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Black Cow
Magdalena Ball
Synopsis: Freya and James Archer live the high life in a luxury home in Sydney's poshest suburb, with money, matching Jags, two beautiful teenage kids ... and they couldn't be more despondent. James wakes weeping each morning, dreading the pressures of a long and grueling work day ahead, and Freya is struggling with her foundering real estate career. Global recession is biting in Australia, and the Archers are afraid. In a desperate bid for happiness and security they shed the fragile trappings of success and cruise over into the slow lane to take an unmapped turn-off on a country road and live off the land in a remote old farmhouse on the peaceful southern island of Tasmania. But is this an end to their old misery or the beginning of an even greater one?
Publication Date: 02/24/12
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Journey into Darkness
Craig Etchison
Synopsis: Young Adult - ages 15 and up. Samantha is a high school junior who has just begun dating the boy of her dreams when her country is attacked by enemy soldiers. Because she is separated from her family at the outset, she must make a long, dangerous journey in hopes of rendezvousing with her family. Through Sam's eyes, the reader sees the many faces of war, particularly in terms of civilian suffering. She quickly learns that her history books hardly touched the realities of war. Sam also learns that she has far greater resources, resiliency, and perseverance than she ever imagined, including a deep compassion for those who suffer.
Publication Date: 02/23/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Life On Hold
Beverly Stowe McClure
Synopsis: A paper found. A secret revealed. A girl's life changed forever. Myra Gibson's life is a lie. For sixteen years her parents have kept their secret, but the adoption paper she discovers while cleaning the summerhouse tells the truth. As the past and present collide, Myra finally stands up for herself and begins a journey she may regret.
Publication Date: 02/21/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
My Vacation in Hell
Gene Twaronite
Synopsis: My Vacation in Hell is a young adult dark fantasy. Set in the mid-1960s, it is a first person narrative by a 15-year-old writer named John Boggle. A troubled nerdy misfit and a frequent flyer of his imagination, John is inspired by a book report reading of Dante Alighieri's the Inferno. In the eternity of the five minutes before summer vacation, he embarks on a pilgrimage based upon his own free-wheeling interpretation of the work. Following Dante's lead, John populates his hell with all the people who have wronged him over the years, inventing deliciously cruel punishments for each of them in his teenage version of cosmic retribution. Aided by his best friend Virgil, a trusty guide in this shared imagination, John also struggles to come to terms with the world's many evils. And as he descends further into this realm, he constructs his own hierarchy of evildoers, assigning them to the levels he believes they deserve. But it is the evil perpetrated upon John, a victim of sexual abuse, which poses the most difficult challenge. The deeper he goes, the more he encounters obstacles, some of whom in the guise of colorful demon characters try their best to keep him there. But the worst obstacle of all is his own self-image, forged out of guilt and shame. He will not leave this hell of his own making, Virgil tells him, until he learns how to deal with the evil inflicted upon him and finds the true center of his being. Fortunately, he has other help besides the ever wise Virgil, who it turns out has a few problems of his own to deal with. John needs more than reason to get him through this, and divinely beautiful aid arrives in the form of Beth, an idealized version of his secret love. Rescuing the pair from the evil that threatens to consume them, she will guide John in the last stage of his spiritual odyssey. She shows him that there are even some good places in Hell, just as there is always some good, however slight, that comes from our worst experiences. Though disturbing at times due to its mature theme, My Vacation in Hell delivers a message of hope with a large dose of humor.
Publication Date: 02/18/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Someone Else's Life
Katie Dale
Synopsis: When 17-year-old Rosie's mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington's Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty percent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when Rosie tells her mother's best friend, "Aunt Sarah," that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie wasn't her real mother after all. Rosie was swapped at birth with a sickly baby who was destined to die.
Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, joining her ex-boyfriend on his gap year travels, to find her birth mother in California. But all does not go as planned. As Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonizing decision of her own, one which will be the most heart breaking and far-reaching of all.
Publication Date: 02/14/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Jade Notebook
Laura Resau
Synopsis: Down-to-earth Zeeta and her flighty mom, Layla, have spent years traveling the globe and soaking up everything each new culture has to offer. Now they've settled in the beachside town of Mazunte, Mexico, where Zeeta's true love, Wendell, has an internship photographing rare sea turtles. At first glance, Zeeta feels sure that Mazunte is paradise—she envisions dips in jade waters, sunsets over sea cliffs, moonlit walks in the surf. And she is determined to make Mazunte her home . . . for good. But as she and Wendell dig deeper to unearth her elusive father's past, Zeeta finds that paradise has its dark side.
Publication Date: 02/14/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Lethally Blonde
Patrice Lyle
Synopsis: If Elle Woods were a teenage demon, her name would be Morgan Skully. Morgan is the world's only blonde demon girl, and she's got a brand new, very unusual afterschool job. Spying for the Devil. She'd much rather use her cloak-and-dagger skills to spy on hottie-licious Derek with her friends, but the Devil won't take no for an answer. Luckily for Morgan, her new boss is kinda hot. Her assignment is simple: find out who at Pitchfork Prep is funneling secrets to the Siberian Werewolf Council. If she succeeds, pedicures and platinum highlights are just the beginning. But if she fails...there's more on the line than killer shoes.

