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Bumbling Bea
H Russ Brown, Deborah Baldwin
Synopsis: Beatrice thinks she has no acting talent but that doesn't stop her from auditioning for the annual middle school play. Easy! Except Michiko, a new girl from Japan, shows up and ruins everything! So begins Beatrice's diabolical plan to scare away Michiko. But Michiko has goals of her own with no plans to leave soon. Beatrice is sometimes sarcastic, sometimes very funny and always honest. A great book for those who love theater and every part of it--the good, the bad and the crazy.
Publication Date: 10/23/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
No Place for Kids
Alison Lohans
Synopsis: Sisters Jennifer and Sarah were once part of a happy, stable family, but their idyllic life comes to an abrupt end when their mother dies and their father, overcome with grief, loses his grip on his family.

With nothing left to lose, the two sisters, aged ten and twelve, decide run away to their mother’s sister in Vancouver, setting out with very little money and no clear plan. Along the way, they must overcome fear, loneliness, illness, and the conflict inherent in their sibling relationship. This emotional story deals with mature themes, but is ultimately about the enduring bonds of family.
Publication Date: 10/17/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Prairie Pictures
Shirlee Smith Matheson
Synopsis: For twelve-year-old Sherri, moving is a way of life. Her family has lived in seven different places in as many years, three in the last year alone. But no place has ever been as strange as the ranching community of Gardin, where the Old West meets new industry and the community is divided between longtime residents and recent arrivals. Initially aligning herself with another outsider, Sherri realizes that she would rather look for friendships based on more than the arbitrary divisions that exist among her peers. But just as she starts to feel at home in Gardin, her parents announce plans to uproot the family once again.
Publication Date: 10/17/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Bird With The Broken Wing
Synopsis: When mortals make mistakes, they're forgiven. When angels make mistakes, they're forsaken.

Guardian angel Rachael finds herself trapped in Purgatory with Ben Taylor, a young soldier with a secret that's driving him insane. Desperate to see him ascend into Heaven she breaks the rules about becoming involved and interfering with his mortal destiny. Her decision to stay in Purgatory to help Ben seems like a good plan. Except they've been stuck for ten years already and Ben is no closer to ascending.

The unexpected appearance of a feisty teenager, Jet Jones, throws Rachael's wings into a tailspin. The instant attraction between Jet and Ben means the angel's work is getting ignored. And without her help, Ben's soul will be trapped and she will have failed in her mission.

But Jet's appearance also brings a chilling revelation. Maybe Ben's soul isn't the only one that needs saving.
Publication Date: 10/06/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Counterfeit Father
PV Lundqvist
Synopsis: From the outside, 13 year old Tony looks like he has quite the life:

A whole estate to himself.

A fangirl he flirts with online.

A pet monkey. (His third!)

Until you notice the wheelchair. Or that he only speaks with his mother by intercom. Or that he doesn't seem to know who his real father is.

And now, to save his home from a mysterious trust, Tony will have to ride in a broken-down motorcycle with someone who may not be who he seems, and solve the biggest mystery of all-Who he really is.
Publication Date: 10/06/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Castle Park Kids
Laura Smith
Synopsis: Jamie and her family have just moved into their new house on a horseshoe-shaped street surrounding a playground. There is a lot to get used to at first. Her brother, Luke, has nightmares. Her sister, Becky, acts like a baby, and all three of them miss their grandparents whose house they had lived in until now. While Jamie’s dad is at work and her mom works from home, Jamie is in charge of her brother and sister for the summer. At the playground, they are introduced to all of the neighborhood kids. Together, they teach each other their favorite games, make up new ones, go on many adventures, and end up having the best summer ever.
Publication Date: 10/03/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Baffling Case of the Battered Brain
Synopsis:

With time travel and mysteries that need solving, the Galactic Academy of Science (G.A.S.) series instructs readers on how to think like scientists. Under the guidance of a Dude or Dudette from the future, the middle school characters are faced with treacherous, present-day crimes that require a historical knowledge of science in order to be solved. From investigating problems to analyzing data and constructing explanations and solutions, this series blends elements of sci-fi with educational methods that distill the key thinking habits of scientists and engineers.

