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The Bolds
David Roberts, Julian Clary
Synopsis: A Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year 2016



The Bold family seems fairly normal: they live in a nice house, the parents have good jobs, and they all love to have fun. One slight difference: they're hyenas. That's right they're covered in fur, have tails tucked into their clothes, and really, really like to laugh.



For years, the Bolds have kept their true identities under wraps. But now the neighbors are getting suspicious, and the Bolds are getting homesick. During a trip to the local wildlife park, they meet an old hyena who is going to be put down, and the Bolds have to act fast to save him without revealing their secret!
Publication Date: 03/01/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Humor
A Daring Sacrifice
Jody Hedlund
Synopsis:

In a reverse twist on the Robin Hood story, a young medieval maiden stands up for the rights of the mistreated, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. All the while, she fights against her cruel uncle who has taken over the land that is rightfully hers. Forced to live in the woods and hide with the poor people she's grown to love, she works to save and protect them, but she never anticipates falling in love with the wealthy knight who represents all she's come to despise.

Publication Date: 03/01/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Wonder Woman at Super Hero High
Random House, Lisa Yee
Synopsis: Get your cape on with the DC Super Hero Girls™—the unprecedented new Super Hero universe especially for girls! Readers of all ages can fly high with the all-new adventures of Wonder Woman™, Supergirl™, Batgirl™, and some of the world’s most iconic female super heroes as high schoolers!
 
Wonder Woman isn’t like most high school students—but Super Hero High isn’t like most high schools!
 
Wonder Woman is an Amazon Warrior and Princess. She has never left her home on Paradise Island. But she wants to be a super hero—the very best super hero she can be. In order to train at the most elite school in the galaxy, she has to juggle acing her classes, forging new friendships, trying to make the team for the Super Hero Super Triathlon, and her insane suite-mate sharing her every embarrassing moment on social media. Not to mention . . . Wonder Woman has never seen a boy before. High school is going to be harder than she thought.
 
Award-winning author Lisa Yee brings this edge-of-your-seat adventure to life with mystery, thrills, and laughs. Move over Batman™ and Superman™—the DC Super Hero Girls are ready to save the day and have fun doing it!
 
Praise for DC Super Hero Girls:
“Sure to have wide appeal, this book is a solid option to balance collections saturated with male superheroes.” —School Library Journal

"If you have a middle grader in your life looking for super-sized action, or a superhero enthusiast who isn’t sure where to turn to get more of the superheroes they might see on TV or in movies… Or if you just want to dive into a good book that shows young readers—especially young female readers—that girls can be the super heroes of their own stories, look no further: Super Hero High is for you." - Kirkus 
Publication Date: 03/01/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
MORTIMER: A Chapter Book
Mary T Kincaid, Mary T Kincaid
Synopsis: The story of a mole who hears singing the day he is born drifting into his den. His family doesn't make any noises like singing, so where is it coming from? Will he have the nerve to defy traditions and venture into no mole territory? Can he have membership in two worlds? Join him and see.
Publication Date: 02/25/16
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
The Liberation
Marissa Shrock
Synopsis: How far would you go in the fight for your country’s freedom when it’s crumbling from within? In the near future, all seventeen-year-old Vivica Wilkins wants is a normal life. Time with her boyfriend, her computer, sports. But after becoming a fugitive, the only place she’ll be safe is among the enemies of the government. She has no choice but to join the Emancipation Warriors, the only hope for the United Regions of North America to return to the country it once was. When her mother is taken as a political prisoner and slated for execution, the Emancipation Warriors change Vivica’s appearance, identity—everything. With her vaunted computer hacking skills, she’s able to infiltrate the government with a job that gives the Warriors a foothold in their fight for freedom and the chance to save her mother. But soon Vivica is discovered, and her only chance of escape is to become allies with one of her greatest enemies. Together they must follow the government’s trail of evil to its highest levels, where they learn not only the future of their country is at stake, but the entire world. From the cities of the United Regions of North America to the high-tech corridors of Asia, The Liberation is an international thriller with an all-too-possible scenario that will grab you by the throat and refuse to let go.
Publication Date: 02/25/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
What Lifts You
Kelsey Montague
Synopsis: Step into the world of Kelsey Montague in this coloring book…

Famed for blending street art and social media, Kelsey Montague creates wild and whimsical large-scale murals that beg passersby to step into them, become part of the art and share it with the world with #whatliftsyou.

Now Kelsey’s exquisite works are at your fingertips—to entice and engage you with their beauty and positivity. Printed on luxe paper, these are intricate and inspiring images you’ll want to linger over and lavish color upon. You’ll want to cut them out, frame them, create one-of-a-kind decor from them. Each illustration in this coloring book is designed to remind you to consider what inspires you and to always keep the answers close to your heart.
Publication Date: 02/23/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Nonfiction
Calamity
Brandon Sanderson
Synopsis: Read the final book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Reckoners series by worldwide bestselling author Brandon Sanderson!
    When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned Prof, his closest ally, into a dangerous enemy.
    David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners’ leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back. . . .
   But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.
 
Praise for the Reckoners series:

#1 New York Times Bestselling Series

“Another win for Sanderson . . . he’s simply a brilliant writer. Period.” —Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind
 
“Action-packed.” —EW.com
 
“Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store.” —The A.V. Club
Publication Date: 02/16/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
Asleep
Michelle Johnson, Krystal Wade
Synopsis: "To cure fear, you must use fear." Rose Briar claims no responsibility for the act that led to her imprisonment in an asylum. She wants to escape, until terrifying nightmares make her question her sanity and reach out to her doctor. He’s understanding and caring in ways her parents never have been, but as her walls tumble down and Rose admits fault, a fellow patient warns her to stop the medications. Phillip believes the doctor is evil and they’ll never make it out of the facility alive. Trusting him might be just the thing to save her. Or it might prove the asylum is exactly where she needs to be.
Publication Date: 02/16/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
Along the Garden Path
Charlotte Strack Peyton
Synopsis: This is a story about Addison Erhard, an affluent young seventeen-year-old growing up in McLean, Virginia, who feels pressured to be successful. She wants to be a journalist who makes an impact on the world. In order to attend her dream school of Columbia University, she must break the state track record, and write an incredible story for her school's magazine. Her family is split in their support, the pressure in the community and from her father is to attend an Ivy League school, to become a successful lawyer, doctor, politician or banker; her father would like her to become a banker. Her mother, an artist who does not fit in with the McLean society as well as her father, supports her desire to follow her dreams. She meets a boy, Mason Gentry, who wants to buck high society McLean by following his family’s legacy and become a farmer. While investigating her story about kids who pursue non-traditional college and career paths, the young journalist falls in love with Mason. In March a student at Chain Bridge High School and friend of both Mason and Addison, Jamison Randall, is struck down during a hit-and-run accident early one morning. The driver of the car has fled and Jamison is in a coma. Addison, who works for the news magazine, decides to investigate the accident on her own, and what she find is more than she can handle.
Publication Date: 02/16/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
Goodbye Bombay
Gry Finsnes
Synopsis: Bombay in 1980, India’s business centre, was a swirl of parties mixing all religions and nationalities. The Norwegian lawyer Christine is married but falls in love with the good-looking Parsee Zarin. They meet in a houseboat in Srinagar and declare their love in the Mogul gardens, but this is just the beginning of a dramatic series of events leading them to the beaches of Goa and the tea gardens of Darjeeling. Twenty years later Christine tells her story to a friend in England when a stranger turns up.
Publication Date: 02/15/16
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Deacon's Folly
James Thibeault
Synopsis: When a backwoods town has a barbecue, it's to mock a teenage boy who nailed himself to a tree house. While Devon's not the brightest bulb and has no recollection of his childhood, he's a kind soul who seems friendly enough. Still, the whole town despises him. Only the new deacon in town takes sympathy towards the boy and is determined to discover Devon's forgotten past, and the reason why it is never discussed. Everything about Devon's life is a mystery, from the whereabouts of his parents to Devon's own memories. In the town, he is treated more like an animal than a person. Forced to live outside, Devon is looked after by his alcoholic guardian, Mr. Audette. Besides the deacon, the only person who takes pity on Devon is Mr. Audette's daughter, Caroline, who has been running the household since her mother died years ago. Despite Caroline and Devon living next to each other, Mr. Audette forbids Caroline from socializing with him.

Few want to be near Devon. He spends most of his time alone and talking to the moon. At night, he suffers from dreams of people screaming. He doesn't understand what it means, but tries to ignore it as best he can. For years, all Devon has done is block the torments in his head, the mockery from the town, and even his own memories. The deacon is convinced it's time to know the truth.

