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The Broken Branches
Becky Villareal
Synopsis: A school project begins a journey for Sarafina Garcia that will change her life forever. In an attempt to gain a scholarship to a prestigious school, she is thrown headfirst into a labyrinth of family history that will confuse and deepen her search. Dont dig up old bones, was the response Sarafina received from her mother when she asked for help. What was it in the family history that was so horrible that she wouldnt discuss it? Only by delving into historical records will she solve the lingering mystery of her parentage and mend the broken branches of her childhood one last time.
Publication Date: 11/01/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Triangulate: Book Three of The Stones of Bothynus Trilogy
Synopsis: Triangulate: Book Three of The Stones of Bothynus Trilogy is the final book in D.K. Reed's young adult science fiction/fantasy trilogy. Annie is obsessed with the half-angel Aaan but this summer she only has two weeks to spend at her grandmother's farm, near Aaan's cave, before flying to Budapest to visit her childhood best friend. She convinces Aaan to leave his cave with her but their short-lived acquaintance may be over when he agrees to allow Erik to use him to test how the stones affect angels, without realizing this would make him vulnerable to Daanak and the fiend. The visible battle is only the tip of the iceberg for the larger battle that rages in the Angel Realm.
Publication Date: 07/24/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Romance
Price of Duty
Todd Strasser
Synopsis: Jake Liddell is a war hero.

The military is considering awarding him a Silver Star, a huge honor for any soldier -- especially for the son of a military family. 
Only Jake's questioning everything his family brought him up to believe.
Now at home, recovering from his physical wounds, the memories of what he experienced "over there" haunt him. Meanwhile, he feels pressure from all sides. Some people want him to speak out against the military system he was brought up to honor and respect. Others, like his famous grandfather (a general himself), are urging him to return to the battlefield to fight again.Jake was raised to believe that fighting for one's country was a moral obligation. But now that he's seen firsthand the human cost of war, he is no longer sure. Bestselling YA author Todd Strasser delivers an engrossing and timely novel about very real issues faced by the young people caught in today's "forever war," and the price they pay.
Publication Date: 07/17/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Spirits, Graves and Stones (Book 3 - The Stones Trilogy)
Synopsis: Bruce shrugged. “Beats me. But I don’t think it matters whether you have a bow and arrow or a bazooka. I mean, it helps—that’s for sure—but I think it’s more of a choice thing. The soldiers chose to run away ’cause they were more concerned ’bout saving their own lives. That lady chose not to run ’cause she knew she couldn’t live with herself if she did. I know people say you gotta have guts to do these things, but I don’t think so. I think you just gotta live your life so you don’t have any regrets.” For twenty-three years, Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, abducted more than sixty thousand children, forcing them to be soldiers in his war against the Ugandan government, to kill or be killed. It’s time for this evil to end. But how? Forgiveness or revenge? Peace or hate? Flowers or stones? Healing can’t begin when there’s so much pain. Broken people can’t mend shattered lives. In the last book of the Stones Trilogy, Charlie and Eseza set out to right the wrongs committed against them and their people. In the process, they discover that goodness can come from the most unlikely people, in the most unlikely places, and in the most unlikely times. “Donna White’s latest novel has the ability to change people, much like the magical stones referenced in her title: turning despair into hope; and finding strength even among the most vulnerable. The final revelation that peace is stronger than war is a much needed message for our troubled times, and a fitting conclusion to her compelling trilogy.” Patrick Reed, Director/Producer, Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children
Publication Date: 07/11/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Series
Reality Gold
Tiffany Brooks
Synopsis: Gold Award Winner in the 2018 Literary Classics Book Awards for YA Contemporary
Literary Titan Gold Book Award 2018
Bronze Medal in the YA Adventure Readers Favorite Awards 2018
Semi-finalist in the Dante Rosetti YA CIBA Award 2019
 
