Publication Date: 04/29/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Fire Thief Fights Back
Synopsis: The final book in the critically acclaimed Fire Thief trilogy concludes the story of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods. Forced to travel through time to escape Zeus's avenging eagle, Prometheus arrives in 1785 Eden City and befriends a boy named Sam. Together, Prometheus and Sam must defend Eden City from seven terrifying mythological monsters. Packed full of wry puns, wisecracking gods, and sarcastic footnotes, this action-packed story pokes fun at narrative tradition and takes readers on a wild ride through Greek mythology. Fans who have followed Prometheus's flight through the trilogy's first two adventures will be dazzled by the very surprising ending.
Publication Date: 04/29/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Lucky (by Rachel Vail)
Synopsis:

It's all good . . . and lucky Phoebe Avery plans to celebrate by throwing an end-of-the-year bash with her four closest friends. Everything will be perfect—from the guest list to the fashion photographer to the engraved invitations. The only thing left to do is find the perfect dress . . . until Phoebe goes from having it all to hiding all she's lost.

Phoebe's older sisters warn her to keep the family's crisis totally secret. Unfortunately, her alpha-girl best friend looks increasingly suspicious, and Phoebe's crush starts sending seriously mixed signals. Phoebe tries hard to keep smiling, but when her mother is humiliated in Neiman Marcus while buying Phoebe that perfect dress and her father decides to cancel her party, she panics. How far will she go to keep up her image as a lucky girl?

With lucky, Rachel Vail begins a powerful sisterhood trilogy, comprised of one book for each of the three fascinating Avery sisters, with all their secrets laid bare during the year that completely changes their lives. Phoebe is the youngest; her story combines first love and flip-flops, friendship and sisterhood, humor and tears. Breezy, witty, and poignant, lucky is Rachel Vail at her breathtaking best.

Publication Date: 04/29/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Wicked Lovely
Melissa Marr
Synopsis:

Fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black won’t be able to resist the world of Melissa Marr's #1 New York Times bestselling series, full of faerie intrigue, mortal love, and courtly betrayal.

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom, her best friend Seth, her life—everything.

Publication Date: 04/29/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Golden Path
Anson Montgomery
Synopsis: FROM: Dianna Torman (dtorman@deadmail.anonymous.guyana.000)
SUBJECT: Warning and Plea.
Sweetheart, I don't want to alarm you, but I fear I must. If you are getting this email it is because something has happened to us. This note is rigged to be sent from a special dead letter drop if I have not checked back in three days.

So begins the email that changes your life forever.
Where have your parents gone? Were they kidnapped? Did they travel on their own to Ungava Bay? Were the explosions at Carlsbad, New Mexico volcanic or something more sinister? Why is the government so interested? And why do your parents, who are college professors, suddenly have $74 million in the bank?

It starts with a simple call into the headmaster's office on a perfect fall day. It turns into a search for your missing parents that takes you and your two best friends on a trip into the hollow Earth. Part thriller, part travelogue, part personal quest, The Golden Path - Volume One weaves a labyrinthine journey as you search for answers to the truth about your past and the clues to your future. Every choice you make could be the difference between your parents life and death, and your ultimate destiny.

Four story lines continue from Volume One to Volume Two. Can you find the ultimate Golden Path?

A Multi-Volume Interactive Epic
Publication Date: 04/25/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Found
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adoped, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you."

Jonah, Chip, and Jonah's sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere -- and people who seem to appear and disappear at will. The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip's lives.

Do Jonah and Chip have any choice in the matter? And what should they choose when both alternatives are horrifying?

With Found, Margaret Peterson Haddix begins a new series that promises to be every bit as suspenseful as her Shadow Children series -- which has sold more than 41/2 million copies -- and proves her, once again, to be a master of the page-turner.
Publication Date: 04/22/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Hidden World
Paul Park
Synopsis:

The breathtaking climax to Paul Park’s lyrical and mesmerizing series. “Park…should be knighted.”--Entertainment Weekly

The Hidden World is the concluding volume in Paul Park’s remarkable tale of Roumania, a world that is both more real and yet also more mysterious and magical than our own.

After finding out that she is the lost princess of Roumania and the mythical White Tyger, Miranda’s fate is still uncertain. The ghosts of her enemies cluster about her, the insane spirit of the Baroness takes possession of her body for a time, and demons released by her mother are abroad. And through it all her heart calls out to Peter, away with the army, whom she has come to love, and her best friend Andromeda, sworn to help her and protect her. There are no easy answers; it all looks impossible. Any hope may lie in the hidden world of spirits, where death is but an inconvenience.

Publication Date: 04/15/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The King Commands
Meg Burden
Synopsis: The Northlands are in turmoil, divided by those who support King Alaric's decrees welcoming the Southlings and their magic, and those who will stop at nothing to send them back to the Southland where they belong. But the Southland, too, is being torn apart as the Southlings with mental gifts and healing magic are hunted by the mysterious Guardians, captured and never heard from again.As the legendary peace of the Southland crumbles and the throne of the Northlands is challenged, Ellin Fisher, the powerful young Southling who befriended the Northlands royalty, must make a terrible choice. Is it her destiny to fight for equality in the Northlands, or to embrace her calling as a Healer and help other True Southlings escape from the Guardians who killed her family? In the midst of this, while the home she's chosen and the land she left behind both stand poised on the brink of civil war, Ellin must choose where her heart lies, as well. She loves King Alaric, but will Princess Nathalia, another newcomer to the Northlands, stand in the way? Loyalty and romance, secrets and destinies, threaten to tear Ellin and her newfound family in the Northlands apart, especially when a loved one betrays her and old enemies become new friends. Only one thing is certain: the Borderlands will never be the same again.
Publication Date: 04/14/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Sweet Valley High 2 Secrets
Francine Pascal
Synopsis: WELCOME TO SWEET Valley High—a world of good girls with big secrets, bad girls with no remorse, rich boys in stunning tuxedos, and shimmering California sunsets.

