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Worst Vampire Ever
Caissie St. Onge
Synopsis: For Jane Jones, being a vampire is nothing like you read about in books. In fact, it kind of sucks. She's not beautiful, she's not rich, and she doesn't "sparkle." She's just an average, slightly nerdy girl from an ordinary suburban family (who happens to be vampires.) Jane's from the wrong side of the tracks (not to mention stuck in the world's longest awkward phase), so she doesn't fit in with the cool vampire kids at school or with the humans kids. To top it all off, she's battling an overprotective mom, a clique of high school mean girls (the kind who really do have fangs), and the most embarrassing allergy in the history of the undead, she's blood intolerant. So no one's more surprised than Jane when for the first time in her life, things start to heat up (as much as they can for a walking corpse, anyway) with not one, but two boys. Eli's a geeky, but cute real-live boy in her history class, and Timothy is a beautiful, brooding bloodsucker, who might just hold the key to a possible "cure" for vampirism. Facing an eternity of high school pressure, fumbling first dates, or a mere lifetime together with Timothy, what's a 90-something year-old teen vampire to do?

Fans of the Vladmir Tod Chronicles, You are So Undead to Me, and Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side will feast on this deliciously readable, smart, and fantastically funny debut.
Publication Date: 05/10/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
My Not-So-Still Life
Liz Gallagher
Synopsis: Vanessa is wise beyond her years. She's never really fit in at school, where all the kids act and dress the same. She's an artist who expresses her talent in the wacky colors she dyes her hair, her makeup and clothes. She's working on her biggest art project, and counting the days until she's grown up and can really start living. That adult world seems closer when Vanessa gets her dream job at the art supply store, Palette, where she worships the couple who runs it, Oscar and Maye. And she's drawn to a mysterious guy named James, who leads her into new, sometimes risky situations. Is she ready for this world, or not?
Publication Date: 05/10/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson
Synopsis:

The first ten lies they tell you in high school.

"Speak up for yourself--we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication. In Laurie Halse Anderson's powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.

Speak was a 1999 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature.

Publication Date: 05/10/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Tempted
Kristin Cast, P. C. Cast
Synopsis:

Dark secrets and unspoken suspicions come between Zoey and Stevie Rae, putting their friendship – and the House of Night – at risk.

After Zoey Redbird and her gang have banished Kalona and Neferet, the fallen High Priestess, from Tulsa, you'd think they'd catch a break. But with Zoey and her sexy Warrior Stark both recovering from a brush with death, and the fledglings struggling to deal with the fallout from Neferet's reign of terror, a break is just not in the forecast. Zoey is haunted by her confusing yet elemental connection with A-ya, the ancient Cherokee maiden who was the only human able to tempt Kalona's body and soul. How will A-ya's pull on her affect Zoey's ability to resist the dangerously seductive immortal?

Meanwhile, Stevie Rae, with her super red vamp powers, always thought she could handle the stuff she's been keeping from her BFF. But the mysterious, threatening force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading; Stevie Rae won't confide where she's been and what she's doing, and Zoey is beginning to wonder just how much she can trust the person she always thought would have her back.

Will their choices destroy them and will darkness consume the House of Night?

Publication Date: 05/10/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
All Unquiet Things
Anna Jarzab
Synopsis: A riveting thriller set at a California prep school!

Carly: She was sweet. Smart. Self-destructive. She knew the secrets of Brighton Day School’s most privileged students. Secrets that got her killed.

Neily: Dumped by Carly for a notorious bad boy, Neily didn’t answer the phone call she made before she died. If he had, maybe he could have helped her. Now he can’t get the image of her lifeless body out of his mind.

Audrey: She’s the reason Carly got tangled up with Brighton’s fast crowd in the first place, and now she regrets it—especially since she’s convinced the police have put the wrong person in jail. Audrey thinks the murderer is someone at Brighton, and she wants Neily to help her find out who it is.

As reluctant allies Neily and Audrey dig into their shared past with Carly, her involvement with Brighton’s dark goings-on comes to light. But figuring out how Carly and her killer fit into the twisted drama will force Audrey and Neily to face hard truths about themselves and the girl they couldn’t save.


From the Hardcover edition.
Publication Date: 05/10/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Shamra Divided
Barry Hoffman
Synopsis: ONE GIRL MUST EMBRACE HER DESTINY AND FIGHT TO SAVE HER PEOPLE FROM A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH.

