Synopsis: The day Lutie Painter takes the city bus north instead of the school bus west, cutting class for the first time ever, her aunt and uncle have no idea what she is up to. They cannot prevent her from riding into danger.
     That same morning, Lutie's pastor, Miss Veola, whispers as always, "This is the day that the Lord hath made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
     A block from Miss Veola and up a hill in Chalk, Train Greene, thin and hungry, burns with anger. He has a decision to make, and he's running out of time.
     A few miles away, among finer houses, Kelvin Hartley yawns and gets ready for another day at school, where he is a friend to all and makes an effort at nothing.
     And Doria Bell, who recently moved to the South from Connecticut, walks to the bus stop, hoping the high school kids who live nearby will say hello.
     All of these lives intertwine and—in surprising ways—become connected to Lutie's ancestors, who are buried in the cemetery in Chalk. Who would have dreamed that the long-dead Mabel Painter, who passed down the Laundry List songs to her great-great-granddaughter Lutie, had passed along a piece of American history that speaks to so many who feel lost and need hope. Big changes are in store for all, and things will never be the same.
     In this luminous novel, Caroline B. Cooney delves deeply into a Southern community. Cooney reveals the comfort, inspiration, and hope its members draw from the power of faith, the glory of music, and the meaning of family.

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Hope Long's life revolves around her brother Jeremy.  So when Jeremy is accused of killing the town's beloved baseball coach, Hope's world begins to unravel. Everyone is convinced Jeremy did it, and since he hasn't spoken a word in 9 years, he's unable to defend himself.  Their lawyer instructs Hope to convince the jury that Jeremy is insane, but all her life Hope has known that Jeremy's just different than other people—better, even. As she works to prove his innocence—joined by her best friend T.J. and the sheriff's son, Chase—Hope uncovers secrets about the murder, the townspeople, her family, and herself. She knows her brother isn't the murderer.  But as she comes closer to the truth, she's terrified to find out who is.

Synopsis: Back in the Kingdom of Caux after her journey to its sisterland, Ivy wakes up in a dismal orphanage alongside her friend Rue. Accompanied by a strange woman named Lumpen—who looks suspiciously like a scarecrow—the girls make their way back to Templar to plan a massive battle against the Tasters Guild, where Vidal Verjouce is making ink out of the deadly Scourge Bracken weed. Rocamadour grows darker and more dangerous with every drop.

With an army of scarecrows, a legion of birds, and her friends and uncle by her side, it's up to Ivy—the true "Shepherd of Weeds"—to wage war against the Guild, defeat her own father, and restore order to the plant world. Susannah Appelbaum's imagination soars in this stunning and utterly satisfying final volume of the Poisons of Caux trilogy.

Synopsis: A Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book and an ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book, The Lily Pond continues the story of two Jewish sisters who left Austria during WWII/Holocaust and found refuge in Sweden.

A year after Stephie Steiner and her younger sister, Nellie, left Nazi-occupied Vienna, Stephie has finally adapted to life on the rugged Swedish island where she now lives. But more change awaits Stephie: her foster parents have allowed her to enroll in school on the mainland, in Goteberg. Stephie is eager to go. Not only will she be pursuing her studies, she'll be living in a cultured city again—under the same roof as Sven, the son of the lodgers who rented her foster parents' cottage for the summer.
Five years her senior, Sven dazzles Stephie with his charm, his talk of equality, and his anti-Hitler sentiments. Stephie can't help herself—she's falling in love. As she navigates a sea of new emotions, she also grapples with what it means to be beholden to others, with her constant worry about what her parents are enduring back in Vienna, and with the menacing spread of Nazi ideology, even in Sweden. In these troubled times, her true friends, Stephie discovers, are the ones she least expected.

Synopsis: A quick-easy guide inspired by a quirky 16-year old called 'Keezy's 10 Awesome Rules for Teenaged Dating!' This 10 chapter pocket-guide is full of whimsical and sarcastic whit exposing the dilemma of teenage dating amid the new social media generation. This book has chapter titles like: Ever Heard of Fabric Softener, Mr. Cling?, What a Tweet! and You Don't Own Me!

Synopsis: Everything should've changed the day vampires and shapeshifters came out to the world six years ago, but it didn't--at least not for Gabi Daniels. She still sleeps, eats, runs, and goes to school. And when she's out in public, she still can't tell if the people she passes on the street are humans or actually Supernaturals, aka S'nats. No one else can, either, which is the problem. If S'nats have actually populated the globe for eons without anyone knowing, what else might be lurking out there, ready to pounce? Then Gabi's dad, a lawyer, defends a vampire accused of murdering a human. His high-profile win results in threats from S'nat haters. To keep Gabi safe, he hires WatchDogs, Inc., a personal protection agency with bodyguards that actually shapeshift into dogs. Fray Matsen, a Rottweiler, has his work cut out for him and not just because he finds Gabi a big distraction. Will his human strength and canine senses be enough to protect Gabi?

Synopsis: Four centures ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change...