Family

We found 62 results.

STAR IN THE MIDDLE by Carol Larese Millward

February 15th, 2010 by Carol Larese Millward · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
Publisher: WestSide Books
Release Date: October 26, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-934813-13-3 (School ISBN: 978-1-934813-29-4)
ISBN (paperback): TBD

At sixteen, Star Peters is determined to keep her baby, but it is becoming increasingly more difficult each day. Instead of training for her high school’s cross-country team and preparing for her junior year, she is struggling to meet her baby’s needs, while trying to cope with painful, haunting secrets that she’s shared with no one. Wilson Fletcher, the… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Winter · Contemporary · Family · Maryland · Millward, Carol Larese · National · Pregnancy · Rated PG-13 · Sexual Abuse · WestSide Books · Young Adult

THE BESTEST RAMADAN EVER by Medeia Sharif

January 18th, 2010 by Medeia Sharif · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2011
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Almira Abdul, a Middle Eastern mutt of Syrian and Iranian origins, is fifteen going on sixteen and she’s fasting for Ramadan for the first time ever. She has to redeem herself after the disastrous events of the previous Ramadan, so she forges ahead when she’s surrounded by the temptations of food and the negativity of a cranky grandfather. Coinciding with the holy month is her first major crush with a boy named Peter, whom her best friend Lisa is also in love with. Peter ambiguously cozies up to her as… Continue reading

Categories: 2011 Summer · Contemporary · Family · Flux · Friendship · Humor · Multicultural · Rated PG · Religion · Sharif, Medeia · Young Adult

THE WITCHY WORRIES OF ABBIE ADAMS by Rhonda Hayter

December 21st, 2009 by Rhonda Hayter · Email post · Print

Spring 2010
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 6, 2010
ISBN (hardcover) 978-0-8037-3468-5
ISBN (paperback): TBD

THE WITCHY WORRIES OF ABBIE ADAMS is about a regular eleven-year old girl with normal problems like a really strict fifth-grade teacher. (Meet Miss Linegar. Rhymes with vinegar.) She’s chronically behind in homework, struggling to remember all her lines in the drama club play, and tormented by having to keep a big secret from her very best friend. And on top of all these problems, she’s also a witch and has to deal with outsized crises, like her little brother morphing into a werewolf and… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Spring · Contemporary · Dial Books for Young Readers · Events · Family · Fantasy · Hayter, Rhonda · Humor · Magic · Middle Grade · Rated G · Science

HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY by Crystal Allen

December 18th, 2009 by Crystal Allen · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring/Summer 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins – Balzer and Bray
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): [XXX-X-XXXXXX-XX-X or TBD]
ISBN (paperback): [XXX-X-XXXXXX-XX-X or TBD]

Thirteen-year-old LAMAR WASHINGTON is the maddest, baddest most spectacular bowler ever at Striker’s Bowling Paradise. In addition to hanging out at Striker's all summer, Lamar vows to change his image from dud to stud by finding a way to make money and snag a super fine Honey. So when a crafty teenage thug invites him to use his bowling skills to hustle, Lamar seizes the opportunity. As his judgment blurs, Lamar makes an irreversible error, damaging every relationship in… Continue reading

Categories: 2011 Summer · Allen, Crystal · Contemporary · Family · Friendship · HarperCollins Children's Books · Humor · Middle Grade · Rated PG

NIGHTSHADE CITY by Hilary Wagner

December 14th, 2009 by Hilary Wagner · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2010
Publisher: Holiday House
Release Date: Fall 2010, Month/Day TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

NIGHTSHADE CITY is about a colony of rats that have been living underground for years. Little do the weary humans of steely Trillium City realize, an ancient throng of strangely intelligent rats exist right under their very feet, thriving in the intricate Catacombs excavated lifetimes ago. Barely escaping alive, rat brothers, Vincent and Victor Nightshade, flee their underground home, the Catacombs, dodging mandatory recruitment by the Ministry run Kill Army. They make it to the surface, disappearing into the dark, human metropolis of Trillium City… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Fall · Action/Adventure · Family · Fantasy · Holiday House · Middle Grade · Rated PG · Wagner, Hilary

DONUT DAYS by Lara Zielin

November 2nd, 2009 by Lara Zielin · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: August 6, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 0399250662
ISBN (paperback): TBD

DONUT DAYS’ main character, Emma, has a lot going on. Her best friend’s not speaking to her, a boy she’s known all her life is suddenly smokin’ hot and in love with her, and oh yes, her evangelical minister parents may lose their church, especially if her mother keeps giving sermons saying Adam was a hermaphrodite. But this weekend Emma’s only focused on Crispy Dream, a hot new donut franchise opening in town, where Harley bikers and Frodo wannabes camp out waiting to be the first… Continue reading

Categories: Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Humor · Religion · Young Adult · Zielin, Lara

SHOOTING KABUL by N.H. Senzai

September 8th, 2009 by N.H. Senzai · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: June, 2010
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

SHOOTING KABUL is about the power of hope, love and perseverance. In early 2001, Fadi and his family hide in a sheltered teashop in a border town between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Staring at the full moon, Fadi recalls the first line of the tattered book he’d found in the black-market, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – “Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away...” Fadi hopes that his family’s escape will be successful - if it… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Summer · Action/Adventure · Contemporary · Family · Middle Grade · Multicultural · Rated PG · Senzai, N.H. · Simon & Schuster BFYR

ROSIE AND SKATE by Beth Ann Bauman

September 4th, 2009 by Beth · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books, Random House
Release Date: August 11, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-385-73735-7
ISBN (paperback): TBD

ROSIE AND SKATE is about two sisters, ages 15 and 16, in a New Jersey shore town. When their dad, a “nice drunk,” lands himself in jail, they cope in different ways. Skate and her boyfriend Perry are inseparable, until he goes off to Rutgers leaving her behind. Rosie is drawn to a boy in her support group. Within the embrace of their warmhearted community, the girls find hope for the future. The Author: Beth Ann Bauman Location: New York, NY Beth Ann Bauman is… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Author Spotlight · Bauman, Beth Ann · Contemporary · Events · Family · Interviews · Local · National · New York · Random House · Rated PG-13 · Romance · Young Adult

