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The Looking Glass Wars
Frank Beddor
Synopsis: You know the myth...

A little girl named Alice tumbled down a rabbit hole and proceeded to have a charming adventure in the delightful, made-up world of Wonderland...

Now discover the truth... Wonderland Exists!

Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland throne, was forced to flee through the Pool of Tears after a bloody palace coup staged by the murderous Redd. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life only to see it published as the nonsensical Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alyss had trusted Lewis Carroll to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere would find her and bring her home. But Carroll had gotten it all wrong. He even misspelled her name! If not for royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan's nonstop search to locate the lost princess, Alyss may have become just another society woman sipping tea in a too-tight corset instead of returning to Wonderland to fight Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

Meet the heroic, passionate, monstrous, vengeful denizens of this parallel world as they battle each other with AD-52's and orb generators, navigate the Crystal Continuum, bet on jabberwock fights and travel across the Chessboard Desert.

Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
London Calling
Edward Bloor
Synopsis: Martin Conway comes from a family filled with heroes and disgraces. His grandfather was a statesman who worked at the US Embassy in London during WWII. His father is an alcoholic who left his family. His sister is an overachieving Ivy League graduate. And Martin? Martin is stuck in between--floundering.

But during the summer after 7th grade, Martin meets a boy who will change his life forever. Jimmy Harker appears one night with a deceptively simple question: Will you help?

Where did this boy come from, with his strange accent and urgent request? Is he a dream? It's the most vivid dream Martin's ever had. And he meets Jimmy again and again--but how can his dreams be set in London during the Blitz? How can he see his own grandather, standing outside the Embassy? How can he wake up with a head full of people and facts and events that he certainly didn't know when he went to sleep--but which turn out to be verifiably real?

The people and the scenes Martin witnesses have a profound effect on him. They become almost more real to him than his waking companions. And he begins to believe that maybe he can help Jimmy. Or maybe that he must help Jimmy, precisely because all logic and reason argue against it.

This is a truly remarkable and deeply affecting novel about fathers and sons, heroes and scapegoats. About finding a way to live with faith and honor and integrity. And about having an answer to the question: What did you do to help?
Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Hattie Big Sky
Kirby Larson
Synopsis: Alone in the world, teen-aged Hattie is driven to prove up on her uncle's homesteading claim.
For years, sixteen-year-old Hattie's been shuttled between relatives. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she courageously leaves Iowa to prove up on her late uncle's homestead claim near Vida, Montana. With a stubborn stick-to-itiveness, Hattie faces frost, drought and blizzards. Despite many hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her adventures with her friends--especially Charlie, fighting in France--through letters and articles for her hometown paper.

Her backbreaking quest for a home is lightened by her neighbors, the Muellers. But she feels threatened by pressure to be a "Loyal" American, forbidding friendships with folks of German descent. Despite everything, Hattie's determined to stay until a tragedy causes her to discover the true meaning of home.
Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
An Abundance of Katherines
Synopsis: From the #1 bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars 

Michael L. Printz Honor Book
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist


Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

Publication Date: 09/21/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Fairest
Gail Carson Levine
Synopsis:

In the kingdom of Ayortha, who is the fairest of them all? Certainly not Aza. She is thoroughly convinced that she is ugly. What she may lack in looks, though, she makes up for with a kind heart, and with something no one else has–a magical voice. Her vocal talents captivate all who hear them, and in Ontio Castle they attract the attention of a handsome prince – and a dangerous new queen. In this masterful novel filled with humour, adventure, romance, and song, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine invites you to join Aza as she discovers how exquisite she truly is.

