So this is what it feels like to be a failure. Two weeks! Two weeks is as far as I got before I completely dropped the ball with this little feature. This not my finest hour.
But, (there's always a "but" isn't there?) I have an excuse! Some of you may know that I've be grievously web-less recently, but I am still willing to take the blame. I'm sure that I could have figured out a way to make this work at least throughout June, which obviously didn't happen.
But, (oh look, there's another one!) I'm not letting my blatant failure get me down.... too much. I refuse to give up! So, I'm sure much to my own, the Blogger server's, and soon to be your dismay, I'm going to include every single book that I've missed in these last two lackluster months of mine. I am so very sorry if this big mama gives your computer indigestion, but I must give these new books their deserved props!
Here goes nothing!
Insomnia by J.R. Johansson
It’s been four years since I slept, and I suspect it is killing me.
Instead
of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he’s had
eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people’s fear
and pain, by their disturbing secrets—and Parker can never have dreams
of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes,
Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.
Then he
meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him
blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre
lengths to catch Mia’s eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he’s
gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a
true stalker, everyone thinks it’s Parker.
Suffering blackouts,
Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if
the monster stalking Mia is him after all?
Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead
In a futuristic world
nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile
after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and
supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae
Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America
(RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the
military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced
reflexes and skills.
When Justin and Mae are assigned to work
together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize
that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their
investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than
they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the
world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.
Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of X series, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines
series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and
mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.
The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
Luke is the perfect
boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all
through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up.
But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is
good enough.
Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker
assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's
sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too
smart for Colby.
Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks
Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League
education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is
attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she
also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and
sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?
Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?
Sarah
Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning,
and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.
Soul Taken by Katlyn Duncan
After-life just got a lot more complicated.
Maggie
is a Soul Collector. It’s her job to transport souls from the Living
Realm to the After – but during a mission to find a stolen soul, she
ends up stuck in a teen mean girl’s body.
Trapped, Maggie’s soul
is catapulted into Ally’s life – and the human world she hasn’t
experienced for one hundred years. But, as a descendant of the most
powerful beings in the After, Maggie must rescue Ally before the girl’s
soul dies…
To survive, Maggie must uncover devastating secrets – because with one soul taken by a terrifying enemy, Maggie’s could be next!
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Keep your friends close
and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too
close when they may be one in the same?
The Seven Stages War
left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the
next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this
elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a
college education and a rewarding career.
Cia Vale is honored
to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a
University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on
the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to
her upcoming studies--trust no one.
But surely she can trust
Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who
seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and
deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love
without truth or life without trust.
Paradox by A.J. Paquette
Fans of James
Dashner's Maze Runner series will love this postapocalyptic adventure
about a girl who must survive an alien planet in order to save the
Earth.
Ana only knows her name because of the tag she finds
pinned to her jumpsuit. Waking in the featureless compartment of a
rocket ship, she opens the hatch to discover that she has landed on a
barren alien world. Instructions in her pocket tell her to observe and
to survive, no doubt with help from the wicked-looking knives she
carries on her belt. But to what purpose?
Meeting up with
three other teens--one boy seems strangely familiar--Ana treks across
the inhospitable landscape, occasionally encountering odd twists of
light that carry glimpses of people back on Earth. They're working on
some sort of problem, and the situation is critical. What is the
connection between Ana's mission on this planet and the crisis back on
Earth, and how is she supposed to figure out the answer when she can't
remember anything?
Underneath by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
With
New Agey parents
and a Pakistani heritage, it might have been difficult for Sunny
Pryce-Shah to fit in. Thankfully, she had her older, popular cousin
Shiri to talk to—until now. Shiri’s shocking suicide brings
heart-wrenching pain and grief, and also seems to have triggered a new
and disturbing ability in Sunny: hearing people’s thoughts.
It’s
awful, especially when Sunny learns what her so-called friends really
think of her. Feeling more comfortable with the Emo crowd, she tells
them about her strange talent and uses it to help cute, troubled Cody.
But when his true motives are revealed, she isn’t sure whom to trust
anymore. Sunny hopes to find answers in Shiri’s journal. Was her cousin
also cursed with this “gift”? Will Sunny end up like Shiri?
When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
Danny's mother lost her
five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one
day that she was hanging on to see.
Now Danny is left alone, with
only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for
company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate,
what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be
happy anymore.
