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Raining Sardines
Enrique Flores-Galbis
Synopsis: Wealthy landowner Don Rigol practically owns the town. To expand his coffee plantation, he will lay waste the mountain jungle and the secret valley where the ancient breed of Paso Fino horses roams wild. Can best friends Enriquito and Ernestina find a way to save the ponies, ensure justice at a trumped-up trial, and reclaim the mountain for their people? Will they rescue lost Indian treasure guarded by a mighty cayman with a golden chain around his neck?  
Publication Date: 03/06/07
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
The One Where The Kid Nearly Jumps To His Death An
Synopsis: Having not seen his father after the accident that caused him to lose his leg five years ago, Alastair is sent to see him and his new step-family for the summer and knows that now will be the time to address the issues of the past if there is to be any hope for a future between them.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Big One-Oh
Dean Pitchford
Synopsis: Wanting to have a big celebration for his tenth birthday, friendless Charley invites all his classmates in the hopes of changing his luck, but when the class bully attends, the garage goes on fire, and the cake is destroyed, Charley must do something quick in order to stop his big event from becoming the biggest social debacle of the year.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
L8r g8r
Lauren Myracle
Synopsis: The third book in Lauren Myracle’s wildly popular IM series!

The winsome threesome say “l8r” to high school in this sequel to the New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestsellers ttyl and ttfn

Through their instant messages, three inseparable friends have shared the ups and downs of high school. They’ve survived a flirtatious teacher, a witchy classmate, a pot-smoking smoocher, a Care Bear–toting stalker, and much, much more. Now it’s their senior year, and Angela, Zoe, and Maddie—otherwise know as the winsome threesome—are feeling invincible. Too bad Jana, the Queen Bee who made their sophomore year a nightmare, is on the warpath again. This time she has it out for good girl Zoe, and it’s up to Maddie and Angela to defend their friend. Not that Zoe, who’s deep in love with Doug, seems to notice. A series of pranks escalates, culminating in a senior prom that no one will forget, even if they want to! And it will be up to Zoe to finally take action and make sure the power of the winsome threesome prevails.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
What Happened
Peter Johnson
Synopsis: A hit-and-run accident threatens the happiness of two teenage borthers and exposes deeper mysteries. An unnamed sixteen-year-old's account of events begins on a snowy evening after his brother Kyle brawls with a classmate, Duane, over Duane's tsister, the beautiful Emily. The two basketball stars make apparent amends, and Duane offers the brothers a ride home from a party. Drunk and still fuming at Kyle, Duane drives recklessly to scare his passengers. Duane hits someone on the road and then leaves Kyle, the narrator, and the victim's body to freeze while he speeds away. The next day, the narrator and Kyle must face Duane's powerful father. The man hated the boys' father when the two adults were in high school, and he hates Kyle for dating Emily. The brothers learn that the abandonment by their father after their mother's drath is only the tip of their father's mysterious history and only a sliver of What Happened.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Wolf
Steven Herrick
Synopsis: Jake and Lucy hike to Sheldon Mountain: Jake to prove his dad right or wrong about the wolf he claims he saw; Lucy to escape her father's cruelty. Jake's dad saw the wolf before Jake was born. They say wolves don't live in this country, yet in the night Jake hears it howling, long and lonely. During the hike, both are tested—physically, emotionally, spiritually—but what they find on that dangerous, dark mountain surprises them both. A novel written in verse, this Voice of Youth Advocates Poetry Pick is taut and tender, a gripping blend of physical adventure, family drama, love story, and journey of self-discovery.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
One Whole and Perfect Day
Synopsis: In this Michael L. Printz Honor Book, Lily wishes she could be like the other girls in her class. But how can she? As the only sensible person in her family, she never has time to hang out with friends. Someone has to stay home to look after her brother. Maybe she should fall in love! What could be less sensible that that?
When her grandmother invites the whole family to a party, Lily cannot imagine how they will make it through the day. Her mother is always bringing home strange people. Lily doesn't even know her father . Her grandfather has disowned her brother. Her brother has a new girlfriend that no one has met. To top it all off, that day when her eye caught Daniel Steadman's just for a moment, she felt all woozy inside. If that was love, she isn't sure she likes the feeling. As the party approaches, all Lily can hope for is one whole and perfect day. Is it too much to ask?
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Exploits of a Reluctant Hero
Synopsis: Meet a teenage hero who likes nothing better than to sit back with a bucket of fried chicken and a girlie magazine, waiting for his family plumbing fortune to come to him. But when our hero gets into some serious trouble, he's forced to volunteer at a local soup kitchen where he finds himself at the center of a struggle between the rich and the poor, the selfish and the selfless. It is a worthy cause he could care less about until the day he stumbles across a shocking piece of information. What happens next surprises everybody, including our very reluctant hero. Exploits of a Reluctant (But Extremely Goodlooking) Hero is a novel of adventure, intrigue, Ukrainian dance lessons, disruptive horseplay, inappropriate ogling and some truly heroic consumption of junk food. Adrian Mole meets South Park in this often outrageous and always hilarious trip into the inner world of a boy teetering on the brink of manhood.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Chess Set in the Mirror
Estelle Gilson, Massimo Bontempelli
Synopsis:

