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The Lodger
Marie Belloc-Lowndes
Synopsis: A first-class, highly acclaimed thriller that was first published in 1914. It is based on the grisly Jack the Ripper murders that occurred in Whitechapel, London twenty years before.
Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Smells Like Dog
Suzanne Selfors
Synopsis: Meet Homer Pudding, an ordinary farm boy who's got big dreams-to follow in the footsteps of his famous treasure-hunting uncle. But when Uncle Drake mysteriously disappears, Homer inherits two things: a lazy, droopy dog with no sense of smell, and a mystery.

Why would his uncle call this clumsy dog his "most treasured possession?" And why did he put a gold coin on the dog's collar?

And who will continue Uncle Drake's quest-to find the most coveted pirate treasure in the world?

Join Homer, his sister Gwendolyn, and Dog on an adventure that will test their wits and courage as they leave their peaceful farm and head into a world where ruthless treasure hunters hide around every corner. Where they discover that Dog has a hidden talent and that treasure might be closer than they ever imagined...
Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Trackers: Book One
Patrick Carman
Synopsis: Bestselling author Patrick Carman pushes the vbook to the next level with this thrilling book/video/web experience.

In the 21st century landscape of bits and bytes, everyone leaves a digital footprint ... even the most advanced cyber criminals. And that’s where the Trackers come in. Four tech-savvy kids armed with high-tech video cameras and esoteric coding skills, the Trackers can find almost anyone, anywhere. Told through a collage of videos, text, and websites, Trackers #1 follows Adam, Finn, Lewis, and Emily as they become entangled in a high-tech, high-stakes game of cat and mouse with Shantorian, the world’s most dangerous hacker. At least, that’s who they think they’re tracking....
Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Betsy's Return
Wanda E. Brunstetter
Synopsis:

Relive the glory of a Pennsylvania canal town through the eyes of those who ministered to the needs of the workers. Betsy Nelson reluctantly returns to her childhood home to care for her failing father, a faithful minister who served the town for years. William Covington, a confirmed bachelor, comes to town to become the new pastor and set aside the luxuries of this birth for service to God. Can Betsy and William find common ground on which to work together for the better of the townspeople?

Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Sorta Like A Rock Star
Matthew Quick
Synopsis: Amber Appleton lives in a bus. Ever since her mom's boyfriend kicked them out, Amber, her mom, and her totally loyal dog, Bobby Big Boy (aka Thrice B) have been camped out in the back of Hello Yellow (the school bus her mom drives). Still, Amber, the self-proclaimed princess of hope and girl of unyielding optimism, refuses to sweat the bad stuff. But when a fatal tragedy threatens Amber's optimism--and her way of life, can Amber continue to be the rock star of hope?

With an oddball cast of characters, and a heartwarming, inspiring story, this novel unveils a beautifully beaten-up world of laughs, loyalty, and hard-earned hope. The world is Amber's stage, and Amber is, well...she's sorta like a rock star. True? True.
Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Conspiracy 365: May
Gabrielle Lord
Synopsis: A fast-moving twelve-volume crime thriller series from a bestselling Australian author. On New Year's Eve, Callum Ormond is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. They'll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Cal has hit rock bottom. He's lost the only clues he had to the Ormond Singularity: the family secret that's turned his life into a nightmare. And now, trapped in a high-security prison for the insane, he's lost his identity too. Against all the odds, he must escape and carry on his father's quest for the truth - but how? Nobody knows where he is, and no one can hear him scream. He has 235 days. His life is on the line ...On New Year's Eve, Callum Ormond is chased down the street by a crazed man with a deadly warning: They killed your father. They'll kill you. You must survive the next 365 days! Cal has hit rock bottom. He's lost the only clues he had to the Ormond Singularity: the family secret that's turned his life into a nightmare. And now, trapped in a high-security prison for the insane, he's lost his identity too. Against all the odds, he must escape and carry on his father's quest for the truth - but how? Nobody knows where he is, and no one can hear him scream. He has 235 days. His life is on the line ...
Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
His Own Where
Sapphire, June Jordan
Synopsis:

“This June Jordan treasure is a rare piece of fiction from one of America's most vital poets and political essayists—a tender story of young love in the face of generational opposition, a modern-day Romeo and Juliet that sings and sways.” —Walter Mosley

Nominated for a National Book Award in 1971, His Own Where is the story of Buddy, a fifteen-year-old boy whose world is spinning out of control. He meets Angela, whose angry parents accuse her of being "wild." When life falls apart for Buddy and his father, and when Angela is attacked at home, they take action to create their own way of staying alive in Brooklyn. In the process, the two find refuge in one another and learn that love is real and necessary. His Own Where was one of The New York Times' Most Outstanding Books and was on the American Library Association's list of Best Books in 1971.

June Jordan was a poet, essayist, journalist, dramatist, activist, and educator known for challenging oppression through her inspirational words and actions. She was the founder of Poetry for the People at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught for many years. The author of over twenty books, her poetry is collected in Directed by Desire; her selected essays in Some of Us Did Not Die. 

Sapphire is the author of American Dreams, Black Wings & Blind Angels, and Push, which was made into the 2009 award-winning motion picture Precious.


Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Wide-Awake Princess
Synopsis:

In this new stand-alone fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie-blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic-can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. She must find Gwen's true love to kiss her awake.

