All Books
Synopsis: Fifteen year old Albert has just received an invitation that could transform his disappointing life completely – a chance to belong to an advanced and hidden society that only reveals itself to a select few. Immersed in a new world of mind-boggling technology and intriguing peers, Albert will overcome his fears enough to ignore a few suspicious details. But soon he'll find his family dragged to the center of a scandal that threatens to tear them apart and erase their very identities. A conflicted Albert must find the strength to challenge authority by relying on his newfound allies and gift for Revelation. Prepare for adventure, humor and suspense in this fast-paced tale of a "normal" family striving for their place in a "perfect" world.
Publication Date: 08/04/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: A timely, eye-opening novel showing how war affects families on both sides
Ever since her brother Sef left for Iraq, Cassie has felt like her life is falling apart. Her parents are fighting over her brother having gone to war. Her smart, beautiful sister is messing up. Her little brother, who has Down syndrome, is pretending he's a Marine. And her best friend no longer has time for her. In her loneliness Cassie turns to a surprising source of comfort: Blue Sky, an Iraqi girl she meets through her blog. The girls begin a correspondence and Cassie learns that when Blue Sky says "I want my life back," she means something profound, as she can no longer venture out in her destroyed city. Cassie takes strength from Blue Sky's courage and is inspired to stop running away from the pain, and to reclaim her life.
Ever since her brother Sef left for Iraq, Cassie has felt like her life is falling apart. Her parents are fighting over her brother having gone to war. Her smart, beautiful sister is messing up. Her little brother, who has Down syndrome, is pretending he's a Marine. And her best friend no longer has time for her. In her loneliness Cassie turns to a surprising source of comfort: Blue Sky, an Iraqi girl she meets through her blog. The girls begin a correspondence and Cassie learns that when Blue Sky says "I want my life back," she means something profound, as she can no longer venture out in her destroyed city. Cassie takes strength from Blue Sky's courage and is inspired to stop running away from the pain, and to reclaim her life.
Publication Date: 08/02/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: "I don t know if all schools are like mine, but at North Holmes they have this thing that can happen, from out of the blue, and there is even a code word for it it's called getting stung."
Katie, Nate, and Renata had no farther to fall.
"They become like scorpions; they sting you till you die."
But when they hit the bottom of the social ladder, they found each other. Together, they might be able to change things. To stop the torment.
"We were united. We were going to take a stand."
So they made a plan. One person seemed to have everyone's secrets and all the power. If they could stop him...
"We needed first of all to get Chase alone. Away from his friends."
But secrets are complicated, powerful things. They are hard to keep. And even a noble plan can go horribly wrong.
"What a dark and terrible place this school is."
Katie, Nate, and Renata had no farther to fall.
"They become like scorpions; they sting you till you die."
But when they hit the bottom of the social ladder, they found each other. Together, they might be able to change things. To stop the torment.
"We were united. We were going to take a stand."
So they made a plan. One person seemed to have everyone's secrets and all the power. If they could stop him...
"We needed first of all to get Chase alone. Away from his friends."
But secrets are complicated, powerful things. They are hard to keep. And even a noble plan can go horribly wrong.
"What a dark and terrible place this school is."
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: All Freya can remember is her sister, the basement, and the Man Upstairs. She has no memory of the world outside or of being warm or of not feeling hungry. And now her sister is gone. An unlikely ally shows her how to break out of the basement, but on the frozen banks of the Mississippi, Freya quickly discovers things worse than the Man Upstairs. Freya is lucky to find Finn. He has a canoe, some supplies, and a vague idea about a place down south called Norlins. If they can dodge the slavers and avoid starving to death, the two of them might just have a shot at survival.
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Synopsis: Jinx looked at the bar, then back at Devon and Todd. "You may want to duck, is all I'm saying." As the words left her mouth, three glasses came shooting from the bar, straight toward the brothers. Devon and Todd ducked and the glasses shattered against a door behind them. Jinx became a paranormal investigator so she'd stand out from the other kids in high school. Her ghost-hunting partner Jackson may be a jock, but Jinx is not interested in helping his football buddy Todd—until Todd's case gets too weird to ignore. A supernatural presence is causing chaos at the bar Todd's family owns. And the threat has a connection to Todd that's deeper than even he realizes . . .
