12 and up
Premeditated
Josin L. McQuein
If you enjoyed Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why, you will race through the pages of this YA novel as 17-year old Dinah pieces together the mystery that surrounds the near death of her 14-year old cousin Claire. While Claire is holding on her for her life in the hospital, Dinah goes in search of the boy Claire writes about in her journal. The boy who forced her to do something she didn't want to do. The boy who caused her such humiliation that the thought of having to live one more day was just too much. Dinah is on a mission for revenge, but as things start to unfold, her plan isn't as simple as it seemed."McQuein's talent shines in this compelling character study."--Kirkus"All in all, a very satisfying read and I would highly recommend it."--Exmainer.com "This book will likely appeal to young teen readers who enjoy action-oriented mysteries. . . There is plenty of room for a facilitator-led discussion regarding choices made by the characters throughout the story, as it addresses heavy topics that some readers could use help processing."--VOYA"McQuein's subplots give the story added substance, and Dinah's broken relationship with her mother underpins much of the novel's psychological dimension and offers moments of powerful storytelling."--Publisher's Weekly
Book Details
Recommended Books
The Heir to the Amulet
S P Meijer
In a mysterious new world where strangely evolved creatures roam the earth and the secrets of the past lie concealed underground, six-year-old Lora arrives home and discovers that a decision she has made has had devastating consequences.Eight years later, Lora is thrown into a dark struggle when she finds out that ruthless powers intend to trade her brother for her best friend to broker a deal. An unexplained attack on her home sends her fleeing to the city ghettos where she meets Tommy, an orphan she can trust with her life, though not with her wallet nor less with her heart. They smuggle themselves into Lora’s old kingdom, a realm of dangers and deceit. Strange peoples and creatures speak languages they cannot understand making their journey by turns bizarre and frightening. Armed with only courage and humor, they must unravel a riddle and cross a forbidding landscape to find the forgotten old world, buried deep within the belly of the earth.With each challenge they overcome she is drawn closer to the enemies who covet that which she guards, an Amulet; the key to a secret both great and terrible, desired above all treasures on earth.
Book Details
Recommended Books
Montooth 3: Red Cross of Gold
Meghan Christian, Robert Jay
The third book in the Montooth quintet follows the main characters as they finish high school while experiencing the advent of Rock n' Roll in the mid-Fifties. Off to college, Carty Andersson's archery skills and outspoken criticism of a professor, leads police to suspect her in a bizarre campus murder. Her friends in The Crew utilize their skills and display unquestioned loyalty as they attempt to save her while discovering and capturing the real killer. Meanwhile, her close friend and high school roommate, Elena Rafferty, joins the forces of Fidel Castro as he begins his quest to take power in Cuba. The infamous Cruz Cruz, teaming with actress-singer Sara Ann Dan, manipulates both sides of the Cuban Revolution as it marches closer to finality. Sally, the erstwhile witch from the initial book, Montooth and the Canfield Witch, exposes ancient family history to show origins of her enormous cache of gold, jewels, and other property. Smithsonian researches trace it from King Solomon's mines to the Templar warrior monks in France and Scotland, to Colonial America to the swamps of Florida. Author Jay includes his signature Montooth fable, this time involving the title character alligator and beehives.
Book Details
Recommended Books
An introspective boy and an adventurous girl uncover a poignant family mystery during a summer on the shores of Three Bird Lake.For as long as he can remember, Adam and his parents have spent their summers at his grandmother’s rustic cabin on Three Bird Lake. But this year will be different. There will be no rowdy cousins running around tormenting Adam. There will be no Uncle John or Aunt Jean. And there'll be no Dad to fight with Mom. This year, the lake will belong just to Adam.But then Adam meets Alice, the girl next door, who seems to want to become friends. Alice looks just like the aloof, popular girls back home—what could he and she possibly have in common?Turns out, Alice isn't like the girls back home. She's frank, funny, and eager for adventure. And when Adam's grandma starts to leave strange notes in his room—notes that hint at a hidden treasure somewhere at the lake and a love from long ago—Alice is the one person he can rely on to help solve the mysteries of Three Bird Lake.
Book Details
Recommended Books
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. . . .