"This whimsical Italian fantasy, originally published in 1922, belongs on the shelf next to The Little Prince and Alice and Wonderland. Simple language by translator Gilson gives the novel a poetic tone, while STO's charming black-and-white illustrations add humor."—VOYA

Alone in a room with nothing but an old mirror and a chess set, a young boy anticipates a boring afternoon. But like Alice just before she fell down the rabbit hole—and wound up in Wonderland—this boy is about to embark on a marvelous adventure. Gazing at the mirror, he discovers that the chess pieces (the reflections, not the real ones) are alive! When the White King invites him into the world on the other side, the excitement begins. There, all the rules of the real world are reversed. There, you can have a perfectly reasonable conversation with a perfectly unreasonable chess piece. There, you can meet anyone who's ever looked into the mirror (even a hundred years ago). This bewildering experience leads to some odd questions: What goes on inside a mirror when no one is looking at it? What if the reflected world is more real than the one where we live? And speaking of our world, how will our hero get back to this side of the mirror?

Join him on his fantastic journey where nothing is more absurd than reason or more important than freedom of imagination.

"[A] story told in a voice that's charmingly direct, sweetly self-referential…and more than a little trippy…Like all good books for children, it also has unusual insights into childhood itself: '…when you're ten years old, standing or sitting are exactly the same.'"—Philadelphia Inquirer

"The narrator's dry wit, reminiscent of P. G. Wodehouse, makes for an appealing journey and, coupled with the whimsical pen-and-ink drawings, a charming package with a timeless air."—Publishers Weekly

"Motherhood is the theme of these two intimate novellas by Italian writer Bontempelli, who preceded such better-known authors of 'magic realism' as Jorge Luis Borges and Alejo Carpentier by more than two decades in his fusion of the miraculous and the matter-of-fact…The elegantly restrained passion of these two tales, penned in Bontempelli's delicate prose, proves yet again the writer's literary genius."—Publishers Weekly (review of Separations)

"Separations is a complete triumph. Bontempelli's work prefigured the magic realism popularized by many Latin American writers, andSeparations is an excellent example of this style. Elegant, superbly crafted, and masterfully written, these tales are not easily forgotten; the heroines are haunting and the plots finely honed. Bontempelli is truly a 'fantastic' writer."—Library Journal (review of Separations)

A protégé of Pirandello, Massimo Bontempelli (1878–1960) was a prolific writer of poetry, plays, and prose fiction. Bontempelli now occupies a major place in 20th century Italian letters, and his works are translated in every major European language.

Sergio Tofano, also known as STO, was an Italian illustrator, actor, director, and playwright. For fifty years his illustrated work appeared in the children's supplement of Corriere della Sera, one of the oldest and most widely read newspapers in Italy.

Estelle Gilson's translation of Umberto Saba's Stories and Recollections won both the Italo Calvino and PEN Renato Poggioli awards, and the MLA's first Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione award in 1994 as the best literary translation of the previous two years. Her fiction, essays, and articles appear in many publications. She translated Bontempelli's Separations.


Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Survival Op: The Fear in the Wilderness
Synopsis: One horrible night, Marcus, a runaway teenager, is suddenly seized by men in black masks. They throw him into a van and administer a sleeping serum. When Marcus wakes up, he's surprised to discover a tattoo on his arm that reads, "Marcus1125." He soon learns that he is part of a radical group's cruel experiment called Survival Op, a test that gauges the neurological, physical, and emotional endurance levels of individuals who must survive in extreme situations. With this information, the group will be able to better assist their soldiers in the field. Taken to an isolated island in the Bermuda Triangle by the Survival Op personnel, Marcus's objective is simple: to survive no matter what happens. Marcus tries to adjust to his new environment behind the electric fence. When "Lynn312", another runaway teenager, is thrown into his life, the two put their wits together to increase their chances of survival. Battling overwhelming hunger, harsh weather conditions, and ferociously thick vegetation, Marcus and Lynn struggle constantly to stay alive. But none of their obstacles compare to the fear of being hunted by the Survival Op assassins. Worse, a vicious creature lurks in the wilderness, waiting to catch them. Can Marcus and Lynn find a way to survive, or is their fate already sealed?
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Passion Flower Massacre
Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Matilda longs for freedom, to escape from her over-protective parents and the pain of her brother's death. Working on a farm in the idyllic countryside seems to offer the perfect opportunity. Paradise, in fact. But is it too perfect? Perhaps she should be suspicious of the nicer-than-nice people who run the farm, but Matilda doesn't care. She willingly lets herself be drawn in by the warmth they seem to offer, longing to be loved and understood. She doesn't want to question, or think, or worry. But these people have a shocking plan. By the time Matilda realizes it, will it be too late? A dramatic new novel of faith, forgiveness, and retribution by the author of Fleshmarket—a 2004 American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
The Cat's Pajamas
Gilbert Morris
Synopsis:

Readers of mysteries and cat–lovers alike will devour this second whodunit in the Jacques & Cleo, Cat Detectives series by bestselling author, Gilbert Morris.