When he gets a letter from his mom's property
manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a
side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction,
Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother's memory and make
sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny
ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and
with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins
to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that
kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how
she died.
Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
A funny, honest novel about being out, being proud . . . and being ready for something else.
Rafe is a normal teenager from Boulder, Colorado. He plays soccer. He's won skiing prizes. He likes to write.
And,
oh yeah, he's gay. He's been out since 8th grade, and he isn't teased,
and he goes to other high schools and talks about tolerance and stuff.
And while that's important, all Rafe really wants is to just be a
regular guy. Not that GAY guy. To have it be a part of who he is, but
not the headline, every single time.
So when he transfers to an
all-boys' boarding school in New England, he decides to keep his
sexuality a secret -- not so much going back in the closet as starting
over with a clean slate. But then he sees a classmate breaking down. He
meets a teacher who challenges him to write his story. And most of all,
he falls in love with Ben . . . who doesn't even know that love is
possible.
This witty, smart, coming-out-again story will appeal
to gay and straight kids alike as they watch Rafe navigate being
different, fitting in, and what it means to be himself.
Impostor by Susanne Winnacker
Can Tessa pose as Madison . . . and stop a killer before it’s too late?
Tessa
is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic
their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years
training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch
of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is
given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the
killer before he strikes again.
Tessa hates everything about
being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing
the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and
the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action,
suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human
conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with
being herself.
Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff
Boy Nobody is the
perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much
about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new
name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for
someone in his new friend's family to die -- of "natural causes."
Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next
target.
When his own parents died of not-so-natural causes at
the age of eleven, Boy Nobody found himself under the control of The
Program, a shadowy government organization that uses brainwashed kids as
counter-espionage operatives. But somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody,
is somebody: the boy he once was, the boy who wants normal things (like a
real home, his parents back), a boy who wants out. And he just might
want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's next mission.
Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance
Fields’ Rule #1: Don’t fall for the enemy.
Berry
Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and
liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the
affairs she’s sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident
during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school
are not exactly lining up to date her, either.
So when
arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her
“nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time.
She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s
death.
But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her
investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from
discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why
can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?
With a playful nod to Jane Austen, Spies and Prejudice will captivate readers as love and espionage collide.
Rush by Eue Siluer
So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?
When
Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into
some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In
the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to
eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are
no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the
guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson
Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new
teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every
other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game
takes a deadly and terrifying turn.
The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna
One part Libba
Bray's Going Bovine, two parts String Theory, and three parts love story
equals a whimsical novel that will change the way you think about the
world.
Sophie Sophia is obsessed with music from the late
eighties. She also has an eccentric physicist father who sometimes
vanishes for days and sees things other people don’t see. But when he
disappears for good and Sophie’s mom moves them from Brooklyn, New York,
to Havencrest, Illinois, for a fresh start, things take a turn for the
weird. Sophie starts seeing things, like marching band pandas, just like
her dad.
Guided by Walt, her shaman panda, and her new (human)
friend named Finny, Sophie is determined to find her father and figure
out her visions, once and for all. So she travels back to where it
began—New York City and NYU’s physics department. As she discovers more
about her dad’s research on M-theory and her father himself, Sophie
opens her eyes to the world’s infinite possibilities—and her heart to
love.
Perfect for fans of Going Bovine, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and The Probability of Miracles.
Born of Illusion by Teri Brown
Anna Van Housen helps
her medium mother Margeurite do stage shows and seances in 1920s New
York. Possibly Houdini's daughter, she can sense feelings and
see the future. Frightening visions show her mother in peril. New
downstairs neighbor Cole introduces her to a society that studies people
with gifts like hers. Sorting truth from illusion yields her destiny.
Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox
Sixteen-year-old Canny
Mochrie's vacation takes a turn when she stumbles upon a mysterious and
enchanting valley, occupied almost entirely by children who can perform a
special type of magic that tells things how to be stronger and better
than they already are. As Canny studies the magic more carefully, she
realizes that she not only understands it--she can perform the magic,
too, so well that it feels like it has always been a part of her. With
the help of an alluring seventeen-year-old boy who is held hostage by a
spell that is now more powerful than the people who first placed it,
Canny figures out the secrets of this valley and of her own past.
Over You by Amy Reed
Max would follow Sadie
anywhere, so when Sadie decides to ditch her problems and escape to
Nebraska for the summer, it’s only natural for Max to go along. She is
Sadie’s confidante, her protector, and her best friend. This summer will
be all about them. This summer will be perfect.
