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Faking 19
Alyson Noël
Synopsis:

On the surface, seventeen-year-old Alex has it made. She's beautiful and smart, plus she's best friends with M, the absolute most popular girl in school. Feeling bored with their fancy Orange County suburban town, Alex and M decide to check out L.A.'s glitzy nightlife scene.

Pretending to be nineteen, Alex and M meet Trevor and Connor, two rich older guys. At first Alex can't believe her luck―she gets to hang out at hip Hollywood house parties and downtown L.A. clubs. These weekend trips into the city become the perfect distraction for Alex, who is secretly struggling with her failing senior-year grades, her absentee father, and her clueless mom.

But after the initial fun wears off for Alex, she is forced to re-evaluate her friendship with M, who is hiding some secrets beneath her perfect Burberry-clad exterior…in Alyson Noël's Faking 19.

Publication Date: 02/15/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Saving Zoe
Alyson Noël
Synopsis:

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!

It's been one year since the brutal murder of her older sister, Zoë, and fifteen-year-old Echo is still reeling from the aftermath. Her parents are numb, her friends are moving on, and the awkward start to her freshman year proves she'll never live up to her sister's memory. Until Zoë's former boyfriend Marc shows up with Zoë's diary.

At first Echo's not interested, doubting there's anything in there she doesn't already know. But when curiosity prevails, she starts reading, becoming so immersed in her sister's secret world, their lives begin to blur, forcing Echo to uncover the truth behind Zoë's life so that she can start to rebuild her own.

Prepare to laugh your heart out and cry your eyes out in this highly addictive tale as Alyson Noël's Saving Zoë tackles the complicated relationship between two sisters and shows how the bond can endure long after one of them is gone.

Publication Date: 02/15/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Angelfire
Courtney Allison Moulton
Synopsis:

First there are nightmares.

Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.

When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.

Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Publication Date: 02/15/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Desires of the Dead
Kimberly Derting
Synopsis:

The second book in the steamy, romantic Body Finder thriller series by Kimberly Derting.

Violet and Jay are finally dating, but adjusting to the new relationship is not as easy as Violet anticipated. Especially when she has to split Jay’s time and attention with his new best friend, Mike, and Mike’s pesky younger sister—who happens to be obsessed with Jay.

Meanwhile, when Violet’s special abilities lead her to the body of a young boy, her tip to the police puts her on the radar of the FBI. Violet tries to fend off the FBI’s questions while maintaining the semblance of a normal life, but somebody’s leaving her threatening notes and an echo around Mike’s house reinforces that all is not right. Violet is forced to admit that perhaps the only people who can help her figure it out are the very people she’s desperate to avoid—the FBI.

Desires of the Dead is the compulsive second book in the four-book Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting.

Publication Date: 02/15/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Girl Who Became A Beatle
Synopsis:

She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!

When Regina Bloomsbury's band, the Caverns, breaks up, she thinks it's all over. And then she makes a wish―"I wish I could be as famous as the Beatles."

The Beatles are her music idols. The next day, she gets up to find that the Caverns are not just as famous as the Beatles, they have replaced them in history! Regina is living like a rock star, and loving it. There are talk shows, music videos, and live concerts with thousands of screaming fans. And Regina is the star of it all.

But fame is getting the better of Regina, and she has a decision to make. Does she want to replace the Beatles forever?

Greg Taylor's The Girl Who Became a Beatle is a rocking young adult novel about the good and the bad of Hollywood, fame, and rock 'n roll.

Publication Date: 02/15/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Other Side of Life (Book #1/Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy)
Synopsis: ==The Other Side of Life (Final Version / Book #1, Cyberpunk Elven Trilogy)==

Summary: A thieving duo's world turns upside down when an Elven rogue uncovers the heinous dealings of a megacorporation.

Synopsis: Anya and Leticia are partners-in-crime who steal for a living. Their world turns upside down after a chance encounter with fellow rogue, Ithilnin--the enigmatic leader of an Elven band of thieves.

A scuffle to prove who's "the better thief" transforms into more than Anya and Ithilnin ever bargained for. They retrieve the missing piece of an ancient poem, before getting caught in the secret dealings of a megacorporation. What they uncover threatens to alter the very essence of not just human life, but the other side as well.

Elven intrigue, cyberpunk action, and a deadly dose of danger come together in The Other Side of Life [Book #1 in the (Cyberpunk) Elven Trilogy].

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Cyberpunk / YA with adult crossover appeal

* Recommended for adults or young adults seeking cyberpunk themes (not hardcore sci-fi), and a love story (not fluffy romance).

