2007
2007
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Author |
Title |
Annotations, reviews and awards, courtesy of <www.titlewave.com> |
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Abbott, Tony |
Firegirl |
A middle school boy's life is changed when Jessica, a girl disfigured by burns, starts attending his Catholic school while receiving treatment at a local hospital.
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Almond, David |
Clay |
The developing relationship between teenager Davie and a mysterious new boy in town morphs into something darker and more sinister when Davie learns firsthand of the boy's supernatural powers.
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Ashley,Bernard |
Smoke-screen 2008 Sakura selection
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This is an electrifying thriller about the highly topical subject of people-smuggling, from one of the UK's leading children's authors. Ellie has been scared of water since her mum drowned, so when her dad decides to move to a pub by a canal in East London, Ellie is afraid. But she soon thinks there's something more disturbing about the pub than just its setting. Something is going on at the weekly music night and Ellie and new friend, Flo are determined to find out what, despite warnings to back off. The music night is clearly a smokescreen for something, but what? Bundled from country to country on a harrowing journey from a tiny Chinese village with the false promise of a better life in England, Song Fang Yin knows the truth. If she can escape her captors, she could help Ellie expose it.
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Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia |
Wolfcry |
Knowing that she must soon choose a mate, twenty-year-old Oliza, heir to the Wyvern throne that unites the avian and serpentine peoples, weighs the political ramifications of her choice while also longing to follow her heart. Sequel to : Hawksong ; Snakecharm ; Falcondance Prequel to : Wyvernhail.
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Avi |
Crispin: at the edge of the world |
Branded as traitors by the king's authorities, Crispin and his guardian, Bear, flee to coastal towns in fourteenth-century England, where they perform a musical juggling act and bond as a family after befriending a disfigured girl. Sequel to: Crispin, the cross of lead
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Ball, Justin |
Space dogs |
Commanders Belka and Strelka, of the planet Gersbach, board their dog-shaped vehicle and head for earth, where they encounter Lucy Buckley and her family, attempt to capture two power-seeking renegades, and hope to save their own planet from destruction.
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Barkley, Brad |
Scrambled eggs at midnight |
Calliope and Eliot, two fifteen-year-olds in Asheville, North Carolina, begin to acknowledge some unpleasant truths about their parents and form their own ideas about love.
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Barron, T. A. |
The eternal flame |
In order to stop Rhita Gawr from destroying Avalon, Merlin's grandson, Tamwyn, and his friends, Elli and Scree, engage in battles with the warlord and his army of warriors underground, on Earth, and in the sky. Great tree of Avalon ; bk. 3 Sequel to : Child of the dark prophecy; Shadows on the stars.
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Barry, Dave |
Peter and the shadow thieves |
Peter must visit London to help his friend Molly and her family of star catchers locate the missing star stuff, leaving the boys on Mollusk Island at the mercy of Hook. Sequel to : Peter and the Star catchers
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Barry, Dave |
Peter and the Star catchers |
Peter, an orphan boy, and his friend Molly fight off thieves and pirates in order to keep the secret safe away from the diabolical Black Stache and his evil associate Mister Grin. Prequel to : Peter and the shadow thieves.
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Batson, Wayne |
The door within |
Three ancient scrolls beckon high school student Aidan Thomas to enter a realm of knights, kings, and unusual creatures, but he must rely on instinct and his latent athletic ability to deal with the terror, tempest, and treason offered by this new world. Door within trilogy ; bk. 1 Prequel to : The rise of the wrym lord, The final storm
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Batson, Wayne |
The rise of the wyrm lord |
Aidan's new friend Antoinette is called to the Realm, but when she arrives to rescue Robby through his Glimpse-twin, the place is in turmoil and she must decide whether to stay loyal to the one true king or join the evil side. Door within trilogy ; bk. 2 Sequel to : The door within -- Prequel to : The final storm.
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Batson, Wayne |
The final storm |
The battle between the knights of good King Eliam and the armies of Paragor the Betrayer for control of the Kingdom of Alleble enters its final phase, and while it looks as though Paragor will triumph, Eliam's allies cling to belief in the ancient prophecy that three witnesses will arrive with the power to seize the victory. Door within trilogy ; bk. 3 Sequel to : The door within, The rise of the wyrm lord.
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Bauer, Michael Gerard |
Don’t call me Ishamael 2008 Sakura selection |
Ishmael is low in self esteem, hates his name and has no personal confidence which makes him the target of bullies at school. Despite his fears he finds the courage to stand up and support his friends. Full of humor and wisdom, Ishmael and his intrepid band of misfits have the worst- and the best - year of their lives. A great story of growing up and finding life.
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Beale, Fleur |
A Respectable Girl 2008 Sakura selection |
It is 1859 in the raw new township of New Plymouth, where 15-year-old Hannah Carstairs walks between two worlds with an English father and twin bother and a Maori step-mother and step-brother. Soon Hannah finds both worlds changing when disturbing hints about her dead mother’s past surface, and then the tensions between Maori and the settlers boils over. With her family divided and war threatening, Hannah and her twin brother flee to England to discover the truth about their parentage.
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Becker, Tom |
Darkside 2008 Sakura selection |
Your home's been attacked. Your dad's in an asylum. You're running for your life. And there's nowhere to hide. You've stumbled on the city's greatest secret: Darkside. Incredibly dangerous and unimaginably exciting. Darkside is ruled by Jack the Ripper's children - a place where nightmares walk the streets. You think you're in trouble now, but your problems have just begun...
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Bell, Hilari |
The Prophecy 2008 Sakura selection
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"You'll be the forty-fifth warrior-king and not some worthless scholar, "the king of Idris tells his 14-year-old son, but Prince Perryn much prefers academic pursuits to his warrior training, and he longs to postpone knighthood for a stint at the university. Then he uncovers an ancient scroll that details how to slay the dragon that is terrorizing the kingdom, and he learns that the king's most trusted advisor is a traitor intent on destroying the kingdom. So begins a classic hero's quest, and, with the murderous traitor in pursuit, Perryn sets out to kill the dragon and restore peace. Bell expertly maintains the delicious suspense to the last page, and she layers the breathtaking action with a cast of fully realized magical creatures and universal coming-of-age questions: How do you reconcile a parent's desires with your own? Is book learning or messy experience a better life guide? Perryn's authentic, urgent feelings--the hurt, misunderstanding, and increasing openheartedness--will draw readers as much as the wholly satisfying, escapist adventure.
