FOR THE LOVE OF STRANGERS by Jacqueline Horsfall

• Publication Season/Year: Fall 2010]
• Publisher: Leap Books
• Release Date: October 2010
• ISBN (hardcover):
• ISBN (paperback): 978-1-61603-003-2

For the Love of Strangers puts a new spin on the classic hero-savior myth as 16-year-old Darya realizes that she is descended from a line of Russian deer-women who reincarnate over eons. Whitetail deer follow her. She talks to them, meets them in the most unlikely places, unaware that she is one of them. From Neolithic caves to the safety of a modern-day women’s shelter, Darya’s cycle of rebirths sweep her closer to her destiny: to save a wild species from extermination.

Stupid Fast is the story of Felton Reinstein, a fifteen-turning-sixteen-year-old in a rural Wisconsin town whose sudden growth spurt turns him from a small, sad, jumpy, picked-on kid (called squirrel nut) to a powerful athlete.  In Felton’s voice, speaking from his bedroom in the middle of the night, we learn of his broken home, his mother’s intensifying depression, his little brother’s pirate-clothed struggles, and the seeming root of all trouble – his father’s suicide ten years earlier, against the back-drop of his growing athletic success, his first love – a young African-American pianist named Aleah, and growing relationships with the same kids who tortured him through-out his childhood.  As his home crumbles, literally and figuratively, Felton finds triumph on the field born of real kindness from new friends, from the support he’s given by Aleah and her father, from his once estranged grandmother’s rescue mission, and, most importantly, from his new understanding of his father, his self, and his potential for both destruction and magnificence.  Stupid Fast asks us to know ourselves, to be compassionate, and to be unremittingly passionate about what we love.

FREAKSVILLE by Kitty Keswick

• Publication Season/Year: Winter 2010
• Publisher: Leap Books
• Release Date: January 8, 2010
• ISBN (hardcover): TBD
• ISBN (paperback): ISBN-13:978-1-61603-001-8

FREAKSVILLE

A group of teenagers, trapped in a haunted theater on the night of a full moon, discover that ghosts are the least of their worries…

Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a normal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick, Gillie Godshall, consume her days. Until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into new realms, a lead in a play, a haunted theater … and into the arms of Josh. Yet, both Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking in dark corners. Can Kasey’s new romance survive FREAKSVILLE?

Travis Stephenson is a 19-year-old Marine on leave after his first deployment to Afghanistan, struggling with PTSD, a disintegrating family, and friendships that no longer fit. When his path crosses that of Harper Gray, a girl whose reputation he trashed with a middle school lie, Travis feels like he’s found something to hold onto–someone who helps him feel normal. Whatever that means.

BORN AT MIDNIGHT by C.C. Hunter

• Publication Season/Year:  Spring, 2011
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
• Release Date: March 29, 2011
• ISBN (hardcover): None
• ISBN (paperback): 978-0312624675

Kylie Galen has had a lot of crap tossed in her lap. Her parents are getting a divorce. Her boyfriend broke up with her because she wouldn’t put out. Her grandmother died and now Kylie’s acquired a stalker. Unfortunately, she’s the only one who seems to be able to see the stalker. And that gets her sent to a psychologist’s sofa. The kooky psychologist gets Kylie sent to Shadow Falls Camp. Kylie and her parents think it’s a camp for troubled teens. They thought wrong. It’s a camp of supernaturals: vampires, werewolves, fairies, witches and shape shifters. And if she believes the camp leader, Kylie is one of them, too.

SHOES FOR ME! by Sue Fliess

• Publication Season/Year: Spring/2011
• Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books, Pinwheel Books
• Release Date: March 1, 2011
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-0761458258

When Hippo realizes her feet have grown, she and Mom set off to buy new shoes. Hippo tries on every pair until she finally finds the perfect shoes for her.

• Publication Season/Year: Spring 2011
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Release Date: January 1, 2011
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-0545162159
• ISBN (paperback): TBD

Lucy Wu, aspiring basketball star and interior designer, is on the verge of having the best year of her life.  When her dad invites a long-lost aunt in China to come visit, her plans are ruined – or are they?  Like the Chinese saying that events that appear to be good or bad luck often turn out to be quite the opposite, Lucy finds that while she may not get the “perfect” year she had planned, she can create something better.

Lucy’s relationship with her great-aunt, Yi Po, gets off to a rocky start when Lucy’s floundering Chinese skills causes her to misinterpret an innocent comment.  Slowly, though, the two develop a powerful connection as Lucy discovers Yi Po’s difficult past and Yi Po helps Lucy with her own problems.  When Lucy’s hopes of leading the sixth-grade basketball team to victory are threatened by an unscrupulous rival, it is Yi Po who helps tip back the scales of justice.  In the end, Lucy does get much of what she wanted – but finds that nothing is the same because of Yi Po.

THE SWEETEST THING by Christina Mandelski

• Egmont USA
• Release Date: May 10, 2011
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-60684-253-9
• ISBN (paperback): TBD

In the world of Sheridan Wells, life is perfect when she’s decorating a cake. Unfortunately, everything else is a complete mess: her mom ran off years ago, her dad is more interested in his restaurant and the idea of a boyfriend is laughable.

But Sheridan is convinced finding her mom will solve all of her problems – only her dad’s about to get a cooking show in New York, which means her dream of having her family back together will be dashed. Using just the right amount of romance, family and cute boys, THE SWEETEST THING will entice fans with its perfect mixture of girl-friendly ingredients.

