New Books for April 2016 (part 4)

Gotham Academy vol 2: Calamity by Becky Cloonan

Graphic Novel (comic book) 

At the beginning of the term, Olive Silverlock returned to Gotham Academy a shadow of her former self. But thanks to her new friendships and their Detective Club sleuthing, Olive was finally starting to feel whole again. 

Then, abruptly, Olive’s mother died—or, she seemed to. In the weeks after the funeral, Olive begins seeing her mother around the school. An Arkham Asylum patient with a deadly dark side, Sybil Silverlock was a powerful and complicated woman. Could her spirit be reaching out from beyond the grave? And if so, is it motherly Sybil who haunts Olive—or her deadly alter ego Calamity?

Plus, the kids hunt a werewolf on campus and Maps teams up with the Academy’s newest transfer, Damian Wayne!

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle

Contemporary Fiction 

Quinn Roberts is a sixteen-year-old smart aleck and Hollywood hopeful whose only worry used to be writing convincing dialogue for the movies he made with his sister Annabeth. Of course, that was all before--before Quinn stopped going to school, before his mom started sleeping on the sofa...and before the car accident that changed everything. Enter: Geoff, Quinn's best friend who insists it's time that Quinn came out--at least from hibernation. One haircut later, Geoff drags Quinn to his first college party, where instead of nursing his pain, he meets a guy--okay, a hot guy--and falls, hard. What follows is an upside-down week in which Quinn begins imagining his future as a screenplay that might actually have a happily-ever-after ending--if, that is, he can finally step back into the starring role of his own life story.

The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever by Jeff Strand

Contemporary Fiction 

After producing three horror films that went mostly ignored on YouTube, Justin and his filmmaking buddies decide it's time to make something epic. In fact, they're going to make The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever. They may not have money or a script, but they have passion. And, after a rash text message, they also have the beautiful Alicia Howtz as the lead.

Hemmed in by a one-month timeline and a cast of uncooperative extras, but aching to fulfill Alicia's dreams, Justin must face the sad, sad truth: he may, in actuality, be producing The Worst Zombie Movie Ever. 

Harmony House by Nic Sheff

Paranormal 

Something's not right in Beach Haven. Jen Noonan's father thinks a move to Harmony House is the key to salvation, but to everyone who has lived there before, it is a portal to pure horror. After her alcoholic mother's death, Jen's father cracked. He dragged Jen to a dilapidated old manor on the shore of New Jersey to start their new lives--but Jen can tell that the place has an unhappy history. She can feel it the same way she can feel her anger flowing out of her, affecting the world in strange ways she can't explain. But Harmony House is more than just a creepy old estate. It's got a chilling past--and the more Jen discovers its secrets, the more the house awakens. Visions of a strange boy who lived in the house long ago follow Jen wherever she goes, and her father's already-fragile sanity disintegrates before her eyes. As the forces in the house join together to terrorize Jen, she must find a way to escape the past she didn't know was haunting her--and the mysterious and terrible power she didn't realize she had.

Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend by Alan Cumyn

Paranormal 

Shiels is very pleased with her perfectly controlled life (controlling others while she's at it). She's smart, powerful, the Student Body Chair, and she even has a loving boyfriend. What more could a girl ask for? But everything changes when the first-ever interspecies transfer student, a pterodactyl named Pyke, enrolls at her school. There's something about him--something primal--that causes the students to lose control whenever he's around. Even Shiels, the seemingly perfect self-confident girl that she is, can't keep her mind off of him, despite her doting boyfriend and despite the fact that Pyke immediately starts dating Jocelyn, the school's fastest runner who Shiels has always discounted as a nobody. Pyke, hugely popular in a school whose motto is to embrace differences, is asked to join a band, and when his band plays at the Autumn Whirl dance, his preternatural shrieking music sends everyone into a literal frenzy. No one can remember what happened the next day, but Shiels learns that she danced far too long with Pyke, her nose has turned purple, and she may have done something with her boyfriend that she shouldn't have. Who's in control now? Hilarious and relatable (despite the dinosaur), Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend is about a teen who must come to terms with not being in control of all things at all times, break free of her mundane life, discover who her true self is, and, oh, finding out that going primal isn't always a bad thing.