But that’s before they meet Dylan.
Dylan
is dangerous and intoxicating, and he awakens something in Max that she
never knew existed. No matter how much she wants to, she can’t back
away.
But Sadie has her own intensity, and has never allowed Max
to become close with anyone else. And Max doesn’t know who she is
without Sadie.
There are some problems you just can’t escape.
The Lost Sun by Tessa Gratton
Fans of Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Holly Black's The Curse Workers will embrace this richly drawn, Norse-mythology-infused alternate world: the United States of Asgard.
Seventeen-year-old
Soren Bearskin is trying to escape the past. His father, a famed
warrior, lost himself to the battle-frenzy and killed thirteen innocent
people. Soren cannot deny that berserking is in his blood--the fevers,
insomnia, and occasional feelings of uncontrollable rage haunt him. So
he tries to remain calm and detached from everyone at Sanctus Sigurd's
Academy. But that's hard to do when a popular, beautiful girl like
Astrid Glyn tells Soren she dreams of him. That's not all Astrid dreams
of--the daughter of a renowned prophetess, Astrid is coming into her own
inherited abilities.
When Baldur, son of Odin and one of the
most popular gods in the country, goes missing, Astrid sees where he is
and convinces Soren to join her on a road trip that will take them to
find not only a lost god, but also who they are beyond the legacy of
their parents and everything they've been told they have to be.
Chameleon by Kelly Oram
For small-town rebel
Dani Webber magic and monsters are no more real than the Easter Bunny…
until the day she accidentally stops time. Dani quickly discovers that
not only do supernaturals exist, but she herself is one of them. This is
great news for her life-long best friend Russ, who can finally come
clean about his own supernatural status and his undying love for her.
Before the two can start to enjoy the long overdue relationship, Dani is
taken by a powerful council of supernaturals who believe she is the
Chosen One destined to save them from extinction.
As if being
kidnapped and expected to save the world isn’t bad enough, an ancient
prophecy warns of the Chosen One’s dark nature: “Only the truest love
will keep her an agent for good.” The council believes they know who
this “true love” is and, unfortunately, that person isn’t Russ. The
mysterious, powerful and devastatingly handsome Seer is the last person
Dani wants in her life, but when she starts having visions of a horrific
future, she has no one else to turn to for help.
Soon Dani
finds herself torn between two very different boys with two very
different opinions of whom she can trust. With the visions getting worse
and time running out, Dani is forced to put aside her feelings and work
with both the Seer and Russ before an ancient evil is unleashed upon
the earth.
Camp Boyfriend by J.K. Rock
The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.
They
said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson
transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school
halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out
for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing
on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where
she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her
old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth.
This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status
once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't
even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who
dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.
But Matt isn't
giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together,
Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would
have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with
forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was
supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever.
Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her
and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions
escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will
her first big discovery be herself?
Hidden by Catherine McKenzie
When a married man
suffers a sudden fatal accident, two women are shattered—his wife and
someone else's—and past secrets, desires and regrets are brought to
light
While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is
struck by a car and killed. Not one but two women fall to pieces at the
news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss,
Claire must comfort her grieving son and contend with funeral
arrangements, well-meaning family members and the arrival of Jeff’s
estranged brother—her ex-boyfriend—Tim.
With Tish’s co-workers in
the dark about her connection to Jeff outside the workplace, she
volunteers to attend the funeral on the company’s behalf, but only she
knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s
life. Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish and Claire, Hidden
explores the complexity of relationships, our personal choices and the
responsibilities we have to the ones we love.
In the After by Demetria Lunetta
They hear the most silent of footsteps.
They are faster than anything you've ever seen.
And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.
Amy
is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them.
These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the
population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue
“Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the
girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.
After
years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a
colony of survivors living in a former government research compound.
While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food,
safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal.
And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and
much more.
Rebellious, courageous, and tender, this unforgettable
duo will have you on the edge of your seat as you tear through the
pulse-pounding narrow escapes and horrifying twists of fate in this
thrilling debut from author Demitria Lunetta.
Hidden by Marianne Curley
For as long as Ebony
can remember, she's been sheltered. Confined to her home in a secluded
valley, home-schooled by her protective parents, and limited to a small
circle of close friends. It's as if she's being hidden. But something is
changing in Ebony. Something that can't be concealed. She's growing
more beautiful by the day, she's freakishly strong, and then there's the
fact that she's glowing.
