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The Great Train Robbery
Michael Crichton
Synopsis: In 1855, mysterious master criminal Edward Pierce plans and carries out, with three accomplices, the impossible robbery of the monthly London-to-Paris train carrying gold bullion for the British army in the Crimea. Reprint.
Publication Date: 11/05/02
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Amelia's War
Ann Rinaldi
Synopsis: A riveting middle-grade Civil War drama by acclaimed author, Ann Rinaldi. Based on a true incident.

As the Civil War rages, Amelia's Maryland town is beset by divisions. Even she and her best friend Josh disagree. Amelia vows not to take sides, until the Confederate troops march into town...led by Josh's uncle.
Publication Date: 11/01/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
A Boy At War
Harry Mazer
Synopsis: December 7, 1941: A morning like any other, but the events of this day would leave no one untouched.

For Adam, living near Honolulu, this Sunday morning is one he has been looking forward to -- fishing with friends, away from the ever-watchful eyes of his father, a navy lieutenant. Then, right before his eyes, Adam watches Japanese planes fly overhead and attack the U.S. Navy. All he can think is that it's just like in the movies. But as he sees his father's ship, the Arizona, sink beneath the water, he realizes this isn't make-believe. It's real.
Over the next few days, Adam searches for answers -- about his friends, the war, and especially, his father. But Adam soon learns sometimes there are no answers.
Publication Date: 11/01/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Moonstone
Wilkie Collins
Synopsis: Book annotation not available for this title.
Title: The Moonstone
Author: Collins, Wilkie
Publisher: Dover Pubns
Publication Date: 2002/10/29
Number of Pages: 400
Binding Type: PAPERBACK
Library of Congress: 2002067553
Publication Date: 10/29/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Classic
Coco Butta Kids: Crossin' Paths
Madhuri Pavamani Blaylock
Synopsis: The first book in the Coco Butta Kids series, Crossin' Paths is a refreshing look at the issues confronting today's teenagers. Set in Xavier High School, Crossin' Paths examines the growing pains of a set of classmates from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Intended to provide young adults of color with characters they can relate to on a personal level, the series and its protagonists also aim to prove that no matter what you look like, where your parents are from or what clothes you wear, being a teenager is tough.
Publication Date: 10/22/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
City of the Beasts
Isabel Allende
Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold has the chance to take the trip of a lifetime. Parting from his family and ill mother, Alexander joins his fearless grandmother, a magazine reporter for International Geographic, on an expedition to the dangerous, remote world of the Amazon. Their mission, along with the others on their team -- including a celebrated anthropologist, a local guide and his young daughter Nadia, and a doctor -- is to document the legendary Yeti of the Amazon known as the Beast.

Under the dense canopy of the jungle, Alexander is amazed to discover much more than he could have imagined about the hidden worlds of the rain forest. Drawing on the strength of the jaguar, the totemic animal Alexander finds within himself, and the eagle, Nadia's spirit guide, both young people are led by the invisible People of the Mist on a thrilling and unforgettable journey to the ultimate discovery....

In a stunning novel of high adventure, internationally celebrated novelist Isabel Allende leads readers through the intricacies of two personal quests, and on an epic voyage -- teeming with magical realism -- into the wonder-filled heart of the Amazon.

Publication Date: 10/22/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Monterey Shorts
Dan Koffmann, Frances Rossi, Ken Jones, Chris Kemp, Walter E. Gourlay, Shaheen Schmidt, Mark C. Angel, Chris Kemp, Byron Merritt
Synopsis: Welcome to the Monterey Peninsula you thought you knew, or imagined you did.

Where skin divers, burned out businessmen, Carmel Valley farm kids and middle class families rub shoulders with ghosts, Russian fugitives, homicidal maniacs and doppelgangers.

Where Dinosaur Town is just a midnight ride away.
Where the hot tubs talk to each other.
Where aliens threaten to overrun the human populace - in the future, at least.
Yeah. That Monterey Peninsula.

Publication Date: 10/10/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Short Story
The Time Machine
Greg Bear, H.G. Wells
Synopsis:

“I’ve had a most amazing time....”

 

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth.  There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well.  Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machine will continue to enthrall readers for generations to come.

 

Publication Date: 10/01/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
A Corner of the Universe
Ann M. Martin
Synopsis: On the heels of her acclaimed novel BELLE TEAL, bestselling and beloved author Ann M. Martin presents a searing story about family ties and how they bind us.

The summer Hattie turns 12, her predictable smalltown life is turned on end when her uncle Adam returns home for the first time in over ten years. Hattie has never met him, never known about him. He's been institutionalized; his condition invovles schizophrenia and autism.

