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All Books
Spy High Mission Three: The Serpent Scenario
Synopsis: When a deadly drug that turns its users into blood-craving zombies hits the streets of America, every agent in Spy High is assigned to discover its source. But one member of the Bond Team won't be joining in because of private business--the business of revenge.
Publication Date: 09/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
My Guardian Angel
Sylvie Weil
Synopsis: Winner of France's most prestigious children's book award, this vividly drawn novel tells the harrowing tale of a smart, feisty 12-year-old Jewish girl in 11th C. France during the first Crusade.

Feisty and smart, Elvina is not your average 12-year-old. She adores reading ,writing, and studying like the boys. And she detests silly girls' chores, like keeping chicken eggs warm until they hatch. But she is also skilled in the art of healing, a skill that ultimately gets her into trouble.
It's the 11th Century in France, and the Crusades are on a campaign to rid France of the Jews. The Jews live in terror and are on high alert that danger is drawing near to their town. One night, while Elvina is alone in her house, she hears a rap on the door. Can her guardian angel keep her safe?
Publication Date: 09/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Kazunomiya: Prisoner of Heaven, Japan 1858
Synopsis: Intrigue and danger increase as Princess Kazunomiya's once-sheltered life in nineteenth-century Japan changes, in Newbery Honor author Kathryn Lasky's latest addition to THE ROYAL DIARIES series.

Kazunomiya, along with her royal family, is thought to be a divinity, descended from the goddess of the sun, and she lives an extremely sheltered life. However, when a Japanese general signs a treaty with the white-faced men from America, uncertainty and turmoil erupt in the kingdom. But the external threats do not compare to the tangled intrigue, romance, and politics that dominate the imperial palace, as wives and queens plot to destroy Kazunomiya and her mother.
Publication Date: 09/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Saint of Dragons
Jason Hightman
Synopsis:

The ancient dragons -- of the time of the legendary Saint George and earlier -- have never disappeared entirely. Instead, they've moved undercover -- and into human society. Now one lonely schoolboy is about to learn where the dragons have gone ...

Educated at boarding schools, Simon St. George has never met his parents. When a ragged-looking man shows up claiming to be his father, Simon is skeptical, and when the man kidnaps him, he's indignant to say the least.

Then the man claims to be a descendant of England's Saint George and a career dragon fighter. Why should Simon believe any of this nonsense? But what if the man is telling the truth? What if the dragons know he's out there?

Rich with the dragon lore of legend, the saint of dragons continues and enlarges on the tale of the centuries-old conflict between dragons and humans that rages even today.

Publication Date: 09/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Busted!
Betty Hicks
Synopsis: "Man, thought Stuart, rolling his eyes upward, I've got to be the most in-trouble kid, ever.

He wondered if he could make the Guinness Book of World Records. He'd be willing to bet money that no one else had come close to getting busted as many times as he had."

A tale of friends and family, action-packed sports, and a lot of crossed signals.

Stuart is grounded. Again. His strict mother is always on his case. If he's busted one more time, Stuart may even have to give up soccer. But his best friend, a girl named Mack, hatches a plot to distract his mom by fixing her up with Mack's uncle. It just might work-if their friendship doesn't unravel first. And anyhow, he doesn't want his widowed mom to date. Or does he?
Publication Date: 09/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
LionBoy: The Chase
Zizou Corder
Synopsis: The second installment of the Lionboy trilogy follows Charlie and his lion friends through such action-packed adventures as an escape from Venice, a shipwreck, and other surprises.
Publication Date: 09/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Dance Jam Productions
Celise Downs, Steven Colston
Synopsis: GET YOUR GROOVE ON! LOCAL TEEN SHOW HOSTING DANCE CONTEST! The local popular teen dance show, Dance Jam Productions, is looking for regulars. Mataya Black Hawk and Jarek Thanos meet by chance one day and end up as dance partners at the contest the next. When they become one of twelve finalists, they have to work together to create a dance routine. As the final Dance-Off draws near, Jarek shows his interest, yet Mattie keeps him at a distance for fear he will discover her secret. A secret hidden for so long that even her closest friends don't know. But that's the least of their problems. Local teens are becoming pawns in a twisted scheme and all clues point to Dance Jam Productions. Is it coincidence that the victims were dancers on the show? Will Mattie come to terms her past to find love with Jarek? Is there a price to pay for being a regular on Dance Jam Productions? Mattie and Jarek intend to find out before they become the next targets.
Publication Date: 08/31/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Money, Money, Money
Eve Drobot
Synopsis: Money, Money, Money delves into the myths, history, and future of money through informative and amusing anecdotes. From ancient barter systems to today’s digital transactions, the story of currency is explored in age-appropriate language and through a rich array of photographs and illustrations. The basics — the history of money, banks and how they work, the stock market, how interest is calculated — are covered in a clear, simple fashion, making often difficult concepts easy for young readers to grasp. Chapters on bank robbers, the origin of slang terms such as “dough” and “moolah,” and how ATMs work educate while they entertain. The book also provides young readers with advice for making, spending, and investing their own money.
Publication Date: 08/31/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction
Running Horsemen
Dolph Lemoult
Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Chance Bailey leaves his home in west Texas in 1952 to search for his missing father in New York.
Publication Date: 08/30/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Bartimaeus Trilogy
Jonathan Stroud
Synopsis: The second adventure in the Bartimaeus trilogy finds our young apprentice magician Nathaniel working his way up the ranks of the government, when crisis hits. A seemingly invulnerable clay golem is making random attacks on London. Nathaniel and the all-powerful, totally irreverent djinni, Bartimaeus, must travel to Prague to discover the source of the golem's power. In the ensuing chaos, readers will chase a dancing skeleton across London's skyline, encounter the horror of the dreaded Night Police, witness a daring kidnapping, and enter the Machiavellian world of the magician's government. Eventually, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus have to go head to head with the fearsome golem before the surprise identity of his master is finally revealed.
Publication Date: 08/23/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Abhorsen
Garth Nix
Synopsis:

