Juvenile Fiction

Au Pair Girl
Janine Larson is a quiet, responsible kid. But her ditsy friends keep her out past her curfew, and her parents are angry she hasn't found a summer job. They think she spends too much time hanging with her friends and her boyfriend, Dan. Her father arranges for her to spend a month as an au pair girl for Dr. Cargill and his wife; they take their two kids to an island summer vacation home, and Janine goes along. Janine slowly wins the trust of the little boy. She can't get close to his spoiled, snooty sister. But she has bigger problems to worry about, with the rude, unpleasant parents - and the fact that there is something not quite right about the way Dr. Cargill arranges adoptions for "orphan" children. Once the Cargills suspect that Janine knows too much about what is going on, Janine finds that her employers have changed from difficult to deadly . . .
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From the Publisher

The Paganini Curse
Giselle M. Stancic
In 1911 New York City, a teenage violinist must use her ingenuity and determination to find a murderer--before she becomes the next victim of The Paganini Curse.
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Serenata: Through the Keyhole
Sandra L Jacobs
There is a Golden place called SERENATA… Matthew loves exploring and desires to be one of the world’s greatest explorers. He reads about them and dreams about them. He doesn’t realize it, but his wish is about to come true. He would never have thought his dream of being an explorer would start in the hayloft of a barn. An adventurous 12 year old boy named Matt accidentally discovers a new friend, an alternate universe and some valuable lessons. His new friend Phil (not his real name) is a short tempered sarcastic control freak but also has a surprisingly soft side. Matt finds himself, though reluctantly, being the hero and is caught up in a magical place where time almost stands still. Serenata is a beautiful fun place full of very familiar things that have become unfamiliar. There is also the dark side that Matt contends with along with his new friend and an unexpected old friend. From castles to the darkest of caves, Serenata is a place full of beauty, color and light that will continue forever and never be forgotten. Serenata...Through The Keyhole is a children’s/young adult adventure story.
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The Grimalkin's Secret
Kara Komarnitsky

8-13 year olds who like magic, action, a good mystery, and a surprise ending will enjoy this novel centered on three adventurous teenagers with special powers. Kya can use Reesk, or magic, with the will of her conscience. Eliza can change into any animal as long as she has seen it before. And Sebastian has an unexpected connection to a boy who just vanished into a painting at the local museum. The museum mystery quickly pulls the teenagers deeper into the world of magic than they have ever been before. They are in over their heads as they encounter new creatures and travel halfway across the world to try to save it.
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Starchild: The Age of Akra (Book #1)
Vacen Taylor
When Mai is chosen to take a pilgrimage to the Valley of a Thousand Thoughts to train with the oldest and wisest master of their people, an ancient prophecy is set in motion. The events to come have been predicted but are not unchangeable. When the Starchild returns to the planet of Sage, the foreknowledge of the prophecy begins to gain strength.Four children come together and become linked to the events that lie ahead. In The Age of Akra, the first stage of their journey has them facing the deadly spiderflax, only then to be confronted by a creature of the underworld, an evil Dementra called Amual.The struggle to bring peace to the world of powerful energies lies in the hands of these four children and a strange little lizard. And it will not come easy. This journey is only the beginning.
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Ruby Redfort Look Into My Eyes
Lauren Child, Lauren Child

"Sardonic narration will grab readers from the get-go, and puzzles laced throughout will intrigue those who share Ruby’s passion for solving mysteries." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)Everyone knows that Clarice Bean is exceptionordinarily keen on the Ruby Redfort books. Now in her own starring role, Ruby, a genius code-cracker and daring detective, along with her sidekick butler, Hitch, work for a secret crime-busting organization called Spectrum. Ruby gets into lots of scrapes with evil villains, but she’s always ice-cool in a crisis. Just take a classic screwball comedy, add heaps of breathtaking action, and multiply it by Lauren Child’s writing genius, and what have you got? Only the most exciting new middle-grade series since, like, ever.
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Mirage
Jenn Reese
A thrilling sequel from an exciting new voice in middle-grade sci-fi tracks two ocean-born children braving the dangers of the Above World.The desert is no place for ocean-dwelling Kampii like Aluna and Hoku, especially now that Aluna has secretly started growing her tail. But the maniacal Karl Strand is out to conquer the Above World, and the horselike Equians are next on his list. Aluna, Hoku, and their friends — winged Calli and Equian exile Dash — race to the desert city of Mirage, intent on warning the Equians. When they arrive, Strand’s clone, Scorch, has gotten there first. Now the Equian leader has vowed to take all his people to war as part of Strand’s army. Any herd that refuses to join him by the time of the desert-wide competition known as the Thunder Trials will be destroyed. To have any chance of defeating Scorch and convincing the Equians to switch sides, the four friends must find a way to win the Trials. The challenge seems impossible. But if they fail, the desert — and possibly all of the Above World — will be lost to Karl Strand forever. Here is the action-packed follow-up to Above World, which Kirkus Reviews called “a thrilling sci-fi adventure. Imaginative and riveting.”
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Ruby Redfort Take Your Last Breath
Lauren Child, Lauren Child
Crack open Ruby Redfort’s second adventure — and you will literally be on the edge of your wits.Everyone’s favorite girl detective is back for a second mind-blowing installment, packed with all the off-the-wall humor, action, and friendship of the first book. This time, though, it’s an adventure on the wide-open ocean, and Ruby is all at sea. . . . Can she crack the case of the Twinford pirates while evading the clutches of a vile sea monster as well as the evil Count von Viscount? Well, you wouldn’t want to bet against her.
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A Monster Calls
Jim Kay, Patrick Ness
Patrick Ness’s #1 New York Times bestseller and Carnegie Medal–winning masterwork is poised to attract a discerning crossover audience.The monster in Conor’s backyard is not the one he’s been expecting — the one from the nightmare he’s had every night since his mother started her treatments. This monster is ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd — whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself — Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.
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The Wee Musketeers
It was early 1960's and there wasn't much else for three eleven year old boys to do in the small town where they lived. Playing with wooden swords they would act out the novel, Bobby pretending to be Athos, Fritzy, Porthos and Keith, Aramis. But, since there was only three boys they had no D'Artagnan. How the boys longed for a D'Artagnan to complete their games. Little did they know that very book that inspired their games, the one Grandpa Max read to them often, was indeed magic. Given to him by a mysterious old woman at a book sale, Bobby's Grandfather quickly discovered he could transport himself into the stories. Once Grandpa Max realized he had interfered with the plot, unwittingly getting Athos, Porthos and Aramis captured by the cardinals guards to keep them from helping D'Artagnan, he summons Bobby and his friends to help him repair the damage. If they fail, every copy of The Three Musketeers would change forever.