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The Deadly Wizard Games
Scott Spotson
Synopsis: Former Title: The Four Kings What happens when Wizards take over the world, uniting five continents and vowing a better utopia for all? Seeking liaisons to their new subjects--Mortals as the Wizards call them--the new rulers seek five humans, one per continent. For North America, it's Amanda Fullerton who is chosen by the ruling quartet of Wizards--Indie, Demus, Regi, and Justica. The Wizards revere several mystic tenets of their civilization, one of them being competitions of magic, which demand cunning and strength. As such, the Wizard Games offer Amanda insight into their ways, as she seeks to learn about the Wizards as much as possible, but this incredible magic also brings danger. Caught between the Wizards and the Mortals, Amanda finds herself playing both sides until the day arrives when the fate of the entire world is at stake. And in her hands.
Publication Date: 09/18/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Hired Girl
Laura Amy Schlitz
Synopsis: Winner of the 2016 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
A 2016 Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award Winner
Winner of the 2016 National Jewish Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature

Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz brings her delicious wit and keen eye to early twentieth-century America in a moving yet comedic tour de force.

Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself—because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of—a woman with a future. Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz relates Joan’s journey from the muck of the chicken coop to the comforts of a society household in Baltimore (Electricity! Carpet sweepers! Sending out the laundry!), taking readers on an exploration of feminism and housework; religion and literature; love and loyalty; cats, hats, and bunions.
Publication Date: 09/08/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Shadow of Seth
Tom Llewellyn
Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Seth Anomundy is a product of his environment: in this case, Tacoma, Washington. What L.A. was to Chandler, Tacoma - a working-class port city now undergoing urban renewal - is to author Tom Llewellyn.

Seth has grown up in Tacoma's tough neighborhoods, where he's perfectly at home in Choo-Choo's boxing gym and Miss Irene's soul food palace, the Shotgun Shack. With his mom working nights as a cleaner, Seth goes to high school, gets decent grades, and makes money where he can: filling in as cook at the Shotgun Shack, working as a sparring partner, and running errands for Nadel, the clock repairman. Life is hand-to-mouth, but okay - until he gets the news that his mother has been killed.

The police don't care about the death of just another drug addict, so a bewildered Seth takes it upon himself to find the killer. On a clock delivery run, he meets a beautiful rich girl named Azura Lear, who encourages Seth and tries to help track down the killer. But instead of finding answers, Seth finds only trouble. He faces down a gang of baseball-bat-wielding high school jocks and deals with the contempt of Azura's suspicious father. And then there's King George - a teenage thug Seth has previously managed to avoid - who has for some reason let it be known that he wants Seth dead. Right now.

Publication Date: 08/01/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Gorgon (Book 2)
Geoffrey Saign
Synopsis: Giant monsters. Dragons. Mysterious creatures. All gathering to fight for two worlds.
Sam and Jake are the guardians, but can they stop the coming war?
 
A powerful Lesser poisons Sam's dad and Jake's mom. To save their parents, Sam must bring WhipEye to Gorgon--the cruel and scheming leader of the Amazon Lessers.
 
Gorgon demands that Sam and Jake bring him the Jewel of Origin, a weapon of great power. If he gets it, nothing will stop him. Sam and Jake must decide--will they save two worlds or save their parents? Their friendship will be tested to its limits.
 
To stop Gorgon, Sam must be willing to risk the lives of her friends in a battle that some will not survive.
 
Sometimes love means watching those you love die...
Publication Date: 05/24/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Originals: The Rise
Synopsis: Family is power. The Original vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together always and forever. But even when you're immortal, promises are hard to keep. 

