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Leprechauns and Irish Folklore
Sal Murdocca, Natalie Pope Boyce, Mary Pope Osborne
Synopsis: The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! Getting the facts behind the fiction has never looked better.

Track the facts with Jack and Annie!
 
When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #15: Leprechaun in Late Winter, they had lots of questions. What are leprechauns? How do we know many of the old Irish stories? How do fairies spend their time? Who speaks the Irish language? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts.

Filled with up-to-date information, photos, illustrations, and fun tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discovered in their favorite Magic Tree House adventures. And teachers can use Fact Trackers alongside their Magic Tree House fiction companions to meet common core text pairing needs.

Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid?

Magic Tree House: Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books
Merlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced reader
Super Edition: A longer and more dangerous adventure
Fact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

Have more fun with Jack and Annie at MagicTreeHouse.com!
Publication Date: 01/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction
The Less-Dead
April Lurie
Synopsis: Noah Nordstrom has been dissing the religious beliefs of his father, who hosts a popular Christian radio show and whom Noah accuses of spreading hate. When two local gay teens are murdered, Noah’s anti-evangelism intensifies—he’s convinced that the killer is a caller on his dad’s program.

Then Noah meets Will Reed, a cool guy. But when he learns that Will is gay, Noah gets a little weirded out. Especially since Will seems really into him. Noah gives Will the brush-off. Meanwhile, the killer is still at large . . . and soon Noah finds the next victim. It’s Will.

Racked with guilt, Noah decides to investigate. He knows the serial killer is targeting gay teens, but only those who live in foster homes, whose deaths are not that important to society; they are the less-dead. Noah, however, is determined to prove that someone cares. With the help of Will’s journal, which he pocketed at the scene of the crime and in which the killer has written clues, Noah closes in on an opponent more dangerous than he can guess.
Publication Date: 01/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Woods Runner
Gary Paulsen
Synopsis: Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston.

But the war comes to them. British soldiers and Iroquois attack. Samuel’s parents are taken away, prisoners. Samuel follows, hiding, moving silently, determined to find a way to rescue them. Each day he confronts the enemy, and the tragedy and horror of this war. But he also discovers allies, men and women working secretly for the patriot cause. And he learns that he must go deep into enemy territory to find his parents: all the way to the British headquarters, New York City.
Publication Date: 01/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Green
Laura Peyton Roberts
Synopsis: Turning thirteen starts off with a bang for Lily. Literally. A birthday present explodes on her porch . . . and soon after a trio of leprechauns (yes, leprechauns) appears in her bedroom. They whisk her away to a land of clover, piskies, a new friend, a cute boy, and lots of glimmering, glittering gold. A world of Green.

It turns out that Lily, like her grandmother before her, is next in line to be keeper for the Clan of Green, and in charge of all their gold. That is, if she passes three tests. And she has to pass them. Because if she doesn’t she may never get to go home again. She’ll be stuck with the Greens.

Forever.
Publication Date: 01/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
They Never Came Back
Caroline B. Cooney
Synopsis: In a busy school cafeteria, a teenage girl is confronted by a classmate who questions her identity. He explains to the students who have crowded around that the girl bears an uncanny resemblance to his cousin, who was taken away by social services five years ago. Her parents abandoned her, fleeing the country after being accused of embezzling millions of dollars. The students are intrigued, but the girl shrugs off the attention as a case of mistaken identity.

As the days pass, however, the boy refuses to relent and even brings his parents in to back him up. But they are not the only adults involved. An FBI agent who has been working the case these past five years believes that whoever this girl is, she can serve as bait to help the FBI capture the fugitives. In this powerful novel that explores the possibility of mistaken identity, the evils of money and greed, and the heartfelt obligations of family and loyalty, Caroline B. Cooney has once again crafted a page-turner that will resonate with readers.
Publication Date: 01/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Flightsend
Linda Newbery
Synopsis: Flightsend is Charlie's new home, whether she likes it or not. Her mother sees it as an end to all that’s gone so tragically wrong. They had been a proper family. Mum; her boyfriend, Sean; and Charlie, with a new baby sister on the way. But the baby died before she was born and everything changed. Gradually, Charlie’s mother pushed Sean away, before resigning from her job and selling the house.

Charlie is certain that the move to a ramshackle cottage, miles from anywhere, can only make things worse. She couldn’t be more wrong. For Charlie’s mum there’s a new business and the fresh start that she knew she needed. And for Charlie there’s a new job, new friends, a newly discovered talent for art, and new feelings for two very different men. It’s a summer of beginnings, not ends; a summer that Charlie will never forget.
Publication Date: 01/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Dizzy In Your Eyes
Synopsis: Beloved children's book author and speaker Pat Mora has written an original collection of poems, each with a different teen narrator sharing unique thoughts, moments, sadness, or heart’s desire: the girl who loves swimming, plunging into the water that creates her own world; the guy who leaves flowers on the windshield of the girl he likes. Each of the teens in these 50 original poems, written using a variety of poetic forms, will be recognizable to the reader as the universal emotions, ideas, impressions, and beliefs float across the pages in these gracefully told verses.

Also included are the author’s footnotes on the various types of poetic forms used throughout to help demystify poetry and showcase its accessibility, which makes this a perfect classroom tool for teachers as well as an inspiration to readers who may wish to try their own hand at writing.
Publication Date: 01/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
Dream Life
Lauren Mechling
Synopsis: Claire Voyante's first semester at Henry Hudson High School was eventful, to say the least. As she heads into her second semester, things are calming down a bit. But Claire has a few secrets that are getting harder to keep. Her biggest secret of all? The onyx and ivory cameo necklace her grandmother gave her for her 15th birthday. Ever since she started wearing it, her dreams have been coming to her in black and white and turning out to be oddly prophetic.

