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If The Witness Lied
Caroline B. Cooney
Synopsis: This young adult thriller takes place in twenty-four hours and explores how people as well as the media can exploit a situation with devastating results, especially when innocent children are involved.
 
 
Jack Fountain knows that what’s happened to his family sounds like the most horrible soap opera anyone could ever write. But it’s all true. It happened—to his parents; to his sisters, Smithy and Madison. And to his baby brother, Tris. What made it worse was that the media wanted to know every detail.
   Now it's almost Tris’s third birthday, and everything’s starting again. Aunt Cheryl, who’s living with the Fountain children, has decided that they will heal only if they work through their pain—on camera. It will be a field day for the media, and no one, except Cheryl, wants that. Jack and his sisters gear up to keep Tris’s adorable face off-screen, but they quickly realize that there is more at stake than their privacy. The very identities they’ve created for themselves are called into question. What really happened the day of their father’s accident?
   The Fountain siblings have less than twenty-four hours to change their fate. Together, they will ask questions no one asked at the time of the tragedy. And together, they vow that this time, they will not be exploited.
Publication Date: 08/10/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Leviathan
Keith Thompson, Scott Westerfeld
Synopsis: It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.

Aleksandar Ferdinand, a Clanker, and Deryn Sharp, a Darwinist, are on opposite sides of the war. But their paths cross in the most unexpected way, taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure….One that will change both their lives forever.
Publication Date: 08/10/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Adventures of Hood and Fudd
Kelly Cleary, J. Bradford Lawler
Synopsis: Hood has picked the perfectly wrong time to return to Iron Gate. The town, plagued by the attacks of a dangerous mountain lion, is on edge. Worse yet, a mysterious stranger confronts a gang of outlaws including Emmett Stone, the man who murdered Hood s father four years ago. The year is 1888, and rejected by those who call him only 'Half-Breed,' Hood must figure out where his allegiances lie. What does it mean to be both white and Cherokee? How can he balance the urge to avenge his father's death with the wisdom passed down from his grandfather, Chief Namar? Hood was driven out of town four years ago, but this time, he s resolved to stay, and, if necessary, fight to reclaim his family s homestead. The deck is stacked against him, but he finds an unlikely friend in Ruben Fudd, a fellow woodsman and tough rodeo competitor. Hood and Fudd should fear for their lives, but they are determined to stop at nothing until justice is served and the safety of Iron Gate is restored.
Publication Date: 08/10/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Environment
The Brave Escape of Edith Wharton
Connie Nordhielm Wooldridge
Synopsis: This book examines the life and career of the American author, Edith Wharton.
Publication Date: 08/09/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Biography
Bloodstone Heart
T. Lynne Tolles, Chelly Hoyle-Peeler
Synopsis: Josh Brenner is a good looking guy with an extraordinary talent he feels is a curse - He's telepathic and he can't find the mute button, so he lives in solitude. But one cold night in March on his usual trek to the store, Josh runs into a hungry agitated vampire bent on taking his frustration out on Josh. Barely escaping with his life, Josh confides in stranger he has an instant connection with. Before they know it, Josh and Lanie find themselves running for their lives from a deadly rogue vampire. They find themselves in California at the home Darby O'Rielly, a friend of Lane's from college, but Darby's on her own quest in Massachusetts trying to find Devon. Rowan and Blake step in to help the two with the aid of Dean, Sally and Blake's uncle Dominic. What does this determined vampire want and why? And is he willing to kill for it? As the story begins to unfold, more puzzling questions arise. Will they figure things out in time before someone is killed? You'll just have to read it to see!
Publication Date: 08/06/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Candy Wars
R. G. Cordiner
Synopsis: You may not like your sister, but are you really going to fight a war against her? James and Emily never get on - always fighting and arguing! But when James wakes up one night as his tooth is stolen by a jelly monster he follows it into a weird and wonderful world. Chocolate archers come out of the walls and fly in bubble gum balloons, giant rock candy trolls roam around, icing sugar snowmen appear and disappear, all under the direction of the Candy King who is preparing a war against the tooth fairies! Soon Emily and their cat Muffins find themselves joining the fairies, with only a toothless dragon and a phoenix with hay fever to help them fight the mighty Candy Army! "The Candy King is waiting for you." CANDY WARS is suitable for all readers aged 8 and above.
Publication Date: 08/06/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Jack Blank
Matt Myklusch
Synopsis: All Jack Blank knows is his bleak, dreary life at St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost, an orphanage that sinks further into the swampland of New Jersey with each passing year. His aptitude tests predict that he will spend a long, unhappy career as a toilet brush cleaner. His only chance at escape comes through the comic books donated years ago to the orphanage that he secretly reads in the dark corners of the library. Everything changes one icy gray morning when Jack receives two visitors that alter his life forever. The first is a deadly robot straight out of one of his comic books that tries its best to blow him up. The second is an emissary from a secret country called the Imagine Nation, an astonishing place where all the fantastic and unbelievable things in our world originate - including Jack. Jack soon discovers that he has an amazing ability--one that could make him the savior of the Imagine Nation and the world beyond, or the biggest threat they've ever faced.
Publication Date: 08/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Kiss Me Deadly
Trisha Telep
Synopsis: If you can possibly thirst for more mysterious metaphysical accounts of love, Trisha Telep has organized some of the greatest and most thrilling tales of paranormal paramours since The Eternal Kiss. She presents the acclaimed literary talent of thirteen unique authors, creating a collection of stories that will undoubtedly capture the imagination of every soul who dares to read them. Werewolves, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and fallen angels drive the plot of these riveting romances.

