
A bunch of hot strangers.
A three-month party that's
Off The Hook.
Seven randoms cram into a house down the shore, and they've all got agendas. Curt wants a gig. Polly wants a life. Owen's jonesing for someone he can't have. And everyone's geared up for one wicked summer.
Surfing all day, partying all night. Here's the real question: If your boyfriend's cheating but you're too busy hooking up, does it really count? And if people aren't who they say they are, does it really matter?

Since his dad died, Eddie's mom has spent all her time getting high on OxyContin, leaving Eddie to take care of himself. When Eddie's mom goes into rehab and his aunt and uncle take him away to Boston, everything changes. His new school, which he attends with his cousin Alex, is experimental: there's a CEO instead of a principal, classes are held in an office building, and the students, all sporting business-casual looks, are the only urban kids Eddie has ever seen outside of a rap video. As for Alex, it's bad enough that he has to share his bedroom with Eddie, but his parents are on his case about including his quiet cousin in his social life as well. Alex wants to do the right thing, but between talking to girls, playing video games, thinking about girls, laughing with his friends, and looking at girls, when is he supposed to find time to help Eddie and "work up to his potential" in school?
Two boys find that they have a lot to learn from each other in this touching, funny novel about finding your place and looking out for your friends.


A young scribe with revenge on his mind. A pharaoh's war for the honor of Egypt. An action-packed tale from ancient history.
During a picnic overlooking the Nile, 14-year-old scribe Nebi spots the riders first. Led by the treacherous Count Nimlot, the raiding party slaughters Nebi's master, the region's head of police. Although wounded, Nebi -- knowing that the pharaoh's northern territory is no longer secure -- escapes as the only living witness.
Nebi is quickly catapulted into events that will change history. Set in 728 B.C., Rise of the Golden Cobra surrounds the actual reign of Pharaoh Piankhy, the brilliant and compassionate leader whose astonishing campaign united ancient Egypt.
Nebi's adventures take him to the court of Piankhy himself, to friendship with feisty Prince Shebitku, and to war. Fierce battles culminate in the siege of Memphis, where Nebi finally confronts Nimlot and his own desire for revenge. Well-served by the pharaoh's honorable example, Nebi finds release in letting Nimlot live. Meanwhile, Piankhy's victory unites North and South Egypt, making him the one true pharaoh entitled to wear the golden cobra crown.
Bursting with action and political intrigue, and rich in historical detail and dramatic illustrations, Rise of the Golden Cobra is an epic adventure for the ages.

After Shell's mother dies, her obsessively religious father descends into alcoholic mourning and Shell is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Her only release from the harshness of everyday life comes from her budding spiritual friendship with a naive young priest, and most importantly, her developing relationship with childhood friend, Declan, who is charming, eloquent, and persuasive. But when Declan suddenly leaves Ireland to seek his fortune in America, Shell finds herself pregnant and the center of a scandal that rocks the small community in which she lives, with repercussions across the whole country. The lives of those immediately around her will never be the same again.
This is a story of love and loss, religious belief and spirituality—it will move the hearts of any who read it.




"I love being on this bus with all these girls who play sports, even if Sally Fontineau, who wants to ruin my life, is half a bus in front of me. It’s not like every girl is my best friend. It’s just a thing I feel a part of. It makes everything different."
No one asks Ella how she feels about moving halfway across the country in the middle of her sophomore year. But she ends up in Texas anyway, without plans for the weekend or friends to guide her through the alien campus of her new private school. So she decides to try out for the softball team—and she makes it! Now if only she knew how to throw, hit, and field the ball. "This is the part you can’t read in a book. You just have to do it." Ella has a lot to learn—on and off the field.
Softball changes Ella’s life, for better and for worse. She discovers a confidence she never knew she had and makes new friends—and enemies. When Ella falls for her snotty teammate’s gorgeous brother, suddenly she isn’t just fielding balls, she’s also dodging evil glares from girls in class and on the team.
If Ella’s going to survive this year, she’ll have to set some ground rules and learn to stand up for herself—in the game and in her life.

But when things start to fall apart, Cynnie needs a way to dull the pain.
Never say never.
This unflinching look at the power of addiction is the story of one girl's fall into darkness—and the strength, trust, and forgiveness it takes to climb back out again.

Everyone expected fifteen-year-old Matt Shaw to be Jeffords Junior High's star basketball player. But Matt never went out for the team. He won't even touch a ball anymore, and he hardly talks to anyone. No one understands why he's changed, but Matt knows that it's his "golden child" older brother who's really been doing all the changing. Matt can't imagine what would happen to his family if word got out about Neal's drug habit and the strung-out strangers he's seen coming and going from the house when their parents aren't home. Matt can't tell anyone what he knows - not his parents, not the police detective who refuses to leave him alone, not even Katie, the one girl he's ever really had feelings for. But even Matt has to wonder eventually if he's holding on to someone he may already have lost.
With his unparalleled ear for teen dialogue and emotions, Doug Wilhelm's new novel is a captivating look at falling apart, falling in love, and all the falling in between.

Half of me was thinking, Georgina, don't do this. Stealing a dog is just plain wrong. The other half of me was thinking, Georgina, you're in a bad fix and you got to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of it.
Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she has to do is "borrow" the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward. What happens next is the last thing she expected.
With unmistakable sympathy, Barbara O'Connor tells the story of a young girl struggling to see what's right when everything else seems wrong.
How to Steal a Dog is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.



Not. Buying. It.
Besides, I'm too busy drinking in all the local color (from Mayan ruins to Cheeseheads!) as part of my sister E's entourage . . . and digging deep to find out who's behind the mysterious mishaps on the Two Sisters set. Because all roads seem to be leading back to (big gulp) . . . yours truly.

When Barry's pop dies, times are tough and the only thing Barry has of value is his dad's 1964 Ford Galaxie. Meanwhile Alby's got himself into big trouble with a cardshark. So he hatches a plan to make money. To help out Barry, but also to help himself. The problem is, Barry could get hurt, and it just might cost Alby their friendship. How much can you ask of a friend?