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Full Metal Jackie: Certified
Roger Lotring, Jackie Kajzer
Synopsis: In this one-of-a-kind book, author Jackie Kajzer, famous internationally as "Full Metal Jackie," collects insights from your favorite rock stars about the creative process behind the most influential metal songs of the '80s. The interviews go well beyond the already familiar stories and anecdotes, as Jackie gathers thoughts from heavy metal artists and songwriters about the cultural and social impact the songs had when they were released, as well as the continued validity and influence these songs hold today. So cue up the album tracks, print out the lyrics, and listen while you read the pages that follow. You'll never hear these songs the same way again.
Publication Date: 12/18/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction
Freaksville
Val Cox, Kitty Keswick
Synopsis: Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen year old Kasey would gladly give up -- until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into deep waters, a lead in a play, and into the arms of Josh. But Josh, too, has a secret. Something that could put them all in danger. To solve the mystery of a supernatural haunting, they must uncover the secrets of a haunted theater while trapped together on the night of the full moon.
Publication Date: 12/15/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Christian Lady's Dating Constitution...
Synopsis: This book is outlined as a constitution which consists of a Bill of Rights that Christian ladies are encouraged to follow according to Biblical principles. Many Christian publications are confined to topics which discuss purity and abstinence; thereby neglecting subjects such as the indications of unhealthy relationships. In this book the author reveals her past unhealthy relationship with her "Christian" ex-boyfriend, she also outlines the different scenarios Christian females may face in dating relationships along with Biblical solutions on how to face each situation. The purpose of this book is to help Christian ladies gain discernment regarding friendships, associations, and boyfriends.
Publication Date: 12/15/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction
Island Sting
Laurie J. Edwards, Joanna Britt, Bonnie J. Doerr
Synopsis: Kenzie didn't expect her first summer in the Florida Keys to be murder. Or cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, and gun-toting thugs... When city girl Kenzie Ryan moves to a Florida wildlife refuge, she plunges straight into an eco-mystery. Kenzie trades New York streets for Keys pollution cleanup, and now, instead of hailing cabs, she's tracking down a poacher of endangered Key deer. Her new home does have some benefits-mainly Angelo, an island native, who teams up with her to nab the culprit. But will they both survive when the killer turns from stalking deer to hunting humans? Island Sting includes notes on the endangered Florida Key Deer and the National Key Deer Refuge.
Publication Date: 12/15/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science
Far From Gringo Land
Edward Myers
Synopsis:

Rick Dresner is spending the summer with the Romero family, who live in a barrio in the hills of Santo Domingo, Mexico. He'll help them build a house on their land, and in return, they'll provide room and board and help Rick improve his Spanish. But the construction project turns out to be a lot tougher than Rick had imagined. Language and cultural differences lead to awkwardness and misunderstanding, especially when he falls for a rich American girl from a very different part of town. In this new twist on the classic fish-out-of-water story, it's a middle-class white boy who's out of his element and must change and grow to adapt to his surroundings.

Publication Date: 12/14/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Colt O'Brien Sees the Light
George Matthew Cole
Synopsis: Colt O'brien doesn't think that he has to prove anything. He is the most savvy computer technician at Highline High in Burien, Washington. When a PC needs fixing, Colt is called in to save the day. The short, energetic senior, with his bright, colorful attire and cocky attitude, knows that he is the best. He expects the respect that is showered upon him by peers and teachers. School will soon be over and freedom beckons. No more girl friend to tell him what to do. No more schoolwork to bore him to death. Colt is cruising through senior year, but his life is about to be turned upside down. Two freshman nerds start a computer class that will put Highline High on the map and challenge Colt's credibility. Three women will show him the meaning of love. One will show him the meaning of hate. And, his hidden psychic powers will emerge when he least expects them to. Hang on Colt.

After raising a family, George Matthew Cole lives with his wife and dog in Burien, Washington. His career, that spans over thirty years, has been exclusively in the field of computing. He has worked with mainframe computers as well as PCs and servers. "Flashmath for Windows 95" is a flash card program written by Mr. Cole many years ago. It is still in use today. The idea for "Colt O'brien Sees the Light" came from personal experience working with high school students over a two year period. This is George's first novel.
Publication Date: 12/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Wormwood, Nevada
David Oppegaard
Synopsis: Tyler and Anna Mayfield have just relocated from Nebraska to the sun scorched desert town of Wormwood, Nevada. They find themselves in a strange new landscape populated with old school cowboys, alien cultists, meth dealers, and doomsday prophets. Loneliness and desperation pervade Wormwood, and when a meteorite lands in the center of town, its fragile existence begins to unravel as many believe the end of the world is near, while others simply seek a reason to believe in anything at all.

Publication Date: 12/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Fallen
Lauren Kate
Synopsis:

The first book in the worldwide bestselling FALLEN series is now a motion picture available for streaming!

#1 New York Times bestseller
A USA Today bestseller
One of NPR.com's 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels
More than 3 million series copies in print!

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen by Lauren Kate is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story. 

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

"Sexy and fascinating and scary . . . I loved loved loved it!"--New York Times bestselling author P.C. Cast



Publication Date: 12/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein
Synopsis: An adorable, completely original YA voice.

