My Gift to You ~ New Books for December (part 6)

My Secret to Tell by Natalie Richards

Mystery 

Emerson May is "the good girl." She's the perfect daughter, the caring friend, the animal shelter volunteer. But when her best friend's brother breaks into her room, his hands covered in blood, she doesn't scream or call the cops. Because when Deacon smiles at her, Emmie doesn't want to be good...

The whole town believes notorious troublemaker Deacon is guilty of assaulting his father. Only Emmie knows a secret that could set him free. But if she follows her heart, she could be trusting a killer...

Need by Joelle Charbonneau

Mystery 

Teenagers at Wisconsin's Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises. In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature.

Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix

Historical Fiction 

After the Newington Emerald is stolen at the height of a conjured storm, eighteen-year-old Lady Truthful Newington goes to London, disguised as a man, to search for the magical heirloom of her house, and is soon caught up in a dangerous adventure where she must risk her life, her reputation, and her heart.

Ouran High School Host Club vol 1 by Bisco Hatori

Graphic Novel (Manga) 

One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the 'Host Club', a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it's there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.

Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott

Historical Fiction 

Amid the brutality of Auschwitz during the Holocaust, a forbidden gift helps two teenage girls find hope, friendship, and the will to live in this novel in verse that's based on a true story. An act of defiance. A statement of hope. A crime punishable by death. Making a birthday card in Auschwitz was all of those things. But that is what Zlatka did, in 1944, for her best friend, Fania. She stole and bartered for paper and scissors, secretly creating an origami heart. Then she passed it to every girl at the work tables to sign with their hopes and wishes for happiness, for love, and most of all--for freedom. Fania knew what that heart meant, for herself and all the other girls. And she kept it hidden, through the bitter days in the camp and through the death marches. She kept it always. This novel is based on the true story of Fania and Zlatka, the story of the bond that helped them both to hope for the best in the face of the worst. Their heart is one of the few objects created in Auschwitz, and can be seen today in the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre.

July New Books (Part 9)

Silent Alarm by Jennifer Banash

Contemporary Fiction 

Alys, a Plaineville, Wisconsin, junior who dreams of studying violin at Julliard, must deal with the aftermath of a tragic high school shooting in which her older brother, Luke, was the shooter.

Spelled by Betsy Schow

Fantasy 

As the crown princess of Emerald, Dorthea lives a charmed life full of Hans Christian Louboutin glass slippers and Glenda Original ball gowns. But when she unknowingly wishes upon a cursed star, all hell breaks loose and the rules of fairy tale disappear--taking Dorthea's parents with them.

Sweet by Emmy Laybourne

Action/Adventure 

The luxurious celebrity cruise launching the trendy new diet sweetener Solu should be the vacation of a lifetime. But Laurel is starting to regret accepting her friend Viv's invitation. She's already completely embarrassed herself in front of celebrity host Tom Forelli--the hottest guy ever!--and she's too sick to even try the sweetener. And that's before Viv and all the other passengers start acting really strange. Tom knows that he should be grateful for this job and the chance to shed his former-child-star image. His publicists have even set up a 'romance' with a sexy reality star. But as things on the ship start to get wild, he finds himself drawn to a different girl. And when the hosting gig turns into an exposé on the shocking side effects of Solu, it's Laurel that he's determined to save. Emmy Laybourne, author of the Monument 14 trilogy, takes readers on a dream vacation in Sweet that goes first comically, then tragically, then horrifyingly, wrong!

Tangled Webs by Lee Bross 

Historical Fiction 

London, 1725. Everybody has a secret. Lady A will keep yours—for a price. This sumptuous, scandalous YA novel is wickedly addictive.

Lady A is the most notorious blackmailer in the city. With just a mask and a gown to disguise her, she sweeps into lavish balls and exclusive events collecting the most valuable currency in 1725 London—secrets.

But leading a double life isn't easy. By day Lady A is just a sixteen-year-old girl named Arista who lives in fear of her abusive master, Bones, and passes herself off as a boy to move safely through the squalor of London's slums. When Bones attempts to dispose of his pawn forever, Arista is rescued by the last person she expects: Jonathan Wild, the infamous Thief Taker General who moves seamlessly between the city's criminal underworld and its most elite upper circles. Arista partners with Wild on her own terms in the hopes of saving enough money to buy passage out of London.

Everything changes when she meets Graeden Sinclair, the son of a wealthy merchant. Grae has traveled the world, has seen the exotic lands Arista has longed to escape to her whole life, and he loves Arista for who she is—not for what she can do for him. Being with Grae gives something Arista something precious that she swore off long ago: hope. He has promised to help Arista escape the life of crime that has claimed her since she was a child. But can you ever truly escape the past? 

