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Firebolt (The Dragonian Series)
Synopsis:                  Dragons. Right. Teenage girls don't believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins was no different.
Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.
Now Elena's in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a Prince wants Elena's heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh. And the only way Elena's going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own.
Teenage girls don't believe in fairy tales. Now it's time for Elena to believe - in herself.            
Publication Date: 11/19/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Series
Loud Awake and Lost
Adele Griffin
Synopsis: There was an accident. Ember knows at least that much. She was driving. The car was totaled. Eight months later, Ember feels broken. She can’t even remember the six weeks of her life leading up to the accident. Where was she going? Who was she with? And what happened during those six weeks that her friends and family won’t talk about?
 
In the wake of her critically praised young adult psychological thrillers, Tighter and All You Never Wanted, National Book Award finalist Adele Griffin has created another triumph in this unflinching story of loss and recovery that Booklist called “exquisite” in a starred review.


From the Hardcover edition.
Publication Date: 11/12/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
White House Wit, Wisdom and Wisecracks
Ashley Walton, Phil Dampier
Synopsis: In January 2013, Barack Obama was sworn in for a second term as the 44th President of the United States of America. The only African-American to occupy the White House, this charismatic and eloquent leader is carrying on a rich tradition of oratory which started with the Founding Fathers of the 18th century. This comprehensive collection of witty one-liners, historic pronouncements, personal insights and philosophical musings should contain something for everyone. It goes without saying that you will find the goofs and gaffes of more recent incumbents of the office, but what clearly emerges from the more serious quotations in this compilation is how many of the problems faced by the earliest Presidents still resonate today. When George Washington said "Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom", Andrew Jackson admitted "I have always been afraid of banks" and Herbert Hoover declared "Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt", they could have been talking of 21st-century crises. In our 24-hour TV news and internet world, how would the earliest leaders have stood up to scrutiny? More than a few Presidents were wooden and unsuited to the Oval Office, while others were the cream of their generation and could have succeeded in whatever career they chose. Some quotations have become beacons of inspiration - like these pearls of wisdom: Thomas Jefferson's drafting of the Declaration of Independence: " - that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." JFK's timeless exhortation: "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." As Commanders-in-Chief, Presidents are in charge of the most powerful armed forces ever known, yet humor is often their best weapon. Harry S. Truman: "You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog." Ronald Reagan: "I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency - even if I'm in a Cabinet meeting." Barack Obama: "I'm so over-exposed I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse."
Publication Date: 11/11/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Humor
Spirit Seeker: The Talisa Santiago Saga
Synopsis: Life is strange and difficult for the granddaughter of a shaman. Sixteen-year-old Talisa Santiago was born in the desert underneath the full moon in January-the wolf moon. However, she left the desert with her mother when she was a young girl. She remembers bits and pieces of her past but it isn't until she and her mom move to a remote barrier island off the coast of North Carolina that she feels fate has finally called-secretive and mysterious he stands alone on the edge of the bank. Her friends tell her to stay away; she hears rumors that he is dangerous. Still, she can't resist. Whether Talisa realizes it or not, she knows a thing or two about boys like Jag Chavez. Fate is funny that way. For the first time in her life, Talisa meets kids just like her-Native Americans who know the ways of the spirit. The closer she gets to Jag, the more she realizes he is hiding a dark secret. He may have the markings of the Thunderbird, but he is named for the powerful Jaguar. Together they embark on a journey that will haunt her forever.
Publication Date: 11/08/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
The In-Between
Barbara Stewart
Synopsis:

When Elanor's near-death experience opens a door to a world inhabited by bold, beautiful Madeline, she finds her life quickly spiraling out of control

Fourteen-year-old Elanor Moss has always been an outcast who fails at everything she tries―she's even got the fine, white scars to prove it. Moving was supposed to be a chance at a fresh start, a way to leave behind all the pain and ugliness of her old life. But, when a terrible car accident changes her life forever, her near-death experience opens a door to a world inhabited by Madeline Torus . . . Madeline is everything Elanor isn't: beautiful, bold, brave. She is exactly what Elanor has always wanted in a best friend and more―their connection runs deeper than friendship. But Madeline is not like other girls, and Elanor has to keep her new friend a secret or risk being labeled "crazy." Soon, though, even Elanor starts to doubt her own sanity. Madeline is her entire life, and that life is drastically spinning out of control. Elanor knows what happens when your best friend becomes your worst enemy. But what happens when your worst enemy is yourself?
With her debut novel, The In-Between, Barbara Stewart presents a bold new voice in teen fiction.

Publication Date: 11/05/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Romance
Indigo
Gina Linko, Gina Linko
Synopsis: A curse? A gift? A moment that changes everything . . .
 
Corrine was only reaching out to help her little sister when her touch brought a violent surge of indigo light. In an instant, Sophie was dead. Determined to hide her deadly curse, Corrine distances herself from the world, refusing to touch anyone she loves.
 
When her family moves to the mystical city of New Orleans, Corrine meets Rennick, a talented artist with a dangerous past. He opens her eyes to other possibilities and suggests there might be more to her gift. But after what happened to her sister, can Corrine trust Rennick? Can she trust herself?
 
