Carmen Navarro rings up customers at the Quikmart, bored to tears. It’s a job, and she needs it. But Carmen’s true love is music: she dropped out of high school to sing with the Gypsy Lovers and land a recording contract, someday. Just a few miles away, Ryan Sweeney hunches over his books, a studious cadet with his eye on West Point. There’s not a single girl at the Valley Forge Military Academy, and that’s fine by him. But when Ryan, on a day pass from campus, spots Carmen, with her shining black hair and snake tattoo, his pulse quickens. Carmen, who normally rolls her eyes at the stiff Academy soldados, can tell this one is different. She slips him a note: “Come hear my band.” A romance begins, unlikely, passionate . . . and quickly imbalanced. In an enthralling narrative of obsessive love, the novel builds to a stunning close.Inspired by the novella and opera Carmen, Jen Bryant creates a strong-minded and alluring heroine in this contemporary tale of tragic love.

KICKERS: a young middle grade soccer seriesBook 3 It’s a race to the Kickers soccer league play-offs. Nine-year-old Ben is pretty sure that if the Bobcats win two of their last three games, they’ll earn a tournament spot. But in their game against the Tigers, the Bobcats are a mess on the field—they’re not passing well at all—and Ben decides to take control. Someone has to win this thing, and his teammates just aren’t measuring up. Then the whistle blasts, the red card waves, and Ben is out—benched for dangerous moves. Not only that, he’s barred from the next game, too—a key bout against the Rabbits. How can he possibly help his team to the play-offs from the sidelines?The Kickers series, from award-winning sports novelist Rich Wallace, features nonstop soccer action, black-and-white art, and league statistics and soccer tips throughout.Also available:KICKERS #1: THE BALL HOGSKICKERS #2: FAKE OUTKICKERS #4: GAME-DAY JITTERS

Elle is a loner. She doesn’t need people. Which is a good thing, because she’s on her own: she had to move into her own apartment so her mother’s boyfriend won’t have to deal with her. Then she meets Frank, the guy who lives next door. He’s older and has a girlfriend, but Elle can’t stop thinking about him. Frank isn’t like anyone Elle has ever met. He listens to her. He’s gentle. And Elle is falling for him, hard. But Frank is different in a way that Elle was never prepared for: he’s transgender. And when Elle learns the truth, her world is turned upside down.  Now she’ll have to search inside herself to find not only the true meaning of friendship but her own role in jumpstarting the world. Tender, honest, and compassionate, Jumpstart the World is a stunning story to make you laugh, cry, and honor the power of love.

High school senior David Albacore is dealing with major upheaval after his father murders his mom. In the terrible aftermath, he changes his name and moves to a tough new inner-city Chicago high school with his younger sister Barney, when they and their now silent younger sister, Linda, move in with their aunt. David blames himself for not saving their mom that night; after being injured in a basketball game in which he was the star, David was given strong painkillers, which caused him to sleep through the shooting. Barney, who found their mom's body, is fragile after a hospital stay and is barely able to cope. With their mother gone and their father in jail, David tries to take care of his sisters as they grieve and adjust to a different kind of life. When he's forced to join the basketball team or be expelled after getting in too many fights, it cuts into his after-school construction job that he takes to help his aunt support his family. Then David begins falling for Yolanda, the hottest girl in school and Perry, the school player and bully's girlfriend. They flirt and spar, but going after this fashion loving Mighty Mite spells big trouble for David. And as he ponders trying for a basketball scholarship or keeping the construction job he loves, Aunt Edie's stroke eliminates most of David's options. He can keep his family together by working construction full time, or follow his mom's dream of college, which would probably send Barney into foster care. Teen readers will hold their breath as David weighs his options about the kind of life he wants to live.