Hollywood comes into the lives of the newest residents of Gulf Shores, Alabama. Jake Novak and Kate Forrest have settled into the beautiful beach house left to them by a distant relative. Cat–hating Jake busies himself working on his novel in his upstairs apartment, while Kate gets involved in a beach ministry to young people.

When New Leaf Productions arrives to film a movie, the locals are fascinated by the glamour of the actors. But when a cast member is murdered, followed quickly by a second killing, the town of Gulf Shores becomes worried.

Jacques the Ripper has solved one murder and when he and Cleo are recruited to be in the movie, Jacques throws himself into nosing around for clues—and a murderer.

About this series: For years, mystery readers and cat lovers alike have devoured the suspense novels by Lillian Jackson Braun, Rita Mae Brown and others, in what has developed into the bestselling cat–mystery genre. Now, veteran fiction author Gilbert Morris joins the ranks of those prestigious novelists with his Jacques and Cleo, Cat Detectives series, destined to become a welcome addition to this genre by feline fanatics everywhere.

Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
What the Cat Dragged In
Gilbert Morris
Synopsis:

A charming new mystery series from beloved and bestselling author, Gilbert Morris...

Introducing...

Jacques the Ripper: A tough–minded “Savannah” breed of feline–fierce, enormous, and with a mind of his own.

And...

Cleo: A multi–colored “Rag Doll” with long silky hair. Cleo is as affectionate as Jacques is tough and her favorite mode of transportation is draped over the shoulder of the nearest human.

In their debut mystery, Jacques and Cleo and their owner...or rather the human they own, Kate Forrest, and her son, Jeremy, move to a beautiful beach house in Gulf Shores, Alabama, left to Kate by a distant relative.

The catch is that another distant relative, wanna–be novelist (and bonafide cat–hater) Jake Novak, has also inherited an interest in the house. Undeterred, Kate and Jeremy move in the downstairs quarters and Jake takes the separate apartment upstairs.

Then, when a murder occurs...everyone is stumped—but feline sleuths Jacques and Cleo come to the rescue and reveal the identity of the killer.

About this series: For years, mystery readers and cat lovers alike have devoured the suspense novels by Lillian Jackson Braun, Rita Mae Brown and others, in what has developed into the bestselling cat–mystery genre. Now, veteran fiction author Gilbert Morris joins the ranks of those prestigious novelists with his Jacques and Cleo, Cat Detectives series, destined to become a welcome addition to this genre by feline fanatics everywhere.

Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Mentor: The Kid and The CEO
Brian Taylor, Pneuma Books, Walter Jenkins, Tom Pace
Synopsis: Tony has run-ins with the law and no direction in life ~ until he meets Malcolm, a businessman who has faced many of the same challenges. Because Malcolm is willing to share his knowledge and experience with Tony, they both become successful and significant. There are setbacks for both student and teacher, but with hope and action they overcome challenges and difficulties and achieve significance. This uplifting story is a quick-and-easy read for busy people, new readers, and for those with short attention spans. Inspired by actual events, this book shows anyone how to overcome challenges. I t demonstrates the importance of sharing this information with others so they have an opportunity to dream, grow and establish a successful life, despite all odds.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Shanghaied to the Moon
Michael Daley
Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Stewart Hale dreams of Space Academy and becoming a famous pilot like his mother, and like his hero Val Thorsten. But after his mother’s death, his father has forbidden any talk of Stewart going into space. And Stewart suspects there’s something that is being kept hidden from him, something they don’t want him to remember from his past.

A chance encounter with a washed-up old spacer gives Stewart an unexpected opportunity to sneak off on his own mission to the Moon. But when the old spacer’s intentions turn out to be less than honorable, Stewart realizes he hasn’t found his big break—he’s been shanghaied!
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Heartbeat for Horses
Donna DeMari, Laura Chester, Laura Chester
Synopsis: Hearbeat for Horses is a collection of writing and photographs brought together in honor of horse crazy girls - those who might only live in the fantasy world of books and porcelain statues, who pin posters onto their walls and dream of jumping like National Velvet, or who actually compete in rodeos and horse shows in an attempt to win that blue ribbon. Writer/editor Laura Chester has selected a brilliant array of prose and poetry that is paired with the evocative photography of Donna DeMari who captures the heartfelt connection between girls and horses. DeMari and Chester together have created an equestrian dream, with selections and pictures that give us a glimpse into this special, secret world. Their collection is sure to inspire young riders and to touch the hearts of horse lovers everywhere.
Publication Date: 03/01/07
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction

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