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Birch, Beverley |
Rift 2008 Sakura selection
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In a vast African landscape four teenagers and a journalist vanish without a trace from a camp below a steep rock ridge, 'Chomlaya'. As Ella, the sister of one of the missing girls, helps Inspector Murothi piece together what happened, she realizes there are terrifying possibilities for her sister and the four others. There has been sinister behavior and bullying in the camp where the missing were staying. Has there been foul play? Then one of the missing turns up - but with no memory of what has happened...As the search helicopters continue their constant hum over the rock ridge, Ella and the Inspector begin to wonder whether they are already too late...
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Blume, Lesley M. M. |
Cornelia and the audacious escapades of the Somerset sisters |
Cornelia, eleven years old and lonely, learns about language and life from an elderly new neighbor who has many stories to share about the fabulous adventures she and her sisters had while traveling around the world.
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Bode, N. E. |
The Somebodies |
Continuing her magical adventures, Fern travels with Howard to an underground city to save the Anybodies from the horrible Blue Queen, who sucks the souls out of books.
Sequel to : The Anybodies ; The Nobodies |
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Bondoux, Anne-Laure |
The Princetta |
Rebelling against the rigid constraints of her life as Princetta of Galnicia, fifteen-year-old Malva escapes with her maid Philomena and together they embark on a perilous and adventurous journey that will change the course of their lives forever.
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Bowen, Asta |
Wolf: the journey home |
The tragedies and triumphs of a female wolf battling to find her way home after she and her pups have been relocated by well-meaning humans. Sakura Medal Nominee-2007
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Boyne, John |
The boy in the striped pajamas: a fable |
Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.
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Brown, Susan Taylor |
Hugging the rock |
Through a series of poems, Rachel expresses her feelings about her parents' divorce, living without her mother, and her changing attitude towards her father.
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Budhos,Marina |
Ask Me No Questions 2008 Sakura selection
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As part of a U.S. government crackdown on illegal immigration after 9/11, Muslim men were required to register with the government and many were arrested because their visas had long-since expired. Families who had lived and worked in this country were suddenly and forcibly reminded of their illegal status without any likelihood of changing it. For 18-year-old Aisha Hossain, this means the end of her dream of going to college to become a doctor. For 14-year-old Nadira, her younger sister and the story's narrator, it means coming out from behind the shadow of her perfect older sister to reveal her own strength and find a way to reunite her nearly shattered family. Immigrants from Bangladesh, the Hossains have lived illegally in New York for years, their visa requests handled by a series of dishonest or incompetent lawyers and mired in the tortuous process of bureaucratic red tape. Following their father's arrest and detention, the teens put together the documentation and make a case that requires the judges to see them as individuals rather than terror suspects.
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Cabot, Meg |
How to be popular |
Sixteen-year-old Steph Landry finds an old book on how to be popular and decides to change her social status by following its advice, much to the bafflement of her two best friends.
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Cabot, Meg |
Party princess |
Fifteen-year-old Mia tries to figure out how to raise money for the bankrupt student government at her school while also worrying about how to become a "party girl."
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Calonita, Jen |
Secrets of my Hollywood life |
Longing to experience the life of a "normal" teenager, sixteen-year-old actress Kaitlin Burke assumes a false identity to attend a local high school.
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Carey, Janet Lee |
The beast of Noor |
Fifteen-year-old Miles Ferrell uses the rare and special gift he is given to break the curse of the Shriker, a murderous creature reportedly brought to Shalem Wood by his family's clan centuries before.
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Carmody, Isobelle |
Winter door |
When her own world and Valley are threatened with an endless winter, Rage and her friends seek to stop the powerful Stormlord from using the despair of others to create the bleak weather. Gateway trilogy ; bk. 2
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Choyce, Lesley |
Deconstructing Dylan |
Sixteen-year-old Dylan Gibson has always known there was something different about him, but when he discovers a mysterious photograph of himself at a younger age, he begins to suspect there may be a more dangerous secret in his past than he ever imagined.
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Colfer, Eoin |
Half Moon Investigations 2008 Sakura selection
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Colfer's newest offering has all the earmarks of another multibook endeavor, but one that is very different from his hugely popular Artemis Fowl series. This time his protagonist is short, nerdy, 12-year-old Fletcher Moon, "youngest P.I. on the planet" (certainly the youngest in his small Irish hometown), with a much-prized badge from a correspondence school to prove it. When popular, 10-year-old April Devereux retains him to find dirt on the school's most notorious disruptors, the Sharkey brothers, "Half Moon" can't resist. It isn't long, however, before Fletcher realizes that the Sharkeys aren't the problem and that his best option to get to the bottom of things (including a surprisingly vicious beating that lands him in the hospital) and smooth out the mess his ham-fisted investigation has produced is to team up with a Sharkey. The private-eye lingo has a great, comical grade-school snap, and even if Half Moon's investigative endeavors are more preposterous than mysterious, the kid's goofy charm and stubborn dedication to crime solving will win him a hefty, enthusiastic following.
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De Mari, Silvana |
The last dragon |
After his village is ruined by a flood, Yorsh, the world's last elf, reads writing on ancient ruins and realizes that in order to stop the torrential rains, he must find the only remaining dragon.
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Deckers, Amber |
Ella Mental and the good sense guide |
Ella becomes so involved in helping others solve their problems, she fails to notice her relationship with her best friend Toby is in trouble.
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Dee, Barbara |
Just another day in my insanely real life |
With her father out of the picture and her mother working long hours, twelve-year-old Cassie unconsciously describes her anger and confusion in a fantasy novel she is writing for school.
