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Watersmeet
Ellen Jensen Abbott
Synopsis: From her birth, Abisina has been outcast--for the color of her eyes and skin, and for her lack of a father. Only her mother's status as the village healer has kept her safe. But when a mythic leader arrives, Abisina's life is ripped apart. She escapes alone to try to find the father and the home she has never known. In a world of extremes, from the deepest prejudice to the greatest bonds of duty and loyalty, Abisina must find her own way and decide where her true hope lies.
Publication Date: 04/01/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Emma Dilemma and the Camping Nanny
Abby Carter, Patricia Hermes
Synopsis: Instead of spending free time with Emma and her family, Annie the nanny chooses to spend it with Bo. They have signed up for Irish dance class on Sunday nights, and Bo seems to show up whenever Annie has an evening off. To make matters worse, Emma’s mother has invited "The boyfriend" to come along on a family camping trip. Emma has another problem, too. Her best friend, Luisa, has been spending time with her worst friend, Kate. No wonder Emma is feeling a bit lonely. Betrayed, even.

How is Emma going to solve both dilemmas? Will she come out on top and a little wiser, as she always has before?
Publication Date: 04/01/09
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Cold Hands, Warm Heart
Jill Wolfson
Synopsis:

Dani was born with her heart on the wrong side of her body. In her fifteen years of life, she's had more doctor's appointments, X-rays, and tests, and eaten more green hospital Jell-O than she cares to think about. Fourteen-year-old Amanda is a competitive gymnast, her body a small package of sleek muscles, in perfect health. The two girls don't know each other, don't go to the same school, don't have any friends in common. But their lives are about to collide.

Acclaimed author Jill Wolfson tackles this fascinating story with her trademark honesty and wit.

Publication Date: 03/31/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Smoke
Mavis Jukes
Synopsis: When Colton’s mom tells him that they’re moving from Idaho Falls to northern California, Colt is sad, but he takes it like a man. At least he’ll have one friend to keep him company – Smoke, the twenty-pound black Maine coon cat that Colt’s dad gave him when he was little. With his dad gone most of the year riding bulls on the rodeo circuit, sometimes it feels like Smoke is their only connection. So when Smoke doesn’t come home after Colt lets him out in the middle of the night, nothing else in Colt’s world seems to matter anymore. But on the dark and stormy evening when Colt sets off alone to find his missing cat, he’s in for more danger than even the son of a fearless bull rider could have dreamed of.

A captivating look at cowboys, courage, and community, this is a tender tale about family and friends pulling together, and what it really means to be a man.
Publication Date: 03/31/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Skunk Girl
Sheba Karim
Synopsis:

If Nina Khan were to rate herself on the unofficial Pakistani prestige point system – the one she's sure all the aunties and uncles use to determine the most attractive marriage prospects for their children – her scoring might go something like this:

+2 points for getting excellent grades
–3 points for failing to live up to expectations set by genius older sister
+4 points for dutifully obeying parents and never, ever going to parties, no matter how antisocial that makes her seem to everyone at Deer Hook High
–1 point for harboring secret jealousy of her best friends, who are allowed to date like normal teenagers
+2 points for never drinking an alcoholic beverage
–10 points for obsessing about Asher Richelli, who talks to Nina like she's not a freak at all, even though he knows that she has a disturbing line of hair running down her back

In this wryly funny debut novel, the smart, sassy, and utterly lovable Nina Khan tackles friends, family, and love, and learns that it's possible to embrace two very different cultures – even if things can get a little bit, well, hairy.

Publication Date: 03/31/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Soldier Mom
Alice Mead
Synopsis:

Jasmyn Williams is shocked and angry when her mother, a member of the Army Reserve, is called up for service during the Persian Gulf War. While Jas comes to understand that her mother has to do her job, she wonders, should a mother have a job that might require abandoning her children?

"Jasmyn's ready for her big seventh-grade season in basketball . . . when her home life bounces out of control . . . There's an emotional impact here that will resound with other youngsters making sacrifices." – The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Publication Date: 03/31/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Color of Earth
Dong Hwa Kim, Dong Hwa Kim
Synopsis:

First love is never easy.

Ehwa grows up helping her widowed mother run the local tavern, watching as their customers – both neighbors and strangers – look down on her mother for her single lifestyle. Their social status isolates Ehwa and her mother from the rest of the people in their quiet country village. But as she gets older and sees her mother fall in love again, Ehwa slowly begins to open up to the possibility of love in her life.

In the tradition of My Antonia and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, from the pen of the renowned Korean manwha creator Kim Dong Hwa, comes a trilogy about a girl coming of age, set in the vibrant, beautiful landscape of pastoral Korea.

Publication Date: 03/31/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Night Watchman
J. L. Manning
Synopsis: This story takes place in any city where there is street crime, street racing, and underground fighting. There is a young man that was in a car accident as a child and was left with physical limitations. Over these years a speech impairment and self-doubt because of how people now saw him left him lonely. A technology that he found did help him gain abilities that he never had and he wanted to use these abilities to help out his city. The abilities that he gained improved and the side effects gave him abilities that he was learning to take advantage of. He started to investigate a criminal that he had found that got him involved in some tight spots. He gained the most unlikely of friends that got him involved with underground activities. His confidence grew, but when the time comes will he do the right thing?
Publication Date: 03/30/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Horse Diaries: Elska
Ruth Sanderson, Catherine Hapka
Synopsis: Iceland, circa AD 1000

Elska is a silver dapple Icelandic filly. She spends summers frisking about the countryside and winters in the farmyard, where the girl human Amma takes special care of her. But when a powerful neighbor notices Elska, her contented life suddenly changes. Here is Elska’s story . . . in her own words.