On one fateful night, Ebony
meets Jordan and she's intensely drawn to him. It's as if something
explodes inside of her--something that can be seen from the heavens.
Ebony still doesn't know that she's a stolen angel, but now that the
heavens have found her, they want her back.
Ink by Amanda Sun
On the heels of a
family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway
across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels
lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair
of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes
off whenever she enters a building.
Then there’s gorgeous but
aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get
the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she
sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth:
Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie
is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people
notice, they'll both be targets.
Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.
Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey
Liam MacGregor is
cursed. Haunted by the wails of fantastical Bean Sidhes and labeled a
demon by the villagers of Dòchas, Liam has accepted that things will
never get better for him—until a wealthy heiress named Annabel Leighton
arrives on the island and Liam’s fate is changed forever.
With
Anna, Liam finally finds the happiness he has always been denied; but,
the violent, mythical Otherworlders, who inhabit the island and the sea
around it, have other plans. They make awager on the couple’s love,
testing its strength through a series of cruel obstacles. But the
tragedies draw Liam and Anna even closer. Frustrated, the creatures put
the couple through one last trial—and this time it’s not only their
love that’s in danger of being destroyed.
Based on Edgar Allan
Poe’s chilling poem, "Annabel Lee," Mary Lindsey creates a frighteningly
beautiful gothic novel that glorifies the power of true love.
Sylo by D.J. Machale
Does Tucker Pierce have what it takes to be a hero when the U.S. military quarantines his island?
Fourteen-year-old
Tucker Pierce prefers to fly under the radar. He’s used to navigating
around summer tourists in his hometown on idyllic Pemberwick Island,
Maine. He’s content to sit on the sidelines as a backup player on the
high school football team. And though his best friend Quinn tells him to
“go for it,” he’s too chicken to ask Tori Sleeper on a date. There’s
always tomorrow, he figures. Then Pemberwick Island is invaded by a
mysterious branch of the U.S. military called SYLO. And sitting on the
sidelines is no longer an option for Tucker, because tomorrow may never
come.
It’s up to Tucker, Quinn, and Tori to uncover the truth
about the singing aircraft that appears only at night—and the stranger
named Feit who’s pushing a red crystal he calls the Ruby that brings
unique powers to all who take it. Tucker and his friends must rescue not
just Pemberwick Island, but the fate of the world—and all before
tomorrow is too late.
Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes
After a virus
claimed nearly the entire global population, the world changed. The
United States splintered into fifty walled cities where the surviving
citizens clustered to start over. The Company, which ended the plague by
bringing a life-saving vaccine back from the future, controls
everything. They ration the scant food and supplies through a lottery
system, mandate daily doses of virus suppressant, and even monitor
future timelines to stop crimes before they can be committed.
Brilliant
but autistic, sixteen-year-old Clover Donovan has always dreamed of
studying at the Waverly-Stead Academy. Her brother and caretaker, West,
has done everything in his power to make her dream a reality. But
Clover’s refusal to part with her beloved service dog denies her entry
into the school. Instead, she is drafted into the Time Mariners, a team
of Company operatives who travel through time to gather news about the
future.
When one of Clover’s missions reveals that West’s life is
in danger, the Donovans are shattered. To change West’s fate, they’ll
have to take on the mysterious Company. But as its secrets are revealed,
they realize that the Company’s rule may not be as benevolent as it
seems. In saving her brother, Clover will face a more powerful force
than she ever imagined
and will team up with a band of fellow misfits
and outsiders to incite a revolution that will change their destinies
forever.
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
Seventeen-year-old
Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment,
and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for
one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in
her mother’s shop.
So when Xander Spence walks into the store to
pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen
to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s
one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to
know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned
from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention
span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare
him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.
She
knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather
Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money.
But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince
Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money
is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized.
And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.
Contaminated by Em Garner
After the
Contamination—an epidemic caused by the super-trendy diet drink ThinPro
that turned ordinary citizens into violent, uncontrollable creatures—the
government rounded up the "Connies" to protect the remaining
population. Now, two years later, the rehabilitated are being allowed
home, complete with shock collars that will either control, or kill,
them.
Velvet Ellis has struggled to care for her ten-year-old
sister since her parents were taken in the round up. When she finds her
mother in one of the "Kennels," Velvet resolves to do whatever it takes
to put her family back together. But the danger isn’t over. It’s
beginning all over again…
Gritty and grabbing, Velvet is a harrowing, emotionally charged novel for fans of Carrie Ryan and The Walking Dead.