===

* {Book #2 in the series--The Darker Side of Life--and Book #3 in the series--The Arcane Side of Life--will be available once Jess can think of a more original story line. Thank you for your patience. Laer (the dark elf in Book#2) makes an appearance in SKINS--a free eBook short story now available on Jess's website!}

===

Praise for Jess C Scott/TOSoL:

"The notion here is intriguing..."
-- Garrett Hicks, Will Entertainment

"Dear Jess: You are a very good writer--I like your plotting, your concept, the characters...pretty much everything. You are very gifted."
-- Dr. Uwe Stender

"The Other Side of Life features a writing style that is professional and thought provoking, with good dialogue."
-- Roger S. Williams, Central NJ

"This novel has a fast pace, takes its storyline seriously, is loaded with suspense and evokes genuine emotion in its love story."
-- Matt Posner, author of School of the Ages

"I have to honestly say I was pleasantly surprised by The Other Side of Life. Not only was it extremely well edited, but the plot was more well written than some house published books I've read. Truly, this was an incredible fantasy novel and a series I'm hoping Jess C Scott keeps up with, because she's obviously extremely talented."
-- Review @ There's A Book

Excerpt:

"That's sad. How plastic and artificial life has become. It gets harder and harder to find something...real." Nin interlocked his fingers and stretched out his arms. "Real love, real friends, real body parts..."

About The Author:

Jess is an author/artist/non-conformist who's dedicated to writing original stories that are both meaningful and entertaining. She focuses on style and substance over short-term success with current fads and marketing hype. Visit her website for free samples and more!

jessINK.com
jessINK.com/urbanfantasy.htm
Publication Date: 02/09/11
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel
Antonio Deleo, David Goodberg
Synopsis: In 2051, commercial time travel became a global reality. Opportunities abounded for curious history buffs, futurists, and corrupt entrepreneurs. Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel is a spellbinding collection of 37 tales that explore time travel tourism and its repercussions.

In various settings ranging from Earth to deep space, Selected Shorts presents tales of those brave (or foolish) enough to adventure through the space-time continuum. Explore an era devastated by the Worlds War of 2267, cluttered with time-traveling tourists and swindlers, terrorized by the all-powerful Icelandic Mafia, endangered by ruthless corporations, and threatened by vigilante space aliens.

The future as we know it will never be the same.

Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Anthology
Cryer's Cross
Lisa McMann
Synopsis: Kendall loves her life in small town Cryer¹s Cross, Montana, but she also longs for something more. She knows the chances of going to school in New York are small, but she's not the type to give up easily. Even though it will mean leaving Nico, the world's sweetest boyfriend, behind.

But when Cryer's Cross is rocked by unspeakable tragedy, Kendall shoves her dreams aside and focuses on just one goal: help find her missing friends. Even if it means spending time with the one boy she shouldn't get close to... the one boy who makes her question everything she feels for Nico.

Determined to help and to stay true to the boy she's always loved, Kendall keeps up the search--and stumbles upon some frightening local history. She knows she can't stop digging, but Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried....
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Tiger Rising
Kate DiCamillo
Synopsis: Kate DiCamillo’s second novel, a National Book Award finalist, is now available in a beautiful gift edition that features the author’s signature stamped on the cover.

Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-yearold Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger — a real-life, very large tiger — pacing back and forth in a cage. What’s more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things — like memories, and heartache, and tigers — can’t be locked up forever.
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Owl Ninja
Rhian Nest James, Sandy Fussell
Synopsis: The uniquely talented samurai kids are back — and ready to join forces with a ninja clan! — as the fast-paced martial arts series continues.

(Ages 9-14)

Across the valley, a drumbeat echoes. For ten days, the drum will call the mountain ryus to war, including the samurai kids from the Cockroach Ryu. Only Japan’s feudal emperor can stop the war, so Niya and Sensei Ki-Yaga set off on a grueling journey with all the Cockroaches, whose firm friendship and unusual skills must be put to the test in order to beg the Emperor to maintain peace. Sensei Ki-Yaga is respected and wise, but unfortunately, the last time he encountered the Emperor, the Emperor threatened to cut off his head. All seems hopeless until Ki-Yaga guides the Cockroaches to meet with the Owl Ninja clan. Samurai and ninja are supposed to be enemies, but can these two groups somehow work together to save the sensei and stop the battle in time?
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Pick-Up Game
Charles R. Smith Jr., Charles R. Smith Jr., Marc Aronson, Various
Synopsis: Pass! Shoot! Swish! And 1! An all-star team of YA authors scores spectacularly with an action-packed anthology about street basketball.

