All Books
Synopsis: Maggie Quinn was expecting to find plenty of trouble with Lisa over Spring Break. Give a girl a bikini, a beachfront hotel, and an absent boyfriend, and it’s as good as a road map to the dark side. But Maggie doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. Trouble has started looking for her. One dead cow and a punctured gas tank later, she and Lisa are stuck in
Dulcina, Texas—a town so small that it has an owner. And lately life in this small town hasn’t been all that peaceful. An eerie predator is stalking the ranchland.
Everyone in town has a theory, but not even Maggie’s psychic mojo can provide any answers. And the longer the girls are stranded, the more obvious it becomes that something is seriously wrong. Only no one—not even Maggie’s closest ally—wants to admit that they could have been forced on a detour down the highway to hell.
Dulcina, Texas—a town so small that it has an owner. And lately life in this small town hasn’t been all that peaceful. An eerie predator is stalking the ranchland.
Everyone in town has a theory, but not even Maggie’s psychic mojo can provide any answers. And the longer the girls are stranded, the more obvious it becomes that something is seriously wrong. Only no one—not even Maggie’s closest ally—wants to admit that they could have been forced on a detour down the highway to hell.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
Synopsis: The cottage on the lake is always the same, but Luke is changing. At thirteen he’s excited. At fourteen he’s cool. At fifteen he’s pissed off. At sixteen he’s in love.
Through four summers’ worth of trips to the emergency room, campfires and house fires, parties and feuds with neighbors, Luke is doing his best to navigate life. He makes discoveries, makes mistakes, freaks out, and comes to see things in a new light.
Brent Runyon has crafted a remarkable portrait of a boy at four distinct points in his life and literally shows us his coming of age. It’s a story that explores what is ever-changing and what is timeless, and how we are shaped by both the people and places we love.
Through four summers’ worth of trips to the emergency room, campfires and house fires, parties and feuds with neighbors, Luke is doing his best to navigate life. He makes discoveries, makes mistakes, freaks out, and comes to see things in a new light.
Brent Runyon has crafted a remarkable portrait of a boy at four distinct points in his life and literally shows us his coming of age. It’s a story that explores what is ever-changing and what is timeless, and how we are shaped by both the people and places we love.
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: Only in L.A. would a school internship involve celebrity guest stars and hitting your mark. Acting is not my thing (can you say shy spasm?) . . . but mysteries are. I’m working as an extra on my sister’s latest movie, and legend has it that the mansion we’re filming in is haunted. With disappearing paintings, a glowing ghost, and Eva acting possessed (by love?), I’m starting to believe the stories are true!
Chills. Thrills. Things that go bump in the night. Is my jinx on overdrive or have I stepped into a real-life horror flick?
Chills. Thrills. Things that go bump in the night. Is my jinx on overdrive or have I stepped into a real-life horror flick?
Publication Date: 03/10/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: Born into slavery, adopted as an infant by a princess, and raised in the palace of mighty Pharaoh, Moses struggles to define himself. And so do the three women who love him: his own embittered mother, forced to give him up by Pharaoh's decree; the Egyptian princess who defies her father and raises Moses as her own child; and his headstrong sister Almah, who discovers a greater kinship with the Egyptian deities than with her own God of the Hebrews. Told by Moses and his sister Almah from alternating points of view, this stunning novel by Newbery Honor-author Julius Lester probes questions of identity, faith, and destiny.
Publication Date: 03/09/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Synopsis: When Pleasant Hill High School sophomore Paisley Hanover becomes disgusted with her school's social hierarchy, she starts writing a newspaper column under the name "Miss UnPleasant," and it shakes things up more than she ever expected.
Publication Date: 03/05/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Annika Truman knows about the power of positive thinking. With a little brother who has cancer, it?s all she ever hears about. And in order to help Jeremy, she will go to the ends of the earth (or at least as far as Hollywood) to help him believe he can survive his upcoming surgery.
But Annika?s plan to convince Jeremy that a magic genie will grant him any wish throws her a curveball when he unexpectedly wishes that his television idol would visit him. Annika suddenly fi nds herself in the desperate predicament of getting access to a hunky star actor and convincing him to come home with her. Piece of cake, right?
