Behind the Bookcase by Mark Steensland
Spending the summer at
her grandmother's house is the last thing Sarah wants to do—especially
now that Grandma Winnie has died—but she has no choice. Her parents have
to fix the place up before they can sell it, and Sarah and her brother,
Billy, have to help. But the tedious work turns into a thrilling
mystery when Sarah discovers an unfinished letter her grandmother wrote:
Strange things are happening behind the bookcase. . . .
Sarah's
mother dismisses the letter as one of Grandma Winnie's crazy stories,
but Sarah does some investigating and makes a remarkable discovery:
behind the bookcase is a doorway into Scotopia, the land where shadows
come from. With a talking cat named Balthazat as her guide, Sarah begins
an unforgettable adventure into a world filled with countless dangers.
Who can she trust? And can she face her fears, not only in Scotopia, but
also back at Grandma Winnie's house, where more secrets and strange
goings-on await her?
The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver
One night when Liza
went to bed, Patrick was her chubby, stubby, candy-grubbing and
pancake-loving younger brother, who irritated and amused her both, and
the next morning, when she woke up, he was not. In fact, he was quite,
quite different.
When Liza's brother, Patrick, changes overnight,
Liza knows exactly what has happened: The spindlers have gotten to him
and stolen his soul.
She knows, too, that she is the only one who can save him.
To
rescue Patrick, Liza must go Below, armed with little more than her
wits and a broom. There, she uncovers a vast world populated with
talking rats, music-loving moles, greedy troglods, and overexcitable
nids . . . as well as terrible dangers. But she will face her greatest
challenge at the spindlers' nests, where she encounters the evil queen
and must pass a series of deadly tests--or else her soul, too, will
remain Below forever.
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann
Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.
In
the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live
by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings--Peculiars--and
neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.
One day
a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow
Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does
she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a
whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the
alley--Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.
First
he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly
magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful
Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip
through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers
Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.
Part murder mystery,
part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, "The Peculiar" is Stefan
Bachmann's riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.
Here Where the Sunbeams Are Green by Helen Phillips
Mad's dad is the Bird
Guy. He'll go anywhere to study birds. So when he's offered a
bird-tracking job in Central America, his bags are packed and he's
jungle bound.
But going bird tracking in the jungle and
disappearing completely are very different things, and when the Very
Strange and Incredibly Creepy Letter arrives, Mad can't shake the
terrible feeling that her father is in trouble.
Roo, Mad's
younger sister, is convinced that the letter is a coded message. And
their mom is worried, because the letter doesn't sound like Dad at all.
But Mad is sure it's a sign of something sinister.
The only way
to get to the bottom of it is to go to Lava Bird Volcano and find their
dad themselves. Though they never could have imagined what they're about
to discover.
Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling
A swashbuckling new series for Ranger's Apprentice fans
Imagine a world ruled by Werelords - men and women who can shift at
will into bears, lions, and serpents. When Drew suddenly discovers he's
not only a werewolf but the long-lost heir to the murdered Wolf King's
throne, he must use his wits and newfound powers to survive in a land
suddenly full of enemies.
Drew's the only one who can unite the kingdom
in a massive uprising against its tyrant ruler, Leopold the Lion. But
the king is hot on Drew's tail and won't rest until he's got the rebel
Wolf's head
The Cloak Society by Jeramey Kraatz
The Cloak Society: An elite organization of supervillains graced with extraordinary powers.
Ten
years ago they were defeated by the Rangers of Justice and vanished
without a trace. But the villains of Cloak have been biding their time,
waiting for the perfect moment to resurface. And twelve-year-old Alex
Knight wants to be one of them.
Alex is already a junior member,
and his entire universe is Cloak's underground headquarters, hidden
beneath an abandoned drive-in theater in Sterling City, Texas. While
other kids his age are studying math and history, Alex is mastering his
telekinetic powers and learning how to break into bank vaults. His only
dream is to follow in his parents' footsteps as one of the most feared
supervillains in the world. Cloak is everything he believes in.
But
on the day of his debut mission, Alex does the unthinkable: he saves
the life of a young Ranger named Kirbie. Even worse . . . she becomes
his friend. And the more time he spends with her, the more Alex wonders
about the world outside of Cloak--and what, exactly, he's been fighting
for.
Freakling by Lana Krumwiede
In
twelve-year-old Taemon’s city, everyone has a power called psi—the
ability to move and manipulate objects with their minds. When Taemon
loses his psi in a traumatic accident, he must hide his lack of power by
any means possible. But a humiliating incident at a sports tournament
exposes his disability, and Taemon is exiled to the powerless colony.
The
"dud farm" is not what Taemon expected, though: people are kind and
open, and they actually seem to enjoy using their hands to work and play
and even comfort their children. Taemon adjusts to his new life
quickly, making friends and finding unconditional acceptance.
But
gradually he discovers that for all its openness, there are mysteries
at the colony, too—dangerous secrets that would give unchecked power to
psi wielders if discovered.
When Taemon unwittingly leaks one of
these secrets, will he have the courage to repair the damage—even if it
means returning to the city and facing the very people who exiled him?
The Secret Prophecy by Herbie Brennan
Imagine your father has
been found dead. Strange men armed with guns show up at his funeral.
And those same men have begun to follow you. Now you're on the run.
When
Edward Michael "Em" Goverton uncovers the key to a
five-hundred-year-old deadly prediction by the prophet Nostradamus,
personal tragedy morphs into international crisis. Soon Em finds himself
enmeshed in a sinister web of shocking events where nothing is quite as
it seems. Aided by Victor, a mysterious stranger, and Charlotte, a
family friend, Em follows a trail of cryptic clues that leads the trio
into a conspiracy of world-shattering proportions.
But the
ominous forces behind the plot are not about to sit back and let their
plans be ruined. Soon their net begins to close in on Em, and it's a
race against the clock for the trio to finish what Em's father
started--and prevent a catastrophe that threatens the lives of an entire
generation.
Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies by Jordan Jacobs
A legendary ghost, an ancient treasure, a mystery only Samantha Sutton can solve.
What
happens when Indiana Jones meets Nancy Drew? You get Samantha Sutton,
twelve year-old archeology buff with sharp wit and an insatiably curious
personality. SAMANTHA SUTTON AND THE LABYRINTH OF LIES is the
incredible page-turner about a young girl from California who is given
the chance to follow her archeologist uncle to the excavation of an
ancient Peruvian temple.
What she doesn’t expect, though, is the
legend haunting this ancient site. When important artifacts begin to
disappear overnight, Samantha must navigate the disapproving eye of her
uncle’s acerbic assistant, the bungling boyishness of her annoying big
brother, and the ever-present stories swirling among the locals of the
hysterical spirit that wanders through the town late at night. Using her
keen sensibility and her knack for mapping the unknown passageways of
Chavín de Huántar, Samantha uncovers a mystery far bigger than she could
have ever imagined. This is a novel for children (and adults!) who love
history, mystery, and heart-stopping plot-twists.
Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
Tuesdays at Castle
Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays
the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing.
No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than
Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions.
But when
King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it's up to
Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle's never-ending twists
and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom.
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
Every year in Quill,
thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent
Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their
deaths.
Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when
his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin,
Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be
eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret behind the
mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime.
In
Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and
learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and
musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his
eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation.
But it's a rare, unique
occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as
Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat
arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother
in an ultimate, magical battle.
Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner
Welcome to the tyrannical city of Jewel, where impatience is a sin and boldness is a crime.
Goldie
Roth has lived in Jewel all her life. Like every child in the city, she
wears a silver guardchain and is forced to obey the dreaded Blessed
Guardians. She has never done anything by herself and won’t be allowed
out on the streets unchained until Separation Day.
When Separation
Day is canceled, Goldie, who has always been both impatient and bold,
runs away, risking not only her own life but also the lives of those she
has left behind. In the chaos that follows, she is lured to the
mysterious Museum of Dunt, where she meets the boy Toadspit and
discovers terrible secrets. Only the cunning mind of a thief can
understand the museum’s strange, shifting rooms. Fortunately, Goldie has
a talent for thieving.
Which is just as well, because the leader of
the Blessed Guardians has his own plans for the museum—plans that
threaten the lives of everyone Goldie loves. And it will take a daring
thief to stop him. . . .
Museum of Thieves is a thrilling tale of
destiny and danger, and of a courageous girl who has never been allowed
to grow up—until now.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente
Twelve-year-old
September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her
father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is
met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a
gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying
that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable
and fickle, and also not much older than September.
Only September can
retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if
she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the
inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends,
including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.