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The Secret Diamond Sisters
Synopsis: Savannah. Courtney. Peyton.  

The three sisters grew up not knowing their father and not quite catching a break. But it looks like their luck is about to change when they find out the secret identity of their long-lost dad—a billionaire Las Vegas hotel owner who wants them to come live in a gorgeous penthouse hotel suite. Suddenly the Strip's most exclusive clubs are all-access, and with an unlimited credit card each, it should be easier than ever to fit right in. But in a town full of secrets and illusion, fitting in is nothing compared to finding out the truth about their past.
Publication Date: 02/25/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Chick Lit
Year of Mistaken Discoveries
Synopsis: Friendship is a bond stronger than secrets in this novel from the author of The Almost Truth and Unraveling Isobel.

As first graders, Avery and Nora bonded over a special trait they shared—they were both adopted.

Years later, Avery is smart, popular, and on the cheerleading squad, while Nora spends her time on the fringes of school society, wearing black, reading esoteric poetry, and listening to obscure music. They never interact...until the night Nora approaches Avery at a party, saying it’s urgent. She tells Avery that she thought she found her birth mom—but it turned out to be a cruel lie. Avery feels for Nora, but returns to her friends at the party.

Then Avery learns that Nora overdosed on pills. Left to cope with Nora’s loss and questioning her own actions, Avery decides to honor her friend by launching a search for her own birth mother. Aided by Brody, a friend of Nora’s who is also looking for a way to respect Nora’s legacy, Avery embarks on an emotional quest. But what she’s really seeking might go far deeper than just genetics…
Publication Date: 02/25/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
The Well's End
Seth Fishman
Synopsis: A deadly virus and an impossible discovery unite in one enthralling can't-miss read...                                                                                                                                                                                    Sixteen-year-old Mia Kish's small town of Fenton, Colorado is known for three things: being home to the world's tallest sycamore tree, the national chicken-thigh-eating contest and one of the ritziest boarding schools in the country, Westbrook Academy. But when emergency sirens start blaring and Westbrook is put on lockdown, quarantined and surrounded by soldiers who shoot first and ask questions later, Mia realizes she's only just beginning to discover what makes Fenton special.

And the answer is behind the wall of the Cave, aka Fenton Electronics, of which her father is the Director. Mia's dad has always been secretive about his work, allowing only that he's working for the government. But unless Mia's willing to let the whole town succumb to a strange illness that ages people years in a matter of hours, the end result death, she's got to break quarantine, escape the school grounds and outsmart armed soldiers to uncover the truth.                                                                                                                                                                         A high-stakes, fast-paced adventure with imagination and heart.
Publication Date: 02/25/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Cheesie Mack Is Not Exactly Famous
Douglas Holgate, Steve Cotler
Synopsis: Readers of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Secret series will love Cheesie’s wacky lists, drawings, and made-up words as he tells the story of the time he became famous! Sort of.
 
Cheesie and his best friend, Georgie, are exploring a construction site when they find a weird-looking . . . thingie . . . sticking out of the muddy ground. Whatever it is, it’s very old. And very valuable! Before they know it, Cheesie and Georgie discover they’re in possession of an object that dates all the way back to pre-Colonial times. They’re instant celebrities! At least at school. Will Cheesie and Georgie hold on to the ancient artifact and the fame it brings, or give it away for the good of all? Only time will tell!
Publication Date: 02/25/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Ballpark Mysteries #8: The Missing Marlin
Mark Meyers, David A. Kelly
Synopsis: It's the eighth inning! The Missing Marlin is book #8 in our early chapter book mystery series, where each book is set in a different American ballpark!

Mike and Kate are in Miami visiting Kate's Uncle Oliver—and the Miami Marlins ballpark, of course! Uncle Oliver is in charge of keeping the new fish tanks at the ballpark fully stocked, but strange things keep happening. Kate swears she saw an endangered sea turtle in one of the tanks. Then some of Uncle Oliver's rare fish go missing, including his favorite, Marlin. Something fishy is going on in Miami!

