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Tremain Book One: The Seven Faiths
Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Sheldrak stands at the gateway of manhood. When he steps through, he will be embarking on an epic adventure, the like of which the world has seldom, if ever, seen. Like all good people in his land, Sheldrak is determined to live by the Seven Faiths of Strepsay. But he little realises that he has been chosen to defend the Faith, and the very cause of good itself, against the evil of the Grey One, Essdark. He will not be alone, but at the head of a band of diverse but united warriors for truth. They, like the Faiths, will be seven in number. But who will they be, and can Sheldrak, a mere youth, recognise them and persuade them to risk all? What unfolds is a tale of spirits, giants, emperors and even a chirpy Londoner who finds himself transformed into a talking wolf in a whole new world. This gripping, pacy, energetic and often comic novel is the first in a four-part saga.
Publication Date: 11/13/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Claim To Fame
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Synopsis: Lindsay Scott hit the big time at age five, when she became the star of the television show "Just Me and the Kids." It seemed like she was set for life--until she had a nervous breakdown when she was eleven, because Lindsay had suddenly developed a very dangerous sense of ESP--the ability to hear what anyone was thinking about here, at any time, anywhere in the world. Lindsay's father whisked her away to her long-gone mother's house in small town Springdale, and Lindsay was amazed to discover that within the four walls of the house, she can't hear anything out of the ordinary. And so Lindsay has stayed hidden in the house, safe from other people's thoughts, doing her best to stay out of sight and let the world forget her.

When the tabloids print a "where are they now" story about her, claiming that Lindsay's maniacal father has kept her imprisoned in her house for the past five years, a couple of well-meaning teens attempt to "rescue" Lindsay. For the first time in five years, Lindsay is outside the protective quiet of her house. And that's when she hears the one voice she never expected to hear: her mother's.

When she discovers that perhaps her mother didn't leave voluntarily, she has a choice to make: will she risk everything to find the truth about her past--and the source of her ability?
Publication Date: 11/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Kitchen Princess
Natsumi Ando, Miyuki Kobayashi
Synopsis: For all the fans who can’t get enough of the smash hit manga Kitchen Princess–a thrilling new prose story of romance and adventure!

Najika faces a new challenge, and it may be her toughest one yet. Before their tragic accident, her parents, both famous pastry chefs, made a promise to the grandmother of a classmate of Najika’s: to duplicate a white cake the elderly woman once tasted abroad as a teenager. Now Najika hopes to re-create the cake herself.

With so few clues (it’s fluffy and heavenly) and so many possibilities, the trial and error might just go on forever. But Najika refuses to give up–for one reason: She knows that all great masterpieces contain a distinct magic: a secret ingredient called love.

Najika will need lots of it to make the wishes of Anju’s grandmother–and certain other classmates–come true. And who knows? With so much amour in the air, Najika might just find a little left over for herself!
Publication Date: 11/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Grk Smells A Rat
Joshua Doder
Synopsis: A perfect middle-grade adventure for the same fans as Alex Rider readers.

Tim Malt; his parents; his dog, Grk; and his friends Natascha and Max Raffifi have just arrived in India. They are all set to see the famous sights and watch Max compete in a tennis tournament. But after meeting a boy named Krishnan, they learn about the Blue Rat Gang, a group that enslaves children. Krishnan needs help to rescue his sister from a cruel life of forced labor, and Tim and Grk are up to the challenge. Racing against time, Tim and Grk are chased through dark alleys only to find themselves face-to-face with the infamous leader inside the Blue Rats’ headquarters. Can they foil his evil plans before it’s too late?

Praise for the Grk books:
“Pure adventure fun.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Crackles with Doder’s crisp prose and absurdist sensibility . . . [a] wildly engaging story.”—Time Out NY Kids
Publication Date: 11/10/09
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Giant-Slayer
Iain Lawrence
Synopsis: A girl’s imagination transports polio-afflicted kids into a fantastic world.

The spring of 1955 tests Laurie Valentine’s gifts as a storyteller. After her friend Dickie contracts polio and finds himself confined to an iron lung, Laurie visits him in the hospital. There she meets Carolyn and Chip, two other kids trapped inside the breathing machines. Laurie’s first impulse is to flee, but Dickie begs her to tell them a story. And so Laurie begins her tale of Collosso, a rampaging giant, and Jimmy, a tiny boy whose destiny is to become a slayer of giants.

