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The Trouble With Twins
Kathryn Siebel
Synopsis: "With a refreshing take on the sibling relationship, this early middle grade novel is a good fit for readers moving out of chapter books or as a story to read together." - Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor

Kate DiCamillo meets Lemony Snicket in this darkly comic novel about two sisters who learn they are each others' most important friend!

Imagine two twin sisters, Arabella and Henrietta--nearly identical yet with nothing in common. They're the best of friends . . . until one day they aren't. Plain and quiet Henrietta has a secret plan to settle the score, and she does something outrageous and she can't take it back.
 
When the deed is discovered, Henrietta is sent to live with her eccentric great-aunt! Suddenly life with pretty, popular Arabella doesn't seem so awful.
 
And, though she's been grievously wronged, Arabella longs for her sister, too. So she hatches a plan of her own and embarks on an unexpected journey to reunite with her other half.
Publication Date: 08/09/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
Off Track "series"
Milissa Nelson
Synopsis: Finally, life is easier. Raina feels comfortable in Barrett, her new "hometown". She has new friends, and lives in a newly refurbished farmhouse with her parents. The cousins are now only a mile down the country road. Then winter arrives all too quickly, and she worries for her father's safety on his long commute to and from work. Suddenly, an injury forces her to rediscover her own value, tests her ability to adapt once again, and adventure into the unknown.
Publication Date: 08/09/16
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Last Ma-Loo: Book 3 of The Warrensberg Trilogy
Synopsis: The Ma-Loos are missing. (Which is not a good thing.) So 15-year-old Wilkin Delgado and 16-year-old Alice Jane Zelinski of Warrensberg, Minnesota, sign on to help intergalactic plumber Cardamon Webb find these “Unknown and Unseen” critters and save the universe. The problem? Ma-Loos are invisible. Plus, they live on the Underside of the universe in a place called the “edges.” Another (minor) complication is that everything everywhere is imploding, Realities are crashing into each other and there’s serious crumpling going on. (Not to mention the maggots.) But with the help of Loretta the puffin, a pair of newlyweds from Zorazeen, Alice Jane’s new boyfriend and a toga-wearing electrician named Floranacious, Wilkin and Alice Jane attempt to do the impossible. Again.
Publication Date: 08/08/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Science Fiction
Pyramid Hunters: The Iron Tomb
Synopsis: Join Sam Force on a fast-paced adventure through Egypt that’s part National Treasure and part Indiana Jones with the start to a brand-new series packed with puzzles and clues for readers to figure out along the way!

When Sam Force goes to Egypt to spend the summer with his uncle Jasper, he’s ready for the usual vacation filled with museums and lessons about the pharaohs and ancient gods. Instead, Sam arrives at the airport and learns that his uncle is missing and wanted by the police.

After narrowly escaping his own arrest, Sam sets off to find his uncle using the series of clues that Jasper left behind. But a group of mysterious men are hot on his trail, and Sam knows they’re willing to do whatever it takes to track down Jasper and whatever Jasper was looking for.

Now all Sam has to do is find it first.

With the help of his new friends Hadi and Mary, and by using the knowledge of ancient Egyptian history and culture that he once hated, Sam makes his way across Egypt determined to find his uncle. And if he does, if he finds Jasper before it’s too late, he may also uncover the secret of the Iron Tomb…a secret that could change Sam’s life forever.
Publication Date: 08/02/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Mystery
A Most Magical Girl
Karen Foxlee
Synopsis: From the author of Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy comes the story of a friendship between two girls set in Victorian England, with magical machines, wizards, witches, a mysterious underworld, and a race against time.
 
Annabel Grey is primed for a proper life as a young lady in Victorian England. But when her mother suddenly disappears, she’s put in the care of two eccentric aunts who thrust her into a decidedly un-ladylike life, full of potions and flying broomsticks and wizards who eat nothing but crackers. Magic, indeed! Who ever heard of such a thing?

Before Annabel can assess the most ladylike way to respond to her current predicament, she is swept up in an urgent quest. Annabel is pitted against another young witch, Kitty, to rescue the sacred Moreover Wand from the dangerous underworld that exists beneath London. The two girls outsmart trolls, find passage through a wall of faerie bones, and narrowly escape a dragon, but it doesn’t take long for Annabel to see that the most dangerous part of her journey is her decision to trust this wild, magical girl.

Sparkling with Karen Foxlee’s enchanting writing, this is a bewitching tale of one important wand and two most magical girls.


"[Foxlee's] heroines have grit and heart, and they are willing to get dirty. And they do. Foxlee’s nicely wry tone and moments of incongruous humor break up the tension, while Annabel’s race against time in a harrowing journey deep under London keeps the pages turning. Deliciously complex and convincingly detailed."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

"Kids who enjoyed Foxlee’s Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy and fans of Hardinge’s Cuckoo Song will find similar otherworldly appeal in this enthralling adventure."--The Bulletin, Starred review

"Memorable for its vivid imagery and stylish, thoughtful prose."--Horn Book Magazine
Publication Date: 08/02/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Recreated
Colleen Houck
Synopsis: A New York Times Bestseller! 
 
From Colleen Houck, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger’s Curse, comes Recreated, the second book in the epic Egyptian-inspired Reawakened series, about a seventeen-year-old girl must literally go to hell to save the love of her life.

   Lily Young thought traveling across the globe with a reawakened sun prince was a grand adventure. Now she’s about to embark on the journey of a lifetime.
   When Amon and Lily part tragically, he transports himself to the Netherworld—what mortals call hell. Tormented by the loss of his one true love, he’d rather suffer in agony during Lily’s mortal years than fulfill his duty to protect humanity. 
   Heartbroken, Lily seeks refuge on her grandmother’s farm. Yet she can feel Amon’s pain, and she has been having dreams—dreams of Amon continually suffering. 
   For before he departed, Amon gave Lily something very special, an item that connects them even though they are worlds apart. Now Lily must use this object to free him, and to free their realms from darkness and utter chaos. She will do whatever it takes.

And don't miss new adventures with Lily in the rest of the Reawakened series: Reawakened and Reunited!

Praise for the Reawakened Series:

"[A] must-read for thrill-seekers and fans of alternate worlds."—RT Book Reviews

"Rick Riordan fans who are looking for another series will delight in this fantasy."—SLJ

"Wonderfully written and…the heart-pounding adventures are topped only by the heart-melting romance."—The Deseret News
 
"A sparkling new novel with a fully imagined world and mythos, and crackling romance! Egyptian mythology has never been this riveting!"—Aprilynne Pike, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Wings series, on Reawakened, book one in the series
Publication Date: 08/02/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Radioactive
Vanessa Acton
Synopsis: Every year Zack and his family spend a week at a Pacific island getaway. The ocean is beautiful, the town is quaint, and the people are easygoing. It's a great place to relax. So why do the locals seem so tense this year? There's definitely trouble in paradise when a tourist goes missing. Local legend has it that the locale is cursed since nuclear testing there in the 1950s. It sounds like fiction, but is it?
Publication Date: 08/01/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Snake and the Ghost
Synopsis: The journey of a brave young snake named Haggus who, on a dare from older bully snakes, sets off from his comfortable habitat and ventures into a haunted house in search of "ghosts."This unconventional picture book offers a touching story that portrays grief and love surrounding the loss of a loved one and is perfectly paired with its muted charcoal imagery.  Follow Haggus as he discovers things are not always as they seem and how a simple act of kindness may last forever.
Publication Date: 08/01/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Piranha Jumps at Brunch
Synopsis: Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4th and up

Calypso Blue is no orphan, but she might as well be. When she finds herself on a lush tropical island with two pesky adults who insist they're her parents, she knows they're lying.