At its core this book is about a young man who is forced by an entire town to come to terms with his disability and his efforts to learn to live in a community of individuals of lesser humanity than himself.
Publication Date: 02/14/16
Age Level: Any Age
Genre: Humor
Burn: Michael Faraday's Candle
Peter Willis, Michael Faraday, Darcy Pattison
Synopsis: COOL SCIENCE THAT WILL AWE KIDSSolid wax is somehow changed into light and heat. But how? Travel back in time to December 28, 1848 in London, England to one of the most famous juvenile science Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution. British scientist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) encouraged kids to carefully observe a candle and to try to figure out how it burned. 
Known as one of the best science experimenters ever, Faraday's passion was always to answer the basic questions of science: "What is the cause? Why does it occur?"
Since Faraday's lecture, "The Chemical History of a Candle," was published in 1861, it's never been out of print. Oddly, till now, it's never been published as a children's picture book. Faraday originally gave seven lectures on how a candle burns. Pattison has adapted the first 6000-word lecture to about 650 words for modern elementary students. 
Publication Date: 02/09/16
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Nonfiction
Fabulous Faith in Meet My Worry Monster
Synopsis: This book is “A Mom’s Choice Awards® and We won the Distinguished Recipient award which is a prestigious award known nationwide. We are happy to award deserving books like Fabulous Faith in Meet My Worry Monster,” said Dawn Matheson, Executive Director, Mom’s Choice Awards. “Our panel of judges really felt this special book merited a place on our list of the best in family-friendly products that parents and educators can feel confident in using.” Faith has a worry monster she named Stan and he tries to keep her from having fun at school. Faith realizes she has a super power in her that can defeat Stan. Its the power to control her own thoughts and its in the form of a sparkly kitty cat. Stan is not happy about this super power and he tries to overcome but in the end Faith wins.
Publication Date: 02/08/16
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Burning Midnight
Will McIntosh
Synopsis: For fans of The Maze Runner and The Fifth Wave, this debut YA novel from Hugo Award winner Will McIntosh pits four underprivileged teens against an evil billionaire in the race of a lifetime. 
 
No one knows where the brilliant-colored spheres came from. One day they were just there, hidden all over the earth like huge gemstones. Burn a pair and they make you a little better: an inch taller, skilled at math, better-looking. The rarer the sphere, the greater the improvement—and the more expensive the sphere.
 
Sully is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn’t pay much—Alex Holliday’s stores have muscled out most of the independent sellers—but it helps him and his mom make the rent. When Sully meets Hunter, a girl with a natural talent for finding spheres, the two start searching together. One day they find a Gold—a color no one has ever seen. There’s no question the Gold is priceless, but what does it actually do? None of them is aware of it yet, but the fate of the world rests on this little golden orb. Because all the world fights over the spheres, but no one knows where they come from, what their powers are, or why they’re here.
 
Chosen as a 2017 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

“Burning Midnight is for (1) adrenaline junkies and gamers, (2) obsessive collectors, and (3) people who can’t get enough of crazy endings. I’m all of these things, and I loved it.” —Margaret Stohl, New York Times bestselling author of Black Widow: Forever Red and coauthor of the internationally bestselling Beautiful Creatures series
Publication Date: 02/02/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Secret of Grim Hill, Book One
Linda DeMeulemeester
Synopsis: The new kid at Darkmont High, Cat Peters is already desperate to get out. So when she hears that Grimoire, the private school nearby, is offering scholarships to the winners of a Halloween soccer match, Cat jumps at the chance to apply, despite her sister Sookie’s warnings that there’s something creepy about the old school on the hill. Sookie’s worries are confirmed when they uncover a mystery about an entire soccer team that disappeared many years ago. Further investigation leads Cat to a book about ancient Celtic mythology, and she soon realizes that there is something truly wicked at work inside the walls of Grimoire.
Publication Date: 02/01/16
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Paranormal
On Edge
Gin Price
Synopsis:

Emanuella "LL" Harvey puts her gymnastic skills to good use as a member of her brother's Parkour group. Freerunning, jumping, and climbing over their corner of the city like it's an obstacle course gives them something to take pride in and keeps them out of trouble - sort of. But trouble finds LL when she runs into Haze, a talented graffiti artist whose sister Heather was murdered two years before.

Freerunner and Writer promptly fall in love, but they decide to hide their relationship till they're sure it's the real thing - and until they can find a way to placate LL's hotheaded brother, who has it in for Haze and his gang. But when portraits of LL done in Haze's distinctive style start popping up on city walls, all hell breaks loose.

LL's brother threatens a gang war, which LL tries to avert by identifying the Writer who is really responsible for the paintings. But when another teen is murdered, it looks bad for Haze, especially when LL discovers that Heather's killer and her portrait-painter are one and the same.

Publication Date: 02/01/16
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance

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