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The Summer of Shambles (Ondine Book #1)
Synopsis: Dive into this wonderfully witty young adult series from author Ebony McKenna, set in the far off European country of Brugel.

15-year-old Ondine is struggling to fit in at Psychic Summercamp and doubts she possesses any of her family's magical abilities. She resolves to leave, determined to follow her own path and be a normal teenager. Whatever normal is in a place like Brugel.

On the way home Ondine is shocked when her pet ferret Shambles starts talking - in a cheeky Scottish accent no less! He is in fact a young man trapped in a witch's curse. When he briefly transforms into his human self, Ondine is smitten. If only she can break the spell for good, Shambles can be handsomely human on a full-time basis.

During the summer, these two misfits uncover a plot to assassinate a member of the royal family and discover a secret treasure that has remained hidden for decades. This attracts the attention of the arrogant Lord Vincent, and Ondine can't help being drawn in by his bad-boy charm.

With so many demands on Ondine's attentions - and affections - normal has never seemed so far away.

The Summer of Shambles is the first in the four-part ONDINE series. Fans of The Princess Bride or the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series will love this delightfully quirky fairytale.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
The Rose of Cavendish
Synopsis: "Anna-Belle, the flightless princess of Fae, has escaped out of the palace to live life her way. Little does she know that life is changing her into something she did not foresee!

Her friends, Landon and Keira, the Napaea faes, Aranhil, the prince of the Elves, and Ulrik, the dwarf will join her on a quest to save the Fae Realm. She must make a choice and her heart's true desire will be the key to unlocking the mysteries she needs to know as well as the destruction of what she already does!

Life as a Fae princess is the road to darkness!
"
Publication Date:
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
The Autumn Palace (Ondine Book #2)
Synopsis: This second sassy adventure in the young adult series from author Ebony McKenna combines fairytale romance with magical fun.

15-year-old Ondine is desperate to escape the confines of her family’s hectic hotel to be with her gorgeous new boyfriend Hamish.

When his talent for transforming into a ferret results in a dangerous new assignment from the Duke of Brugel - at his stunning autumn palace - Ondine seizes the opportunity to tag along.

To her annoyance, Ondine’s Great-Aunt Col insists on joining them as chaperone. Making matters worse is the ageing witch’s embarrassing habit of performing the wrong kind of magic at the worst possible time.

Upon entering the palace grounds they are confronted by a fierce tornado that awakens something dark and ominous. Unexplained phenomena begin intruding on everyday life at an alarming rate.

Surrounded by strange magic, Ondine and Hamish must expose a royal conspiracy, champion the palace’s downtrodden servants and solve a baffling mystery.

With so much at stake, will they ever find time to be together?

The Autumn Palace is the second novel in the wonderfully witty four-part ONDINE series. Fans of The Princess Bride will love this book. (Fans of the first book will love it too, obviously!)
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Romance
Soul Breakers
K.M. Hager
Synopsis: My name is Emily and I’m a Soul Breaker, and in five days’ time, I will be unleashed upon the world to destroy your soul. Don’t judge me yet though, because I didn’t choose this. I know nothing but violence and manipulation; that's all I’ve ever been taught. Empathy and love for the human race are perceived as emotional weaknesses in my culture, which is why we are kept away until our eighteenth birthday.
From the age of eight, we were all assigned an elder, each with different powers of their own. My elder is Veronica, a retired Soul Breaker, a teacher in mind manipulation. She’s destroyed many human’s souls before I was even born. Please don’t ask me what happens to you after I’ve broken your soul, because I don’t know; only a few of the elders get to know that, I think it has something to do with my Guide. We never get to see him, but we know he’s watching us, observing our every move. Sometimes I can feel him close to me; a strong and deadly presence closes in on my soul when I’m alone, and I just know it’s him. Anyway, enough with the self-justification, what I’m trying to say is, is that I’m different. The human race intrigues me; with its love and lust and moral high ground, I found myself fascinated by the story's Veronica use to tell me. So even though I’ve spent the last ten years training to be your Soul Breaker, I just want you to know that this isn’t what I wanted to become, and I hope that one day you will be able to forgive me, Emily.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
TRU LUUP: Vintage Fashion Girl, Mystery Slayer
Synopsis: Sixteen year old Tru Luup, a shy, smart, vintage clothes geek, found a pin in an antique chest. Upon inspection, she could see it was old. Ok, but she knew nothing about old jewelry. Tru works at a consignment shop called Second Hand Rose after school and she asked the owner for her advice, Mrs. Rose is a fountain of information about vintage clothes and estate jewelry. Tru just didn't mention that she's keeping the pin a secret.