Arriving in New Orleans in 1722, Original vampire siblings Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson believe they've escaped their dangerous past. But the city is lawless, a haven for witches and werewolves unwilling to share territory. The siblings are at their mercy…especially after Klaus meets the beautiful and mysterious Vivianne. Her impending marriage is key to ending the war between the supernatural factions—and Klaus's attraction to her could destroy the uneasy alliance. As Elijah works toward securing a piece of the city for his family, and Rebekah fights her unexpected feelings for a French captain, will Klaus's volatile desires bring their world crashing down—and tear them apart for good?
Publication Date: 01/27/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Spiritual
Winter Falls (Twin Willows Trilogy)
Synopsis: Alessia Jacobs is a typical sixteen-year-old, dying to get out of her small Maine town. Things look up when a new family comes to town. But as she begins to fall for the hot, mysterious son, Jonah, her life turns upside down.

Weird visions of transforming into an otherworldly falcon are just the beginning. Soon she learns she’s part of the Benandanti, an ancient cult of warriors with the unique power to separate their souls from their bodies and take on the forms of magnificent animals.

Alessia never would’ve suspected it, but her boring town is the site of an epic struggle between the Benandanti and the Malandanti to control powerful magic in the surrounding forest.

As Alessia is drawn into the Benandanti’s mission, her relationship with Jonah intensifies. Suddenly forced to weigh choices a sixteen-year-old should never have to make, Alessia witnesses two worlds colliding with devastating consequences.
Publication Date: 12/22/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Changing Michael
Jeff Schilling
Synopsis: "Don’t Let Them Know Who You AreMatthew knows how things work. He’s pretty much an expert.For example: friends. Friendship requires both give and take, and Matthew strongly prefers taking. The solution is close acquaintances―people who think you’re their friend because you nod and act interested about whatever the hell they’re talking about.School? Perfectly pleasant as long as you don’t pay attention.Mom? Award yourself a point for each hands on hips or young man. Wear her down until you can get what you want.The general rule: The less anyone knows about you, the better.But even someone as clever as Matthew needs practice.That’s where Michael comes in.See, Michael doesn’t get it. He’s the kind of kid who comes up with the answer before the teacher. He’s the kind of kid who asks questions. He’s the kind of kid who still has the ratty old backpack he should have thrown in someone’s dumpster years ago.Consequently, he’s the kind of kid who gets the crap beaten out of him on a regular basis.So one day, Matthew, out of the kindness of his heart, decides to help Michael out. Turn his life around. Teach him how to make his life as great as Matthew’s.Before long, Matthew is helping Michael screw with his NASCAR-loving stepfather. He’s spreading rumors to convince the population of Alexander High School that Michael is a serious badass. He weaves his way into the lives of Michael’s estranged dad, and even Chrissy, the half-sister Michael never even knew he had.But what if Michael isn’t grateful for all of Matthew’s hard work? What if he actually likes who he is? Why the hell would he, and for that matter, why should Matthew even care?Changing Michael is an absorbing exploration into the head of one of the most fascinating high school characters since Holden Caulfield. Jeff Schilling’s remarkably insightful debut presents a story and a narrative voice readers will remember for a very long time to come.
Publication Date: 10/15/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
At All Costs
Brent Chartier, Patrick Jones
Synopsis: Kyle and Mike share a dream of playing college football. They're both members of the Central High Trojans. And lately their dream is in danger, because Mike has taken some serious hits. A head injury is affecting his performance on the field—and it might mean he'll have serious health problems.