INCONVENIENT by Margie Gelbwasser

August 26th, 2009 by Margie Gelbwasser · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall, 2010
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Alyssa Bondar’s world is falling apart. She has just entered her sophomore year at Glenfair High, the only place to hang out is behind the CVS, Keith her cross-country crush keeps sending her mixed signals, and her best friend Lana has started the school year with large breasts and a sexy attitude–-attracting the attention of the most popular kids in the school, a group Alyssa clearly doesn’t fit into. Alyssa’s Jewish, like most of Glenfair, but since she’s also Russian, Alyssa feels even more separated from… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Fall · Contemporary · Events · Family · Flux · Friendship · Gelbwasser, Margaret · Local · Multicultural · National · New Jersey · Rated PG-13 · Young Adult

TELL ME A SECRET by Holly Cupala

August 7th, 2009 by Holly Cupala · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: June 22, 2010
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0061766664
ISBN (paperback): TBD

It’s tough, living in the shadow of a dead girl… In the five years since her bad-girl sister Xanda’s death, Miranda Mathison has wondered about the secret her sister took to the grave, and what really happened the night she died. Now, just as Miranda is on the cusp of her dreams—a best friend to unlock her sister’s world, a ticket to art school, and a boyfriend to fly her away from it all—Miranda has a secret all her own. Then two lines on a pregnancy test confirm her worst… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Spring · Connect · Contemporary · Cupala, Holly · Death · Drama · Events · Family · First Love/First Crush · Grief · HarperTeen · Literature · Local · Love · National · Peer Pressure · Rated PG-13 · Romance · Secrecy · Suicide · Washington · Young Adult

Freaked by J. T. Dutton

June 24th, 2009 by J. T. Dutton · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Winter 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: March 17, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): ISBN-13: 978-0061370793
ISBN (paperback): TBD

FREAKED is about 15 year old prep school student Scotty Loveletter, ardent fan of the Grateful Dead. Facing a difficult meeting with his mother who is America’s best known sex self-help expert, Scotty road trips to a Dead show. The Author: J. T. Dutton Location: Cleveland, Ohio J. T. Dutton was raised on a horse farm in Northwest Connecticut until attending Skidmore College. After receiving a BA in English and spending a little time not knowing what she wanted to do with her life… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Winter · Contemporary · Drugs · Dutton, J. T. · Events · Family · HarperCollins Children's Books · Humor · Local · National · Ohio · Rated PG-13 · Young Adult

LIVVIE OWEN LIVED HERE by Sarah Dooley

June 1st, 2009 by Sarah Dooley · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2010
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Go ahead. Look through the windows of any house in Nabor. It won't take you more than a couple of blocks to find Livvie Owen's name written on a wall. That's because Livvie, who has autism, has gotten the Owens evicted from over twenty homes in the town of Nabor. Of course her family doesn't say it's her fault. But Livvie can sense it in the stares of the landlords and her growing isolation from her family. The options now are few: move out of town or… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Fall · Contemporary · Dooley, Sarah · Events · Family · Fiewel & Friends · Learning Disabilities · Middle Grade · North Carolina · Poverty · Rated PG · Siblings

LIPSTICK APOLOGY by Jennifer Jabaley

May 24th, 2009 by Jennifer Jabaley · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2009
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: August 6, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 1595142312
ISBN (paperback): 978-1595142313

Four little words written in lipstick mean Emily must say goodbye to everything she knows. Emily Carson has always been a good girl. So when she throws a party the night her parents leave for vacation, she's sure she'll get busted. What Emily doesn't know is that her parents will never return. That their plane will go down. And the only thing… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Summer · Contemporary · Family · Friendship · Georgia · Humor · Jabaley, Jennifer · Local · Love · National · Rated PG-13 · Razorbill · Young Adult

AROUND OUR WAY by Tameka Fryer Brown

May 22nd, 2009 by Tameka Fryer Brown · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall, 2010
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-8109-8971-9

It's a beautiful, cloudless summer day--perfect for the annual neighborhood celebration. Everything is running smoothly...until Momma burns the food! AROUND OUR WAY is a lyrical, rhyming picture book; a contemporary story about a young girl's love for her close-knit, diverse community. The Author: Tameka Fryer Brown Location: Charlotte, NC Tameka Fryer Brown has gone from medical supply sales rep, to stay-at-home mom, to (now) children's book author. She has worked with children of all ages in various church and volunteer organizations, and as a Teacher's Assistant at her children's Montessori school (ages 3-6) . AROUND OUR WAY… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Fall · Abrams Books · Brown, Tameka Fryer · Community · Contemporary · Family · Friendship · Local · Multicultural · National · North Carolina · Picture Book · Rated G

ANOTHER FAUST by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

May 22nd, 2009 by dnayeri · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Release Date: August 25, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-763637-07-1
ISBN (paperback): TBD

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish - only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city's most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor's extraordinary "gifts." At once chilling and wickedly… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Candlewick Press · Contemporary · Drama · Family · Fantasy · Friendship · Literature · Local · Magic · National · Nayeri, Daniel · Nayeri, Dina · New York · Rated PG · School · Young Adult

DREAMING ANASTASIA by Joy Preble

May 22nd, 2009 by Joy Preble · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall, 2009
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release Date: September 1, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): 978-1402218170

Sixteen year old Anne thinks her life is pretty ordinary - until she smacks into handsome, mysterious, and okay, annoying Ethan on her way to chemistry class. Now Anne has powers she doesn't understand, a history altering mission she may not want, and a growing attraction to this blue-eyed stranger. And Ethan - who at eighteen made some choices he's starting to… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Contemporary · Family · Fantasy · Grief · Preble, Joy · Romance · Sourcebooks · Texas · Young Adult