Hattie, a shy girl who prefers the company of adults, takes immediately to her excitable uncle, even when the rest of the family -- her parents and grandparents -- have trouble dealing with his intense way of seeing the world. And Adam, too, sees that Hattie is special, that her quiet, shy ways are not a disability,
Publication Date: 10/01/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Stravaganza - City of Masks
Synopsis:

During the day, Lucien battles cancer in his modern, normal life. But at night, he becomes a Stravagante, a time-traveler of sorts who finds himself in Belleza, a city parallel to old Venice. Befriended by a local girl and protected by an older Stravagante, Lucien uncovers a plot to murder the city's beloved ruler, the Duchessa. But to save the Duchessa and the city Lucien risks losing his only chance to return home to his family and his real life.

The well-paced, thick-with-plot story will hook the reader immediately and not let go until the superb, unexpected end. City of Masks is the first in a three-book arc from the gifted Mary Hoffman.

Publication Date: 09/21/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Gathering Blue
Lois Lowry
Synopsis: Lois Lowry’s Gathering Blue continues the quartet beginning with the quintessential dystopian novel, The Giver, followed by Messenger and Son.

Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. She fears for her future until she is spared by the all-powerful Council of Guardians. Kira is a gifted weaver and is given a task that no other community member can do. While her talent keeps her alive and brings certain privileges, Kira soon realizes she is surrounded by many mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world and see what places exist beyond.
Publication Date: 09/10/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Giver
Lois Lowry
Synopsis: In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.
Publication Date: 09/10/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Thief Lord
Oliver Latsch, Cornelia Funke
Synopsis: Imagine a Dickens story with a Venetian setting, and you'll have a good sense of Cornelia Funke's prizewinning novel The Thief Lord, first published in Germany in 2000. This suspenseful tale begins in a detective's office in Venice, as the entirely unpleasant Hartliebs request Victor Getz's services to search for two boys, Prosper and Bo, the sons of Esther Hartlieb's recently deceased sister. Twelve-year-old Prosper and 5-year-old Bo ran away when their aunt decided she wanted to adopt Bo, but not his brother. Refusing to split up, they escaped to Venice, a city their mother had always described reverently, in great detail. Right away they hook up with a long-haired runaway named Hornet and various other ruffians who hole up in an abandoned movie theater and worship the elusive Thief Lord, a young boy named Scipio who steals jewels from fancy Venetian homes so his new friends can get the warm clothes they need. Of course, the plot thickens when the owner of the pawn shop asks if the Thief Lord will carry out a special mission for a wealthy client: to steal a broken wooden wing that is the key to completing an age-old, magical merry-go-round. This winning cast of characters--especially the softhearted detective with his two pet turtles--will win the hearts of readers young and old, and the adventures are as labyrinthine and magical as the streets of Venice itself. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
Publication Date: 09/01/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
No More Dead Dogs
Gordon Korman
Synopsis: Truthful Wallace gives a thumbs-down to a book much to the chagrin of his English teacher, who sentences him to help with a stage version of the book but is unaware that Wallace's plot-improvement suggestions will wind up changing the entire production. Reprint.
Publication Date: 08/19/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Boudica, Queen of the Iceni
Marlene Sosebee
Synopsis: Two thousand years ago, the Roman Empire conquered most of Europe by slaughtering and enslaving millions of ancient Celts. All of Europe, from Britain to as far south as Italy and from what is now France, to as far east as Turkey, was all under Celtic rule. The Romans conquered these ancient Celts with superior military tactics and better weapons. When the Roman legions attacked a Celtic village, they would kill all the men, enslave the children and make whores of the women.

In 55BC, Julius Caesar invaded Britain for its wealth in copper and tin. The Britons, or ancient Celts, were made up of many tribes ruled by kings and queens. Unlike the Romans, Celtic women had as many rights as men.

On this remote island, the Romans decided to keep the villages in tact and create client kingdoms, taking half of every tribes wealth and production.

After the death of King Prasutagus, the Iceni tribe was left to his Queen Boudica. This was something the Romans could not except. For them, women had no right to own property for they were themselves, property to the Romans. When Queen Boudica stood up to the Romans, she was flogged and her two young daughters were raped. In 61 AD, Boudica led a revolt through, Camulodunum, Verulamium and what is now London, killing 70 thousand Romans.

Publication Date: 07/01/02
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Historical Fiction
Artemis Fowl
Eoin Colfer
Synopsis: At last, one of the most talked-about novels of last year is now available in an accessible mass-market edition. Twelve-year-old Artemis is a millionaire, a genius-and above all, a criminal mastermind. But Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of the bedtime stories-they're dangerous!
Publication Date: 06/01/02
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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