Book Details
Recommended Books
The Klaatu Terminus
Pete Hautman
National Book Award winner Pete Hautman weaves several diverging time streams into one satisfying masterwork in this stunning and revelatory series finale. In a far distant future, Tucker Feye and the inscrutable Lia find themselves atop a crumbling pyramid in an abandoned city. In present-day Hopewell, Tucker’s uncle Kosh faces armed resistance and painful memories as he attempts to help a terrorized woman named Emma, who is being held captive by a violent man. And on a train platform in 1997, a seventeen-year-old Kosh is given an instruction that will change his life, and the lives of others, forever. Tucker, Lia, and Kosh must evade the pursuit of maggot-like Timesweeps, battle Master Gheen’s cult of Lambs, all while they puzzle out the enigmatic Boggsians as they search for one another and the secrets of the diskos. Who built them? Who is destroying them? Where — and when — will it all end?
Book Details
Recommended Books
The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf
A compelling debut novel asks what happens when children develop inexplicable abilities—and the government sees them as a threat. They’re known as Firestarters. Boomers. Skychangers. The government calls them Illegals — children with inexplicable abilities — and detains them in menacing facilities so that society is kept out of harm’s way. Ashala Wolf and her Tribe of fellow Illegals have taken refuge in the Firstwood, a forest eerily conscious of its inhabitants, where they do their best to survive and where they are free to practice their abilities. But when Ashala is compelled to venture outside her territory, she is betrayed by a friend and captured by an enemy. Injured and vulnerable, with her own Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to a machine that will pull secrets from her mind. It’s only a matter of time before the machine ferrets out the location of the Tribe. Her betrayer, Justin Connor, is ever-present, saving her life when she wishes to die and watching her every move. Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?
Book Details
Recommended Books
Breakfast Served Anytime
Sarah Combs
A coming-of-age debut evokes the bittersweet joys and pangs of finding independence in one unforgettable summer away at "geek camp." When Gloria sets out to spend the summer before her senior year at a camp for gifted and talented students, she doesn’t know quite what to expect. Fresh from the heartache of losing her grandmother and missing her best friend, Gloria resolves to make the best of her new circumstances. But some things are proving to be more challenging than she expected. Like the series of mysterious clues left by a certain Professor X before he even shows up to teach his class, Secrets of the Written Word. Or the very sweet, but very conservative, roommate whose coal-industry family champions mountaintop removal. Not to mention the obnoxious Mason, who dresses like the Mad Hatter and immediately gets on Gloria’s nerves — but somehow won’t escape her thoughts. Beautifully told by debut author Sarah Combs, this honest and touching story of growing up is imbued with the serene atmosphere of Kentucky’s natural landscape.
Book Details
Recommended Books
Changeling Eyes
L.A. Catron
Five common Elements bind all of creation together; Fire, Earth, Water, Air and Life. But the Aesir Element, wielded by the Creator’s messengers, is the most beautiful and by far the deadliest.
When the human crown-princess, Lrill Kettenring, suddenly manifests the Aesir Element it slowly corrupts her. Her eyes change color, limbs elongate, ears grow pointed and the power arcs out in crushing waves of blue flame to demolish everything around her.
Feared, resented and mistaken for a hated Changeling, she flees to the Mage’s Keep. There, with the help of a Telchine Scholar Mage, reluctant Changeling prince, kind-hearted Gnome, and a seductive Water Elf, she works to control her powers and find a way to reclaim her throne… but the very nature of her power makes her a ticking time bomb... and the only one who could cure her has been ordained her enemy by an ancient foe Lrill doesn’t even know she has.
Book Details
Recommended Books
Thimble Down
Pete Prown
THIMBLE DOWN is a village where death and malice lurk the otherwise quiet lanes. When the vile, seedy Bing Rumple acquires a gem-laden treasure, violence starts to follow him everywhere. Where did Bing find such a precious jewel, and worse, is someone willing to kill for it? In this fast-paced adventure, the village bookmaster, Mr. Dorro, and his young companions Wyll Underfoot and Cheeryup Tunbridge are in a desperate race to find the answer ... before death returns to Thimble Down.
Book Details
Recommended Books