Kiss Me Deadly includes the exceptional writings of several authors, including:

• Sarah Rees Brennan (faeries)
• Becca Fitzpatrick (angels)
• Caitlin Kittredge (witches)
• Karen Mahoney (vampires: sequel to story from The Eternal Kiss)
• Daniel Marks (ghost kids)
• Justine Musk (sorcerers)
• Diana Peterfreund (unicorns)
• Michelle Rowen (demons)
• Carrie Ryan (zombies)
• Maggie Stiefvater (werewolves)
• Rachel Vincent (banshees)
• Daniel Waters (zombies)
• Michelle Zink (gothic ghosts)

Publication Date: 08/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Almost To Die For
Tate Hallaway
Synopsis: Twilight meets The Princess Diaries in the new series from the author of Honeymoon of the Dead

On her sixteenth birthday, Anastasija Parker learns that her so-called deadbeat dad is actually a vampire king. And he wants Ana to assume her rightful position at his side, in spite of the fact that she has witch's blood running through her veins-from her mother's side.

Too bad witches and vampires are mortal enemies. And now Ana's parents are at each other's throats over her future. It's up to Ana to make a choice, but deciding your eternal destiny is a pretty big deal for a girl who just wants to get through high school.
Publication Date: 08/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
I Am Number Four
Pittacus Lore
Synopsis:

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing. But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four. I am next.

Publication Date: 08/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Infinite Days
Rebecca Maizel
Synopsis:

The first in the delicious new Vampire Queen YA series, a tale that rewrites the rules of blood-sucking eternity

"I never expected to be sixteen again...then again, I never expected my past to come back and haunt me . . ."

After centuries of terrorizing Europe as the world's most powerful vampire queen, Lenah is finally able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love, Rhode, who sacrificed himself in the ritual to grant her deepest wish.

But when Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham Boarding School in Lover's Bay, Massachusetts, she rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly waking up a teenager isn't hard enough, she has to dress herself appropriately, go to class, and be gawked at as the beautiful new girl, all while learning her new human senses and weaknesses -- and trying not to fall in love with Justin, the most popular guy in school.

And right when she thinks she has the hang of it, the worst happens: Her old life collides violently with her new one, making Lenah realize how attached she's become to her humanity. How can she choose between protecting her new friends and honoring her past?

“Infinite Days is a wonderfully sexy, dark novel full of lush prose. Rebecca Maizel is a marvel, writing more than just a story, she creates myth with every page.” ―Carrie Jones, author of New York Times bestselling series, NEED

Publication Date: 08/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
No and Me
Delphine de Vigan
Synopsis:

Parisian teenager Lou has an IQ of 160, OCD tendencies, and a mother who has suffered from depression for years. But Lou is about to change her life-and that of her parents-all because of a school project about homeless teens. While doing research, Lou meets No, a teenage girl living on the streets. As their friendship grows, Lou bravely asks her parents if No can live with them, and is astonished when they agree. No's presence forces Lou's family to come to terms with a secret tragedy. But can this shaky, newfound family continue to live together when No's own past comes back to haunt her?


Winner of the prestigious Booksellers' Prize in France, No and Me is a timely and thought-provoking novel about homelessness that has far-reaching appeal.