"I so totally could not put down this book...before I knew it, it was three in the morning and I was looking at the screen in disbelief when I didn't have any more pages to read. Morgan is such a loveable character, and her thinking is JUST like a 16-year-old, high school student. I found myself laughing out loud at just how much she reminded me of myself when I was that age. The world that Patrice Lyle paints in this book is simply amazing." ~ Night Owl Reviews, Top Pick
 
"I have a deep-seeded affection for all things 'Legally Blonde' and this book is no exception...it was cute, fun, lighthearted (despite the demon/devil/etc. stuff) and I ended with a smile on my face." ~ I Love YA Fiction
 
"I really enjoyed this novel. I loved the main character, Morgan with her spunky attitude...the story line is very original with quirky phrases...a cute, funny, entertaining read with colorful characters, that I couldn't get get enough of." ~ Livin' Life Through Books
Publication Date: 02/14/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Storm of Arranon
R E Sheahan
Synopsis: Volume I- When a brutal alien invades and threatens to destroy the two worlds that make up Cadet Erynn Yager’s existence, she is thrust into battle, forced to expose her powerful, magical abilities, revealing the truth of her forbidden birth, unraveling her carefully guarded web of secrets. Aware of Erynn’s potential, the alien enemy pursues her. In a constant race to elude the invaders, she struggles to gain control of her growing powers. A mysterious essence intervenes, plunging Erynn into a dangerous, but beautiful world. The planet itself reaches out to her with a living consciousness, leading her on a mystical journey. Erynn becomes the catalyst to a chain reaction of events, condemned by the very people she fights to save. When her responsibility extends far beyond what she imagined, she discovers the true meaning of sacrifice. Although her secret may be her worlds’ only hope, being a child of two worlds could cost Erynn her life.
Publication Date: 02/11/12
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Fiction
Throne of the Crescent Moon
Synopsis: From Saladin Ahmed, finalist for the Nebula and Campbell Awards, comes one of the year's most anticipated fantasy debuts, THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON, a fantasy adventure with all the magic of The Arabian Nights.

The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, land of djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, Khalifs and killers, is at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince.  In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings:

Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, "The last real ghul hunter in the great city of Dhamsawaat," just wants a quiet cup of tea.  Three score and more years old, he has grown weary of hunting monsters and saving lives, and is more than ready to retire from his dangerous and demanding vocation. But when an old flame's family is murdered, Adoulla is drawn back to the hunter's path.

Raseed bas Raseed, Adoulla's young assistant, a hidebound holy warrior whose prowess is matched only by his piety, is eager to deliver God's justice. But even as Raseed's sword is tested by ghuls and manjackals, his soul is tested when he and Adoulla cross paths with the tribeswoman Zamia.

Zamia Badawi, Protector of the Band, has been gifted with the near-mythical power of the Lion-Shape, but shunned by her people for daring to take up a man's title. She lives only to avenge her father's death. Until she learns that Adoulla and his allies also hunt her father's killer. Until she meets Raseed.

When they learn that the murders and the Falcon Prince's brewing revolution are connected, the companions must race against time--and struggle against their own misgivings--to save the life of a vicious despot.  In so doing they discover a plot for the Throne of the Crescent Moon that threatens to turn Dhamsawaat, and the world itself, into a blood-soaked ruin.
Publication Date: 02/07/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Forest Moon Rising
P. R. Frost
Synopsis: Tess Noncoiré, successful fantasy writier and Celestial Blade Warrior, has made a deal with the Powers That Be, trading her own dreams for the future for the safety of those nearest and dearest to her. Having survived this unprecedented experience, Tess—along with her imp Scrap—is determined to hunt down a demonic intruder from another dimension, the Nörglein, who seems bent on bespelling and seducing young women, leaving them pregnant, and then waiting for the proper time to steal the babies away for his own purposes. 

Injured in her first encounter with the Nörglein, Tess will be forced to turn to the two men she swore she'd have nothing more to do with, as well as several unexpected allies. But whether she can stop the Nörglein and rescue his offspring from the fate he has planned for them is very much in doubt. And if she has to face the Powers That Be a second time, getting out alive will be the least of Tess's worries....
Publication Date: 02/07/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Almost Everything
Tate Hallaway
Synopsis: Ever since her father banished the half-witch, half-vampire Ana Parker and vampire knight Elias from the court of the Northern vampires, Ana has been trying to live a normal life. But when the Prince of the Southern Region vampires informs Ana that they're on the brink of war and she accidentally offers up Elias as a peace offering, the princess knows that she's going to need some help to get out of this situation.

