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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: Juvenile Fiction
Trouble
Gary D. Schmidt
Synopsis:

“Henry Smith’s father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.”

But Trouble comes careening down the road one night in the form of a pickup truck that strikes Henry’s older brother, Franklin. In the truck is Chay Chouan, a young Cambodian from Franklin’s preparatory school, and the accident sparks racial tensions in the school—and in the well-established town where Henry’s family has lived for generations. Caught between anger and grief, Henry sets out to do the only thing he can think of: climb Mt. Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine, which he and Franklin were going to climb together. Along with Black Dog, whom Henry has rescued from drowning, and a friend, Henry leaves without his parents’ knowledge. The journey, both exhilarating and dangerous, turns into an odyssey of discovery about himself, his older sister, Louisa, his ancestry, and why one can never escape from Trouble.

Publication Date: 04/21/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Attack of the Spider Bots
Synopsis: Know Your Star-FightersBeamer: California transplant to a weird Midwestern town. Feels like he’s living on another planet. Scilla: the gangly tomboy next door. Ghoulie: the class nerd. Add one spaceship-shaped tree house capable of taking them most anywhere in the universe. Hop in and blast off for fantastic outer space adventures in Star-Fighters of Murphy Street―the quirky, funny, fast-paced new trilogy by Robert West.Taking a shortcut home from school, the Star-Fighters are chased by a horrible one-eyed creature into a cavern that houses an entire miniature world. Everything is animated―cars, trucks, moon, clouds, stars―but no one is at the controls. Who would make such a thing and then abandon it?The Star-Fighters’ search leads them on a wild adventure to a palatial mansion within a wintry jungle that hides a terrible secret―a secret that defines the limits of trusting God.
Publication Date: 04/20/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty
Synopsis: While working at the Triple Shot Betty during summer break, Geena's great plans are ruined when her best friend and cousin meet and instantly hate one another, but as the weeks go on and endless dramas unfold, the three finally put their silly differences aside in order to have great group adventures that no one will ever forget! 30,000 first printing.
Publication Date: 04/17/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Braless in Wonderland
Debbie Reed Fischer
Synopsis: After being approached by a modeling scout and convinced to go to Miami to start a career in the industry, Allee Rosen feels quite out of her element away from her classes and friends, yet as her success grows, the pressure grows, and the in-fighting gets more fierce, Allee finds herself changing in more ways than she could have ever imagined.
Publication Date: 04/17/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Fold
An Na
Synopsis: Joyce never used to care that much about how she looked, but that was before she met JFK—John Ford Kang, the most gorgeous guy in school. And it doesn’t help that she’s constantly being compared to her beautiful older sister, Helen. Then her rich plastic-surgery-addict aunt offers Joyce a gift to “fix” a part of herself she’d never realized needed fixing—her eyes. Joyce has heard of the fold surgery—a common procedure meant to make Asian women’s eyes seem “prettier” and more “American”—but she’s not sure she wants to go through with it. Her friend Gina can’t believe she isn’t thrilled. After all, the plastic surgeon has shown Joyce that her new eyes will make her look just like Helen—but is that necessarily a good thing?

Printz Award–winning author An Na has created a surprisingly funny and thought-provoking look at notions of beauty, who sets the standards and how they affect us all. Joyce’s decision is sure to spark heated discussions about the beauty myths readers confront in their own lives.
Publication Date: 04/10/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Sweet Valley High: Double Love
Synopsis: WELCOME TO SWEET Valley High—a world of good girls and bad girls, hot boys with fast cars, perfect tans and natural highlights . . . all under the Southern California sun.
Twin girls, identical in every way—yet they couldn’t be more different. Jessica Wakefield is used to getting what she wants—at school, with her friends, and especially with boys—and she’ll stop at nothing to get it. Elizabeth Wakefield is used to letting her twin sister have her way. There’s not much that’s worth fighting her over—lost earrings can be replaced, petty problems can be resolved, and rampant rumors can be doused like a fire. But when it comes to Todd Wilkins, Liz isn’t so sure she should step aside and make way for Jessica. This time, Jessica Wakefield is going to have some competition—from her own sister.
Publication Date: 04/08/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Pirates of the Retail Wasteland
Synopsis: Leon and his miscreant buddies from the gifted pool are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore! Their favorite downtown coffeeshop, Sip–the only survivor in the barren moonscape of decrepit Old Downtown–is in danger of being run out of business by the ubiquitous and oh-so-corporate coffee chain, Wackford’s. Wackford’s doesn’t host readings or smell funky or support the arts the way Sip does–it’s basically a glorified office. With the help of the Wackford’s manager–a self-described “McHobo” who’s worked for every chain along the strip–Leon and his friends decide to protest by taking over the Wackford’s and making it into a middle-management office. Meanwhile, Leon deals with an unwanted crush, a Mohawked father, and his friend Dustin’s ongoing quest to take down the gym teacher via depressing poems. Nothing quite goes as expected, but that’s the great thing about life in the gifted pool.
Publication Date: 04/08/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
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: Juvenile Fiction
Whispers From the Bay
Synopsis: Key Biscayne, an island sitting off the coast of South Florida, it is here that young Mike Connelly realizes there is a mysterious connection between him and the dolphins living around the Key. His feelings grow stronger until one day, quite by accident, Mike discovers that he possesses a magical talent: he can communicate with dolphins. The dolphins and Mike become the best of friends, and their relationship plunges all of them into many adventures, some joyous and some frightening. After a disastrous trip to the Bahamas, Mike learns a fantastic secret that, if revealed, would change the course of world history. The dolphins, and their ancestors, have protected their secret for centuries, and now Mike faces the monumental challenge of keeping his vow of silence.
Publication Date: 04/07/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Knowing Joseph
Judy Mammay
Synopsis: Brian would give anything to have a normal six-year-old brother one who doesn't scream that normal sounds are too loud, or a brother who would play with other kids. Instead, he has Joseph, his autistic brother. Life with Joseph isn't easy. Brian constantl
Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Girl Who Saw Lions
Berlie Doherty
Synopsis:

