My Gift to You ~ New Books for December (part 7)

The Right Side of History: 100 Years of LGBTQI Activism by Adrian Brooks

Nonfiction 

The Right Side of History tells the 100-year history of queer activism in a series of revealing close-ups, first-person accounts, and intimate snapshots of LGBT pioneers and radicals. This diverse cast stretches from the Edwardian period to today, including first-person accounts of the key protest that is at the heart of the 2015 movie Stonewall.

Shackled by Tom Leveen

Action/Adventure 

Sixteen-year-old Pelly has a master plan. After years of therapy, medication, and even a stint in a mental hospital, she's finally ready to re-enter the world of the living. Pelly has been suffering from severe panic attacks ever since her best friend, Tara, disappeared from a mall six years ago. And her plan seems to be working, until an unkempt girl accompanied by an older man walks into the coffee shop where she works. Pelly thinks she's seen a ghost, until the girl mouths "help me" on the way out, and Pelly knows she's just seen Tara. Too shocked to do anything, Pelly helplessly watches Tara slip away again as she steels herself against a renewed spiral of crippling anxiety. But rather than being overcome by anxiety, Pelly feels more energized than she has in years. Determined to track down enough evidence to force the police to reopen Tara's file, Pelly's master plan takes a turn for the dangerous. Pelly decides she cannot be shackled by her past--and the anxiety, fear, and grief that comes with it--any longer if she wants to save Tara. But in seeking answers through whatever means necessary, she'll come face-to-face with true evil. And not all the shackles are in her head...

The Shadow Behind the Stars by Rebecca Hahn

Fantasy 

Heed this warning, mortal: stay far away from the three sister Fates. For if they come to love you, they might bring about the end of the world... Chloe is the youngest. Hers are the fingers that choose the wool, that shape the thread, that begin it. The sun smiles upon her. Men love her without knowing who she is. She has lived forever and will live forever more. She and her sisters have been on their isolated Greek island for centuries, longer than any mortal can remember. They spin, measure, and slice the countless golden threads of human life. They are the three Fates, and they have stayed separate for good reason: it is dangerous for them to become involved with the humans whose lives they shape. So when a beautiful girl named Aglaia shows up on their doorstep, Chloe tries to make sure her sisters don't become attached. But in seeking to protect them, Chloe discovers the dark power of Aglaia's destiny. As her path unwinds, the three Fates find themselves pulled inextricably along--toward mortal pain, and mortal love, and a fate that could unravel the world.

A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond

Paranormal 

Claire and Ella and their friends are bound by ties so strong they seem unbreakable. Then the strange and handsome Orpheus strolls onto the beach, and he sings them all into an astonishing new understanding of themselves. Ella is caught the hardest, fastest, deepest--and Claire is left with the pain of looking on. Raw, emotional, lyrical, funny, and true, A Song for Ella Grey is a tale of the joys, troubles, and desires of modern teens. It takes place in the ordinary streets of Tyneside and on the beautiful beaches of Northumberland. It's a story of first love, a love song that draws on ancient mythical forces. A love that leads Ella, Orpheus, and Claire to the gates of Death and beyond. 

Sophomores and Other Oxymorons by David Lubar

Contemporary Fiction 

Following a difficult freshman year, Scott Hudson is hoping that sophomore year will be easier, but after a disaster of a first week he finds himself faced with new challenges--including a particularly demanding English teacher, a school board member whose budget cutting is covering up a crime, and the discovery that his friendship with Lee, the Goth girl he met last year, is turning into something else entirely.

My gift to you...New Books for December! (part 8)

Random by Tom Leveen

The night before going on trial in a sensational felony case that has ruined her life, sixteen-year-old Tori Hershberger receives a random phone call from a stranger contemplating suicide and she begins a race against time to save him.

Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat by Gail Jarrow

One hundred years ago, a mysterious and alarming illness spread across America's South, striking tens of thousands of victims. No one knew what caused it or how to treat it. People were left weak, disfigured, insane, and in some cases, dead. Award winning science and history writer Gail Jarrow tracks this disease, commonly known as pellagra, and highlights how doctors, scientists, and public health officials finally defeated it.

The Revelation of Gabriel Adam by S. L. Duncan

Seventeen-year-old Gabriel Adam is used to relocating a lot. When a mysterious assassin burns his home to the ground, Gabriel’s father reveals the truth of why they are always on the move: Gabriel is one of four archangels, born human and sent to stop Armageddon. Now Gabe must set aside dreams of attending NYU to try to fulfill his newly discovered role.

Separated @ Birth: A True Love Story of Twin Sisters Reunited by Anais Bordier and Samantha Futerman

It all began when design student Anaïs Bordier viewed a YouTube video and saw her own face staring back. After some research, Anaïs found that the Los Angeles actress Samantha Futerman was born in a South Korean port city called Busan on November 19, 1987—the exact same location and day that Anaïs was born. This propelled her to make contact—via Facebook. One message later, both girls wondered: Could they be twins?

Thus begins their remarkable journey to build a relationship as sisters, continents apart. Over Facebook, Twitter, and Skype, they learned that they shared much more than a strikingly similar appearance. Eventually, they traveled to Korea together to discover more about the land of their separation. Separated @ Birth is a story that spans the world and peels back some of the complex and emotional layers of foreign adoption.

Seventeen Ultimate Guide to College: Everything You Need to Know to Walk Onto Campus and Own it! by Ann Shoket

Offers college-bound young women advice on maneuvering life on the college campus, sharing tips from real students on such topics as how to bond with roommates, navigate the hookup scene, and avoid going broke.

Fabulous February New Books ~ Part 3

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

YA SFF SAN

At age eight, David watched as his father was killed by an Epic, a human with superhuman powers, and now, ten years later, he joins the Reckoners--the only people who are trying to kill the Epics and end their tyranny.

Sick by Tom Leveen

YA ACT LEV

Brian and his friends are not part of the cool crowd. They're the misfits, the troublemakers--the ones who jump their high school's electrified fence to skip school regularly. So when the virus breaks out, they're the only ones with a chance of surviving.

Batman Volume 1: The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder

YA GN SNY

After a series of brutal murders rocks Gotham City, Batman begins to realize that perhaps these crimes go far deeper than appearances suggest. As the Caped Crusader begins to unravel this deadly mystery, he discovers a conspiracy going back to his youth and beyond to the origins of the city he's sworn to protect. Could the Court of Owls, once thought to be nothing more than an urban legend, be behind the crime and corruption? Or is Bruce Wayne losing his grip on sanity and falling prey to the pressures of his war on crime? Collects issues #1-7 of Batman.

Coaltown Jesus by Ron Koertge

YA FIC KOE

Walker shouldn't have been so surprised to find Jesus standing in the middle of his bedroom. After all, he'd prayed for whoever was up there to help him, and to help his mom, who hadn't stopped crying since Noah died two months ago. But since when have prayers actually been answered? And since when has Jesus been so irreverent?

Atlantis Rising by T. A. Barron

YA SFF BAR

In a magical land called Ellegandia, a young boy named Promi scrapes by, stealing pies, cakes and sweets to survive. But little does he know that his country is a pawn in an ages-old war between good and evil, battled both in the spirit realm and in the human world. Harboring secrets of his own, Promi teams up with a courageous girl named Atlanta and the two vow to save their land; and each other; no matter the cost. But their vow has greater repercussions than they ever could imagine; in fact, it may just bring about the creation of Atlantis, an island cut off from the rest of the world, where magic reigns supreme.