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The Taker and the Keeper
Pat Perrin, Wim Coleman
Synopsis: Middle-schoolers Gregory Guest and Yolanda Torres have no intention of becoming heroes overnight. But as the only kids in Bainsboro who see that the world has gone horribly wrong, what choice do they have? Aided by their eccentric science teacher and Gregory's trusty red monocle, Gregory and Yolanda travel into the King Arthur legend to save today's real world from a legendary threat. As they ally themselves with the magician Merlin and his young apprentice to thwart the sorceress Morgan le Fay, these reluctant heroes must set whole worlds right again. The first book in the Red Monocle, The Taker and the Keeper will keep young readers up at night as they get swept away in this tightly-plotted adventure.
Publication Date: 03/30/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Start It Up
Eriko Takada, Kenrya Rankin
Synopsis: Do you have a passion you want to turn into pay? Or maybe you are looking for a way to make some extra cash in high school? Start It Up shows teens how to turn their hobbies and talents into full-fledged businesses. Inside you ll find comprehensive and fun information on how to know what is the best business for you, pull together a company, and sell your product and let the world know about it! Whether your business is cake baking, dog walking, website design, or house painting, Start It Up offers the A-Z on getting it going and making it successful. Also featured are quotes from other successful teen entrepreneurs who turned their dreams into dollars.
Publication Date: 03/30/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction
Born at Midnight
C. C. Hunter
Synopsis:

Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams,  Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.”  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. 

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Publication Date: 03/29/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Ida B
Katherine Hannigan
Synopsis:

Ida B. Applewood believes there is never enough time for fun.

That's why she's so happy to be homeschooled and to spend every free second outside with the trees and the brook.

Then some not-so-great things happen in her world. Ida B has to go back to that Place of Slow but Sure Body-Cramping, Mind-Numbing, Fun-Killing Torture—school. She feels her heart getting smaller and smaller and hardening into a sharp, black stone.

How can things go from righter than right to a million miles beyond wrong? Can Ida B put together a plan to get things back to just-about perfect again?

Publication Date: 03/29/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Entwined
Heather Dixon
Synopsis:

Come and mend your broken hearts here. In this retelling of the classic tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," the eldest princess must fight to save her family—and her heart—from an ancient dark magic within the palace walls. "Full of mystery, lush settings, and fully orbed characters, Dixon's debut is both suspenseful and rewarding."—ALA Booklist

Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it's taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late. "Readers who enjoy stories of royalty, romance, and magic will delight in Dixon's first novel."—Publishers Weekly

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Publication Date: 03/29/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Fury of the Phoenix
Synopsis:

The Gods have abandoned Ai Ling.

Her mysterious power haunts her day and night, and she leaves home—with just the moon as her guide—overwhelmed by her memories and visions and an unbearable sense of dread. For Ai Ling knows that Chen Yong is vulnerable to corrupt enchantments from the under-world. How can she do nothing when she has the skill and power to fight at his side? A dream has told her where he is, the name of the ship he is traveling on, his destination. So she steals off and stows away on board.

The ocean voyage brings with it brutal danger, haunting revelations, and new friendships, but also the premonition of a very real and terrifying threat. Zhong Ye—the powerful sorcerer whom Ai Ling believed she had vanquished in the Palace of Fragrant Dreams—is trapped in Hell, neither alive nor dead. Can he reach from beyond the grave to reunite with Silver Phoenix and destroy Chen Yong? And destroy whatever chance Ai Ling has at happiness, at love?

In this sequel to the acclaimed novel Silver Phoenix, four lives are woven together and four destinies become one, now and forever.

Publication Date: 03/29/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Mother Daughters
Rae Meadows
Synopsis:

A rich and luminous novel about three generations of women in one family: the love they share, the dreams they refuse to surrender, and the secrets they hold

Samantha is lost in the joys of new motherhood—the softness of her eight-month-old daughter's skin, the lovely weight of her child in her arms—but in trading her artistic dreams to care for her child, Sam worries she's lost something of herself. And she is still mourning another loss: her mother, Iris, died just one year ago.

When a box of Iris's belongings arrives on Sam's doorstep, she discovers links to pieces of her family history but is puzzled by much of the information the box contains. She learns that her grandmother Violet left New York City as an eleven-year-old girl, traveling by herself to the Midwest in search of a better life. But what was Violet's real reason for leaving? And how could she have made that trip alone at such a tender age?

