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Confessions of a Beauty Editor
Linda Wells, Editors of Allure
Synopsis: Published to coincide with "Allure" magazine's 15th anniversary, the editor-in-chief shares the best tips, tricks, and secrets she has acquired on the job.
Publication Date: 10/02/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction
Fan Boy and Goth Girl
Synopsis: Fanboy has never had it good, but lately his sophomore year is turning out to be its own special hell. The bullies have made him their favorite target, his best (and only) friend seems headed for the dark side (sports and popularity), and his pregnant mother and the step-fascist are eagerly awaiting the birth of the alien life form known as Fanboy’s new little brother or sister.

Fanboy, though, has a secret: a graphic novel he’s been working on without telling anyone, a graphic novel that he is convinced will lead to publication, fame, and—most important of all—a way out of the crappy little town he lives in and all the people that make it hell for him.

When Fanboy meets Kyra, a.k.a. Goth Girl, he finds an outrageous, cynical girl who shares his love of comics as well as his hatred for jocks and bullies. Fanboy can’t resist someone who actually seems to understand him, and soon he finds himself willing to heed her advice—to ignore or crush anyone who stands in his way.
Publication Date: 10/02/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
May Bird - Among the Stars
Jodi Lynn Anderson
Synopsis: May Bird has always been a bit. . . different. While most of her classmates were riding their bikes, she was running around the West Virginia woods, dressed as a warrior princess with her hairless cat at her side. And while most of her classmates were spending their summer vacations going to birthday parties, May was discovering a mysterious lake hidden among the trees -- and stumbling into the land of ghosts, the Ever After.

A fearful and fantastic realm located among the stars, the Ever After is full of phantoms and poltergeists, ghouls and goblins, and all manner of things that go bump in the night. And if May is to find her way out again, she must reach the mysterious Lady of North Farm, who lives in a cold, forbidding land that even the spooks find spooky.

With her courageous (yet melancholy) kitty and a ragtag group of spectral friends she's picked up along the way, May is determined to escape the Afterlife. But her travels will bring her face-to-face with her worst fears: a devious pursuer; a truly horrifying dance party under the sea, hosted by the Bogey (aka Boogie) Man; and the Ever After's terrible ruler, Evil Bo Cleevil. And when all of these things collide, there's no telling who will find courage to make it through. . . or who will be left behind.
Publication Date: 10/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Diva
Alex Flinn
Synopsis:

For most people, the word "diva" means brilliant and over–the–top. Caitlin, however, seems to be trapped in a not–so–glamorous life with serious ex–boyfriend issues and a permanent yo–yo diet. But when she auditions and gets into the performing arts high school, everything changes. Caitlin can sing like an angel, but it will take more than her voice to help her overcome her past and shape her future.

In this companion novel to Alex Flinn's acclaimed Breathing Underwater, Caitlin puts her past as "the abused girlfriend" behind her and moves onward and upward to Diva–dom.

Ages:12+

Publication Date: 10/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The End
Michael Kupperman, Brett Helquist, Lemony Snicket
Synopsis: Picking up from the final pages of the Pentultimate Peril, this farewell installment to the ridiculously (and deservedly!) popular A Series of Unfortunate Events places our protagonists right where we last left them: on a large, wooden boat in the middle of the ocean, trapped with their nemesis Count Olaf, who has armed himself with a helmet-full of deadly Medusoid Mycelium.

The situation quickly and--this being the Baudelaires--predictably deteriorates. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny find themselves tossed in a storm so terrible that our beloved narrator spends four pages describing how he cannot describe it. From this point on, fans of the series' smarty-pants wordplay and acrobatic narrative can rest assured that they're in for more of the same (and how) in this 368-page finale, and Daniel Handler's deadpan Snicket continues to tutor a generation in self-referential humor (including one particularly funny bit regarding three very short men carrying a large, flat piece of wood, painted to look like a living room). Snicket notes, of course, that if you read the entire series, "your only reward will be 170 chapters of misery in your library and countless tears in your eyes."