THE REINVENTION OF EDISON THOMAS by Jacqueline Houtman

May 7th, 2009 by Jacqueline Houtman · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Season Spring 2010
Publisher: Front Street
Release Date: March 2010
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-59078-708-3
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Eddy Thomas can read a college physics book, but he can't read the emotions on the faces of his classmates at Drayton Middle School. He can spend hours tinkering with an invention, but he can't stand more than a few minutes in a noisy crowd, like the crowd at the science fair, which Eddy fails to win. When the local school… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Fall · Bullies · Contemporary · Family · Front Street Books · Houtman, Jacqueline · Learning Disabilities · Middle Grade · Science · Wisconsin

THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF -1 by Steve Brezenoff

May 6th, 2009 by Steve Brezenoff · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall, 2010
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Release Date: September 1, 2010
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Three Long Island friends, whose lives unravel dramatically and suddenly, face false love, vanishing families, and lost life in their sophomore year. Lily, the math goddess, finds herself deep in her own number-raddled mind, with nowhere else to seek comfort; Noah, the pot dealer, sees the mistakes of his elders in everyone around him; and Simon, the former track star, faces a… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Fall · Brezenoff, Steve · Carolrhoda · Contemporary · Death · Family · Friendship · Minnesota · Rated R · Young Adult

BAD GIRLS DON’T DIE by Katie Alender

May 6th, 2009 by Katie Alender · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: April 21, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1423108764
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy thirteen-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Alender, Katie · California · Family · Friendship · Horror · Hyperion · Local · Mystery · National · Rated PG · Thriller · Young Adult

BREAK by Hannah Moskowitz

May 6th, 2009 by Hannah Moskowitz · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer, 2009
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: August 25, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): N/A
ISBN (paperback): 978-1416982753

Jonah is on a mission to break every bone in his body. Everyone knows that broken bones grow back stronger than they were before. And Jonah wants to be stronger-needs to be stronger, because his family is falling apart around his bickering parents, his allergic-to-everything brother, and the screaming new baby. Maybe if he breaks and heals enough times, he'll show… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Summer · Contemporary · Family · Maryland · Mental Illness · Moskowitz, Hannah · Rated R · Siblings · Simon Pulse · Young Adult

THE GEEK GIRL’S GUIDE TO CHEERLEADING by Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance

April 15th, 2009 by Vance Darcy · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring, 2009
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 19, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): N/A
ISBN (paperback): 1416978348

When Bethany -- self-proclaimed geek girl -- makes the varsity cheerleading squad, she realizes that there's one thing worse than blending in with the lockers: getting noticed. She always felt comfortable as part of the nerd herd, but being a member of the most scrutinized group in her school is weighing her down like a ton of textbooks. Even her Varsity… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Humor · Indiana · Local · Minnesota · National · Rated PG-13 · Romance · Simon Pulse · Tahmaseb, Charity · Vance, Darcy · Young Adult

THE OTHER SIDE OF BLUE by Valerie O. Patterson

March 31st, 2009 by Valerie O. Patterson · Email post · Print

Publisher: Clarion
Release Date: Fall 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-547-24436-5
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Fifteen-year-old Cyan, named after the color blue by her artist mother, feels blue in all its shades, when she returns to the Caribbean one year after the loss of her father, drowned in an inexplicable boating accident. Expected to play host to a potential stepsister, Cyan's past and future seem colored by mystery. Did her mother drive her father away? If he killed himself, why didn't he leave her a note to help her understand? And what is she to make of the ice bucket and shattered champagne glasses found on… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Arts, Theater, Film · Clarion · Contemporary · Family · Grief · Local · Mystery · National · Patterson, Valerie O. · Rated PG-13 · Virginia · Young Adult

ME WITH YOU by Kristy Dempsey

March 31st, 2009 by Kristy Dempsey · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2009 /li>
Publisher: Philomel
Release Date: May 14, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 0399250174
ISBN (paperback): 978-0399250170

Here is a special two-some. From tea time to game time, in singing or swinging, in the good times and even in the grumpy ones, this granddaughter knows her grandpa loves her. With simple rhymes and charming illustrations, ME WITH YOU celebrates the sure love between a grandparent and a grandchild. This book celebrates the specialness of the two . . . and the uniqueness of each! The Author: Kristy Dempsey Location: Greenville, SC/Belo Horizonte, Brazil As a child, Kristy Dempsey enjoyed swinging from trees and splashing in the creek… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · 2009 Summer · Dempsey, Kristy · Events · Family · Friendship · Philomel · Picture Book · Poetry · Rated G · South Carolina

FIONA FINKELSTEIN, BIG-TIME BALLERINA! by Shawn K. Stout

March 31st, 2009 by Shawn K. Stout · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall, 2009
Publisher: Aladdin
Release Date: September 8, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Nine-year-old Fiona Finkelstein has a chance to become a Big-Time Ballerina-to dance on a real stage with a real curtain!--and the only thing standing in her way is a flat out awful case of stage fright. With a mom who's a soap opera actress, a father who's a TV meteorologist, and a little brother who thinks he's a superhero, Fiona's family seems to be full of natural performers. But Fiona can't figure out why she didn't get their cool-as-a-creamsicle genes. FIONA FINKELSTEIN, BIG-TIME BALLERINA! is illustrated by… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Aladdin · Arts, Theater, Film · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Humor · Local · Maryland · Middle Grade · National · Rated G · Stout, Shawn K.

