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Forest Born
Shannon Hale
Synopsis: Rin, Razo's little sister, is haunted by the Forest she has always loved. When Razo invites her back to the city to be one of Queen Ani's waiting women, she happily accepts...only to end up on the adventure of her lifetime, following the queen, Enna, and Dasha into the countryside in search of a fire-starting enemy that no one can see. As she learns more about the three women's magical talents, she finds her own strength comes from places both expected--trees--and unexpected--the sound of her own voice. A brilliant addition to the Books of Bayern, this book is a treat for fans of this series, and stands alone for readers who might be discovering the joys of Shannon Hale's writing for the first time.
Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Runaway Dragon
Kate Coombs
Synopsis:

When Meg's dragon, Laddy, flies away from home, she knows she must go on a quest to find him. But she hasn't counted on her parents, the king and queen of Greeve, sending ten guardsmen along. Fortunately, she is also accompanied by her best friends: Dilly, a lady-in-waiting and a cool head in any crisis not involving heights; Cam, a gardener's assistant who knows the exact value of a brick shed filled with sausages; Nort, a skinny guardsman who has never given much thought to crows; and Lex, a young wizard with bad taste in horses, magic carpets, and sorceresses. Of course, Meg's quest goes topsy-turvy once she enters the enchanted forest―and her adventure is just beginning. What's more, meeting up with the dashing bandit Bain again isn't at all what she expected. Will this princess be able to rescue herself, let alone anybody else?

In The Runaway Princess, Meg and her friends defeated a pack of princes. Now they're going to need swordplay, magic, and a whole lot of courage to find Laddy and get back home!

Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Tear Collector
Patrick Jones
Synopsis:

Fans of urban fantasy should prepare for a new kind of vampire-one that feeds off of tears instead of blood. Descended from an ancient line of creatures that gain their energy from human tears, Cassandra Gray depends on human sorrow to live. Her job as a grief counselor at the hospital provides the perfect cover to keep this secret safe, and any time a friend needs a shoulder to cry on, she's there. Only Cass has grown tired of living a lie and wants to live like a human, especially now that she's found someone worth fighting for. With a perfect blend of supernatural and romance, Patrick Jones treats his current fans to a different taste of storytelling and will have new ones scrambling to devour this unique offering.

Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Hollow
Jessica Verday
Synopsis: When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead…and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

“Spectacular! The Hollow keeps you reading from beginning to end without coming up for air.” --L.J. Smith, bestselling author of The Vampire Diaries and Night World
Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISIS
Perseus
Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author Douglas Clegg brings us Isis, a beautifully illustrated, unforgettable novella that is sure to become a classic tale of the supernatural.

If you lost someone you loved, what would you pay to bring them back from the dead?

Old Marsh, the gardener at Belerion Hall, warned the Villiers girl about the old ruins along the sea-cliffs. “Never go in, miss. Never say a prayer at its door. If you are angry, do not seek revenge by the Laughing Maiden stone or at the threshold of the Tombs. There be those who listen for oaths and vows….What may be said in innocence becomes flesh and blood in such places.”

She was born Iris Catherine Villiers. She became Isis.

From childhood until her sixteenth year, Iris Villiers wandered the stone-hedged gardens and the steep cliffs along the coast of Cornwall near her ancestral home. Surrounded by the stern judgments of her grandfather—the Gray Minister—and the taunts of her cruel governess, Iris finds solace in her beloved older brother who has always protected her. But when a tragic accident occurs from the ledge of an open window, Iris discovers that she possesses the ability to speak to the dead...

Be careful what you wish for…it just may find you.

 

Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Shattered
Kathi Baron
Synopsis: Teen violin prodigy Cassie has been tiptoeing around her father, whose moods have become increasingly explosive. After he destroys her beloved and valuable violin, Cassie, shocked, runs away, eventually seeking refuge in a homeless shelter. She later learns that her father, a former violinist, was physically beaten as a child by her grandfather, a painful secret he's kept hidden from his family, and the cause of his violent outbursts. With all of their lives shattered in some way, Cassie's family must struggle to repair their broken relationships. As Cassie moves forward, she ultimately finds a way to help others, having developed compassion through her own painful experiences. Written in lyrical prose, Shattered tells the moving story of how one girl finds inner strength through music.
Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Sweetheart of Prosper County
Synopsis:

Almost-15-year-old Austin Gray is tired of standing at the curb and watching the parade pass her by. Literally. She decides this is the year she’ll ride on the hood of a shiny pickup truck in the annual parade, waving to the crowd and finally showing the town bully that she’s got what it takes to be the Sweetheart of Prosper County.

 

But far from simply being a beauty contest, becoming Sweetheart involves participation in the Future Farmers of America (FFA), raising an animal, and hunting or fishing. Austin will do almost anything to become Sweetheart, and has the support of her oldest friend, Maribel, her new FFA friends (including the reigning Sweetheart, and a quiet, cute cowboy), an evangelical Elvis impersonator, a mysterious Cajun outcast, and a rooster named Charles Dickens. If only her momma would stop overprotecting her, and start letting Austin live her own life. But Austin can’t move on until Momma moves on, too—and lets the grief of losing Austin’s daddy several years before out into the open.

 

Here is a bighearted story that will leave readers agreeing with Austin that sometimes, it’s not what you ride, it’s how you roll.

Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Everything For A Dog
Ann M. Martin
Synopsis:

In this companion to her acclaimed 2005 novel, A Dog's Life, Ann M. Martin tells the parallel stories of a stray dog (the brother of the dog featured in A Dog's Life), a boy dealing with unspeakable loss, and a boy whose most ardent wish is to own a dog―and everything for a dog.

Bone and his sister, Squirrel, are stray dogs born in a shed. Left motherless as puppies, the two dogs survive together for a while, but are soon wrenched apart. Bone doesn't know if his sister is still alive, and must now go on, alone.

Charlie is a boy who has suffered a terrible loss. And, as he's healing with the help of his dog, another tragedy occurs.

Henry's best friend has moved away. All Henry has wanted is a dog of his own. But his parents won't let him.

Bone, Charlie, and Henry live very different lives, but they are fated to intersect in surprising ways. Award-winning author Ann M. Martin has written a powerful, heartfelt novel that's perfect for anyone who has ever longed for a dog, or loved one.

Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Anne Frank
Menno Metselaar, Arnold J. Pomerans, Ruud van der Rol
Synopsis:

On a summer day in 1942, Anne Frank and her family went into hiding from the Nazis. Until the day they arrested her, more than two years later, she kept a diary. ANNE FRANK is the indispensible visual guide to her tragic, but inspiring story. Produced in association with The Anne Frank House and filled with never-before-published snapshots, school pictures, and photos of the diary and the Secret Annex, this elegantly designed album is both a stand-alone introduction to Anne's life and a photographic companion to a classic of Holocaust literature.

Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Nonfiction
Cat Burglar Black
Richard Sala, Richard Sala
Synopsis:

K. Westree: Teen Cat Burglar

When K. Westree arrives at Bellsong Academy, she thinks she's left her cat-burgling past behind her. But K. soon discovers the school has a mystery of its own, a hidden treasure left behind by its founder, and she's the only one who has a hope of finding it. As she resumes her cat-burgling in an attempt to discover the school's secrets, K. begins to question if a normal life is really what she wants.

Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Django
Bonnie Christensen
Synopsis: Born into a travelling gypsy family, young Django Reinhardt taught himself guitar at an early age. He was soon acclaimed as the "Gypsy Genius" and "Prodigy Boy," but one day his world changed completely when a fire claimed the use of his fretting hand. Folks said Django would never play again, but with passion and perserverance he was soon setting the world's concert stages ablaze. Bonnie Christensen's gorgeous oil paintings and jazzy, syncopated text perfectly depict the man and his music.
Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Biography
The Midnight Charter
David Whitley
Synopsis: In a society based on trade, where everything can be bought and sold, the future rests on the secrets of a single document-and the lives of two children whose destiny it is to discover its secrets. In this spellbinding novel, newcomer David Whitley has imagined a nation at a crossroads: misshaped by materialism and facing a choice about its future. He has brought to life two children who will test the nation's values-and crafted a spellbinding adventure story that will keep readers turning the pages until the very end.  For readers who love Philip Pullman, THE MIDNIGHT CHARTER combines great storytelling with a compelling vision - a many layered adventure with powerful and timely implications.
Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Urban Falcon
Jennifer Caloyeras
Synopsis: This is not how it was supposed be. Evan was all set to finish his high school years at Elbow Creek High, pursuing his passion for photography in the small town where he grew up. But mid-junior year, his Dad's job forced the family to move to Lincoln Heights, a booming metropolis - a city one could get lost in. Now his best friend Denny won't even talk to him and something suspicious is going on with his Mom. When Evan's worst fears are confirmed, he starts acting out in ways he never thought possible. Caught between who he used to be and the possibility of who he could become, he's thrown into a world of dating, out of control parties and family drama. Evan Falcon learns more about himself than he ever though possible.
Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Qualities Of Light
Mary Carroll Moore
Synopsis: "Explores the budding of unexpected romance in the face of family tragedy, the forging of a new relationship between a daughter and her gifted, difficult parents, and an adolescent girl's confrontation with her own qualities of light and darkness." -- taken from back cover.
Publication Date: 08/25/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Ninja Girls
Hosana Tanaka
Synopsis: NINJA LOVE!

The horn growing from Raizo’s forehead is proof that he’s the lost illegitimate son of the once-mighty Katana family. Now a band of loyal and lovely female ninjas devises a scheme to elevate their newfound master to greatness. But does this shy outcast have what it takes to rule the kingdom and deal with a bevy of beautiful ninja girls?

Includes special extras after the story!
Publication Date: 08/25/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Four-Eyed Prince
Wataru Mizukami
Synopsis: SECRET CRUSH

Sachiko is wildly attracted to the quiet, cool Akihiko, the “Four-Eyed Prince.” But now they’ve become siblings by marriage–and must live under the same roof, as brother and sister! And if that isn’t bad enough, it turns out that Akihiko is hiding a surprise behind those nerdy glasses.

Includes special extras after the story!
Publication Date: 08/25/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Manga/Graphic Novel

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