There's one big question, though, for anyone who's made it through "the thirteenth chapter of the thirteenth volume in this sad history": is the final book a fitting end? That question is probably best-answered by one of The End's most oft-repeated phrases: It depends on how you look at it. Those looking for conclusive resolution to the series' many, many mysteries may be disappointed, although some big questions do get explicit answers. Not surprisingly for a work so deliberately labyrinthine, though, even the absence of an answer can be sort of an answer--and reaction to The End can be something of a Rorschach test for readers. Or, as Lemony Snicket says, "Perhaps you don’t know yet what the end really means." --Paul Hughes

Publication Date: 10/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Mistletoe
Nina Malkin, Aimee Friedman, Melissa de la Cruz, Hailey Abbott
Synopsis: Snuggle up beside the fire with this juicy collection of four different, but equally sizzling, winter romances.


Glittering white snowflakes. The handsome blond ski instructor. The sparkle on a cashmere skirt. Hot cocoa and kisses in front of a crackling fire. The holiday season is the ESSENCE of magic...and romance. Four of today's bestselling teen authors -- Melissa de la Cruz (THE AU PAIRS), Aimee Friedman (SOUTH BEACH), Hailey Abbott (SUMMER BOYS), and Nina Malkin (6X) -- bring us delectable tales of love and lust and holiday cheers (and tears) in this one-of-a-kind collection that teens will devour faster than a plate of Christmas cookies.
Publication Date: 10/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
Do-Over
Niki Burnham
Synopsis: After returning to Schwerinborg after a visit with her mother, Valerie is hoping that her prince, Georg, will be as excited to see her again as she, but during a ski trip to the Alps, things take an unexpected turn, the fighting begins, and Valerie worries that the romance between the two may have gotten damaged beyond repair. Original.
Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Looking Glass Wars
Frank Beddor
Synopsis: You know the myth...

A little girl named Alice tumbled down a rabbit hole and proceeded to have a charming adventure in the delightful, made-up world of Wonderland...

Now discover the truth... Wonderland Exists!

Alyss Heart, heir to the Wonderland throne, was forced to flee through the Pool of Tears after a bloody palace coup staged by the murderous Redd. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life only to see it published as the nonsensical Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alyss had trusted Lewis Carroll to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere would find her and bring her home. But Carroll had gotten it all wrong. He even misspelled her name! If not for royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan's nonstop search to locate the lost princess, Alyss may have become just another society woman sipping tea in a too-tight corset instead of returning to Wonderland to fight Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

Meet the heroic, passionate, monstrous, vengeful denizens of this parallel world as they battle each other with AD-52's and orb generators, navigate the Crystal Continuum, bet on jabberwock fights and travel across the Chessboard Desert.

Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
London Calling
Edward Bloor
Synopsis: Martin Conway comes from a family filled with heroes and disgraces. His grandfather was a statesman who worked at the US Embassy in London during WWII. His father is an alcoholic who left his family. His sister is an overachieving Ivy League graduate. And Martin? Martin is stuck in between--floundering.

But during the summer after 7th grade, Martin meets a boy who will change his life forever. Jimmy Harker appears one night with a deceptively simple question: Will you help?

Where did this boy come from, with his strange accent and urgent request? Is he a dream? It's the most vivid dream Martin's ever had. And he meets Jimmy again and again--but how can his dreams be set in London during the Blitz? How can he see his own grandather, standing outside the Embassy? How can he wake up with a head full of people and facts and events that he certainly didn't know when he went to sleep--but which turn out to be verifiably real?

The people and the scenes Martin witnesses have a profound effect on him. They become almost more real to him than his waking companions. And he begins to believe that maybe he can help Jimmy. Or maybe that he must help Jimmy, precisely because all logic and reason argue against it.

This is a truly remarkable and deeply affecting novel about fathers and sons, heroes and scapegoats. About finding a way to live with faith and honor and integrity. And about having an answer to the question: What did you do to help?
Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Hattie Big Sky
Kirby Larson
Synopsis: Alone in the world, teen-aged Hattie is driven to prove up on her uncle's homesteading claim.
For years, sixteen-year-old Hattie's been shuttled between relatives. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she courageously leaves Iowa to prove up on her late uncle's homestead claim near Vida, Montana. With a stubborn stick-to-itiveness, Hattie faces frost, drought and blizzards. Despite many hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her adventures with her friends--especially Charlie, fighting in France--through letters and articles for her hometown paper.