Ages 8 – 14

Publication Date: 09/19/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
Sasquatch
George B. Schaller, Jeff Meldrum
Synopsis: In this landmark work on a subject too often dismissed as paranormal or disreputable, Jeffrey Meldrum gives us the first book on sasquatch to be written by a scientist with impeccable academic credentials, an objective look at the facts in a field mined with hoaxes and sensationalism. Meldrum reports on the work of a team of experts from a wide variety of fields who were assembled to examine the evidence for a large, yet undiscovered, North American primate. He reviews the long history of this mystery--which long predates the "bigfoot" flap of the late fifties--and explains all the scientific pros and cons in a clear and accessible style, amplified by over 150 illustrations. Anyone who has pondered the mysteries of human evolution will be fascinated and eager to join Dr. Meldrum in drawing their own conclusion.
Publication Date: 09/19/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Haunted Homeland
Michael Norman
Synopsis: Trapped miners from cave-ins long ago still calling for help.
Ghostly women lurking in the shadows of city streets.
Spectral holy men and outlaws from America's Spanish past making appearances in our modern age.

They are all citizens of Haunted America, and this is

HAUNTED HOMELAND.

From a haunted castle in the wilds of Alaska to phantom clergymen in the Southwest and mysterious bouncing lights on the East Coast, this latest volume covers the places, the people, and the things that belong to the earthbound realm of the fantastic. Michael Norman has gathered together spectral events of all kinds--apparitions of the famous like Mary Surratt, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Mad Anthony Wayne; haunted crime scenes in Chicago and along the Indiana byways; as well as banshees, poltergeists, and even a ghost named George who has become an accepted resident in a house in North Carolina.

Some of these tales date back to America's early days, such as the screaming woman of Marblehead, Massachusetts, while others rise from more contemporary sources, like noted mystery writer Mary Robert Rhinehart's encounter with ghost at a house on Long Island.

A ghostly Supreme Court Justice, a specter known as The Texan, an abandoned Canadian bride reminiscent of Dickens's Miss Haversham, and many others make an appearance in this latest chronicle of the Haunted American landscape.

Publication Date: 09/19/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Invisible Ink
Terry Griggs
Synopsis: The third title in this delightful series begins as Olivier, an adventurous 12-year-old boy, is helping his very odd step-step-stepgramma with her equally odd yard sale. When some mysterious customers show up, along with a troublesome wind, Olivier flees the scene, ending up in the Dark Woods, where terrible damage has been done. Determined to get to the source of the trouble, he and his pals travel far afield, encountering curious individuals along the way, including an intellectual giant, a severed but affable head, a malodorous monarch named Queen Bacteria, and a tyrant named Sleek. Olivier must face the dangers armed with only an ordinary stone, a mysterious cracked inkwell containing a liquefied secret, and his trusty pen pal, Murray Sheaffer. Set in a fascinating fantasy world, Invisible Ink is packed with humor and imagination.
Publication Date: 09/14/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
Wide Awake
David Levithan
Synopsis: In the not-too-impossible-to-imagine future, a gay Jewish man has been elected president of the United States. Until the governor of one state decides that some election results in his state are invalid, awarding crucial votes to the other candidate, and his fellow party member. Thus is the inspiration for couple Jimmy and Duncan to lend their support to their candidate by deciding to take part in the rallies and protests. Along the way comes an exploration of their relationship, their politics, and their country, and sometimes, as they learn, it's more about the journey than it is about reaching the destination.

Only David Levithan could so masterfully and creatively weave together a plot that's both parts political action and reaction, as well as a touching and insightfully-drawn teen love story.
Publication Date: 09/12/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
A Drowned Maiden's Hair
Laura Amy Schlitz
Synopsis: "People throw the word 'classic' about a lot, but A Drowned Maiden's Hair genuinely deserves to become one." — Wall Street Journal

Maud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence, so when the charming Miss Hyacinth and her sister choose Maud to take home with them, the girl is as baffled as anyone. It seems the sisters need Maud to help stage elaborate séances for bereaved, wealthy patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing her role as a "secret child," she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience – until a shocking betrayal makes clear just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with tantalizing details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this lively historical novel features a winning heroine whom readers will not soon forget.
Publication Date: 09/12/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Agnes Grey
Anne Bronte
Synopsis: In her daring first novel, the youngest Brontë sister drew upon her own experiences to tell the unvarnished truth about life as a governess. Like Agnes Grey, Anne Brontë was a young middle-class Victorian lady whose family fortunes had faltered. Like so many other unmarried women of the nineteenth century, Brontë accepted the only "respectable" employment available--and entered a world of hardship, humiliation, and loneliness.
Written with a realism that shocked critics, this biting social commentary offers a sympathetic portrait of Agnes and a moving indictment of her brutish and haughty employers. Separated from her family and friends by many miles, paid little more than subsistence wages, Agnes stands alone--both in society at large and in a household where she is neither family member nor servant. Agnes Grey remains a landmark in the literature of social history. In addition to its challenge to the era's chauvinism and materialism, it features a first-person narrative that offers a rare opportunity to hear the voice of a Victorian working woman.
Publication Date: 09/08/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Classic
The Shalamar Code
Mary Louise Clifford
Synopsis:

This thrilling tale of romance and intrigue offers a close-up view of Pakistani culture in a post-9/11 world.

Political unrest is on the rise in Pakistan, where remnants of AlQaeda are stirring up trouble in tribal territories. It’s clearly not the best time for fifteen-year-old Mumtaz―the daughter of a famous lawyer who’s also the leader of an outlawed opposition party―to get mixed up in Karachi’s criminal underworld. But when her brother is held hostage by a drug-running thug named Moocher, she has no choice. Defying her parents and generations of cultural tradition, Mumtaz gets involved with a young man who risks everything to assist her on a dangerous mission to expose Moocher as a spy. Not until she gets caught does the bright Pakistani teenager realize she may be in over her head.

Publication Date: 09/08/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Devilish
Maureen Johnson
Synopsis: During her senior year at St. Teresa's Preparatory School, Jane must battle against the devil, who is masquerading as a sophomore with a penchant for cupcakes, to save her best friend Ally, who has sold her soul in exchange for popularity.
Publication Date: 09/07/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Last Days
Scott Westerfeld
Synopsis: Strange things are happening: old friends disappearing, angels (or devils) clambering on the fire escapes of New York City. But for Pearl, Moz, and Zahler, all that matters is the band. As the city reels under a mysterious epidemic, the three combine their talents with a vampire lead singer and a drummer whose fractured mind can glimpse the coming darkness. Will their music stave off the end? Or summon it?

Set against the gritty apocalypse that began in Peeps, The Last Days is about five teenagers who find themselves creating the soundtrack for the end of the world.

Publication Date: 09/07/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Rules of Survival
Nancy Werlin
Synopsis: This National Book Award Finalist is a thought-provoking exploration of emotional abuse, self-reliance and the nature of evil. A heart-wrenching portrait of family crisis, this is perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak and Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.
 
For Matt and his sisters, life with their cruel, physically abusive mother is a day-to-day struggle for survival. But then Matt witnesses a man named Murdoch coming to a child’s rescue in a convenience store; and for the first time, he feels a glimmer of hope. Then, amazingly, Murdoch begins dating Matt’s mother. Life is suddenly almost good. But the relief lasts only a short time. When Murdoch inevitable breaks up with their mother, Matt knows that he’ll need to take some action. Can he call upon Murdoch to be his hero? Or will Matt have to take measures into his own hands?
 
A gripping, powerful novel that will stay with you long after you’ve read it. Nancy Werlin, the New York Times Bestselling author of Impossible, shows why she is a master of her genre.
 
 
“[A] dark but hopeful tale, with pacing and suspense guaranteed to leave readers breathlessly turning the pages.”—Booklist (starred review)
 
“Beautifully framed as a letter from Matthew to his younger sister, the suspense is paced to keep Matthew’s survival and personal revelations chock-full of dramatic tension. Bring tissues.”—Kirkus (starred review)
 
“Grace and insight.”—School Library Journal (starred review)
 
National Book Award Finalist
LA Times Book Prize Finalist
ALA Best Books of the Year
ALA Quick Pick

 

Publication Date: 09/07/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Cirque Du Freak: Sons of Destiny
Synopsis: The stunning finale to the "New York Times" bestselling series brings Darren face-to-face with his archenemy, Steve Leopard. One of them will die. The other will become the Lord of the Shadows and destroy the world. Is the future written, or can Darren trick destiny?
Publication Date: 09/06/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy

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