But who is her true love? The irritating Digby? The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The conniving Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn't possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father's guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family . . . and perhaps even find a true love of her own.

Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Behind Green Glass
Angelita Ramos, Amanda Von Hoffmann
Synopsis: Immortal but imperfect. There are those who have been left out of fairytales.
When painfully shy Isolde moves into an old farmhouse in the countryside, she imagines what little social life she has is about to disappear. Instead of solitude, however, she is haunted by a ghostly presence.  A shard of green glass reveals Lyric, one of a band of ethereally beautiful creatures known as The Forgotten Ones. Labeled imperfect for their physical and mental differences, The Forgotten Ones have been cast out of their native realm. Isolde's friendship with Lyric and The Forgotten Ones teaches her that sometimes our "imperfections" can also be our greatest strengths.
Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Kid vs. Squid
Greg van Eekhout
Synopsis:

Thatcher Hill is bored stiff of his summer job dusting the fake mermaids and shrunken heads at his uncle's seaside Museum of Curiosities. But when a mysterious girl steals an artifact from the museum, Thatcher's summer becomes an adventure that takes him from the top of the ferris wheel to the depths of the sea. Following the thief, he learns that she is a princess of the lost Atlantis. Her people have been cursed by an evil witch to drift at sea all winter and wash up on shore each summer to an even more terrible fate-working the midway games and food stands on the boardwalk. Can Thatcher help save them before he, too, succumbs to the witch's curse?

With sharp, witty writing that reads like a middle-grade Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Greg van Eekhout's first book for young readers is a wild ride packed with as many laughs as it has thrills.

Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Between Two Ends
David Ward
Synopsis:

When Yeats and his parents visit his grandmother's creepy old house, Yeats reunites a pair of pirate bookends and uncovers the amazing truth: Years ago, Yeats's father traveled into The Arabian Nights with a friend, and the friend, Shari, is still stuck in the tales. Assisted by the not-always-trustworthy pirates, Yeats must navigate the unfamiliar world of the story of Shaharazad--dodging guards and tigers and the dangerous things that lurk in the margins of the stories--in order to save Shari and bring peace to his family. 

David Ward has created a fantasy rich with atmosphere and full of heart-stopping drama.

Praise for Between Two Ends
“A book about a book within a book. Ward presents just enough of an outline of the traditional Arabian Nights frame story to set the stage for modern readers, while creating his own fantasy within the fantasy to grab their attention.” –Kirkus Reviews

“A satisfying chapterbook fantasy.” –Booklist

“Both the fantastical and the real settings are well developed. The gruff and amusing bookend pirates are the perfect mix of heroism and pragmatism to complement Yeats.” –The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Publication Date: 05/01/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Man Who Was Thursday
G. K. Chesterton
Synopsis: An unabridged edition, to include: The Unusual Soirée - The Anarchists' Council - The Tale of a Detective - The Feast of Fear - The Exposure - The Unaccountable Conduct of Professor de Worms - The Man in Spectacles - The Duel - The Criminals Chase the Police - The Earth in Anarchy - The Pursuit of the President - The Six Philosophers - The Accuser
Publication Date: 04/30/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Party
Tom Leveen
Synopsis: It's saturday night in Santa Barbara and school is done for the year. Everyone is headed to the same party. Or at least it seems that way. The place is packed. The beer is flowing. Simple, right? But for 11 different people the motives are way more complicated. As each character takes a turn and tells his or her story, the eleven individuals intersect, and reconnect, collide, and combine in ways that none of them ever saw coming.
Publication Date: 04/27/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Abby Carnelia's One and Only Magical Power
David Pogue, Antonio Javier Caparo
Synopsis:

SILLY MAGICAL POWERS, KIDS ON THE RUN. In a whimsical debut novel from the popular
technology writer.

One day, Abby Carnelia, ordinary sixth grader, realizes she has a magical power. Okay, it's not a fancy one (she can make a hard-boiled egg spin by tugging on her ears). But it's the only one she has, and it's enough to launch her into an adventure where she meets a host of kids with similarly silly powers, becomes a potential guinea pig for a drug company, and hatches a daring plan for escape.
Kids will be dying to unearth their own magical powers after reading this whimsical debut by tech personality David Pogue.

Publication Date: 04/27/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
Kiss of Death
Rachel Caine
Synopsis: A new chapter in the New York Times bestselling Morganville Vampires saga.

Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big- time producer who wants to cut a demo and play some gigs-which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he's been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael's all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell...
Publication Date: 04/27/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Anna Maria's Gift
Robert Papp, Janice Shefelman
Synopsis: When Anna Maria's father, a famous violin maker, dies, she is sent to live in the Pieta, an orphanage in Venice. Though she misses her father, she knows he will always be with her, as long as she has the beautiful violin he crafted for her.

Luckily, the Pieta is not just an orphanage—it’s also a renowned music school whose teacher is none other than composer Antonio Vivaldi. When Anna Maria becomes his star pupil, another orphan’s jealousy leads her to throw Anna Maria’s precious violin into the canals. With help from her beloved teacher and new friends, Anna Maria searches Venice’s bridges, streets, and canals, but it seems hopeless. Will Anna Maria ever find her father’s violin?
Publication Date: 04/27/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction

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