THE LITTLE WEED FLOWER by Vicky Whipple

• Publication Season/Year: Fall, 2010
• Publisher: Raven Tree Press
• Release Date: September 16, 2010
• ISBN (hardcover):  978-1-936299-34-8 English
• ISBN(Hardcover) :978-1-936299-32-4  bilingual, English and Spanish
• ISBN (paperback): 978-1-936299-33-1 bilingual, English and Spanish

THE LITTLE WEED FLOWER  Have you ever felt that you are a little different from the rest around you, and that you just do not fit in?

This story is about a little weed flower that has hope and dares to dream of leaving the weed patch in which she lives. She discovers help from a Hawk to accomplish her dreams of going to live in a beautiful garden. She sees that a wonderful, kind gardener cares for and tends the other flowers, so they can grow happy and strong. Once she gets to her dream place, she discovers that the beautiful flowers are not so willing to accept her, because she came from the weed patch.

She discovers that she has brought with her some wonderful survival skills from the weed patch. She and her friend share positive lessons by encouraging others, thereby growing love and hope. The gardener teaches that no matter where we come from, everything has its own beauty and a special purpose in the big garden of life. She becomes the most beloved flower in the garden. Not all flowers bloom at the same time, but when they bloom they can change the world with kindness and encouragement.

PULL by B. A. Binns

• Publication Season/Year: Fall, 2010
• Publisher: WestSide Books
• Release Date: October 27, 2010
• ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-934813-43-0
• ISBN (paperback): [TBD]

The world implodes for seventeen-year-old David when his father kills his mother. Guilt over his inability to protect her drives him to dedicate his life to fulfilling her last wishes for him – that he complete high school and attend college. But he is happier working with his hands than sitting in classrooms that feel like prison cells. David deals with homework and hormones that draw him ever closer to Yolanda, the school’s “IT” girl, who means trouble because she’s also bad boy Malik’s girlfriend. When Yolanda and David get together, sparks fly, leading Malik to threaten David’s freshman sister. David’s problems converge as he struggles to rescue his sister without resorting to violence, and then has to choose between his mother’s dreams for him and his own dream of working with his hands for a mentor he has grown to admire.

MOONGLASS is a contemporary YA novel about a girl who, years after her mother’s death, gets a fresh start in a new seaside town. She seems to be outrunning the past, but discovers that the sea glass she wears around her neck is not just a token of her mother’s memory but a connection to the very stretch of water she now calls home.

Nick Gardner is having a rough year. His brother’s a jerk, his big fat dad has hit the road, and his sort-of best friend is dying. When a feverish hallucination puts Nick on a collision course with a water tower, a television news crew, and one Jaycee Amato, a girl with Siberian Husky eyes, his whole life begins to change. Together, they  set out on a secret journey to keep a promise to their dying friend. Will they accomplish what they set out for, or merely discover the beauty of Steinbeck, the crappy truth about plans and a few small facts about gravity? The Pull of Gravity is a coming-of-age story about first love, friendship, and the true nature of family.

This is the story of 13-year-old Charlie Joe Jackson, 7th grader, baseball player, B+ student, and all around normal guy. Charlie Joe is also a book-hater. Reading is a drag, and with just a little effort, he has managed to outwit the school’s plan of having him plow through book after book. Charlie Joe has had an on-going deal with one his friends in which just a few extra high-value snacks have been exchanged for a full reader’s report on the school-assigned book.  It’s a system that has worked for him for years. But 7th grade is different than the past and suddenly Charlie Joe’s scheme backfires on him with far-reaching and hilarious consequences. It would have been easier to just read the book in the first place.

RIVAL by Sara Bennett Wealer

• Publication Season/Year: Winter, 2011
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release Date:  Feb 15, 2011
• ISBN (hardcover): 9780061827624
• ISBN (paperback): 9780061827631

SUMMARY:

The stage is set for a high-stakes duet between Brooke and Kathryn, two high school seniors preparing for the prestigious Blackmore singing competition. Brooke and Kathryn work toward the Blackmore with eyes not just on first prize but on one another, each still stinging from a past that started with friendship and ended in betrayal. With competition day nearing, Brooke dreams of escaping the in-crowd for life as a professional singer, but her scheming BFF Chloe has other plans. And when Kathryn, an overachieving outcast with an underachieving college savings account, gets an unlikely invitation to Homecoming, she suspects Brooke of trying to sabotage her with one last public humiliation.

As pressures mount, Brooke starts to sense that the person she hates most might just be the best friend she ever had. But Kathryn has a decision to make. Can she forgive, or are some rivalries for life?

Jack – a lonely and strangely forgettable boy – isn’t happy about spending a summer in Hazelwood, Iowa with his crazy aunt and uncle. But his summer takes a decidedly strange turn when three astonishing things happen: Firstly, he makes friends – not imaginary friends like at home, but actual friends. Secondly, a bully beats him up – the bullies at home, like everyone else, never notice that Jack was in the room – their eyes just slick right past him. Thirdly, the richest man in town began to plot Jack’s imminent, and hopefully painful, death. As Jack investigates the mysteries of Hazelwood, its ancient magic thrown perilously out of balance, he discovers that the lives of his new friends – indeed, their very souls – are in terrible danger.  It’s up to Jack to put things right again no matter what it takes, or everyone he cares about will suffer the consequences forever.