The Missing Marlin includes several pages of "Dugout Notes," fun facts about Miami's recently built ballpark with its homerun statue, fish tanks, and swimming pool.

Cross Ron Roy's A to Z Mystery series with Matt Christopher's sports books and you get the Ballpark Mysteries: fun, puzzling whodunits aimed at the younger brothers and sisters of John Feinstein fans.
Publication Date: 02/25/14
Age Level: 5 - 8
Genre: For Reluctant Readers
The Age of Innocence
Edith Wharton
Synopsis: Somewhere in this book, Wharton observes that clever liars always come up with good stories to back up their fabrications, but that really clever liars don't bother to explain anything at all. This is the kind of insight that makes The Age of Innocence so indispensable. Wharton's story of the upper classes of Old New York, and Newland Archer's impossible love for the disgraced Countess Olenska, is a perfectly wrought book about an era when upper-class culture in this country was still a mixture of American and European extracts, and when "society" had rules as rigid as any in history.
Publication Date: 02/17/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Kaleidoscope Me
Hillary K. Grigonis
Synopsis: Sometimes, my mind is a kaleidoscope. Somewhere, buried beneath a hundred different swirling colors, is the original image, but as the dial turns, the original meshes with colors and becomes something completely different. Like the letter in my hand. It reminds me of how my hand shook as I tried to read my own handwriting in front of a hundred people at Mom's funeral, which swirls into the time Mom told me to date my thoughts like a book (so I could choose only the 'book' I needed whenever it was hard to focus), which becomes the conversation I overheard when Dad decided Aunt Nadine would help look after me and my brother. And then the dial turns to the first time Aunt Nadine lost it.

Jadyn's world twirls out of control after her mother dies in a car accident and her forgetful Great-Aunt Nadine moves in. Her dad is never home and her best friend doesn't even know half of it. Jadyn is trying to keep it all together for her little brother, Trenton. But when Aunt Nadine disappears with Trenton in the middle of a snowstorm, Jadyn's unusual way of thinking may be the only way to find them.
Publication Date: 02/14/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out
Synopsis: A 2015 Stonewall Honor Book

A groundbreaking work of LGBT literature takes an honest look at the life, love, and struggles of transgender teens.

Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves.
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Nonfiction
Feral Curse
Cynthia Leitich Smith
Synopsis: The second installment of New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith’s thrilling Feral series delivers danger, romance, and suspense in an all new action-packed adventure.

The adopted daughter of two respectable human parents, Kayla is a werecat in the closet. All she knows is the human world. When she comes out to her boyfriend, tragedy ensues, and her determination to know and embrace her heritage grows. Help appears in the lithe form of sexy male werecat Yoshi, backed up by Aimee and Clyde, as the four set out to solve the mystery of a possessed antique carousel while fielding miscast magic, obsessive strangers, and mounting species intolerance. Paranormal fans will go wild for this rousing second Feral adventure.
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
The Silver Donkey
Don Powers, Sonya Hartnett
Synopsis: From extraordinary novelist Sonya Hartnett comes a gently told fable of a lost soldier, heroic children, and a steadfast donkey.

One morning in the woods of World War I France, two young sisters stumble upon an astonishing find — a soldier, temporarily blinded by war, who has walked away from battle longing to see his gravely ill younger brother. Soon the care of the soldier becomes the girls' preoccupation, but it's not just the secret they share that emboldens them to steal food and other comforting items for the man. They are fascinated by what he holds in his hand — a tiny silver donkey. As the girls and their brother devise a plan for the soldier's safe passage home, he repays them by telling four wondrous tales about the humble donkey — from the legend of Bethlehem to a myth of India, from a story of rescue in war to a tale of family close to the soldier's heart. Sonya Hartnett explores rich new territory in this inspiring tale of kindness, loyalty, and courage.
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: 8 - 12
Genre: Fiction
Willow
Tonya Cherie Hegamin
Synopsis: In 1848, an educated slave girl faces an inconceivable choice — between bondage and freedom, family and love.