It’s one steamy July day at the West 4th Street Court in NYC, otherwise known as The Cage. Hotshot ESPN is wooing the scouts, Boo is struggling to guard the weird new guy named Waco, a Spike Lee wannabe has video rolling, and virgin Irene is sizing up six-foot-eightand-a-half-inch Chester. Nine of YA literature’s top writers, including Walter Dean Myers, Rita Williams-Garcia, Adam Rapp, Joseph Bruchac, and Sharon Flake reveal how it all goes down in a searing collection of short stories, in which each one picks up where the previous one ends. Characters weave in and out of narratives, perspectives change, and emotions play out for a fluid and fast-paced ode to the game. Crackling with humor, grit, and streetball philosophy, and featuring poems and photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr., this anthology is a slam dunk.
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Can You Survive The Zombie Apocalypse?
Synopsis: WARNING: This book is mean and violent and FOR ADULTS. That's because...
Unspeakable horror awaits in these pages! Bloodsplattering, brain-impaling, flesh-devouring horror. You've probably read your fair share of zombie stories. But this time it's different. No longer can you sit idle as a bunch of fools make all the wrong moves. All hell is about to break loose--and YOU have a say in humanity's survival. 
You have choices to make.

Moral dilemmas.

Strategic decisions.

Weapons. Vehicles.

Will you be a hero?

Or will you cover your own ass at all costs?

Can you withstand the coming hours, days, weeks, and months? Or will you die amidst the chaos and violence of a zombie uprising?

Or, worst of all, will you become one of them?
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Tall Story
Candy Gourlay
Synopsis: Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long-lost half-brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London where he belongs.

Then Andi's biggest wish comes true and she's minutes away from becoming someone's little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he'll turn out to be tall and just as crazy as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he's tall all right. Eight feet tall, in fact—plagued by condition called Gigantism and troubled by secrets that he believes led to his phenomenal growth.

In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Amelia Lost
Candace Fleming
Synopsis: From the acclaimed author of The Great and Only Barnum—as well as The Lincolns, Our Eleanor, and Ben Franklin's Almanac—comes the thrilling story of America's most celebrated flyer, Amelia Earhart.

In alternating chapters, Fleming deftly moves readers back and forth between Amelia's life (from childhood up until her last flight) and the exhaustive search for her and her missing plane. With incredible photos, maps, and handwritten notes from Amelia herself—plus informative sidebars tackling everything from the history of flight to what Amelia liked to eat while flying (tomato soup)—this unique nonfiction title is tailor-made for middle graders.

Amelia Lost received four starred reviews and Best Book of the Year accolades from School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Horn Book Magazine, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Biography
Flesh and Blood So Cheap
Albert Marrin
Synopsis: On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City burst into flames.  The factory was crowded.  The doors were locked to ensure workers stay inside.  One hundred forty-six people—mostly women—perished; it was one of the most lethal workplace fires in American history until September 11, 2001.

But the story of the fire is not the story of one accidental moment in time.  It is a story of immigration and hard work to make it in a new country, as Italians and Jews and others traveled to America to find a better life.  It is the story of poor working conditions and greedy bosses, as garment workers discovered the endless sacrifices required to make ends meet.  It is the story of unimaginable, but avoidable, disaster.  And it the story of the unquenchable pride and activism of fearless immigrants and women who stood up to business, got America on their side, and finally changed working conditions for our entire nation, initiating radical new laws we take for granted today.

With Flesh and Blood So Cheap, Albert Marrin has crafted a gripping, nuanced, and poignant account of one of America's defining tragedies.
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Nonfiction
So Shelly
Ty Roth
Synopsis: Until now, high school junior, John Keats, has only tiptoed near the edges of the vortex that is schoolmate and literary prodigy, Gordon Byron. That is, until their mutual friend, Shelly, drowns in a sailing accident.

After stealing Shelly's ashes from her wake at Trinity Catholic High School, the boys set a course for the small Lake Erie island where Shelly's body had washed ashore and to where she wished to be returned. It would be one last "so Shelly" romantic quest. At least that's what they think. As they navigate around the obstacles and resist temptations during their odyssey, Keats and Gordon glue together the shattered pieces of Shelly's and their own pasts while attempting to make sense of her tragic and premature end.
Publication Date: 02/08/11
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy

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