The haunting New Orleans setting gives this suspenseful contemporary YA romance a unique twist.
 
Praise for Indigo:
 
“Romantic, tense, edge-of-your-seat reading.” —Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author
 
“A compelling mixture of vulnerability and mysticism with a lush romantic core.” —C. K. Kelly Martin, author of Yesterday
 
“An often moving examination of grief, loss, and acceptance.” —Booklist
 
“Teens will enjoy this compelling novel that offers a fresh, modern voice, a touch of the otherworldly, and a satisfying resolution.” —SLJ
 
“A paranormal love story with plenty of spark.” —Kirkus Reviews
Publication Date: 10/22/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Romance
Teardrop
Lauren Kate
Synopsis: An epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away. The first book in the new series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series

Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux's mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn't, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before.

But Ander doesn't know Eureka's darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined.
Publication Date: 10/22/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Romance
Dunnard's Pearl
Mike Williamson
Synopsis:

People are remarkably adaptable. If you ruin them slowly enough they barely notice!

Humans and aliens take on the establishment in Mike Williamson’s funny and thought-provoking debut, Dunnard’s Pearl.

Part-time teenage idealist James Justice is transported to a strange world from the playing-fields of his London school. Despite the bright, new surroundings, the same dirty, old tricks are being enthusiastically employed by a self-serving government to fleece the people.

James promises to champion the down-trodden and stumbles upon two more earthlings who have also found themselves mysteriously beamed aboard the ‘Vortex’.

Together, the three teenagers tread a fine line as they attempt to play along with the powers that be while desperately seeking a way to return home.

They find themselves thrust into the company of a very soft alien couple, are recruited for a reality television show, and learn the awful secret that the Administrators are determined to hide. As they try to avoid this awful fate, James and his allies face a final, violent showdown with the Grand Administrator. Will they win? Will they ever find a way to return to their homes?

Publication Date: 10/20/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Adventure
Briony Hatch
x x, Penelope and Ginny Skinner
Synopsis: Briony Hatch hates reality. She prefers the fantasy world of her favourite novels: The Starling Black Adventures, in which ghosts are real and you can cast magic spells to defeat your enemies. In her real life, Briony's parents are getting divorced and her friends are preoccupied by losing weight and shagging boys. Briony has tried all Starling Black's magic spells in her bedroom but they don't seem to be working. Her mother wants her to grow up, get her head out of those books and pack - they're leaving Dad and moving into a bungalow the other side of town. Worst of all, Briony has almost finished the last ever Starling Black novel; life will soon have no meaning at all. But Briony is about to learn that fantasy and reality aren't always so easy to distinguish, and life doesn't have to be dull just because you're getting older.
Publication Date: 10/15/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Manga/Graphic Novel
The Vow
Jessica Martinez
Synopsis: When two teens with complex motives plan to marry, their friendship is put to the ultimate test in this compelling novel from the author of Virtuosity.

Mo and Annie are just friends. Close friends, best friends, friends who love each other more than anyone else in the world—but just friends. No matter what anyone thinks, there’s simply no romance between them.

Then the summer before senior year Mo’s father loses his job—and his work visa. Even though Mo has lived in America for most of his life, he’ll be forced to move to Jordan. The prospect of leaving his home is devastating, and he’s terrified to return to a world where he no longer belongs.

So Annie proposes they tell a colossal lie: that they are in love. Mo agrees that marrying Annie is the only way he can stay, and Annie is desperate to help her friend. But what happens next may be enough to rip their relationship apart forever.
Publication Date: 10/15/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Meet Me At The River
Nina de Gramont
Synopsis: We can’t choose who we love…but can we choose to let go?

Stepsiblings Tressa and Luke have been close since they were little…and when they become teenagers, they slip from being best friends to being something more. Their relationship makes everyone around them uncomfortable, but they can’t—won’t—deny their connection. Nothing can keep them apart.

Not even death. Luke is killed in a horrible, tragic accident, and Tressa is suddenly and desperately alone. Unable to outrun the waves of grief and guilt and longing, she is haunted by thoughts of suicide. And then she is haunted by Luke himself.

He visits only at night. But when he’s with her, it’s almost like the accident never happened. Oh, there are reminders, from the way she can only feel him when he touches the scars on her wrist, to how she can’t seem to tell him about life since he’s been gone. As long as they’re together, though, the rest…it fades away.

But during the day it is Tressa who can’t grasp hold of the people around her. The same people who never wanted her and Luke together in the first place are determined to help her move on. Determined to help her heal. They just don’t understand—one misstep, one inch forward, could leave Luke behind forever.

