04/03/12
THE STORM MAKERS
by Jennifer E. Smith
ISBN-13: 978-0316179584
Little, Brown & Co. BYR, 384 pages.
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
----------------
Enter the world of The Storm Makers, where there's magic behind every forecast.
What starts as an ordinary summer turns exciting and perilous for twins Ruby and Simon when strange occurrences begin happening on their farm -- sudden gusts of wind, rainstorms, and even tornado warnings -- that seem eerily timed to Simon's emotions.
Then a stranger arrives and tells the twins that Simon is a Storm Maker -- part of a clandestine group of people entrusted with controlling and taming the weather -- and that he is in great danger. Soon Simon and Ruby must race against the clock as they try to master Simon's powers in time to stop a rogue Storm Maker's treacherous -- and potentially deadly -- plans.
In this thrilling new novel, loyalties can shift as quickly as the wind . . . and the ordinary can turn extraordinary in the blink of an eye.
05/01/12
THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM
Book One
by Chistopher Healy
ISBN-13: 978-0062117434
Walden Pond Press, 320 pages.
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
-------
Enter a world where everything, even our classic fairy tales, is not at all what it seems.
Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You've never head of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as "Prince Charming." But all of this is about to change...
Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Guztav stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it's up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other associated terrors to becom the heroes no one ever thought they could be.
This title is the first in a series about the adventures of Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav. The second title is due out in 2013.
05/01/12
THE SECRET TREE
by Natalie Standiford
ISBN-13: 978-0545334792
Scholastic, 256 pages.
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
-----------------------
What is your secret?
There’s the Witch House, a spooky old farmhouse on the other side of the woods from where Minty and her best friend, Paz, live. There’s the Man-Bat, a seven-foot-tall half man, half bat who is rumored to fly through the woods. And there are the Mean
Boys, David and Troy, who torment Minty for no reason, and her boy-crazy older sister, Thea, who acts weirder and weirder.
One day Minty spots a flash in the woods, and when she chases after it, she discovers
a new mystery – a Secret Tree, with a hollow trunk that holds the secrets of everyone in the neighborhood. Secrets like:
I put a curse on my enemy. And it's working.
I'm betraying my best friend in a terrible way.
No one loves me except my goldfish.
Raymond, a new boy, is also drawn to the Secret Tree, and together he and Minty start watching their neighbors. They have a curse to fix, and mysteries to solve. But first they have to get through some secrets of their own . . . secrets that will end up changing everything.
Whatever it is, leave it inside the secret tree.
07/03/12
SMALL MEDIUM AT LARGE
by Joanne Levy
ISBN-13: 978-1599908366
--------------------
Lilah Bloom hears dead people. And boy, are they annoying!After she's hit by lightning at a wedding, twelve-year-old Lilah Bloom develops a new talent: she hears dead people. Among them, there's her over-opinionated bubby Dora; a comically prissy fashion designer; and an approval-seeking clown who livens up a seance. With Bubby Dora leading the way, these and other sweetly imperfect ghosts haunt Lilah through seventh grade, and help her face her one fear: talking to and possibly going to the seventh-grade dance with her big crush, Andrew Finkel.
08/21/12
THE SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID ACADEMY
by Nikki Loftin
ISBN-13: 978-1595145086
Razorbill, 304 pages.
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
------------
A deliciously spooky middlegrade debut that’s Coraline meets Hansel and Gretel.
Lorelei is bowled over by Splendid Academy— Principal Trapp encourages the students to run in the hallways, the classrooms are stocked with candy dishes, and the cafeteria serves lavish meals featuring all Lorelei’s favorite foods. But the more time she spends at school, the more suspicious she becomes. Why are her classmates growing so chubby? And why do the teachers seem so sinister?
It’s up to Lorelei and her new friend Andrew to figure out what secret this supposedly splendid school is hiding. What they discover chills their bones—and might even pick them clean!
Mix one part magic, one part mystery, and just a dash of Grimm, and you’ve got the recipe for a cozy-creepy read that kids will gobble up like candy.
08/28/12
THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
by Claire Legrad
ISBN-13: 978-1442442917
Simon & Schuster BYR,
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
--------------------------
Victoria hates nonsense. There is no need for it when your life is perfect. The only smudge on her pristine life is her best friend Lawrence. He is a disaster--lazy and dreamy, shirt always untucked, obsessed with his silly piano. Victoria often wonders why she ever bothered being his friend. (Lawrence does, too.)
