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The Softwire: Betrayal On Orbis 2
Synopsis: Sci-fi fans will tear through this new adventure as Johnny Turnbull — first human softwire — finds more danger and intrigue on the next ring of Orbis.

On Orbis 2, Johnny Turnbull has a new home and a new job, one that pushes his softwire abilities to painful limits. JT is the only one who can communicate with the Samirans, large aquatic aliens who have cooled the crystals on Orbis for nearly two thousand rotations. But as the Samirans’ work rule ostensibly comes to a close, they have grown dangerously agitated, and JT must find out why. What he learns is that the prosperity of Orbis is built on a brutal system of enforced labor — and that everyone seems to have something to hide. Can JT appease the Samirans before their threat is realized? And if he doesn’t, will his friends survive? In this second episode of THE SOFTWIRE, PJ Haarsma takes readers on another lightning-paced, cyber-fueled ride through the amazing universe he introduced in THE SOFTWIRE: VIRUS ON ORBIS 1.
Publication Date: 03/25/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Fairy Tail 1
Hiro Mashima, Hiro Mashima
Synopsis: THE WICKED SIDE OF WIZARDRY

Cute girl wizard Lucy wants to join the Fairy Tail, a club for the most powerful wizards. But instead, her ambitions land her in the clutches of a gang of unsavory pirates led by a devious magician. Her only hope is Natsu, a strange boy she happens to meet on her travels. Natsu’s not your typical hero–he gets motion sickness, eats like a pig, and his best friend is a talking cat. With friends like this, is Lucy better off with her enemies?
Publication Date: 03/25/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Dark Wraith of Shannara
Synopsis: THE FIRST-EVER GRAPHIC NOVEL SET IN THE WORLD OF SHANNARA!

Possessing an awesome power he is only beginning to understand, young Jair Ohmsford must summon the devastating yet darkly seductive magic of the wishsong on a fateful mission to save his friends . . . and protect the future from the forces of evil.

If you’ve never ventured into the wondrous world of Shannara, consider this an ideal opportunity. Prepare to enter the breathtaking realm of the Four Lands, where beings both noble and sinister have quested and clashed, crossed swords in the names of darkness and light, and engaged in adventures rich with mystery and majesty.

“Terry’s place is at the head of the fantasy world.”
–Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass
Publication Date: 03/25/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Whirlwind
David Klass
Synopsis:

In Firestorm, the first book of the Caretaker Trilogy, seventeen-year-old Jack Danielson saved the world’s oceans, but at great personal cost – his parents were killed and everything he knew and believed in was turned upside down. Now Jack has come home to see P.J., his girlfriend and sole remaining touchstone. But she’s missing, and blame falls on Jack. On the run with Gisco, his crafty canine sidekick, Jack is literally caught up in a whirlwind as he travels to the heart of darkness to rescue P.J. – a journey that will bring him face-to-face with the father of his old nemesis, the colonel, aka the Dark Lord from the future. Jack’s quest becomes all the more complicated as he discovers that the only person who can stop the Dark Lord is another time traveler, the wizard Kidah, who has disappeared in the present.

Book 2 of the Caretaker Trilogy mixes heart-racing adventure with an urgent ecological warning about the fragility of the world’s rain forests and the importance of respect for indigenous peoples. Readers will be drawn into the vortex of the quest—whether or not they’re familiar with Book 1.

Publication Date: 03/18/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Blue Like Friday
Siobhan Parkinson
Synopsis:

NOT EVERYONE SEES THE WORLD THROUGH THE SAME LENS.  From the author of Something Invisible comes this funny and poignant novel about the hues of friendship.

Spunky Olivia and eccentric Hal are an unlikely pair. While Hal suffers from a neurological condition called synesthesia that causes him to associate things with colors, Olivia tends to see the world in black and white. Still, these two are friends through thick and thin, through rose-colored days and blue days, even when Hal’s plan to get rid of his mother’s boyfriend backfires by driving his mother away. Olivia’s honest, funny and always-opinionated voice tells this story with colorful perception. 

Publication Date: 03/18/08
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
Storm: The Infinity Code
Synopsis: STORM is a gadget-packed, high-adrenaline adventure?a middlegrade spy novel sure to leave readers white-knuckled and breathless. It?s also the name of the ambitious organization formed by the story?s three brainiac kids: Will, the loner, inventive genius, and creator of cutting-edge gadgets. Andrew, the software whiz-kid, millionaire, and fashion disaster. Gaia, the brilliant and mysterious teen chemist, fluent in French, Italian, Mandarin, and blowing stuff up. Will first scoffs at STORM?s grand plans to combat global strife. But when the group uncovers a plot to create a deadly revolutionary weapon, the three race from England to Russia, determined not only to find and dismantle the weapon, but to confront the psychopathic scientist behind it all.
Publication Date: 03/13/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Mad Kestrel
Misty Massey
Synopsis:

A rip-roaring pirate romance and mystery

In a world where infants with magical powers are torn from their parents to be raised by the mysterious and powerful Danisoba, who have a monopoly on magic, Kestrel has managed to keep her abilities concealed―and herself free. First hiding in back alleys as a street urchin, she hid when they killed her parents, and then served as a young tavern maid before escaping to sea, where magic is cancelled by water.

Now an adult, as the quartermaster of a pirate ship, Kestrel loves the freedom of living on the seas. But her way of life could end if anyone on board learns her closely guarded secret―that she has magical control over the wind.

One day a black ship appears, and her life changes. Its captain is a handsome rogue of whom Kestrel is strangely, constantly aware.