In confronting secrets from her family's past, Sam comes to terms with deep secrets from her own. Moving back and forth in time between the stories of Sam, Violet, and Iris, Mothers and Daughters is the spellbinding tale of three remarkable women connected across a century by the complex wonder of motherhood.

Publication Date: 03/29/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Surrender the Dark
L.A. Banks
Synopsis: National bestselling author L.A. Banks’s electrifying new paranormal series is set in a sizzling world where Dark and Light are trapped in an eternal struggle for the fate of mankind.

Celeste Jackson has fought all her life against a fog of hallucination and substance abuse, but it’s not until she meets her protector, Azrael, an angel who has left the safety of the Light, that she learns of the evil forces that have been trying to ruin her, and why. A fierce battle for control of the mortal realm is brewing, and only Celeste—with the help of the Remnant, her half-human, half-angel brethren—can stand in the way. Together, Celeste and Azrael must gather an army of sensitives to defeat the dark powers that have ruled humanity for centuries, but time is running out. If Azrael surrenders to his growing desire for Celeste, he risks being trapped among humanity forever. But the longer he stays, the harder she is to resist. To save the world, Celeste must draw on her own dark experiences with addiction to help Azrael overcome the one temptation that could possibly make him an eternal prisoner—his obsession with her.
Publication Date: 03/29/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Master and Apprentice
Sonya Bateman
Synopsis: A DEADLY CULT. AN UNBREAKABLE CURSE. THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: LEARN TO KILL . . . OR DIE.

Luck has never been on Gavyn Donatti’s side. Anyone else with magic abilities inherited from a distant genie relative would have it made, but not Donatti, descendant of a cranky, shape-shifting genie named Ian. The prince of a murdered kingdom, consumed with revenge and driven by an unbreakable curse, Ian is determined to hunt down and destroy every last one of his enemies in the power-hungry snake clan—at any cost, including his life. Or Donatti’s.

Obsessed by his own rage, Ian has never really taught Donatti how to use his abilities. So when a powerful cult of magic-users captures Ian’s wife, the princess Akila, and then Ian himself, Donatti is left alone to take on dozens of half-djinn and their mysterious leader with designs on world domination.

Facing an impossible mission, Donatti is forced to turn to an enemy for help—one who claims to know how to unlock his true potential. Trusting a snake might be the last mistake Donatti ever makes—but if he doesn’t learn to wield the power inside him, everyone will pay the ultimate price.
Publication Date: 03/29/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Leap
Jodi Lundgren
Synopsis: Finally, Natalie's turned fifteen.  She's officially a grown-up (just tell her mother that) and ready for anything.  School is out, and she and her best friend Sasha are going to be practicing with their dance team all summer.

Dancing is Natalie's passion -- it's what got her through the break-up of her parents' marriage, and her father's move halfway across the country. Now she needs it more than ever as she tries to navigate the unpredictable world of older boys -- specifically Kevin, Sasha's older brother -- and learn the difference between love and lust.

When her friendship with Sasha goes on the rocks, her relationship with Kevin goes too far, and her mother reveals a shocking truth, Natalie finds strength in her dancing. Will it be enough? And what will happen when a new teacher introduces her to the world of modern dance--will she find the confidence to take it on?
Publication Date: 03/25/11
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Romance
Diary of a Part-Time Ghost
Synopsis: Fifteen-year old Ash wants nothing more than to be a normal kid and avoid trouble. And then his birthday gift transforms him into a ghost and zaps him back in time to the beginning of the American Revolution. If he thought that was bad, it's about to get a whole lot worse. Armed only with an ancient history book and the quirky advice of an annoying mentor, Ash must rescue his ancestor from one danger after another, including an implacable enemy who controls the very shadows. What starts out as a brief experiment in time travel rapidly changes into a race for his very survival, and Ash is running out of time. Despite his efforts to stay out of trouble, Ash finds plenty of it as he must decide what his role will be in the shifting balance of forces. Humorous and action-packed, Diary of a Part-Time Ghost will hold readers in its grip from the first sentence to the last. Book 2, 'Where Shadows Dance', is out: amazon.com/Where-Shadows-Dance-Ghosts-Volume/dp/1470179857/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
Publication Date: 03/22/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Ten Miles Past Normal
Frances O'Roark Dowell
Synopsis: Janie Gorman wants to be normal. The problem with that: she’s not. She’s smart and creative and a little bit funky. She’s also an unwilling player in her parents’ modern-hippy, let’s-live-on-a-goat-farm experiment (regretfully, instigated by a younger, much more enthusiastic Janie). This, to put it simply, is not helping Janie reach that “normal target.” She has to milk goats every day…and endure her mother’s pseudo celebrity in the homemade-life, crunchy mom blogosphere. Goodbye the days of frozen lasagna and suburban living, hello crazy long bus ride to high school and total isolation--and hovering embarrassments of all kinds. The fresh baked bread is good…the threat of homemade jeans, not so much.