Dara has managed to save her people from one enemy but the cost has been high. While Dara struggles to come to terms with the loss of beloved friends, she finds herself thrust into the leadership role of an improbable army and learns that it is her destiny to unite her people as one.

To fulfill her destiny, Dara must embark on a treacherous journey to find her ancestors and unite her people in the face of the biggest challenge they have ever faced:Chaos.  Dormant for almost two hundred years, Chaos has returned, intent on destroying Dara.
Publication Date: 05/10/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Accidental Ashes
Sara C. Roethle
Synopsis: Last year Xoe's life was turned upside-down. Things haven't improved much. With the lives of her friends at risk, Xoe forgets to worry about another life...her own. With the reappearance of a face from her very distant past, and a random string of abductions to deal with, Xoe has to fight to keep things together. Even if 'together' is a far cry, ahem...howl, from the norm.
Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Gone with the Wind
Pat Conroy, Margaret Mitchell
Synopsis: Since its original publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind—winner of the Pulitzer Prize and one of the bestselling novels of all time—has been heralded by readers everywhere as The Great American Novel.

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

Widely considered The Great American Novel, and often remembered for its epic film version, Gone With the Wind explores the depth of human passions with an intensity as bold as its setting in the red hills of Georgia. A superb piece of storytelling, it vividly depicts the drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

This is the tale of Scarlett O’Hara, the spoiled, manipulative daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, who arrives at young womanhood just in time to see the Civil War forever change her way of life. A sweeping story of tangled passion and courage, in the pages of Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell brings to life the unforgettable characters that have captured readers for over seventy years.
Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Night Mares in the Hamptons
Synopsis: Graphic novelist Willow Tate is a Visualizer, able to draw images of beings from the realm of Faerie, bringing them from their world to ours in the process. After a ten-foot-tall red troll follows her from Manhattan to Paumanok Harbor in the Hamptons, Willow realizes that many of her relatives and their neighbors possess psychic talents-truth- knowing, scrying, weaving wishes, picking lucky numbers, and more.

So when magic and mayhem return to Paumanok Harbor, and Willow is called upon to rescue the town, she enlists the local talent. Three magical mares are searching the Long Island village for a missing colt, and their distress is causing sleeping nights, bad tempers, and dangerous brawls among the gifted but peculiar residents.

Though the Department of Unexplained Events sends Willow a world-famous horse whisperer, Texan Ty Farraday seems more interested in whispering in her ear than in rescuing the kidnapped colt whose terror only Willy can feel. Even with help, she still has to struggle with snakes, drug dealers, tourists, hidden caves, a mad scientist-and the almost overwhelming distraction of that sexy cowboy...
Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Spellcast
Barbara Ashford
Synopsis: Maggie Graham's life is a mess. First, she loses her job. Then, her bathroom ceiling collapses. Hoping a weekend getaway will restore her spirits, she drives to Vermont and stumbles upon the Crossroads Theatre. Although she has no intention of auditioning, she soon finds herself part of a very odd summer stock company that includes moody and mysterious director Rowan Mackenzie, a man with the uncanny ability to transform a train wreck of a show into something magical. Before the season ends, Maggie is determined to discover the truth about the Crossroads. She never imagines that she'll discover secrets about her past - and Rowan's - that will change their lives forever.
Read Barbara Ashford's blogs and other content on the Penguin Community.
Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
So Much Closer
Susane Colasanti
Synopsis: When Brooke's crush, Scott, moves from their suburban town to New York City, she decides to follow him there. Living with her formerly estranged dad and adapting to a new school are challenging, and things go from bad to worse when Brooke learns that Scott already has a girlfriend. But as she builds her new life, Brooke begins to discover a side of herself she never knew existed. And as she finds out, in the city that never sleeps, love can appear around any corner...

