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The Black Heart Crypt
Chris Grabenstein
Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library comes a series of spine-tingling mysteries to keep you up long after the lights go out.

Halloween is nearing, the one day of the year when the ghostly plane is close enough to the human plane to allow mischief and mayhem. But the ghosts who have their eye on Zack aren't thinking mischief, they are thinking murder.

In this fourth volume of Chris Grabenstein's popular Haunted Mysteries series, Zack must once again do battle with malevolent spirits. And with his usual pluck, and the assistance of three dotty aunts, he must save his town from a 200-year-old threat.

Once again Chris Grabenstein proves his mastery of the frightening and funny tale. Young readers, especially reluctant ones, have found an inspiration to read in Grabenstein's quirky characters and deadly situations.
Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
A Conspiracy of Kings
Megan Whalen Turner
Synopsis:

Discover the world of the Queen’s Thief

New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception. The New York Times bestseller A Conspiracy of Kings won the Los Angeles Times Book Award and is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.

After an attempted assassination and kidnapping, Sophos, heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears. Those who care for him—including the thief Eugenides and the Queen of Eddis—are left to wonder if he is alive and if they will ever see him again. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Discover and rediscover the stand-alone companions, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings, and Thick as Thieves, all epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief.  

Winner of the LA Times Book Award

A New York Times Bestseller

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

A School Library Journal Best Book

“The Queen’s Thief books awe and inspire me. They have the feel of a secret, discovered history of real but forgotten lands. The plot-craft is peerless, the revelations stunning, and the characters flawed, cunning, heartbreaking, exceptional. Megan Whalen Turner’s books have a permanent spot on my favorites shelf, with space waiting for more books to come.”—Laini Taylor, New York Times-bestselling author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone novels and Strange the Dreamer

"Unforgettable characters, plot twists that will make your head spin, a world rendered in elegant detail—you will fall in love with every page of these stories. Megan Whalen Turner writes vivid, immersive, heartbreaking fantasy that will leave you desperate to return to Attolia again and again."—Leigh Bardugo, New York Times-bestselling author of The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows

“Megan Whalen Turner is one of my all-time favorite writers . . . impossible to put down.”—Holly Black, award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author of the Modern Faerie Tale series and The Darkest Part of the Forest

“Romance, intrigue, mystery, surprises, and sheer beautiful writing.”—Cassandra Clare, award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author of The Mortal Instruments and Lady Midnight

“The world Turner creates is so tangible that not only do I believe in its characters, I almost believe in its gods.”—Kristin Cashore, award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author of the Graceling Realm series

“A Conspiracy of Kings brings the sweetest, sharpest kind of reading pleasure. Megan Whalen Turner’s books are pure joy.”—Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medalist and New York Times-bestselling author of When You Reach Me and Goodbye Stranger

Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The White City
John Claude Bemis
Synopsis: In The Nine Pound Hammer, John Bemis introduced middle-grade readers to a whole new approach to epic fantasy, founded on characters and themes from American mythology and lore, including the legend of John Henry. Now in the third and final book, the heroes come together at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago for a final confrontation with a businessman and tycoon who is in fact an ageless evil known as the Gog. With his Dark Machine, he intends to bend the world to his ruthless vision of progress and efficiency. It's man versus machine all over again, fighting for the soul of humanity in front of Ferris's Wheel. For fans of adventure fantasy like Percy Jackson and Peter and the Starcatchers.
Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Here Lies Linc
Delia Ray
Synopsis: When 12-year-old Linc Crenshaw decides he wants to go to public school, his professor mom isn't so happy with the idea. He's convinced it will be the ticket to a new social life. Instead, it's a disaster when his mom shows up at their field trip to the local cemetery to lecture them on gravestones, and Linc sees her through his fellow-students' eyes. He's convinced his chances at a social life are over until a cemetery-related project makes him sought-after by fellow students he's not so sure he wants as friends, helps him make a new, genuine friend, and brings to light some information about his family that upends his world.

Delia Ray has written a funny, heartfelt story about a lonely kid and his mother as they ultimately cope with the grief left behind from his dad's death, and along the journey find new ways to connect with each other, and their community.
Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
The Very Little Princess: Rose's Story
Elizabeth Sayles, Marion Dane Bauer
Synopsis: In a classic storyteller's voice, Newbery Honor recipient Marion Dane Bauer tells a tale of friendship, family, and fitting in that recalls The Doll People, Rumer Godden, and Hitty, Her First Hundred Years.

Rose is a wild child. She doesn't care what her mother or teacher or schoolmates say—she does what she wants. When she finds a delicate china doll in the attic, she takes it. Then the doll comes to life in her hand. She's loud, obnoxious, selfishly bossy, and claims that she's a princess and Rose is her servant. But she's also tiny and fragile. She needs Rose to keep her safe. And maybe Rose needs Princess Regina, too.
Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Power of Six
Pittacus Lore
Synopsis:

The second book of the #1 New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series!