THE RISE OF RENEGADE X by Chelsea M. Campbell

March 31st, 2009 by Chelsea M. Campbell · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2010
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release Date: May 11, 2010
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1606840603
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Sixteen-year-old Damien Locke has a plan: major in messing with people at the local supervillain university and become a professional evil genius, just like his supervillain mom. But when he discovers the shameful secret she's been hiding all these years, that the one night stand that spawned him was actually with a superhero, everything gets messed up. His father's too moral for his own good, so when he finds out Damien exists, he actually wants him to come live with him… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Summer · Campbell, Chelsea M. · Contemporary · Egmont USA · Family · Fantasy · Humor · Rated PG-13 · Superpowers · Washington · Young Adult

THE BEEF PRINCESS OF PRACTICAL COUNTY by Michelle Houts

March 31st, 2009 by Michelle Houts · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009 /li>
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: April 14, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0385735841
ISBN (paperback): TBD

After years of waiting, it's finally Libby Ryan's turn to shine at the Practical County Fair. Libby is filled with excitement as she raises two calves in hopes of winning the annual steer competition. Against her father's advice, Libby gives the calves names, even though both steers will eventually be sold. What's the big deal? She's lived her whole life on a cattle farm. After a few months of preparing for the Practical County Fair, Libby finds that she is growing closer to her steers with… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Animal · Contemporary · Delacorte · Events · Family · Friendship · Houts, Michelle · Local · Middle Grade · National · Ohio · Rated G

GONE FROM THESE WOODS by Donny Bailey Seagraves

March 4th, 2009 by Donny Bailey Seagraves · Email post · Print

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Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: August 25, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-385-73629-9
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Eleven-year-old Daniel Sartain didn't want to go hunting with Uncle Clay that cold November morning. But he went. Now he feels like a monstrous villain in one of his comic books as he tries to cope with the guilt after accidentally killing his beloved uncle. Mom tries to hold the family together with her comfort and love. Mrs. Hardy, Daniel's guidance counselor at school, offers a sanctuary in her office as she tries to help Daniel survive after losing his role model and best friend… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Contemporary · Death · Delacorte · Events · Family · Georgia · Local · Middle Grade · National · Rated PG · Seagraves, Donny Bailey · Suicide

MABEL, ONE AND ONLY by Margaret Muirhead

March 4th, 2009 by Margaret Muirhead · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Release Date: April 2, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-8037-3198-1
ISBN (paperback): TBD

The only kid on her block, Mabel can usually count on her grown-up neighbors for a game or two. Not today, though. Everyone is busy, and Mabel is a bit lonely . . . until she and her canine sidekick, Jack, think up idea after idea. There's one-footed roller-skating and Super Ball bowling and enough rambunctious fun that even the grown-ups wonder what they're missing. All they have do is ask Mabel, a brand-new character who may just be the favorite cousin of… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Contemporary · Dial Books for Young Readers · Events · Family · Friendship · Humor · Local · Massachusetts · Muirhead, Margaret · National · Picture Book · Rated G

FINDING LINCOLN by Ann Malaspina

March 4th, 2009 by Ann Malaspina · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Louis needs to find a book about President Lincoln for a class report, but the main library is open to whites only. He searches in the small library in the church basement for African Americans, but he can't find any books about presidents. His parents tell him to be patient. Some day soon, he'll be allowed to borrow books from the main library, but Louis refuses to wait. The Author: Ann Malaspina Location: Ridgewood, NJ Ann has written many nonfiction books for young people, some of them about people… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Albert Whitman · Family · Historical Fiction · History · Local · Malaspina, Ann · National · New Jersey · Picture Book · Prejudice · Rated G

JANE IN BLOOM by Deborah Lytton

February 9th, 2009 by Deborah Lytton · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
Release Date: March 19, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-525-42078-1
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Jane's big sister Lizzie has always been the center of attention. No one ever pays attention to boring, plain Jane. But when Jane's twelfth birthday marks the beginning of Lizzie's final descent into a fatal eating disorder, Jane discovers that the only thing harder than living in her big sister's shadow, is living without her. In the wake of tragedy, Jane learns to look through her camera lens and frame life differently, embracing her broken family and understanding that every girl has her season… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · California · Contemporary · Dutton · Events · Family · Grief · Local · Lytton, Deborah · Middle Grade · National · Rated PG · Siblings

OPERATION REDWOOD by S. Terrell French

February 8th, 2009 by S. Terrell French · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Amulet Books
Release Date: April 22, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-8109-8354-0
ISBN (paperback): TBD

"SIBLEY CARTER IS A MORON AND A WORLD-CLASS JERK!!!" When Julian Carter-Li intercepts an angry e-mail meant for his high-powered uncle, it sets him on an environmental adventure. His uncle's company plans to log an ancient redwood grove and it's up to Julian and a clever group of friends to stop them. Filled with humor and surprising plot twists, OPERATION REDWOOD is an environmental page-turner with a multi-cultural cast of characters. It touches on the unique history of California's redwoods and the complexities of civil… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Action/Adventure · Amulet · California · Contemporary · Ecology/The Environment · Events · Family · French, S. Terrell · Friendship · Humor · Local · Middle Grade · Multicultural · National · Nature · Rated G

CAROLINA HARMONY by Marilyn Taylor McDowell

February 7th, 2009 by Marilyn Taylor McDowell · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring, 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press, Random House
Release Date: March 10, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-385-73590-2
ISBN (library binding): 978-0-385-90575-6

It is the summer of 1964, and Carolina is a runaway hiding out at Harmony Farm, nestled in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. The Harmonys, Mr. Ray and Miss Latah, are treating Carolina as their own. Carolina yearns to belong, but she figures considering herself part of a family again is just wishful thinking. Carolina is holding her secrets close while the Harmonys patiently wait to hear her story. But she is caught between her past and her present. For nine years she lived easy… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Action/Adventure · Contemporary · Events · Family · Foster Care · Local · McDowell, Marilyn Taylor · Middle Grade · National · Random House · Rated G · Vermont

