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Three Clams and an Oyster
Synopsis: A four-man flag-football team in need of an Oyster.

Sixteen-year-old Flint McCallister is the captain of a four-man flag-football team called Three Clams and an Oyster. Flint and the other two Clams, Beaterson and Deshutsis, are going to give this season all they’ve got, but, as usual, they’re having Oyster problems. The first Oyster on the team died a couple of years ago. The current one, Cade Savage, is partying too hard and is unreliable. Flint and the Clams are faced with a dilemma: should they stick with their old friend Cade or dump him and go with a new Oyster? And if they dump Cade, who will they get to replace him? Tim Goon, the unknown quantity with the roadkill hairdo? Thor, the nice-guy stoner? Or the girl, Summerfield, who pushes them out of their comfort zone and doesn’t shave her legs?

In searching for an Oyster, Flint and his buddies are forced to reexamine their hallowed traditions and old habits – and to take a hard look at who they are and where they’re going.
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Powers
Deborah Lynn Jacobs
Synopsis: I let him take my hand. The cold blue flame in his eyes held me, seared me. "Do you feel it?" he asked. "It's a warm tingle, isn't it? In your hands, moving up your arms, like a current."
"No." My hands tingled with warmth. It moved up my arms like a current.
When Gwen and Adrian meet, they unlock each other's latent psychic powers. It's too bad they can't stand each other, don't trust each other, and do everything they can to manipulate each other. Will they use their power to save lives? Or will it destroy them both? Written in alternating voices, this is a compelling, suspenseful novel about power in all its forms--psychic, physical, sexual, romantic.
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
The Notorious Izzy Fink
Synopsis: Sam Glodsky lives among the rough-and-tumble gangs on the streets of New York's Lower East Side. When 13-year-old Sam falls in with fearsome gangster Monk Eastman, he joins an outrageous scheme to rescue Eastman's prize racing-pigeon from a cholera-ridden steamship quarantined in the harbor. The caper Monk hatches to snatch the bird pairs Sam with his archenemy, the notorious Izzy Fink. Widely acclaimed for his picture book histories, Don Brown's first historical novel is a fast-paced tale of immigrant life at the turn of the twentieth century.
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Get Real
Betty Hicks
Synopsis: Dez is unusually neat. Her mom and dad are unusually messy. They like Cheez Whiz and swamps. Dez likes elegant food and grand pianos. How can she even be related to them? And how can Dez help her best friend, Jil, who's adopted and who will stop at nothing in order to meet her birth mom? What is it, exactly, that makes a parent "real," anyway? Get Real is about wanting a parent who is very different from the one you have. It's about discovering, "Who am I?"
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Soccer Chick Rules
Dawn FitzGerald
Synopsis: If the levy doesn't pass, there will be no buses for away-games, no uniforms, no teams. Tess plans to follow her own rules for soccer chicks. Soccer Chick Rule Number 3--Always support your teammates! But when real life doesn't offer a slam-dunk ending, Tess realizes there may be something to learn from Soccer Chick Rule Number 7--Never, ever give up! Action-packed sports scenes and off-the-field drama guarantee success with girls and sports fans.
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Disunited States of America
Synopsis: Time travel doesn't work. You can't go backward or forward; you're stuck at "now". What you can do is travel sideways, to the same "now" in another timeline where history turned out differently.

So far, only our home timeline has figured out how to do that. We use Crosstime Traffic to conduct discreet trading operations in less advanced timelines, selling goods just a little bit better than the locals can make. It's profitable, but families who work as Time Traders have to be careful to fit in, lest the locals become suspicious.

Justin's family are Time Traders. The summer before he's due to start college, he goes with them to a different Virginia, in a timeline where the American states never became a single country, and American history has consisted of a series of small wars. Despite his unease, he accompanies Randolph Brooks, another Time Trader, on a visit to the tiny upland town of Elizabeth, Virginia. He'll only be away from his parents for a few days.

Beckie Royer thanks her stars that she's from California, the most prosperous and advanced country in North America. But just now she's in Virginia with her grandmother, who wants to revisit the tiny mountain town where she grew up. The only interesting thing there is a boy named Justin--and he'll be gone soon.

Then war between Virginia and Ohio breaks out anew. Ohio sets a tailored virus loose on Virginia. Virginia swiftly imposes a quarantine, trapping Becky and Justin and Randolph Brooks in Elizabeth. Even Crosstime Traffic can't help. All the three of them can do is watch as plague and violence take over the town.

