New Books for the Best Month ~ March 2016 (part 10)

We Are The Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

Contemporary Fiction 

Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button. Only he isn't sure he wants to. After all, life hasn't been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer's. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend's suicide last year. Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him. But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it...or let the world--and his pain--be destroyed forever.

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Action/Adventure

Her story begins on a train. The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To commemorate their Great Victory, they host the Axis Tour: an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The prize? An audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor's ball in Tokyo. Yael, a former death camp prisoner, has witnessed too much suffering, and the five wolves tattooed on her arm are a constant reminder of the loved ones she lost. The resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission by impersonating last year's only female racer, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes more difficult when Felix, Adele's twin brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter the race and watch Yael's every move. But as Yael grows closer to the other competitors, can she be as ruthless as she needs to be to avoid discovery and stay true to her mission?

Wonder Woman vol 6: Bones by Brian Azzarello

Comic Book 

It's the beginning of the end as writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chiang kick off the astonishing finale of their epic run! Olympus must fall, and its rightful ruler must be restored. Wonder Woman is locked in a desperate battle with the First Born with the destiny of immortals at stake--and she must make a decision that will effect the lives of those she loves most.

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 3)

A Frozen Heart by Elizabeth Rudnick

Fantasy 

Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, the youngest of twelve bullying brothers, takes advantage of his chance to have his own kingdom when he learns that Elsa will be crowned queen of Arendelle, but he inadvertantly woos her sister Anna instead.

Hacks for Minecrafters: The Unofficial Guide to Tips and Tricks That Other Guides Won't Teach You by Megan Miller

Nonfiction 

With more than 100 million registered players, Minecraft has taken control of gamers all over the world. With Hacks for Minecrafters, you'll be able to take back that control! Only with the help found in Hacks for Minecrafters will you be able to craft your world exactly how you want it to look, all while discovering the hidden gems of the game.

In this hacker's guide, you'll find expertise on:

Mining—including diamonds and rare minerals!

Farming—growing tricks, seed hacks, and the best tree-replanting techniques!

Battle—for the best weapons and armor!

Magic—top crafting hacks and book modifiers!

You will never be stuck again! With more than one hundred full-color screenshots of in-game footage, you’ll be able to carefully follow every tip with precision. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing on a PC, mobile device, or home console; with Hacks for Minecrafters, you’ll be beating the game in no time. Every block has been accounted for, all living entities have been taken into consideration, and all modes of game-play are covered!

Hardwired by Trisha Leaver & Lindsay Currie

Action/Adventure 

When seventeen-year-old Lucas Marshall tests positive for the M0A1 gene—a genetic abnormality believed to predispose humans toward violence—he is shipped off to an impregnable government facility to undergo a battery of psychological tests aimed at making him crack. Now, having survived their tests and proven his mental stability, Lucas is labeled safe to return home. 

But any hope Lucas has of returning to a normal life is shattered when the van transporting him to the reintegration facility is forced off the road by a group of radicals intent on accessing the facility and exposing it's dehumanizing practices. And Lucas is their ticket through the front door.

Spurred by rumors that the facility is secretly holding one of his old friends captive, Lucas and his bunk mate, Chris, agree to infiltrate the testing facility’s inner sanctum. But once inside, Lucas’s carefully laid plans begin to unravel, and he's forced to seek help from a group of kids he neither knows nor trusts. And when every genetic test claims your only allies are hardwired to become the next Charles Manson, it’s impossible to know who has your back.

Hawkeye: Rio Bravo volume 4 by Matt Fraction

Graphic Novel (Comic) 

Reeling from recent events, even Hawkeye wants to know his new status quo. Who's with him? Who's against him? Who's trying to kill him, and why? And just when Clint's rock bottom couldn't arrive fast enough, his brother shows up. After a lifetime of bad decisions, Clint and Barney Barton have to realize that they are brothers - and, ultimately, they're the only ones who can save one another. If they don't kill each other first. Now, the brothers Barton double down as the Clown and the Tracksuit Draculas lay siege to their building. Can Hawkguy keep everyone safe? Deafened and bloodied, will the Bartons make easy pickings for the Tracksuits?

Heartbreakers by Ali Novak

Contemporary Fiction 

When her triplet sister Cara is diagnosed with leukemia, eighteen-year-old Stella puts her dreams on hold to move home and be with her family, but when she starts spending time with the lead singer of Cara's favorite band, will Stella resent him for taking her attention away from her sister--or will he help Stella find the courage to live her own life?