Lotus Lowenstein's life is merde. She dreams of moving to Paris and becoming an existentialist. Yet here she is trapped in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a New-Agey mom, an out-of-work dad, and a chess champion brother who dreams of being a rock star. Merci à Dieu for Lotus’s best friend, Joni, who loves French culture enough to cofound their high school’s first French Club with Lotus. At the first meeting, the cutest boy in the world walks in. His name is Sean, and he too loves French culture and worships Jean-Paul Sartre.

At first, Lotus thinks Sean is the best thing to happen to her in years. He’s smart, cultured, and adorable. Unfortunately, though, Joni feels the same way. And having an existentialist view of love, Sean sees nothing wrong with enjoying both girls’ affections. Things come to a head when all three depart for Montreal with their teacher, Ms. G, on the French Club’s first official field trip. Will Sean choose Joni over Lotus? And will Lotus and Joni’s friendship ever recover?
Publication Date: 12/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
I So Don't Do Spooky
Barrie Summy
Synopsis: Someone’s out to get Sherry’s stepmom. . . .Can she save her before it’s too late?

Did you know that the main campus of the Academy of Spirits is at a Dairy Queen in Phoenix? Me either. Until now. Some weird stuff has been happening to my stepmother, Paula, and the Academy has asked me, Sherry Holmes Baldwin, to get to the bottom of it. They think someone’s trying to hurt her.

I really don’t want to get involved—my life is way too busy. Josh and I are celebrating two blissful months of togetherness. And my best friend, Junie, is finally showing a teeny bit of interest in clothes and makeup after years of brainiac behavior. But being that my mom is a ghost and all, me, my brother, and my dad rely on Paula a lot. So it’s not like I can just ignore what’s going on. Especially since my mom is competing at the Ghostlympics. If she comes in first place, she earns five minutes of Real Time.

And that means I’ve got to get involved in a creepy, freaky mystery.

But . . . I so don’t do spooky.
Publication Date: 12/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Behind the Columns
Arlette Gaffrey
Synopsis: The year is 1846. Désirée Bordeaux is a beautiful Créole belle living with her aging grandfather, a heavy drinker and gambler who has accrued huge debts. When he dies suddenly, Désirée learns that her beautiful New Orleans plantation, Chêne Vue, is to be put on the auction block.



Désirée finds herself being wooed by Philippe Jaunet, a cruel man who lusts after Chêne Vue and strikes fear in Désirée’s heart. She is also being courted by the handsome and wealthy New Yorker, Lance Van Buren, but her heart belongs to another—the man who broke her heart and married someone else. Désirée is pulled in different directions, her life complicated by circumstances, misunderstandings, lies, and betrayal—and the workings of her own turbulent heart. Will love eventually win out for this southern belle? Power, passion, and deception rule in Arlette Gaffrey’s latest novel, Behind the Columns.
Publication Date: 12/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Burn
Suzanne Phillips
Synopsis: "Are our schools safe?"

It's hard to turn on the news without hearing this question, and the answer is typically "no." This novel explores what happens when bullying escalates to violence, and it challenges our definition of victimization.

With thought-provoking prose, Suzanne Phillips explores the psyche of Cameron, a bullied freshman who ultimately does the unthinkable: he kills another student. As she did with Chloe Doe, Suzanne has found a way to make this seemingly dark story ultimately redemptive. But she also dares readers to look at the behavior that provokes violence as having the potential to be as dangerous as the violence itself.

It's Suzanne's hope that Burn will inspire readers to take a precautionary stance against bullying rather than waiting to react to it.
Publication Date: 12/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Life Blossoms Like A Rose In Thorns
Synopsis: Life Blossoms Like a Rose in Thorns is a work of fiction about Smitha, who cannot help but feel disgusted at the way that women are treated as inferiors in Indian society, particularly when it comes to marriage. Smitha vows to defy this even though her mother says, “We can’t change the customs society had been accustomed to for years. It takes a noble person to speak out against these evils.” Smitha becomes just such a noble person. She marries, and they settle down in Malaysia and have a son named Bhasker and the story begins to follow his life. As the title implies, this story focuses on the beautiful and wonderful aspects of life that occur even in the middle of the dark and painful moments. The characters face many obstacles on their paths to happiness. This could be an uplifting story that might be attractive to people interested in inspirational fiction.
Publication Date: 12/07/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Spells of the City
Martin H. Greenberg, Jean Rabe
Synopsis: Venture into Spells of the City, where a troll may be your toll collector on the George Washington Bridge…Harry the Book will be happy to place your bets in a spellbinding alternative New York…a gargoyle finds himself left to a lonely rooftop existence when he’s forced to live by his creator’s rules…and leprechauns must become bank robbers to keep up with the demand for their gold.
Publication Date: 12/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The United States of Atlantis
Synopsis: As England tightens its control over the Atlantean colonies, Victor Radcliff and his band of revolutionaries resolve to make the English pay for each and every piece of land they dare to occupy. They will stop at nothing to preserve the liberty of their people as a new nation is born--a nation that will change the face of the world!
Publication Date: 12/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Changing The World
Mercedes Lackey
Synopsis: In March 1987, a young author from Oklahoma published her first novel, Arrows of the Queen. This modest book about a magical land called Valdemar was the beginning of a fantasy masterpiece that would span decades and include more than two dozen titles. Now sixteen of today’s hottest fantasy authors—including Tanya Huff, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Fiona Patton, and Judith Tarr—visit the world of Valdemar, adding their own special touches.
Publication Date: 12/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy

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