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Drawing the Ocean
Carolyn MacCullough
Synopsis: A gifted painter, Sadie comes from California to Connecticut determined to fit in at her new school. Yet her first attempt at making friends in the new town backfires when she reaches out to the loner everyone calls Fryin' Ryan, the very last person who can help her achieve her dream. And to further complicate matters, her twin brother, Ollie, keeps appearing to her, seeming to want something. Her twin brother, who died when they were twelve.
Publication Date: 10/03/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Diva
Alex Flinn
Synopsis:

For most people, the word "diva" means brilliant and over–the–top. Caitlin, however, seems to be trapped in a not–so–glamorous life with serious ex–boyfriend issues and a permanent yo–yo diet. But when she auditions and gets into the performing arts high school, everything changes. Caitlin can sing like an angel, but it will take more than her voice to help her overcome her past and shape her future.

In this companion novel to Alex Flinn's acclaimed Breathing Underwater, Caitlin puts her past as "the abused girlfriend" behind her and moves onward and upward to Diva–dom.

Ages:12+

Publication Date: 10/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The End
Michael Kupperman, Brett Helquist, Lemony Snicket
Synopsis: Picking up from the final pages of the Pentultimate Peril, this farewell installment to the ridiculously (and deservedly!) popular A Series of Unfortunate Events places our protagonists right where we last left them: on a large, wooden boat in the middle of the ocean, trapped with their nemesis Count Olaf, who has armed himself with a helmet-full of deadly Medusoid Mycelium.

The situation quickly and--this being the Baudelaires--predictably deteriorates. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny find themselves tossed in a storm so terrible that our beloved narrator spends four pages describing how he cannot describe it. From this point on, fans of the series' smarty-pants wordplay and acrobatic narrative can rest assured that they're in for more of the same (and how) in this 368-page finale, and Daniel Handler's deadpan Snicket continues to tutor a generation in self-referential humor (including one particularly funny bit regarding three very short men carrying a large, flat piece of wood, painted to look like a living room). Snicket notes, of course, that if you read the entire series, "your only reward will be 170 chapters of misery in your library and countless tears in your eyes."

There's one big question, though, for anyone who's made it through "the thirteenth chapter of the thirteenth volume in this sad history": is the final book a fitting end? That question is probably best-answered by one of The End's most oft-repeated phrases: It depends on how you look at it. Those looking for conclusive resolution to the series' many, many mysteries may be disappointed, although some big questions do get explicit answers. Not surprisingly for a work so deliberately labyrinthine, though, even the absence of an answer can be sort of an answer--and reaction to The End can be something of a Rorschach test for readers. Or, as Lemony Snicket says, "Perhaps you don’t know yet what the end really means." --Paul Hughes

Publication Date: 10/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Do-Over
Niki Burnham
Synopsis: After returning to Schwerinborg after a visit with her mother, Valerie is hoping that her prince, Georg, will be as excited to see her again as she, but during a ski trip to the Alps, things take an unexpected turn, the fighting begins, and Valerie worries that the romance between the two may have gotten damaged beyond repair. Original.
Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
London Calling
Edward Bloor
Synopsis: Martin Conway comes from a family filled with heroes and disgraces. His grandfather was a statesman who worked at the US Embassy in London during WWII. His father is an alcoholic who left his family. His sister is an overachieving Ivy League graduate. And Martin? Martin is stuck in between--floundering.

But during the summer after 7th grade, Martin meets a boy who will change his life forever. Jimmy Harker appears one night with a deceptively simple question: Will you help?

Where did this boy come from, with his strange accent and urgent request? Is he a dream? It's the most vivid dream Martin's ever had. And he meets Jimmy again and again--but how can his dreams be set in London during the Blitz? How can he see his own grandather, standing outside the Embassy? How can he wake up with a head full of people and facts and events that he certainly didn't know when he went to sleep--but which turn out to be verifiably real?

The people and the scenes Martin witnesses have a profound effect on him. They become almost more real to him than his waking companions. And he begins to believe that maybe he can help Jimmy. Or maybe that he must help Jimmy, precisely because all logic and reason argue against it.