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Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Galapagos Islands Steve Trek Adventures
Synopsis: Steve Trek has always led a life of adventure. Being a divemaster in exotic locales brings new endeavors every day. Steve, along with fellow divemasters, Dave "Doc" Sighter and "Big Jeff" Hall, lead divers on adventures of a lifetime in the breathtaking backdrop of the Galapagos Islands. Together they dive in unbelievable terrain and see some of the most outstanding sights the ocean has to offer. But the conditions can be treacherous in the diverse sea surrounding the Galapagos. Sharks gather in droves beneath the surface, and a band of nefarious drug lords threaten the peace and quiet of the island when Steve and his crew cross their path. Can Steve and his fellow divers survive a confrontation with the ruthless Hiro Murisimo? Will they survive the other dangers lurking beneath the seas? Join author Terry Ross for an unbelievable island experience in Steve Trek Dive Adventures: Galapagos Islands.
Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Departures
Robin Jones Gunn
Synopsis: Christy Miller and Sierra Jensen cross paths on their way to summer vacations that reveal what a gift it is to have a true Forever Friend.

Now Boarding at Gate 10
After her high school graduation, still aching from Todd’s departure, Christy joins her family on a trip to Wisconsin to visit relatives. While there, she reunites with Matthew, an old friend from junior high. When Matthew starts to show a romantic interest in Christy, she realizes this summer vacation could change everything she thought her future would be.
 
In the Event of a Water Landing
Fifteen-year-old Sierra Jensen can’t wait to spend her summer vacation with her friend Jana at a pristine lake in Montana. But when they arrive, it becomes clear that Jana’s only interest is acquiring a boyfriend. Sierra just wants to hang out with the guys as friends, but Jana turns every encounter into a possible romantic relationship. As their friendship begins to suffer, Sierra wonders if it’s possible to find a Forever Friend who will listen to you, laugh with you, and keep your confidences.
Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Almost Final Curtain
Tate Hallaway
Synopsis: Craving the spotlight is in her blood.

Ever since high school student Anastasija Parker discovered she was vampire royalty, her life has been sort of crazy. The half-vampire- half-witch just wants some normalcy, and trying out for the spring musical seems like the perfect fix.

But when the ancient talisman that stands between vampire freedom and slavery to witches is stolen, Ana has to skip rehersal and track down the dangerous artifact before someone uses it to make this year's curtain call her last...
Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Vampire Diaries (Stefan's Diaries): The Craving
Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec, L. J. Smith
Synopsis:

The third book in the New York Times bestselling series by L.J. Smith.

The Craving is the third book in L.J. Smith’s bestselling Stefan’s Diaries series, which reveals the backstory of brothers Stefan and Damon from The Vampire Diaries series. This paperback features cover artwork from the hit CW TV series The Vampire Diaries, starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder.

Stefan Salvatore has come to terms with being a vampire. The events of the past few months have sobered him, and the fog of his own blood lust has begun to lift. He travels to New York City to start a new life—one that does not require him to kill humans to survive. Instead he feeds off of animals in Central Park. But the quiet life he envisioned is jolted when he runs into his brother Damon, who has convinced New York high society that he is Italian royalty. While Stefan is regaining his humanity, Damon has completely lost his. Stefan will do whatever it takes to protect Damon from himself—but there is another villain present. A vampire that seeks revenge for a death the Salvatores are responsible for. Stefan and Damon will have to work together to fight the greatest evil yet.

Full of dark shadows and surprising twists, the third book in the New York Times bestselling Stefan’s Diaries series raises the stakes for the Salvatore brothers as they face new loves, old treacheries, and unimaginable threats. Fans of L. J. Smith’s New York Times bestselling Vampire Diaries series as well as the hit television show won’t be able to put the latest Salvatore adventure down.

 

Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Where Things Come Back
John Corey Whaley
Synopsis: Winner of the 2012 Michael L. Printz and William C. Morris Awards, this poignant and hilarious story of loss and redemption “explores the process of grief, second chances, and even the meaning of life” (Kirkus Reviews).

In the remarkable, bizarre, and heart-wrenching summer before Cullen Witter’s senior year of high school, he is forced to examine everything he thinks he understands about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town. His cousin overdoses; his town becomes absurdly obsessed with the alleged reappearance of an extinct woodpecker; and most troubling of all, his sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother, Gabriel, suddenly and inexplicably disappears.

     Meanwhile, the crisis of faith spawned by a young missionary’s disillusion in Africa prompts a frantic search for meaning that has far-reaching consequences. As distant as the two stories initially seem, they are woven together through masterful plotting and merge in a surprising and harrowing climax.

     This extraordinary tale from a rare literary voice finds wonder in the ordinary and illuminates the hope of second chances.

Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 7/24/2012Pages: 256Reading Level: Age 14 and Up

Publication Date: 05/03/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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