Her backbreaking quest for a home is lightened by her neighbors, the Muellers. But she feels threatened by pressure to be a "Loyal" American, forbidding friendships with folks of German descent. Despite everything, Hattie's determined to stay until a tragedy causes her to discover the true meaning of home.
Publication Date: 09/26/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
An Abundance of Katherines
Synopsis: From the #1 bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars 

Michael L. Printz Honor Book
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist


Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

Publication Date: 09/21/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Fairest
Gail Carson Levine
Synopsis:

In the kingdom of Ayortha, who is the fairest of them all? Certainly not Aza. She is thoroughly convinced that she is ugly. What she may lack in looks, though, she makes up for with a kind heart, and with something no one else has–a magical voice. Her vocal talents captivate all who hear them, and in Ontio Castle they attract the attention of a handsome prince – and a dangerous new queen. In this masterful novel filled with humour, adventure, romance, and song, Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine invites you to join Aza as she discovers how exquisite she truly is.

Ages 8 – 14

Publication Date: 09/19/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
Sasquatch
George B. Schaller, Jeff Meldrum
Synopsis: In this landmark work on a subject too often dismissed as paranormal or disreputable, Jeffrey Meldrum gives us the first book on sasquatch to be written by a scientist with impeccable academic credentials, an objective look at the facts in a field mined with hoaxes and sensationalism. Meldrum reports on the work of a team of experts from a wide variety of fields who were assembled to examine the evidence for a large, yet undiscovered, North American primate. He reviews the long history of this mystery--which long predates the "bigfoot" flap of the late fifties--and explains all the scientific pros and cons in a clear and accessible style, amplified by over 150 illustrations. Anyone who has pondered the mysteries of human evolution will be fascinated and eager to join Dr. Meldrum in drawing their own conclusion.
Publication Date: 09/19/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Haunted Homeland
Michael Norman
Synopsis: Trapped miners from cave-ins long ago still calling for help.
Ghostly women lurking in the shadows of city streets.
Spectral holy men and outlaws from America's Spanish past making appearances in our modern age.

They are all citizens of Haunted America, and this is

HAUNTED HOMELAND.

From a haunted castle in the wilds of Alaska to phantom clergymen in the Southwest and mysterious bouncing lights on the East Coast, this latest volume covers the places, the people, and the things that belong to the earthbound realm of the fantastic. Michael Norman has gathered together spectral events of all kinds--apparitions of the famous like Mary Surratt, Mary Todd Lincoln, and Mad Anthony Wayne; haunted crime scenes in Chicago and along the Indiana byways; as well as banshees, poltergeists, and even a ghost named George who has become an accepted resident in a house in North Carolina.

Some of these tales date back to America's early days, such as the screaming woman of Marblehead, Massachusetts, while others rise from more contemporary sources, like noted mystery writer Mary Robert Rhinehart's encounter with ghost at a house on Long Island.

A ghostly Supreme Court Justice, a specter known as The Texan, an abandoned Canadian bride reminiscent of Dickens's Miss Haversham, and many others make an appearance in this latest chronicle of the Haunted American landscape.

Publication Date: 09/19/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Invisible Ink
Terry Griggs
Synopsis: The third title in this delightful series begins as Olivier, an adventurous 12-year-old boy, is helping his very odd step-step-stepgramma with her equally odd yard sale. When some mysterious customers show up, along with a troublesome wind, Olivier flees the scene, ending up in the Dark Woods, where terrible damage has been done. Determined to get to the source of the trouble, he and his pals travel far afield, encountering curious individuals along the way, including an intellectual giant, a severed but affable head, a malodorous monarch named Queen Bacteria, and a tyrant named Sleek. Olivier must face the dangers armed with only an ordinary stone, a mysterious cracked inkwell containing a liquefied secret, and his trusty pen pal, Murray Sheaffer. Set in a fascinating fantasy world, Invisible Ink is packed with humor and imagination.
Publication Date: 09/14/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
Wide Awake
David Levithan
Synopsis: In the not-too-impossible-to-imagine future, a gay Jewish man has been elected president of the United States. Until the governor of one state decides that some election results in his state are invalid, awarding crucial votes to the other candidate, and his fellow party member. Thus is the inspiration for couple Jimmy and Duncan to lend their support to their candidate by deciding to take part in the rallies and protests. Along the way comes an exploration of their relationship, their politics, and their country, and sometimes, as they learn, it's more about the journey than it is about reaching the destination.

Only David Levithan could so masterfully and creatively weave together a plot that's both parts political action and reaction, as well as a touching and insightfully-drawn teen love story.
Publication Date: 09/12/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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