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Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk
Synopsis: "A delightful re-telling of a classic fairy tale that has Jack and his younger sister on a wild adventure in the land of giants. Positive themes of integrity and family give the story added depth while keeping a fast, enjoyable pace that's perfect for readers new to middle grade novels." - Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor

Fairy tale fans will give a GIANT cheer for this funny retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk from the New York Times Bestselling author of Rump and Red!

All his life, Jack has longed for an adventure, so when giants turn up in the neighbor's cabbage patch, he is thrilled! Soon Jack is chasing them to a land beyond the clouds, with his little sister, Annabella, in tow. The kingdom of giants is full of super-sized fun: puddings to swim in, spoons to use as catapults, monster toads to carry off pesky little sisters. . . .
      But Jack and Annabella are on a mission. The king of the giants has taken something that belongs to them, and they’ll do anything—even dive into a smelly tureen of green bean soup—to get it back.

“Liesl Shurtliff has the uncanny ability to make magical worlds feel utterly real, and the best part is: you don’t even need a beanstalk to visit them.” —Tim Federle, author of Better Nate than Ever

"A delightful story of family, perseverance, and courage." —Booklist
Publication Date: 04/14/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Palace of Lies
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Synopsis: Desmia discovers the reality of royalty is far from a fairy tale in this third adventure set in the Cinderella-esque world of Just Ella and Palace of Mirrors, from New York Times bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Desmia and her twelve sister-princesses are ruling Suala together at last, a united front. The kingdom seems to have finally gotten its happily ever after, but Desmia, trained by a lifetime of palace intrigue, is not so sure. She desperately wants to believe all is well, but she can’t help seeing danger around every corner.

And then the unthinkable happens, and Desmia’s worst fears are confirmed. Now, without the support of the sister-princesses she’s grown to rely on or the trappings of royalty that have always convinced people to listen to her, Desmia must find the courage to seek out the truth on her own terms—and to determine the course of two kingdoms.
Publication Date: 04/07/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Fig
Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
Synopsis: An NPR Best Book of 2015

Love and sacrifice intertwine in this brilliant debut of rare beauty about a girl dealing with her mother’s schizophrenia and her own mental illness.

Fig’s world lies somewhere between reality and fantasy.

But as she watches Mama slowly come undone, it becomes hard to tell what is real and what is not, what is fun and what is frightening. To save Mama, Fig begins a fierce battle to bring her back. She knows that her daily sacrifices, like not touching metal one day or avoiding water the next, are the only way to cure Mama.

The problem is that in the process of a daily sacrifice, Fig begins to lose herself as well, increasingly isolating herself from her classmates and engaging in self-destructive behavior that only further sets her apart.

Spanning the course of Fig’s childhood from age six to nineteen, this deeply provocative novel is more than a portrait of a mother, a daughter, and the struggle that comes with all-consuming love. It is an acutely honest and often painful portrayal of life with mental illness and the lengths to which a young woman must go to handle the ordeals—real or imaginary—thrown her way.
Publication Date: 04/07/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
The Black Reckoning
John Stephens
Synopsis: The final book in the bestselling Books of Beginning trilogy that began with The Emerald Atlas, which the New York Times called “a new Narnia for the tween set.”

The adventures of siblings Kate, Michael, and Emma come to a stunning conclusion when they must find the last Book of Beginning—the Book of Death—before the Dire Magnus does, for when all three books are united, their combined power will be unstoppable.

Soon Emma is on a journey to places both worldly and otherworldly, confronting terrifying monsters and ghosts, and what is darkest within herself. As the fabric of time begins to fray, she becomes the final piece of an extraordinary puzzle. Only if she can master the powers of this most dangerous book will she, Kate, and Michael be able to save the world from the dramatic, deadly final confrontation between magical and ordinary people that the Dire Magnus has in store.
Publication Date: 04/07/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Trash Mountain
Jane Yolen, Chris Monroe
Synopsis: When the gray squirrels kill his parents, a young red squirrel vows revenge, finding unlikely allies in the rats and gulls of Trash Mountain.
Publication Date: 04/01/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
The Conformity
John Hornor Jacobs
Synopsis:

Mr. Quincrux is dead. Armistead Lucius Priest, founder of the Society of Extranaturals, is now seated uneasily in his protégés flesh, and though Priest's powers are not inconsiderable, the Conformity will not settle for the second-brightest flame in the etheric heights. It will confront Shreve.