Nina de Gramont, author of Gossip of the Starlings and Every Little Thing in the World, writes of love that is beautiful and poetic, forbidden and radical—and utterly irresistible.
Publication Date: 10/15/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Death, and the Girl He Loves
Synopsis:

From Darynda Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Death and the Girl Next Door and Death, Doom & Detention, comes Death and the Girl He Loves, the exciting third book in her new young adult series Darklight

The fate of the world is not something a girl wants on her shoulders, and that is especially true for Lorelei McAlister. Unfortunately for her, that is exactly where the world's fate has decided to take up residence. Lorelei has seen firsthand the horrors that lie beneath our everyday world. And those horrors are getting her friends killed. Because of this, she agrees to leave the sanctity of her hometown and is sent to a different world entirely. A boarding school. But even here she is being watched. Someone knows what she is. What she carries inside her soul. And on top of that she's seeing visions. This is nothing new for Lorelei. But these visions are something more: death, destruction, and the end of the world. Lorelei must face the fact that there are people who want her dead, and no matter where she goes, no matter how far she runs, the lives of her friends and family are in mortal peril. Lucky for her, her friends and family include the handsome Angel of Death, a fiercely protective half-angel, and a ragtag group of loyal supporters who aren't afraid to get a little dirty in the name of fighting pure evil.

Publication Date: 10/08/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Juvie
Steve Watkins
Synopsis: Heart-wrenching and real, Juvie tells the story of two sisters grappling with accountability, sacrifice — and who will be there to help you after you take the fall.

Sadie Windas has always been the responsible one — she’s the star player on her AAU basketball team, she gets good grades, she dates a cute soccer player, and she tries to help out at home. Not like her older sister, Carla, who leaves her three-year-old daughter, Lulu, with Aunt Sadie while she parties and gets high. But when both sisters are caught up in a drug deal — wrong place, wrong time — it falls to Sadie to confess to a crime she didn’t commit to keep Carla out of jail and Lulu out of foster care. Sadie is supposed to get off with a slap on the wrist, but somehow, impossibly, gets sentenced to six months in juvie. As life as Sadie knew it disappears beyond the stark bars of her cell, her anger — at her ex-boyfriend, at Carla, and at herself — fills the empty space left behind. Can Sadie forgive Carla for getting her mixed up in this mess? Can Carla straighten herself out to make a better life for Lulu, and for all of them? Can Sadie survive her time in juvie with her spirit intact?
Publication Date: 10/08/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Red
Alison Cherry
Synopsis: Contemporary teen fiction with a twist!
Felicity St. John has it all: loyal best friends, a hot guy, and artistic talent. And she's right on track to win the Miss Scarlet pageant. Her perfect life is possible because of just one thing: her long, wavy, coppery red hair.

Having red hair is all that matters in Scarletville. Redheads hold all the power--and everybody knows it. That's why Felicity is scared down to her roots when she receives an anonymous note:
I know your secret.
Because Felicity is a big fake. Her hair color comes straight out of a bottle. And if anyone discovered the truth, she'd be a social outcast faster than she could say strawberry blond. Her mother would disown her, her friends would shun her, and her boyfriend would dump her. And forget about winning that pageant crown and the prize money that comes with it--money that would allow her to fulfill her dream of going to art school.

Felicity isn't about to let someone blackmail her life away. But just how far is she willing to go to protect her red cred?

Praise for RED:

"As thought-provoking as it is enchanting."--Rae Carson, author of the FIRE AND THORNS trilogy
 
 "Smart, funny, and full of Awesome Ladies Behaving Awesomely, Alison Cherry's RED is everything I look for in a book. It will make you laugh, it will make you think, and it will make you book an appointment with your colorist immediately."--Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of the Hex Hall series

"Clever, wickedly funny and with so much heart."--Melina Marchetta, author of the Printz-award winning Jellicoe Road
Publication Date: 10/08/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Chick Lit
Shifter
Kunrong Yap, Brian Holguin, Skip Brittenham, Brian Haberlin
Synopsis: How would you like to be a T-Rex for the day? Be able to fly? Or inhabit your worst enemy’s body just for a day?

Imagine being able to become any animal in the world – you taste what they taste, feel what they feel, see what they see. Now imagine being able to be any animal from history.

Great, right? But there’s a catch: Someone just tried to kill you and frame you for murder, and you don’t know who or why. Join us on a thrilling ride to meet the coolest creatures ever to have lived.

The art and story will hook readers of all ages.
Publication Date: 10/08/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Manga/Graphic Novel
Once We Were Brothers
Ronald H. Balson
Synopsis:

The gripping tale about two boys, once as close as brothers, who find themselves on opposite sides of the Holocaust.

"A novel of survival, justice and redemption...riveting." ―Chicago Tribune, on Once We Were Brothers

Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and wealthy philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser is convinced he is right and engages attorney Catherine Lockhart to bring Rosenzweig to justice. Solomon persuades attorney Catherine Lockhart to take his case, revealing that the true Piatek was abandoned as a child and raised by Solomon's own family only to betray them during the Nazi occupation. But has Solomon accused the right man?

Once We Were Brothers is Ronald H. Balson's compelling tale of two boys and a family who struggle to survive in war-torn Poland, and a young love that struggles to endure the unspeakable cruelty of the Holocaust. Two lives, two worlds, and sixty years converge in an explosive race to redemption that makes for a moving and powerful tale of love, survival, and ultimately the triumph of the human spirit.

Publication Date: 10/08/13
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction

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