It's nothing new in history, not in this timeline or any other. It's part of the human condition. And just now, this part of the human condition sucks.
Publication Date: 09/05/06
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Series
Measle and the Dragodon
Synopsis:

When Measle Stubbs broke free from Basil Tramplebone's evil spell, he was ready to live happily ever after. But he wasn't expecting the Dragodon.

Now, faced with his most terrifying opponent yet and stranded in a sinister amusement park, this little ex-orphan must gear up for another heroic battle.

Colossal adventures continue in this second book about one of the most likeable and intrepid heroes ever!

Publication Date: 09/01/06
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Good Girls
Laura Ruby
Synopsis:

Some people would say this is the story of a photograph. How it was taken, and what happened to me after the whole world saw it.

And it is.

But it's also the story of a lot of other things. A boy so beautiful he's like a punch to the throat. Best friends—the outrageous old ones and the out-of-the-blue new. It's about fishnets and eyebrow rings and a chick named Hamlet. Kick lines at lumberyards and conga lines at the prom. Crying in cars and gazing at stars. Mistakes, misunderstandings, and misconceptions. Good girls, bad boys, and everyone in between.

This is a story about love.

So look at the picture all you want.

I am so much more than what you see.

Publication Date: 09/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Out of Focus
Margaret Buffie
Synopsis: In this novel by Margaret Buffie, 16-year-old Bernice Dodd feels lucky. Her mother's inheriting Black Spruce Lodge means no more roach-infested apartments or bullies in the hallways. No more avoiding the landlord or sneaking away in the middle of the night because the rent is overdue. But some things will probably never change. Bernie will still have to take care of her younger siblings. Her mother will keep disappearing on drinking binges and find yet another creep of a boyfriend. And Bernie's anger toward her mother will continue to grow. Could Black Spruce Lodge be the family's last chance to get their lives in focus? Will Bernie find some perspective -- on her emotions, on Jack, the boy next door, and on Tony, the goodlooking novelist across the lake? One thing is very clear, though: rage doesn't let go without a fight.
Publication Date: 09/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Hugging the Rock
Susan Taylor Brown
Synopsis: When her mom runs away from home, Rachel is left behind with her emotionally distant father and many questions she cannot answer. Over time, she learns the truth about her mom. But it's only when she learns the truth about her dad, the rock- immoveable and always there for her to lean on-that Rachel can move toward understanding. Every word rings true in this achingly real novel in verse.Reviews"Written in a straightforward language, the text clearly reveals Rachel's emotions, describing moments both painful and reassuring."-School Library Journal"I have delayed writing about this book because I wanted to be sure my librarian friends were back in acquisition mode and ready to add this book to your B & T, Follet, or Mackin book order right now. HTR is a fine and rare treasure. I read it straight through in one sitting because I couldn't bear to stop until I knew what was going to happen. . . the story is so uplifting and positive that it will resonate with readers long after they finish it. I know it has with me."-Book Moot (Blog)
Publication Date: 09/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Trigger
Susan Vaught
Synopsis:

Jersey Hatch can't remember why he tried to kill himself. Coming out of rehab for the first time in a year, broken in both mind and body, Jersey must piece his life back together, step by painful step-from relearning to tie his own shoelaces, to graduating high school, to repairing old friendships. With a fresh, compelling, and unique literary voice, Susan Vaught thrusts readers directly into the bitterly funny head of Jersey Hatch. An eye-opening story that expertly navigates the triumph of family, the depths of despair, and the humor of the most mundane details of life.
Reviews «"The interior landscape revealed through Jersey's unreliable yet sympathetic narration is dense, rhythmic, repetitious and fragmented, granting the reader credible entrée into a damaged mind. Despite its somber character, the story never descends into heavy-handed message and has nicely placed touches of humor in a story that is both engrossing and excruciating, An original and meaningful work that provokes thought about action, consequence, redemption and renewal."-Booklist, starred review «"The portrayal of brain damage is precise, comprehensible (but never condescending), and seamlessly woven into Jersey's narrative voice, itself a masterful reflection of his internal chaos that conveys both emotional and neurological stumbling blocks by embedding them in the language itself. Poignantly affirming of life and love even in the face of overwhelming loss, this is a haunting tragicomic drama of grief and renewal."-Horn Book, starred review "A worthwhile read."-Kirkus Reviews www.wellgroomedbook.com