 “…an incredibly readable, fast-paced, YA coming of age adventure novel where everyone has a secret, and no one is who they seem.” —Chanticleer Review
 
"Brooks’ riveting, multidimensional characters drive the story...this lambent, indelible cast outshines any gold they might find." —Kirkus Reviews
 
High school senior Riley Ozaki is desperate to change her reality after an avalanche of Internet shaming ruined her life. With her reputation and self-esteem at rock bottom thanks to cyberbullying, Riley needs to do something drastic to repair her social standing—which is why she decided to try out for a reality TV show. Suddenly, she’s dropping onto a deserted tropical island with nineteen other teens for a Survivor-style competition that she hopes will be her redemption.
 
With a cast of vivid characters who will stop at nothing to win the show, a cursed island setting, and a priceless treasure waiting to be discovered, Reality Gold pitches readers right into scheming web of lies, love, and betrayal. This novel is a fast-paced journey where allies may not be who they say they are, and legends abound. Riley must embrace all of life’s realities, including loss and deceit, in order to discover who she truly is.
 
Publication Date: 05/22/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
THE LIES THEY TELL
Gillian French
Synopsis:

With shades of E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars and Courtney Summers’s Sadie, this dark and twisted mystery set in a divided Maine seaside town simmers with unresolved tensions and unpredictable truths.  

Everyone in Tenney’s Harbor knows about the Garrison tragedy. How an unexplained fire ravaged their house, killing four of the five family members. But what people don’t know is who did it.

All fingers point at Pearl Haskins’ father, who was the caretaker of the property, but Pearl just doesn’t believe it. Leave it to a town of rich people to blame “the help.”

With her disgraced father now trying to find work in between booze benders, Pearl’s future doesn’t hold much more than waiting tables at the local country club, where the wealthy come to flaunt their money and spread their gossip. This year, Tristan, the last surviving Garrison, and his group of affluent and arrogant friends have made a point of sitting in Pearl’s section. Though she’s repulsed by most of them, Tristan’s quiet sadness and somber demeanor have her rethinking her judgments.

Befriending the boys could mean getting closer to the truth, clearing her father’s name, and giving Tristan the closure he seems to be searching for. But it could also trap Pearl in a sinister web of secrets, lies, and betrayals that would leave no life unchanged…if it doesn’t take hers first.

Publication Date: 05/01/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Mystery
Pray for Hell
Kitty Honeycutt
Synopsis: Sampson County, North Carolina is not the quiet little town most people think it is. Hidden deep within the sprawling corn and cotton fields there is a world that no one would ever expect existed. Ashton Morris and his family have lived in Sampson County, North Carolina all their lives, for them the insane happenings are normal everyday activity, but for Deputy Jacy Crittenden they are anything but normal. Having left her hometown of New York for a quiet life and a little less bustle she can’t seem to wrap her head around the insanity she’s stepped into. It has been only 6 months since she transferred and already there are ritualistically butchered cattle, a teenager that no one seems to know even exists, not to mention the Morris family and the strange death of the two youngest member’s father. Somehow Jacy needs to find out what’s going on… but her detective instincts just might lead her into a situation that would make her days on the force in New York seem like a walk in Central Park on a nice spring day. “Pray for Hell” is the second in the ‘Sampson County Supernatural’ series that promises to be a wild ride on the paranormal side of life… none like you’ve ever read before.
Publication Date: 04/25/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Freefall Summer
Tracy Barrett
Synopsis: Fans of Sarah Dessen and Gayle Forman's emotionally-charged novels will laugh and cry with Clancy Edwards as she learns about taking chances and letting go during one unforgettable summer at her family's skydiving drop zone.

Sixteen-year-old Clancy Edwards has always been "the good girl." Ever since her beautiful, daring mother died in a skydiving accident, Clancy's father has watched her like a hawk. Between her dad's rules and her boyfriend's protectiveness, she's longing for an escape.