Jessica Wakefield only wants two things: to be chosen homecoming queen, and to dance in the spotlight with Bruce Patman. But there’s one girl standing in her way—Enid Rollins, her twin sister Elizabeth’s best friend.

When Jessica discovers Enid’s deepest, darkest secret, she has a choice to make: be nice and keep quiet, or reveal it to the entire school and clinch the crown for herself.

The queen will be breathtaking. But the quest for royalty is never pretty.
Publication Date: 04/08/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Small Favor
Jim Butcher
Synopsis: THE New York Times Bestseller

Harry Dresden?s life finally seems to be calming down?until a shadow from the past returns. Mab, monarch of the Sidhe Winter Court, calls in an old favor from Harry?one small favor that will trap him between a nightmarish foe and an equally deadly ally, and that will strain his skills?and loyalties?to their very limits.
Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Escape the Mask
David Ward
Synopsis: The first in a new adventure trilogy full of danger, bravery, and unexpected friendships

Welcome to Grassland, where the only hope of freedom is to go beyond the reach of sinister, silent masters, and the only family you know are your fellow captives. Coriko has never known a world beyond his cell and the fields where he toils all day. He does what he’s told and tries not to anger the Spears, the cruel, masked jailers who guard him and the other child slaves. If he gathers baskets of shards and keeps quiet and orderly, then he can spend time with his cellmate and best friend, Pippa.

But without warning, the children’s orderly lives begin to change—slowly at first, with the arrival of a pair of siblings who speak Coriko and Pippa’s language. Soon after, violent events shake up the quiet world of Grassland, and Coriko must find the strength to grasp his freedom. Full of heartstopping action, Escape the Mask introduces Coriko, Pippa, and their friends—and begins the journey of The Grassland Trilogy.

F&P level: X
F&P genre: F
Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The House of Djinn
Suzanne Fisher Staples
Synopsis:

It has been ten years since Shabanu staged her death to secure the safety of her daughter, Mumtaz, from her husband's murderous brother. Mumtaz has been raised by her father's family with the education and security her mother desired for her, but with little understanding and love. Only her American cousin Jameel, her closest confidant and friend, and the beloved family patriarch, Baba, understand the pain of her loneliness. When Baba unexpectedly dies, Jameel's succession as the Amirzai tribal leader and the arrangement of his marriage to Mumtaz are revealed, causing both to question whether fulfilling their duty to the family is worth giving up their dreams for the future.

A commanding sequel to the novels Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind and Haveli, The House of Djinn stands on its own. Suzanne Fisher Staples returns to modern-day Pakistan to reexamine the juxtaposition of traditional Islamic values with modern ideals of love.
The House of Djinn is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Secrets of My Hollywood Life on Location
Synopsis: It seems like the summer of dreams come true for Hollywood princess Kaitlin Burke: the media loves her (again), super-cute and funny Austin Meyers is finally her boyfriend, and she's starring in a movie by her all-time favorite director Hutch Adams. What could be sweeter? But life on set is not as perfect as the makeup and costumes. And with an old love and a scheming new publicist on the scene, it's about to get a whole lot messier.

Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Beyond the Gap
Harry Turtledove
Synopsis: Count Hamnet Thyssen is a minor noble of the drowsy old Raumsdalian Empire. Its capital city, Nidaros, began as a mammoth hunters? camp at the edge of the great Glacier. But that was centuries ago, and as everyone knows, it?s the nature of the great Glacier to withdraw a few feet every year. Now Nidaros is an old and many-spired city; and though they still feel the breath of the great Glacier in every winter?s winds, the ice cap itself has retreated beyond the horizon.

Trasamund, a clan chief of the mammoth-herding Bizogots, the next tribe north, has come to town with strange news. A narrow gap has opened in what they'd always thought was an endless and impregnable wall of ice. The great Glacier does not go on forever--and on its other side are new lands, new animals, and possibly new people.

Ancient legend says that on the other side is the Golden Shrine, put there by the gods to guard the people of their world. Now, perhaps, the road to the legendary Golden Shrine is open. Who could resist the urge to go see?

For Count Hamnet and his several companions, the glacier has always been the boundary of the world. Now they'll be traveling beyond it into a world that's bigger than anyone knew. Adventures will surely be had...
Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Softwire: Betrayal On Orbis 2
Synopsis: Sci-fi fans will tear through this new adventure as Johnny Turnbull — first human softwire — finds more danger and intrigue on the next ring of Orbis.

On Orbis 2, Johnny Turnbull has a new home and a new job, one that pushes his softwire abilities to painful limits. JT is the only one who can communicate with the Samirans, large aquatic aliens who have cooled the crystals on Orbis for nearly two thousand rotations. But as the Samirans’ work rule ostensibly comes to a close, they have grown dangerously agitated, and JT must find out why. What he learns is that the prosperity of Orbis is built on a brutal system of enforced labor — and that everyone seems to have something to hide. Can JT appease the Samirans before their threat is realized? And if he doesn’t, will his friends survive? In this second episode of THE SOFTWIRE, PJ Haarsma takes readers on another lightning-paced, cyber-fueled ride through the amazing universe he introduced in THE SOFTWIRE: VIRUS ON ORBIS 1.
Publication Date: 03/25/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series

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