My Gift to You ~ New Books for December (part 4)

Henni by Miss Lasko-Gross

Graphic Novel 

In a fantastical world where old traditions and religion dominate every aspect of life, lives a girl named Henni. Unlike most in her village, Henni questions and wonders what the world is like as she comes of age. Striking out on her own, Henni goes out in search of truth, adventure, and more! 

Infinity Lost by S. Harrison

Infinity Trilogy book #1

Science Fiction 

In the near future, one corporation, Blackstone Technologies, has changed the world: no disasters, no poverty, and life-altering technology. Blackstone has the impunity to destroy—or create—as it sees fit.  Infinity “Finn” Blackstone is the seventeen-year-old daughter of Blackstone’s reclusive CEO—but she’s never even met him. When disturbing dreams about a past she doesn’t remember begin to torment her, Finn knows there’s only one person who can provide answers: her father.  After Finn and an elite group of peers are invited to Blackstone’s top-secret HQ, Finn realizes she may have a chance to confront her father. But when a highly sophisticated company AI morphs into a killing machine, the trip descends into chaos. Trapped inside shape-shifting walls, Finn and her friends are at the mercy of an all-seeing intelligence that will destroy everything to get to her.

With no hope of help, Finn’s dream-memories may be the only chance of survival. But will she remember in time to save her own life and the lives of those around her?

Jillian Cade: Fake Paranormal Investigator by Jen Klein

Mystery 

Jillian Cade doesn't believe in the paranormal. But ever since her famous professor father abandoned her to travel the world for 'research', she's milked his reputation by taking over his private investigation firm. After all, a high schooler has to take care of herself, especially since she's on her own. Ironically, it's when she takes on a case that might involve a totally non-paranormal missing person that things get strange. Particularly when Sky Ramsey - a new boy at school and an avid fan of her father's - forces his way into becoming her partner.

Junior Braves of the Apocalypse: Book 1 A Brave is Brave by Greg Smith

Graphic Novel 

The young Junior Braves of Tribe 65 had typical suburban lives filled with video games, smartphones, and doting parents. Returning from a week-long camping trip full of character building and life experiences, they expected to fall back into their comfortable routines. But the home they knew is no longer what it was.

With the onset of a mutant apocalypse, the world has become a destroyed wasteland. Their friends and neighbors in their sleepy Pacific Northwest community have been transformed into hideous, bloodthirsty zombies! The survivors who are left, from former teachers to security guards, have been driven mad or have fallen prey to the worst of humanity's selfish impulses. 

Worst of all, there is no sign of what happened to their parents!

Losers Take All by David Klass

Contemporary Fiction 

In this table-turning novel about the thrill of defeat and the agony of victory, the new rule at Jack Logan's sports-crazy New Jersey high school is that all kids must play on a team. So Jack and a ragtag group of anti-athletic friends decide to get even. They are going to start a rebel JV soccer team whose mission is to avoid victory at any cost, setting out to secretly undermine the jock culture of the school. But as the team's losing formula becomes increasingly successful at attracting fans and attention, Jack and his teammates are winning in ways they never expected-and don't know how to handle.

New books for October ~ Part 2

The Body Institute by Carol Riggs

Science Fiction 

Meet Morgan Dey, one of the top teen Reducers at The Body Institute. 

