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Quad
Carrie Gordon Watson
Synopsis: Everything led up to this moment—the point when the teasing, the cruelty, the pressure all became too much. And someone finally snapped.

Now six students, from six different cliques, are trapped in the student store while a shooter terrorizes their school. The shooter’s identity is teased out through the students’ flashbacks until the reader breathlessly reaches the final page. It’s only there that he discovers the shocking answer to the question: Who is shooting out in the quad?

This gripping thriller by educator C. G. Watson is inspired by observations made in her own high school. Quad examines in heartrending detail how even the most casual cruelties can tear people apart.



Publication Date: 05/10/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The White Giraffe
Lauren St. John
Synopsis: When Martine’s home in England burns down, killing her parents, she must go to South Africa to live on a wildlife game preserve, called Sawubona, with the grandmother she didn’t know she had. Almost as soon as she arrives, Martine hears stories about a white giraffe living in the preserve. But her grandmother and others working at Sawubona insist that the giraffe is just a myth. Martine is not so sure, until one stormy night when she looks out her window and locks eyes with Jemmy, a young silvery-white giraffe. Why is everyone keeping Jemmy’s existence a secret? Does it have anything to do with the rash of poaching going on at Sawubona? Martine needs all of the courage and smarts she has, not to mention a little African magic, to find out.

First-time children’s author Lauren St. John brings us deep into the African world, where myths become reality and a young girl with a healing gift has the power to save her home and her one true friend.

Publication Date: 05/10/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Camp Creepy Time
Dann Gershon, Gina Gershon
Synopsis: Einstein P. Fleet, a thirteen-year old computer whiz, is shipped off to camp in the middle of the Mojave Desert for a summer of fun and fresh air. The food sucks, the facilities are rotting, the camp is haunted, his fellow campers are turning into monsters, and his counselor are actually aliens that intend to abduct the kids and sell them to an intergalactic zoo. Einstein tries to relay his dire situation to his parents, but they don't believe a word of it. The only problem is that it's all true. leaving Einstein to save himself and the others. A hilarious blend of sci-fi and pop culture, which was optioned by DreamWorks for an upcoming motion picture.
Publication Date: 05/10/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
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: Fiction
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: Fiction
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: Fiction
Stray
Stacey Goldblatt
Synopsis: When 16-year-old Natalie Kaplan meets a new person, she knows right away what kind of dog they'd be. Natalie herself resembles an Ibizan hound—quiet, playful, loyal, smart, and above all, obedient. Actually, Natalie has been trained so well that sometimes she thinks her mother is secretly controlling her with a dog whistle. (Her mom is a respected veterinarian with a successful clinic, so it's not that much of a stretch.)

Just like the Ibizan, Natalie is very mindful of her master's rules, but at the first sign of freedom, she is prone to stray. And who can blame her when the gorgeous and mysterious Carver Reed comes to live with the Kaplan family for the summer? Little by little, Natalie is drawn to Carver's spontaneity and free spirit, and before long, she turns into another breed of girl, who surprisingly bites the hand that feeds her.

"Stray is a winning novel that provides us with an important reminder: it's okay to make mistakes and break the rules, especially when it comes to love."—Maureen Johnson, author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes
Publication Date: 05/08/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Code Orange
Caroline B. Cooney
Synopsis: Walking around New York City was what Mitty Blake did best. He loved the city, and even after 9/11, he always felt safe. Mitty was a carefree guy–he didn’t worry about terrorists or blackouts or grades or anything, which is why he was late getting started on his Advanced Bio report.
Mitty does feel a little pressure to hand something in–if he doesn’t, he’ll be switched out of Advanced Bio, which would be unfortunate since Olivia’s in Advanced Bio. So he considers it good luck when he finds some old medical books in his family’s weekend house that focus on something he could write about. But when he discovers an old envelope with two scabs in one of the books, the report is no longer about the grade–it’s about life and death. His own.
This edge-of-your-seat thriller will leave you breathless.