The Abhorsen Sabriel and King Touchstone are missing, leaving only Lirael -- newly come into her inheritance as the Abhorsen-in-Waiting -- to stop the Destroyer. If Orannis's un-speakable powers are unleashed, it will mean the end of all Life. With only a vision from the Clayr to guide her, and the help of her companions, Sam, the Disreputable Dog, and Mogget, Lirael must search in both Life and Death for some means to defeat the evil destructor -- before it is too late ...

The apocalyptic climax to the series of events that began with Sabriel and continued in Lirael, the New York Times best-selling Abhorsen is an electrifying reading experience not to be missed.

Publication Date: 08/17/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
In the Shadow of the Ark
Anne Provoost
Synopsis: THE RED TENT meets GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING in the profoundly moving tale of a young woman who survives the flood as a stowaway on Noah's Ark.

"And every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth..."

When ReJana and her family reach the desert plain where the great ship is being constructed, the world has already begun to change. The waters are rising everywhere, and both people and animals are beginning to panic. This is the dramatic story of the weeks and months that follow, as the rain transforms the earth and the people come to understand the magnitude of the disaster. This is the story of one girl who stows away on the ark for love of Ham, Noah's son. This is her story of survival.
Publication Date: 08/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Unassigned
A Crack in the Line
Michael Lawrence
Synopsis: The mystery has begun

Alaric

It's been two years since his mother died in a terrible train crash, and Alaric's life continues to unravel. He and his father are barely on speaking terms, and Withern Rise, their Victorian mansion, is in shambles. Trapped at home during a blizzard, Alaric stumbles into a parallel world; a reality in which his mother is still alive. There's only one problem ... someone else is living his life.

Naia

Naia tries not to dwell on the horrible accident two years ago that nearly took her mother away. Now that life with her parents in Withern Rise has returned to normal, Naia thinks the worst is behind her. But during a freak snowstorm she's confronted by a stranger. Why does this boy look like her? Why does he have the same thoughts? The same memories? Who is he?

Alaric's and Naia's discovery of each other sets off an electrifying chain of events. And as their lives - and lifelines - entwine, the two teenagers uncover a truth with the power to rearrange, or even erase, their very existence.

Publication Date: 08/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Henry V
Paul Werstine, Barbara A. Mowat, William Shakespeare
Synopsis: Henry V is Shakespeare’s most famous “war play”; it includes the storied English victory over the French at Agincourt. Some of it glorifies war, especially the choruses and Henry’s speeches urging his troops into battle. But we also hear bishops conniving for war to postpone a bill that would tax the church, and soldiers expecting to reap profits from the conflict. Even in the speeches of Henry and his nobles, there are many chilling references to the human cost of war.

The authoritative edition of Henry V from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:

-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play

-Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

-Scene-by-scene plot summaries

-A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases

-An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language

-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books

-An annotated guide to further reading

Essay by Michael Neill

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
Publication Date: 07/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Merry Wives of Windsor
William Shakespeare
Synopsis: Shakespeare’s “merry wives” are Mistress Ford and Mistress Page of the town of Windsor. The two play practical jokes on Mistress Ford’s jealous husband and a visiting knight, Sir John Falstaff.

Merry wives, jealous husbands, and predatory knights were common in a kind of play called “citizen comedy” or “city comedy.” In such plays, courtiers, gentlemen, or knights use social superiority to seduce citizens’ wives.

The Windsor wives, though, do not follow that pattern. Instead, Falstaff’s offer of himself as lover inspires their torment of him. Falstaff responds with the same linguistic facility that Shakespeare gives him in the history plays in which he appears, making him the “hero” of the play for many audiences.

The authoritative edition of The Merry Wives of Windsor from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:

-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
-Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
-Scene-by-scene plot summaries
-A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases
-An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language
-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books
-An annotated guide to further reading

Essay by Natasha Korda

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
Publication Date: 07/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Tempest
Paul Werstine, Barbara A. Mowat, William Shakespeare
Synopsis: Putting romance onstage, The Tempest gives us a magician, Prospero, a former duke of Milan who was displaced by his treacherous brother, Antonio. Prospero is exiled on an island, where his only companions are his daughter, Miranda, the spirit Ariel, and the monster Caliban. When his enemies are among those caught in a storm near the island, Prospero turns his power upon them through Ariel and other spirits.

The characters exceed the roles of villains and heroes. Prospero seems heroic, yet he enslaves Caliban and has an appetite for revenge. Caliban seems to be a monster for attacking Miranda, but appears heroic in resisting Prospero, evoking the period of colonialism during which the play was written. Miranda’s engagement to Ferdinand, the Prince of Naples and a member of the shipwrecked party, helps resolve the drama.

The authoritative edition of The Tempest from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, includes:

-Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play

-Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

-Scene-by-scene plot summaries

-A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases

-An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language

-An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

-Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books

-An annotated guide to further reading

Essay by Barbara A. Mowat

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit Folger.edu.
Publication Date: 07/01/04
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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