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Delaney, Joseph |
Curse of the bane |
Now thirteen years old, Tom Ward continues his apprenticeship with the Spook as they confront a dangerous bane who can control people's thoughts. Sequel to : Revenge of the witch Last apprentice ; bk. 2
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Dent, Grace |
LBD: friends forever! |
Now sixteen years old, Ronnie, Fleur, and Claude try to repair an unexpected rift in their friendship by getting summer waitress jobs together at a seaside resort. Sequel to : LBD : it's a girl thing LBD : live and fabulous
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Donald R. Gallo, ed |
What are you afraid of? stories about phobias |
Presents ten short stories by well-known authors featuring teenagers with phobias, including fear of gaining weight, fear of clowns, and fear of cats.
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Dunmore, Helen |
Ingo |
As they search for their missing father near their Cornwall home, Sapphy and her brother Conor learn about their family's connection to the domains of air and of water.
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Feinstein, John |
Vanishing act |
Eighth-grade sports reporters Susan Carol and Stevie reunite at the U.S. Open tennis championships where they investigate the mysterious disappearance of a top Russian player.
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Ferguson, Alane |
The angel of death: a forensic mystery |
While investigating the murder of her English teacher, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney, who works as assistant coroner for her father, begins a romance with the most popular guy in school, awaits the arrival of her long-missing mother, and puts her life in danger.
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Ferguson, Alane |
The Christopher killer: a forensic mystery |
On the payroll as an assistant to her coroner father, seventeen-year-old Cameryn Mahoney uses her knowledge of forensic medicine to catch the killer of a friend while putting herself in terrible danger.
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Ferris, Jean |
Much ado about Grubstake |
When two city folks arrive in the depressed mining town of Grubstake, Colorado in 1888, sixteen-year-old orphaned Arley tries to discover why they want to buy the supposedly worthless mines in the area.
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Fienberg, Anna |
Number 8 2008 Sakura selection
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Jackson isn’t so sure about his new house. Mum has brought him to live in the suburbs, away from their life in the inner-city, to hide out from criminals who want to keep her quiet. But Jackson liked their old life and isn’t sure he can be happy here. When he meets Esmerelda, the girl from across the street, though, he realizes it isn’t all bad. Then there’s his friend Asim, who shares his passion for numbers, and for the possums who live in Jackson’s yard. But the criminals who Jackson’s mum has upset, aren’t finished with her. There’s a mustang driving up and down the street at all sorts of hours, and the phone rings constantly; mystery callers who don’t identify themselves. Jackson and his new friends could be in danger. Number 8 is an action-packed offering from award-winning author Anna Fienberg. As well as the danger-filled plot, there is plenty of humor, and themes of friendship, family and teen relationships, as well as those of difference and of immigration. This is a lot for one book to explore, but Fienberg does it well, leaving the reader satisfied.
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Fitzgerald, Dawn |
Soccer chick rules |
While trying to focus on a winning soccer season, thirteen-year-old Tess becomes involved in local politics when she learns that all sports programs at her school will be stopped unless a tax levy is passed.
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French, Jackie |
The Goat who Sailed Around the World 2008 Sakura selection
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The HM Bark Endeavour is sailing to Tahiti to measure the transit of Venus, but there are rumors that once the task is completed, Lieutenant James Cook has a set of secret orders - orders that command him to search for the Great South Land. Isaac is twelve and has joined the crew of the Endeavour as a master's servant, good for scrubbing decks and not much else. He's certainly not considered good enough to fetch hay for the Goat who will provide fresh milk for Cook and his officers. And this goat even has more experience at sea than Isaac - she has already sailed around the world once, watching the ocean and lands slip by from her spot on the quarterdeck. Over the months on board the Endeavour, a friendship grows between the Goat and Isaac, one that will last through shipwreck, bushfire and illness. A friendship that helps in the discovery of exotic new lands … The Goat who Sailed the World is about Captain Cook's goat - a goat that had already sailed around the world before it went on its first voyage with Cook, and helped save everyone on board from shipwreck. As well as telling the story of this once-obscure goat, the book looks at the great sea explorations of the eighteenth century, including Cook's voyage to Australia. Captain Cook's goat is one of many historical animals who bring the past to life. This is the first book in the Animal Stars series. Each book in this series is a factual narrative about a real animal associated with an important person in history.
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Freymann-Weyr, Garret |
Stay with me |
When her sister kills herself, sixteen-old Leila goes looking for a reason and, instead, discovers great love, her family's true history, and what her own place in it is.
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Friend, Natasha |
Lush |
Unable to cope with her father's alcoholism, thirteen-year-old Sam corresponds with an older student, sharing her family problems and asking for advice.
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Friesner, Esther M. |
Tempting fate |
Llana Newhouse, hired for the summer by the Divine Relief Temp Agency, reports on her first day to learn she will be working for the Greek mythological goddesses as they determine the course of human life, while back at home things have gotten equally chaotic with her sister's wedding plans out of control.
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Fukazawa, Mishio |
Witches' forest |
Sixteen-year-old Duan Surk, a level-two fighter, joins with Agnis, a beautiful witch, and Olba, a level-thirteen fighter, in an attempt to free Agnis's mother from an evil spell. Adventures of Duan Surk
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Giff, Patricia Reilly |
Water Street |
In the shadow of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, eighth-graders and new neighbors Bird Mallon and Thomas Neary make some decisions about what they want to do with their lives.
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Grant, K. M. |
Green jasper |
Having returned to a politically unstable England after the Crusades, brothers Will and Gavin--with the help of the red horse Hosanna--attempt to rescue their friend Ellie who is being held prisoner by an enemy of King Richard I. Sequel to: Blood red horse. De Granville trilogy ; bk. 2
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Gratz, Alan |
Samurai Shortstop 2008 Sakura selection
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While obtaining a Western education at a prestigious Japanese boarding school in 1890, sixteen-year-old Toyo also receives traditional samurai training which has profound effects on both his baseball game and his relationship with his father.
· Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred
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Gregory, Nan |
I'll sing you |
Reunited with her long-lost twin brother, twelve-year-old Gemma constantly tests the boundaries of acceptable behavior while relying on angels to help her connect with her new family.
