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Going Too Far
Jennifer Echols
Synopsis: All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn't make it back.

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge -- and over....

Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 3/17/2009Pages: 245Reading Level: Age 12 and Up

Publication Date: 03/17/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Freaked
J. T. Dutton
Synopsis:

At a grateful dead concert you need:

Acid: two windowpanes taped to chest
checked

Tape deck for recording shows
Checked

Wad of cash
Checked

PB&J sandwiches for the munchies
Missing

Tickets to the show
Missing

.45 handgun
What?

Scotty Loveletter is in big trouble. He's about to be expelled from school, but all he cares about is getting to Freedom to see Jerry Garcia—even though he doesn't have tickets. But if dedicating his life to Jerryism has taught him anything, Scotty knows he's got to keep on trucking and smile, smile, smile.

In a stunning debut novel, J. T. Dutton crafts a brilliant story about an unforgettable teen finding himself in the music of one of the world's most beloved bands.

Publication Date: 03/17/09
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
The Amaranth Enchantment
Synopsis:

When Lucinda Chapdelaine was a small child, her parents left for the royal ball and never returned. Ever since, Lucinda has been stuck in perpetual servitude at her evil aunt's jewelry store. Then, on the very same day, a mysterious visitor and an even more bizarre piece of jewelry both enter the shop, setting in motion a string of twists and turns that will forever alter Lucinda's path.

In this magical story filled with enchanting surprises, Lucinda will dance at the royal ball, fall under the Amaranth Witch's spell, avenge her parents' death, restore justice to a town that does not yet know the corrupt danger around them, and maybe - just maybe - Lucinda might capture the heart of a prince.

Publication Date: 03/15/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Crystal Swan
Suzan Tanner
Synopsis:

No one would suspect that a mysterious adventure could start in a nursing home, but that is precisely what happened to thirteen-year old Leah Ward. Leah wanted to spend time with her friends. The last thing on her mind that fateful day was to go with her mother on a visit to Shady Springs rest home. A reluctant teenager went with her mother and was given an object that would change the way she saw the world forever.

The Crystal Swan is a part mystery and part adventure. It follows the story of a thirteen-year old girl who receives an unusual gift. The gift changes the course of the end of one school year through the beginning of another. Follow along with Leah and discover the mystery of, The Crystal Swan.

Publication Date: 03/15/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Son of the Great River
Hajra Meeks, Elijah Meeks
Synopsis: Saffu is forced to leave his tribe for the land of cities and kings. He befriends an indomitable girl and a boy mercenary serving a cursed emperor in a story of princesses, witchcraft, war, glory, and corruption.
Publication Date: 03/12/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: 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: Fiction
Phliberty-Jibbits
William Moore
Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Ima Jean Snodgrass is a very sad little girl. First her parents divorced and now her mother has moved the two of them to Elmwood. Poor and friendless, Ima Jean is beginning to think that nothing good will ever happen for her again. Until she stumbles upon the strange little shop called Phliberty-Jibbits. Run by the eccentric Philbert Phliberty and his partner, Gerald Jibbits, Phliberty-Jibbits is a wonderful place full of amazing things (like flying pigs) and where, for the price of a smile, Ima Jean can have anything her heart desires. Unfortunately the mad scientist, Professor Horace P. Hemlock, has kidnapped Jibbits and is threatening drastic measures unless complete control of Phliberty-Jibbits is turned over to him. Now it's up to Ima Jean to help rescue Jibbits and save the day. But first she'll have to defeat Professor Hemlock's half spider/half wolf monster, the Spiderwolf.
Publication Date: 03/11/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Hunted
Kristin Cast, P. C. Cast
Synopsis: Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Lucky  Breaks
Matt Phelan, Susan Patron
Synopsis: "Eleven is much more intrepid than only ten."

On the eve of her eleventh birthday, Lucky wants to let loose and become intrepid; she's ready for life to change. But Hard Pan (population 43) drones on like it always has: Lincoln all tied up in knotty matters, Miles newly diagnosed as a genius but as needy as ever, Brigitte running her Café and trying to figure out what it means to be American.