In the beginning, nine aliens left their home planet Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorians. They scattered on Earth and went into hiding. They look like ordinary teenagers but have extraordinary powers. The Mogs have come for them. They killed Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. They tried to get John Smith, Number Four, in Ohio—but they failed.

Now John has joined forces with Number Six, and they are on the run. But they are not alone. Already John and Six have inspired Marina, Number Seven, who has been hiding in Spain. She’s been following the news of what’s happening, and she’s certain this is the sign she’s been waiting for. It’s time to come together.

Michael Bay, director of Transformers, raved: “Number Four is a hero for this generation.” This epic story is perfect for fans of action-packed science fiction like The Fifth Wave series by Rick Yancey, The Maze Runner series by James Dashner, and Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.

The battle for Earth’s survival wages on. Don’t miss the rest of the series: #3: The Rise of Nine, #4: The Fall of Five, #5: The Revenge of Seven, #6: The Fate of Ten, and #7: United as One.

Don’t miss the first book in the brand-new I Am Number Four spin-off series: Generation One.

Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
This Dark Endeavor
Kenneth Oppel
Synopsis: Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures...until the day their adventures turn all too real.

They stumble upon The Dark Library, and secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies are discovered. Father forbids that they ever enter the room again, but this only peaks Victor's curiosity more. When Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is not be satisfied with the various doctors his parents have called in to help. He is drawn back to The Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. Elizabeth, Henry, and Victor immediately set out to find assistance in a man who was once known for his alchemical works to help create the formula.

Determination and the unthinkable outcome of losing his brother spur Victor on in the quest for the three ingredients that will save Konrads life. After scaling the highest trees in the Strumwald, diving into the deepest lake caves, and sacrificing one’s own body part, the three fearless friends risk their lives to save another.
Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Bloodlines
Richelle Mead
Synopsis: The first book in Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series

When alchemist Sydney is ordered into hiding to protect the life of Moroi princess Jill Dragomir, the last place she expects to be sent is a human private school in Palm Springs, California.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Bloodlines explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive--this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone's out for blood.
Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Skary Childrin And The Carousel Of Sorrow
Synopsis: Twelve years ago, for 12 days straight, the town of Widowsbury suffered a terrible storm, which tore open a gate through which escaped all sorts of foul, rotten things. Strange things and strange people were no longer welcomed in Widowsbury, for one could never be sure of what secrets waited under the surface . . .

Adelaide Foss, Maggie Borland, and Beatrice Alfred are known by their classmates at Widowsbury's Madame Gertrude's School for Girls as "scary children." Unfairly targeted because of their peculiarities—Adelaide has an uncanny resemblance to a werewolf, Maggie is abnormally strong, and Beatrice claims to be able to see ghosts—the girls spend a good deal of time isolated in the school's inhospitable library facing detention. But when a number of people mysteriously begin to disappear in Widowsbury, the girls work together, along with Steffen Weller, son of the cook at Rudyard School for Boys, to find out who is behind the abductions. Will they be able to save Widowsbury from a 12-year-old curse?
Publication Date: 08/23/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Gods of Asphalt
H. E. Ellis
Synopsis: Seventeen year-old Sawyer Hayden isn't a nerd. He never misses a free throw and his good looks always get him the girl. But good looks and a good handle aren't enough to get him what he really wants, and that is a shot at a basketball scholarship. For that to happen he needs to stay in one school long enough for a scout to watch him play.
 
Sawyer knows a semester is about as long as his flighty, on-again, off-again mother can handle living in one place before she takes off with the boyfriend no one wants to mention. He knows it's a matter of time before he's back in the family big rig with his jilted father and brooding brother on his way to another new school, another round of try outs and another day further from his dream of basketball stardom.
 
With the clock ticking on his senior year and chance for a college scholarship, Sawyer abandons his father and brother for a permanent life in Nebraska with his grandfather, Gus. But life in his father's hometown isn't what Sawyer expected, and soon stories of his father's former glory days as a high school football star begin to surface; tales of gridiron greatness and career aspirations that end tragically with his marriage to a flighty, on-again, off-again girlfriend.
 