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Grey, Christopher Peter |
Leonardo's shadow, or, My astonishing life as Leonardo da Vinci's servant |
Fifteen-year-old Giacomo, servant to Leonardo da Vinci, helps his procrastinating master finish painting, "The Last Supper," while also trying to find clues to his parentage and pursue his own career as an artist in late fifteenth-century Milan.
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Gutman, Dan |
The million dollar putt |
Assisted by his neighbor, Birdie, blind thirteen-year-old Ed "Bogie" Bogard will win one million dollars if he can sink a ten-foot putt in Hawaii's fifth annual Angus Killick Memorial Tournament.
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Gwaltney,Doris |
Homefront |
Margaret Ann Motley has always wanted a room of her very own, but when her English cousin Courtney moves in with Margaret's family to escape the blitz, Margaret loses her only chance of having her own room and begins to resent Courtney, until she realizes how difficult Courtney's own life has been.
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Hale, Shannon |
River secrets |
Young Razo travels from Bayern to Tira at war's end as part of a diplomatic corps, but mysterious events in the Tiran capital fuel simmering suspicions and anger, and Razo must spy out who is responsible before it is too late and he becomes trapped in an enemy land. Books of Bayern ; bk. 3 Sequel to : The goose girl ; Enna burning
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Hardinge, Frances |
Fly by night |
A twelve-year-old orphan, Mosca Mye, and her homicidal goose, Saracen, travel to the city of Mandelion on the heels of smooth-talking con-man Eponymous Clent, driven by her love of language to find a better life.
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Hautman, Pete |
Rash |
In a future society that has decided it would "rather be safe than free," sixteen-year-old Bo's anger management problems land him in a tundra jail where he survives with the help of his running skills and an artificial intelligence program named Bork.
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Higgins, F. E. |
The black book of secrets 2008 Sakura selection |
Fate delivers young Ludlow Fitch into the employ of strange Joe Zabbidou who every night buys up the secrets of the town's people, relieving them of the awful burdens they have borne for years. These secrets are all duly noted down in the pages of the Black Book. Ungrateful lot that they are, their happiness is short-lived.
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Higgins, Jack |
Sure fire 2008 Sakura selection
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Jack Higgins, the master of the modern thriller, teams up with the bestselling author of "Dr. Who", Justin Richards, to bring a fast-paced action adventure for boys and girls. The mother of fourteen-year-old twins, Rich and Jade dies in a car crash and they are told they must go and live with their estranged father, who they have never met before. Neither the children nor their father get on, but when Rich and Jade witness him being kidnapped they are drawn into a dangerous crisis that could engulf not just their family but the whole world!
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Hill, David |
Aim high 2008 Sakura selection |
Neale's sport is archery and he faces a challenge between bow and arrows and a rifle when Kane, a boy he doesn’t like, dares him to go out to the bush for a shoot-out. But a sudden terrifying event cuts the two boys off from help and they must put aside their differences and work together to survive.
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Holm, Jennifer |
Penny from heaven 2008 Sakura selection
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Penny lives with her "plain old American" mother and grandparents, but she has an open invitation to visit her deceased father's Italian family, where the delicious aromas are as inviting as the boisterous relatives who welcome her. Against the backdrop of these contrasting 1950s households, the author of Newbery Honor Book, Our only May Amelia (1999), charts the summer of Penny's twelfth birthday, marked by hapless episodes as well as serious tensions arising from the estranged families' refusal to discuss her father's death. Penny is a low-key character, often taking a backseat role in escapades with high-spirited cousin Frankie. However, Holm impressively wraps pathos with comedy in this coming-of-age story, populated by a cast of vivid characters (a burping, farting grandpa; an eccentric uncle who lives in his car--"not exactly normal for people in New Jersey"). Concluding with a photo-illustrated endnote explaining Holm's inspirations in family history, this languidly paced novel will appeal most to readers who appreciate gentle, episodic tales with a nostalgic flavor.
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Holmes, Victoria |
Heart of fire |
In 1923, Maddie's family is reunited when her brother finally comes home to England after fighting in the Great War, but when she discovers that he is an impostor, Maddie faces the loss of both her new brother and his horse, which she has grown to love.
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Horowitz, Anthony |
Evil star |
Having locked the Raven's gate, fourteen-year-old Matt travels to Peru where he meets the second of the five gatekeepers and works with him to try to stop the opening of a second gate somehow related to the Nazca Lines. Sequel to: Raven's gate. Gatekeepers ; bk. 2
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Hostetter, Joyce |
Blue |
Ann Fay Honeycutt becomes the man of the house at age thirteen after her father leaves to fight in World War II, forcing Ann to give up her childhood and tend to her family, but when a polio epidemic strikes, Ann faces the most devastating challenge of her life.
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Hughes, Carol |
Dirty magic |
After his little sister Hannah becomes mortally ill, ten-year-old Joe follows a shadowy figure to the war-torn land of Asphodel, a mysterious and dangerous world of dying children, where he entrusts himself to a devious blind guide, faces ruthless killing machines, and discovers a shocking truth about himself.
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Hunter, Erin |
Twilight |
After the warrior cat Clans settle into their new homes, the harmony they once had disappears as the clans start fighting each other, until the day their common enemy--the badger--invades their territory. Warriors, the new prophecy ; bk. 5
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Ibbotslon, Eva |
The beasts of Clawstone Castle |
During a summer at their great-uncle and -aunt's castle in northern England, eleven-year-old Madlyn and her younger brother, Rollo, attempt, with the help of several ghosts, to save the rare cattle that live on the grounds.