 

Medical science combines with mystery in this G.A.S. adventure about concussions

 

Is the awkward stranger taking bribes to throw games? When Clinton hits his head in the championship soccer game, the stranger gets him benched, and Clinton’s team loses. Determined to nail the bribe-taker, Clinton and Mae take on a new G.A.S. mission—a journey across three continents and 4,000 years to learn about concussion and the brain.

Publication Date: 10/01/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Perilous Case of the Zombie Potion
Synopsis:

With time travel and mysteries that need solving, the Galactic Academy of Science (G.A.S.) series instructs readers on how to think like scientists. Under the guidance of a Dude or Dudette from the future, the middle school characters are faced with treacherous, present-day crimes that require a historical knowledge of science in order to be solved. From investigating problems to analyzing data and constructing explanations and solutions, this series blends elements of sci-fi with educational methods that distill the key thinking habits of scientists and engineers.

 

Only the G.A.S. kids can stop an evil scientist who wants to enslave humans of the future

 

When a corrupt Dude from the future threatens to harm Sam’s mother unless he steals a zombie potion from his scientist father, Clinton and Mae know they have to help. This time-traveling journey on the science and history of death takes the G.A.S. crew to China, Italy, Belgium, Haiti, New Guinea, Arizona, and Indonesia. Along the way, Sam faces his greatest fears and grows braver, but when disaster threatens his father’s research camp, can he figure out how to save his father, outwit the evil Dr. G, and turn the tables on the bullies who have been tormenting him?

Publication Date: 10/01/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Keepers
Anoosha Lalani
Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Isra Kalb has grown up starving in the slums of Islamabad. But hunger is only the beginning. When her father is mysteriously murdered and madness corrupts her mother's mind, she's left alone to fend for herself and her sister. Homeless and destitute, the only thing she has to remember her loving family by is a commonplace necklace--an amulet barely worth keeping. Or so she thinks. Swept into a web of lies, deceit and turmoil, Isra struggles to find a place for herself and Zaffirah, wondering if the strange creatures and visions she's seeing are indications of the madness that took her mother. But when Snatchers capture Zaffirah, Isra learns her amulet isn't so useless after all. Transported to Zarcane--the beastly garden where Adam and Eve were born--Isra comes face to face with her destiny. She's a Keeper, charged with protecting the borders of Zarcane and keeping the demon hordes lurking in the shadows from taking realms that are not their own. And she's not the only one; there's a second Keeper, a boy whose identity hasn't been revealed. Now, in order to save her sister and fulfill her family's legacy as Keeper of the Amulet, she has to find the second Keeper and close the borders. Surrounded by betrayal, trapped between warring factions of angels, and desperate to save the only family she has left, Isra must decide: Who can she trust when nothing is what it seems?
Publication Date: 09/30/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Rebels of the Kasbah
Joe O'Neill
Synopsis: Kidnapped on the streets of Tangier and sold into slavery, Tariq, Fez, and Aseem are fighting for their lives with the evil warlord, Caid Ali Tamzali, ruler of the Rif Mountains. Joined by British school girl Margaret Owen, also kidnapped and sold to the Caid to join his harem, the four must act quickly to escape before almost certain death—or worse. Although aided by a beautiful assassin and a small but clever band of resistance fighters, their lives depend on their own teamwork, inventiveness, and courage.

This fast-paced historical adventure, set in 1912, transports you from Tangier's corrupt slave markets to the wild frontier of the Moroccan desert, to the heart of ancient China, and the pirate-infested seas of the Mediterranean. The first book in the Red Hand Adventures series, Rebels of the Kasbah is an exhilarating tale of adventure, daring, danger and friendship.
Publication Date: 09/23/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Magic Tree House #3: Mummies in the Morning
Sal Murdocca, Mary Pope Osborne
Synopsis: Now in full-color throughout, this jacketed hardcover edition boasts new artwork, plus a letter from Mary Pope Osborne and new nonfiction information! Join Jack and Annie as they travel back to the time of ancient Egypt and have an adventure filled with magic, mystery, history, and fun facts.
Publication Date: 09/23/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Button Nose the Sad Little Bear
Brittany Wilder, Gina Lobiondo
Synopsis: What if toys could actually feel? Would they be happy or sad? Would they be able to love? Button Nose the Sad Little Bear is the story of a much loved little bear and the little girl who will never give up on finding him again.
Publication Date: 09/18/14
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Sammy Keyes and the Kiss Goodbye
Wendelin Van Draanen
Synopsis: The final mystery starring Sammy Keyes: “the most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)” —Midwest Children’s Book Review
 
Sammy doesn’t go looking for trouble, but she seems to find it everywhere. She’s forever sniffing out clues and chasing down bad guys—and driving her friends a little nuts. She’s gone up against thieves and counterfeiters and gangsters and blackmailers and murderers, and always stayed one step ahead.
 