BULL RIDER by Suzanne Morgan Williams

January 26th, 2009 by Suzanne Morgan Williams · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Winter 2009
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: February 24, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-4169-6130-7
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Fourteen year old Cam O'Mara is a ranch kid from the sage brush country of central Nevada. He is a skateboarder, not a champion bull rider like his brother Ben, but when Ben joins the Marines and is seriously injured in Iraq, Cam turns to his family traditions and in particular bull riding to overcome his grief and to give his brother hope for a new life. Ellen Fockler, library coordinator for Washoe County School District says: Suzanne Morgan Williams' novel, BULL RIDER, vividly captures life… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Winter · Action/Adventure · Events · Family · Local · Margaret K. McElderry · Middle Grade · National · Nevada · Williams, Suzanne Morgan

FAIREST OF THEM ALL by Jan Blazanin

January 26th, 2009 by Jan Blazanin · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: MTV Books
Release Date: April 21, 2009
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-4165-7993-9

Fifteen-year-old Oribella Bettencourt has a perfect life. She's a dancer, a model, and star of the beauty queen circuit. With her mother guiding her career, she's on the fast track to stardom when a Hollywood producer comes to Des Moines looking for a beautiful girl with lustrous golden hair to play a major role in his new movie. And Oribella fits that description perfectly. So what if she doesn't have any friends or anyone to talk to except her mother? She's on the brink of having all her… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Blazanin, Jan · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Grief · Iowa · Local · MTV Books · National · Rated PG · Young Adult

DEMONGLASS by Rachel Hawkins

January 7th, 2009 by Rachel Hawkins · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Winter 2010
Publisher: Hyperion
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Sophie Mercer thought being a teenage witch meant flying broomsticks, talking cats, and awesome spells. Instead, her mom still makes her ride the bus, she's allergic to pet dander, and the one big spell she attempts at prom goes seriously bad-like, Carrie-levels of bad. As a result, Sophie is shipped off to Prentiss Academy, a boarding school for Witches, Shapeshifters, and Faeries. At Prentiss, Sophie discovers that the traumas of regular school have nothing on the goings-on at "Freak High," what with the trio of Dark Witches who want Sophie… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Winter · Alabama · Family · Fantasy · Friendship · Hawkins, Rachel · Hyperion · Local · Mystery · National · Paranormal · Rated PG · Secrecy · Young Adult

YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME by Stacey Jay

January 7th, 2009 by Stacey Jay · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Winter 2009
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: January 22nd, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): N/A
ISBN (paperback): 978-1595142252

Q: HOW MANY ZOMBIES DOES IT TAKE TO RUIN A SOCIAL LIFE? A: NOT MANY. Megan Berry is a Zombie Settler by birth, which means she's part-time shrink to a whole bunch of semi-dead people with killer issues. All Megan really wants is to go to homecoming, but when you're trailed by a bunch of slobbering corpses whenever you leave the house, it's kinda hard to score a date. Let's just say Megan's love life could use some major resuscitation. Megan's convinced her life can't get any worse -… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Winter · Arkansas · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Horror · Humor · Jay, Stacey · Local · National · Rated PG-13 · Razorbill · Romance · Young Adult

Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu

January 7th, 2009 by cjomololu · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Winter 2010
Publisher: Walker
Release Date: February 2010
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

When 16 year-old Lucy comes home to find her mother dead under a stack of National Geographics in their garbage-filled home, she hesitates as she starts to dial 911. She hardly notices the mountains of stuff that fill every available space in the entire house or smells the decay anymore - but she knows the paramedics will, and so will the news cameras that will follow. They'll notice the garbage and the smell and wonder how anyone ever lived like this. Only freaks live like this. As she stares… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Winter · California · Contemporary · Family · Jaynes Omololu, Cynthia · Local · Mental Illness · National · Rated PG-13 · Secrecy · Walker Books · Young Adult

SCONES AND SENSIBILITY by Lindsay Eland

January 5th, 2009 by Lindsay Eland · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring, 2010
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release Date: February 14, 2010
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Polly Madassa is convinced she was born for a more romantic time. A time when Elizabeth Bennet and Anne of Green Gables walked along the moors and beaches of the beautiful land, a time where a distinguished gentleman called upon a lady of quality and true love was born in the locked eyes of two young lovers. But alas, she was not. This, however, does not stop our young heroine from finding romance wherever she can conjure it up. So while Polly is burdened with a summer job of… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Spring · Colorado · Contemporary · Egmont USA · Eland, Lindsay · Family · Friendship · Humor · Local · Middle Grade · National · Rated G

SEASIDE DREAM by Janet Costa Bates

January 5th, 2009 by Janet Costa Bates · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
Publisher: Lee and Low Books
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Cora keeps watch as presents and family stream through the door. The house is abuzz with aunts, uncles and cousins. Pots and pans are filled with food from their family's native Cape Verde. A big party, birthday cake and all, will take place on the beach. It seems like her family has thought of everything to celebrate Grandma's 70th birthday but when Cora and Grandma take a nighttime walk on the beach, it is Cora that notices there is something else Grandma needs to make her celebration… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Spring · Costa Bates, Janet · Family · Lee and Low Books · Local · Massachusetts · Multicultural · National · Picture Book · Rated G

BLEEDING VIOLET by Dia Reeves

January 5th, 2009 by Dia Reeves · Email post · Print

BLEEDING VIOLET by Dia Reeves

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 5, 2010
ISBN (hardcover): 1416986189
ISBN (paperback): TBD

BLEEDING VIOLET summary:

Sixteen-year-old Hanna Järvinen is an unusual girl with a head full of hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet full of frilly, violet dresses. Everything a girl needs--except love. But that's what mothers are for, and Hanna is sure she can reconcile with hers, even though she was abandoned

Categories: 2010 Spring · Family · Horror · Local · Mental Illness · Monsters · National · Paranormal · Rated · Rated PG-13 · Reeves, Dia · Simon Pulse · Texas · Young Adult

THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z by Kate Messner

December 12th, 2008 by Kate Messner · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Gianna Zales has a lot on her plate this fall - a father who drives her to school in the family hearse, a mother who's turned into the junk food police, a little brother who thinks he's a member of the paparazzi, and a grandmother who leaves false teeth in the refrigerator. Worst of all, she's left her 7th grade leaf collection to do at the last minute. It's a monster project, and Gianna will miss cross-country sectionals if she doesn't meet the deadline… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Humor · Local · Messner, Kate · Middle Grade · National · New York · Rated G · School · Walker Books

THE RED UMBRELLA by Christina Diaz Gonzalez

December 9th, 2008 by Christina Diaz Gonzalez · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2010
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Release Date: May 11, 2010
ISBN (hardcover): 0375861904
ISBN (paperback): TBD

The Red Umbrella is the moving tale of a 14-year-old girl's journey from Cuba to America as part of Operation Pedro Pan—an organized exodus of more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, whose parents sent them away to escape Fidel Castro's revolution. In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. Her friends feel like strangers. And her… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Spring · Alfred A. Knopf · Drama · Family · Florida · Friendship · Gonzalez, Christina Diaz · Historical Fiction · History · Local · Middle Grade · Multicultural · National

TORTILLA SUN By Jennifer Cervantes

December 9th, 2008 by Jen Cervantes · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
Publisher: Chronicle
Release Date: May 05, 2010
ISBN (hardcover):ISBN 9780811870153

"Sometimes you can't see the magic. You just know it's there because you can feel it." Tortilla Sun -- When twelve-year-old Izzy discovers a beat-up baseball marked with the words "Because…magic" while unpacking in yet another new apartment, she is determined to figure out what it means. What secrets does this old ball have to tell? Her mom certainly isn't sharing any—especially when it comes to Izzy's father, who died before Izzy was born. But when she spends the summer in her Nana's remote New Mexico village, Izzy discovers long-buried

Categories: 2010 Spring · Cervantes, Jennifer · Chronicle · Contemporary · Family · Friendship · Local · Middle Grade · Multicultural · National · New Mexico · Rated G · Young Adult

MODELS DON’T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES by Erin Dionne

November 27th, 2008 by Erin Dionne · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: February, 2009
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 5, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0803734-35-7
ISBN (paperback): 978-0-803732-96-4

Thirteen-year-old Celeste Harris is no string bean, but comfy sweatpants and a daily chocolate cookie suit her just fine. Her under-the-radar lifestyle could have continued too, if her aunt hadn't entered her in the HuskyPeach Modeling Challenge. To get out of it, she's forced to launch Operation Skinny Celeste-because, after all, a thin girl can't be a fat model! What Celeste never imagined was that losing weight would help her gain a backbone . . . or that all she needed to… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Contemporary · Dial Books for Young Readers · Dionne, Erin · Events · Family · Friendship · Humor · Local · Massachusetts · Middle Grade · National · Rated PG · Self-esteem/Self-image

STUPID CUPID by Rhonda Stapleton

November 27th, 2008 by Rhonda Stapleton · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: December, 22, 2009
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-4169-7464-2

Felicity's no ordinary matchmaker...she's a cupid! Felicity Walker believes in true love. That's why she applies for a gig at the matchmaking company Cupid's Hollow. But when Felicity gets the job, she learns that she isn't just a matchmaker...she's a cupid! (There's more than one of them, you know.) Armed with a hot pink, tricked-out PDA infused with the latest in cupid magic (love arrows shot through email), Felicity works to meet her quota of successful matches. But when she bends the rules of cupidity by matching her best friend Maya… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · 2009 Spring · Contemporary · Contests · Events · Family · Friendship · Local · Love · National · Ohio · Paranormal · Rated G · Rated PG · Romance · Simon Pulse · Stapleton, Rhonda · Young Adult

Before You Were Here, Mi Amor by Samantha R. Vamos

November 24th, 2008 by Samantha R. Vamos · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Viking Children's Books
Release Date: March 19, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-670-06301-7
ISBN (paperback): TBD

BEFORE YOU WERE HERE, MI AMOR is a bilingual children's picture book concerning all the things that one family does to welcome a new child into the world. The story evokes the warmth and community of family life through the acts of each member of la familia - mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandmother, and grandfather, as well as the family puppy. The illustrator, Santiago Cohen, enhanced the story with beautifully vibrant and colorful illustrations. BEFORE YOU WERE HERE, MI AMOR is an ideal book… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Author Spotlight · Babies · Bilingual · Book Trailer · Connect · Contests · Events · Expectant Parents · Family · Local · National · Picture Book · Rated G · Topic · Vamos, Samantha · Viking Children's Books · Washington

PALACE BEAUTIFUL by Sarah DeFord Williams

November 24th, 2008 by Sarah Williams · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Winter 2010
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Thirteen-year-old artist and dreamer Sadie, her little sister Zuzu, and new best friend Belladonna Desolation meet in a secret attic room to vicariously live the experiences a girl recorded in a journal hidden there during the flu epidemic of 1918. The Author: Sarah DeFord Williams Location: Salt Lake City, UT Sarah DeFord Williams lives in Salt Lake City, UT with her husband and three kids. She has been writing all her life and has a special fondness for children's literature. In addition to writing and spending time with her… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Winter · Contemporary · Epidemics · Family · Friendship · G.P. Putnam's Sons · Historical Fiction · Local · Middle Grade · National · Siblings · Utah · Williams, Sarah Deford

LEAVING GEE’S BEND by Irene Latham

November 10th, 2008 by Irene Latham · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Every quilt tells a story. When ten year old Ludelphia Bennett decides to make a quilt for her mama, she thinks it will tell the story of her quiet life in the isolated sharecropper community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. But when Mama gets deathly ill and rumors start flying about the "witches of Gee's Bend," life gets tangled and Ludelphia worries that it's all her fault. Determined to fix things, Ludelphia takes her needle and thread and leaves Gee's Bend for the very first time. Her adventures take her across… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Spring · Action/Adventure · Alabama · Family · G.P. Putnam's Sons · Historical Fiction · Latham, Irene · Local · Middle Grade · National · Survival