From the Hardcover edition.
Publication Date: 05/08/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Society of S
Susan Hubbard
Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old, half-vampire Ariella Montero struggles with the daily realities of her condition while harboring an unflinching desire to unravel the darkest secrets of vampire nature, a longing that leads her to learn about the gentle, wise, and even vegetarian lifestyles of vampires. A first novel. 100,000 first printing.
Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Karma Girl
Jennifer Estep
Synopsis: Fed up because of her cheating superhero ex-fiancé, intrepid reporter Carmen Cole has made her mission in life to reveal the true identities of the nation's caped crusaders and their archvillains, but her quest could land her in more trouble than even Striker, the sexiest superhero in Bigtime, New York, can get her out of. Original.
Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
The Band: Trading Guys
Debra Garfinkle
Synopsis: The friends in the band Amber Road always back each other up, onstage and off, but just as they have a chance to be noticed as professional musicians, an impulsive game threatens to tear them apart.
Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Whistling in the Dark
Lesley Kagen
Synopsis: It was the summer on Vliet Street when we all started locking our doors...

Sally O'Malley made a promise to her daddy before he died. She swore she'd look after her sister, Troo. Keep her safe. But like her Granny always said-actions speak louder than words. Now, during the summer of 1959, the girls' mother is hospitalized, their stepfather has abandoned them for a six pack, and their big sister, Nell, is too busy making out with her boyfriend to notice that Sally and Troo are on the Loose. And so is a murderer and molester.

Highly imaginative Sally is pretty sure of two things. Who the killer is. And that she's next on his list. Now she has no choice but to protect herself and Troo as best she can, relying on her own courage and the kindness of her neighbors.
Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Thrown A Curve
Sara Griffiths
Synopsis: Ever since his mother left, life hasn't been easy for Heath Wellington, III. Between his father’s (Junior’s) bouts with alcoholism and literary rejection, and Heath’s own wrongful suspension from school, there hasn't been all that much to be thankful for.But following the tragic death of estranged grandfather Senior, father and son alike stand to inherit a life-changing fortune… with one catch.Heath and Junior must spend the next three months managing Senior’s bed and breakfast, located in the same Massachusetts home Junior has spent the last eight years trying to escape.As Heath adjusts to his new world, what he needs most is to understand that Junior, too, is dealing with loss, and to realize that, even in the most tragic of times, there’s a lot in life to be thankful for.Thanksgiving at the Inn is a beautiful story of family and forgiveness, and a sure holiday classic.
Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
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: Fiction
The Red Shoes
Ursula Dubosarsky
Synopsis: Funny, tough-minded and tender, this is the story of Matilda and her two sisters growing up in Sydney, Australia, in the early 1950s. Their father is mentally unstable and largely absent, their mother is possibly in the thrall of his brother, and a headline-making Russian spy defection is taking place next door. Punctuated by the headlines of the times, The Red Shoe depicts how the large events of the world can impinge on ordinary lives. This is a novel to savor by one of Australia's most gifted writers for young people.
Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Dreamquest
Brent Hartinger
Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Julie Fray is living a nightmare. Her parents are fighting so much she can't even escape when she goes to sleep. Every night she has horrible dreams--and all she wants is for them to stop.    Then one night she wakes up inside her dream, in the studio where her dreams are produced! There is even a star who looks just like Julie who plays her in her dreams. With some help from a production assistant named Roman, Julie learns that if she can somehow find the people responsible for producing her dreams, she might be able to make them less scary. But it won't be easy: the tiny tear in the "fabric"of her consciousness that let her fall into the dream studio in the first place is closing fast...and she could be trapped inside her own head forever!   Even worse, it turns out that when Julie fell into her dreams, Vivian, the actress who plays Julie in her dreams, escaped into the waking world--and the fake Julie will stop at nothing to take over Julie's life.
Publication Date: 05/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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