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Morgan can temporarily take over another girl’s body, get her in shape, and then return to her own body—leaving her client slimmer, more toned, and feeling great. Only there are a few catches…

For one, Morgan won’t remember what happens in her “Loaner” body. Once she’s done, she won’t recall walks with her new friend Matt, conversations with the super-cute Reducer she’s been text-flirting with, or the uneasy feeling she has that the director of The Body Institute is hiding something. Still, it’s all worth it in the name of science. Until the glitches start…

Con Academy by Joe Schrieber

Action/Adventure

Con man Will Shea may have met his match in scammer Andrea Dufresne as they make a high-stakes deal that will determine who gets to stay at Connaughton Academy, one of the most elite and privileged preparatory schools in the country, and who must leave.

The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy

Mystery 

Seventeen-year-old Stella has no recollection of the day her best friend disappeared while the two, then six, were picking strawberries, until the corpse of a similar girl turns up and Stella not only begins to remember, she learns that something dark has been at work in their little town for generations.

Damage Done by Amanda Panitch

Action/Adventure 

Julia Vann has a new identity after being forced to leave town because of her twin brother's terrible crime. Julia is the only survivor but she can't remember what happened--at least, that's what she tells the police.

Dime by E. R. Frank 

Contemporary Fiction 

Fourteen-year-old Dime, a foster child in Newark, New Jersey, finds love and family as a prostitute, but when her pimp rejects her for a new girl, will Dime have the strength to leave?

New year, new books ~ Happy 2015! (part 6)

The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond

It has been nearly seventy years since Hitler's armies won the war, and sixteen-year-old Zara St. James lives in the Shenandoah hills, part of the Eastern American Territories, under the rule of the Nazis--but a resistance movement is growing, and Zara, who dreams of freedom, may be the key to its success.

Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca

Lil is left home alone when a deadly pandemic hits her small town in New Jersey. Will Lil survive the flu and brave her darkest fears?

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

After ten years of exile among fairies who teach her to use her magically-enhanced strength and courage, Sleeping Beauty's daughter Aurora enlists the help of Niklaas, eleventh son of King Eldorio, in the fight to reclaim her throne.

The Rule of Thoughts by James Dashner

Michael and his friends, Sarah and Bryson, are still being chased by a cyber-terrorist. And now the government is after them, too.

Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants to take her rightful place as the sea witch of Prince Island. When she foresees her own murder, a harpoon boy named Tane promises to help her change her fate and keep her island safe and prosperous, but salvation will require an unexpected sacrifice.

New books to spend the holidays with~ (Part 3)

Daylighters by Rachel Caine

While Morganville, Texas, is often a troubled town, Claire Danvers and her friends are looking forward to coming home. But the Morganville they return to isn't the one they know; it's become a different place-a deadly one; Something drastic has happened in Morganville while Claire and her friends were away. The town looks cleaner and happier than they've ever seen it before, but when their incoming group is arrested and separated-vampires from humans-they realize that the changes definitely aren't for the better. It seems that an organization called the Daylight Foundation has offered the population of Morganville something they've never had: hope of a vampire-free future. And while it sounds like salvation-even for the vampires themselves-the truth is far more sinister and deadly. Now, Claire, Shane and Eve need to find a way to break their friends out of Daylighter custody, before the vampires of Morganville meet their untimely end.

Pandemic Survival: It's Why You're Alive by Ann Love & Jane Drake

The Black Death. Yellow Fever. Smallpox. History is full of gruesome pandemics, and surviving those pandemics has shaped our society and way of life. Every person today is alive because of an ancestor who survived--and surviving our current and future pandemics, like SARS, AIDS, bird flu or a new and unknown disease, will determine our future. Pandemic Survival presents in-depth information about past and current illnesses; the evolution of medicine and its pioneers; cures and treatments; strange rituals and superstitions; and what we're doing to prevent future pandemics. Full of delightfully gross details about symptoms and fascinating facts about bizarre superstitious behaviors, Pandemic Survival is sure to interest even the most squeamish of readers.

The Lightning Dreamer by Margarita Engle

In free verse, evokes the voice of Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, a book-loving writer, feminist, and abolitionist who courageously fought injustice in nineteenth-century Cuba. Includes historical notes, excerpts from her writings, biographical information, and source notes.