But it will have to find him first. Under the protection of Mr. Negata, Jack, and the rest of the Irregulars, Shreve retreats to the wild to face his demons and prepare his mind for one more battle. The Conformity is the breathtaking conclusion to the acclaimed Twelve-Fingered Boy Trilogy.

Publication Date: 04/01/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Walking Fish
Rachelle Burk, Kopel Burk
Synopsis:

Winner of:
National Science Teachers Association/Children's Book Council, Outstanding Science Trade Book Award

A humorous, exciting tale of an ordinary girl who makes an extraordinary scientific discovery—a blind fish that walks

When seventh-grader Alexis catches an unusual fish that looks like a living fossil, she sets off a frenzied scientific hunt for more of its kind. Alexis and her friend Darshan join the hunt, snorkeling, sounding the depths of Glacial Lake, even observing from a helicopter and exploring a cave. All the while, they fight to keep the selfish Dr. Mertz from claiming the discovery all for himself. When Alexis follows one final hunch, she risks her life and almost loses her friend. Walking Fish is a scientific adventure that provides a perfect combination of literacy and science.

Publication Date: 04/01/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Science
The Originals: The Loss
Synopsis: Family is power. The Original vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together always and forever. But even when you're immortal, promises are hard to keep. 

After a hurricane destroyed their city, Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson have rebuilt New Orleans to even greater glory. The year is 1766. The witches live on the fringes in the bayou. The werewolves have fled. But still, Klaus isn't satisfied. He wants more. He wants power. But when Klaus finally finds a witch who will perform a spell to give him what he desires most, she secretly uses Klaus to unleash a curse—one that brings back hundreds of her ancestors—and begins a war to reclaim New Orleans. As the siblings fight off the attack, only one thing's for certain—the result will be a bloodbath.
Publication Date: 03/31/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Sweetest Heist in History (Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective)
Synopsis: A hard-to-prove art heist makes a New York City mystery for ninja detective Randi Rhodes in this second book in a series full of humor, adventure, and heart from Academy Award–winning actress Octavia Spencer.

Randi Rhodes and her fellow ninja detectives, DC and Pudge, were flying high after solving the Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit. But life in sleepy Deer Creek has begun to feel…a bit boring. There are no crimes to investigate! But a trip to New York City to visit Randi’s aunt changes that! While the ninja detective trio explores Randi’s old neighborhood in Brooklyn, they uncover an art heist. Except no one will believe them. So they’ll just have to catch the criminals in the act...
Publication Date: 03/31/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Dinosaur Eggs and Blue Ribbons: Science Fairs Inside and Out
Synopsis:

A personal look at science fairs from the varied perspectives of a successful participant, judge, policymaker, and science fair organization leader

 

Dinosaur Eggs and Blue Ribbons takes young readers on a journey into adventure science as experienced by a young aspiring scientist who turned scientific inspiration into scientific success. The book is full of anecdotes and advice from the world of STEM education and contains practical advice about judging, display boards, and other preparations for the big science fair day. Throughout the text and appendix are examples of original, winning science fair materials as well as links to a wide variety of proprietary online resources which complement the text. In the end, the hardships are all worthwhile when you work alongside some of the top scientists in the field, make groundbreaking discoveries, and win big in the science fair and beyond!

Publication Date: 03/27/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Nonfiction
The Tightrope Walkers
Synopsis: International award winner David Almond draws on memories of his early years in Tyneside, England, for a moving coming-of-age novel, masterfully told.

A gentle visionary coming of age in the shadow of the shipyards of northern England, Dominic Hall is torn between extremes. On the one hand, he craves the freedom he feels when he steals away with the eccentric girl artist next door, Holly Stroud—his first and abiding love—to balance above the earth on a makeshift tightrope. With Holly, Dom dreams of a life different in every way from his shipbuilder dad’s, a life fashioned of words and images and story. On the other hand, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to the brutal charms of Vincent McAlinden, a complex bully who awakens something wild and reckless and killing in Dom. In a raw and beautifully crafted bildungsroman, David Almond reveals the rich inner world of a boy teetering on the edge of manhood, a boy so curious and open to impulse that we fear for him and question his balance—and ultimately exult in his triumphs.
Publication Date: 03/24/15
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Things I'll Never Say
Synopsis: Fifteen top young-adult authors let us in on provocative secrets in a fascinating collection that will have readers talking.