Becca’s been hanging out with her old prep school friends and never seems to have time for Claire anymore. And soon, Claire discovers why—there’s a secret group of society girls with a mysterious identity. And, turns out, a mysterious enemy who’s out to get them. The second she sniffs out trouble, Claire jumps on the case. But is it someone close to Claire who’s in danger again—or could it be Claire herself whose life is at stake?
Publication Date: 01/12/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Take Flight
Kayt Harris
Synopsis: After spending a summer abroad ghost hunting, Erin and Jeremy return to the states unsure of what they have discovered. Erin's new boyfriend turns out to be more trouble than she bargained for. She begins to learn all the fairy tales her father told her were more than just a tall tale. Will she be able to escape the clutches of Bastian or will she be indebted to him forever?
Publication Date: 01/08/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Whispering Sand
Ian Kenworthy
Synopsis:
Publication Date: 01/07/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Indian Summer
Tracy Richardson
Synopsis: Luminis Books presents this harrowing tale of friendship, adventure, and doing the right thing, no matter what the cost. 

Can a spirit from the past come back to help us solve a problem in the present?

Expecting another lonely summer at her grandparents' cottage in the woods, twelve-year-old Marcie Horton gets more than she bargained for when the area is threatened by a wealthy university president, who has no problem replacing the quaint, historic area with over-sized mansions.

Marcie refuses to sit back and watch her childhood memories disappear into the past--she'll do anything to save the centuries-old forest from destruction. Bewildered by the enormous task ahead, Marcie finds unexpected guidance when the spirit of a Native American girl presents herself, offering cryptic-dream like messages that are clearly the key to succeeding in her quest.

Although she seems to be making real progress on her mission to save the forest, her budding friendship with the  university president's daughter--her one summer-time companion--threatens to unravel everything.

Will Marcie stay true to her friends even if it means giving up everything she's fought so hard to protect? Or, will she choose to save the forest at great personal sacrifice?

INDIANA / FOREST / NATIVE AMERICANS / SAILBOAT RACES / ENVIRONMENTAL FICTION / FRIENDSHIP / MIDDLE-GRADE
Publication Date: 01/05/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Some Girls Are
Courtney Summers
Synopsis:

From Courtney Summers, the author of Cracked Up To Be, comes a dark new tale of high school rivalry in which vicious rumors and nasty tricks are the currency that buys you popularity or seals your fate at the bottom of the food chain.

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.

Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion.

“This story takes an unflinching look at the intricacies of high school relationships .... Fans of the film Mean Girlwill enjoy this tale of redemption and forgiveness.” ―School Library Journal

Publication Date: 01/05/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Firespell
Chloe Neill
Synopsis: New Girl.
New School.
Old Evil.

From the author of the Chicagoland Vampires novels.

A new series about a boarding school filled with something worse than homework.

Lily's parents have sent her to a fancy boarding school in Chicago filled with the ultra-rich. If that wasn't bad enough, she's hearing and seeing bizarre things on St. Sophie's creepy campus. Her roommate, Scout, keeps her sane, but keeps disappearing at night. When one day Lily finds Scout running from real-life monsters, she learns the hard way that Scout is involved in a splinter group of rebel teens.

They protect Chicago from demons, vamps, and dark magic users. It's too bad Lily doesn't have powers of her own to help. At least, none that she's discovered yet...
Publication Date: 01/05/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Bad Blood
Mari Mancusi
Synopsis: The newest Blood Coven novel-accompanied by edgy repackages of the rest of the series

Sunny McDonald is in the ultimate forbidden relationship. Her boyfriend Magnus is a vampire, and the leader of the Blood Coven. And when the Coven decides that Magnus needs a mate to be his co-ruler, Sunny's humanity puts her out of the running. The Coven's chosen candidate is Jane Johnson, a magna cum laude graduate of Oxford University who just happens to look like a vampiric supermodel.

Sunny is suspicious of a Rhodes Scholar who can't answer the most basic poli-sci questions, but Magnus brushes it off as petty jealousy. Still, when the Blood Coven goes to Las Vegas for a vampire convention, Sunny and her twin sister Rayne secretly tag along. And Sunny's not going home before she learns the truth about Jane. Because not everything stays in Vegas-especially bad blood.
Publication Date: 01/05/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Doppelgangster
Laura Resnick
Synopsis: "In Laura Resnick's Doppelgangster, the New York actress is 'resting' between roles by working as a singing waitress at a Manhattan mob restaurant because wiseguys tip well. Then duplicated gangsters appear, bullets start flying, and it's up to Esther and her friend Max the Magician to fight Evil by stopping the gang war before it starts killing the wrong people. And if she has time, maybe Esther can actually keep a hot date with her hunky detective friend Lopez, who doesn't believe in magic. Yet. Unplug the phone and settle down for a fast and funny read."
—New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney

Doppelgangster is the exciting second novel of the Esther Diamond series.
Publication Date: 01/05/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Hastur Lord
Deborah J. Ross, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Synopsis: A never-before-published fantasy novel set in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover universe.

The world of Darkover, a unique, isolated, and protected world, has long avoided becoming part of the technologically advanced Terran Empire. But things are about to change. Regis Hastur, lord of the most powerful of the seven Domains in Darkover, learns that the Empire is about to become a Federation, and is extending an invitation for all of the worlds to join. While the offer seems tempting to his people, Regis knows that Darkover would become little more than a military base, used for its unique planetary position, and will be sapped of its resources. He must now stop at nothing to save his world.
Publication Date: 01/05/10
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction

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