Janette Rallison?s proven talent for laugh-out-loud humor, teen romance, and deep-hearted storytelling shines in a novel that will have readers laughing and crying at the same time.
Publication Date: 03/05/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Synopsis: A long way from home, Sandy and Jack Casperin escape their abusive father and disappear into Crocodile Swamp, a remote wilderness in the Florida Keys. With nothing but their wits and limited supplies, the boys must learn to fend for themselves as they survive surrounded by snakes, massive crocodiles and a territorial hammerhead shark.
But it is only with the help of newfound friends?a local girl their age, and an old sailor (who might be a real pirate!)? that they can truly escape from their tragic past and make a new life for themselves.
Publication Date: 03/05/09
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
Synopsis: The sun was dark shades of pink and red. The magic light burnished the leaves gold and painted the garden in dream colors. Caroline didn't bother to stop and take in the beauty. Her eyes were fixed on the underbrush looking for any sign of Casey. Down by the river, she called his name. What if he'd slipped on a rock and fallen into the river? Would he be strong enough to pull himself out? What if some wild animal found him? Caroline had heard rumors that coyotes prowled these woods. One of her friends at school had found only her cat's little white paws. Why had her parents moved them to this awful place? "Casey! Casey!" She felt foolish calling him, but she was far enough from the house that no one would hear her. She walked along the river's edge toward the stone beach and was so intent on peeking under every shrub, she didn't see the river open up before her until she came right up to the beach. When she saw the pink stones under her feet, she looked up and held her breath for a moment. The stones were a mirror of the sunset sky. The river was smooth obsidian. The sun lit the willows from behind and they glowed like gold filigree. This is truly the most beautiful place on earth, she thought, and sat on a large rock to enjoy the play of light area.
Publication Date: 03/05/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Short Story
Synopsis: The national bestselling Black Jewels saga continues
Theran Grayhaven is the last of his line, desperate to restore the land of Dena Nehele. But first he needs to find a Queen who remembers the Blood's code of honor and lives by the Old Ways.
Languishing in the Shadow Realm, Lady Cassidy is a Queen without a court. But when she is chosen to rule Dena Nehele, she must convince bitter men to serve once again.
Theran Grayhaven is the last of his line, desperate to restore the land of Dena Nehele. But first he needs to find a Queen who remembers the Blood's code of honor and lives by the Old Ways.
Languishing in the Shadow Realm, Lady Cassidy is a Queen without a court. But when she is chosen to rule Dena Nehele, she must convince bitter men to serve once again.
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: It’s been nearly 200 years since the collapse of the Confederacy, the last government to claim humanity’s colonies. So when signals come in revealing lost human colonies that could shift the power balance, the race is on between the Caliphate ships and a small team of scientists and mercenarys. But what awaits them all is a threat far beyond the scope of any human government.
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: As the last refuge for humankind, the planet of Coyote becomes home for Hawk and his fellow colonists, forcing him to venture into the world of the hjadd, an alien race, to uncover the truth about the strange connection that exists between the two groups.
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Synopsis: The second novel in the Nessantico Cycle continues the epic tale of an empire at its height, yet poised on the brink of what could be a devastating descent into ruin. It is a story of murder and magic, of deception and betrayal, of Machiavellian politics, star-crossed lovers, and a realm facing war on every front.
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis:
Fifteen years ago, the Mayor of the Education City was presented with an unwelcome surprise by his superiors: twin six-month-old boys. As the Mayor reluctantly accepted the two babies, he had no way of knowing that they would change the city forever….
Raised in the comfort of the Mayoral mansion, Umasi and Zen are as different as two brothers can be. Umasi is a good student; Zen an indifferent one. They love their adoptive father, but in a city where education is absolute, even he cannot keep them sheltered from the harsh realities of the school system. But when they discover that their father is responsible for their suffering, affection turns to bitterness. Umasi and Zen are thrust onto two diverging paths. One will try to destroy the City. The other will try to stop him.