It would be nice to go back to that old suburban life…or some grown up, high school version of it, complete with nice, normal boyfriends who wear crew neck sweaters and like social studies. So, what’s wrong with normal? Well, kind of everything. She knows that, of course, why else would she learn bass and join Jam Band, how else would she know to idolize infamous wild-child and high school senior Emma (her best friend Sarah’s older sister), why else would she get arrested while doing a school project on a local freedom school (jail was not part of the assignment). And, why else would she kind of be falling in "like" with a boy named Monster—yes, that is his real name. Janie was going for normal, but she missed her mark by about ten miles…and we mean that as a compliment.

Frances O’Roark Dowell’s fierce humor and keen eye make her YA debut literary and wise. In the spirit of John Green and E. Lockhart, Dowell’s relatable, quirky characters and clever, fluid writing prove that growing up gets complicated…and normal is WAY overrated.
Publication Date: 03/22/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Wither
Lauren DeStefano
Synopsis: By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?
Publication Date: 03/22/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Ask Amy Green: Summer Secrets
Synopsis: Amy is trapped in family vacation hell- until she and Clover, her teenage aunt, get a chance to interview a hot U.S. movie star with a secret.
(Age 11 and up)

Could this summer be any worse? Thirteen-year-old Amy’s dreamy boyfriend, Seth, is off to Rome, while she gets to spend two weeks on a tiny Irish island with a nagging mom and a neurotic aunt locked in a feud, not to mention a crazy stepdad and a surly cousin. Good thing Clover, teen advice columnist supreme, is there to keep Amy from going completely nuts! It doesn’t help Amy’s changeable mood that Seth keeps mentioning some girl in his e-mails, or that Amy feels an electric attraction to the mysterious young gardener next door. So when The Goss magazine unexpectedly sends Clover to glitzy Miami to write a revealing piece on a hot young actor (with Amy as her sidekick, of course) it couldn’t come at a better time. U.S. of A-mazing- here they come!
Publication Date: 03/22/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Bloodline Rising
Katy Moran
Synopsis: A story of loyalties tested, secrets exposed, and one boy’s search for identity amid the tangled political intrigue and deception of the Dark Ages.

A young thief known as "the Ghost" roams seventh-century Constantinople, tangling in political feuds and petty theft, using his eerie gifts of persuasion and stealth. With his father away at war and his mother devastated by his little sister’s death, Cai would rather be anywhere than at home. But when a rival ambushes and sells Cai as a slave, he begins to regret his choices. Aboard the slavers’ ship, Cai travels far from the warmth of Constantinople into his parents’ homeland — the forbidding land of Britain, where war is brewing between tribes. Bought by a clan head, Cai finds a new life as a tribal member, and using his uncanny talents, is put to work as a spy. The secrets he discovers, however, kindle doubt and disloyalty in his heart. Adrift in a society he still feels apart from, Cai seeks truth and revenge, throwing his life to the wind with startling results.
Publication Date: 03/22/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Gaia Warriors
James Lovelock, Nicola Davies
Synopsis: A book on global warming like no other, merging key concepts with firsthand accounts from people of all ages who have found ways to help.

(Ages 11-14)

Inspired by the work of outstanding scientist and thinker James Lovelock and written by acclaimed author Nicola Davies, here is a book that takes a clear look at how and why Earth’s climate is changing and the ways we can deal with it. Its style is simple and its explanations are compelling, illuminating not only hard facts but also the opinions and potential solutions of scientists all over the world. But there are other voices too, those of people young and old — lawyers, food producers, fashion designers, scientists, rock stars, architects, conservationists, kids, campaigners, and more — who are trying to change the way they (and we) live on the planet. At once comprehensive and accessible, this galvanizing call to arms includes web links and resources that make it easy to join the cause.
Back matter includes an afterword, resources for further information, a glossary, and an index.
Publication Date: 03/22/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction

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