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Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies
Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Celeste Harris is no string bean, but comfy sweatpants and a daily chocolate cookie suit her just fine. Her under-the-radar lifestyle could have continued too, if her aunt hadn?t entered her in the HuskyPeach Modeling Challenge. To get out of it, she?s forced to launch Operation Skinny Celeste?because, after all, a thin girl can?t be a fat model! What Celeste never imagined was that losing weight would help her gain a backbone . . . or that all she needed to shine was a spotlight.

A hilarious debut featuring friendship, family, mean girls and even celebrity crushes, Celeste?s story is a delicious treat that doesn?t add a pound.

Publication Date: 02/05/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
Batter Off Dead
Tamar Myers
Synopsis: When Minerva J. Jay, a local lady known for her prodigious appetite, collapses after consuming her pancakes at a church breakfast, Police Chief Chris Ackerman enlists the aid of a pregnant Magdalena Yoder to investigate the case, which is soon complicated by the death of their prime suspect.
Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
Fed Up
Susan Conant, Jessica Conant-Park
Synopsis: As her chef boyfriend, Josh, competes to star in a new TV series by ambushing unsuspecting grocery shoppers and preparing them gourmet dinners, Chloe Carter turns sleuth when one shopper unexpectedly drops dead and she sets out to find the culprit among a host of potential suspects. By the authors of Turn Up the Heat.
Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Foxfire
Barbara Campbell
Synopsis: The stunning final novel in barbara campbell?s powerful debut fantasy series

Years after their exile, legendary hero Darak and his wife Griane have founded their own tribe and raised four children. A rebel force, led by Darak?s own daughter, seeks to recruit him to their cause. But the greatest danger comes from their youngest son, R igat?actually sired by the Trickster God...
Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Evermore
Alyson Noël
Synopsis:

Don't miss Evermore, the first book in Alyson Noël's #1 New York Times bestselling The Immortals series. Enter an enchanting new world where true love never dies. . .

After a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school―but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.

Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head―wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is―or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Wings of Wrath
C.S. Friedman
Synopsis: The dark and mesmerizing Magister saga continues...

Wings of Wrath is the second novel in C. S. Friedman?s Magister trilogy?a true high fantasy replete with vampire-style magic, erotic action, war, treachery, sorcerous danger, and one of the most terrifying dragon-like creatures in fantasy. Against a backdrop of knife-edged politics and fearsome prophecies, those who are sworn to protect the human lands must discover the truth that lies at the heart of ancient legends, and find a way to defeat an enemy that once brought mankind to the very brink of destruction.
Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Last Days of the Romanovs
Synopsis:

On the sweltering summer night of July 16, 1918, in the Siberian city of Ekaterinburg, a group of assassins led an unsuspecting Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, his wife, the Tsarina Alexandra, the desperately ill Tsarevich, and their four beautiful daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, into a basement room where they were shot and then bayoneted to death.

This is the story of those murders, which ended three hundred years of Romanov rule and set their stamp on an era of state-orchestrated terror and brutal repression.

The Last Days of the Romanovs counts down to the last, tense hours of the family’s lives, stripping away the over-romanticized versions of previous accounts. The story focuses on the family inside the Ipatiev House, capturing the oppressive atmosphere and the dynamics of a group—the Romanovs, their servants, and guards—thrown together by extraordinary events.

Marshaling overlooked evidence from key witnesses such as the British consul to Ekaterinburg, Sir Thomas Preston, American and British travelers in Siberia, and the now-forgotten American journalist Herman Bernstein, Helen Rappaport gives a brilliant account of the political forces swirling through the remote Urals town. She conveys the tension of the watching world: the Kaiser of Germany and George V, King of England—both, like Alexandra, grandchildren of Queen Victoria—their nations locked in combat as the First World War drew to its bitter end. And she draws on recent releases from the Russian archives to challenge the view that the deaths were a unilateral act by a maverick group of the Ekaterinburg Bolsheviks, identifying a chain of command that stretches directly, she believes, to Moscow—and to Lenin himself.

Telling the story in a compellingly new and dramatic way, The Last Days of the Romanovs brings those final tragic days vividly alive against the backdrop of Russia in turmoil, on the brink of a devastating civil war.

Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Project Sweet Life
Brent Hartinger
Synopsis:

For most kids, fifteen is the year of the optional summer job: Sure, you can get a job if you really want one, but it isn't required or anything. Too bad Dave's dad doesn't agree! Instead of enjoying long days of biking, swimming, and sitting around, Dave and his two best friends are being forced by their fathers into a summer of hard labor.

The friends have something else in mind, though: Not only will they not work over the summer, but they're determined to trick everyone into believing they really do have jobs. So what if the lifeguard doesn't have a tan or the fast-food worker isn't bringing home buckets of free chicken? There's only one problem: Dave's dad wants evidence that his son is actually bringing in money. And that means Dave, Curtis, and Victor will have to get some . . . without breaking the law and without doing any work!

Project Sweet Life is designed for the funny and lazy bone in all of us—a true comedy of errors (without any effort!) from seasoned storyteller Brent Hartinger.

Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Automatic Detective
A. Lee Martinez
Synopsis:

Even in Empire City, a town where weird science is the hope for tomorrow, it's hard for a robot to make his way. It's even harder for a robot named Mack Megaton, a hulking machine designed to bring mankind to its knees. But Mack's not interested in world domination. He's just a bot trying to get by, trying to demonstrate that he isn't just an automated smashing machine, and to earn his citizenship in the process. It should be as easy as crushing a tank for Mack, but some bots just can't catch a break.

When Mack's neighbors are kidnapped, Mack sets off on a journey through the dark alleys and gleaming skyscrapers of Empire City. Along the way, he runs afoul of a talking gorilla, a brainy dame, a mutant lowlife, a little green mob boss, and the secret conspiracy at the heart of Empire's founders---not to mention more trouble than he bargained for. What started out as one missing family becomes a battle for the future of Empire and every citizen that calls her home.

Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
The Walls of the Universe
Synopsis: John Rayburn thought all of his problems were the mundane ones of an Ohio farm boy in his last year in high school. Then his doppelgø¤nger appeared, tempted him with a device that let him travel across worlds, and stole his life from him. John soon finds himself caroming through universes, unable to return home€”the device is broken. John settles in a new universe to unravel its secrets and fix it.Meanwhile, his doppelgø¤nger tries to exploit the commercial technology he€™s stolen from other Earths: the Rubik€™s Cube! John€™s attempts to lie low in his new universe backfire when he inadvertently introduces pinball. It becomes a huge success. Both actions draw the notice of other, more dangerous travelers, who are exploiting worlds for ominous purposes. Fast-paced and exciting, this is SF adventure at its best from a rising star.
Publication Date: 02/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Inchworm
Ann Kelley
Synopsis: Gussie is back and she's stronger than ever. She's finally got the heart and lung transplant that she needs and now she craves adventure. All her new heart wants is to escape London and get her divorced parents back together. But her fight isn't over yet. In fact, it's only just beginning. Original.
Publication Date: 02/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Man in the Iron Mask
David Coward, Alexandre Dumas
Synopsis: Alexandre Dumas was already a best-selling novelist when he wrote this historical romance, combining (as he claimed) the two essentials of life--"l'action et l'amour." The Man in the Iron Mask concludes the epic adventures of the three Muskateers, as Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and their friend D'Artagnan, once invincible, meet their destinies.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Publication Date: 02/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Mousehunter
Alex Milway
Synopsis: In Emiline's world, there are thousands of species of mice, some rarer than others. Mousehunters travel the world collecting the rarest and most special breeds, from the wily and deadly Sharpclaw Mouse to the dog-sized Elephant Mouse and the quick-as-lightning Comet Mouse.

For Emiline, a mousekeeper in the employ of wealthy Isiah Lovelock, there is no greater dream than becoming a famous mousehunter. So when she is given the opportunity to join the hunt for the legendary pirate Mousebeard, she sets off on the most dangerous, most thrilling, most swashbuckling adventure of a lifetime.

The Mousehunter is an extremely accessible, dark and thrilling story, featuring original black & white illustrations, maps and character portraits.
Publication Date: 02/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Seeing Red
Anne Louise MacDonald
Synopsis: Frankie Uccello seems like just another fourteen-year-old boy -- Ace of Average, King of Common, Master of Middle. Everything he does has a tendency to turn out average. Even when Frankie dreams recurrently of flying, his father tells him that at least one in three people does this. He's perfectly normal, normal, normal. Or is he? When Frankie discovers something ominous about his dreams -- that he can dream the future, especially when something bad is about to happen -- he realizes that he might be talented, after all. But seeing the future was only cool in movies and TV. In real life, you're just a whacko. Besides, the future doesn't look good. One night Frankie dreams his best friend, Tim, falls from a horse. Is Tim going to be killed? Can Frankie save him? Something about the dream doesn't fit, and that something is Weird Maura-Lee, one of three people Frankie avoids like the plague. Maura-Lee can read minds, and she seems to be reading his.
Publication Date: 02/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
North of Beautiful
Justina Chen Headley
Synopsis: As he continued to stare, I wanted to point to my cheek and remind him, But you were the one who wanted this, remember? You're the one who asked-and I repeat-Why not fix your face?

It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper.

She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

Written in lively, artful prose, award-winning author Justina Chen Headley has woven together a powerful novel about a fractured family, falling in love, travel, and the meaning of true beauty.
Publication Date: 02/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Elijah's Coin
Steve O'Brien
Synopsis: Book of the Year, Fiction--Books and Authors Winner, Novella, Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner, Fiction and Literature, Young Adult Fiction--National Best Books Awards Winner, Teen-Young Adult Fiction, Reader Views Literary Awards Silver Medalist, Men's Fiction, Living Now book Awards Silver Medalist, Audio and Spoken Word, Nautilus Book Awards Silver Medalist, Mid-Atlantic Best Regional Fiction, Independent Publisher Book Awards Finalist, Audio Book of the Year, ForeWord Magazine Finalist, Best New Fiction--National Indie Excellence Awards Steve O'Brien has crafted a new work of fiction that successfully negotiates the tricky balance between entertainment and instruction. Overtly didactic in some ways, Elijah's Coin is also a highly suspenseful story that introduces us to characters we come to care about. The content is edifying and thought-provoking, but the story never becomes dry. Elijah's Coin is the story of Tom, a young man who has suffered a tragic loss and is spiraling out of control. He's angry, anti-social, and rapidly descending into a life of crime. Then, during a night of folly, as he brazenly commits burglary, Tom encounters the night watchman Elijah King, a mysterious figure with a shrouded past. Elijah, unexpectedly, doesn't turn Tom in but instead becomes a stern and rather cryptic mentor to him. Rather than laying his lessons out in a straightforward manner, Elijah gives Tom an enigmatic coin and sends him on a mission of self-discovery. The remainder of Part One of the story chronicles Tom's quest to find three powerful, respected men - an entrepreneur, a courtroom lawyer, and a philanthropist whose lives were forever changed through their own encounters with Elijah. Each step of the journey enriches Tom's sense of the world and of the contributions an individual can make to it, so that through searching for others he ironically comes to know himself. Each meeting also provides a piece of the puzzle that is Elijah and his give-to-get philosophy. Nonetheless, Tom becomes increasingly desperate to find Elijah himself again. The few clues he pieces together ultimately disclose a shocking truth. In Part Two, Tom lives the message, learns to trust his own instincts and uniqueness, and becomes himself a mentor to other individuals on the verge of being lost. Each new, unexpected arrival, directed Tom's way by Elijah, presents its own difficulties. In dealing with these challenges, Tom is forced to discover resources within himself he had never suspected. A serious conflict between his new values and a thirst for vengeance arises, however, when Tom finds himself face-to-face with the darkest figure from his own past.... Author Steve O'Brien is an experienced litigator and international businessman who serves as General Counsel for a global consulting company. With Elijah's Coin, he turns his hand to fiction and draws upon his business and legal experience to create convincing scenes with corporate and courtroom settings. Engaging, thoughtful, and ultimately profound, Elijah's Coin is a rare example of a work of fiction that aspires to transform its readers. As the great German poet Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote: Du musst dein leben andern ( You must change your life ). Elijah's Coin poses the same challenge through a story about inner growth that will inspire readers everywhere.
Publication Date: 02/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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