 Pretenders by Lisi Harrison

Three girls, two guys, five secret journals. The five most popular students at Noble High have secrets to hide; secrets they wrote down in their journals. Now one of their own exposes the private entries... I am leaking these because I'm tired and I know you are too. The success bar is too high and pretending has become the only way to reach it. Instagrams are filtered, Facebook profiles are embellished, photos are shopped, reality TV is scripted, body parts get upgraded like software, and even professional athletes are cheating. The things we believe in aren't real. We are pretenders.

 Teardrop by Lauren Kate

An epic saga of heart-stopping romance, devastating secrets, and dark magic . . . a world where everything you love can be washed away. The first book in the new series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fallen series Never, ever cry. . . . Eureka Boudreaux's mother drilled that rule into her daughter years ago. But now her mother is gone, and everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, the tall, pale blond boy who seems to know things he shouldn't, who tells Eureka she is in grave danger, who comes closer to making her cry than anyone has before. But Ander doesn't know Eureka's darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her oldest friend, Brooks, and a strange inheritance--a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book no one understands. The book contains a haunting tale about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea. Eureka is about to discover that the ancient tale is more than a story, that Ander might be telling the truth . . . and that her life has far darker undercurrents than she ever imagined.

New Book Time - June Post 4

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

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When his twin brother falls ill in the family's chateau in the independent republic of Geneva in the eighteenth century, sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein embarks on a dangerous and uncertain quest to create the forbidden Elixir of Life described in an ancient text in the family's secret Biblioteka Obscura.

Endure by Carrie Jones

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When evil pixies cause mass destruction and chaos in Bedford, Maine, sixteen-year-old Zara prepares for war, aligning her team of pixies with the humans she loves so much, a task made more difficult by her growing feelings for pixie king Astley.

Scandalous!: 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About by Hallie Fryd

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Do you love a good scandal? This book includes 50 juicy pop culture, political, and entertainment-related scandals complete with photos, event synopses, and a look at why it went down in history and how it continues to influence us today. Other features include famous quotes and a section on where the players are now. 

 Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk

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Sixteen-year-old Guy Langman, his best friend Anoop, and other members of the school Forensics Club investigate a break-in and a possible murder, which could be connected to the mysterious past of Guy's recently-deceased father.

 The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

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In a dystopian kingdom where the classes are separated by the languages they speak, Charlaina "Charlie" Hart has a secret gift that is revealed when she meets a mysterious young man named Max.

March's New Books - Part 3

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

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Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan.

 Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

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While living at River's Edge where she is learning to cope with her darker impulses, immortal Nastasya's ties to dark magick get in her way once again and she is pulled back into her former destructive lifestyle.

 Starstruck by Cyn Balog

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Sixteen-year-old Dough is surprised when her long-distance boyfriend returns to New Jersey after four years and still finds her beautiful, despite her seventy-pound weight gain, until Dough learns that he's a member of the Luminati--an ancient cult of astrologers who can manipulate the stars to improve their lives.

 Torn by Amanda Hocking

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When Wendy Everly first discovered the truth about herself - that she's a changeling switched at birth - she knew her life would never be the same.  Now she's about to learn that there's more to the story.  She shares a closer connection to her Vittra rivals than she ever imagined and they will stop at nothing to lure her to their side.  With the threat of war looming, her only hope of saving the Trylle is to master her magical powers - and marry an equally powerful royal.

Wisdom's Kiss: A Thrilling and Romantic Adventure Incorporating Magic, Villainy, and a Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

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Princess Wisdom, who yearns for a life of adventure beyond the kingdom of Montagne, Tips, a soldier keeping his true life secret from his family, Fortitude, an orphaned maid who longs for Tips, and Magic the cat form an uneasy alliance as they try to save the kingdom from certain destruction. Told through diaries, memoirs, encyclopedia entries, letters, biographies, and a stage play.