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Goblins!: An UnderEarth Adventure
Goblins!
After finding a tunnel that goes below the surface and discovering a land filled with goblins, Sam is seized by its leaders, Eww-Yuk and Slurp, and so now must use his wit and courage to devise a plan to outsmart them in order to break free.

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Soldier Mom
Soldier Mom
Alice Mead
Jasmyn Williams is shocked and angry when her mother, a member of the Army Reserve, is called up for service during the Persian Gulf War. While Jas comes to understand that her mother has to do her job, she wonders, should a mother have a job that might require abandoning her children? "Jasmyn's ready for her big seventh-grade season in basketball . . . when her home life bounces out of control . . . There's an emotional impact here that will resound with other youngsters making sacrifices." – The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

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The Crystal Swan
The Crystal Swan
Suzan Tanner
No one would suspect that a mysterious adventure could start in a nursing home, but that is precisely what happened to thirteen-year old Leah Ward. Leah wanted to spend time with her friends. The last thing on her mind that fateful day was to go with her mother on a visit to Shady Springs rest home. A reluctant teenager went with her mother and was given an object that would change the way she saw the world forever. The Crystal Swan is a part mystery and part adventure. It follows the story of a thirteen-year old girl who receives an unusual gift. The gift changes the course of the end of one school year through the beginning of another. Follow along with Leah and discover the mystery of, The Crystal Swan.

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Is It Still Cheating If I Don't Get Caught?
Is It Still Cheating If I Don't Get Caught
Harriet Russell, Bruce Weinstein
It's not always easy to figure out what's right or wrong.Your parents say one thing, your teachers say another, and your friends say something else entirely. Is it okay to tell a friend that her cookies taste awful? How should you respond when you see someone cheating on a test? And what's the big deal with downloading music for free?Whether it's about the use of the internet (copying homework papers?) or sports (steroids?), friendship, family, school, or affairs of the heart, kids often find themselves asking: What's the right thing to do? With five simple and clear ethical principles as a foundation, and plenty of out-of-real-life dilemmas as examples, Dr. Bruce Weinstein offers answers and an approach to things that teens will find useful and reliable. With a good dose of common sense, this accessible life guide proves that, while no one can give you all of the answers, Bruce Weinstein can give you the tools to make the best decisions you can -- anywhere, anytime.

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Creature of the Night
Creature of the Night
Kate Thompson
A HOUSE WITH A SECRET An unanswered question: Who is the Creature in the Night? Bobby lives a reckless life smoking, drinking, and stealing cars in Dublin. So his mother moves thefamily to the country. But Bobby suspects their cottage might not be as quaint as it seems. Teens will be captivated by this spooky novel about the darkness that lurks in forgotten corners and tough teenagers.

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Hidden Voices: The Orphan Musicians of Venice
Hidden Voices
Pat Lowery Collins
While studying under Vivaldi, three girls in a Venice orphanage forge their own notions of love in a sensuous, engrossing novel told in three narrative voices.It is a longing and search for love that motivates three girls living in the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage renowned for its extraordinary musical program. But for Rosalba, Anetta, and Luisa, the love they seek is not where they expect to find it. Set in the early 1700s in the heart of Venice, this remarkable novel deftly weaves the history of Antonio Vivaldi’s early musical career into the lives of three young women who excel in voice and instrument. Under the composer’s tutelage and care, the orphans find expression, sustenance, and passion. But can the sheltered life of the orphanage prepare them for the unthinkable dangers outside its walls?

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Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Jane Addams Honor Book (Awards))
Claudette Colvin
Phillip M Hoose
"When it comes to justice, there is no easy way to get it. You can't sugarcoat it. You have to take a stand and say, ‘This is not right.'" – Claudette Colvin On March 2, 1955, an impassioned teenager, fed up with the daily injustices of Jim Crow segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated as Rosa Parks would be just nine months later, fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin found herself shunned by her classmates and dismissed by community leaders. Undaunted, a year later she dared to challenge segregation again as a key plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, the landmark case that struck down the segregation laws of Montgomery and swept away the legal underpinnings of the Jim Crow South. Based on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history.Claudette Colvin is the 2009 National Book Award Winner for Young People's Literature and a 2010 Newbery Honor Book.

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Skunk Girl
Skunk Girl
Sheba Karim
If Nina Khan were to rate herself on the unofficial Pakistani prestige point system – the one she's sure all the aunties and uncles use to determine the most attractive marriage prospects for their children – her scoring might go something like this: +2 points for getting excellent grades –3 points for failing to live up to expectations set by genius older sister +4 points for dutifully obeying parents and never, ever going to parties, no matter how antisocial that makes her seem to everyone at Deer Hook High –1 point for harboring secret jealousy of her best friends, who are allowed to date like normal teenagers +2 points for never drinking an alcoholic beverage –10 points for obsessing about Asher Richelli, who talks to Nina like she's not a freak at all, even though he knows that she has a disturbing line of hair running down her back In this wryly funny debut novel, the smart, sassy, and utterly lovable Nina Khan tackles friends, family, and love, and learns that it's possible to embrace two very different cultures – even if things can get a little bit, well, hairy.

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The Penalty
The Penalty
Mal Peet
From the award-winning author of TAMAR, a time-shifting thriller about a vanishing soccer star, occult secrets, and the dark history of slavery.As the city of San Juan pulses to summer’s sluggish beat, its teenage soccer prodigy, El Brujito, the Little Magician, vanishes without a trace — right after he misses a penalty kick and loses a big game for his team. Paul Faustino, South America’s top sports reporter, is reluctantly drawn into the mystery of the athlete’s disappearance. As a story of corruption and murder unfolds, Faustino is forced to confront the bitter history of slavery and the power of the occult. A deftly woven mystery flush with soccer and suspense, this gripping novel is a thrilling read not to be missed.

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Smoke
Smoke
Mavis Jukes
When Colton’s mom tells him that they’re moving from Idaho Falls to northern California, Colt is sad, but he takes it like a man. At least he’ll have one friend to keep him company – Smoke, the twenty-pound black Maine coon cat that Colt’s dad gave him when he was little. With his dad gone most of the year riding bulls on the rodeo circuit, sometimes it feels like Smoke is their only connection. So when Smoke doesn’t come home after Colt lets him out in the middle of the night, nothing else in Colt’s world seems to matter anymore. But on the dark and stormy evening when Colt sets off alone to find his missing cat, he’s in for more danger than even the son of a fearless bull rider could have dreamed of. A captivating look at cowboys, courage, and community, this is a tender tale about family and friends pulling together, and what it really means to be a man.

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