Publication Date: 08/03/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The War To End All Wars: World War 1
Synopsis: Product Description
Nonfiction master Russell Freedman illuminates for young readers the complex and rarely discussed subject of World War I. The tangled relationships and alliances of many nations, the introduction of modern weaponry, and top-level military decisions that resulted in thousands upon thousands of casualties all contributed to the "great war," which people hoped and believed would be the only conflict of its kind. In this clear and authoritative account, the author shows the ways in which the seeds of a second world war were sown in the first. Numerous archival photographs give the often disturbing subject matter a moving visual counterpart. Includes source notes, a bibliography, and an index.


Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Russell Freedman, Author of The War to End All Wars

Dear Amazon Readers,

About three years ago, I attended the Broadway revival of R.C. Sheriff's heartbreaking World War I drama, Journey's End, first staged in London in 1928. As I watched the play, I was reminded that World War I was my father's war, and when I left the theater that evening, I had decided to write The War to End All Wars.

In 1916, my father ran away from home, changed his name, lied about his age, and joined the United States army. He was 14 years old. Back then, before social security numbers and computerized record keeping, it wasn't difficult to take on a new identity, and that's exactly what my father did. To begin with, he was sent to the Mexican border to fight Pancho Villa under General John J. Pershing. And when the United States entered World War I, he sailed to France with the 7th Infantry Division. In the fall of 1918, he was shot and gassed, and he spent several months recovering at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C.

My father was proud of his service to America, and I grew up hearing nostalgic stories of his adventures as a teenage soldier. But as I eventually learned, the war's reality presented quite a different tale. This was the first global conflict to employ modern weapons--long-range artillery, rapid-fire machine guns, poison gas, flamethrowers, tanks, and airplanes that bombed and strafed--the first war in which modern weapons inflicted mass slaughter, introducing new kinds of terror and record levels of suffering and death. It was now possible to kill your enemy at distance, without seeing him.

Called the Great War at first, because of its massive and unprecedented scale, the conflict later was known as the War to End All Wars, because it was unthinkable, unimaginable, that humanity would allow such carnage to be repeated ever again.

While I was working on my book, I spent a sunny autumn morning at the Meuse-Argonne American cemetery in France, the burial place of some 14,000 war dead, most of whom fell during the U.S. Army's Argonne Forest offensive in the fall of 1918. The graves are still visited, often by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the men buried there. Scattered among the long rows of crosses and occasional stars of David, bouquets of fresh flowers and notes of remembrance pay tribute to those who gave their lives nearly a century ago. As I read the names on some of the headstones, I was uncomfortably aware that if my wounded father had ended up in that cemetery, I never would have existed.

Some distance away, near Verdun, I visited a burial place of quite a different kind. During the year-long Battle of Verdun, a group of French soldiers in a trench were buried alive when a German artillery shell exploded nearby. Those men have never been disinterred. Today, the earthen mound covering their remains is a lovingly tended shrine. Rising from the mound, pointing skyward and glinting in the sunlight, the tips of the dead soldiers' bayonets can still be seen.

It was said at the time that if the war could just once be described in honest and accurate language, people everywhere would demand that the fighting be stopped. That challenge was taken up by many ordinary soldiers of World War I, the men in the trenches, who recorded their experiences under fire in letters, diaries, journals, and memoirs that provide us today with eyewitness accounts of what it was like to fight in the War to End All Wars.

Sincerely,
Russell Freedman

(Photo © Evans Chan)



Publication Date: 08/02/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Nonfiction
I, Emma Freke
Elizabeth Atkinson
Synopsis:

I, Emma Freke is a charming search-for-identity story about Emma--the only "normal" member of her quirky family. While Emma desperately tries to find her niche, she discovers that perhaps it's better to be her own "freak" than someone else's Freke.

Publication Date: 08/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Skin
Rick Jasper
Synopsis: Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 8/1/2010Pages: 106Reading Level: Age 11 and Up
Publication Date: 08/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Juggler in the Wind
Pat Perrin, Wim Coleman
Synopsis: When a ragtag circus shows up in the town of Buchanan, Kansas, fourteen-year-old Randy Carmichael faces a deep mystery. Why is his alcoholic mother so troubled by the troupe s arrival? What does Circus Olympus mean to her past and to Randy s future? Voices summon him, a godlike figure appears in his dreams, and supernatural adversaries lay in wait for him as he embarks on a dangerous quest that will take him beyond mortal reality.

Juggler in the Wind has already been recognized for strong writing and a haunting story. It's the fascinating first novel in The Wand Bearer Trilogy by award-winning authors Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin. The Wand Bearer Trilogy is at once an intimate coming-of-age story and a sweeping epic that is guaranteed to keep readers enthralled from beginning to end.
Publication Date: 08/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy

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