Since first grade, Christopher Creed has been everyone's favorite freak and weirdo whipping boy. But when he disappears without a trace, leaving behind only a strange e-mail message that might be a suicide note, his quiet town becomes consumed with speculation and finger-pointing. And the longer he remains missing, the more clear it becomes that for most people, finding out what happened to Christopher is much less important than finding someone besides themselves to blame.
Tish Bonner's high school English class has to keep a dumb journal for their teacher, Mrs. Dunphrey. Doesn't Mrs. Dunphrey know that kids are too busy coping with real life to be bothered with writing? But when 16-year-old Tish's life is turned upside down, her journal becomes her only confidante. Relying on her teacher's promise that she won't read any entry marked "don't read this," Tish writes about her loneliness and fear when her mother abandons her and her little brother. Alone and with nowhere to turn, the teenager is forced to trust Mrs. Dunphrey with a final entry-one that she desperately wants her to read. Popular new author Margaret Peterson Haddix addresses the fear, desperation, and loneliness of young abuse victims with warm insight and compassion. Alyssa Bresnahan's flawless reading underscores a message which can't be emphasized enough: "sometimes you need to ask for help."
Historical novelist Howard Fast brings the past colorfully to life with his powerful stories. In his best-selling April Morning, he portrays a young man's introduction to the harsh realities of war during our nation's fight for independence. Fifteen-year-old Adam Cooper is anxcious to join the excitement and action of the Revolutionary War. On the morning of April 19, 1775, he stands beside his Massachusetts farmer father to face the redcoats marching out of Boston. But suddenly, his father falls on the village green, and Adam's hands are shaking as he shoots at columns of marching men. With realistic drama and riveting suspense, Howard Fast brings the glory and the agony of the colonial battlefield vividly to life.
Two boys and an old man survive a harrowing waterfall accident to find themselves stranded in the remote MacKenzie mountains of northern Canada. Fifteen-year olds Gabe and Raymond have the same birthday, but come from vastly different cultures. Gabe was raised by his grandparents in the Texas hill country, and Raymond is from a native village in the Northwest Territories. The old man is Johnny Raven, Raymond's great uncle. Luckily for the boys, he's a traditional Dihnay Indian who knows the old ways of winter survival. With winter fast approaching, and food running out, they must all work together to keep from becoming trapped in the howling wilds. Whether the group is eating porcupine or shooting the icy rapids, Johnny Heller's voice draws maximum excitement. The author of Bearstone, and numerous other award-winning books, Will Hobbs is known for his thrill-a-minute wilderness adventure stories featuring teens.
For Jason, entering the seventh grade is like walking into a dangerous new world. Now that he's in junior high school, he's a small fish in a big pond stocked full of ninth-graders. It's so scary that he won't even go to the bathroom if there's a ninth-grader in there-no matter how badly he has to go! But it isn't all bad. He's working on a model space station in shop class, and he's beginning to notice things he never paid attention to before, like body hair-and girls. Especially one girl: the beautiful, hair-flicking cheerleader Debbie Breen. This wonderfully realistic audiobook, written by Newbery Award-winning author Jerry Spinelli, attracts teen-aged readers with its combination of honesty and embarrassingly funny situations familiar to every teenager. Johnny Heller captures Jason's emotional roller coaster ride as his boggled mind tries to keep pace with his friends, family, school, and his changing body.
For the past four years, Rick Walker has been shuffled between foster care and group homes. At 14, he's a kid nobody wants or cares about. Now he's headed for Blue Canyon Detention Center. For Rick, life is a maze full of dead ends. But when he is threatened at Blue Canyon and runs away, Rick finds himself in a real maze-the enormous rocky expanse of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. There, Rick meets a biologist who has devoted his life to reintroducing the condor to its natural habitat.
As Rick joins him to protect the giant birds, the teenager will begin to see choices instead of dead ends. Will Hobbs has written many popular, award-winning books for young adults. Works such as Beardance, The Big Wander, and Downriver have won ALA Best Book Awards. The Maze is filled with riveting adventure in an unforgettable wilderness setting. Ed Sala's taut narration sets the perfect tone for Rick's journey toward confidence and trust.
'Suzanne Toren narrates Cynthia Rylant's story with distinctive voices for each character...Gentle background noises add to the presentation...This high quality production would be a worthwhile acquisition'--School Library Journal
Hollis Woods has been in so many foster homes she can hardly remember them all. She even runs away from the Regans, the one family who offers her a home.
When Hollis is sent to Josie, an elderly artist who is quirky and affectionate, she wants to stay. But Josie is growing more forgetful every day. If Social Services finds out, they'll take Hollis away and move Josie into a home. Well, Hollis Woods won't let anyone separate them. She's escaped the system before; this time, she plans to take Josie with her.
Yet behind all her plans, Hollis longs for her life with the Regans, fixing each moment of her time with them in pictures she'll never forget.
Mark Chelmsley IV has never felt truly at home anywhere. With only four months left in the fifth grade before he starts at an exclusive boarding school, Mark doesn't think it's even worth trying to settle in. What changes his mind is a Week in the Woods- the annual school camping trip. But even there, things go wrong. Mark covers for a friend and lands himself in Big Trouble: his nemesis, science teacher Mr. Maxwell, suspends him. Just as Mr. Maxwell is about take Mark home, Mark runs off into the woods, putting his survival skills- and Mr. Maxwell's- to the test.
Deep in the woods, Emily, Adriane, and Kara discover a magical portal through which strange and wondrous animals have emerged. The animals are peaceful and good, but what follows them through the portal is pure evil. Now the three girls must find the magic to keep their friends alive...or perish trying.