What's New in November? (Part 8)

Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly

Mystery

Sherlock meets Veronica Mars meets Ferris Bueller's Day Off in this story of a wisecracking girl who meets a weird but brilliant boy and their roller-coaster of a semester that's one part awkward, three parts thrilling, and five parts awesome When Philip Digby first shows up on her doorstep, Zoe Webster is not impressed. He's rude and he treats her like a book he's already read and knows the ending to. But before she knows it, Digby--annoying, brilliant and somehow attractive?--has dragged her into a series of hilarious and dangerous situations all related to an investigation into the kidnapping of a local teenage girl. A kidnapping that may be connected to the tragic disappearance of his own sister eight years ago. When it comes to Digby, Zoe just can't say no. Digby gets her, even though she barely gets herself. But is Digby a hero, or is his manic quest an indication of a desperate attempt to repair his broken family and exercise his own obsessive compulsive tendencies?

Whippoorwill by Joseph Monninger

Contemporary Fiction 

Sixteen-year-old Clair Taylor has neighbors who are what locals call whippoorwills, the kind of people who fill their yards with rusty junk. Clair tries to ignore her surroundings, choosing instead to dream of a future beyond her rural New Hampshire town. But, when a black dog named Wally is chained up to a pole next door, Clair can't look the other way. Clair decides to save Wally, and the immediate connection she has with the lovable dog catches her off-guard, but even more surprising is her bond with eighteen-year-old Danny Stewart, the boy next door.

Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, & Deborah Biancotti

Action/Adventure 

Don't call them heroes. But these six Californian teens have powers that set them apart. Take Ethan, a.k.a. Scam. He's got a voice inside him that'll say whatever you want to hear, whether it's true or not. Which is handy, except when it isn't--like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery. The only people who can help are the other Zeroes, who aren't exactly best friends these days. Enter Nate, a.k.a. Bellwether, the group's "glorious leader." After Scam's SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the recue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals. At the heart of the chaos they find Kelsie, who can take a crowd in the palm of her hand and tame it or let it loose as she pleases. Filled with high-stakes action and drama, Zeroes unites three powerhouse authors for the opening installment of a thrilling new series.

New School Year, New Books! September New Books (part 8)

Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Paranormal 

When seventeen-year-old Lilliana Young enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art one morning during spring break, the last thing she expects to find is a live Egyptian prince with godlike powers, who has been reawakened after a thousand years of mummification. 
And she really can't imagine being chosen to aid him in an epic quest that will lead them across the globe.
 
But fate has taken hold of Lily, and she, along with her sun prince, Amon, must travel to the Valley of the Kings, raise his brothers, and stop an evil, shape-shifting god named Seth from taking over the world. 


Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson

Fantasy 

It's 1888, and seventeen-year-old Verity Newton lands a job in New York as a governess to a wealthy leading family--but she quickly learns that the family has big secrets. Magisters have always ruled the colonies, but now an underground society of mechanics and engineers are developing non-magical sources of power via steam engines that they hope will help them gain freedom from British rule. The family Verity works for is magister--but it seems like the children's young guardian uncle is sympathetic to the rebel cause. As Verity falls for a charming rebel inventor and agrees to become a spy, she also becomes more and more enmeshed in the magister family's life. She soon realizes she's uniquely positioned to advance the cause--but to do so, she'll have to reveal her own dangerous secret.

Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams

Action/Adventure 

Ruth Carver has always competed like her life depends on it. Ambitious. Tough. Maybe even mean. It's no wonder people call her Ruthless. When she wakes up with a concussion in the bed of a moving pickup trick, she realizes she has been entered into a contest she can't afford to lose. At a remote, rotting cabin deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ruth's blindfold comes off and she comes face-to-face with her captor. A man who believes his mission is to punish bad girls like Ruth. A man who has done this six times before. The other girls were never heard from again, but Ruth won't go down easy. She escapes into the wilderness, but her hunter is close at her heels. That's when the real battle begins. That's when Ruth must decides just how far she'll go in order to survive. Back home, they called her Ruthless. They had no idea just how right they were.

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life vol 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Graphic Novel 

Scott Pilgrim's life is totally sweet. He's 23 years old, he's in a rockband, he's ""between jobs,"" and he's dating a cute high school girl. Nothingcould possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerouslyfashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruisingthrough his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life getturned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends inbattle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1:Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World vol 2 by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Graphic Novel 

Does Scott and Ramona's burgeoning relationship have a future? Isn't Scott still supposedly dating Knives Chau? Who is Ramona's second evil ex-boyfriend, and why is he in Toronto? Who are The Clash At Demonhead, and what kind of bizarre art-punky music do they play? Who's their hot girl keyboardist, and what is Scott's relation to her? Why are they Knives Chau's new favourite band? Fights! Drama! Secrets revealed! The answers to all these questions and more!

New School Year, New Books! September New Books (part 2)

Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova

Graphic Novel 

Cardinal rule #1 for surviving school: Don't get noticed by the mean kids. Cardinal rule #2 for surviving school: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them. On her first day at her new school, Penelope--Peppi--Torres reminds herself of these basics. But when she trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she's already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the "nerder girlfriend." How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away! Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can't help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he's a member of her own club's archrivals--the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school!

