New Books for April 2016 (part 3)

Front Lines by Michael Grant

Action/Adventure 

World War II, 1942. A court decision makes women subject to the draft and eligible for service. The unproven American army is going up against the greatest fighting force ever assembled, the armed forces of Nazi Germany.

Three girls sign up to fight. Rio Richlin, Frangie Marr, and Rainy Schulterman are average girls, girls with dreams and aspirations, at the start of their lives, at the start of their loves. Each has her own reasons for volunteering: Rio fights to honor her sister; Frangie needs money for her family; Rainy wants to kill Germans. For the first time they leave behind their homes and families—to go to war.

These three daring young women will play their parts in the war to defeat evil and save the human race. As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, they will discover the roles that define them on the front lines. They will fight the greatest war the world has ever known.

Firstlife by Gena Showalter

Science Fiction

Tenley (Ten) Lockwood is an average seventeen-year-old girl who has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. The reason? Not her obsession with numbers, but her refusal to let her parents choose where she'll live after she dies. There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death. In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the two realms who will do anything to win the right to her soul.

The Gender Quest Workbook: A Guide for Teens & Young Adults Exploring Gender Identity by Rylan Jay Testa, Deborah Coolhart, & Jayme Peta

Nonfiction 

This one-of-a-kind, comprehensive workbook will help you navigate your gender identity and expression at home, in school, and with peers. If you are a transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) teen, you may experience unique challenges with identity and interpersonal relationships. In addition to experiencing common teen challenges such as body changes and peer pressure, you may be wondering how to express your unique identity to others. The Gender Quest Workbook incorporates skills, exercises, and activities from evidence-based therapies--such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)--to help you address the broad range of struggles you may encounter related to gender identity, such as anxiety, isolation, fear, and even depression. Despite outdated beliefs, gender no longer implies being simply male or female, but rather a whole spectrum of possibilities. This fun, engaging workbook is designed specifically for teens like you who want to explore the concept of gender and gender identity and expression--whether you already identify as TGNC or are simply questioning your gender identity. 

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Science Fiction 

Sixteen-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father's ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end.  Nix's life began in Honolulu in 1868. Since then she has traveled to mythic Scandinavia, a land from the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, modern-day New York City, and many more places both real and imagined. As long as he has a map, Nix's father can sail his ship, The Temptation, to any place, any time. But now he's uncovered the one map he's always sought--1868 Honolulu, before Nix's mother died in childbirth. Nix's life--her entire existence--is at stake. No one knows what will happen if her father changes the past. It could erase Nix's future, her dreams, her adventures. her connection with the charming Persian thief, Kash, who's been part of their crew for two years. If Nix helps her father reunite with the love of his life, it will cost her her own.

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Fantasy 

Mare Barrow's blood is red--the color of common folk--but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince--the friend--who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind. Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

New Books for the Best Month ~ March 2016 (part 8)

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

Contemporary Fiction 

A gender-fluid teenager who struggles with identity creates a blog on the topic that goes viral, and faces ridicule at the hands of fellow students.

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer

Mystery

On his own Thomas Bellweather hasn't been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad's cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect. Not that there's any evidence. But before Thomas got to Frederick there had only been one other murder in twenty years. The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. Her friend was the other murder vic. And she'd like a couple answers....Answers that could get them both killed, and reveal a truth Thomas would die to keep hidden. The more they dig, the more it seems the only way they'll hear the real story is from the source--the killer. Not the kind of future plan a college recruiter likes to hear. But then, the better it works, the less likely either of them is going to have a future. . .

Titans by Victoria Scott

Action/Adventure 

Seventeen-year-old Astrid Sullivan belongs to a family of compulsive gamblers, and now that her father has been laid off from his job in Detroit and lost all their money betting on the Titans, which are half-horse, half car, and race around impossible tracks, her family is falling apart--but when Astrid's new friends give her the chance to participate in this year's Titan races, she thinks she sees a way to win some money and keep her family together.

Traffick by Ellen Hopkins

Contemporary Fiction 

In her bestselling novel, Tricks , Ellen Hopkins introduced us to five memorable characters tackling these enormous questions: Eden, the preacher's daughter who turns tricks in Vegas and is helped into a child prostitution rescue; Seth, the gay farm boy disowned by his father who finds himself without money or resources other than his own body; Whitney, the privileged kid coaxed into the life by a pimp and whose dreams are ruined in a heroin haze; Ginger, who runs away from home with her girlfriend and is arrested for soliciting an undercover cop; and Cody, whose gambling habit forces him into the life, but who is shot and left for dead. And now, in Traffick , these five are faced with the toughest question of all: Is there a way out? How these five teenagers face the aftermath of their decisions and experiences is the soul of this story that exposes the dark, ferocious underbelly of the child trafficking trade. Heartwrenching and hopeful, Traffick takes us on five separate but intertwined journeys through the painful challenges of recovery, rehabilitation, and renewal to forgiveness and love. All the way home.