A baby no one knows about. A dangerous hidden identity. Off-limits hookups. A parent whose problems your friends won’t understand. Everyone keeps secrets—from themselves, from their families, from their friends—and secrets have a habit of shaping the lives around them. Acclaimed author Ann Angel brings together some of today’s most gifted YA authors to explore, in a variety of genres, the nature of secrets: Do they make you stronger or weaker? Do they alter your world when revealed? Do they divide your life into what you’ll tell and what you won’t? The one thing these diverse stories share is a glimpse into the secret self we all keep hidden.
With stories by:
Ann Angel
Kerry Cohen
Louise Hawes
Varian Johnson
erica l. kaufman
Ron Koertge
E. M. Kokie
Chris Lynch
Kekla Magoon
Zoë Marriott
Katy Moran
J. L. Powers
Mary Ann Rodman
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Ellen Wittlinger
Publication Date: 03/24/15
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Beast Charming
Jenniffer Wardell
Synopsis: Perfect for fans of Mercedes Lackey's "500 Kingdoms" series!

Beast Charming tells the story of Beauty, who works as a temp at an agency run by a high-tempered dragon. To avoid running into her conniving and desperately-craving-for-nobility father--conveniently named Noble--she takes on a peculiar job that will force her to converse with James, who got cursed by an ex-girlfriend and is now spending his days as, well, a beast. The rest of the story develops into a hysterical tale of a classic fairy tale romance gone modernly awry.
Publication Date: 03/24/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Humor
The Island of Dr. Libris
Chris Grabenstein
Synopsis: New from the author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and coauthor of the I Funny series with James Patterson! Celebrate the power of imagination with this action-packed New York Times bestseller that shows that sometimes the real story starts after you close the book! 
 
What if your favorite characters came to life? Billy’s spending the summer in a lakeside cabin that belongs to the mysterious Dr. Libris. But something strange is going on. Besides the security cameras everywhere, there’s Dr. Libris’s private bookcase. Whenever Billy opens the books inside, he can hear sounds coming from the island in the middle of the lake. The clash of swords. The twang of arrows. Sometimes he can even feel the ground shaking. It’s almost as if the stories he’s reading are coming to life! But that’s impossible . . . isn’t it?
 
“A wonderful tale. . . . This book is like no other I’ve read. It’s a complete original.” —James Patterson

"Kids will enjoy the cartoonish mayhem, especially given Grabenstein's breezy narrative voice and jaunty wit....as in 'Lemoncello', there is a winning generosity and sweetness to the story's telling."--The New York Times

"Chris Grabenstein gleefully plunders great works of literature for his cast of secondary characters . . . a madcap mash-up that 8-to-12 year olds will want to devour in big gulps."—The Wall Street Journal

"Effortlessly readable and a whole lot of fun." — Booklist Reviews
Publication Date: 03/24/15
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Mystery
We All Looked Up
Tommy Wallach
Synopsis: Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.

They always say that high school is the best time of your life.

Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.
Publication Date: 03/24/15
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
The Door in the Moon (Obsidian Mirror)
Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Incarceron, this genre-busting fantasy is perfect for fans of Doctor Who, Blade Runner, and Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series.

Only the Obsidian Mirror can save a life, change the past, or rescue the future.

In this third volume of the internationally acclaimed Obsidian Mirror series, it's Midsummer Night. It's hot. And everyone in Wintercombe Alley is dreaming strange and disturbing dreams—until Jake and Sarah are swept through the Obsidian Mirror and time itself into a nightmare world of revolution and murder. Meanwhile, Oberon Venn faces a choice between staying mortal or losing his soul in the tangled green wildwood of the faerie realm. Catherine Fisher, master of world-building and plot twists—from a masked ball to a desperate struggle at the very foot of the guillotine—continues the breathtaking and dangerous search for those who Time has snatched away.

Publication Date: 03/24/15
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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