This is a truly remarkable and deeply affecting novel about fathers and sons, heroes and scapegoats. About finding a way to live with faith and honor and integrity. And about having an answer to the question: What did you do to help?
Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
A Drowned Maiden's Hair
Laura Amy Schlitz
Synopsis: "People throw the word 'classic' about a lot, but A Drowned Maiden's Hair genuinely deserves to become one." — Wall Street Journal

Maud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence, so when the charming Miss Hyacinth and her sister choose Maud to take home with them, the girl is as baffled as anyone. It seems the sisters need Maud to help stage elaborate séances for bereaved, wealthy patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing her role as a "secret child," she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience – until a shocking betrayal makes clear just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with tantalizing details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this lively historical novel features a winning heroine whom readers will not soon forget.
Publication Date: 09/12/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Three Clams and an Oyster
Synopsis: A four-man flag-football team in need of an Oyster.

Sixteen-year-old Flint McCallister is the captain of a four-man flag-football team called Three Clams and an Oyster. Flint and the other two Clams, Beaterson and Deshutsis, are going to give this season all they’ve got, but, as usual, they’re having Oyster problems. The first Oyster on the team died a couple of years ago. The current one, Cade Savage, is partying too hard and is unreliable. Flint and the Clams are faced with a dilemma: should they stick with their old friend Cade or dump him and go with a new Oyster? And if they dump Cade, who will they get to replace him? Tim Goon, the unknown quantity with the roadkill hairdo? Thor, the nice-guy stoner? Or the girl, Summerfield, who pushes them out of their comfort zone and doesn’t shave her legs?

In searching for an Oyster, Flint and his buddies are forced to reexamine their hallowed traditions and old habits – and to take a hard look at who they are and where they’re going.
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Get Real
Betty Hicks
Synopsis: Dez is unusually neat. Her mom and dad are unusually messy. They like Cheez Whiz and swamps. Dez likes elegant food and grand pianos. How can she even be related to them? And how can Dez help her best friend, Jil, who's adopted and who will stop at nothing in order to meet her birth mom? What is it, exactly, that makes a parent "real," anyway? Get Real is about wanting a parent who is very different from the one you have. It's about discovering, "Who am I?"
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Soccer Chick Rules
Dawn FitzGerald
Synopsis: If the levy doesn't pass, there will be no buses for away-games, no uniforms, no teams. Tess plans to follow her own rules for soccer chicks. Soccer Chick Rule Number 3--Always support your teammates! But when real life doesn't offer a slam-dunk ending, Tess realizes there may be something to learn from Soccer Chick Rule Number 7--Never, ever give up! Action-packed sports scenes and off-the-field drama guarantee success with girls and sports fans.
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Good Girls
Laura Ruby
Synopsis:

Some people would say this is the story of a photograph. How it was taken, and what happened to me after the whole world saw it.

And it is.

But it's also the story of a lot of other things. A boy so beautiful he's like a punch to the throat. Best friends—the outrageous old ones and the out-of-the-blue new. It's about fishnets and eyebrow rings and a chick named Hamlet. Kick lines at lumberyards and conga lines at the prom. Crying in cars and gazing at stars. Mistakes, misunderstandings, and misconceptions. Good girls, bad boys, and everyone in between.

This is a story about love.

So look at the picture all you want.

I am so much more than what you see.

Publication Date: 09/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Hugging the Rock
Susan Taylor Brown
Synopsis: When her mom runs away from home, Rachel is left behind with her emotionally distant father and many questions she cannot answer. Over time, she learns the truth about her mom. But it's only when she learns the truth about her dad, the rock- immoveable and always there for her to lean on-that Rachel can move toward understanding. Every word rings true in this achingly real novel in verse.Reviews"Written in a straightforward language, the text clearly reveals Rachel's emotions, describing moments both painful and reassuring."-School Library Journal"I have delayed writing about this book because I wanted to be sure my librarian friends were back in acquisition mode and ready to add this book to your B & T, Follet, or Mackin book order right now. HTR is a fine and rare treasure. I read it straight through in one sitting because I couldn't bear to stop until I knew what was going to happen. . . the story is so uplifting and positive that it will resonate with readers long after they finish it. I know it has with me."-Book Moot (Blog)
Publication Date: 09/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Trigger
Susan Vaught
Synopsis:

Jersey Hatch can't remember why he tried to kill himself. Coming out of rehab for the first time in a year, broken in both mind and body, Jersey must piece his life back together, step by painful step-from relearning to tie his own shoelaces, to graduating high school, to repairing old friendships. With a fresh, compelling, and unique literary voice, Susan Vaught thrusts readers directly into the bitterly funny head of Jersey Hatch. An eye-opening story that expertly navigates the triumph of family, the depths of despair, and the humor of the most mundane details of life.
Reviews «"The interior landscape revealed through Jersey's unreliable yet sympathetic narration is dense, rhythmic, repetitious and fragmented, granting the reader credible entrée into a damaged mind. Despite its somber character, the story never descends into heavy-handed message and has nicely placed touches of humor in a story that is both engrossing and excruciating, An original and meaningful work that provokes thought about action, consequence, redemption and renewal."-Booklist, starred review «"The portrayal of brain damage is precise, comprehensible (but never condescending), and seamlessly woven into Jersey's narrative voice, itself a masterful reflection of his internal chaos that conveys both emotional and neurological stumbling blocks by embedding them in the language itself. Poignantly affirming of life and love even in the face of overwhelming loss, this is a haunting tragicomic drama of grief and renewal."-Horn Book, starred review "A worthwhile read."-Kirkus Reviews www.wellgroomedbook.com

In this one-of-a-kind survival guide to "the big day," newlywed Peter Scott candidly reveals all the wedding preparation do's and don'ts. Covering everything from choosing the perfect location to hiring the right photographer to questions that are too stupid to ask, even for a man ("Where do the centerpieces go?), Well Groomed tackles just about any scenario t

Publication Date: 09/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Kichi in Jungle Jeopardy
Regan Johnson, Lila Guzman
Synopsis: Kichi, a rare blue Chihuahua, has lived his whole life pampered by Fortune Teller at the temple in the Mayan city of Chilaam. Still he is lonely. No matter how much he tries, he can't teach Fortune Teller to speak Dog. When Fortune Teller's brother captures a new slave form a rival city, Kichi can't believe his luck. The new boy, Exmal, can speak Dog! Just as Kichi makes a new friend, raiders attack Chilaam and kidnap Uxmal. Now Kichi must brave the dangerous jungle to save his friend.
Publication Date: 08/30/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Vanishing Act
John Feinstein
Synopsis: Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson return in another fast-paced, action-packed sports mystery from bestselling sports writer John Feinstein.

The two hopeful sports reporters have kept in touch after their wild time at the Final Four, and when Susan Carol manages to score a press pass to cover the first week of the US Open Tennis Tournament in New York, Stevie works out a way to be there as well.

The behind-the-scenes action in the world of professional tennis is overwhelming and occasionally bewildering, but it turns downright inconceivable when a young Russian phenom, Natalia Makarova, disappears right before her second-round match. Somewhere between the locker rooms and the Louis Armstrong Court, one of the most-watched players of the tournament simply vanishes.

The media coverage is staggering. Everyone is looking for Natalia--including Stevie and Susan Carol. Was she kidnapped? Did she run? Is she even still alive? The rumors are growing wilder by the hour. But they don't even come close to the shocking truth...
Publication Date: 08/22/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Horse from the Sea
Victoria Holmes
Synopsis:

When fourteen-year-old Nora Donovan hears that Spanish soldiers may be sailing near the west coast of Ireland, she never expects that one of their ships will actually crash on the shore next to her home. Helping to clear the wreckage, Nora discovers a beautiful white stallion, injured and lost. Nora boldly leads the horse to a nearby cave and nurses him back to health.

But hiding in the cave is one of the soldiers. He's also injured, very young, and wanted by the English army. Nora wants to help the boy get home safely, but she'll have to risk everything&#8212including the magnificent stallion.

Publication Date: 08/08/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Hurt Go Happy
Ginny Rorby
Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Joey Willis is used to being left out of conversations. Though she's been deaf since the age of six, Joey's mother has never allowed her to learn sign language. She strains to read the lips of those around her, but often fails.

Everything changes when Joey meets Dr. Charles Mansell and his baby chimpanzee, Sukari. Her new friends use sign language to communicate, and Joey secretly begins to learn to sign. Spending time with Charlie and Sukari, Joey has never been happier. She even starts making friends at school for the first time. But as Joey's world blooms with possibilities, Charlie's and Sukari's choices begin to narrow--until Sukari's very survival is in doubt.



Publication Date: 08/08/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction

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