Undercurrent by Paul Blackwell
Quiet studious Callum
Harris tumbles over the waterfall in a new town. He wakes up in a
hospital bed and everything has changed. His brother is no longer a hot
jock, but paralyzed and bedridden at home; Callum is a jock and a bully.
In this twisted new version of the life Callum knew, his former best
friend isn’t the only one trying to kill him.
Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
In the beginning was the darkness, and in the darkness was a girl, and in the girl was a secret...
In
the domed city of Yuan, the blind Princess Isra, a Smooth Skin, is
raised to be a human sacrifice whose death will ensure her city’s
vitality. In the desert outside Yuan, Gem, a mutant beast, fights to
save his people, the Monstrous, from starvation. Neither dreams that
together, they could return balance to both their worlds.
Isra
wants to help the city’s Banished people, second-class citizens despised
for possessing Monstrous traits. But after she enlists the aid of her
prisoner, Gem, who has been captured while trying to steal Yuan’s
enchanted roses, she begins to care for him, and to question everything
she has been brought up to believe.
As secrets are revealed and
Isra’s sight, which vanished during her childhood, returned, Isra will
have to choose between duty to her people and the beast she has come to
love.
First Kiss by Ann Marie Frohoff
About an up and coming
teenage rocker on the verge of stardom, when the girl next door becomes
something more; they're forced to face the harsh realities on his road
to fame and the expectations of their friends and family. Sacrifices are
made as everything changes as they know it.
Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn
The spine-tingling
horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's
Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.
On
a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods
and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then
she vanished.
A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a
road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't
know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real
Annaliese Rose Gordon.
Now Annaliese is haunted by strange
visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . .
a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared.
Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a
violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock
the twisted secrets of her past.
Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
When you’ve been
kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees.
It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .
Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.
He’s
part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding
school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his
classmates out, no matter the cost.
He’s part Drew, the angry
young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a
fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to
endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the
unthinkable.
Over the course of one night, while stuck at a
party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his
past and the isolation of his present.
Before the sun rises,
he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind
or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live
can mean so much more than not dying.
Linked by Imogen Howson
Elissa used to have it
all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three
years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and
mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere.
Finally, she’s
promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her
brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth
behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another
girl’s eyes.
Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered,
broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down
to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.
Now,
Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at
nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could
expose—secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world.
Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human.
Half Lives by Sara Grant
I learned that
surviving isn't all it's cracked up to be. If you survive, you've got to
live with the guilt, and that's more difficult than looking someone in
the eye and pulling the trigger. Trust me. I've done both. Killing takes
a twitch of the finger. Absolution takes several lifetimes.
Seventeen-year-old
Icie's parents have given her $10,000 in cash, a map of a top-secret
bunker, and instructions to get there by any means necessary. They have
news of an imminent viral attack and know that the bunker is Icie's only
hope for survival. Along with three other teens, she lives locked away
for months, not knowing what's happening in the outside world or who has
survived. And are they safe in the bunker after all?
Generations in
the future, a mysterious cult worships the very mountain where Icie's
secret bunker was built. They never leave the mountain, they're ruled by a teenager...and they have surprising ties to Icie.
This
high-stakes, original, and thought-provoking adventure from Sara Grant
follows two unlikely heroes, hundreds of years apart, as they fight to
survive.
Proxy by Alex London
Knox was born into one
of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy
could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to
take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When
Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox
crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced
to death.
Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.
Then
again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either
would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the
system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no
ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country
chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve,
and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who
pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.
Winter Queen by Amber Argyle
Becoming a winter
queen will make Ilyenna as cold and cruel and deadly as winter itself,
but it might be the only way to save her people from a war they have no
hope of winning.
Mortally wounded during a raid,
seventeen-year-old Ilyenna is healed by winter fairies who present her
with a seductive offer: become one of them and share their power over
winter. But that power comes with a price. If she accepts, she will
become a force of nature, lose her humanity, and abandon her family.
Unwilling
to pay such a high price, Ilyenna is enslaved by one of the invaders,
Darrien. While in captivity, she learns the attack wasn’t just a simple
raid but part of a larger plot to overthrow her entire nation.