With Ana's boy drama meter hitting an all time high, summer in St. Paul is heating up for all the wrong reasons...

Publication Date: 02/07/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Drowning Instinct
Ilsa J. Bick
Synopsis: There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.) Jenna Lord's first sixteen years were not exactly a fairy tale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother--until he shipped off to Iraq. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire. There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and everyone cries for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.) Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain...magnetism. And there are stories where it's hard to be sure who's a prince and who's a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.) Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds--and the rules.
Publication Date: 02/02/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Tangled
Erica O'Rourke
Synopsis: Constance started to keen as the air around us began to thrash and twist, the caustic scent of ozone burning my nose. As I watched, her dark gold hair began to lift and kink into knots.

"I'm here. It'll be okay." It was the last thing I said before my best friend's little sister went supernova in the second-floor girls' bathroom, taking me with her.

A month ago, Mo Fitzgerald risked her life to stop an ancient prophecy and avenge her best friend's murder. Now, she only wants to keep her loved ones safe. But the magic – and the Chicago Mob – have other plans.

Mysterious, green-eyed Luc is back, asking for help – and a second chance. Colin, her strongest protector, is hiding a shocking secret. And inside Constance, the magic is about to go terribly wrong. Tangled in a web of love and betrayal, Mo must choose between the life she's dreamed of and the one she's destined for.

Praise for Erica O'Rourke's Torn

"Dark, magical, and delicious!"

--New York Times bestselling author C. L. Wilson

"Exciting and totally addictive! Just. . .wow!"

--Kristi Cook, author of Haven

Be sure to read Erica O'Rourke's magical debut novel!

"Torn will keep you turning pages ‘til the very end."

--New York Times bestselling author C. L. Wilson

Publication Date: 02/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Knife and the Butterfly
Ashley Hope Perez
Synopsis: After a marijuana-addled brawl with a rival gang, 16-year-old Azael wakes up to find himself surrounded by a familiar set of concrete walls and a locked door. Juvie again, he thinks. But he can't really remember what happened or how he got picked up. He knows his MS13 boys faced off with some punks from Crazy Crew. There were bats, bricks, chains. A knife. But he can't remember anything between that moment and when he woke behind bars.

Azael knows prison, and something isn't right about this lockup. No phone call. No lawyer. No news about his brother or his homies. The only thing they make him do is watch some white girl in some cell. Watch her and try to remember.

Lexi Allen would love to forget the brawl, would love for it to disappear back into the Xanax fog it came from. And her mother and her lawyer hope she chooses not to remember too much about the brawl--at least when it's time to testify.

Lexi knows there's more at stake in her trial than her life alone, though. She's connected to him, and he needs the truth. The knife cut, but somehow it also connected.
Publication Date: 02/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The White Zone
Carolyn Mardsen
Synopsis: Nouri and his cousin Talib can only vaguely remember a time before tanks rumbled over the streets of their Baghdad neighborhood when books, not bombs, ruled Mutanabbi Street. War has been the backdrop of their young lives. And now Iraq isn't just at war with Americans. It's at war with itself. Sunnis fight Shiites, and the strife is at the boys' doorsteps. Nouri is Shiite and Talib is half Sunni. To the boys, it seems like only a miracle can mend the rift that is tearing a country and a family apart.

In early 2008, Iraq experienced a miracle. Snow fell in Baghdad for the first time in living memory. As snow covered the dusty streets, the guns in the city grew silent and there was an unofficial ceasefire. During these magical minutes, Sunni and Shiite differences were forgotten. There was no green zone, no red zone. There was only the white zone.

Against this real-life backdrop, Nouri and Talib begin to imagine a world after the war.
Publication Date: 02/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Plunder
Mary Anna Evans
Synopsis:

Faye Longchamp and her Native American husband Joe Wolf Mantooth are working near the mouth of the Mississippi, researching archaeological sites soon to be flooded by oil. The Deepwater Horizon disaster has morphed her run-of-the-mill contract job into a task that might swamp her fledgling consulting business.

Then her injured babysitter leaves Faye to work with a toddler underfoot. Thankfully, Amande, a bright and curious teen lives nearby with her eccentric grandmother. But when the girl's grandmother and her no-account uncle are murdered, Amande's prospects worsen. The girl has but two known relatives, both battling over her small inheritance: a raggedy houseboat, a few shares of stock, and a hurricane-battered island that's not even inhabitable.

Pirate-era silver coins are found and disappear. A murderer is on the loose, and as the oil slick looms, Faye can see that Louisiana is still being plundered....

Publication Date: 02/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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