The mystery of the pin haunted her. Is it a family heirloom? It's old, possibly late eighteenth to early nineteenth century, and made in France — tiny gold hallmarks were stamped into the metal. A letter she found in her grandmother's desk possibly explained the origins of the pin, and the royal hair it might contain. But is the letter real? Could she believe the facts as she found them? They were hard to accept as true -- and impossible to ignore.

What if the pin is too valuable to keep secret? There was braided hair in a locket compartment at the back of the pin and it was the same color as Tru’s. Coincidence? What did her grandmother know about the pin, and did she intend for Tru to find it? Since the divorce, Mom was always needing money. Dad had remarried and started a new family. Tru had two houses to live in and no home. Her grandmother's house, well, that was where she really wanted to be, but Gram died and the house was sold. Dismissing Tru’s objections, Mom sent Gram’s beautiful things to an auction house. They would sell everything Tru had come to love.

Mom found the pin, and Tru was in big trouble. Her mother refused to believe any of the facts that Tru had spent so many hours researching. A bitter argument followed. Tru was grounded. Mom said she couldn't work for Mrs.Rose anymore. That's when it all changed. Tru couldn't live by the rules anymore. She was going to get the pin back before it was too late. But how? Her best friend Casey, a sk8er girl with a flip phone who knows all the lyrics to Suite: Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, was fearless. Tru always did as she was told. Until now. The girls set off to the city to try to get the pin back, although it may be too late. How will she get anyone to believe her story?

Tru discovers a determination she never knew she had. Home is where the heart is, and Tru was following hers. In the process she learns that vintage clothes are one just one way of expressing who you are. Being yourself, and letting the world know? Well, that’s just about the best thing anyone can wear.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Mystery
The Twelfth of Never
Brenda Ortega
Synopsis: Presley may be smart, but she buckles under pressure – or more specifically, she alphabetizes. In stressful moments her mind grabs words and compulsively sorts the letters, like a frightened guard dog chasing its tail. So it’s no surprise when signs from the universe constantly warn her: stay out of the spotlight.

That’s hard to do when her Elvis-loving mom, the school secretary, plays embarrassing snippets of The King’s hits on the PA every day. It’s even harder when the school’s biggest goofball nominates Presley for president and her campaign speech turns disastrous. Her greatest refuge from the drama is her adorable nephew. But Luke’s mom – Presley’s teenage sister – has a secret that threatens to tear the boy from the family forever, unless Presley can stop it.

Maybe the universe is out to get her. Or perhaps it’s whispering a new message: Stay cool. Step into the spotlight. Summon your inner Elvis.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
My Life From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy Book Three)
Synopsis: Save herself.

Save the world.

Humanity may be screwed.

To say that Sophie Bloom is at the top of her game with one only week until Spring Equinox and the final showdown with Zeus and Hades would be, well, lying.

The Goddess of Spring feels more like the Goddess of Bzzz, Thanks For Playing than the savior of humanity. And could her relationships be any more messed up?

Good times.

Sophie is convinced that things can’t get any worse than crawling back to her mother Demeter and begging for help.

But she’s about to find out how very wrong she is.

Get it now.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Elysium
Georgia Cline
Synopsis: What do you do when your blood can save another? Only, a few pints aren't enough. Years ago, a demonic strain of the Black Death gripped the continents in terror. Nothing could stop it. It was renamed Red in its early stages. Red for blood.