Then Clancy meets Denny, a college freshman and new skydiving student at the drop zone where she works. Clancy lets him think she's the same age. But the lies snowball over the summer, and suddenly Clancy isn't the person she wants to be. If only making choices were as simple as taking a leap out of a plane. Before Clancy can make things right, one last act of rebellion threatens her chance to do so--maybe forever.
Publication Date: 04/03/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Nila: Air
Daniel G Linsteadt
Synopsis: Nila-Air, the second in the series, has Seth discovering the perilous motives behind his father’s heartless actions that caused his debilitated health, isolation, and suffering. Now reborn on a new pristine world, Nila are determined to rebuild their community and face any new challenges. Finally living as a true Nila, Seth must learn how to deal with the withdrawals of his former human life. Boredom and heartache force Seth to search within himself for his meaning and purpose while his relationship with Kate deteriorates with the presence of Raymond, who becomes the Red Crystal Bearer that Seth and his father previously held. Seth’s connection with the mysterious Her—Nila’s spiritual leader—intensifies as he attempts to decipher new visions from Her. Straying from Nila protocol, Seth discovers a new threat—the current winged inhabitants. Boredom quickly turns into adventure and self-discovery that are fraught with danger and gut-wrenching decisions. Can Seth bring peace between his Nila family and the inhabitants, and does he have time?
Publication Date: 03/29/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Nila: Fire
Daniel G Linsteadt
Synopsis: Nila-Fire, the third in the series, has Seth, a Nila Swimmer, and his adopted family of Nila flyers finding themselves back on their home planet, Earth. Assisted by two hikers, Vuna is nursed back to health after his attack by Zerths. Vuna and Zuri’s fast-growing daughter Seva connects them, as flyers, with humans, and they learn their reason for returning to Earth—to assist their own kind! Jiva and Kava go on a mission given to them by Gian, where they obtain the clear crystal and a quest from Sam. Kava returns to the flyers with the clear crystal, while Jiva leaves the flock with a map, a riddle, and Britta—Sam’s housekeeper. On his own mission, Seth is saved by Xcina from stormy waters. He learns his family of swimmers has also returned to Earth and safe from the Zerths. Taken to a lavender planet, Xcina passes the mantle of “She” onto him, but not before giving him instructions to find his father. With new visions of darkness, yellow eyes, and imminent danger, he reluctantly searches for his father. Hearing Sam’s version of events, beginning with his childhood, Seth sets out to reunite Sam with his Nila family of swimmers and Aiyana, Seth’s mother. Seth and his family leave Earth to live in a paradise, which causes a rift for the swimmers. Tragedy strikes, which causes Seth to lose his way. Nila of a new form are coaxed into saving Seth, which rekindles past mistrust between Lara and Zuri, both She. What are Lara’s real motives behind assisting Seth?
Publication Date: 03/29/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Emergency Contact
Mary H. K. Choi
Synopsis: “Smart and funny, with characters so real and vulnerable, you want to send them care packages. I loved this book.” —Rainbow Rowell

From debut author Mary H.K. Choi comes a compulsively readable novel that shows young love in all its awkward glory—perfect for fans of Eleanor & Park and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

For Penny Lee high school was a total nonevent. Her friends were okay, her grades were fine, and while she somehow managed to land a boyfriend, he doesn’t actually know anything about her. When Penny heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s seventy-nine miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind.

Sam’s stuck. Literally, figuratively, emotionally, financially. He works at a café and sleeps there too, on a mattress on the floor of an empty storage room upstairs. He knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second the seventeen bucks in his checking account and his dying laptop are really testing him.

When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s less meet-cute and more a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch—via text—and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other.
Publication Date: 03/27/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Nila: Water
Daniel Linsteadt
Synopsis: Nila-Water, the first in a series, emerges as a blend of the parallel realities that Seth lives in. Developing a debilitating illness with an excruciating skin condition, he has lived a life of isolation. He escapes to the bedtime stories told by his father, of a beneficent race of Nila, who live on earth and in the oceans. Suffering also the loss of his father, who abruptly disappears from his life, he becomes attracted to his beautiful, tantalizing caretaker, Kate, who shares the house entrusted to him by his father. They mutually agree he should undergo four risky treatments recommended by his doctor, Eshe, to curb his ailing condition. The questionable intentions of Seth’s powerful father for humans and for Nila are revealed during the course of treatments. Are Seth’s real-life experiences during the treatments actually his new life in the ocean, or a result of the drug being administered?
Publication Date: 03/21/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
The Wolf in Winter (The Valarsard Chronicles: Book Two)
Synopsis: Following the dramatic events that closed Book One, the Valarsards settle back into harmonious co-existence. But tranquility is short-lived, enemies are close at hand, and both the wolf and the eagle are called upon as never before to protect loved ones and avert further tragedy.
Publication Date: 02/19/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Ravening Heart of the Wolf-The Valarsard Chronicles:Bk 1
Synopsis: from the grave. A young girl is uprooted from the sheltered life that is all she has known and must learn to survive in a violent and pitiless world where man is wolf to man. A valiant young warrior loses his heart to her, but the unforeseen tears them apart. Fate conspires to throw all three into each other’s path with shattering results. A colorful cast of minor characters helps to create a stunning, stained-glass-montage of an adventure that will enthrall readers young, old, and in-between.
Publication Date: 02/12/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza
Shaun David Hutchinson
Synopsis: From the critically acclaimed author of We Are the Ants and At the Edge of the Universe comes a mind-bending, riveting novel about a teen who was born to a virgin mother and realizes she has the power to heal—but that power comes at a huge cost.

Sixteen-year-old Elena Mendoza is the product of a virgin birth.

This can be scientifically explained (it’s called parthenogenesis), but what can’t be explained is how Elena is able to heal Freddie, the girl she’s had a crush on for years, from a gunshot wound in a Starbucks parking lot. Or why the boy who shot Freddie, David Combs, disappeared from the same parking lot minutes later after getting sucked up into the clouds. What also can’t be explained are the talking girl on the front of a tampon box, or the reasons that David Combs shot Freddie in the first place.

As more unbelievable things occur, and Elena continues to perform miracles, the only remaining explanation is the least logical of all—that the world is actually coming to an end, and Elena is possibly the only one who can do something about it.
Publication Date: 02/06/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
LAYOVER
Emily Meyer, Amy Andelson
Synopsis: Fans of Julie Buxbaum's Tell Me Three Things and Morgan Matson's Since You've Been Gone will get caught up in the drama of this road trip romance that begins with an unplanned flight layover in L.A. and turns into a wild adventure.

FLYNN: At first we were almost strangers. But ever since I moved to New York, Amos was the one person I could count on. And together we were there for Poppy. (I mean, what kind of parents leave their kid to be raised by a nanny?) I just didn't expect to fall for him--and I never expected him to leave us.

AMOS: I thought I was the only one who felt it. I told myself it was because we were spending so much time together--taking care of Poppy and all. But that night, I could tell she felt it, too. And I freaked out--you're not supposed to fall for your stepsister. So I ran away to boarding school. I should have told her why I was leaving, but every time I tried, it felt like a lie.

One missed flight was about to change their lives forever. . . .

Perfect for fans of Clueless and brought to you by two Hollywood screenwriters, this wild journey of unlikely romance, heartbreak, and adventure--set against the backdrop of a blended family in free fall during a rebellious layover in Los Angeles–reveals the true value of the unbreakable bonds we forge when we dare to let ourselves risk it all.

"A thoughtful, charming journey into the nature of love and family." –Rachel Cohn, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

"This road-trip saga from Hollywood screenwriters Andelson and Meyer is being hailed as a must-read for fans of 'Clueless.'" –Brightly
Publication Date: 02/06/18
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction

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