Determined to avoid the same fate that robbed his father of his own professional sports career, Sawyer makes a vow to never fall in love. Enlisting the help of his awkward teammate Jeb, the two devise a game plan to keep the girls away. But there is an obstacle in the road that Sawyer never sees coming: a blue-eyed obstacle who reveals a fate worse than failure-- success.
Publication Date: 08/22/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Porcelain Soldier
Kelli Davis
Synopsis: At age twenty-eight, Kelli Davis is young, in a promising relationship, and has just embarked on an exciting, fulfilling career that she is passionate about and is taking her places. Then, one night, she is rushed to the emergency room for severe pain in her arm, and is discharged three hours later with a completely unexpected diagnosis: cancer. Disposition-Discharged: The patient was discharged ambulatory accompanied by significant other. The significant other is ready, alert, and willing to learn. The patient's diagnosis, condition, and treatment were explained to the patient and the patient expressed understanding. With doctors by her side, Kelli finds comfort in adhering to a strict medical plan, but there is no prescription for how to live life after cancer. Porcelain Soldier: Finding Gratitude in Cancer is an intimate, honest journey that follows Kelli as she attempts to answer the questions "Why did I get cancer?" and "What am I supposed to learn from it?", allowing readers to see and feel her struggles to regain a so-called normal life. If Kelli were to walk out of those same hospital doors today, she would rewrite her discharge report this way: Disposition-Discharged: The patient was discharged ambulatory accompanied by a greater sense of being. The future significant other will appreciate vulnerability, celebrate wisdom, and mean the words "in sickness and in health." The patient's diagnosis, condition, and treatment were explained to the patient and the patient expressed understanding, gratefulness, desire to recognize and appreciate the lessons cancer has to offer, and a great outlook on tomorrow. A book written from the heart, Porcelain Soldier gives a glimpse inside the delicate balance of strength and frailty that exists when battling cancer.
Publication Date: 08/22/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Biography
Secrets of a Summer Village
Synopsis: Can coffee grounds tell your future? Will fate bring you to your soul mate thousands of miles from home? How will you know if it's him? Would the evil eye dare stop two souls on their paths to each other? A last-minute opportunity to spend a month with a Turkish family on the Aegean coast drastically changes the course of seventeen-year-old Rachel Guo’s summer. This intercultural coming-of-age novel is full of exotic tastes, summer heat, promises kept and broken, and love. In a summer village on the western coast of Turkey, you’ll meet Rachel, who doesn’t know what she wants; Aylin, who doesn’t know if she wants the one who wants her; and Leyla, who knows who she wants, but doesn’t know if she’ll get him. Love and romance are secret pleasures in the summer village, which only make them more exciting. Travel with Rachel on her journey far from the comforts of home, to a place that will captivate her and leave her changed forever.
Publication Date: 08/21/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Blood and Guitars
Heather Jensen
Synopsis: When Aurora meets Trey, a famous singer and musician, she's only hoping to get her fill of human blood for the week. The last thing Aurora expects is for Trey to make her feel alive for the first time since she was, well, alive. It begins with a casual painting lesson at her art studio, The Waking Moon, and quickly turns into a forbidden romance. Aurora is forced to hide her true identity from Trey, while keeping her relationship with the human a secret from other vampires in her Brood. 
Trey's band is recording a new album and with Aurora as his muse, Trey is writing songs like never before. After being hired by their record label to paint the cover of the new album, Aurora has a legitimate reason for spending so much time with Trey and his band mates. Aurora can't deny the unexpected connection she has with Trey, which is fueled by glimpses into his emotions every time they share a kiss. Caught between two worlds, Aurora must attend celebrity award shows and vampire rituals, find time to feed, and protect Trey from the dangers of the night, all while preserving her secrets.
Publication Date: 08/17/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Bargains and Betrayals
Shannon Delany
Synopsis: Locked away at Pecan Place, Jessie finds her situation to be even more dangerous than she feared. While she struggles to maintain her sanity and discover answers about the group that seems less and less like any legitimate government agency, Pietr fights to keep their relationship alive. But very aware that his mother’s time is running out, Pietr makes a deal he doesn’t dare tell Jessie about. Because the deal Pietr’s made could mean the death of far more than his tenuous relationship with the girl he loves.
Publication Date: 08/16/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Death Catchers
Jennifer Anne Kogler
Synopsis:

On her fourteenth Halloween, Lizzy Mortimer sees her first death-specter.

Confused at first, Lizzy soon learns from her grandmother Bizzy that as Death Catchers, they must prevent fate from taking its course when an unjust death is planned-a mission that has been passed down from their ancestor, Morgan le Fay. Only, Lizzy doesn't expect one of her first cases to land her in the middle of a feud older than time between Morgan le Fay and her sister Vivienne le Mort. Vivienne hopes to hasten the end of the world by preventing Lizzy from saving King Arthur's last descendant-humanity's greatest hope for survival. It's up to Lizzy, as Morgan's earthly advocate, to outwit fate before it's too late.

With its unique spin on Arthurian legend, this fresh, smartly written story will stand out in the paranormal genre.

Publication Date: 08/16/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Auslander
Paul Dowswell
Synopsis:

When Peter's parents are killed, he is sent to an orphanage in Warsaw, Poland. But Peter is Volksdeutscher-of German blood. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he looks just like the boy on the Hitler Youth poster. The Nazis decide he is racially valuable. Indeed, a prominent German family is pleased to adopt such a fine Aryan specimen into their household. But despite his new "family," Peter feels like a foreigner-an ausländer-and he is forming his own ideas about what he sees and what he's told. He doesn't want to be a Nazi. So he takes a risk-the most dangerous one he could possibly choose in 1942 Berlin. . . .

Paul Dowswell weaves meticulous research into a thrilling narrative, exposing a different angle of the horrors of Nazi Germany.

Publication Date: 08/16/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction

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