    That's what it all comes down to: blood. In Eliza Morgan lives the cure--but there's a price. It takes all of it. Eliza discovered that as she watched her mother die, when a small amount fell from an open cut onto her mother's blackened skin. The effect was only momentary.
    Nine years later, men in black suits come to her house, throw a bag over her head, and toss her in the back of a van.
    When Eliza wakes, there's nothing but concrete and prison bars. Her secret is out, and before long she might die for it. There is, however, a rumor--a rumor of an elusive haven. No one finds it--it finds them.
    And for whatever reason, it wants very badly to find Eliza.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Orenda
Ruth Silver
Synopsis: Join forces with a parallel universe.

Dark forces, magical creatures, and the world Lil thought she knew collide when a dream transports her to the strange world of Orenda. Stunned and terrified, Lil comes face to face with her doppelganger, Willow, who possesses the ability to travel between the two worlds. Everything Lil knows logically says that Orenda can’t exist, but a small clue may be proof that it was more than an ordinary dream. With the threat of her sister in danger, Lil crosses dimensions but it may cost her even more than she bargained for.

A sword wielding girl, the eternal suit, and a parallel universe come together in this action-packed Young Adult fantasy adventure that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages. Orenda is the first novel in the Orenda series.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Quantum Spirit - Apocalypse
James Bowers, Cara Highsmith, Amy Peck, Sallie Haws
Synopsis: “‘She’s gone!’ Katrina’s eyes were big as saucers. I guess she didn’t really believe that I would disappear because the color had drained from her face as she stared wide-eyed and slack jawed at the center of the circle. The others opened their eyes in awe. I felt the strength of the circle fluctuate with the drop in energy, and the vibrancy of the colors dimmed as the group’s anxiety increased causing the contraction of their auras.

Then I noticed the woman . . . ‘Hello, Salena,’ she greeted me with a smile.
‘My name is Amalya Gaian. Welcome to the Fifth Dimension.’”

Salena Hawthorne is coming of age in more ways than one. And, the changes she is experiencing go way beyond simple hormonal overload. When her “family gift” comes on with a vengeance, Salena has to learn how to channel her developing psychic abilities to stop a pandemic from wiping out millions of lives.

Her new-found gifts of reading auras and inter-dimensional travel give Salena more trouble than she is ready to handle. With the weight of several worlds on her shoulders, Salena will need to call on her family, the Society of the Silver Moon, her Spirit Guide, and a few other unexpected allies to take on the supernatural enemies that threaten their very existence.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Paranormal
Protostar (The Star-Crossed Saga Book 1)
Synopsis: When Prince William of the Torrian Alliance comes to Earth to assassinate the last Starchild Sydney, he must make an impossible choice between love and duty.

The critically acclaimed, space opera romance, Sci-fi debut from award-winning author Braxton A. Cosby, The StarCrossed Saga is written in the spirit of The Hunger Games and the Divergent Series.
Gold Medal Winner of Reader's Favorite and Literary Children's Classics Award for Sci-fi Young Adult

What Would You Choose: Love or Duty?
As the Torrian Alliance continues its age-old mission of hunting down Star-children, King Gregorio Derry reluctantly agrees to send his only son, William, to planet Earth on a mission to bring honor back to the Royal Family name. The target: Sydney, a young teenage girl, unaware of her alien heritage. When an unforeseen accident delays the assassination, William begins to realize a connection forming with Sydney and struggles to follow through with his orders. With the fear of Civil War imminent back home, William must make the ultimate choice between his irrevocable duty and love, sacrificing everything he believes. But as a hidden menace emerges to secure a vested interest, and impossible odds begin to mount against them, William and Sydney wonder if a connection between two starcrossed lovers is enough to save them from destruction.