In this one-of-a-kind survival guide to "the big day," newlywed Peter Scott candidly reveals all the wedding preparation do's and don'ts. Covering everything from choosing the perfect location to hiring the right photographer to questions that are too stupid to ask, even for a man ("Where do the centerpieces go?), Well Groomed tackles just about any scenario t

Publication Date: 09/01/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Kichi in Jungle Jeopardy
Regan Johnson, Lila Guzman
Synopsis: Kichi, a rare blue Chihuahua, has lived his whole life pampered by Fortune Teller at the temple in the Mayan city of Chilaam. Still he is lonely. No matter how much he tries, he can't teach Fortune Teller to speak Dog. When Fortune Teller's brother captures a new slave form a rival city, Kichi can't believe his luck. The new boy, Exmal, can speak Dog! Just as Kichi makes a new friend, raiders attack Chilaam and kidnap Uxmal. Now Kichi must brave the dangerous jungle to save his friend.
Publication Date: 08/30/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Last Apprentice: Curse of the Bane
Synopsis:

Now it's the dark's turn to be afraid

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, deal with the dark. Together they rid the county of witches, ghosts, and boggarts. But now there's some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs of the cathedral lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger of being corrupted by its powers. The Bane!

As Thomas and the Spook prepare for the battle of their lives, it becomes clear that the Bane isn't their only enemy. The Quisitor has arrived, searching for those who meddle with the dark so he can imprison them—or worse.

Can Thomas defeat the Bane on his own? Is his friend Alice guilty of witchcraft? And will the Spook be able to escape the Quisitor's clutches?

Publication Date: 08/29/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Dial L For Loser
Lisi Harrison
Synopsis: The social minefields most privileged middle-school girls drive the over-the-top drama in this addictive new book, set in suburban New York City's Westchester County. Massie Block: With her glossy brunette bob and Whitestrip smile, Massie is the uncontested ruler of The Clique and the rest of the social scene at Octavian Country Day, an exclusive private school in Westchester, New York. Dylan Marvil: Massie's second in command who divides her time between sucking up to Massie and sucking down Atkins shakes to try to get rid of the extra fifteen pounds that won't seem to leave her hips alone. Alicia Rivera: As sneaky as she is beautiful, Alicia floats easily under adult radar because she seems so 'sweet.' Would love to take Massie's throne one day. Just might do it. Kristen Gregory: She's been dying to fit in ever since her parents went broke. She's smart, hardworking and will insult you to tears faster than you can say 'scholarship kid.' And then there's Claire Lyons, the new girl in two-year old GAP overalls from Florida, who is clearly not Clique material. The only problem is that Claire's family is staying in the guest house on the Blocks' massive estate while they look for a new home! Claire's future looks worse than a bad Prada knockoff. But with a little luck and a lot of scheming, Claire might just come up smelling like Chanel Mademoiselle....
Publication Date: 08/23/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
Bad Idea
Jedd Hafer, Todd Hafer
Synopsis: Griffin Smith is making a long road trip--but it's not a simple case of getting from point A to point B. Along the way, Griffin learns a lot about life from his unlikely band of travel companions and begins to questions his own attitudes and beliefs.

Publication Date: 08/22/06
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Faith-based
The Floating Island
Elizabeth Haydon
Synopsis: Long ago, in the Second Age of history, a young Nain explorer by the name of Ven Polypheme traveled much of the known and unknown world, recording his adventures. Recently discovered by archaeologists, a few fragments of his original journals are reproduced in this book. Great care has been taken to reconstruct the parts of the journal that did not survive, so that a whole story can be told...

Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme--known as Ven--is the youngest son of a long line of famous shipwrights. He dreams not of building ships, but of sailing them to far-off lands where magic thrives. Ven gets his chance when he is chosen to direct the Inspection of his family's latest ship--and sets sail on the journey of a lifetime.

Attacked by fire pirates, lost at sea and near death, Ven is rescued by a passing ship on its way to the Island of Serendair. Thankful to be alive, little does Ven know that the pirate attack--and his subsequent rescue--may not have been an accident. Shadowy figures are hunting for the famed Floating Island, the only source of the mystical Water of Life. They think Ven can lead them to this treasure, and will stop at nothing to get it--even murder.

In a narrative that alternates entries from his journals and drawings from his sketchbooks, Ven begins the famous chronicles of his exciting and exotic adventures--adventures that would later earn him renown as the author of The Book of All Human Knowledge and All the World's Magic.
Publication Date: 08/22/06
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Adventure

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