But then Lawrence goes missing. And he's not the only one. Victoria soon discovers that Mrs. Cavendish's children's home is not what it appears to be. Kids go in but come out . . . different, or they don't come out at all.
If anyone can sort this out, it's Victoria, even if it means getting a little messy.
09/01/12
CLAWS
by Mike Grinti, Rachel Grinti
ISBN-13: 978-0545433136
The Chicken House, Middle Grade, 256 pages.
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
----------
In a contemporary fairytale as irresistible as catnip, one girl discovers that some magic cuts deep...
Emma's sister is missing. Her parents have spent all their savings on the search. And now the family has no choice but to live in a ramshackle trailer park on the edge of the forst, next door to down-and-out harpies, hags, and trolls. Emma wonders if she'll ever see Helena, and if she'll ever feel happy, again.
Then she makes a friend.A smooth-talking, dirty-furred cat named Jack. He's got a razor-sharp plan to rescue Emma's sister. He just wants one small favor in return...
09/25/12
DODGER
by Terry Pratchet
ISBN-13: 978-0062009494
Harper Collins, 336 pages.
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
----------------------
A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage, in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's ...Dodger. In an alternative London, ruled by the young Queen Victoria, an enterprising lad can find adventure and opportunity—if he is very smart, and very, very lucky. Dodger has the brains, the luck—and the cheek—to scrape by on his own.
Everyone knows Dodger, and everyone likes Dodger. Which is a good thing, because life for a boy on the streets is anything but easy. And it’s about to get seriously complicated as a simple haircut turns momentous when Dodger unknowingly puts a stop to the murderous barber Sweeney Todd.
From Dodger’s encounters with fictional villains to his meetings with Darwin, Disraeli, and Dickens, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking tale of adventure and mystery, unexpected coming-of-age, and one remarkable boy’s rise in a complex and fascinating world.
10/01/12
After three weeks of vacation, Ash Mistry is ready to leave the heat and dust of India behind him. Then he discovers a gleaming gold arrowhead hidden in the sands---a weapon used to defeat evil King Ravana in legend.
At least, Ash is pretty sure it's only a legend . . .
But when Lord Alexander Savage comes after Ash, the legends are suddenly way too real. Savage commands an army of monstrous shapechangers called rakshasas, who want only to seize the arrowhead and restore Ravana to power. As they hunt Ash through magnificent fortresses and brutal deserts, he must learn to work with a powerful rakshasa girl named Parvati, and find the strength within himself to fight on no matter what. Because this isn't just a battle to stop the end of the world. It's a battle to stop the end of reality as we know it.
No pressure.
10/09/12
FATE:
Is it written in the stars from the moment we are born?
Or is it a bendable thing that we can shape with our own hands?
Jepp of Astraveld needs to know.
He left his countryside home on the empty promise of a stranger, only to become a captive in a strange and luxurious prison: Coudenberg Palace, the royal court of the Spanish Infanta. Nobody warned Jepp that as a court dwarf, daily injustices would become his seemingly unshakeable fate. If the humiliations were his alone, perhaps he could endure them, but it breaks Jepp’s heart to see his friend Lia suffer.
After Jepp and Lia perform a daring escape from the palace, Jepp is imprisoned again, alone in a cage. Now, spirited across Europe by a kidnapper in a horse-drawn carriage, Jepp is unsure where his unfortunate stars may lead him.
Before Jepp can become the master of his own destiny, he will need to prove himself to a brilliant and eccentric new master—a man devoted to uncovering the secrets of the stars—earn the love of a girl brave and true, and unearth the long-buried secrets of his parentage. And he will find that beneath the breathtaking cruelty of the world is something else: the persistence of human kindness.
Masterfully written, grippingly paced, and inspired by real historical characters,Jepp, Who Defied the Stars is an awe-inspiring story of triumph in the face of unimaginable odds.
10/09/12
FREAKLING
by Lana Krumwiede
ISBN-13: 978-0763659370
Candlewick Press
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
----------------------
Taemon has always known he’s a bit different. But in the walled city of Deliverance, where everyone possesses a form of telekinesis known as psi, being different is dangerous. Being different can get you labeled a weak freak, a freakling. Or worse, see you banished to the Powerless Colony, where even the simplest tasks, like getting dressed or turning on the lights, must be done by hand. Taemon has learned to blend in, to pretend he’s just like everyone else in Deliverance. To pretend that he can’t send his mind wandering into objects and see exactly how they work. But Taemon’s brother, Yens, suspects the truth, and he’ll stop at nothing to expose Taemon — even murder.