New books for October ~ Part 5

Keepers of the Labyrinth by Erin Moulton

Action/Adventure 

Lil Bennett goes to Crete to find answers about the circumstances of her mother's death, and there finds herself entangled in an adventure of mythical proportions that leads her and her friends through the very labyrinth in which the real Minotaur was imprisoned.

The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell

Contemporary Fiction 

A teen grapples with ALS and his decision to die in this devastatingly beautiful debut novel infused with the haunting grace of samurai death poetry and the noble importance of friendship. Abe Sora is going to die, and he's only seventeen years old. Diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), he's already lost the use of his legs, which means he can no longer attend school. Seeking a sense of normality, Sora visits teen chat rooms online and finally finds what he's been longing for: friendship without pity. As much as he loves his new friends, he can't ignore what's ahead. He's beginning to lose the function of his hands, and soon he'll become even more of a burden to his mother. Inspired by the death poems of the legendary Japanese warriors known as samurai, Sora makes the decision to leave life on his own terms. And he needs his friends to help him.

Library of Souls by Ranson Riggs

Paranormal 

Time is running out for the Peculiar Children. With a dangerous madman on the loose and their beloved Miss Peregrine still in danger, Jacob Portman and Emma Bloom are forced to stage the most daring of rescue missions. They'll travel through a war-torn landscape, meet new allies, and face greater dangers than ever. Will Jacob come into his own as the hero his fellow Peculiars know him to be? (Features more than 50 all-new Peculiar photographs.)

Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz

Science Fiction 

Fifteen-year-old bender Kivali has had a rough time in a gender-rigid culture. Abandoned as a baby and raised by Sheila, an ardent nonconformist, Kivali has always been surrounded by uncertainty. Where did she come from? Is it true what Sheila says, that she was deposited on Earth by the mysterious saurians? What are you? people ask, and Kivali isn't sure. Boy/girl? Human/lizard? Both/neither? Now she's in CropCamp, with all of its schedules and regs, and the first real friends she's ever had. Strange occurrences and complicated relationships raise questions Kivali has never before had to consider. But she has a gift--the power to enter a trancelike state to harness the "knowings" inside her. She has Lizard Radio. Will it be enough to save her?

Lock & Mori by Heather Petty

Mystery 

In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students-one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James "Mori" Moriarty-meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart. Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more... FACT: Someone has been murdered in London's Regent's Park. The police have no leads. FACT: Miss James "Mori" Moriarty and Sherlock "Lock" Holmes should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene. FACT: Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted. FACT: Despite agreeing to Lock's one rule-they must share every clue with each other-Mori is keeping secrets. OBSERVATION: Sometimes you can't trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again.

New Books for June...Finally! (Part 7)

Ms. Marvel vol 2: Generation Why by Willow Wilson

Graphic Novel 

Who is the Inventor, and what does he want with the all-new Ms. Marvel and all her friends? Maybe Wolverine can help! Kamala may be fan-girling out when her favorite (okay maybe Top Five) super hero shows up, but that won't stop her from protecting her hometown. Then, Kamala crosses paths with Inhumanity for the first time - by meeting the royal dog, Lockjaw! Every girl wants a puppy, but this one may be too much of a handful, even for a super hero with embiggening powers. But why is Lockjaw really with Kamala? As Ms. Marvel discovers more about her past, the Inventor continues to threaten her future. 

My Parent Has Cancer and It Really Sucks: Real Life Advice from Real Life Teens by Maya Silver and Marc Silver

Nonfiction 

Currently one million American teenagers live with a parent who is fighting cancer. It's a hard blow for those already navigating high school, preparing for college, and becoming increasingly independent. My Parent Has Cancer and It Really Sucks is the first book written especially for teens to help during this tough time. Author Maya Silver was 15 when her momwas diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. She and her dad, Marc, have combined theirfamily's personal experience with advice from dozens of medical professionals and real stories from 100 teens - all going through the same thing Maya did. In a highly designed, engaging style, this book gives practical guidance that includes: - how to talk about the diagnosis (and what does diagnosis even mean, anyway?) - the best outlets forstress (punching a wall is not a great one, but should it happen, there are instructions for a patch job) - how to deal with friends (especially one the ones with 'pity eyes') - whether to tell the teachers and guidance counselors and what they should know (how not to get embarrassed in class) - what happens in a therapy session and how to find a support group if you want one.

Naruto vol 70 by Masashi Kishimoto

Graphic Novel - Manga 

With Naruto out of commission, Guy steps up to fight against the powerful Madara. Guy is willing to give up his life to defeat Madara, but will that be enough? And can the others save Naruto in time?

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Graphic Novel 

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.

None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

Contemporary Fiction 

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant? When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She's a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she's madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she's decided that she's ready to take things to the next level with him. But Kristin's first time isn't the perfect moment she's planned--something is very wrong. A visit to the doctor reveals the truth: Kristin is intersex, which means that though she outwardly looks like a girl, she has male chromosomes, not to mention boy "parts." Dealing with her body is difficult enough, but when her diagnosis is leaked to the whole school, Kristin's entire identity is thrown into question. As her world unravels, can she come to terms with her new self?

Happy birthday to me! ~ New Books for March (part 1)

Arata: The Legend vol 1 by Yuu Watase

Graphic Novel

An action-packed shonen fantasy from the acclaimed author of Fushigi Yûgi! In a mythical world where humans and gods co-exist, Arata has the unfortunate honor of being the successor to the matriarchal Hime Clan. This means he has to pretend to be a girl or face death if his true gender is discovered! On the day of his inauguration, an assassination plot forces him to flee—and he somehow winds up in modern-day Japan! Meanwhile, a boy named Arata Hinohara gets sucked into the first Arata’s world and finds himself dealing with people after his life!

Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

Action/Adventure

Britt goes hiking in the Grand Tetons of Wyoming with her ex-boyfriend Calvin, but trouble arises when she is caught in a blizzard, taken hostage by fugitives, finds evidence of murders, and learns whom to trust and whom to love.

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds

Contemporary Fiction 

Soon after his mother's death, Matt takes a job at a funeral home in his tough Brooklyn neighborhood and, while attending and assisting with funerals, begins to accept her death and his responsibilities as a man.

Braids, Buns, and Twists!: Step-by-Step Tutorials for 82 Fabulous Hairstyles by Christina Butcher

Nonfiction

Top knots, Heidi braids, French twists, oh my! Chic hair is all the rage from the runways to the blogs to the city streets. This book pulls together 80 classic and contemporary styles and provides step-by-step tutorials for each one. Trendsetters from teens to professionals will love mixing up the looks for parties, the office, a casual beach day, or an elegant night out. Simple how-to illustrations take the guesswork out of styling, while glossy fashion photographs demonstrate how to tailor and accessorize each 'do. With advice for different hair types and lengths plus product tips and fun variations, Braids, Buns, and Twists! is the must-have beauty resource for showstopping hair.

The Cipher by John Ford

Action/Adventure

Robert 'Smiles' Smylie and his friend Ben become embroiled in a high-stakes negotiation with a pair of suspicious Feds when Ben cracks a code with the power to unlock all the Internet's secrets.

My gift to you...New Books for December! (part 7)

Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday

In 1820s Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which her father and his alluring assistant might be implicated.

 On the Day I Died by Candace Fleming

In a lonely Illinois cemetery one cold October night, teen ghosts recount the stories of their deaths in different time periods, from 1870 to the present, to sixteen-year-old Mike, who unknowingly picked up a phantom hitchhiker.

Otherwise by Linda Oatman High

A law has been passed. There will be no more genders. Everyone must appear gender neutral. No more boys. No more girls. Just ... Otherwise. Same bland clothes. Same fuzzy heads. "Spark" dreads the countdown leading up to the finality of the new law's passage. Her parents are for it. They're tired of conforming to society's standards. But they allow her to take off for a quick camping trip to gather her thoughts. At the campsite, she meets "Whistler." And the attraction is instant and mutual. But who is Whistler? And what is Whistler? Boy? Or girl? This gender-bending story in verse will make readers question everything they thought they knew about love, chemistry, and cultural norms.

