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Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins
Synopsis: Life in Claire’s typical Midwestern town is quiet; some would even say boring. But this is the 1950s, and things that seem calm on the surface are often churning underneath. When Claire takes a new black friend, dressed as “Liberty,” to the Fourth of July parade in the town park, she realizes there can be no liberty for either girl in her all-white town. And as she grows older, she discovers that her world is more complicated than she ever imagined.

Being the “new girl” in school isn’t the fresh start she was hoping for. Getting a pet involves sacrifices. And falling in love is more confusing than fulfilling—especially when it is not a love that can be spoken of, least of all by Claire.

Teenage sexuality, northern segregation, differing religious beliefs, and animal cruelty are just a few of the controversial topics explored in this collection of five interrelated stories, told in a voice that is both refreshingly naive and darkly humorous. With this book, Marion Dane Bauer lives up to her reputation as a writer who is not afraid to delve into difficult material in search of the truth.
Publication Date: 05/21/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Wednesday Wars
Gary D. Schmidt
Synopsis: In this Newbery Honor-winning novel, Gary D. Schmidt offers an unforgettable antihero. THE WEDNESDAY WARS is a wonderfully witty and compelling story about a teenage boy’s mishaps and adventures over the course of the 1967–68 school year.

Meet Holling Hoodhood, a seventh-grader at Camillo Junior High, who must spend Wednesday afternoons with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, while the rest of the class has religious instruction. Mrs. Baker doesn’t like Holling—he’s sure of it. Why else would she make him read the plays of William Shakespeare outside class? But everyone has bigger things to worry about, like Vietnam. His father wants Holling and his sister to be on their best behavior: the success of his business depends on it. But how can Holling stay out of trouble when he has so much to contend with? A bully demanding cream puffs; angry rats; and a baseball hero signing autographs the very same night Holling has to appear in a play in yellow tights! As fate sneaks up on him again and again, Holling finds Motivation—the Big M—in the most unexpected places and musters up the courage to embrace his destiny, in spite of himself.
Publication Date: 05/21/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
High Spirits
Dianne Salerni
Synopsis:

In mid-nineteenth century America, spirits knock and tables tip for Maggie and Kate Fox, two teenage sisters who convince people they can talk to the dead with their mysterious rapping noises. Before long, neighbors are begging Maggie and Katie for the chance to receive messages from dead relatives and older sister Leah realizes that their “prank” has real money-making potential.

Soon, the sisters hit the road to bamboozle newspaper editors, politicians, and the public at large and start a national craze for spirits and ghosts. Their fame grows—but could their powers actually be real? See the good and the bad that can happen when three sisters land in the limelight and come to their own conclusions about what’s true, what’s right and what’s important.

Publication Date: 05/16/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Specialists: Model Spy
Shannon Greenland
Synopsis: (The Specialists, Book 1)
Teen genius Kelly James is in a lot of hot water. A whiz with computers, she agreed to help her college RA, David, uncover some top-secret information. After all, she doesn't have many friends and David has always been nice to her. It doesn’t hurt that he'’s supercute and irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into the government’s main computer system. But a few hours later, her whole life changes. She is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn’t your run-of-the-mill arrest. Rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. As if that wasn’'t overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well! And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she'’s sent on her first mission as an undercover model. And who better to partner with than David himself!
Publication Date: 05/10/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Pilgrims of Rayne (Pendragon)
Synopsis: Learning about the secret of Meyapolo, Bobby's only chance of saving the island and its people from ruin is to stop Saint Dane from making Ibara the staging ground for the final attack, but he will need the help of Courtney to get the job done, in the latest addition to the Pendragon series.
Publication Date: 05/08/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Decoding of Lana Morris
Tom McNeal, Laura McNeal
Synopsis: A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

Sixteen-year-old Lana Morris wishes her life were different: her Ice Queen of a foster mother won't leave her alone, and she has no friends but the other foster kids she takes care of.

Then she stumbles into a mysterious antique shop and trades her most valued possession for a single box of drawing paper: thirteen thick, blank pages, like thirteen wishes waiting to be made. Suddenly, impossibly, it seems Lana might actually have the power to change things. But wishing isn't always as harmless as it seems...
Publication Date: 05/08/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Noah Confessions
Barbara Hall
Synopsis: At the age of 16, it's standard procedure for every girl at Lynnie Russo's posh Los Angeles prep school to get a car. So on her 16th birthday, Lynnie is startled when she opens the small gift box from her father—it doesn't contain the shiny new set of keys she was expecting. Instead she finds a worn-out bird charm bracelet. What can he be thinking? When she cuts school to go try surfing so as to have a special day, instead of grounding her, her father hands her a manuscript box and says, "Your mother wanted you to have this when it seemed you were losing perspective. I think now's the time."