When Kyle figures out a way to cheat the football program's new concussion tests, he decides he's protecting Mike's chances of playing college ball. But is he also putting Mike at risk of further harm? And when Mike's symptoms get worse, will Kyle pressure his friend to leave the game—or pressure him to play?
Publication Date: 08/01/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Fog of Forgetting
G. A. Morgan
Synopsis: There’s no turning back for the five children in The Fog of Forgetting when they are engulfed in a mysterious and impenetrable fog and washed ashore on an island in the North Atlantic. Their struggle to survive is the epic beginning of a new adventure-fantasy trilogy that will take you on a memorable journey from coastal Maine to worlds unknown, where friend and foe may be the same."The Fog of Forgetting," the first volume in The Five Stones Trilogy, begins at the best of all possible times: the start of summer vacation. For the three Thompson brothers, Chase (13), Knox (11),  and Teddy (6), this means a long drive to Summerledge, their beloved house in Maine, near the village of Fells Harbor. All is as it should be until the sudden appearance of two adopted neighbor girls from Haiti, Evelyn (13) and Frankie (9), a hasty departure of their parents, and a sunny day lead to an unexpected voyage. Before long, the children find themselves beyond familiar waters and engulfed by a curtain of dense fog, beyond which lies a land forgotten and besieged, an island of ancient secrets and terrible history: Ayda. As the children explore their surroundings and meet strange new friends, it becomes clear that they have landed somewhere far from home―and beyond rescue. Crackling with action and suspense, The Fog of Forgetting plumbs the rich territory between realism and fantasy by immersing the reader in an imaginative world that is also natural and recognizable. Funny, gripping and―above all―compelling, The Fog of Forgetting brings together captivating characters, integrated narrative, myth, romance, and mystery for the delight of all, be they a sophisticated ten-year-old boy or a fifty-year-old reader who still remembers what it’s like to be young with the long days of summer ahead.
Publication Date: 07/17/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Disneylanders
Kate Abbott
Synopsis:

Casey (short for Acacia, but don’t call her that) is spending a few summer days with her parents at Disneyland. Just like they do every summer.

Except this summer is different.

Casey’s best friend has dumped her. She starts high school in the fall, and she’s tired of following her parents’ rigid schedule and putting up with their embarrassing behavior. She’s miserable. Even Disneyland can’t make her happy.

Then, standing in line for the Indiana Jones Adventure, she bumps into Bert. A year older. Tall. Brown eyes. Nice. But Bert’s parents are mysteriously absent. And he wears an old, broken Mickey Mouse watch. Bert has secrets.

When Casey ditches her parents to run off with Bert, those secrets are revealed in the darkness of a Haunted Mansion Doom Buggy, aboard a rocket ship hurtling through Space Mountain, and in the cramped confines of a Matterhorn bobsled.

Is Bert really as cool as he seems? Could he become Casey’s first…boyfriend?

To make matters worse, Casey must also fight off her parents’ attempts to ruin her relationship with Bert and fend off a pack of selfish, rowdy girls—the “Bra Strap Girls”—who seem intent on sabotaging her vacation and stealing Bert.

Casey can’t stay in Disneyland forever. When she leaves, with or without Bert, she’ll have left behind her childhood and learned some important lessons about what it means to grow up.

Publication Date: 12/05/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Paradox
A. J. Paquette
Synopsis: The Maze Runner meets Hatchet in this sci-fi adventure with a surprise twist ending that no one will see coming.
 
Survive one world. Save another.
 
Ana wakes on a barren alien world. The instructions in her pocket tell her that she must survive a trek across Paradox in less than 28 hours.
 
Mission? Check.
Weapons? Check.
Memory? Missing. . . .
 
Meeting up with three other teens—including one boy who seems strangely familiar—Ana treks across the inhospitable landscape, occasionally encountering odd twists of light that carry glimpses of people back on Earth. They’re fighting some sort of disease, and the situation is critical. What’s the connection between Ana’s mission and the crisis back on Earth, and how is she supposed to figure it out when she can’t remember anything?
Publication Date: 06/25/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Awakening (Hope Trilogy #1)
Synopsis: To everyone, Emma is an ordinary teenager —a forgetable figure to most. But, little do they know that she is about to experience an awakening after centuries of being kept in the dark when fate finally chooses to call upon her and reveal the secret behind her existence. A descendent of godlike beings known as the El-ahren, Emma is both stunned and terrified when she learns she not only possesses special gifts and extraordinary powers, but is also destined to save the world. However, pitted against an evil alliance determined to destroy her and any good left on this earth, Emma finds it a struggle just to stay alive. Joined by those commissioned to protect her, she must search for others like her in order to fulfill her destiny and prevent the resurrection of evil. The first book in the Hope Trilogy by Lauren Ashley, Awakening is an intense page-turning epic fantasy that exposes myths and legends as it explores the compelling theme of good versus evil. With a skillfully crafted plot involving love, tragedy, betrayal, and sacrifice, it promises to take readers on a suspenseful journey of twists, turns, and heart-stopping surprises. Fans of the Twilight Saga and Hunger Games will not be disappointed.
Publication Date: 05/08/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Archenemy
Paul Hoblin
Synopsis: As a defender for the Fraser High girls soccer team, Addie used to be ready for anything. There was no play she couldn't shut down. But now the biggest threat on the field is one of her teammates . . . who is also Addie's former best friend.