SLIDING ON THE EDGE by C. Lee McKenzie

November 9th, 2008 by C. Lee McKenzie · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: WestSide Books
Release Date: April 24, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-934813-06-5
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Shawna Stone is sixteen going on twenty-five. Already deeply scarred, she has learned to survive with a tough attitude and a thin blade. Her journey is destined to be short. SLIDING ON THE EDGE enters the world of a desperate teen and her disillusioned grandmother, each with secrets that stir mutual distrust. As these two unlikely companions struggle to co-exist we are reminded that the human spirit has the capacity to overcome even the deepest suffering. The Author: C. Lee McKenzie Location: Los Gatos, CA A native Californian, C. Lee McKenzie… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · California · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Humor · Local · McKenzie, C. Lee · Middle Grade · National · Romance · Suicide · WestSide Books · Young Adult

WINNIE’S WAR by Jenny Moss

November 8th, 2008 by Jenny Moss · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Winter 2009
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 3, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0802798190
ISBN (paperback): TBD

A debut novel set against the backdrop of the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. Life in Winnie's sleepy town of Coward Creek, Texas, is just fine for her. Although her troubled mother's distant behavior has always worried Winnie, she's plenty busy caring for her younger sisters, going to school, playing chess with Mr. Levy, and avoiding her testy grandmother. Plus, her sweetheart Nolan is always there to make her smile when she's feeling low. But when the Spanish Influenza claims its first victim, lives… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Winter · Epidemics · Events · Family · Historical Fiction · History · Local · Middle Grade · Moss, Jenny · National · Texas · Walker Books

ONE WISH by Leigh Brescia

November 2nd, 2008 by Leigh Brescia · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Westside Books
Release Date: April 23, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-934813-05-8
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Overweight Wrenn Scott desperately wants to be popular and snag a hot boyfriend. Living with her single mom and younger sister, Karly, she lands a lead role in the high school musical, her voice for once overshadowing her weight. Pushing to get thinner by opening night, Wrenn's waistline shrinks as she learns all the wrong ways to lose weight from a new "it-girl" friend in the show. Meanwhile, her mom is falling for Phil, "a balding Channel 8 News-nerd"; her sister is wrapped up in her… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Body Image · Book Trailer · Brescia, Leigh · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Local · National · North Carolina · Rated PG-13 · WestSide Books · Young Adult

PERFECT SHOT by Debbie M. Rigaud

November 2nd, 2008 by Debbie Rigaud · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall 2009
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: December 1, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

London Abrams is all about spiking volleyballs, not wearing spike heels. But in one ker-azy moment, she signs up for a modeling contest as an excuse to meet its cute photography intern. Never in a million years did London expect to get selected as a finalist. Before she knows it, she's in an online reality show competition against 14 super chic chicks--including her childhood frenemy. As the lone (read: token) sporty girl, London feels way out of her league and wants to quit. But when the cutie photo… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · 2009 Winter · Contemporary · Family · Friendship · Humor · Local · Multicultural · National · New Jersey · Rated G · Rigaud, Debbie M. · Romance · Self-esteem/Self-image · Simon Pulse · Young Adult

MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS by Sydney Salter

November 2nd, 2008 by Sydney Salter · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Harcourt
Release Date: April 1, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): 978-0152066437

It's the end of junior year, and summer is about to begin. The Summer of Passion, to be exact, when Jory Michaels plans to explore all the possibilities of the future--and, with any luck, score a boyfriend in the process. But Jory has a problem. A big problem. A curvy, honking, bumpy, problem in the form of her Super Schnozz, the one thing standing between Jory and happiness. And now, with the Summer of Passion stretched before her like an open road, she's determined for Super Schnozz to… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Author speaking availability · Body Image · Contemporary · Events · Family · First Love/First Crush · Friendship · Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt · Humor · Local · National · Nevada · Rated PG-13 · Romance · Salter, Sydney · Self-esteem/Self-image · Utah · Young Adult

SECRETS OF TRUTH & BEAUTY by Megan Frazer

November 2nd, 2008 by Megan Frazer · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2009
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: July 7, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-4231-1711-7
ISBN (paperback): TBD

When Dara Cohen was little, she wasn't just a star in her parent's eyes, she was crowned Little Miss Maine. That was then. Now Dara's seventeen, and she's not so little anymore. So not little that when her classmates find out about the pageant, their jaws drop. Add to that a control-freak Mom, and a barely there Dad. Yet what hurts Dara the most is the family secret: Dara has an older sister her parents tried to erase from their lives. When a disastrously misinterpreted English project… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Summer · Body Image · Contemporary · Events · Family · Frazer, Megan · Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) · Hyperion · Local · Maine · National · Young Adult

WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS by Fran Cannon Slayton

November 1st, 2008 by Fran Slayton · Email post · Print

Every time I go to jump on a steam train as it chugs its way through Rowlesburg -- Every time I throw out my hands to grab the rusty metal rungs and haul myself up onto the side of one of them black coal cars, hoisting my knees up over its churning, screeching wheels -- Every single time I jump on a train -- my heart thumps even noisier in my ears than the clanking of the old iron horse I'm hopping up onto. I love steam trains. I love living in a town that's chock full of 'em. I love being on 'em, being anywhere near 'em. They're as much a part of my life around here as the mountains. Or breathing. But it's a dangerous business, hopping a ride onto a moving train. First off, there's always a right decent chance of getting killed. Second, and about ten thousand times worse, my father might find out. But I'm not like Dad -- I don't mind breaking the rules now and again. Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Summer · Action/Adventure · Death · Events · Family · Friendship · Grief · Historical Fiction · History · Humor · Local · Middle Grade · Mystery · National · Philomel · Rated PG · Secrecy · Slayton, Fran Cannon · Virginia · Young Adult