On one side of the Mason-Dixon Line lives fifteen-year-old Willow, her master’s favorite servant. She’s been taught to read and has learned to write. She believes her master is good to her and fears the rebel slave runaways. On the other side of the line is seventeen-year-old Cato, a black man, free born. It’s his personal mission to sneak as many fugitive slaves to freedom as he can. Willow’s and Cato’s lives are about to intersect, with life-changing consequences for both of them. Tonya Cherie Hegamin’s moving coming-of-age story is a poignant meditation on the many ways a person can be enslaved, and the force of will needed to be truly emancipated.
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Fiction
Counting to D
Kate Scott
Synopsis: A contemporary young adult novel about a bright dyslexic teen struggling to find her place in a literate world. Counting to D is sure to resonate with anyone who has struggled with learning disabilities, young love, or just being a teen!
The kids at Sam's school never knew if they should make fun of her for being too smart or too dumb. That's what it means to be dyslexic, smart, and illiterate. Sam is sick of it. So when her mom gets a job in a faraway city, Sam decides not to tell anyone about her little illiteracy problem. Without her paradox of a reputation, she falls in with a new group of highly competitive friends who call themselves the Brain Trust. When she meets Nate, her charming valedictorian lab partner, she declares her new reality perfect. But in order to keep it that way, she has to keep her learning disability a secret. The books are stacked against her and so are the lies. Sam's got to get the grades, get the guy, and get it straight-without being able to read.
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Storm
Donna Jo Napoli
Synopsis: A sixteen-year-old stowaway discovers her destiny on Noah’s ark in this riveting reimagining from award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli, available in time for the March 2014 major motion picture Noah.

The rain starts suddenly, hard and fast. After days of downpour, her family lost, Sebah takes shelter in a tree, eating pine cones and the raw meat of animals that float by. With each passing day, her companion, a boy named Aban, grows weaker. When their tree is struck by lightning, Sebah is tempted just to die in the flames rather than succumb to a slow, watery death. Instead, she and Aban build a raft. What they find on the stormy seas is beyond imagining: a gigantic ark. But Sebah does not know what she’ll find on board, and Aban is too weak to leave their raft.

Themes of family, loss, and ultimately, survival and love make for a timeless story. Donna Jo Napoli has imagined a new protagonist to tell the story of Noah and his ark. As rain batters the earth, Noah, his family, and hordes of animals wait out the storm, ready to carry out their duty of repopulating the earth. Hidden below deck…is Sebah.
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fantasy
Fates
Lanie Bross
Synopsis: Perfect for fans of Jennifer Armentrout, Julie Kagawa, Rachel Vincent, and Sarah J. Maas, and for girls who love all things pretty, romantic and inspirational.

One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people's fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again--this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

"Different and imaginative."--Kirkus Reviews
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
The Tragedy Paper
Elizabeth Laban
Synopsis: Perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and Looking for Alaska, Jennifer Weiner, #1 New York Times bestselling author, calls Elizabeth LaBan’s The Tragedy Paper “a beguiling and beautifully written tale of first love and heartbreak.” 

It follows the story of Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.
 
Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their secrets.
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: Mature Young Adult
Genre: Nonfiction
Road Rash
Mark Huntley Parsons
Synopsis: A teenage drummer finds out what life is really like on tour with a rock band in this funny and bittersweet YA novel. For anyone who loved Almost Famous or This Is Spinal Tap.
 
After being dropped from one band, sixteen-year-old drummer Zach gets a chance to go on tour with a much better band. It feels like sweet redemption, but this is one rocky road trip—filled with jealousy, rivalries, and on-stage meltdowns.
 
Mark Parsons has written a fast-paced, feel-good novel about a boy finding his place in the world, in a band, and in the music. Zach is a character teens will stand up and cheer for as he lands the perfect gig, and the perfect girl.
 
“A must-read for young garage-band types.” —Booklist
 
“Readers and especially musicians should enjoy debut novelist Parsons’s look at a band on the run.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“A road-trip adventure in romance and friendship that is ultimately all about the music.” —Kirkus Reviews
Publication Date: 02/11/14
Age Level: 12 and up
Genre: Fiction

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