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Voices in the Dark
Catherine Banner
Synopsis: Asking for the truth can be as painful as telling it. . . .

Anselm Andros has clearly defined roles in his family and they are roles he plays very well—he is confidante to his mother, Maria. He is the confessor to his stepfather, Leo, a man haunted by the secrets of his past. And Anselm is also the patient, caring brother to his precocious sister, Jasmine. When the political landscape of Malonia starts to shift, this unassuming family begins to unravel. Even though they’ve spent the past fifteen years leading a quiet life, Maria and Leo’s actions are forever linked to the turbulent history of Malonia and its parallel world, modern-day England. With so much uncertainty at home and in his world, it is more important than ever for Anselm to put all the pieces of the past together. He must listen to his own voice and acknowledge his fears and desires—whatever the cost.
Publication Date: 09/22/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Watcher
Valerie Sherrard
Synopsis:

"I knew one thing -- I wasn't going to be rotting in that place for the rest of my life. I was getting out of there. That place turned people into the living dead. In that neighbourhood, it was hard to hear anything that didn't carry the sound of defeat."

Sixteen-year-old Porter Delaney has his future figured out, but his nice, neat plans are shaken when a man he believes may be his father suddenly appears in his Toronto neighbourhood. Porter knows that he wants nothing to do with the deadbeat dad who abandoned him and his sister twelve years earlier, but curiosity causes him to re-examine the past.

Unfortunately, actual memories are scarce and confusing, and much of what he knows is based on things his mother told him. As Porter looks for answers, it begins to seem that all he's ever going to find are more questions.

Publication Date: 09/21/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Positively
Courtney Sheinmel
Synopsis: Since the day Emerson Pressman and her mother were diagnosed as HIV positive, nothing has been the same. When her mother dies of AIDS, Emmy has to go live with the father and stepmother she barely knows, and she feels more alone than ever. Now she has to take pills by herself, and there is no one left who understands what it's like to be afraid every time she has a cold. But when her father decides to send her to Camp Positive, a camp for HIV-positive children, Emmy begins to realize that she's not alone after all, and that sometimes, opening up to other people can make all the difference in the world.
Publication Date: 09/15/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Once A Witch
Carolyn MacCullough
Synopsis:

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

Publication Date: 09/14/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware
Kurt Cyrus, M.T. Anderson
Synopsis: It is a land of wonders. It is a land of mystery. It is a land that time forgot (or chose specifically not to remember). Cut off from the civilized world for untold years by prohibitive interstate tolls at the New Jersey border, this land is called: Delaware. It is into the mist-shrouded heart of this forbidden mountainous realm that our plucky and intrepid heroes, Jasper Dash: Boy Technonaut, and his friends Lily Gefelty and Katie Mulligan, must journey to unravel a terrible mystery in this third weird and wacky installment of M. T. Anderson’s Thrilling Tales.
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Road To Tater Hill
Edith M. Hemingway
Synopsis: Annie struggles with grief after the death of her newborn sister.

Annie can always count on spending summers at her grandparents’. This summer should be even better because Mama is going to have a baby soon. Before Daddy leaves for his Air Force assignment, he gives Annie a journal for summer memories. But now Annie is grieving over the death of her newborn sister. How can she tell Daddy that ever since the baby died, Mama is slipping away? If Annie wrote those words, Mama might stay that way forever. The only comfort Annie finds is in holding a stone she calls her “rock baby.” Then Annie secretly befriends a mysterious woman who helps Annie accept her loss, while Annie hopes to draw her new friend back into the community. But all that is interrupted when a crisis reveals their unlikely alliance and leads to a surprising turn of events.
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Catwalk: Strike a Pose
Deborah Gregory
Synopsis: The competition heats up at Fashion International High School. Bring it!

Sashay, parlay! The design competition at Fashion International High School heats up as each design house struggles to produce its first—and hopefully award-winning—line. Tensions are cropping up in the House of Pashmina, and it’s not clear whether Pashmina and her best friends will weather the runway. They’d better scramble if they want to win a real shot at a fashion career and an all-expenses-paid trip to Florence!

“A high-energy journey through the world of fashion high school as seen through the eyes of several feisty fashionistas. . . . Young readers will dive into Gregory’s vibrant mix of teenage realism, glamour, and fantasy.”—Essence
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Rage: A Love Story
Julie Anne Peters
Synopsis: A National Book Award Finalist offers an intense portrait of an abusive relationship.

Johanna is steadfast, patient, reliable; the go-to girl, the one everyone can count on. But always being there for others can’t give Johanna everything she needs—it can’t give her Reeve Hartt.

Reeve is fierce, beautiful, wounded, elusive; a flame that draws Johanna’s fluttering moth. Johanna is determined to get her, against all advice, and to help her, against all reason. But love isn’t always reasonable, right?

In the precarious place where attraction and need collide, a teenager experiences the dark side of a first love, and struggles to find her way into a new light.
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Muchacho
Louanne Johnson
Synopsis: An inspiring YA debut from the author of Dangerous Minds.

Eddie Corazon is angry. He’s also very smart. But he’s working pretty hard at being a juvenile delinquent. He blows off school, even though he’s a secret reader. He hangs with his cousins, who will always back him up—when they aren’t in jail.

Then along comes Lupe, who makes his blood race. She sees something in Eddie he doesn’t even see in himself. A heart, and a mind, and something more: a poet. But in Eddie’s world, it’s a thin line between tragedy and glory. And what goes down is entirely in Eddie’s hands.

