Happy birthday to me! ~ New Books for March (part 6)

The Princess Spy by Melanie Dickerson

Historical Fiction  

Margaretha hopes her newest suitor, Lord Claybrook, will be her one true love, but when an injured man is brought to Hagenheim Castle claiming to be an English lord who was attacked by Claybrook, Margaretha is drawn into a plot, not knowing who is telling the truth.

The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Fantasy 

When her supernatural powers manifest in front of a noble court, Mare, a thief in a world divided between commoners and superhumans, is forced to assume the role of lost princess before risking everything to help a growing rebellion.

The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead

The epic conclusion to Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series is finally here... Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets-and human lives. After their secret romance is exposed, Sydney and Adrian find themselves facing the wrath of both the Alchemists and the Moroi in this electrifying conclusion to Richelle Mead's New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series. When the life of someone they both love is put on the line, Sydney risks everything to hunt down a deadly former nemesis. Meanwhile, Adrian becomes enmeshed in a puzzle that could hold the key to a shocking secret about spirit magic, a secret that could shake the entire Moroi world.

Sneaker Century: A History of Athletic Shoes by Amber Keyser

Nonfiction 

Whether you call them kicks, sneakers, runners, or gutties, you probably have a pair of athletic shoes in your closet.  The earliest sneakers debuted in the 1800s and weren't much more than a canvas upper and a flexible sole made of a crazy new material - rubber.  In Sneaker Century, follow sneaker fashions and the larger-than-life personalities behind the best known athletic shoe brands in history.

Stone Cove Island by Suzanne Myers

Mystery 

As Stone Cove Island, a quaint New England resort community, struggles to recover from a catastrophic hurricane, seventeen-year-old Eliza cleans out the island's iconic lighthouse and stumbles upon new evidence in an unsolved thirty-year-old murder case.

Temple Boys by Jamie Buxton

Historical Fiction 

Jerusalem, year zero.

Flea belongs to a gang of teenage vagrants living in the shadow of the Temple, with no family and no home, living on their wits and what they can beg or steal. The city is crowded with visitors for Passover and governed by an uneasy alliance between the Temple priests and the occupying Roman army, bringing talk of miracles and revolution. Flea and his comrades latch onto the newcomer in the hope that he'll offer them a secure home. As events accumulate and powerful forces gather around the Magician, Flea notices rumblings of discontent among his followers, and finds himself torn between one of them—the protective Jude, who employs Flea to run errands—and a brutal Roman spy determined to uncover the Magician's plans.

Is the Magician the savior he claims to be, or a fraud? Does Flea hold the fate of the Magician—and possibly the world—in his hands, as he begins to believe? Temple Boys vividly conjures up ancient Jerusalem and the Biblical era and boldly re-imagines the western world's most famous story from the point of view of a teenage boy.

Thanks for the New Books! ~ November New Books Part 7

Jackaby by William Ritter

Newly arrived in 1892 New England, Abigail Rook becomes assistant to R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with the ability to see supernatural beings, and she helps him delve into a case of serial murder which, Jackaby is convinced, is due to a nonhuman creature.

Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw

With acerbic wit and a hilarious voice, Shane Burcaw describes the challenges he faces as a twenty-one-year-old with spinal muscular atrophy. From awkward handshakes to having a girlfriend and everything in between, Shane handles his situation with humor and a "you-only-live-once" perspective on life. While he does talk about everyday issues that are relatable to teens, he also offers an eye-opening perspective on what it is like to have a life threatening disease.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by Akira Himekawa

In the mystical land of Hyrule, three spiritual stones hold the key to the Triforce, and whoever holds them will control the world. A boy named Link sets out on a quest to deliver the Emerald, the spiritual stone of the forest, to Zelda, Princess of the land of Hyrule. The journey will be long and perilous, and Link will need all his skill and courage to defeat evil. The battle for Hyrule and the Sacred Realm has begun!

One Death, Nine Stories edited by Marc Aronson & Charles R. Smith Jr.

How could one teenage boy's life elicit other kids' first experiences -- even after he dies? Nine interconnected stories from nine top YA writers. Kev's the first kid their age to die. And now, even though he's dead, he's not really gone. Even now his choices are touching the people he left behind. Ellen Hopkins reveals what two altar boys (and one altar girl) might get up to at the cemetery. Rita Williams-Garcia follows one aimless teen as he finds a new life in his new job -- at the mortuary. Will Weaver turns a lens on Kevin's sister as she collects his surprising effects -- and makes good use of them. Here, in nine stories, we meet people who didn't know Kevin, friends from his childhood, his ex-girlfriend, his best friend, all dealing with the fallout of his death. 