Book 1 of the award-winning StarCrossed Saga series, where teen romance blends with science fiction to open a whole new world of action, adventure and discovery! Rated one of the best space opera book series and sci fi alien romance.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Science Fiction
Secrets of the Alchemist
Synopsis: What are Nora and Tomik to do? They’ve been transported 400 years back in history, and have no clue how to get back home. The members of the Royal Court refuse to let them leave – everyone believes that the children are wizards, come to save their struggling empire.

Well, not quite everyone. The wicked chamberlain wants to toss the children into the castle’s deepest dungeon. The crazed, witch-hunting duke is starting to look at them funny. But worst of all is the emperor’s prized alchemist. He just wants them dead – and has a bag full of sinister tricks to make it happen.

It looks like the only way out of this predicament is to save the empire, after all. But how? Nora will have to come up with some magic of her own, and fast – for his next trick, the scheming alchemist is planning to make the children disappear… forever!
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Tempus
Novel Idea Design, Holly Lauren
Synopsis: Chapel Ryan isn't crazy. At least, that's what she's been trying to convince herself of for most of her life. But after being hallucination-free for three years, Chapel finds herself facedown on her English classroom’s gritty linoleum floor. When she looks up, everyone around her is suspended in animation. Mouths hang open mid-yawn, feet hover mid-cross, Ms. Freeman’s arm flexes mid-sentence diagram. It's another hallucination. Or, is it?

Chapel prepares to tear herself back to reality when something happens. Something that has never happened before in any of her hallucinations--someone moves. And not just any someone—it’s the new guy with a scar over his lip and a reputation as black as his perfectly styled hair. And all of the sudden Chapel's white-knuckle grip on her life has slipped, and with it, her assurance that what she's experiencing isn't real.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Smorgasbord
Novel Idea Design, Jagjiwan Sohal
Synopsis: When Anna Lopez’s zombie attack video goes viral, no one could believe that the high school cheerleader had taken a bite out of the undead monster – and liked it! Now nothing will ever be the same for supernatural beings…because humans have discovered they taste freakin’ DELICIOUS!

And when a zombie boy gets in the crosshairs of a gang of hungry-human hunters, Julie, a young vampire loner, jumps in for the rescue. But now Julie’s got more than she bargained because taking care of a rambunctious undead creature who only knows one word (“brains”) is NOT easy. And when Julie and her zombie pal stumble upon on a crazed soccer mom, they find themselves on the run from a trigger-happy family who want nothing more than to grill them up for a neighborhood barbecue bash!
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
LARP: The Battle for Verona
Justin Calderone
Synopsis: Sometimes even a geek can become a hero.

Dennis and his friends have been LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) since high school. Now, in his 20s, Dennis is seriously considering giving up LARPing for good. He's tired of dealing with his overzealous friend Mark; he's tired of his older brother Brad's constant put-downs; and he's tired of the fact that he doesn't have a girlfriend.

Check that.

Not a girlfriend, but the girlfriend. Alyssa--the one woman he's been pining over for years.

Dennis and his fellow LARPers have never been considered cool, in their small island community of Verona, located off the coast of Washington State.

But all of that is about to change . . .

While Dennis and his friends are attending a big LARP tournament on the mainland, a rogue terrorist group of Mongolians in medieval garb, led by an American madman, invade Verona and take its citizens hostage--including their families and friends.

When the LARPers find out what's happening in their home-town, they do what any dedicated LARPer would do: they put on their armor, strap on their swords, and fight their way home--LARP-style!
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
A Volcano Beneath the Snow: John Brown's War Against Slavery
Synopsis: John Brown is a man of many legacies, from hero, freedom fighter, and martyr, to liar, fanatic, and "the father of American terrorism." Some have said that it was his seizure of the arsenal at Harper's Ferry that rendered the Civil War inevitable.

Deeply religious, Brown believed that God had chosen him to right the wrong of slavery. He was willing to kill and die for something modern Americans unanimously agree was a just cause. And yet he was a religious fanatic and a staunch believer in "righteous violence," an unapologetic committer of domestic terrorism. Marrin brings 19th-century issues into the modern arena with ease and grace in a book that is sure to spark discussion.
Publication Date:
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Nonfiction

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