In this thrilling dystopian novel from newcomer Lana Krumwiede, Taemon must choose between accepting his life among the freaklings, or fighting for the destiny he’s never wanted — and all that comes with it.
DODGER
by Terry Pratchet
ISBN-13: 978-0062009494
Harper Collins, 336 pages.
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
----------------------
A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage, in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's ...Dodger. In an alternative London, ruled by the young Queen Victoria, an enterprising lad can find adventure and opportunity—if he is very smart, and very, very lucky. Dodger has the brains, the luck—and the cheek—to scrape by on his own.
Everyone knows Dodger, and everyone likes Dodger. Which is a good thing, because life for a boy on the streets is anything but easy. And it’s about to get seriously complicated as a simple haircut turns momentous when Dodger unknowingly puts a stop to the murderous barber Sweeney Todd.
From Dodger’s encounters with fictional villains to his meetings with Darwin, Disraeli, and Dickens, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking tale of adventure and mystery, unexpected coming-of-age, and one remarkable boy’s rise in a complex and fascinating world.
10/01/12
THE SAVAGE FORTRESS
Ash Mistry Chronicles, Book One
-----------------------------------
The gods and monsters of India roar to life in this thrilling fantasy!After three weeks of vacation, Ash Mistry is ready to leave the heat and dust of India behind him. Then he discovers a gleaming gold arrowhead hidden in the sands---a weapon used to defeat evil King Ravana in legend.
At least, Ash is pretty sure it's only a legend . . .
But when Lord Alexander Savage comes after Ash, the legends are suddenly way too real. Savage commands an army of monstrous shapechangers called rakshasas, who want only to seize the arrowhead and restore Ravana to power. As they hunt Ash through magnificent fortresses and brutal deserts, he must learn to work with a powerful rakshasa girl named Parvati, and find the strength within himself to fight on no matter what. Because this isn't just a battle to stop the end of the world. It's a battle to stop the end of reality as we know it.
No pressure.
10/09/12
JEPP, WHO DEFIED THE STARS
ISBN-13: 978-1423135005
Hyperion, 384 pages.
------------------
An epic, unforgettable historical adventure from award-winning author Katherine Marsh. FATE:
Is it written in the stars from the moment we are born?
Or is it a bendable thing that we can shape with our own hands?
Jepp of Astraveld needs to know.
He left his countryside home on the empty promise of a stranger, only to become a captive in a strange and luxurious prison: Coudenberg Palace, the royal court of the Spanish Infanta. Nobody warned Jepp that as a court dwarf, daily injustices would become his seemingly unshakeable fate. If the humiliations were his alone, perhaps he could endure them, but it breaks Jepp’s heart to see his friend Lia suffer.
After Jepp and Lia perform a daring escape from the palace, Jepp is imprisoned again, alone in a cage. Now, spirited across Europe by a kidnapper in a horse-drawn carriage, Jepp is unsure where his unfortunate stars may lead him.
Before Jepp can become the master of his own destiny, he will need to prove himself to a brilliant and eccentric new master—a man devoted to uncovering the secrets of the stars—earn the love of a girl brave and true, and unearth the long-buried secrets of his parentage. And he will find that beneath the breathtaking cruelty of the world is something else: the persistence of human kindness.
Masterfully written, grippingly paced, and inspired by real historical characters,Jepp, Who Defied the Stars is an awe-inspiring story of triumph in the face of unimaginable odds.
FREAKLING
by Lana Krumwiede
ISBN-13: 978-0763659370
Candlewick Press
Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
----------------------
Taemon has always known he’s a bit different. But in the walled city of Deliverance, where everyone possesses a form of telekinesis known as psi, being different is dangerous. Being different can get you labeled a weak freak, a freakling. Or worse, see you banished to the Powerless Colony, where even the simplest tasks, like getting dressed or turning on the lights, must be done by hand. Taemon has learned to blend in, to pretend he’s just like everyone else in Deliverance. To pretend that he can’t send his mind wandering into objects and see exactly how they work. But Taemon’s brother, Yens, suspects the truth, and he’ll stop at nothing to expose Taemon — even murder.
In this thrilling dystopian novel from newcomer Lana Krumwiede, Taemon must choose between accepting his life among the freaklings, or fighting for the destiny he’s never wanted — and all that comes with it.
