By his senior year, Steve York has come through the worst two years of his life. His parents have divorced, and his girlfriend has betrayed him. Worse yet, after running away to live with his mother in San Diego, forays into the drug culture have turned his A-average into a thing of the past. Steve's only hope to graduate on time and avoid summer school is to write a 100-page paper for his guidance counselor. Unfortunately, he has to write about something he knows, and all he knows well are the last two years of his life. Will his assignment help Steve pull his life back together-or cast him adrift for good? In Rats Saw God, Rob Thomas makes a remarkable debut into the young adult fiction world. With stunning insight and biting humor, he examines the pain and awkwardness of growing up. Johnny Heller's impassioned reading brilliantly illuminates this story of one teenager's search for identity.
It's been a year since septimus heap discovered his real family and true calling to be a wizard. As Apprentice to Extra Ordinary Wizard Marcia Overstrand, he is learning the fine arts of Conjurations, Charms, and other Magyk, while Jenna is adapting to life as the Princess and enjoying the freedom of the Castle.
But there is something sinister at work. Marcia is constantly trailed by a menacing Darke Shadow, and Septimus's brother Simon seems bent on a revenge no one understands. Why is the Darke Magyk still lingering?
Bringing fantasy to new heights, Angie Sage continues the journey of Septimus Heap with her trademark humor and all of the clever details readers have come to love.
This first novel from Nebula Award-winning short story writer Ellen Klages was picked as a Junior Library Guild selection and named a Book Sense #1 Children's Pick. It follows a young girl named Dewey, whose father is part of a super-secret project in 1943 Los Alamos. Dewey, a gifted scientist herself, slowly realizes the implications of "the gadget" her father is working on. She and Suze, another Los Alamos child, find comfort in each other's friendship. "An intense but accessible page-turner ... history and story are drawn together with confidence."-Horn Book Magazine, starred review
Orphaned Benjamin Bartholomew Piff closed his eyes, blew out the candle, and wished with all his might. Soon after, sirens wailed all over the Wishworks Factory-Ben had followed every rule of birthday wishing to a T and had made the most dangerous wish of all...a wish for unlimited wishes
Ben is delighted with his clever wish, until he learns that he has disrupted the fragile balance in the magical realm of wishes and curses. Before long, Ben has been recruited by the Wishworks factory president himself to fight the evil henchmen of the Curseworks Factory-giving new credence to the old adage: "Be careful what you wish for..."
Arthur and his pals can't wait for the next book in the Scare-Your-Pants-Off series, until they learn that a parents' group is trying to ban the popular books. The gang learns about standing up for what's right as they get help from a surprising source.
It feels as if it'll be a long season for Arthur as he struggles to sharpen his baseball skills and ends up learning an important lesson about teamwork.
Award-winning author Emily Jenkins' Toys Go Out was both a Junior Library Guild and Book-of-the- Month Club selection. Lumphy the stuffed buffalo, Stingray the stuffed stingray, and Plastic the plastic thing have many wondrous adventures and learn all about the world. But will they ever discover what kind of toy Plastic truly is?
Author Diana Wynne Jones has won the prestigious Guardian and Mythopoeic Awards. Pinhoe Egg, the fifth book in her popular Chrestomanci series, brings back Cat Chant. The Pinhoes don't want the Chrestomanci to find out that they've been misusing their magic, but when Cat finds a mysterious old egg at Gammer's place, the Chrestomanci is sure to notice.
“There is . . . ,” Mrs. Tracy was saying quietly, “there is something you need
to know about Jessica. . . .”
From this moment on, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-grade classmates. Despite Jessica’s shocking appearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly develops a tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life. Firegirl is a powerful story that will show listeners that even the smallest of gestures can have a profound impact on someone’s life.
“It’s a beautiful story, a sad story, brilliantly written, a story you’ll never forget.”
–Newbery Honor winner Patricia Reilly Giff
Queen is a royal pain in the neck. Her Highness treats everyone as though they were her loyal subjects: her classmates, her teacher, even her parents! When a new kid comes to Queen’s school, riding a broken bike and wearing run-over shoes, he immediately becomes the butt of everyone’s jokes. Queen’s parents insist she be nice to Leroy, but Queen doesn’t see why she should. Leroy isn’t just smelly; Queen thinks that he tells fibs–whoppers, in fact. And when he says he’s an African prince from Senegal, sparks begin to fly. Queen is determined to prove that Leroy is an impostor.
But along the way, Queen learns the unexpected from her Broken Bike Boy–what being a good friend and “happily ever after” really mean.
This spellbinding National Book Award Finalist from award-winning author Martine Leavitt received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Booklist. Sixteen-year-old Keturah tells vibrant stories of her own imagining to the folk of her small village. Her talent for painting beautiful pictures with words is impressive indeed, but will it be enough to save her life when she becomes lost in the deep, dark forest?
The abridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Cathy Cassidy's heartwarming tale, Sundae Girl, read by India Fisher.
Jude's family are crazy, quirky, bizarre . . . her mum brings her nothing but trouble and her dad thinks he's Elvis! All she wants is a hassle-free life - but it's not easy when she's chasing a trail of broken promises. Things go from bad to worse, but could the floppy-haired boy from school be her knight on shining rollerblades . . .?
Cathy Cassidy's warm, funny, tender fiction has won her an army of dedicated fans, both boys and girls. Her fan club now has 5,000 members and counting!