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Johnson, Jane |
The secret country |
Having learned from a talking cat that he and his sisters are the half-elfin royalty of a parallel world called Eidolon, twelve-year old Ben Arnold attempts to stop his evil uncle from smuggling magical creatures between the two worlds to sell on the black market. Eidolon chronicles ; bk. 1
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Kaaberbol Lene |
The Shamer's signet |
Eleven-year-old Dina, having inherited her mother's ability to perceive people's darkest secrets by looking them in the eyes, is kidnapped by the evil Valdracu who demands she use her gift as a weapon against innocents, forcing her fifteen-year-old brother to ride to her rescue. Shamer chronicles ; bk. 2 Sequel to : The Shamer's daughter Prequel to : The serpent gift, The Shamer's War
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Kaaberbol Lene |
The Shamer's war |
Dina, a Shamer, and her friend Nico, the legitimate heir to the lordship of Dunark, lead a dangerous rebellion against Drakan, the ruthless Dragon Lord who is hunting down Shamers to burn at the stake. Shamer's chronicles ; bk. 4 Sequel to : The Shamer's daughter, Shamer's signet ; The serpent gift
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Karasyov, Carrie |
Bittersweet sixteen |
A student at New York's most exclusive preparatory school for girls deals with the mayhem of "Sweet Sixteen" birthday parties given by the ultra-wealthy.
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Key, Watt |
Alabama moon |
After the death of his father, ten-year-old Moon Blake is removed from the Alabama forest where he was raised and sent to a boy's home, where, for the first time, he has contact with the outside world and learns about friendship, love, and humanity.
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Kladstrup, Kristin |
The book of story beginnings |
After moving with her parents to Iowa, twelve-year-old Lucy discovers a mysterious notebook that can bring stories to life and which has a link to the 1914 disappearance of her great uncle.
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Lake, A. J. |
The coming of dragons |
Two eleven-year-olds, Edmund and Elspeth, discover that they have been given fantastic gifts to use against the ancient and evil forces that have been awakened by powerful magic during the Dark Ages in Great Britain.
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Le Guin, Ursula K. |
Voices |
Young Memer takes on a pivotal role in freeing her war-torn homeland from its oppressive captors. Annals of the Western Shore series Sequel to : Gifts
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Limb, Sue |
Girl, going on 17, pants on fire |
Jess' seventeenth year is a tumultuous one, due to a series of lies and unfortunate circumstances, including her break-up with Fred, her school detention, and her mother's new romance.
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Love, D. Anne |
Semiprecious |
Uprooted and living with an aunt in 1960s Oklahoma, thirteen-year-old Garnet and her older sister Opal brave their mother's desertion and their father's recovery from an accident, learning that "the best home of all is the one you make inside yourself."
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Margolis, Leslie |
Fix |
After rhinoplasty helped transform her from an outcast to part of the popular crowd, and while her younger sister prepares for her own procedure, eighteen-year-old Cameron Beekman decides she needs a breast augmentation before she goes away to college.
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Marks, Graham |
Missing in Tokyo |
When his older sister is reported missing, teenager Adam travels from England to Tokyo, Japan, to look for her.
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McCaffrey Anne |
Dragon's kin |
Lorana, a young dragonrider with a gift for healing and telepathy, rushes to find a cure when a mysterious fatal illness infects the dragons just when a deadly cycle of Threadfall is due, and realizes the answer lies with Wind Blossom, a geneticist whose mother created the dragons hundreds of years earlier. Dragonriders of Pern
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McCaffrey Anne |
Dragon's fire |
Pellar, a gifted tracker and orphan, accompanies Masterharper Zist on a secret mission to the Natalon coal-mining camp, where they discover a group of disillusioned workers who seem to have lost all hope. Dragonriders of Pern
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McCaffrey Anne |
Changelings |
Yana and Sean send their twin son and daughter, Ronan and Murel, to a space station to protect them from a scientist who wants to know how they can change into seals, unaware that the children want answers to the same question and may endanger themselves searching for the answer; and Sean dives into the depths in seal form to investigate bizarre changes to the planet. Twins of Petaybee ; bk. 1
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McKay, Hilary |
Caddy ever after |
The four eccentric Casson siblings each contribute written accounts of the events--which include a Valentine's Day dance, the appearance of a sinister balloon, and the breakdown of a car--that lead to Caddy's wedding day.
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McKenzie, Sophie |
Girl, Missing 2008 Sakura selection |
Lauren has always known she was adopted but when a little research turns up the possibility that she was snatched from an American family as a baby, suddenly Lauren's life seems like a sham. How can she find her biological parents? And are her adoptive parents really responsible for kidnapping her? She manages to wangle a trip across the Atlantic where she runs away to try and find the truth. But the circumstances of her disappearance are murky and Lauren's kidnappers are still at large and willing to do anything to keep her silent...
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McNish, Cliff |
Breathe 2008 Sakura selection |
Jack can feel the essence of those that have died just by touching the objects that they touched. After his father's death his mum, knowing how much Jack loves his gift, takes him to live in an old house, so full of history and secrets that she hopes Jack can forget his sadness for a while and try to keep his asthma (so serious it has nearly killed him) at bay. But on his very first night in the house, Jack discovers that his gift has changed - not only can he see ghosts, but he can feel them too! The strongest spirit terrorizes the ghostly children whom she holds captive in the house, living off their souls. Now she wants Jack to take the place of her long dead daughter and intends to show no mercy to anyone who stands in her way. If you like spooky ghost stories you'll love this book; the old ghost is sinister and nasty and Jack literally has to fight for his breath.
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Meehl, Brian |
Out of Patience |
Twelve-year-old Jake Waters cannot wait to escape the small town of Patience, Kansas, until the arrival of a cursed toilet plunger causes him to reevaluate his feelings toward his family and its history.
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Miller, Kirsten |
Kiki Strike: inside the shadow city |
Life becomes more interesting for Ananka Fishbein when, at the age of twelve, she discovers an underground room in the park across from her New York City apartment and meets a mysterious girl called Kiki Strike who claims that she, too, wants to explore the subterranean world.
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Mlynowski Sarah |
Frogs & French kisses |
Love spells run amok in New York City when high school freshman Rachel asks her younger sister, who is a witch, for magical help in winning the affection of heartthrob Raf Kosravi. Sequel to : Bras and broomsticks
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Moesta, Rebecca. |
Crystal doors |
Two fourteen-year-old cousins are accidentally transported to the island of Elantya, site of ancient magic, vicious creatures, and fierce battles produced by a territorial feud with the sea-dwelling merlons, conflict between the bright and dark sages, and the cousins' own mysterious roots. Crystal doors ; bk. 1
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Moloney, Roland |
After the death of Alice Bennett 2008 Sakura selection |
Before mum died, she told Sam that she would always be with him. On the day of mum's cremation, his sister Becky receives a text from a friend: 'Thinking about you. X' Sam becomes convinced that the text is from their mother. Sam thinks he's in contact with mum and forms a plan. How will Sam cope when confronted with the truth?