As Laurie embellishes her tale with gnomes, unicorns, gryphons, and other fanciful creatures, Dickie comes to believe that he is a character in her story. Little by little Carolyn, Chip, and other kids who come to listen, recognize counterparts as well. Laurie’s tale is so powerful that when she’s prevented from continuing it, Dickie, Carolyn, and Chip take turns as narrators. Each helps bring the story of Collosso and Jimmy to an end—changing the lives of those in the polio ward in startling ways.
Publication Date: 11/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Raven Summer
David Almond
Synopsis: A captivating new novel from Printz Award winner David Almond.

Liam and his friend Max are playing in their neighborhood when the call of a bird leads them out into a field beyond their town. There, they find a baby lying alone atop a pile of stones—with a note pinned to her clothing. Mystified, Liam brings the baby home to his parents. They agree to take her in, but police searches turn up no sign of the baby’s parents. Finally they must surrender the baby to a foster family, who name her Allison. Visiting her in Northumberland, Liam meets Oliver, a foster son from Liberia who claims to be a refugee from the war there, and Crystal, a foster daughter. When Liam’s parents decide to adopt Allison, Crystal and Oliver are invited to her christening. There, Oliver tells Liam about how he will be slaughtered if he is sent back to Liberia. The next time Liam sees Crystal, it is when she and Oliver have run away from their foster homes, desperate to keep Oliver from being sent back to Liberia. In a cave where the two are hiding, Liam learns the truth behind Oliver’s dark past—and is forced to ponder what all children are capable of.
Publication Date: 11/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Blessing's Bead
Debby Dahl Edwardson
Synopsis:

Nutaaq and her older sister, Aaluk, are on a great journey, sailing from a small island off the coast of Alaska to the annual trade fair. There, a handsome young Siberian wearing a string of cobalt blue beads watches Aaluk "the way a wolf watches a caribou, never resting." Soon his actions―and other events more horrible than Nutaaq could ever imagine―threaten to shatter her I~nupiaq world. Seventy years later, Nutaaq's greatgranddaughter, Blessing, is on her own journey, running from the wreckage of her life in Anchorage to live in a remote Arctic village with a grandmother she barely remembers. In her new home, unfriendly girls whisper in a language she can't understand, and Blessing feels like an outsider among her own people. Until she finds a cobalt blue bead―Nutaaq's bead―in her grandmother's sewing tin. The events this discovery triggers reveal the power of family and heritage to heal, despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

Two distinct teenage voices pull readers into the native world of northern Alaska in this beautifully crafted and compelling debut novel.

Publication Date: 11/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Brothers Story
Katherine Sturtevant
Synopsis: Teenage twins Kit and Christy have grown up amid grinding poverty in their Essex village. As Christy has been “simple” from birth, Kit is literally his brother’s keeper. But the latest hardships visited upon their country home by the Great Frost of 1683–84 bring Kit to frustration and despair, and he abandons Christy to make his way to London, seeking to better himself. There he finds work as an apprentice to a struggling artist and much else to take his mind off what he has left behind. But the time comes when he can no longer ignore the problem of his brother.

A fascinating portrait of a young person struggling to balance family and freedom, The Brothers Story is also a frank depiction of Restoration London in its bawdy, raucous glory.
Publication Date: 11/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Girls Acting Catty
Leslie Margolis
Synopsis:

What's harder to deal with than a group of boys who act like dogs? How about a clique of catty mean girls? Annabelle has just figured out how to survive in junior high school. She's made great friends, her teachers are nice, and she's got lots of tricks up her sleeve for taming those pesky boys. But now she and her friends must confront a whole new brand of headache-- the mean girl clique. At first Taylor and her friends were out to get Annabelle's bff Rachel, but soon the whole group is involved. Their friendship is getting tenser by the minute -- unless Annabelle can save the day again?

Publication Date: 11/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Youngest Templar
Michael Spradlin
Synopsis: Tristan and his friends haveescaped the Holy Land, but theirdangerous journey is far fromover!