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Synopsis: Jinx felt something rumble through the room. She began to shake and moved closer to Jackson. "Do you feel that?" she whispered. Jackson nodded. When Jinx glanced at him, his face had turned bright white. As if he'd seen a ghost. Jinx was a social reject who became a punked-out paranormal investigator. Jackson is a jock by day and Jinx's ghost-hunting partner by night. When a popular girl named Emily asks the duo to explore a haunting in her dad's apartment, Jinx is skeptical—but Jackson insists they take the case. And the truth they find is even stranger than Emily's story.
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: Staci Glass feels cursed--whenever there's a crisis, she's stuck in the middle. Now her best friend, Faith, has a new hobby, and against her better judgment, Staci conjures up the courage to go along. They join a trio of wannabe witches for a magical ceremony in an Incan history exhibit. Their chanting is loud enough to raise the dead, it seems. Why else would a shriveled-up mummy go missing and a mysterious;Incan prince suddenly appear?
Prince Pachacutec--or "Chuck"--is a man with a past. He died tragically five hundred years ago, but that's all ancient history as far as Staci is concerned. He is everything she could want--kind, charming, and drop-dead gorgeous. But the witches aren't willing to live and let live. Will Staci fight for Chuck? Or do the witches have a point when they say reanimated corpses make bad boyfriends?
Prince Pachacutec--or "Chuck"--is a man with a past. He died tragically five hundred years ago, but that's all ancient history as far as Staci is concerned. He is everything she could want--kind, charming, and drop-dead gorgeous. But the witches aren't willing to live and let live. Will Staci fight for Chuck? Or do the witches have a point when they say reanimated corpses make bad boyfriends?
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Manga/Graphic Novel
Synopsis: Sylvan has been angry ever since his parents split up. And now that an embarrassing photo has appeared in the paper, he's stuck with a lame nickname too.
Charity is back in the United States after several years in Africa. And she's learning that home can be a strange place when you've been away for a while.
Neither of them knows what's up with Brian. He spends whole afternoons alone on his trampoline.
From the first day of school, Sylvan knows he doesn't want to hang out with weirdos like Charity or Brian. He'd rather just be a normal kid. But when the principal gets ready to fire their favorite teacher, Sylvan, Charity, and Brian have to find a way to work together.
Charity is back in the United States after several years in Africa. And she's learning that home can be a strange place when you've been away for a while.
Neither of them knows what's up with Brian. He spends whole afternoons alone on his trampoline.
From the first day of school, Sylvan knows he doesn't want to hang out with weirdos like Charity or Brian. He'd rather just be a normal kid. But when the principal gets ready to fire their favorite teacher, Sylvan, Charity, and Brian have to find a way to work together.
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: I looked at Ms. Denholm. Her face had turned milk-white. Is there a note in there? she said. I looked into the box again. It contained a dozen red roses. Nestled among them was a baby doll, splattered with what looked like blood but was probably red paint. Its head was missing.
Robyn's new substitute teacher Ms. Denholm is cool, pretty, and possibly the target of a stalker. When Denholm receives a threatening package, Robyn wonders who's responsible. But Robyn has a mystery of her own to worry about. What's with the muddled phone message she receives from her missing ex-boyfriend Nick? Should she try to forget him or is the call a sign he still cares?
Robyn's new substitute teacher Ms. Denholm is cool, pretty, and possibly the target of a stalker. When Denholm receives a threatening package, Robyn wonders who's responsible. But Robyn has a mystery of her own to worry about. What's with the muddled phone message she receives from her missing ex-boyfriend Nick? Should she try to forget him or is the call a sign he still cares?
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: When a bullet knocks Malik and the Captain's hot-air balloon out of the sky, Malik goes into wilderness survival mode. Actually, he's been in survival mode ever since the world fell apart. Whatever the crisis, he's always counted on the Gene Matterhorn Wilderness Survival Guidebook when things got crazy. Now he and the Captain are in the middle of miles of Kentucky wilderness, being chased by manhunters who believe hunting the weak is their post-apocalyptic duty. Malik is about to find out just how good his survival skills are.
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: For Reluctant Readers
Synopsis: "Please," I said. It was all I had the chance to say. He looked at me, then at the stairs behind me. He rushed at me and pushed hard, throwing me off balance. I reeled backward, stumbled over, and started to fall.
After a homeless man dies during a cold winter night, Robyn and her friends work to uncover who the man was before his time on the streets. They have only two clues to guide them: a class ring and an old photograph that the man left behind. Robyn just wants to honor the homeless man s memory. But as the search heats up, she begins to suspect that someone s investigating her too. . . .
After a homeless man dies during a cold winter night, Robyn and her friends work to uncover who the man was before his time on the streets. They have only two clues to guide them: a class ring and an old photograph that the man left behind. Robyn just wants to honor the homeless man s memory. But as the search heats up, she begins to suspect that someone s investigating her too. . . .
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: For Reluctant Readers
Synopsis: Josh Higgins and his sister Maggie have vowed not to use the alien gizmo that lets them visit other worlds. But when Josh's favorite writer comes to town, the temptation is too much. Along with famous author P.L. Cuthbertson, Josh and Maggie prepare to visit the land of Cuthbertson's books: Wyrd World.
As soon as the crew arrives, some of Wyrd World's thuggish locals mistake P.L. for a wizard and that's not a good thing. Josh and Maggie begin a rescue mission, sneaking through fortresses and dungeons. But to challenge the planet's evil rulers, they'll have to unite a group of rebels and outcasts who would just as soon fight each other. . . .
As soon as the crew arrives, some of Wyrd World's thuggish locals mistake P.L. for a wizard and that's not a good thing. Josh and Maggie begin a rescue mission, sneaking through fortresses and dungeons. But to challenge the planet's evil rulers, they'll have to unite a group of rebels and outcasts who would just as soon fight each other. . . .
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: For Reluctant Readers
Synopsis: When he walks through the door and sees the sharky grin on his sister's face, Vin rightly suspects Meg is hatching a plot. Worse still, he's central to the outcome. Meg tells him everyone expects him to play her duet for trumpet and piano at the student concert. Vin is horrified. His only escape is to persuade another trumpet player to take his place. Meg has the hunky Brad Stewart in mind, and she challenges Vin to introduce her to him. To do that he must first befriend Brad's nerdy brother, Eyeballs, the last person Vin wants to be friends with until Meg's promise of a David Beckham autographed soccer jersey changes the seventh-grader's mind. He has five days to accomplish his mission-Operation BS. Vin's game plan, thwarted by exploding fish tanks, magnetic compost heaps, man-eating bubble baths, and other disasters ultimately succeeds, but not exactly as he expects ...
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: -A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck. -Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing. -A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream). These are but a f
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: Vis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life.
For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.
Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply.
For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she's ever known...or face a fate more unimaginable than death.
In Meagan Spooner's compelling debut, magic, technology, and human frailty collide in a brilliant new world.
For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.
Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply.
For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she's ever known...or face a fate more unimaginable than death.
In Meagan Spooner's compelling debut, magic, technology, and human frailty collide in a brilliant new world.
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: Shep Greenfield is a plague rider. When his parents disappeared after an attack on their home, he agreed to deliver medicine for the sinister Doctor St. John. The doctor runs the camp of River's Edge with cruelty and total control. But the pills he makes are the only hope people have, now that the doomsday plague nightpox has hit Wisconsin. On one journey, Shep learns that his parents may still be alive. Doctor St. John forbids him to look for them. But with fellow rider Cara by his side, Shep saddles up his horse and escapes from River's Edge. The two young riders must race to stay ahead of the doctor's hunting pack and find Shep's parents before he loses them for good.
Publication Date: 08/01/12
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction