New Books for June - Part 1

Hi all, I know this post is a little late, but the new books have been on the shelf!  I just hadn't gotten around to posting about them yet.  Enjoy!

Anna and the Swallow Man by Gaviel Savit

Historical Fiction 

When her university professor father is sent by the Gestapo to a concentration camp, seven-year-old Anna travels the Polish countryside with the mysterious Swallow Man during World War II.

The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore Fitzgerald

Mystery 

Oscar Dunleavy, a teenager who used to make incredible apple tarts, has gone missing and everyone thinks he is dead, but Oscar's best friend Meg and his little brother Stevie, form a band as they try to figure out what happened to him.

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

Contemporary Fiction 

David Piper, always an outsider, forms an unlikely friendship with Leo Denton who, from the first day at his new school wants only to be invisible, but when David's deepest secret gets out, that he wants to be a girl, things get very messy for both of them.

Assassination Classroom vol 9 by Yusei Matsui

Manga (Japanese Graphic Novel) 

Nagisa risks life and limb in an attempt to take down the mastermind behind a biological attack. After the dust settles, Koro Sensei tries to ignite some summer romances between the students of 3-E. Their teacher Irina Jelavitch, at least, has her sights on someone…and everyone happily conspires to bring them together! Back at school, one of the 3-E students defects from the ranks for all the wrong reasons. How will they bring him back before he inflicts irrevocable damage on them all…?

Attack on Titan vol 11 by Hajime Isayama

Manga (Japanese Graphic Novel) 

Thanks to Eren's timely arrival, the 104th has managed to turn the tide at Wall Rose. But this momentary victory forces two more traitors into a corner – and the identity of the Titans who have been destroying the walls is revealed! What can Eren do against the two most dangerous monsters humanity has ever faced? And who else might be an enemy in disguise?

Biggie by Derek Sullivan

Contemporary Fiction 

Henry "Biggie" Abbott has hidden behind his weight for years, and although he is the son and stepson of two of Finch, Minnesota's most famous athletes, he prefers academic success until the girl of his dreams suggests he join the baseball team, and, with his stepbrother's help, he discovers he is a great pitcher.

Curl Up With One of February's New Books (part 1)

1 Year, 100 Pounds: My Journey to a Better, Happier Life by Whitney Holcombe

Nonfiction 

At age 14, Whitney Holcombe bravely stepped onto her bathroom scale, coming face to face with a hard fact: She weighed 230 pounds. That number controlled every aspect of her life until one day she chose to take charge and go from being the fat girl to a healthy, confident young woman who's dedicated to helping others make positive life choices. Part cheerleader, part drill sergeant, Whitney challenges and helps transform teens battling obesity and embarrassment, to become self-assured, healthy young adults. With 1 Year, 100 pounds, Whitney not only shares her incredible story in inspiring and intimate detail, but she outlines the practical tips, exercises, and habits you need to truly change yourself. No expensive gym memberships, trainers, surgeries, or crash diets are required Simply follow Whitney's incredible guide and take the first steps to learning how to love your body and yourself.

250 Hours by Colleen Nelson

Contemporary Fiction 

Jess is an angry loner trying to escape a troubled past, Sara Jean is a dutiful granddaughter trying to escape a strait-jacketed future. They come together over a 250-hour community service sentence to clean out a garage full of secrets that has implications for them both.

All the Major Constellations by Pratima Cranse

Contemporary Fiction 

Andrew is leaving high school behind and looking ahead to a fresh start at college and distance from his not-so-secret infatuation: Laura Lettel. But when a terrible accident leaves him without the companionship of his two best friends, Andrew is cast adrift and alone--until Laura unexpectedly offers him comfort, friendship, and the support of a youth group of true believers, fundamentalist Christians with problems and secrets of their own. Andrew is curiously drawn to their consuming beliefs, but why? Is it only to get closer to Laura? And is Laura genuinely interested in Andrew, or is she just trying to convert him?

Assassination Classroom vol 7 by Yusei Matsui

Graphic Novel (Manga) 

The 3-E students hope to kill on their final exams to win not only respect but a special reward.  Over summer break, Nagisa, Sugino and Maehara play amateur entomologist with ... a girl?  After rigorous training with the greatest assassin of all, the class launches their best assassination plan yet!  Now who will save our would-be assassins from a mysterious biological weapon?!

Attack on Titan vol 8 by Hajime Isayama

Graphic Novel (manga) 

Blood on his hands!

The expedition outside the wall was Eren’s chance to prove himself. But it failed, and the female Titan is free once more!

With his squad dead, Eren faces a royal summons. Will Mikasa and Armin have to betray their king to save their friend? And can they discover the female Titan’s identity before she kills again?

The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden & The Trial of the Century by Sarah Miller

Nonfiction 

With murder, court battles, and sensational newspaper headlines, the story of Lizzie Borden is compulsively readable and perfect for the Common Core. Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one. In a compelling, linear narrative, Miller takes readers along as she investigates a brutal crime: the August 4, 1892, murders of wealthy and prominent Andrew and Abby Borden. The accused? Mild-mannered and highly respected Lizzie Borden, daughter of Andrew and stepdaughter of Abby. Most of what is known about Lizzie's arrest and subsequent trial (and acquittal) comes from sensationalized newspaper reports; as Miller sorts fact from fiction, and as a legal battle gets under way, a gripping portrait of a woman and a town emerges. With inserts featuring period photos and newspaper clippings--and, yes, images from the murder scene--readers will devour this nonfiction book that reads like fiction. "Sure to be a hit with true crime fans everywhere."

Tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu!

Thats "happy birthday" in Japanese!

Happy birthday to the author/illustrator of the Assassination Classroom manga series, Yusei Matsui!

We have volumes 1-7 of Assassination Classroom available at Durham Public Library in the YA Graphic Novels section.

New Books for the New Year - January 2016 New Books part 2

Calvin by Martine Leavitt

Contemporary Fiction 

Born on the day the last Calvin and Hobbes comic strip was published, seventeen-year-old Calvin, a schizophrenic, sees and has conversations with the tiger, Hobbes, and believes that if he can persuade the strip's creator, Bill Watterson, to do one more strip, he will make Calvin well.

The August 5 by Jenna Helland

Fantasy 

Tommy Shore, one of the twin sons of the chief administrator of Seahaven, learns to his dismay that the government has been keeping secrets, and when he joins up with some rebels at the Seminary, he must go against everything his father stands for.

Attack on Titan vol 7 by Hajime Isayama

Manga (Japanese Graphic Novel) 

The Survey Corps sets a cunning trap to capture the mysterious Abnormal Titan that broke through their ranks. As Armin tries to determine the grotesque creature’s identity and purpose, scouts report Titans closing in on all sides! But they don’t seem to be after the humans – instead they’re targeting the Titan!

Assassination Classroom vol 6 by Yusei Matsui

Manga (Japanese Graphic Novel) 

The 3-E students discover that Koro Sensei's greatest weakness might be a common substance. Will they be able to use it to assassinate him while he helps Meg, formerly of the varsity swim team, with her greatest weakness? The next assassination attempt, implemented by Terasaka, is more elaborate but endangers his fellow students. Can he save them without saving his target? Then, the top class at school, including Principal Asano's son, conspires to prevent 3-E from ever rising closer to the top!

The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings

Science Fiction 

Action-packed, blood-soaked, and chilling, this is the dark and compelling sequel to the bestselling The Murder Complex, which Booklist praised as "carefully crafted ... chilling" and Justine magazine called "a must for fans of action-packed dystopians like The Hunger Games and Divergent."With short, fast-paced, alternating point-of-view chapters, The Death Code starts several weeks after The Murder Complex ends. Zephyr keeps the secret about Meadow close that if she dies, The Murder Complex will be destroyed, too. Meadow, desperate to find her brother, father, and little sister, is determined to fight fearlessly to the end, even if it means sacrificing herself and her friends, new and old. The Death Code introduces a memorable cast of secondary characters and delivers a vivid and scary thrill ride read.

New School Year, New Books! September New Books (part 1)

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Paranormal 

Every October Cara and her family become mysteriously and dangerously accident-prone, but this year, the year Cara, her ex-stepbrother, and her best friend are 17, is when Cara will begin to unravel the accident season's dark origins.

After the Red Rain by Barry Lyga

Science Fiction 

Set in a future world of environmental collapse and mass poverty, where a mysterious boy named Rose discovers he possesses inhuman powers that can irrevocably change the lives of everyone on the planet.  

Another Day by David Levithan

Paranormal 

Rhiannon is disappointed that her neglectful boyfriend Justin doesn't remember the one perfect day they shared, until a stranger tells her that the Justin she spent that day with, the one who made her feel like a real person... wasn't Justin at all.

 

Assassination Classroom vols 4&5 by Yusei Matsui

Graphic Novel (manga) 

Ever caught yourself screaming, "I could just kill that teacher"? What would it take to justify such antisocial behavior and weeks of detention? Especially if he's the best teacher you've ever had? Giving you an "F" on a quiz? Mispronouncing your name during roll call...again? How about blowing up the moon and threatening to do the same to Mother Earth—unless you take him out first?! Plus a reward of a cool 100 million from the Ministry of Defense! Okay, now that you're committed... How are you going to pull this off? What does your pathetic class of misfits have in their arsenal to combat Teach's alien technology, bizarre powers and...tentacles?!

 

Attack on Titan vols 1, 2, & 3 by Hajime Isayama

Graphic Novel (manga) 

For the past century, what's left of mankind has hidden in a giant, three-walled city, trapped in fear of the bizarre, giant humanoids known as the Titans.  Little is known about where they came from or why they are bent on consuming humankind, but the sudden appearance of an enormous Titan is about to change everything...

July New Books (Part 1)

5 to 1 by Holly Bodger

Science Fiction 

In a dystopian future where gender selection has led to girls outnumbering boys 5 to 1 marriage is arranged based on a series of tests. It's Sudasa's turn to pick a husband through this 'fair' method, but she's not sure she wants to be a part of it.

Anastasia and Her Sisters by Carolyn Meyer

Historical Fiction 

A novel in diary form in which the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II describes the privileged life her family led up until the time of World War I and the tragic events that befell them.

Ash by Shani Petroff & Darci Manley

Science Fiction 

An outcast destined to live in squalor and a royal future Minister are united by a catastrophic event that makes them question everything they believe about their strictly controlled, spectrum-based world.

Assassination Classroom vol 1 by Yusei Matsui

Graphic Novel (Manga) 

The students in Class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High have a new teacher: an alien octopus with bizarre powers and unlimited strength, who’s just destroyed the moon and is threatening to destroy the earth—unless they can kill him first!

Volumes 2 & 3 also available.

The Awesome by Eva Darrows

Paranormal 

Maggie Cunningham, who wants to enter in the family business of monster hunting, can't get her license until she loses her virginity, but finding a normal boy proves to be more difficult than she thought.