Picking up right where the breathtaking actionleft off, Tristan and his friends, the archer RobardHode and the assassin Maryam, have escapedthe Holy Land, but they are still a long wayfrom the end of their perilous journey. And whilethey may have eluded the villainous Templar SirHugh, they know he will never be far behind.

Their only hope is to reach safety in England. Butbefore they do that they run straight into a rebelband of Cathars, a heretical sect fighting off the oppressionof France’s king. When Tristan falls for thebeautiful leader of the Cathars, though, his loyaltiesare torn between aiding her in her hour of need orfleeing with his sacred charge—to protect the HolyGrail.

Publication Date: 10/29/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Lockdown: Escape From Furnace
Alexander Gordon Smith
Synopsis:

Furnace Penitentiary: the world's most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth's surface. Convicted of a murder he didn't commit, sentenced to life without parole, "new fish" Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world. Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries. Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison.

Together with a bunch of inmates―some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers―Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace's deeper, darker purpose, Alex's actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that's hidden from the eyes of the world.

Publication Date: 10/27/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Horse Diaries: Koda
Ruth Sanderson, Patricia Hermes
Synopsis: For anyone who has ever dreamed of hearing a horse’s story . . .

Independence, Missouri, 1846

Koda is a bay quarter horse with a white blaze. He loves to explore the countryside and run free with his human friend Jasmine nearby. But after Koda sets out with Jasmine’s family on a long and dusty wagon train journey on the Oregon Trail, he finds out what is truly important to him. Here is Koda’s story . . . in his own words.

With moving and knowledgeable text and lovely black-and-white art throughout—both by real horse people—this is the perfect fit for all lovers of horses and history!
Publication Date: 10/27/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Buck Fever
Cynthia Chapman Willis
Synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Joey MacTagert's dad wants his son to carry on the family tradition of hunting. But Joey has "buck fever"―he can't pull the trigger on a deer, and hates the idea of killing animals. He's more interested in art and hockey, two activities that his dad barely acknowledges.

Joey's dad wants him to use his special skill in tracking to hunt down the big antlered buck that roams the woods near their home. Joey knows how to track Old Buck, but has kept secret from his father the reason he's gained the deer's trust. When trouble between his parents seems to escalate, Joey and his older sister, Philly, find themselves in the middle of tensions they don't fully understand. Joey wants to keep the peace, and if conquering his buck fever will do it, he has to try.

Buck Fever is a nominee for the 2003 Edgar Award for Best First Novel.

Publication Date: 10/27/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Espressologist
Kristina Springer
Synopsis: What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?

With overtones of Jane Austen’s Emma and brimming with humor and heart, this sweet, frothy debut will be savored by readers.
Publication Date: 10/27/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Dragonfly
Julia Golding
Synopsis: Princess Taoshira of the Blue Crescent Islands is appalled when she is ordered to marry Prince Ramil of Gerfal in order to unite their lands. And he's not too pleased, either. They hate each other on sight. So, when Tashi and Ramil are kidnapped, they fear there's no escape - from their kidnappers or from each other. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive ambush, unarmed combat, brainwashing, and imprisonment? And will the people they meet on their adventure help them or betray them to the enemy?
Publication Date: 10/20/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Snapped
brntpopcorn
Synopsis: The Quizilla Mibba and Wattpad classic is finally in print. The tale of Melany and her adventure into her other life. When a black-winged angel breaks through Melany's window and lands on her bedroom floor things begin to change. And so Melany met Sorter, the angel, but this isn't just a onetime encounter. The angels refuse to leave her alone. The next day Sorter and Zeke, another angel, appear on the street ready to go to school with her. Zeke seems to be as nice as an angel should while Sorter threatens to kill her if she tells anyone about them. Melany does not realize there might be a deeper reason to them being there or that she could be in the middle of a war between angels and demons. Her life is changed forever, as Melany is exposed to portals and travels to their world. She becomes aware of the threat humanity is facing. But Melany has a destiny that could end the war, save her friends, her people, and allow her to go home finding happiness in her own world. What will be Melany's fate?
Publication Date: 10/20/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction

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