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Morris, Gerald |
The squire, his knight, & his lady |
After several years at King Arthur's court, Terence, as Sir Gawain's squire and friend, accompanies him on a perilous quest that tests all their skills and whose successful completion could mean certain death for Gawain.
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Mourlevat, Jean-Claude |
The Pull of the ocean 2008 Sakura selection
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Unlike his six older brothers--three sets of twins--who are all tall for their age, 10-year-old Yann is a miniature, no more than two feet tall. However, despite his diminutive stature, his youth, and the fact that he is mute, he is the cleverest of the lot and their unquestioned leader. When he wakes his brothers one dark and stormy night and convinces them that they must leave their parents' farm, they follow him unquestioningly. Sound familiar? It should; it's a retelling of "Tom Thumb. "In addition to giving his version a contemporary setting, French author Mourlevat tells the story from multiple points of view. The ending leaves readers a bit at sea, but the story is intriguing, and the relationship among the brothers is heartwarming.
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Myracle, Lauren |
Ttfn |
Now high school juniors, Zoe, Maddie, and Angela continue to share "instant messages" with one another as one of them experiments with marijuana, another gets her first boyfriend, and the third moves three thousand miles away. Sequel to : ttyl
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Na, An |
Wait for me |
As her senior year in high school approaches, Mina yearns to find her own path in life but working at the family business, taking care of her little sister, and dealing with her mother's impossible expectations are as stifling as the southern California heat, until she falls in love with a man who offers a way out.
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Napoli, Donna Jo |
Crazy Jack |
In this version of the traditional tale of the young boy who climbs a beanstalk, Jack searches for his father, falls in love with Flora, and learns the value of real treasure
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Napoli, Donna Jo |
Fire in the hills |
Upon returning to Italy, fourteen-year-old Roberto struggles to survive, first on his own, then as a member of the resistance, fighting against the Nazi occupiers while yearning to reach home safely and for an end to the war. Sequel to: Stones in water
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Nelson, Blake |
Paranoid Park |
A sixteen-year-old Portland, Oregon skateboarder, whose parents are going through a difficult divorce, is engulfed by guilt and confusion when he accidentally kills a security guard at a train yard.
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Nelson, Suzanne Marie |
The sound of Munich |
Siena Bernstein attends school in Munich for three months, where she perfects her German language skills, flirts with her attractive resident advisor, and attempts to find the man who helped her father's family escape East Berlin in 1962. S.A.S.S. : Students Across the Seven Seas series
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Nemeth, Sally |
The heights, the depths, and everything in between |
In 1977, best friends Lucy Small, a seventh grader from Wilmington, Delaware, who is five feet ten inches tall, and Jake Little, a dwarf, try unsuccessfully to go unnoticed during their first year of junior high school.
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Nicholson William |
Seeker |
Having been rejected by the Nomana--the revered warrior-monk order they long to join--sixteen-year-olds Seeker and Morning Star, along with a curious pirate named Wildman, attempt to prove that they are worthy of joining the community, after all. Noble warriors ; bk. 1
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Nuzum, K. A. |
A small white scar |
Fifteen-year-old Will Bennon leaves his family and begins life as a cowboy, but his mentally retarded twin brother follows him and joins the journey.
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Parkinson Curtis |
Domenic's war: a story of the battle of Monte Cassino |
In January 1944, young Domenic and his family are caught in the midst of war and fear for their lives when advancing troops threaten the refugees, children, and families being sheltered in an ancient Benedictine monastery.
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Paterson, Katherine |
Bread and roses, too |
Twelve-year-old Rosa and thirteen-year-old Jake form an unlikely friendship as they try to survive and understand the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
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Patterson, James |
The angel experiment |
After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "bird kids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose. Prequel to : School's out-forever. Maximum Ride ; bk. 1
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Patterson, James |
School’s out-forever |
After a short stay with an FBI agent who gives them a chance to attend school and live a normal life, the six genetically-altered, winged youths head toward Florida and Max’s ultimate destiny--to save the world, whether she wants to or not. Sequel to : The angel experiment. Maximum Ride ; bk. 2
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Paulsen, Gary |
The legend of Bass Reeves: being the true account of the most valiant marshal in the West |
The story of Bass Reeves who was born a slave and later became one of the most respected federal marshals in Oklahoma and Texas.
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Paulsen, Gary |
The amazing life of birds: (the twenty-day puberty journal of Duane Homer Leech) |
As twelve-year-old Duane endures the confusing and humiliating aspects of puberty, he watches a newborn bird in a nest on his windowsill begin to grow and become more independent, all of which he records in his journal.
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Pause-wang, Gudrun |
Dark hours 2008 Sakura selection |
On Gisel’s
sixteenth birthday, her world, like the war effort, begins to crumble. Her
father is still away serving in the German army when the advancing Allies
force the rest of the family to flee their home. Gisel, her three younger
brothers, and their pregnant mother board a crowded train. But when their
mother goes into labour, the children are separated from her at the next
station.
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Pearsall, Shelley |
All of the above |
Five urban middle school students, their teacher, and other community members relate how a school project to build the world's largest tetrahedron affects the lives of everyone involved.
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Pratchett, Terry |
Pyramids |
Teenaged Teppic is pulled away from the Ankh-Morpork school of assassins to take the throne of his desert kingdom--a place where time is sucked in by pyramids and spewed out overnight--after the unexpected death of his father. Discworld series ; bk. 7
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Reeve, Philip |
Larklight, or, The revenge of the white spiders!, or, To Saturn's rings and back!: a rousing tale of dauntless pluck in the farthest reaches of space |
In an alternate Victorian England, young Arthur and his sister Myrtle, residents of Larklight, a floating house in one of Her Majesty's outer space territories, uncover a spidery plot to destroy the solar system.