Perfectionists by Sara Shepard

Ava, Caitlin, Mackenzie, Julie, and Parker are all driven to be perfect--no matter the cost. At first the girls think they have nothing in common, until they discover that they all hate the same person: handsome womanizer Nolan Hotchkiss, who's done things to hurt each of them. They come up with the perfect plan to murder Nolan--jokingly, of course. They'd never actually go through with it. But when Nolan turns up dead in the exact way they'd discussed, the girls suddenly become prime suspects in his murder. Only, they didn't do it. So who did? Unless they find the real killer, and soon, their perfect lives will come crashing down around them.

Phantom Thief Jeanne vol 1 by Arina Tanemura
High school student Maron Kusakabe has a secret: she's Phantom Thief Jeanne. She sneaks into private art collections to steal paintings in which demons reside. Jeanne's task is to seal the demons before they can devour human hearts. So far she's been able to evade the police on her midnight outings, but now another thief has come onto the scene-Phantom Sinbad-and he's trying to take the paintings before she does!

Thanks for the New Books! ~ November New Books Part 4

Firebug by Lish McBride

Ava, a contracted hit man who can start fires with her mind, hits the road with her friends, desperately trying to escape the Coterie, a magical mafia, while keeping the murder to a minimum after she is asked to kill a family friend by Venus, who killed Ava's mother.

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

A collection of four pre-Divergent stories plus three additional scenes from Divergent, all told from Tobias's point of view, that follow Tobias's transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions, and the weeks after he meets Tris Prior.

Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond

Sixteen-year-old Jules Maroni's dream is to follow in her father's footsteps as a high-wire walker. When her family is offered a prestigious role in the new Cirque American, it seems that Jules and the Amazing Maronis will finally get the spotlight they deserve. But the presence of the Flying Garcias may derail her plans. For decades, the two rival families have avoided each other as sworn enemies. Jules ignores the drama and focuses on the wire, skyrocketing to fame as the girl in a red tutu who dances across the wire at death-defying heights. But when she discovers a peacock feather--an infamous object of bad luck--planted on her costume, Jules nearly loses her footing. She has no choice but to seek help from the unlikeliest of people: Remy Garcia, son of the Garcia clan matriarch and the best trapeze artist in the Cirque. As more mysterious talismans believed to possess unlucky magic appear, Jules and Remy unite to find the culprit. And if they don't figure out what's going on soon, Jules may be the first Maroni to do the unthinkable: fall.

Girls Vs. Guys: Surprising Differences Between the Sexes by Michael Rosen

Do mosquitoes bite guys more than girls? Which sex is better at diapering babies, remembering birthdays, or hammering nails? Explore the ways that environment, experience, neurology, physiology, and genetics shape gender behavior--in expected and unexpected ways.

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A. S. King

Graduating from high school is a time of limitless possibilities--but not for Glory, who has no plan for what's next. Her mother committed suicide when Glory was only four years old, and she's never stopped wondering if she will eventually go the same way...until a transformative night when she begins to experience an astonishing new power to see a person's infinite past and future. From ancient ancestors to many generations forward, Glory is bombarded with visions--and what she sees ahead of her is terrifying: A tyrannical new leader raises an army. Women's rights disappear. A violent second civil war breaks out. And young girls vanish daily, sold off or interned in camps. Glory makes it her mission to record everything she sees, hoping her notes will somehow make a difference. She may not see a future for herself, but she'll do anything to make sure this one doesn't come to pass.

July's New Books are (finally) Here! (part 4)

Teen Spirit by Francesca Lia Block

Julie wanted nothing more than to feel connected to her deceased grandmother, but when she actually makes contact with the other side it's not her grandmother that responds, but a spirit that has its own sinister agenda.

A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey

When three cousins in 1814 London discover their magical powers and family lineage of witchcraft, they accidentally open the gates to the underworld allowing the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters to hunt and kill young debutante witches for their powers.

Changers: Drew by T. Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper

Changers Book One: Drew opens on the eve of Ethan Miller''s freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He''s finally sporting a haircut he doesn't hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can''t wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life. Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl. Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person. After graduation, Changers choose which version of themselves they will be forever--and no, they cannot go back to who they were before the changes began. Ethan must now live as Drew Bohner--a petite blonde with an unfortunate last name--and navigate the treacherous waters of freshman year while also following the rules: Never tell anyone what you are. Never disobey the Changers Council. And never, ever fall in love with another Changer. Oh, and Drew also has to battle a creepy underground syndicate called "Abiders" (as well as the sadistic school queen bee, Chloe). And she can''t even confide in her best friend Audrey, who can never know the real her, without risking both of their lives.

Insanity by Susan Vaught

The intertwining stories of three teenagers who find themselves haunted beyond imagining in the depths of a Kentucky mental institution.