Blood Will Tell by April Henry

Mystery 

Teen Portland Search and Rescue team member Nick Walker becomes a prime suspect in a murder.

The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Contemporary Fiction 

When he moves into the garage apartment at his best friend's house, trouble-prone Tim falls unexpectedly in love with Alice, his friend's good-girl sister, but unforeseen consequences of Tim's wild days come back to challenge their relationship.

Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond

Contemporary Fiction 

Walter Wilcox's first love, Naomi, happens to be African American, so when Walter's policeman father is caught in a racial profiling scandal, the teens' bond and mutual love of the Foo Fighters may not be enough to keep them together through the pressures they face at school, at home, and online.

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz

Action/Adventure 

When Iranian-American Kamran Smith learns that his big brother, Darius, has been labeled a terrorist, he sets out to piece together the codes and clues that will save his brother's life and his country from a deadly terrorist attack.

The Rest of Your Summer Reading ~ August New Books (part 4)

The Leveller by Julia Durango

The Leveller #1

Action/Adventure 

Nixy Bauer, a sixteen-year-old self-made video-game bounty hunter, gets in over her head when she attempts to rescue a game developer's son from a virtual trap.

Life Unaware by Cole Gibsen

Contemporary Fiction 

Regan Flay is on the cusp of achieving her control-freak mother's "plan" for high school success--cheerleading, student council, the Honor Society--until her life gets turned horribly, horribly upside down. Every bitchy text. Every bitchy email. Every lie, manipulation, and insult she's ever said have been printed out and taped to all the lockers in school. Now Regan has gone from popular princess to total pariah. The only person who even speaks to her is her former best friend's hot but socially miscreant brother, Nolan Letner. Nolan thinks he knows what Regan's going through, but what nobody knows is that Regan isn't really Little Miss Perfect. In fact, she's barely holding it together under her mom's pressure. But the consequences of Regan's fall from grace are only just beginning. Once the chain reaction starts, no one will remain untouched... especially Regan Flay.

Like It Never Happened by Emily Adrian

Contemporary fiction 

As one of The Essential Five theater students at her alternative high school, Rebecca Rivers is preparing to become an actress and enjoying junior year with the perfect boyfriend until life-changing rumors threaten everything.

Lost by S. A. Bodeen

Shipwreck Island #2

Action/Adventure 

Sarah Robinson and her family are shipwrecked on a remote and mysterious island. Their food is running out, and their fear is escalating-there is no sign of rescue. The mysterious girl they found unconscious at the beach is healing, and what she tells them about the strange island and especially about someone called the Keeper has the family on edge. When Sarah's dad and Marco's younger brother go missing, the mystery becomes dangerous. Now, it's a matter of life and death. Now, the family is truly lost.

MAY I have some New Books please? (May new books part 5)

The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey

Action/Adventure 

Not every gift is a blessing. Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite. But they don't laugh. Melanie is a very special girl. Emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end, The girl with all the gifts is the most powerful and affecting thriller you will read this year.

Harley Quinn vol 2: Power Outage by Amanda Conner

Graphic Novel 

When bona fide super hero Power Girl drops outta the sky and into Harley Quinn's new Coney Island 'hood, there's only one thing the former moll to do: sew herself a new costume so the amnesiac Power Girl believes their a pair of crime-fighting super heroines! But how long can Harley keep up the act now that she's pretending to be on the straight and narrow? Plus! A look into the future of the greatest power couple in crime as Harley and the Joker are reunited in Futures End! Double plus! Harley puts the "con" back in "Comic Con" with a wild trip to San Diego.

Hawkeye vol 2: Little Hits by Matt Fraction

Graphic Novel 

Ace archer Clint Barton faces the digital doomsday of - DVR-Mageddon! Then: Cherry's got a gun. And she looks good in it. And Hawkeye gets very, very distracted. Plus: Valentine's Day with the heartthrob of the Marvel Universe? This will be...confusing. Marvel architect Matt Fraction continues his exciting, adventurous reinvention of the arrowed Avenger!

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Contemporary Fiction 

Skylar Evans, seventeen, yearns to escape Creek View by attending art school, but after her mother's job loss puts her dream at risk, a rekindled friendship with Josh, who joined the Marines to get away then lost a leg in Afghanistan, and her job at the Paradise motel lead her to appreciate her home town.

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka, Martin Ganda, & Liz Welch

Nonfiction 

Chronicles the friendship between an American girl and her pen pal from Zimbabwe, discussing how a class assignment was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned six years and changed two lives.

The Kidney Hypothetical: Or, How to Ruin Your Life in Seven Days by Lisa Yee

Contemporary Fiction 

A week before high school graduation, Harvard-bound Higgs suddenly finds his life falling apart and the other students turning against him, and somehow it all started with a hypothetical question about donating a kidney--but really it goes much deeper, all the way back to the death of his older brother.