BREATHING by Cheryl Renée Herbsman

October 23rd, 2008 by Cheryl Renee Herbsman · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Viking
Release Date: April 16, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0-670-01123-0
ISBN (paperback): TBD

What if the guy who took your breath away was the only one who could help you breathe? Savannah would be happy to spend the summer in her coastal Carolina town lying in a hammock reading her beloved romance novels and working at the library. But then she meets Jackson. Once they lock eyes, she's convinced he's the one-her true love, her soul mate, a boy different from all the rest. And at first it looks like Savannah is right. Jackson abides by her mama's strict rules… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · California · Contemporary · Events · Family · Herbsman, Cheryl Renee · Local · National · Rated PG · Romance · Viking Children's Books · Young Adult

STRUTS AND FRETS by Jon Skovron

October 19th, 2008 by Jon Skovron · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Fall, 2009
Publisher: Abrams Amulet
Release Date: TBD
ISBN (hardcover): TBD
ISBN (paperback): TBD

More than anything, Sammy wants to play guitar in a famous indie rock band. The problem is that his front man is a jerk who can't sing, his bassist is a burn-out who can't remember the songs, and his drummer is just out to lunch. But Sammy needs this band because it's the only good thing he's got going. His father skipped out before he was born, his mother is an overworked therapist with a drinking problem, his grandfather is slowly losing… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Fall · Alzheimer's · Amulet · Contemporary · District of Columbia · Family · Humor · Local · Music · National · Rated PG-13 · Romance · Skovron, Jon · Young Adult

PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE by Cynthea Liu

October 14th, 2008 by Cynthea Liu · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2009
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Release Date: June 11, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-0399250439
ISBN (paperback): TBD

Twelve-year-old Paris Pan’s life is a mess. She’s just moved to a tiny town in Nowheresville, Oklahoma; her family life is a comical disaster; her new friends are more like frenemies; and the boy she has a crush on is a dork. Things couldn’t possibly get worse, until she discovers that a girl mysteriously died years ago while taking a seventh-grade rite of passage–the Dare– right near Paris’s new house. So when Paris starts hearing strange noises coming from the creepy run-down shed in her backyard… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Summer · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · G.P. Putnam's Sons · Humor · Illinois · Liu, Cynthea · Local · Middle Grade · Multicultural · Mystery · National · Paranormal · Quiz/Discussion Guide/Activity · Rated PG

THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA by Cynthea Liu

October 12th, 2008 by Cynthea Liu · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2009
Publisher: Speak Puffin
Release Date: February 19, 2009
ISBN (paperback): 978-0142411346

Chinese-born Cece was adopted when she was two years old by her American parents. Living in Texas, she’s bored of her ho-hum high school and dull job. So when she learns about the S.A.S.S. program to Xi’an, China, she jumps at the chance. She’ll be able to learn about her passion—anthropology—and it will give her the opportunity to explore her roots. But when she arrives, she receives quite a culture shock. And the closer she comes to finding out about her birth parents, the more apprehensive she gets. Enter… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · Adoption · Book Trailer · Contemporary · Events · Family · Friendship · Illinois · Liu, Cynthea · Local · Multicultural · Music · National · Rated PG · Romance · Speak · Travel · Young Adult

EIGHTH GRADE SUPERZERO by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

October 10th, 2008 by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Spring 2010
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Release Date: January 2010
ISBN: 0-545-09676-6

Reginald Garvey McKnight created a superhero character in kindergarten; now he dreams of being a real-life leading man: The Guy who's got game and gets The Girl. Instead, he threw up on the first day of school. In front of everyone. Eighth grade has gone downhill ever since. In EIGHTH GRADE SUPERZERO, Reggie wonders why things are so bad if God is so good; his faith at all levels is challenged by his friendships, his work at a homeless shelter, and a pair of "Dora The Explorer" shoes. Reggie's involvement… Continue reading

Categories: 2010 Spring · Arthur A. Levine Books · Contemporary · Family · Friendship · Local · Middle Grade · Multicultural · National · New York · Perkovich, Olugbemisola Rhuday · Rated PG · Self-esteem/Self-image · Young Adult

THE YEAR THE SWALLOWS CAME EARLY by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

October 10th, 2008 by Kathryn Fitzmaurice · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Winter, 2009
Publisher: HarperCollins/The Bowen Press
Release Date: February 3, 2009
ISBN (Trade): 978-0-06-162497-1
ISBN (Library): 978-0-06-162499-05

Eleanor "Groovy" Robinson loves cooking and plans to go to culinary school just as soon as she's old enough. But even Groovy's thoughtfully planned menus won't fix the things that start to go wrong the year she turns eleven. Suddenly, her father is in jail, her best friend's long absent mother reappears, and the swallows that make their annual migration to her hometown arrive surprisingly early. As Groovy begins to expect the unexpected, she learns about the importance of forgiveness and starts to understand the complex… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Spring · 2009 Winter · Activitiy/Craft · Animal · Author Videos · Book Trailer · Bowen Press · California · Contemporary · Events · Family · Fitzmaurice, Kathryn · Food · Friendship · Local · Middle Grade · National · Nature · Rated G

THE DEMON’S LEXICON by Sarah Rees Brennan

October 9th, 2008 by Sarah Rees Brennan · Email post · Print

Publication Season/Year: Summer 2009
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: June 2, 2009
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1416963790

Sixteen year old Nick lives in London - but not for long. His family is on the run from magicians because his mother has stolen a powerful charm from them. With his father dead and his mother insane, Nick’s only comfort is his older brother, who protects him. But when his older brother gets marked with a demon sign that means death, it means they must kill a magician to erase the sign. What ensues is a deadly cat and mouse game with the magicians, in which… Continue reading

Categories: 2009 Summer · Action/Adventure · Brennan, Sarah Rees · Events · Family · Fantasy · Local · Magic · Margaret K. McElderry · Monsters · National · Rated PG-13 · Young Adult · _IRELAND Dublin

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