From the Hardcover edition.
Publication Date: 03/24/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet
Synopsis: Fourth-grader Calvin lives near the beach in Oahu with his mom and little sister. Mom says: “You’re the man of the house.” But Calvin’s not great at being the man of the house, or taking care of his responsibilities. He’s too busy having fun with his pals, and avoiding Tito, the bully.

Trouble Magnet is the first book in a new series for younger readers full of all the fun of growing up in Hawaii. It introduces a wonderful multicultural cast of characters, including Mr. Purdy, who calls his fourth-grade class Boot Camp; Uncle Scoop, who runs the lunch wagon at the beach; Ledward, Mom’s 6'7" boyfriend; and gorgeous, intimidating, 15-year-old Stella-from-Texas, who arrives to be the live-in babysitter—and to step all over Calvin’s turf.
Publication Date: 03/24/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Stepping Up
Mark Fink
Synopsis: Ernie Dolan, 14, is plagued by the curse of the average. Nothing about him stands out-except his stutter. Only best friend Mike Rivers sees him at his best. Then, at a competitive basketball camp, Mike excels while Ernie is-average. When Ernie blunders in a pickup game, Rick Craig, obnoxious camp hotshot, nicknames him "Choke." This sets the tone for Ernie's first week. But he soon finds three new allies: bunkmate Albert Mann, a goofy genius and practical joker; Coach Petrovich, a 6'8" Russian who mangles the English language; and camp director Tim Sanders, the mentor every kid needs. Soon, Ernie and Mike are on the outs, as Mike hangs with Craig and the jocks. But things change dramatically as Ernie morphs from outcast to hero, risking his life to save three campmates from near tragedy. Ernie's funny, heartwarming story unfolds against the backdrop of exciting, authentic basketball action, while touching on typical teen issues of friendship and the near-deadly consequences of peer pressure.
Publication Date: 03/24/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Running For My Life
Ann Gonzalez
Synopsis: Running for My Life is the powerful story of Andrea McKane, a fourteenyear- old who struggles to cope with her mother's schizophrenia. She must face the heartbreaking fact that her mother, with whom she once laughed and played, has vanished into her disease, possibly forever. The book accurately portrays the difficulties a teen faces when dealing with the illness, the abuse and absence of a parent with mental illness. Running for My Life shows the effects of mental illness on a family, and a teenager's attempts to manage the changes that have shaken her life.With courage, strength, and the loving support of her friends, her father, and her therapist, Andrea finds salvation through running. Running for My Life represents a heartwarming, encouraging breakthrough effort in portraying the challenges teens confront when they have to protect themselves from a guardian.
Publication Date: 03/24/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
L.A. Summer
Sheryl Mallory-Johnson
Synopsis: Summer heats up for three teenaged girls in Los Angeles, a city known for itscrime and glamour.
Publication Date: 03/17/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Pearl of Baxter Grove
Mary Kay Abbott
Synopsis: A young girl whose mother dies in a tragic car accident searches for a surrogate mom in Mary Kay Abbott’s luminous novel Pearl of Baxter Grove. Young Casey is only 11-years-old, but she’s crumbling under the weight of losing her mother in a car accident on Christmas Eve. Her workaholic, overstressed dad has no time for her, and so she ventures out into nearby bucolic Baxter Grove to find some support. Prospects look bleak when all Casey can find is a kid-hating shop owner and an African American newcomer who greets Casey with a shotgun! But Casey soon learns that what you see isn’t always what you get. She discovers that one of these unlikely women is just what she needs to heal. Warmly written and filled with richly drawn characters, Pearl of Baxter Grove is an inspiring story that children will treasure for years to come.
Publication Date: 03/12/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Genie Scheme
Kimberly K. Jones
Synopsis: When Janna impulsively buys a winter hat for a bag lady, she expects nothing in return. But Janna's kindness pays off in a big way when the bag lady turns out to be a genie! Now Janna is the genie's master and she couldn't be happier, especially when she learns that the "three wishes" rule is strictly for fairy tales!

Before long, Janna's room is overflowing with clothes and gadgets -- but things aren't quite as simple as they seem. Making wishes comes with its own set of rules, and Janna discovers that "unlimited" has some...well, limits. Genies can't make something out of nothing, so everything that Janna wishes for is taken from somebody else. Oops. And then there's the problem of genie wattage -- there's only so much of it, and Janna is using it up faster than she'd like. What's a greedy girl to do?

With insight, warmth, and a refreshing dose of humor, Kimberly K. Jones puts a new twist on the old adage "Be careful what you wish for."
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Alligator Bayou
Donna Jo Napoli
Synopsis: Talullah, Louisiana. 1899.

Calogero, his uncles, and cousins are six Sicilian men living in the small town of Tallulah, Louisiana. They work hard, growing vegetables and selling them at their stand and in their grocery store.

To 14-year-old Calogero, newly arrived from Sicily, Tallulah is a lush world full of contradictions, hidden rules, and tension between the Negro and white communities. He’s startled and thrilled by the danger of a ’gator hunt in the midnight bayou, and by his powerful feelings for Patricia, a sharpwitted, sweet-natured Negro girl. Some people welcome the Sicilians. Most do not. Calogero’s family is caught in the middle: the whites don’t see them as equal, but befriending Negroes is dangerous. Every day brings Calogero and his family closer to a a terrifying, violent confrontation.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction

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