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Synopsis: The Hidden City is the first novel in The House War, a saga of the battle to control the most powerful of the ruling House in the Essalieyan Empire -- House Terafin. But it is also the tale of a remarkable young woman, Jewel Markess.
An orphan living in the slums of the capital city, Jewel (known as Jay by her friends) scrapes by however she can. But after she steals money from a recluse named Rath, he seeks her out to reclaim what is his. Discovering her under a bridge and deathly ill, he takes her in and nurses her back to health. But once she has recovered, Jay insists she must repay her debt, and Rath finds that he cannot be rid of her. Driven by visions she can't control, Jay begins to rescue other children and bring them into Rath's home.
As Jay forms the group that will become her den, Rath walks a far more dangerous path. After a long-ago betrayal, Rath is estranged from his family, while his sister is The Terafin, head of House Terafin. Rath makes his living by prowling the ruins of the undercity, finding relics of an earlier age and selling them to the highest bidder. But now the demons that once nearly destroyed the Essalieyan Empire are stirring again, reaching out to strike down any who can give warning against them -- like Rath.
Soon, Rath, who treads the ancient ways hidden beneath the slums of Averalaan, and Jay, who is cursed with the untrained talent of a seer, will find themselves targeted by these deadly beings.
An orphan living in the slums of the capital city, Jewel (known as Jay by her friends) scrapes by however she can. But after she steals money from a recluse named Rath, he seeks her out to reclaim what is his. Discovering her under a bridge and deathly ill, he takes her in and nurses her back to health. But once she has recovered, Jay insists she must repay her debt, and Rath finds that he cannot be rid of her. Driven by visions she can't control, Jay begins to rescue other children and bring them into Rath's home.
As Jay forms the group that will become her den, Rath walks a far more dangerous path. After a long-ago betrayal, Rath is estranged from his family, while his sister is The Terafin, head of House Terafin. Rath makes his living by prowling the ruins of the undercity, finding relics of an earlier age and selling them to the highest bidder. But now the demons that once nearly destroyed the Essalieyan Empire are stirring again, reaching out to strike down any who can give warning against them -- like Rath.
Soon, Rath, who treads the ancient ways hidden beneath the slums of Averalaan, and Jay, who is cursed with the untrained talent of a seer, will find themselves targeted by these deadly beings.
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Synopsis:
A girl doesn't have a date for the school dance―until her dad makes one for her in his lab. "Lily―meet Stitchy." A family enjoys a nice Thanksgiving dinner―until they are interrupted by a torrent of turkeys out for revenge. A princess meets a pea-brained suitor. And the battle of two red hot pepper weenies ends in flames.
Critically-acclaimed author and master of the macabre David Lubar returns from a journey into the darkest depths of his brain with thirty-five more warped and creepy tales. And in the tradition of the three previous Weenie collections―In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, Invasion of the Road Weenies, and The Curse of the Campfire Weenies―he reveals the inspiration behind each story at the end of the book. Don't be a weenie. Read these stories...if you dare!
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Anthology
Synopsis: Hampered by arthritis, Nostradamus is in no mood for granting favors or running about looking for trouble. But when his apprentice Alfeo's mistress asks him to investigate the murder of her beloved courtesan mentor-and promises a fortune in payment-he comes around.
It appears that someone is murdering the courtesans of Venice. All were well-known, admired for their skills-and somehow connected by a sinister event involving one of the great families of the city.
While Nostradamus attempts to use the dark arts to solve riddles which confound explanation, Alfeo finds himself led by a possibly demonic force through a maze of deceit and death. And when the master and apprentice come to the end of their intertwined paths, there may be hell to pay.
It appears that someone is murdering the courtesans of Venice. All were well-known, admired for their skills-and somehow connected by a sinister event involving one of the great families of the city.
While Nostradamus attempts to use the dark arts to solve riddles which confound explanation, Alfeo finds himself led by a possibly demonic force through a maze of deceit and death. And when the master and apprentice come to the end of their intertwined paths, there may be hell to pay.
Publication Date: 03/03/09
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction