New Books ~ August 2014 ~ Part 6

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling by Lucy Frank

In this novel in verse, two very different girls bond while hospitalized for Crohn's disease.

Tune: Vanishing Point by Derek Kirk Kim

Andy's life is going nowhere, fast. He left art school with his career all worked out ahead of time, but ...to say it didn't work out is the understatement of the century. Unemployed and living with his overbearing parents, Andy struggles to keep sight of the lofty goals that once drove him. But it's hard, even when he reconnects with his old art school crush, Yumi. Things look better, briefly, with Yumi back in the picture and an actual job offer on the table. But then Andy takes the job offer--to work at a zoo--and finds himself in an alternate dimension. The zoo? Is run by aliens. The exhibit? Is him. 

A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman

Veda, a classical dance prodigy in India, lives and breathes dance; so when an accident leaves her a below-knee amputee, her dreams are shattered. For a girl who's grown used to receiving applause for her dance prowess and flexibility, adjusting to a prosthetic leg is painful and humbling. But Veda refuses to let her disability rob her of her dreams, and she starts all over again, taking beginner classes with the youngest dancers. Then Veda meets Govinda, a young man who approaches dance as a spiritual pursuit. As their relationship deepens, Veda reconnects with the world around her, and begins to discover who she is and what dance truly means to her.

Natural Beauty: Homemade Recipes for Radiant Skin & Hair by Elizabeth Tenhouten

Combining a wealth of tips and 75 recipes for all-natural beauty aids, using nothing but pure ingredients direct from Mother Nature, with a philosophical approach to beauty as the foremost purpose of human existence, Natural Beauty inspires readers to pursue a natural, healthful approach to caring for their mind, body and soul.

Idols by Margaret Stohl

In the near future, four teenagers discover that their emotions have been weaponized and that they have been genetically bred to end the alien occupation of Earth.

Fabulous February New Books ~ Part 2

Pirouette by Robyn Bavati

YA FIC BAV

When Simone and Hannah, fifteen-year-old identical twins, meet for the first time at dance camp, they switch places in order to change the role that dance plays in their lives.

 

Vitro by Jessica Khoury

YA SFF KHO

On a remote island in the Pacific, Corpus scientists have taken test tube embryos and given them life. These beings--the Vitros--have knowledge and abilities most humans can only dream of. But they also have one enormous flaw.  Sophie Crue is determined to get to Skin Island and find her mother, a scientist who left Sophie behind years ago. She enlists hunky charter pilot Jim Julien to take her there. But once on the island, Sophie and Jim encounter more than they bargained for, including a charming, brilliant Vitro named Nicholas and an innocent, newly awoken one named Lux.  In a race for their lives, Sophie and Jim are about to discover what happens when science stretches too far beyond its reach.

 

 Thrice Told Tales: Three Mice Full of Writing Advice by Catherine Lewis

YA 803 LEW

Can one nursery rhyme explain the secrets of the universe? Well, not exactly--but it can help you understand the difference between bildungsroman, epigram, and epistolary.

 

 Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

YA GN YAN

In China in 1898 bands of foreign missionaries and soldiers roam the countryside, bullying and robbing Chinese peasants. Little Bao has had enough: harnessing the powers of ancient Chinese gods, he recruits an army of Boxers--commoners trained in kung fu--who fight to free China from "foreign devils."

 

Saints by Gene Luen Yang

YA GN YAN

China, 1898. An unwanted and unwelcome fourth daughter, Four-Girl isn't even given a proper name by her family when she's born. She finally finds friendship-- and a name, Vibiana -- in the most unlikely of places: Christianity. But China is a dangerous place for Christians. The Boxer Rebellion is in full swing, and bands of young men roam the countryside, murdering Westerners and Chinese Christians alike. Torn between her nation and her Christian friends, Vibiana will have to decide where her true loyalties lie-- and whether she is willing to die for her faith.

 

 Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

YA PAR GAR

Seventeen-year-old Kennedy Waters discovers she is a member of an ancient secret society formed to protect the world from a powerful demon determined to find a way out of his dimension and into ours. She joins the Legion on a mission to find a weapon that can defeat the demon.

 

 

 

April's new books are all vampire romances! (Part 4)

April Fools :)

Eternally Yours by Cate Tiernan

Book 3 in the Immortal Beloved series.  Ex-party-girl immortal Nastasya ends a 450-year-old feud and learns what "eternally yours" really means.

Quicksand: HIV/AIDS In our Lives by Anonymous

Weaving together her own story with straightforward questions and answers, the author explains the real ways that HIV/AIDS can be transmitted and explores the common experiences and emotions that might be encountered by friends and family members of someone who has the virus. She also discusses why HIV/AIDS is often still kept a secret and the importance of treating this condition like any other. With up-to-date medical information that has been thoroughly vetted by experts, this first-person narrative offers an invaluable look at what it is like to watch someone you know battle HIV/AIDS.

Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Fifteen-year-old Vanessa follows her sister Margaret to an elite Manhattan ballet school, not only gaining admission but also earning the lead in a production of the Firebird, while trying to uncover why and how Margaret and other lead dancers have disappeared.

17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma

Seventeen-year-old Lauren has visions of girls her own age who are gone without a trace, but while she tries to understand why they are speaking to her and whether she is next, Lauren has a brush with death and a shocking truth emerges, changing everything.

The Assault by Brian Falkner
In the year 2030, six teens who have been modified to look like the aliens who are battling for control of Earth go behind enemy lines and discover a shocking, secret alien project.