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Wolfsbane and Mistletoe
Toni L. P. Kelner, Charlaine Harris
Synopsis: Edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, this hair-raising holiday collection includes fifteen original tales—including an original Sookie Stackhouse story.

The holidays can bring out the beast in anyone—particularly lycanthropes. Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner have harvested the scariest, funniest, saddest werewolf tales by an outstanding pack of authors including Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, Karen Chance, Simon R. Green, and more...

Whether wolfing down a holiday feast (use your imagination) or craving some hair of the dog on New Year's morning, the werewolves in these frighteningly original stories will surprise, delight, amuse, and scare the pants off readers who love a little wolfsbane with their mistletoe.
Publication Date: 10/07/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Dragon Wishes
Regan Johnson, Stacy Nyikos
Synopsis: Alex and Isa's world has been turned upside down by their parents deaths. They've had to leave their homes in Oklahoma to live with their Uncle Norbert and Aunt Ling in San Francisco. They're both having trouble adjusting. Five-year-old Isa has stopped ta
Publication Date: 10/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Kendra
Coe Booth
Synopsis: The acclaimed author of TYRELL returns to PUSH with a striking novel about a mother and daughter who are only fourteen years apart, but need to learn to understand each other before it's too late.

Kendra's mom, Renee, had her when she was only 14 years old. Renee and her mom made a deal -- Renee could get an education, and Kendra would live with her grandmother. But now Renee's out of grad school and Kendra's in high school ... and getting into some trouble herself. Kendra's grandmother lays down the law: It's time for Renee to take care of her daughter. Kendra wants this badly -- even though Renee keeps disappointing her. Being a mother isn't easy, but being a daughter can be just as hard. Now it's up to Kendra and Renee to make it work.
Publication Date: 10/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Ghost Cats of the South
Randy Russell
Synopsis: In this companion volume to the popular GHOST DOGS OF THE SOUTH, award-winning folklorist Randy Russell presents more than 20 original stories of cats who reach between the worlds of life and death. Each story is birthed from existing folklore, noted incidents of ghost cats, and first-person accounts. No mere compendium of reported incidents and sightings, this ghostly volume introduces the reader to the fuller circumstances and personalities of known encounters with cats who have landed on their feet in the afterlife.
Publication Date: 10/01/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Slant
Laura E. Williams
Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Lauren, a Korean American adoptee, is best friends with the prettiest — and tallest — girl in the school, Julie, who has an endless amount of confidence. Lauren, on the other hand, has been saving for years to pay for a special eye surgery that will deepen the crease of her eyelids. It's not that she wants to look like everyone else in her suburban Connecticut school; she'd just be happy if kids stopped calling her "slant" and "gook." Up until now she's been able to ignore the insults, but when the cutest boy in her class calls her "slant," she realizes she needs to do something about her "nickname." When she convinces her reluctant father to consent to the eye operation, Lauren suddenly finds herself faced with a challenge: should she get the operation that might make her more confident and popular, or can she find that confidence within herself? Laura Williams' sensitive, beautifully written story offers a powerful lesson to young readers whose self-esteem depends too much on how they look.
Publication Date: 10/01/08
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Key to Redemption
Talia Gryphon
Synopsis: When her lover, master vampire Aleksei Rachlav, offers his home as a safe haven for those paramortals who stand against Dracula's army, fighter and healer Gillian Key finds their relationship strained by the new clients he has brought to her and by the return of an old enemy. Original.
Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Seems
John Hulme, Michael Wexler
Synopsis:

WARNING: Anything can happen in a Split Second

Becker Drane's still got the coolest job in The World, but it's getting harder and harder to live a normal life outside of The Seems. He's definitely feeling the strain of being a teenager (complete with mood swings and a newfound respect for sarcasm) and he can't stop thinking about Jennifer Kaley, the totally cool girl he met during his Mission in Sleep. Things don't get any easier when a bomb explodes in the Department of Time and Becker is called in to pick up the pieces after a more senior Fixer couldn't disarm the device. It's his toughest mission yet, and Becker finds himself going places in The Seems he never knew existed, and meeting people long thought dead. Yep, it's just another day in the life of Becker Drane. Let's hope he lives to Fix again . . . .

Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Tsarina's Daughter
Carolly Erickson
Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette comes a dramatic novel and powerful love story about the last Russian imperial family.

 

It is 1989 and Daria Gradov is an elderly grandmother living in the rural West. What neighbors and even her children don’t know, however, is that she is not who she claims to be—the widow of a Russian immigrant of modest means. In actuality she began her life as the Grand Duchess Tatiana, known as Tania to her parents, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra.

            And so begins the latest entrancing historical entertainment by Carolly Erickson. At its center is young Tania, who lives a life of incomparable luxury in pre-Revolutionary Russia, from the magnificence of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to the family’s private enclave outside the capital. Tania is one of four daughters, and the birth of her younger brother Alexei is both a blessing and a curse. When he is diagnosed with hemophilia and the key to his survival lies in the mysterious power of the illiterate monk Rasputin, it is merely an omen of much worse things to come. Soon war breaks out and revolution sweeps the family from power and into claustrophobic imprisonment in Siberia. Into Tania’s world comes a young soldier whose life she helps to save and who becomes her partner in daring plans to rescue the imperial family from certain death.

Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Alicia Afterimage
Lulu Delacre
Synopsis: On the evening of September 24, 2004, sixteen-year-old Alicia María Betancourt was killed in a car accident. Popular, happy, fun-loving Alicia daughter, sister, and friend to so many gone in an instant. How would those left behind cope with such a sudden, devastating loss? Wrestling with grief, anger, mortality, and spirituality, Alicia's loved ones struggle to create a lasting place in their hearts for someone who is no longer a physical presence. They share joyful and painful memories, and discover the resilient power of enduring friendship and love. In time, each person finds a way to heal while keeping Alicia's vibrant spirit alive for those who knew her, and those who never will. Alicia Afterimage is a remarkable story of loss and recovery, but mostly it is a story of love. In this moving tribute to an extraordinary girl, readers will find a pathway through grief and a road map to remembrance. It is a book of comfort for all teens and adults who seek a way to ease the pain of losing someone they cherished.
Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Icy Hand
Chris Mould, Chris Mould
Synopsis:

THE ICY HAND VOLUME 2 :THE SECOND ADVENTURE IN STANLEY BUGGLE'S SAGA

Even more wicked and weird than the first! Stanley is looking forward to a relaxing winter. After all, nothing could have been weirder than the werewolf curse and plotting pirates he had to face the summer before! Or at least that's what Stanley thinks; but he has a lot to learn about Cramdon Rock, especially after accidentally bringing some dead pirates back to life―ones that make the previous pirates he faced look like cuddly puppy dogs and ones that are trudging across the arctic determined to fi nd a magical medallion in Stanley's house. The only person who can save him is his dead great-uncle Bartholomew, which is a little tricky considering he's…well, dead. Oh, and did we mention headless? With the help of a talking stuffed fish and a new friend named Daisy, Stanley sets out to fi nd his great-uncle's head, stop the pirates, and win over some new readers in this second funny and spooky installment of a thrilling new series.

Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Wooden Mile
Chris Mould, Chris Mould
Synopsis:

THE WOODEN MILE VOLUME 1: PIRATES…WEREWOLVES…LOST TREASURE AND A SPOOKY HOUSE

Something Wickedly Weird is most definitely here! Crampton Rock seems like a lovely seaside town…at least until dark. When eleven-year-old Stanley Buggles inherits a house from a mysterious uncle he didn't know he had, he also inherits a mystery and some strange and sinister new neighbors. The questions begin to pile up: Why are all the dogs in town three-legged? Why is no one on the streets after dark? Is it true that the man who runs the candy shop is a werewolf? And why do those shoemakers look an awful lot like pirates? With the help of Mrs. Carelli, a housekeeper, and a talking stuffed fish, Stanley begins to unravel the mysteries that haunt his great-uncle's death and have set their sights on him. A thrilling, spooky, and funny read, and the first installment of a kid-pleasing new series.

Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Knight of the Red Beard
Andre Norton, Sasha Miller
Synopsis:

Having rebuilt the NordornLand from rubble, Ashen and Gaurin rule justly and fairly over a reinvigorated land. Beloved by their kingdom, they now turn their attention to the next generation of Nordorn royalty.

Responsible Bjaudin, heir to the throne, focuses on his studies and Hegrin, Queen of Rendel, rears her own growing brood. But the youngest siblings, Elin and Mikkel, seem destined to alter the future of the NordornLand—for better or for worse.

Thirteen-year-old Elin craves power, and believes her new alliance with the evil Ysa may help her achieve it.

Eleven-year-old Mikkel stows away on a Sea-Rover ship, hoping for a brief adventure. But when the ship is attacked, Mikkel is taken prisoner, and soon his bonds to the NordornLand are the last thing on his mind.

Through births and deaths, celebration and wars, Ashen and Gaurin have worked tirelessly to bring peace and prosperity to their kingdom. But it appears that this era of peace may be at its end. This final installment of the Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan brings the series to a thrilling climax worthy of these fascinating characters.

Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Graveyard Book
Margaret Atwood, Dave McKean, Neil Gaiman
Synopsis:

The original hardcover edition of a perennial favorite, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which has sold more than one million copies and is the only novel to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal.

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?

The Graveyard Book is the winner of the Newbery Medal, the Carnegie Medal, the Hugo Award for best novel, the Locus Award for Young Adult novel, the American Bookseller Association’s “Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book,” a Horn Book Honor, and Audio Book of the Year.

Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Nation
Terry Pratchett
Synopsis:

The sea has taken everything.

Mau is the only one left after a giant wave sweeps his island village away. But when much is taken, something is returned, and somewhere in the jungle Daphne—a girl from the other side of the globe—is the sole survivor of a ship destroyed by the same wave.

Together the two confront the aftermath of catastrophe. Drawn by the smoke of Mau and Daphne's sheltering fire, other refugees slowly arrive: children without parents, mothers without babies, husbands without wives—all of them hungry and all of them frightened. As Mau and Daphne struggle to keep the small band safe and fed, they defy ancestral spirits, challenge death himself, and uncover a long-hidden secret that literally turns the world upside down. . . .

Internationally revered storyteller Terry Pratchett presents a breathtaking adventure of survival and discovery, and of the courage required to forge new beliefs.

Publication Date: 09/30/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
What It Do!
Natalya LaBauve
Synopsis: For most seventeen year olds, graduating from high school is something to look forward to. But not for Victoria Johnson, who has just learned, two days before graduation, that she has been living a privileged and sheltered life in the gated community of Laketon, with 'adopted' parents. "What It Do", is the story about what life does to a young girl of class and prestige, when her biological mother arrives and wants to spend time with her. The weekend after graduation, Victoria finds herself being driven from the happy world of two story homes with Mercedes Benzes parked out front; to the mean streets of Oakville, where being naive and simple-minded, are just not allowed. With the help of a street wise younger brother; a strong willed little sister, and the admiration of a handsome young street thug, Victoria learns very quickly - What it do!
Publication Date: 09/28/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Across the Pond
Storyheart
Synopsis: "When almost fifteen-year-old, English born Fred Squire’s parents win a trip to Australia, Fred finds himself packed off to visit family friends in the United States. Even worse, he’s given a boring language project to complete.

But then he meets Brittany.
Fred soon finds himself struggling, not only with his growing feelings for Brit, but also with the language differences. A state confusion, that increases when he meets Brit’s flirtatious friend, Angel.

Escaping from a confrontation with Steve Harris, the neighborhood bully, Brit tells Fred her dark secret about Harris, and Fred´s world is turned upside down.

Life continues to throw Fred a curveball when he catches a ball worth thousands of dollars at a baseball game. Further angry run-ins with Harris, a crazy family BBQ, and being chased through a Boston mall all add to the thrill of Fred´s American adventure.

A final fight between Fred and Harris, leads Brit to at last reveal her painful secret to her parents.
Brit and her Brit"", know that their young love will be followed by heartache when Fred has to return back ""Across the Pond"" to England.
However, not before some final twists in the tale.
"
Publication Date: 09/25/08
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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