12 and up
What It Do!
Natalya LaBauve
For most seventeen year olds, graduating from high school is something to look forward to. But not for Victoria Johnson, who has just learned, two days before graduation, that she has been living a privileged and sheltered life in the gated community of Laketon, with 'adopted' parents. "What It Do", is the story about what life does to a young girl of class and prestige, when her biological mother arrives and wants to spend time with her. The weekend after graduation, Victoria finds herself being driven from the happy world of two story homes with Mercedes Benzes parked out front; to the mean streets of Oakville, where being naive and simple-minded, are just not allowed. With the help of a street wise younger brother; a strong willed little sister, and the admiration of a handsome young street thug, Victoria learns very quickly - What it do!
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Waiting to Score
J.E. MacLeod
Quirky, smart, and good looking, Zack Chase is a book-loving, talented hockey player.But he doesn't want to turn pro like his late dad, despite his mom's hopes. New in town, Zack's pitted against obnoxious Mac, the hockey team captain with something against Jane, the alluring Goth-girl who's caught Zack's eye. As incidents on the ice and off force Zack to decide what he really wants, he copes with sore losers, other people's drinking problems, and the consequences of making out with too many girls. As Zack focuses even less on hockey, he discovers other ways he wants to score in life, especially as a 15-year-old guy with spiking hormones. He's being chased by hot little Mona; his best friend Sheila has curves that make him sweat; and he'd like to show Jane that he's not another typical hockey player. Soon Zack finds out the hard way that people have secrets and burdens all their own, and that some actions have tragic, far-reaching consequences.
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North of Beautiful
Justina Chen Headley
As he continued to stare, I wanted to point to my cheek and remind him, But you were the one who wanted this, remember? You're the one who asked-and I repeat-Why not fix your face? It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper. She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?Written in lively, artful prose, award-winning author Justina Chen Headley has woven together a powerful novel about a fractured family, falling in love, travel, and the meaning of true beauty.
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The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies
David Lubar
A girl doesn't have a date for the school dance―until her dad makes one for her in his lab. "Lily―meet Stitchy." A family enjoys a nice Thanksgiving dinner―until they are interrupted by a torrent of turkeys out for revenge. A princess meets a pea-brained suitor. And the battle of two red hot pepper weenies ends in flames.Critically-acclaimed author and master of the macabre David Lubar returns from a journey into the darkest depths of his brain with thirty-five more warped and creepy tales. And in the tradition of the three previous Weenie collections―In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, Invasion of the Road Weenies, and The Curse of the Campfire Weenies―he reveals the inspiration behind each story at the end of the book. Don't be a weenie. Read these stories...if you dare!
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Lamentation
Ken Scholes
An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising. He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands.Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city – he sat waiting for his father outside the walls, and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant.Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others' throats, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered.This remarkable first novel from an award-winning short fiction writer will take readers away to a new world – an Earth so far in the distant future that our time is not even a memory; a world where magick is commonplace and great areas of the planet are impassable wastes. But human nature hasn’t changed through the ages: War and faith and love still move princes and nations.
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The Alcehmist's Pursuit
Dave Duncan
Hampered by arthritis, Nostradamus is in no mood for granting favors or running about looking for trouble. But when his apprentice Alfeo's mistress asks him to investigate the murder of her beloved courtesan mentor-and promises a fortune in payment-he comes around. It appears that someone is murdering the courtesans of Venice. All were well-known, admired for their skills-and somehow connected by a sinister event involving one of the great families of the city. While Nostradamus attempts to use the dark arts to solve riddles which confound explanation, Alfeo finds himself led by a possibly demonic force through a maze of deceit and death. And when the master and apprentice come to the end of their intertwined paths, there may be hell to pay.
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Coyote Horizon
Allen Steele
As the last refuge for humankind, the planet of Coyote becomes home for Hawk and his fellow colonists, forcing him to venture into the world of the hjadd, an alien race, to uncover the truth about the strange connection that exists between the two groups.
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A Magic of Nightfall
S. L. Farrell
The second novel in the Nessantico Cycle continues the epic tale of an empire at its height, yet poised on the brink of what could be a devastating descent into ruin. It is a story of murder and magic, of deception and betrayal, of Machiavellian politics, star-crossed lovers, and a realm facing war on every front.
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Patient Zero
When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance....
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Cashay
Margaret McMullan
In her fourteen years living in a Chicago housing project, Cashay has never ridden in a taxi cab, seen the city lit up at night, or set foot in a museum. She’s not pretty, or graceful, or bubbly like her little sister, Sashay. She gets her family by on a couple of dollars and food stamps every week.No, Cashay has never felt much like a treasure. “Your name doesn’t signify who you are,” Cashay tells her sister. But that was before Sashay was killed. Before her mother started using again. Before her mentor, Allison, showed Cashay a bigger piece of the world, and encouraged her to finally, finally step into it.A name may not signify who you are, but in this poignant coming of age story by acclaimed writer Margaret McMullan, readers will find that indeed, Cashay is an exception to her own rule.
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