Juvenile Fiction
The Georges and the Jewels
Jane Smiley
A Pulitzer Prize winner makes her debut for young readers.Jane Smiley makes her debut for young readers in this stirring novel set on a California horse ranch in the 1960s. Seventh-grader Abby Lovitt has always been more at ease with horses than with people. Her father insists they call all the mares “Jewel” and all the geldings “George” and warns Abby not to get attached: the horses are there to be sold. But with all the stress at school (the Big Four have turned against Abby and her friends) and home (her brother Danny is gone—for good, it seems—and now Daddy won’t speak his name), Abby seeks refuge with the Georges and the Jewels. But there’s one gelding on her family’s farm that gives her no end of trouble: the horse who won’t meet her gaze, the horse who bucks her right off every chance he gets, the horse her father makes her ride and train, every day. She calls him the Ornery George.
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The Pricker Boy
Reade Scott Whinnem
Some stories draw blood. Some truths won’t stay buried.He was human once, or so they say. The son of a fur trapper, he was taunted by his peers and tricked into one of his own father’s traps. By the time anybody found it, the trap’s vicious teeth were empty, pried open and overgrown. It was said the brambles themselves had reached out and taken pity on that boy; that his skin had hardened to bark as thorns grew over every inch of his body.Maybe it’s true and maybe it isn’t. But anyone who knows anything stays out of the woods beyond the Widow’s Stone.That used to be enough. But this is the summer everything changes, as Stucks Cumberland and his friends find a mysterious package containing mementos of their childhood: baseball cards, a worn paperback, a locket. Offerings left behind in the woods years ago, meant to keep the Pricker Boy at bay. Offerings that have been rejected.
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Voices in the Dark
Catherine Banner
Asking for the truth can be as painful as telling it. . . .Anselm Andros has clearly defined roles in his family and they are roles he plays very well—he is confidante to his mother, Maria. He is the confessor to his stepfather, Leo, a man haunted by the secrets of his past. And Anselm is also the patient, caring brother to his precocious sister, Jasmine. When the political landscape of Malonia starts to shift, this unassuming family begins to unravel. Even though they’ve spent the past fifteen years leading a quiet life, Maria and Leo’s actions are forever linked to the turbulent history of Malonia and its parallel world, modern-day England. With so much uncertainty at home and in his world, it is more important than ever for Anselm to put all the pieces of the past together. He must listen to his own voice and acknowledge his fears and desires—whatever the cost.
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Going Bovine
Libba Bray
Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.
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Calvin Coconut: The Zippy Fix
Graham Salisbury
Calvin Coconut needs to fix things with Stella—and fast!Stella from Texas is now officially a member of the Coconut household. As if getting a bossy babysitter isn’t bad enough for Calvin, Stella teases him mercilessly. What’s a nine-year-old boy to do? Calvin decides to “fix” her, and he dumps his neighbor’s cat Zippy on Stella’s bed, knowing she’s allergic. But when Stella breaks out in hives and misses her first big date, Calvin realizes his “zippy fix” went too far. He’s got to make it up to her, and decides to give her a birthday present. But he has no money. Along with the help of his loyal friends and little sister, Darci, Calvin works hard, and comes up with enough cash to give Stella the best birthday gift ever.Graham Salisbury’s voice perfectly captures the inner workings of Calvin’s mind, and Jacqueline Rogers’ delightful pictures add zest and humor to The Zippy Fix.
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Stone Rabbit #3 Deep Space Disco
Erik Craddock, Erik Craddock
Don’t try to pat THIS bunny.In a case of mistaken identity, Stone Rabbit is beamed up into space and imprisoned by intergalactic enforcers. Will our hero escape laser lockup in time to stop an alien invader from atomizing the earth?Deep-Space Disco is the third book in a full-color series of riotous, rip-roaring graphic novels that chronicle the zany adventures of a quick-tempered and quick-witted young rabbit. Its fast pace and outrageously high visual content will appeal to thrill-seeking young readers everywhere!
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The Runaway Dragon
Kate Coombs
When Meg's dragon, Laddy, flies away from home, she knows she must go on a quest to find him. But she hasn't counted on her parents, the king and queen of Greeve, sending ten guardsmen along. Fortunately, she is also accompanied by her best friends: Dilly, a lady-in-waiting and a cool head in any crisis not involving heights; Cam, a gardener's assistant who knows the exact value of a brick shed filled with sausages; Nort, a skinny guardsman who has never given much thought to crows; and Lex, a young wizard with bad taste in horses, magic carpets, and sorceresses. Of course, Meg's quest goes topsy-turvy once she enters the enchanted forest―and her adventure is just beginning. What's more, meeting up with the dashing bandit Bain again isn't at all what she expected. Will this princess be able to rescue herself, let alone anybody else? In The Runaway Princess, Meg and her friends defeated a pack of princes. Now they're going to need swordplay, magic, and a whole lot of courage to find Laddy and get back home!
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The Mermaid's Madness
Jim C. Hines
What would happen if a star writer went back to the darker themes of the original fairy tales for plots, and then crossed the Disney princesses with Charlie?s Angels? What he?d end up with is The Mermaid?s Madness?a whole new take on The Little Mermaid. And with Jim C. Hines, of Jig the Goblin fame, penning the tale, you canbet itwon?t be ?Theylived happily ever after.?
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Andrew North Blows Up The World
Adam Selzer
A dynamic and hilarious new hero for early middle-grade.Andrew "Danger" North is no ordinary third-grader. He, his brother, Jack, and his father are spies. That is what Jack has always told him, and everything Andrew has learned from his dad’s favorite spy movies tells him it must be true. When Andrew comes across his brother’s graphing calculator, he’s sure it’s a communication device that will put him in touch with the secret spy headquarters. But instead of punching in a greeting to the spy society, Andrew accidentally punches in a code that might blow up the world! And if that isn’t bad enough, his math teacher then confiscates the top secret communication device and takes it to the mysterious Storage Room B. Now Andrew is on a spy mission to find his brother’s communicator and save the world from mass destruction. Will he be able to save the world?
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Demon Princess
Michelle Rowen
Nikki Donovan has enough trouble fitting in at her new school without the weird guy who keeps following her around. And when he approaches her, claiming to be sent by her long-lost father, Nikki finds out the truth: the father she never knew is the demon king of the Shadowlands- the realm between our world and the Underworld-and now that he's dying, she is his sole heir to the throne. Maybe it's because she's in shock, or maybe it's because the messenger, Michael, is actually kind of cute, but Nikki follows him into the Shadowlands. There, she learns about her half-demon powers, about the potential war between the Shadowlands and the Underworld, and that her father wants her to assume the throne-forever. Not to mention that her growing crush on Michael is completely forbidden-he's a Shadow creature and destined to be her slave. What's a teenage demon princess to do?
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