Party Games by R. L. Stine

Her friends warn her not to go to Brendan Fear's birthday party at his family's estate on mysterious Fear Island. But Rachel Martin has a crush on Brendan and is excited to be invited. Brendan has a lot of party games planned. But one game no one planned intrudes on his party--the game of murder. As the guests start dying one by one, Rachel realizes to her horror that she and the other teenagers are trapped on the tiny island with someone who may want to kill them all. How to escape this deadly game? Rachel doesn't know whom she can trust. She should have realized that nothing is as it seems... on Fear Island.

Penny Chic: How to Be Stylish on a Real Girl's Budget by Shauna Miller

Fashion stylist and blogger Shauna Miller knows it's easy to look chic when money is no object. The real challenge is learning how to look good--and feel good--without spending a fortune.

Based on her hit blog of the same name, the Penny Chic style guide will help you identify your fashion inspirations and discover your personal style. It also includes budget-conscious tips for DIY projects and how to find and recycle old pieces, guidance about getting the most out of a shopping trip to stores like Walmart and Target, and advice on how to put it all together to create a killer outfit and wear it with confidence.

Look inside and discover what it means to be truly Penny Chic!

New Books for March ~ Part 2

Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd

In this introduction to graphic design, an award-winning graphic designer details the ways in which a designer communicates his or her ideas to the world. The book is written and designed just for those curious kids, not to mention their savvy parents, who want to learn the secret of how to make things dynamic and interesting. 

 Proxy by Alex London

Knox was born into one of the City's wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want; the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten.  When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death. Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own. Then again, neither is Knox's. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox's father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys' resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid. 

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe

So many secrets for such a small island. From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the world's wealthiest teens, the hushed truths of this strange, unfamiliar land begin calling to her--sometimes as lulling drumbeats in the night, sometimes as piercing shrieks. One by one, unanswered questions rise. No one will tell her why a line is painted across the island or why she is forbidden to cross it. Her every move--even her performance at the school dance--is graded as part of a competition to become valedictorian, a title that brings rewards no one will talk about. And Anne discovers that the parents of her peers surrender million-dollar possessions to enroll their kids in Cania Christy, leaving her to wonder what her lowly funeral director father could have paid to get her in... and why. As a beautiful senior struggles to help Anne make sense of this cloak-and-dagger world without breaking the rules that bind him, she must summon the courage to face the impossible truth--and change it--before she and everyone she loves is destroyed by it.

 Storm by Donna Jo Napoli

The rain starts suddenly, hard and fast. After days of downpour, her family lost, Sebah takes shelter in a tree, eating pine cones and the raw meat of animals that float by. With each passing day, her companion, a boy named Aban, grows weaker. When their tree is struck by lightning, Sebah is tempted just to die in the flames rather than succumb to a slow, watery death. Instead, she and Aban build a raft. What they find on the stormy seas is beyond imagining: a gigantic ark. But Sebah does not know what she’ll find on board, and Aban is too weak to leave their raft.

 The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own. Will being back home help Andy's PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over?

Your newest summer reads...July books! Part 2

BZRK by Michael Grant

Check the Catalog

In the near future, the conjoined Armstrong twins, under the guise of the Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation, plot to create their own version of utopia using nanobots, while a guerilla group known as BZRK develops a DNA-based biot that can stop bots, but at risk of the host's brain.

 Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different by Karen Blumenthal

Check the Catalog

Presents the life and career of the computer industry visionary, from his early life and creation of Apple Computer at the age of twenty to his accomplishments in technology and design.

Liberator by Richard Harland

Check the Catalog

In the aftermath of the events of Worldshaker, the Filthies control the massive juggernaut, now called Liberator. Many members of the former upper class, called Swanks, have remained behind to help teach them how to operate the juggernaut and to build a new society together. But all is not idyllic aboard Liberator.

Unforsaken by Sophie Littlefield

Check the Catalog

Having learned that she has powers both to heal people and to create zombies, sixteen-year-old Hailey is trying to lead a fairly normal life with her brother and aunt in Milwaukee, but when she attempts to contact her boyfriend, she brings dangerous villains--both alive and undead--to her doorstep.

 The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

Check the Catalog

Sixteen-year-old old Kaelyn challenges her fears, finds a second chance at love, and fights to keep her family and friends safe as a deadly new virus devastates her island community.