Gripping, thought-provoking, and hopeful, Muchacho is a rare and inspiring story about one teen’s determination to fight his circumstances and shape his own destiny.
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix
Synopsis: Calvin Coconut needs to fix things with Stella—and fast!

Stella from Texas is now officially a member of the Coconut household. As if getting a bossy babysitter isn’t bad enough for Calvin, Stella teases him mercilessly. What’s a nine-year-old boy to do? Calvin decides to “fix” her, and he dumps his neighbor’s cat Zippy on Stella’s bed, knowing she’s allergic. But when Stella breaks out in hives and misses her first big date, Calvin realizes his “zippy fix” went too far. He’s got to make it up to her, and decides to give her a birthday present. But he has no money. Along with the help of his loyal friends and little sister, Darci, Calvin works hard, and comes up with enough cash to give Stella the best birthday gift ever.

Graham Salisbury’s voice perfectly captures the inner workings of Calvin’s mind, and Jacqueline Rogers’ delightful pictures add zest and humor to The Zippy Fix.
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Stone Rabbit #3  Deep Space Disco
Erik Craddock, Erik Craddock
Synopsis: Don’t try to pat THIS bunny.

In a case of mistaken identity, Stone Rabbit is beamed up into space and imprisoned by intergalactic enforcers. Will our hero escape laser lockup in time to stop an alien invader from atomizing the earth?

Deep-Space Disco is the third book in a full-color series of riotous, rip-roaring graphic novels that chronicle the zany adventures of a quick-tempered and quick-witted young rabbit. Its fast pace and outrageously high visual content will appeal to thrill-seeking young readers everywhere!
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Andrew North Blows Up The World
Synopsis: A dynamic and hilarious new hero for early middle-grade.

Andrew "Danger" North is no ordinary third-grader. He, his brother, Jack, and his father are spies. That is what Jack has always told him, and everything Andrew has learned from his dad’s favorite spy movies tells him it must be true. When Andrew comes across his brother’s graphing calculator, he’s sure it’s a communication device that will put him in touch with the secret spy headquarters. But instead of punching in a greeting to the spy society, Andrew accidentally punches in a code that might blow up the world! And if that isn’t bad enough, his math teacher then confiscates the top secret communication device and takes it to the mysterious Storage Room B. Now Andrew is on a spy mission to find his brother’s communicator and save the world from mass destruction. Will he be able to save the world?
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Georges and the Jewels
Synopsis: A Pulitzer Prize winner makes her debut for young readers.

Jane Smiley makes her debut for young readers in this stirring novel set on a California horse ranch in the 1960s. Seventh-grader Abby Lovitt has always been more at ease with horses than with people. Her father insists they call all the mares “Jewel” and all the geldings “George” and warns Abby not to get attached: the horses are there to be sold. But with all the stress at school (the Big Four have turned against Abby and her friends) and home (her brother Danny is gone—for good, it seems—and now Daddy won’t speak his name), Abby seeks refuge with the Georges and the Jewels. But there’s one gelding on her family’s farm that gives her no end of trouble: the horse who won’t meet her gaze, the horse who bucks her right off every chance he gets, the horse her father makes her ride and train, every day. She calls him the Ornery George.
Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Ex Games
Jennifer Echols
Synopsis:

Brace yourself for the battle of the exes....

Hayden and Nick used to be a hot item, but their brief affair ended with a highly publicized breakup. Now the two are "just friends," excluding the occasional flirtation.

When Hayden wins the girls' division of a local snowboarding competition, Nick is unimpressed, claiming that Hayden wouldn't have a chance against a guy. Hayden calls Nick's bluff and challenges him to a head-to-head boarding contest. Their mutual friends quickly take sides, the girls on Hayden's and the boys on Nick's, making for an all-out battle of the sexes. This friendly competition is bound to get heated -- and they might end up igniting some old flames.

Publication Date: 09/08/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Night Hoops
Carl Deuker
Synopsis:

Nick Abbott and Trent Dawson have nothing in common but basketball. Or so it seems. But as the basketball season progresses, their lives become unexpectedly intertwined. In this story of an unlikely bond, award-winning author Carl Deuker explores that dark and confusing place between loneliness and friendship, between faithfulness and betrayal. Filled with gripping game play, the novel will leave readers wondering how much they themselves would reach out to a kid like Trent.

Publication Date: 09/07/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Recipe For Disaster
Maureen Fergus
Synopsis: Francie's life was almost perfect before the new girl showed up. She had her own business as a weekend baker whose scones almost caused stampedes, a best friend named Holly and a deeply fulfilling crush on Tate Jarvis. She dreamed about the day she'd be famous and have her own baking show. But the new girl at school, Darlene, thinks Francie's obsession with baking is weird, she acts like Holly is her best friend, and she's somehow managed to steal Tate's attention away. Suddenly, everything is unravelling. Unable to stay focused, Francie's pastry-filled dreams are starting to slide. Then Francie gets a chance to meet the sexy celebrity baker Lorenzo LaRue, whose toned pectorals inspire Francie as much as the baking tips she picks up from his TV show. Francie is sure that if Lorenzo could only see how passionate she is about baking, he would help launch her career, and possibly marry her when she reaches legal age. It won't be easy - but Francie is starting to understand that although trying won't guarantee success, quitting will guarantee failure. Young readers will gobble up this hilarious exploration of a girl's recipes for friendship, dating, fame and coconut-drop cookies.
Publication Date: 09/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction

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