To Hold the Bridge by Garth Nix

Fantasy 

A collection of nineteen short stories, one set in the same world as Shade's Children, and another story set in the world of A Confusion of Princes.

Thanks for the New Books! ~ November New Books Part 2

Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

Sixteen-year-old Torrey Grey's YouTube videos on fashion and beauty for teenagers were famous, but when her younger sister is killed by a drunk driver during a filming her world falls apart--cyber bullies are attacking her, her father moves them to Texas, and she does not know who to trust at her new school or whether her cousin is really a friend.

Chloe by Design: Making the Cut by Margaret Gurevich

In this compilation of four separately published books, sixteen-year-old Chloe Montgomery gets a chance to travel from Santa Cruz to New York City to compete in Teen Design Diva, a competitive game show for aspiring teenage fashion designers.

Clariel by Garth Nix

Clariel is the daughter of one of the most notable families in the Old Kingdom, with blood relations to the Abhorsen and, most important, to the King. She dreams of living a simple life but discovers this is hard to achieve when a dangerous Free Magic creature is loose in the city, her parents want to marry her off to a killer, and there is a plot brewing against the old and withdrawn King Orrikan. When Clariel is drawn into the efforts to find and capture the creature, she finds hidden sorcery within herself, yet it is magic that carries great dangers. Can she rise above the temptation of power, escape the unwanted marriage, and save the King? This epic fantasy adventure is destined to be a classic, and is perfect for fans of Game of Thrones. 

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

In Portland, Oregon, in 1900, seventeen-year-old Olivia Mead, a suffragist, is hypnotized by the intriguing young Henri Reverie, who is paid by her father to make her more docile and womanly but who, instead, gives her the ability to see people's true natures, while she secretly continues fighting for women's rights. Includes timeline and historical photographs.

The Devil's Intern by Donna Hosie

Seventeen-year-old Mitchell discovers a time-travel device that will allow him to escape his internship in Hell's accounting office and return to Earth, but his plans to alter the circumstances of his own death take an unexpected turn when his three closest friends in Hell insist on accompanying him back to the land of the living.  

Happy Birthday to Garth Nix

Miss G LOOOVES Mr. Nix's books, she is currently working her way through the Keys to the Kingdom series on audiobook.  Highly recommended!

We also have his Old Kingdom series and his most recent novel, A Confusion of Princes

Battling aliens, space pirates, and competitors, Prince Khemri meets a young woman, named Raine, and learns more than he expected about the hidden workings of a vast, intergalactic Empire, and about himself.

You should check his books out, it is his birthday after all!

Teen Book Review - Grim Tuesday

Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix

 This review is from Ivy, age 12.  Ivy says that this book is fiction, fantasy, and action/adventure.  She gave it a 7/10.  Her favorite character was Suzy Turquoise Blue. (What an awesome name, seriously!)  Ivy said "I liked it because it was dramatic and there was never a lull in the action."  About the cover of the book Ivy had this to say, "it looks like it is a somewhat scary book."  She said that she would read more from this author and her last words were "I recommend this to fans of Harry Potter."  I agree Ivy, people who like Harry Potter would also like the Keys to the Kingdom series!

Ivy received an extra raffle ticket in this week's Teen Summer Reading Raffle.  If you would like to get an extra ticket this week too, come by and fill out a book review form!

New Book Time - June Post 5

Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth by Jay Hosler

Check the Catalog

On the heels of explaining to his planetary leader the intricacies of human genetics in The Stuff of Life , the intrepid alien scientist Bloort-183 is charged in this sequel with covering the wider story of evolution. 

 A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix

Check the Catalog

Battling aliens, space pirates, and competitors, Prince Khemri meets a young woman, named Raine, and learns more than he expected about the hidden workings of a vast, intergalactic Empire, and about himself.

 Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

Check the Catalog

After tremendous earthquakes destroy the Earth's major cities, an ancient evil emerges, turning ordinary people into hunters, killers, and insane monsters, but a small group of teens comes together in a fight for survival and safety.

 Rock On: A Story of Guitars, Gigs, Girls, and a Brother by Denise Vega

Check the Catalog

High school sophomore Ori Taylor, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter in a nameless rock band, has always been known as the easily-overlooked younger brother of Del, a high school sports star, but when Del suddenly returns home from college just as Ori is starting to gain some confidence in himself, Del expects everything to return to the way it used to be.

It's Our Prom (So Deal With It) by Julie Anne Peters

Check the Catalog

Told in separate voices, Azure, who is a lesbian, and Luke, who is bisexual, help plan an inclusive senior prom while Luke is writing and producing a musical about his life, both are working through the crush they have on their friend Radhika, and all three are dealing with problems at home.