Until now.
 
Last night, one of the bad guys caught up.
 
Last night, someone followed Sammy up the fire escape and pushed her from the third story.
 
Now she’s in the hospital, out cold. And her friends are left with the questions Sammy’s always been so good at answering: Why? How? But most of all . . . WHO?
 
In this emotional conclusion to her beloved long-running series, Wendelin Van Draanen shows just how many lives one nosy girl can touch and pays tribute to a life well sleuthed.
 
Praise for Sammy Keyes:
“If Kinsey Millhone ever hires a junior partner, Sammy Keyes will be the first candidate on the list. She’s feisty, fearless, and funny. A top-notch investigator!” —Sue Grafton
 
“Sammy’s brave, resourceful, observant and a loyal friend, but this girl sleuth is no well-mannered Nancy Drew. She’s endearingly hot-tempered, nosy, and not always obedient—in short, she’s someone I want to read about again.” —Margaret Maron
Publication Date: 09/09/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
CALE THORNSBE - The Boy Who Could See: The Golden Seal
Synopsis: Cale Thornsbe had always known he was adopted under the most mysterious circumstances. Although he loved his new parents very much, he treasured the only link he ever had to his true identity - a blurred out golden seal. Throughout his childhood he was teased for his unusual accent, snow white hair and thick glasses only to find out what they really meant as his thirteenth birthday approached. He was the last seer of two worlds and the only barrier left to keep the evil King Etmus from taking over this world by force as he had done in his own. From the tallest invisible bull to the smallest forest pixie, Cale must learn who he can trust as his senses and visions heighten. His lovable and completely clueless parents are kidnapped, but who really has them? Cale Thornsbe has no choice but to find the answers as the seal begins to reveal itself and the journey never taken is brought to his doorstep.
Publication Date: 09/09/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Magic of Maxwell and His Tail
Maureen Stolar Kanefield
Synopsis: 2015 FINALIST - NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS

2014 GOLD WINNER - MOM'S CHOICE AWARD

Now an interactive educational app in the App Store and on Google Play.

Maxwell is a young, intelligent mouse. He has a curiosity that draws him into every subject under the rainbow and an imagination that just won't quit. That is, until the day he discovers his tail is growing much too long. Soon he is the target of jeers and snickers from his classmates. Even his best friend, Mason, is unaccepting. "Maxwell, can't you keep track of your tail? I'm always tripping over it."

It seems to Maxwell that his life is in ruins. But then he starts to see the magic his tail brings out in him. From then on, what seemed like his biggest problem becomes the best thing in his life. Why, he could be an artistic mouse using his tail to control the paintbrush. Or Maxwell the musician, chef, or athlete! Seeing endless possibilities, Maxwell suddenly realizes that everyone has magic, but sometimes they have to search to find out what it is.

Children will cheer for Maxwell as he finds that being different is not only okay, it's part of the magic you already have.
Publication Date: 09/01/14
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Cheesie Mack Is Sort Of Freaked Out
Douglas Holgate, Steve Cotler
Synopsis: Attention, diary fiction readers! Have you met Cheesie Mack? You’ll love Cheesie’s wacky lists, drawings, and made-up words as he tells the hilarious story of a Halloween prank that sort of freaked him out.
 
Cheesie and his best friend, Georgie, are too old for trick-or-treating. Besides, all that spooky nonsense is just for kids! To prove it, they pull a “far out” prank that has the whole school abuzz about aliens. When Cheesie and Georgie reveal that they were the masterminds behind the trick, Cheesie’s evil sister, Goon, plots revenge. She recruits one of Cheesie’s friends to pull off a prank that will have Cheesie wondering if the truth really is out there. . . .
Publication Date: 08/26/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction

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