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Villette
Adriana Trigiani, Helen Benedict, Charlotte Bronte
Synopsis: Fleeing an unhappy past in England, penniless Lucy Snowe starts life anew at a boarding school in cosmopolitan Villette, a stand-in for Brussels. The mystery, jealousy, and love that she finds there give Charlotte Brontë’s final novel much of the Gothic tone and psychological incisiveness that prompted George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and others to call Villette her finest work. Based on Brontë’s own experiences in Brussels and her attachment to a brilliant teacher with a strong and eccentric personality, this superb romantic novel is an exceptional example of how a great writer transforms the ordinary events of her life into vivid and exciting art. Villette represents the inimitable Brontë genius by giving us a masterful portrait of Lucy Snowe, who belongs beside the great nineteenth-century literary heroines—and who will strongly appeal to modern readers.
 
With a New Introduction by Adriana Trigiani and an Afterword by Helen Benedict
Publication Date: 05/06/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Cowgirl Dreams
Heidi Thomas
Synopsis: From her ranch home in Montana in the 1920s, Nettie Brady dreamed of joining the rodeo circuit and becoming a star. Defying her mother's wishes and trading her skirts for trousers--and riding the range with her brothers and taking on the occasional half-ton steer in local rodeos--Nettie bucked convention to compete with men in the arena. When family hardship and tragedy threaten her plans, she turns back toward a more traditional life as a ranch woman, but chafes against its restrictions. Then she meets and falls in love with a young neighbor who rides broncs and raises rodeo stock. Can Nettie's rodeo dreams come true if she's also a wife and mother? 
Based on the life of the author's grandmother, a real Montana cowgirl, this novel takes on the big issues of a woman's place in the west, the crushing difficulties of surviving on a homestead, and the excitement and romance of a young girl aching to follow her dream. 
Publication Date: 05/06/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Nonfiction
Five Corners: The Marked Ones
Synopsis: Growing up in a sleepy village untouched by distant wars and political conflicts, it was easy for Thia, Mina and Kiara to forget such horrors existed in the Five Corners. That is until the dead child is found; a child that bears the same strange birthmark that all three sisters possess. A Mark their mother had always told them was unique to the girls. Kiara's suspicions grow as their Inn is soon overrun with outsiders from all walks of life. Strangers, soldiers and Elders who all seem to know more about what is happening than the girls do. After Mina barely survives an attack in the forest, the sisters are faced with a shattering secret their mother has kept from them for years. As danger closes in around them, the sisters are forced from their home and must put their trust in the hands of strangers. With more questions than answers, Kiara finds herself separated from everyone she loves and reliant on an Outlander who has spent too much time in army. She doesn't trust Caedmon but she needs him if she has any hope of being reunited with her sisters and learning what the Mark might mean.
Publication Date: 05/06/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Aachen
Gary Ludlam
Synopsis: The life of an 8th century peasant is, as they say, “nasty, brutish, and short”. Stephen of Orlans wants none of that. Peasant or not, he dreams of studying at Charlemagne’s famed Palace School at Aachen. But the sins of war have left him stained with blood, guilt, and despair, and the sadistic step-son of a local count wants him dead. Most importantly, he is beginning to think he would rather spend his life with the beautiful milkmaid Bertrada than in the confines of a monastery. Stephen’s road to Aachen leaves him entangled in the conspiracies of nobility, fighting for his freedom and his life. But it is the struggle between love and ambition, between responsibility and desire that threatens to destroy him. To find his redemption Stephen must confront the secrets and betrayals that have shaped his life, and he will find that some decisions can never be undone.
Publication Date: 05/04/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Populatti
Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper
Synopsis: Getting in is hard. Staying in is harder...

Joining social network Populatti.com let sixteen-year-old Livi Stanley trade her awkward middle school past for the social life of her dreams. Because Populatti isn't just a social network. It's a club, providing access to friends. Parties. And Livi's crush, star baseball player Brandon Dash. Yet lately, online rumors have been threatening Livi's place in the group. And not even her friends are doing much to stop them. Leaving Livi to prove them wrong, and fast.

Before her life as a popster is over.

For more, visit populatti.com
Publication Date: 05/02/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Wilder's Foe
Diane Bradley
Synopsis: Mysterious lights are appearing on Rainy Lake. When Henry, Dylan, Arla, and Rika hear that ghosts are visiting the lake, they laugh it off. But as they kayak back over the route where Arla’s parents disappeared ten years before, they find themselves stranded on an island, haunted by a real ghost, who doesn’t want them to leave . . . ever.
Publication Date: 05/01/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Mystery
SCAN
Sarah E. Fine, Walter Jury
Synopsis: Tate and his father don’t exactly get along. As Tate sees it, his father has unreasonably high expectations for Tate to be the best—at everything. Tate finally learns what he’s being prepared for when he steals one of his dad’s odd tech inventions and mercenaries ambush his school, killing his father and sending Tate on the run from aliens who look just like humans.

All Tate knows—like how to make weapons out of oranges and lighter fluid—may not be enough to save him as he’s plunged into a secret interspecies conflict that’s been going on for centuries. Aided only by his girlfriend and his estranged mother, with powerful enemies closing in on all sides, Tate races to puzzle out the secret behind his father’s invention and why so many are willing to kill for it.

A riveting, fast-paced adventure, Scan is a clever alien thriller with muscle and heart.
Publication Date: 05/01/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Series
Keepers of Runes and the Tower of Shadows
Synopsis: Haunted by his sordid past, Corinth emerges from his solitude within the eternal forest around Enzlintine. Eager to serve, he is sent away under the ruse of a mercenary to quell the troubled region plagued by Khalid, the Lord of Conquest. Unsure of his companions, he discovers a world unlike the one imparted by his vain race. The trail of deadly contracts leads them to a mysterious tower inhabited by an unforeseen evil. It forces them into greater dangers to retrieve an unknown object, under the escort a young girl it claims as his ward. Offering her assistance to flee in exchange for her safety, her charm and peculiar lineage forces the noble soldier of fortune to question his precious ideals while seeking refuge. They race towards a frigid wasteland to find the bane of the evil that stalks them, while battling assassins, ominous creatures, and the forces of Khalid. { } (credible reviews below) Recommended for those who enjoyed the Percy Jackson series, the Mortal Instruments, and Harry Potter. { }"Perfect for fans of fantasy" --Pacific Book Review "A wondrous world that is entertaining as well as thought provoking." (5 stars) --The Hollywood Review by Pacific Book Review Win a free copy! 30 available for giveaway at: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/100680-keepers-of-runes-and-the-tower-of-shadows Author website: www.keeperofrunes.com Twitter: Andrew Cratsley @Mortiscet Proceeeds during September and October will be donated to the World Literacy Foundation. Please share flier on my site with your local libraries to help battle illiteracy in our schools.
Publication Date: 05/01/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Break-Up Artist
Philip Siegel
Synopsis: Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash. 

Some work at the mall. 

Becca Williamson breaks up couples.  

Becca knows from experience the damage that love can do. After all, it was so-called love that turned Huxley from her childhood best friend into a social-world dictator, and love that left Becca's older sister devastated at the altar. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Becca strikes back—for just one hundred dollars via PayPal, she will trick and manipulate any couple's relationship into smithereens. And with relationship zombies overrunning her school and treating single girls as if they're second-class citizens, business is unfortunately booming. Even Becca's best friend, Val, has resorted to outright lies to snag a boyfriend. 

One night, Becca receives a mysterious offer to break up the most popular couple in school: Huxley and the football team's star player, Steve. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date—starting rumors, sabotaging cell phones, breaking into cars…not to mention sneaking back into Huxley's good graces. All while fending off the inappropriate feelings she may or may not be having for Val's new boyfriend. 

No one said being the Break-Up Artist would be easy.
Publication Date: 04/29/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Romance
Lupus Rex
John Carter Cash
Synopsis: An astonishing new tale for children from John Carter Cash in the tradition of Watership Down, The Rats of Nimh, Redwall and Duncton Wood.

Ysil and Cormo are two quail who must risk their lives when they are driven from their home by crows, and find they must make common cause with a other creatures, if they are to find safety in a world full of perils and adventure.

New in paperback.

The crow king is dead, and in the field below all the creatures tremble as the Murder gathers to choose a new king from the rival sons Sintus, Milus and Nascus. When the crows drive everyone from the field to keep the reckoning secret, the quail Ysil, Cormo and Harlequin believe they must simply follow their elders to safety. But when the crows turn against each other, the forest becomes full of danger. In the confusion the last wolf, Asmod, shucks off his isolation and begins to raise an army to claim the kingdom for his own. As hidden truths are brought to light and enormous sacrifices are made Ysil and his friends must make an epic journey and an unthinkable alliance if the lesser animals are to survive.
Publication Date: 04/29/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Leah and the Football Dragons
Synopsis: There are all kinds of dragons. There are successful dragons who always win and sit on their piles of gold. And then there are the Deadtail Dragons, a boys football team who know only of defeat. There is only one talented footballer who can change the fortunes of the Deadtail Dragons. And there is just one problem. That footballer is a girl. How can Leah win when her local football teams only accept boys? How can she succeed when they tell her that ‘Girls can’t play football’? Taking her own destiny in her hands Leah comes up with a bold plan to both fulfil her sporting dreams and help the Deadtail Dragons to fly. The Leah series in recommended reading order 1. Leah and the Football Dragons 2. Leah and the Waiting Game 3. Leah and the Final Whistle? 4. Leah and the New Generation
Publication Date: 04/26/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Sports
The Chance You Won't Return
Synopsis: When your mom thinks she’s Amelia Earhart, navigating high school, first love, and family secrets is like flying solo without a map.

Driver’s ed and a first crush should be what Alex Winchester is stressed out about in high school — and she is. But what’s really on her mind is her mother. Why is she dressing in Dad’s baggy khaki pants with a silk scarf around her neck? What is she planning when she pores over maps in the middle of the night? When did she stop being Mom and start being Amelia Earhart? Alex tries to keep her budding love life apart from the growing disaster at home as her mother sinks further into her delusions. But there are those nights, when everyone else is asleep, when it’s easier to confide in Amelia than it ever was to Mom. Now, as Amelia’s flight plans become more intense, Alex is increasingly worried that Amelia is planning her final flight — the flight from which she never returns. What could possibly be driving Mom’s delusions, and how far will they take her?
Publication Date: 04/22/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
There Will Be Bears
Ryan Gebhart
Synopsis: Tyson is determined to hunt an elk — even if it means sneaking his grandpa out of a nursing home — in a debut novel sparked with dry wit and wilderness adventure.

Thirteen-year-old Tyson loves hanging out with his roughneck Grandpa Gene, who’s a lot more fun than Tyson’s ex–best friend, Brighton. These days, Bright just wants to be seen with the cool jocks who make fun of Tyson’s Taylor Swift obsession and dorky ways. So when Grandpa Gene has to move to a nursing home that can manage his kidney disease, Tyson feels like he’s losing his only friend. Not only that, but Tyson was counting on Grandpa Gene to take him on his first big hunt. So in defiance of Mom and Dad’s strict orders, and despite reports of a scary, stalking, man-eating grizzly named Sandy, the two sneak off to the Grand Tetons. Yes, there will be action, like shooting and dressing a six-hundred-pound elk. Is Tyson tough enough? There will be heart-pounding suspense: is Grandpa Gene too sick to handle the hunt, miles away from help? And, oh yes, there will be bears. . . .
Publication Date: 04/22/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Adventure
The Boundless
Jim Tierney, Kenneth Oppel
Synopsis:

An Amazon Best Children’s Book of the Month, April 2014: Mirroring a slice of actual railway history, the Boundless is a train of epic proportion, an eccentric visionary’s dream made real by the sweat and lives of many. The book's protagonist, Will Everett, is a young man who yearns for adventure, finding it first when he participates in securing the final spike of the Boundless’ tracks and years later on her inaugural voyage. By the time the train leaves the station, Will’s family has literally gone from rags to riches, and he finds himself responsible for keeping a special boxcar’s treasures safe from thieves who will stop at nothing—even murder. Along with his friend Maren, an escape artist with the traveling circus onboard, Will realizes untapped bravery, loyalty, and friendship that help him face a multitude of dangers. The Boundless successfully mixes history, folklore, and imagination into a sweeping adventure story that is a delight to read.---Seira Wilson

Publication Date: 04/22/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Adventure
Deception's Princess
Esther Friesner
Synopsis: Some lies lead to true adventure. . . .

Maeve, princess of Connacht, was born with her fists clenched. And it's her spirit and courage that make Maeve her father's favorite daughter. But once he becomes the High King, powerful men begin to circle--it's easy to love the girl who brings her husband a kingdom.

Yet Maeve is more than a prize to be won, and she's determined to win the right to decide her own fate. In the court's deadly game of intrigue, she uses her wits to keep her father's friends and enemies close--but not too close. When she strikes up an unlikely friendship with the son of a visiting druid, Maeve faces a brutal decision between her loyalty to her family and to her own heart.

Award-winning author Esther Friesner has a remarkable gift for combining exciting myth and richly researched history. This fiery heroine's fight for independence in first-century Ireland is truly worthy of a bard's tale. Hand Deception's Princess to fans of Tamora Pierce, Shannon Hale, and Malinda Lo.
Publication Date: 04/22/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Roman Diary
David Parkins, Richard Platt
Synopsis: Relive the drama of the Roman Empire through the eyes of a young Greek slave in this latest installment in an acclaimed historical series.

Iliona never imagined that her sea voyage from Greece to Egypt would lead her to Rome. But when her ship is boarded by pirates, that’s where she ends up — as a slave. Separated from her brother, Apollo, Iliona is soon at the whim of her owners, and the chance of regaining freedom seems like a distant dream. But unlike her brother’s plight, Iliona’s life as a slave isn’t as bad as she feared: her new family provides clothing, food, and even schooling, and best of all, she is free to explore the wonders of Rome. Step back to AD 107 and take in the luxury of the baths, the splendor of the Senate, the thrill of gladiatorial combat, and the excesses of Roman feasts in a fictional diary full of excitement, humor, and accurate historical detail.
Back matter includes notes for the reader, a glossary, an index, and sources.
Publication Date: 04/22/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Historical Fiction

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