When Eva Riley moved to town, she and Addie became super close. But when Eva wanted to be more than friends, Addie put soccer first instead. Suddenly Eva's sending Addie mean notes. Then she's screwing up Addie's plays. After a while, Addie's not sure she even wants her friend back. She has to worry about other things like keeping her spot on the team after Eva's latest act of sabotage . . .
Publication Date: 01/01/13
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Through the Zombie Glass
Gena Showalter
Synopsis: Zombies stalk the night. Forget blood and brains. These monsters hunger for human souls. Sadly, they've got mine… 

Alice Bell has lost so much. Family. Friends. A home. She thought she had nothing else to give. She was wrong.  

After a new zombie attack, strange things begin to happen to her. Mirrors come to life, and the whispers of the dead assault her ears. But the worst? A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do very wicked things.  

She's never needed her team of zombie slayers more, but ultra bad-boy Cole Holland, the leader and her boyfriend, suddenly withdraws from her…from everyone. Now, with her best friend Kat at her side, Ali must kill the zombies, uncover Cole's secret and learn to fight the darkness. 

But the clock is ticking…and if she fails at a single task, they're all doomed. 

THE WHITE RABBIT CHRONICLES  

I've lost so much. 

A dear friend. 

My new home. 

My purpose. My pride.  

And it's my fault. I can blame no one else.  

I and I alone let the darkness in.

Don't miss FIRSTLIFE, book 1 of Gena Showalter's action-packed, romantic and exhilarating new series, the Everlife novels!
Publication Date: 04/29/25
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
The Beautiful and the Damned
Synopsis: Cyn’s blackouts have deadly consequences in this sexy, suspenseful spinoff to the New York Times bestselling Hollow series.

Cyn Hargrave is on the run, but she can’t escape her dark past. The brother of her murdered boyfriend is convinced she’s the killer—and now he’s tracked her down. Cyn has only one person to turn to, and she can’t stand him.

Avian knows the evil that lives inside of Cyn, but he’s still compelled to help her. As the thirteenth Revenant he’s scorned by heaven and unwanted by hell, so he understands what it’s like to be a part of two worlds and not fit into either.

Together they will need to deal with the danger that follows her—and the danger inside of her—before one of them destroys her.

Jessica Verday brings readers on a sexy, suspenseful adventure in this companion novel to the bestselling Hollow trilogy.
Publication Date: 04/29/25
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
The Geneva Project - Truth
Christina Benjamin
Synopsis: Trapped on a flood ravaged island full of orphans, natives and wealthy citizens of the prosperous city Lux, a young girl named Geneva finds herself enslaved at an orphanage with no future and a past she can’t remember. That all changes when she meets someone who promises her that there’s more in store for her than she ever could have imagined. Her once dull life rapidly spirals out of control as she starts to acquire new magical powers that may be the key to unlocking an ancient legend along with her true identity. But first she must master these powers, all while trying to keep them secret from her friends and the evil head mistress at the orphanage. Before she knows it, Geneva is in over her head and has inadvertently wrapped her friends into her web of magic and lies and now all of their lives hang in the balance once the head mistress finds out her plan to prove that the legend of Lux may not be a legend at all! Who will Geneva trust and how far will she go to save her friends and find out her true identity?
Publication Date: 11/21/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction

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