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Rennison, Louise |
Startled by his furry shorts: confessions of Georgia Nicolson |
Teenaged Georgia continues her diary entries as she searches for the perfect boyfriend among the sexy Italian Masimo, the fun-loving Dave, and her ex-love Robbie. Sequel to : Angus, thongs, and full-frontal snogging; On the bright side, I'm now the girlfriend of a sex god; Knocked out by my nunga-nungas; Dancing in my nuddy-pants; Away laughing on a fast camel; Then he ate my boy entrancers.
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Resau, Laura |
What the moon saw |
Fourteen-year-old Clara Luna spends the summer with her grandparents in the tiny, remote village of Yucuyoo, Mexico, learning about her grandmother's life as a healer, her father's decision to leave home for the United States, and her own place in the world.
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Richardson, E. E. |
The intruders |
When soon-to-be stepbrothers, Joel and Tim, start having the same nightmare after moving into a old house, they decide to investigate its source and the many other strange occurrences in their new home.
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Riordan, Rick |
The sea of monsters |
Percy and his friends set out to find his best friend, Grover, who is held prisoner on an island somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, before heading out to save Camp Half-Blood from mythological monsters. Sequel to : The lightning thief Percy Jackson & the Olympians ; bk. 2
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Ritter, John H. |
Under the baseball moon |
Andy and Glory, two fifteen-year-olds from Ocean Beach, California, pursue their respective dreams of becoming a famous musician and a professional softball player.
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Ruby, Lois |
Shanghai shadows |
From 1939 to 1945, a Jewish family struggles to survive in occupied China; young Ilse by remaining optimistic, her older brother by joining a resistance movement, her mother by maintaining connections to the past, and her father by playing the violin that had been his livelihood.
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Sakaki, Ichiro |
Scrapped princess: a tale of destiny |
Fifteen years after the Oracle of Saint Grendel revealed that the queen would give birth to a princess who would destroy the world by her fifteenth birthday, the legendary Scrapped Princess, Pacifica Casull fights to save her own life with the kingdom's residents demand she be killed before she can fulfill the prophecy.
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Salisbury, Graham |
House of the red fish |
Over a year after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the arrest of Tomi's father and grandfather, Tomi and his friends, battling anti-Japanese-American sentiment in Hawaii, try to find a way to salvage his father's sunken fishing boat. Sequel to: Under the blood-red sun
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Sandra Glover |
Don’t tell 2008 Sakura selection |
Schoolgirl Kirsty finds a blood covered body of a boy in the park and doesn't know whether to stop and help or flee. When the boy turns out to be unharmed and hisses at her, "Don't tell", before running off into the night she is confused and frightened. Their lives become unexpectedly intertwined just a few day later when the same boy is sent to her school. Simon's behavior is bizarre and erratic, the horrors of his past relived in nightmares and acting-out - but Kirsty can't resist being drawn to him. Is Simon as paranoid as everyone seems to think, or is someone trying to keep the truth buried? Simon may be killed before they find out. This is a gripping book with an ending as shocking as the beginning.
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Schultz, Jan Neubert |
Battle cry |
In 1862, two best friends, one white and one half Dakota Indian, find themselves involved in a bloody war when the Dakotas, fed up with being mistreated by the federal government and local citizens, erupt with violence.
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Shan, Darren |
Demon thief |
With the opening of a window into a demon world, a boy discovers his powers as a Disciple and his mission to hunt the viciously powerful Demonata to the death. Sequel to : Lord Loss Demonata ; bk. 2
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Sheldon, Dyan |
Confessions of a Hollywood star |
Upon learning at the end of her senior year of high school that a Hollywood film is being made in her hometown, Lola stops at nothing to get a part and upstage her nemesis, Carla Santini. Sequel to : Confessions of a teenage drama queen
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Sheth, Kashmira |
Koyal dark, mango sweet |
Growing up with her family in Mumbai, India, sixteen-year-old Jeeta disagrees with much of her mother's traditional advice about how to live her life and tries to be more modern and independent. Sakura Medal-2007 nominee
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Shigusa-wa, Keiichi |
Kino no tabi: the beautiful world |
Kino wanders the planet on her anthropomorphic motorcycle, Hermes, finding beauty in the midst of the world's imperfections. Beautiful world ; bk. 1
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Shreve, Susan Richards |
Kiss me tomorrow |
Confused by all of the males in her life, thirteen-year-old Alyssa "Blister" Reed wants to help when her best friend Jonah's quest for popularity lands him in deep trouble, but his desire to make her his girlfriend gets in the way.
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Skelton, Matthew |
Endymion spring 2008 Sakura selection |
Twelve-year-old Blake Winters is at loose ends until he stumbles across an ancient and magical book, secretly brought to England in 1453 by Gutenberg's mute apprentice to save it from evil forces, and which now draws Blake into a dangerous and life-threatening quest.
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Smith, D. J. |
Probably the world's best story about a dog and the girl who loved me |
Paolo's plan for a peaceful summer is ruined when he finds himself trying to care for his younger brother, Georgie, their deaf cousin, Billy, a strange vacation visitor they find locked in their aunt's attic, and a girl whose crush on Paolo may have led her to kidnap their dog.
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St.John, Lauren |
The white giraffe 2008 Sakura selection
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When she is eleven years old, Martine is orphaned and sent to live with her grandmother on a game reserve in South Africa. Her grandmother seems strangely unwelcoming and Martine has a difficult time settling in at her new school, where she is conspicuously an outsider. But she has an ally in Tendai - one of the keepers on the reserve, from whom she learns the lore and survival techniques of the bush, and in Grace - who instantly senses there is something special about Martine. There are secrets about Sawubona (the reserve) just waiting to be revealed, and rumors too about a fabled white giraffe - a trophy for hunters everywhere. One night Martine, lonely and feeling slightly rebellious too, looks out of her window and see a young albino giraffe - silver, tinged with cinnamon in the moonlight. This is the beginning of her mysterious and magical adventures - her discovery of her gift of healing and a secret valley that she travels to with the giraffe, where she'll find clues about her past and future. Above all it's is a heart-warming story, full of charm and atmosphere, and Martine's sheer delight in her giraffe friend and the fantastic landscape which is theirs to explore.