Enter Paloma, tagging along on a visit to Hard Pan with a pack of hungry geologists. She's smart and pretty and fun -- definitely best-friend material. But will Lucky be able to cope with tomato worms, Short Sammy's mysterious box, the potential for disaster when Paloma's parents visit Hard Pan, and Lincoln's fame among knot tyers of the world?

Lucky's intrepidness is put to the test in this satisfying sequel to the Newbery Award-winning The Higher Power of Lucky.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
What's the Weather Inside?
Barry Blitt, Karma Wilson
Synopsis: Here are more than 120 hysterical, philosophical, rhetorical, and commonsensical poems and pictures that explore the perfectly not-so-perfect world of picky kids, Miss Muffet's revenge, magic homework wands, yellow snow, and Sunday's sundaes!

New York Times bestselling author Karma Wilson and renowned New Yorker cartoonist Barry Blitt have created a brilliantly entertaining poetry collection sure to be a source of pleasure and inspiration to kids everywhere.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Anthology
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: Fiction
The Swamps of Sleethe
Jimmy Pickering, Jack Prelutsky
Synopsis: Book Description

Jack Prelutsky’s exploration of outer space is not for the faint of heart. No friendly little E.T.–type aliens await your arrival. There are many imaginative ways to perish in these darkly comedic cautionary verses about unexplored worlds so far beyond our solar system. The final poem is an environmental tour de force that packs a wallop. Here are poems the older reader will find great fun to memorize and rattle off to anyone who will listen! And there is a special bonus: anagrams for the kid who loves word puzzles.

Amazon Exclusive: A Poem by Jack Prelutsky

There Are Things Out There

There are things out there in the void of space
That we know nothing about.
Some may resemble volleyballs
And feel like sauerkraut.
They may be cold, they may be hot,
They may be huge or small.
They may be friendly, they may be not,
They may not care at all.

Perhaps one has a thousand arms
And malice in its heart.
Perhaps its dire intention
Is to rip our limbs apart.
Perhaps one plans to turn us
Into mounds of cookie dough.
We don’t know what’s in outer space,
We simply do not know.--Jack Prelutsky


 

Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Poetry
Brutal
Michael Harmon
Synopsis: With her martyr-doctor mother gone to save lives in some South American country, Poe Holly suddenly finds herself on the suburban doorstep of the father she never knew, who also happens to be a counselor at her new high school. She misses Los Angeles. She misses the guys in her punk band. Weirdly, she even misses the shouting matches she used to have with her mom.

But Poe manages to find a few friends: Theo, the cute guy in the anarchy Tshirt, and Velveeta, her oddly likeable neighbor—and a born victim who’s the butt of every prank at Benders High. But when the pranks turn deadly at the hands of invincible football star Colby Morris, Poe knows she’s got to fix the system and take down the hero.

With insightfulness, spot-on dialogue, and a swiftly paced plot, Michael Harmon tells the story of a displaced girl grappling with a truly dangerous bully.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Fate
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Synopsis: For the past two years, Bailey Morgan has lived a double life: high school student by day, ancient mystical being by night. As the third Fate, Bailey literally controls the fate of the world, but as Plain Old Bailey, her life is falling apart. She’s got a tattoo that was supposed to be temporary (but isn’t), friendships that were supposed to last forever (but might not), and no idea what her future holds after high school graduation.

Then Bailey meets the rest of the Sidhe, an ancient race defined by their power, beauty, and a sinister habit of getting what they want at any cost. Before Bailey knows it, she’s being drawn into an otherworldly web more complicated than anything she weaves as a mortal Fate.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Christian the Lion
John Rendall, Anthony Bourke
Synopsis: As Ace and John, two friends, are searching for holiday gifts in London, they come across a lion cub for sale in Harrods, the famous department store! Unable to bear the thought of leaving the cub, Ace and John take him home and name him Christian. After a year of fun and mischief Christian has grown up, and Ace and John realize that their pet needs to be among other lions and deserves to live free, in his natural environment. Luckily, friends help introduce Christian to the African wild.

Christian the Lion tells the riveting true story of one animal’s ability to adapt to life in the wild, and captures the unexpectedly enduring connection between man and animal.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction

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