When Kestrel's captain is led into a trap and is arrested, she gathers her crew and sets sail in relentless pursuit. . . .

Publication Date: 03/04/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Portia's Ultra Mysterious Double Life
Synopsis:
I look at the clock: 4:23 a.m. In approximately three hours I have to wake up again to go to school, and I haven't even gone to sleep yet. How can I possibly care about pop quizzes, bad hair days, and beauty makeovers now that I've found a major clue to the true identity of my missing father?

IDENTIFYING DATA

Subject: Portia Avatar -- Girl Psychoanalytic Detective

Background material: Twelve years old. Lives with earth mom, Indigo, and gray-and-white cat (who thinks he's a dog) named Frederick. To date, Portia does not know the whereabouts of her mysterious father, Patch.

Recent developments: An earthquake shakes up Portia's sleepy hometown of Palmville, California. A photograph of Patch is uncovered. Portia's life, as she knows it, is about to change forever.
Publication Date: 03/04/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Brothers of War
J. Marshall Martin
Synopsis:
Publication Date: 03/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Hannah Pritchard
Bonnie Pryor
Synopsis: Upon finding her family murdered by British redcoats, Tories, and Iroquois Indians, Hannah Pritchard begins a long and difficult journey in search of revenge and adventure. The former New York farm girl wants the opportunity to fight the British, and she finds it aboard an American privateer ship during the Revolutionary War. However, Hannah must hide her female identity to be able to work as a cabin boy aboard the Sea Hawk. Follow Hannah s brave story as this teenager discovers a wild life at sea, forges new friendships, and learns the bittersweet taste of revenge.
Publication Date: 03/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Tobbi's Amazing Adventures  in Cloudland
Mark Seliger, Ilya Simakovsky
Synopsis: Trouble! His daydreaming was out of control. But how could Tobbi Sontag resist flying on his newly invented bionic wings or racing his car at 200 miles an hour, or scoring a spectacular basket over the heads of helpless NBA stars. Yet, how could he do anything when for the past three months he has been stuck in a wheelchair? And things were getting worse, much worse! A Voice haunted him, a deep, gruesome Voice; it called for him more and more, even now.... Tobbi s familiar world crumbles around him. I know something is going to happen, but what, what? he asks himself. When the moment comes, however, Tobbi makes a difficult but critical decision and the adventure of his life begins! Tobbi transforms into something else, and a whole new world opens up to him, a whole new life. Welcome to Cloudland! In the mountains of South America thrives an artistic society of sentient clouds. It is led by the enormous Cloud Maker, the owner of the Voice. After many adventures there, Tobbi learns of the grave threat to Cloudland and even the whole Earth; he chooses to join their fight. The Evil Spoiler intends to conquer the skies and drown the world in storms. In his lair inside Gray Mountains he is ready to unleash his gray army and the monstrous Shadow Eater to poison the skies of the world. The War! Tobbi and his chosen troops fail in their desperate, all out assault. Horrifying events unfold and finally only Tobbi is left. He fights alone but he fights for everything he cares for and for everyone he loves. Will he win? Will he be able to get back? Will he get well? Will he lose everything, even his life? You, the reader, will be with him in his final fight against tremendous odds, and win or lose his courage will warm your heart and lift your spirit. This is a book for all ages.
Publication Date: 02/15/08
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
Jesse Bowman
Tom McGowen
Synopsis: In this action-packed historical fiction novel, Jesse Bowman joins the Union Army in hopes of finding adventure. However, this teenage soldier learns that victory comes at a great cost. He discovers the hardships of war, the horror of battle, and the loss of friendship on his journey through the Civil War. Join Tom McGowen as he tells the story of one boy s contribution to the Union s triumph over the Confederacy.
Publication Date: 02/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
King Solomon’s Mines
H. Rider Haggard
Synopsis: The first great "Lost World" action-adventure, a precursor to Indiana Jones

H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines has entertained generations of readers since its first publication in 1885. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into southern Africa in search of a lost friend-and a lost treasure, the fabled mines of King Solomon. Led by the English adventurer and fortune hunter Allan Quartermain, they discover a frozen corpse, survive untold dangers in remote mountains and deserts, and encounter the merciless King Twala en route to the legendary hoard of diamonds.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Publication Date: 01/29/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Un Lun Dun
China Miéville
Synopsis: What is Un Lun Dun?

It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too–including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.

When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.


From the Hardcover edition.
Publication Date: 01/29/08
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
Endless Quest
Bruce Algozin
Synopsis: You are charged with carrying a message to stop dragons from attacking your village. With your brother you must travel to the Ayrie before the evil red dragon convinces the other dragons to attack!

Updated for today's young readers, this action-packed series allows readers to jump right into their very own fantasy adventure.
Publication Date: 01/08/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Dragon Maze
Jean Rabe, Andre Norton
Synopsis: Shy realizes that she is lucky to be taken in by her grandparents after her father dies–but life above an antique store in Slade’s Corners, Wisconsin is not exactly the place a teenage girl wants to be.
 One day while going through boxes of her father’s boyhood stuff, she comes upon a rare old set of dragon puzzles … all of which are missing pieces. Her grandmother recalls the fantastic tales Shy's father would tell about his travels to lands of dragons and adventure. She always thought that these fantasies were inspired by the puzzles Shy has found.
 Shy realizes that by mixing and matching the different sets she can complete a single dragon puzzle that combines all of the others. Upon doing so she is whisked away to ancient Babylon where she must continue the duties of her father’s legacy as a servant to the dragon and a savior of the world.
Publication Date: 01/08/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure

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