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Standiford Natalie |
Blonde at heart |
Elle Woods, sophomore in high school, falls in love with the star of her high school's basketball team and decides to revive the spirit of the team and its cheerleaders.
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Stevens, Delwynne |
Wheels 2008 Sakura selection
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Shane Jamieson is one cool 15-year old. His passion is motocross; he's popular, good looking, has a gorgeous girlfriend and, if you knew him, you'd want to be one of his mates. All that changes in a split second when Shane crashes his bike and wakes up in hospital only to discover that he can't feel his legs. Cool kid to paraplegic in the blink of an eye. This book really makes you wonder how you would cope if something like this ever happened to you, who would your real friends be, what are the most important things in your life? Although this is a very moving story it is, in parts, extremely funny. This book was a real unexpected pleasure to read - the style is easy and the character of Shane realistic. You won’t put the book down until you find out what happens to him
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Stewart, Trenton |
The mysterious Benedict Society 2008 Sakura selelction
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Eceptional orphan Reynie Muldoon answers a newspaper ad for "special
opportunities" for gifted children, and when he passes the tests-both
paper exams and more esoteric ones-he becomes a member of a crack team of
orphans recruited by the genial narcoleptic genius Mr. Benedict. The
children are to infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very
Enlightened, a school run by the reclusive Mr. Ledroptha Curtain. Their
job: to discover the purpose behind sinister subliminal messages emitted
from the school that Mr. Benedict has detected riding piggyback on
television and radio signals. Once inside the Institute, the four children
face danger and discovery, puzzles and plots, and their own mortal
weaknesses as they confront Mr. Curtain and his plan to take over the
world. With its lively style, fresh character
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Stone, David Lee |
The Shadewell shenanigans |
Duke Modeset, exiled Lord of Dullitch, tries to devise a plan to capture notorious thieves Groan Teethgrit and Gordo Goldeaxe, and restore himself to power in the process. Illmoor chronicles ; bk. 3
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Strickland, Brad |
Grimoire: the curse of the Midions |
In London with his parents, twelve-year-old Jarvey Midion is introduced to the Grimoire, a powerful book of spells that transports him to a strange place and time where danger lurks around every corner.
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Tomlinson, Theresa |
The moon riders |
When thirteen-year-old Myrina of the Mazagardi tribe joins the Moon Riders, a revered band of warrior women, she becomes caught up in the life of the Trojan princess Cassandra and the epic, ten-year Trojan War.
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Trottier, Maxine |
Three songs for courage |
Sixteen-year-old Gordon Westley comes of age in the summer of 1956 as he must learn to handle some of the sweetest and saddest moments life has to offer.
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Van Draanen, Wendelin |
Runaway |
After running away from her fifth foster home, Holly, a twelve-year-old orphan, travels across the country, keeping a journal of her experiences and struggle to survive.
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Varela, Barry |
Palmers Gate |
In the early 1970s, a strange, nearly silent girl moves into ten-year-old Robby's neighborhood, and he befriends her knowing that something is wrong in her house, wanting to help, but not understanding enough even to express his concerns.
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Voigt, Cynthia |
Bad girls, bad girls, whatcha gonna do? |
As new ninth-graders eager only to survive high school, Mikey and Margalo must deal creatively with stolen money and cheating on the tennis courts. Sequel to : Bad Girls; Bad, Badder, Baddest; It's Not Easy Being Bad; Bad Girls in Love
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Walden, Mark |
H.I.V.E.: Higher Institute of Villainous Education 2008 Sakura selection
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Thirteen-year-old Otto and three of his new friends are kidnapped and taken to H.I.V.E., a super academy for world domination where the particular talents encouraged are craftiness and daring. Students come from all over the world, speak varying degrees of English, and are often the offspring of H.I.V.E. graduates. Otto, however, is an orphan. He has real brilliance and a photographic mind. Both qualities made him relatively independent before he was kidnapped, and they now provide somewhat of a challenge to his would-be keepers at H.I.V.E. Otto spearheads the group's effort to escape and return home, an escape that is foiled in the course of an evening that involves H.I.V.E.'s electronic overseer, an out-of-control flesh-eating plant, and other techno thrills. H.I.V.E. comes across as the shadow side of Hogwarts, but Otto and his pals aren't so much bad wizards as they are bright kids realizing they may be out of their depth.
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Winterson Jeanette |
Tanglewreck |
Eleven-year-old Silver sets out to find the Timekeeper--a clock that controls time--and to protect it from falling into the hands of two people who want to use the device for their own nefarious ends.
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Wooding, Chris |
Storm thief |
With the help of a golem, two teenaged thieves try to survive on the city island of Orokos, where unpredictable probability storms continually change both the landscape and the inhabitants.
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Yee, Lisa |
Stanford Wong flunks big-time |
After flunking sixth-grade English, basketball prodigy Stanford Wong must struggle to pass his summer-school class, keep his failure a secret from his friends, and satisfy his academically demanding father.
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Yee, Lisa |
Millicent Min, girl genius |
In a series of journal entries, eleven-year-old child prodigy Millicent Min records her struggles to learn to play volleyball, tutor her enemy, deal with her grandmother's departure, and make friends over the course of a tumultuous summer.
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Young, Steve |
15 minutes |
Seventh-grader Casey Little is always late until he discovers a magic watch that takes him back in time fifteen minutes, a trick he uses both on and off the football field.
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Links to outstanding young adult (YA) literature from the American Library Association (ALA)
Our previous years' lists: ("Any book one hasn't read is a new book" Anonymous)
Also:
Adventures to Read All Through the Summer from Librarian Nancy Pearl. Includes
links to other book lists. From National Public Radio (NPR).
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4646599
Pop-Up and Moveable Books: A Tour Through Their History
http://www.library.unt.edu/rarebooks/exhibits/popup2/
Summer Reading Recommended by Horn Book Editors
http://www.hbook.com/booklists/summer.asp
Summertime Favorites from the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
http://www.neh.gov/projects/summertimefavorites.html