For one thing, they (and their five children) have brown hair; Calypso has blond. For another, her real parents would never make her comb her hair. Or demand she dig a latrine. Sure, they all wear the same glasses as Calypso--glasses so thick and geeky they might as well be safety goggles--but that does NOT mean they're related. It means nothing at all.

Obviously, Calypso’s best option is to run away and join a family of parakeets. Or orangutans. Heck, even a den of spitting adders might be nice. But then, Calypso finds a filmstrip where a shadowy man in a hat claims she chose to come to the Island. She answered a want ad--an ad she can’t remember, but that promised constant danger, feelings of utter abandonment, and perhaps … treasure.
Publication Date: 07/25/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
The Dragon Round
Stephen S. Power
Synopsis: The Count of Monte Cristo with a dragon: a dark literary fantasy in which “Power paints his scenes with vivid and meticulous detail, and takes his tale of revenge in unexpected and refreshing directions” (Marie Brennan, author of the Natural History of Dragons series).

Jeryon has been the captain of the Comber for more than a decade. He knows the rules. He likes the rules. But not everyone on his ship agrees. After a monstrous dragon attacks the galley, the surviving crewmembers decide to take the ship for themselves and give Jeryon and his self-righteous apothecary “the captain’s chance”: a small boat with no rudder, no sails, and nothing but the clothes on his back to survive on the open sea.

Fighting for their lives against the elements, Jeryon and his companion land on an island that isn’t as deserted as they originally thought. They find a baby dragon that, if trained, could be their way home. But as Jeryon and the dragon grow closer, the captain begins to realize that even if he makes it off the island, his old life won’t be waiting for him. In order get justice, he’ll have to take it for himself.

From a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet and short story writer, The Dragon Round combines a rich world, desperate characters, and tightly coiled prose into a complex and compelling tale of revenge, perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin, Gene Wolfe, and Scott Lynch.
Publication Date: 07/19/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Mata Hari's Last Dance
Michelle Moran
Synopsis: From the international bestselling author of Rebel Queen and Nefertiti comes a captivating novel about the infamous Mata Hari, exotic dancer, adored courtesan, and, possibly, relentless spy.

Paris, 1917. The notorious dancer Mata Hari sits in a cold cell awaiting freedom…or death. Alone and despondent, Mata Hari is as confused as the rest of the world about the charges she’s been arrested on: treason leading to the deaths of thousands of French soldiers.

As Mata Hari waits for her fate to be decided, she relays the story of her life to a reporter who is allowed to visit her in prison. Beginning with her carefree childhood, Mata Hari recounts her father’s cruel abandonment of her family as well her calamitous marriage to a military officer. Taken to the island of Java, Mata Hari refuses to be ruled by her abusive husband and instead learns to dance, paving the way to her stardom as Europe’s most infamous dancer.

From Indian temples and Parisian theatres to German barracks in war-torn Europe, international bestselling author Michelle Moran who “expertly balances fact and fiction” (Associated Press) brings to vibrant life the famed world of Mata Hari: dancer, courtesan, and possibly, spy.
Publication Date: 07/19/16
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Carver (Order of the Bell)
Synopsis:

THE GIRL IN THE RED HOOD has been looking for her mother for six months, searching from the depths of New York’s subways to the heights of its skyscrapers . . . 

THE PRINCE looks like he’s from another time entirely, or maybe he’s just too good at his job at Ye Old Renaissance Faire . . . 

THE ACTRESS is lighting up Hollywood Boulevard with her spellbinding and strikingly convincing portrayal of a famous fairy. Her name may be big, but her secrets barely fit in one world . . . 

Fifteen-year-old Crescenzo never would have believed his father’s carvings were anything more than “stupid toys.” All he knows is a boring life in an ordinary Virginia suburb, from which his mother and his best friend have been missing for years. When his father disappears next, all Crescenzo has left is his goofy neighbor, Pietro, who believes he’s really Peter Pan and that Crescenzo is the son of Pinocchio. What’s more: Pietro insists that they can find their loved ones by looking to the strange collection of wooden figurines Crescenzo’s father left behind. 

With Pietro’s help, Crescenzo sets off on an adventure to unite the real life counterparts to his figurines. It’s enough of a shock that they’re actually real, but the night he meets the Girl in the Red Hood, dark truths burst from the past. Suddenly, Crescenzo is tangled in a nightmare where magic mirrors and evil queens rule, and where everyone he loves is running out of time.

Publication Date: 07/19/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Devil's Playground
Heather Eagar
Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Winters may be a witch, but she doesn't know the first thing about magic--unless you count accidental bouts of spontaneous combustion. Elizabeth's father, a wizard himself, has forbidden the use of her powers for her own protection, but when accusations of witchcraft start flying through Salem Village, she wishes she was more prepared.

Despite her lack of magical knowledge, Elizabeth appoints herself to save innocent women from the demise the village has in store for them. Elizabeth finds, however, that she is not the hero Salem needs her to be.

She meant to save them. She cursed them instead.

Publication Date: 07/19/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Heavy Sketches Among Worldly Distractions
Synopsis:

Zombies, pizza, aliens, video games, and the apocalypse … these are just a few of the worldly distractions that capture Red’s wandering mind. After 25 years of sketching and a history of never finishing projects, Red finally focuses - creating the ultimate graphic novel anthology unlike any seen before.

The pages are jam-packed full of engaging stories on Vikings, pirates, Lincoln, Greek Mythology, TV & more. Accompanied by hundreds of captivating sketches, Mini-Comics, Drawing Tips, Facts, and Spoofs. Heavy Sketches features all this and more - - compiled together in ONE massive book. 

Heavy Sketches is a book that breaks the mold. It has broad appeal to engage avid & reluctant readers, comic fans, and art enthusiasts alike. The extraordinary combination of original illustrations, facts, fiction and educational content strikes the perfect balance between the likes of kids and adults. 

Now get ready...the time has come for Heavy Sketches, a groundbreaking graphic novel of EPIC proportions. 

 

 

 
Publication Date: 07/12/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Manga/Graphic Novel
Margie Makes a Difference
Dawn Brotherton
Synopsis: The Lady Tigers were all about being a team. From the very first tryout, Margie, Trish, Sally and Nikki, with the help of their coaches, found they were a force to be reckoned with. But like all teams, the girls find that even the highs of winning cannot crush the painful lessons of hardship both on and off the field. When Margie's dad is called away to serve his country, the Lady Tigers must band together to make a difference in the lives of military kids on the base. But will their efforts be a success or a big strike out?
Publication Date: 07/07/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
The Cape (A Dark Spores Novel) (Volume 3)
Synopsis: The next Super hero book installment of the Dark Spores Series from award-winning author Braxton A. Cosby. IN A CITY OF MASKED HEROES, DARKNESS HIDES THE TRUTH! - A world mourning a fallen superhero. Future Chicago has become the haven for criminals and super villains of the darkest order. When an experiment goes wrong, hundreds of humans (Normals) absorb a mysterious contagion that gives rise to amazing super powers, creating a new species: Super-Normals. Some use their super powers for good, while others use their gifts for evil. Wars break out across the city and it's Good versus Evil in a grudge match to destroy the other. A nightly reality show featuring both sides' daily endeavors to create interest, captures the attention of the entire planet and Heroes are worshiped, given any and everything they desire. But there are rules to living the good life, and when one Hero breaks the ultimate rule and kills a Normal, a manhunt erupts, pitting Heroes, Villains, and the entire police force against one another in a race to capture or kill the fallen superhero. But one lone rebel emerges, hellbent on solving the murder and unraveling the secret of the Dark Spores. Yet, in the process, one question remains: will he choose the dark or light side?
Publication Date: 07/06/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure

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