Through "The Noah Confessions," Lynnie uncovers her family's secrets, loves, and tragedies, and comes to recognize that their past may not necessarily determine her future.
Publication Date: 05/08/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Captives
Tom Pow
Synopsis: Martin and his family are enjoying a sun-filled vacation on a beautiful Caribbean island--until they are stopped at gunpoint, blindfolded, and bundled into a truck that heads for the dense forest of the island's interior. Pushed to their physical and emotional limits as they are forced deeper into the wild terrain, the hostages come to understand something of the harsh political backdrop of life on sunny Santa Clara, and the events that have shaped the lives of their captors and fueled their actions.
Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon
Synopsis:

Thousands of years ago, King Solomon used a powerful ring, known as the Great Seal, to imprison the fallen angels of heaven in a sacred vessel. Now both the ring and the vessel have been stolen from OIPEP by a double-crossing Mike Arnold. Should Mike choose to wield the demons' power, all hell could break lose . . . literally. Led by the mysterious Op-Nine, OIPEP has a plan to retrieve the artifacts, and their success depends on the least likely candidate, none other than the last descendent of Lancelot, Alfred Kropp. In this thrilling new adventure, author Rick Yancey proves once again that Alfred Kropp's unlikely role as a world-saving hero is definitely no accident.

Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Highest Tide: A Novel
Synopsis:

One moonlit night, thirteen-year-old Miles O'Malley sneaks out of his house and goes exploring on the tidal flats of Puget Sound. When he discovers a rare giant squid, he instantly becomes a local phenomenon shadowed by people curious as to whether this gawky teenager is just an observant boy or an unlikely prophet. But Miles is really just a kid on the verge of growing up, infatuated with the girl next door, worried that his bickering parents will divorce, and fearful that everything, even the bay he loves, is shifting away from him, In this beguiling novel, we witness dramatic changes for both Miles and the coastline that he adores over the course of one unforgettable summer.

Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Titans of Chaos
John C. Wright
Synopsis: Titans of Chaos completes John Wright's The Chronicles of Chaos. Launched in Orphans of Chaos--a Nebula Award Nominee for best novel in 2006, and a Locus Year's Best Novel pick for 2005--and continued in Fugitives of Chaos, the trilogy is about five orphans raised in a strict British boarding school who discovered that they are not human. The students have been kidnapped, robbed of their powers, and raised in ignorance by super-beings. The five have made incredible discoveries about themselves. Amelia is apparently a fourth-dimensional being; Victor is a synthetic man who can control the molecular arrangement of matter; Vanity can find secret passageways through solid walls; Colin is a psychic; Quentin is a warlock. Each power comes from a different paradigm or view of the universe. They have learned to control their strange abilities and have escaped into our world: now their true battle for survival begins. The Chronicles of Chaos is si
Publication Date: 04/17/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Finding Stinko
Michael de Guzman
Synopsis: Newboy hasn’t spoken in three years. One morning he opened his mouth and nothing came out. He doesn’t know why he stopped talking, but what he does know is that he’s through with the state child-care system. In twelve years he’s lived in eleven foster homes, and the Knoxes are the worst of the bunch. Now, with no voice, no family, and no exact plan, Newboy is running away for good. Living on the streets means danger and excitement around every corner, but the one thing Newboy never expected to find is a companion in the form of an old ventriloquist dummy lying in a Dumpster – a puppet with no hands, backward feet, and a chunk of its nose missing. Amazingly, this beat-up doll whom he dubs “Stinko” possesses a kind of magic that helps Newboy rediscover his ability to communicate.
 
This is a fast-paced adventure about a runaway kid figuring out not just what he’s searching for but also what he has to say. Finding Stinko is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Publication Date: 04/17/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
68 Knots
Michael Robert Evans
Synopsis: This edgy novel about a diverse group of teens who commandeer a sailboat and support themselves by pirating during one summer full of adventure and discovery, is also a subtle yet powerful novel of awakening, of coming to grips individually with the issues they face as they are on the cusp of adulthood. Written with restraint and authenticity, this powerful debut will appeal to older YA readers.
Publication Date: 04/15/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Amanda Noble: Zookeeper Extraordinaire
Synopsis: For Amanda Noble, living in a zoo is cool. But it seems the zoo houses more than boas, lions, and exotic birds, and she finds herself working alongside a murder suspect and an inept gangster--just another day at Nobles Ark.
Publication Date: 04/13/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Rise of the Golden Cobra
Henry Aubin, Stephen Taylor
Synopsis:

A young scribe with revenge on his mind. A pharaoh's war for the honor of Egypt. An action-packed tale from ancient history.

During a picnic overlooking the Nile, 14-year-old scribe Nebi spots the riders first. Led by the treacherous Count Nimlot, the raiding party slaughters Nebi's master, the region's head of police. Although wounded, Nebi -- knowing that the pharaoh's northern territory is no longer secure -- escapes as the only living witness.

Nebi is quickly catapulted into events that will change history. Set in 728 B.C., Rise of the Golden Cobra surrounds the actual reign of Pharaoh Piankhy, the brilliant and compassionate leader whose astonishing campaign united ancient Egypt.

Nebi's adventures take him to the court of Piankhy himself, to friendship with feisty Prince Shebitku, and to war. Fierce battles culminate in the siege of Memphis, where Nebi finally confronts Nimlot and his own desire for revenge. Well-served by the pharaoh's honorable example, Nebi finds release in letting Nimlot live. Meanwhile, Piankhy's victory unites North and South Egypt, making him the one true pharaoh entitled to wear the golden cobra crown.

Bursting with action and political intrigue, and rich in historical detail and dramatic illustrations, Rise of the Golden Cobra is an epic adventure for the ages.

Publication Date: 04/13/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Dream of the Stone
Christina Askounis
Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Sarah discovers that her brilliant older brother's top-secret research for the Institute involves interstellar travel and a threat to a planet millions of light-years away. Simultaneous.
Publication Date: 04/10/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure

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