Happy birthday to me! ~ New Books for March (part 7)

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

Graphic Novel

Eschewing female stereotypes throughout her early years and failing to gain acceptance on the boys' baseball team, Liz learns to embrace her own views on gender as she comes of age, in an anecdotal graphic novel memoir.

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

Mystery 

The day before Christmas, money goes missing from a donation box at GoodFoods Market and Chloe and five of her teenage co-workers are being held in the break room until the police arrive, try to identify the real thief.

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Contemporary Fiction 

When ugly rumors and lies about Alice Franklin start after one of the guys she allegedly slept with at a party dies in a car accident, questions about truth arise in her small town.

Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer

Action/Adventure 

Having learned to be a master con artist from her father, Julep Dupree pays expenses at her exclusive high school by fixing things for fellow students, but she will need their help when her father disappears.

Unhinged by A. G. Howard

Paranormal 

Life gets complicated once again for teenaged Alyssa when her mother returns home from an asylum and the mysterious Morpheus tempts Alyssa with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland.

New Books for October ~ Part 4

The ultimate guide to understanding the universe.These days, it often seems like there's nothing we can count on. Mechanical engineer and proud science geek Christine McKinley has some good advice: Trust the laws of gravity, motion, energy, and entropy. In this funny, smart, and surprisingly practical book, McKinley offers a guided tour of the physical world, explaining everything from sound and light waves to momentum, buoyancy, magnetism, and relativity - and offers advice on how to use them in our everyday lives and more glamorous pursuits. Whether you're a secret agent trying to cover your tracks, a war correspondent ducking into a bomb shelter, or simply trying to execute the perfect stage dive, understanding physics can mean the difference between life and death (or at least looking kind of silly). Part science book, part memoir, and part extreme survival handbook, Physics for Rock Stars is the amazing science class you never had (or don't remember).

Michael and his friends must rescue a child prodigy as the thrilling action continues in this electrifying fourth installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling series! Michael, Taylor, Ostin and the rest of the Electroclan head to China in search of a girl who may have discovered why Michael and his friends became electric. Her name is Lin Julung, or Jade Dragon, and she's a child prodigy with an IQ higher than Einstein's- and Ostin's. But Hatch gets to her first, and the Elgen are holding her prisoner in their Taiwan Starxource plant. Now the Voice wants Michael and the Electroclan to go to Taiwan and free her before Hatch can realize his dreams of an army of electric children. The hunt for Jade Dragon is on, and it's a race against time!

Kara, a high school junior, is popular with a great group of friends, an amazing boyfriend, and expectations of being homecoming queen until she leaves a party angry, and wakes up in a hospital bed, paralyzed from the waist down. As she is forced to adjust to her new physical reality, she also learns that her friends are not who they seemed to be.

In 1905 czarist Russia, an impoverished country girl Elena and the aristocratic Ekatrina meet and set in motion an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and the witch Baba Yaga.

Waking up after a five-year absence with no memory of what happened, softball player Kyra Agnew is astonished to realize that she did not age while she was missing and teams up with her former boyfriend's now-teenaged younger brother to figure out what happened.

New Books for October ~ Part 2

Nontraditional, controversial, rebellious, and politically volatile, the Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera are remembered for their provocative paintings as well as for their deep love for each other. Their marriage was one of the most tumultuous and infamous in history--filled with passion, pain, betrayal, revolution, and, above all, art that helped define the twentieth century. Catherine Reef's inspiring and insightful dual biography features numerous archival photos and full-color reproductions of both artists' work.

The Garde, broken and divided, discover that the Mogadorians have commenced their ultimate invasion plans and will stop at nothing to thwart it.

Sherwood and Orson should never have gone into that cave. That day, a door was opened from our world into a dark and profane realm...and earth's destiny was changed forever. In this demented future, whatever life remains on earth is oppressed by the evil shadowsmen. Only a gang of ruthless and powerful children called the Wrenchies can hope to stand against them. When Hollis, a lonely boy from our world, is magically given access to the future world of the Wrenchies, he finally finds a place he belongs. But it is not an easy world to live in, and Hollis's quest is bigger than he ever dreamed of. 

Sixteen-year-old Prenna, an immigrant who moved to New York when she was twelve, came from another time and she and the other travelers must follow strict rules to avoid destroying the new life they have worked so hard to get, as well as the one person Prenna is desperate to protect.

Abducted at age fourteen and trained by the F.A.T.E. Center to become a Shadow, guardian of a future leader, Ren Sharpe, now eighteen, is assigned to protect college science student Gareth Young, but with help from her secret love and fellow Shadow, Junie, she learns that F.A.T.E. itself is behind an attack on Gareth.