"BE STRONG MY ABELA."  Orphaned by AIDS in Africa, Abela has a long journey ahead.

When Abela’s mother dies of Aids in their African village, she is left to face the lions of the world. Lions like her Uncle Thomas who has plans to sell her in Europe. Lions like his bitter white wife, whom he abandons with Abela. Abela is forced to stay indoors in a sunless London apartment, cooking and cleaning, and hopelessly dreaming of her African homeland. Meanwhile, in a London suburb, Rosa is distraught when her mother tells her she wants to adopt a child. Rosa doesn’t want a sister or brother. Things were so good, why did they have to change?

Berlie Doherty tells parallel stories, each separate and compelling in their own right, but stories that eventually tangle together bringing a message of hope and what it means to be a family.

Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Patron Saint of Butterflies
Synopsis:

Agnes and Honey have always been best friends, but they haven't always been so different. Agnes loves being a Believer. She knows the rules at the Mount Blessing religious commune are there to make her a better person. Honey hates Mount Blessing and the control Emmanuel, their leader, has over her life. The only bright spot is the butterfly garden she's helping to build, and the journal of butterflies that she keeps. When Agnes's grandmother makes an unexpected visit to the commune, she discovers a violent secret that the Believers are desperate to keep quiet. And when Agnes's little brother is seriously injured and Emmanuel refuses to send him to a hospital, Nana Pete takes the three children and escapes the commune. Their journey begins an exploration of faith, friendship, religion and family for the two girls, as Agnes clings to her familiar faith while Honey desperately wants a new future.

Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Twisted Sisters
Stephanie Hale
Synopsis: Revenge of the Homecoming Queen's Aspen Brooks is a freshman in college- and finding it one big fat Greek mess.

After Aspen Brooks's senior year of slashed tires and kidnapping, college seemed like the dream deal of the decade-especially with Detective Harry Malone footing Aspen's tuition and paying her to join the most elite sorority, The Zetas. To top it off, Aspen's hottie bf Rand is at the same school! If only she had time to hang out. Instead, she has to investigate the mysterious attempted suicide of the detective's niece, Mitzi.

Harry suspects foul play, and judging by some of the secrets Aspen's sorority sisters are hiding, she has to agree. Rand is jealous of her newfound Greekdom and is spending a lot of time with a skank-ilicious redhead. Meanwhile his rich roommate has fallen psychotically in love with Aspen. She's starting to get the idea that not everyone appreciates her fabulous presence. Even some people that call themselves her 'sisters' could be out to get her.

Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Wish You Were Here
Catherine Clark
Synopsis:

The next morning we meet at the world headquarters of Leisure-Lee Tours.

Which is a sentence I never thought I'd write.

Ariel Flack never thought she'd write a postcard saying "Wish you were here," especially to Dylan, the boy she's had a crush on forever and is finally (sort of) dating. She also didn't know she'd be sending that postcard from the family vacation from hell—a two-week geriatric bus tour with her crazy mom, annoying sister, embarrassing uncle, and frighteningly energetic grandparents.

As South Dakota rolls by at five miles an hour, Ariel begins to learn that sometimes life is just too complicated to fit on a postcard. Sometimes your parents let you down (and sometimes they don't). Sometimes you meet an unexpected fellow traveler. And sometimes you just have to go where the road takes you—even if the tour bus won't.

Publication Date: 04/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
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: Juvenile Fiction

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