With
the enemy stealing over the mountains and Darrien coming to take her to
his bed, Ilyenna must decide whether to resurrect the power the fairies
left behind. Doing so will allow her to defeat Darrien and the other
invaders, but if she embraces winter, she will lose herself to that
destroying power—forever.
Breaking Glass by Lisa Amowitz
On the night
seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken
leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret
crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her
from beyond the grave, he's not sure whether they're real or if he's
losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling
the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the
next victim himself.
Anomaly by Krista McGee
Thalli has fifteen
minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will
complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not
afraid.
Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels
things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The
Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world
above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong—and they
have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created.
Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored
her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of
music to record as her community’s assigned musician, she can no longer
keep her emotions secreted away.
Seen as a threat to the harmony
of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate
annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk—her former Pod mate who
is being groomed as a Scientist—steps in and persuades the Scientists to
keep Thalli alive as a test subject.
The more time she spends in
the Scientist’s Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as
simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a
Designer—stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she
trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn’t just an
anomaly, but part of a greater design?
Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub
Romeo and Juliet are
gone. Will love live on? Despite the glooming peace that's settled on
Verona after the recent tragedy, Montagues and Capulets are brawling in
the streets. Faced with more bloody battles, Prince Escalus concludes
that the only way to truly marry the fortunes of these two families is
to literally marry them together. Everyone is skeptical, but none more
so than the pair selected, for the most eligible Montague bachelor is
Benvolio, Romeo's best friend, still anguished by the loss of his
companions, and the chosen Capulet maid is Juliet's older cousin
Rosaline, the girl Romeo first loved and whose refusal of Romeo's
affection paved the way for bloodshed. Contrary to their late cousins,
there's no love lost between Benvolio and Rosaline, yet they forge a
bond to end the renewed feud not only to escape their forced betrothal,
but to save their lives and the city of Verona itself.
45 Pounds by K.A. Barson
Here are the numbers of Ann Galardi’s life:
She is 16.
And a size 17.
Her perfect mother is a size 6.
Her Aunt Jackie is getting married in 10 weeks, and wants Ann to be her bridesmaid.
So Ann makes up her mind: Time to lose 45 pounds (more or less) in 2 1/2 months.
Welcome
to the world of infomercial diet plans, wedding dance lessons,
embarrassing run-ins with the cutest guy Ann’s ever seen—-and some
surprises about her NOT-so-perfect mother.
And there’s one more thing. It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin-—no matter how you add it up!
Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols
From the author of the “real page-turner” (Seventeen) Such a Rush
comes an unforgettable new drama that follows friends-turned-lovers as
they navigate the passions, heartbreaks, and intrigue of country music
fame.
Bailey wasn’t always a wild child and the black
sheep of her family. She used to play fiddle and tour the music circuit
with her sister, Julie, who sang and played guitar. That ended when
country music execs swooped in and signed Julie to a solo deal. Never
mind that Julie and Bailey were a duet, or that Bailey was their
songwriter. The music scouts wanted only Julie, and their parents were
content to sit by and let her fulfill her dreams while Bailey’s were
hushed away.
Bailey has tried to numb the pain and disappointment
over what could have been. And as Julie’s debut album is set to hit the
charts, her parents get fed up with Bailey’s antics and ship her off to
granddad’s house in Nashville. Playing fiddle in washed-up tribute
groups at the mall, Bailey meets Sam, a handsome and oh-so-persuasive
guitarist with his own band. He knows Bailey’s fiddle playing is just
the thing his band needs to break into the industry. But this life has
broken Bailey’s heart once before. She isn’t sure she’s ready to let Sam
take her there again…
Replica by Jenna Black
Sixteen-year-old Nadia
Lake comes from a high-class Executive family in the Corporate States.
Her marriage has been arranged with the most powerful family in her
state, which means she lives a life of privilege but also of public
scrutiny, followed everywhere by photographers, every detail of her
private life tabloid fodder. But her future is assured, as long as she
can maintain her flawless public image — no easy feat when your
betrothed is a notorious playboy.
Nathan Hayes is the heir of
Paxco — controller of the former state of New York, and creator of human
replication technology, science that every state and every country in
the world would kill to have. Though Nadia and Nate aren’t in love,
they’ve grown up close, and they (and the world) are happy enough with
their match.
Until Nate turns up dead, and as far as everyone knows, Nadia was the last person to see him alive.
When
the new Nate wakes up in the replication tanks, he knows he must have
died, but with a memory that only reaches to his last memory backup, he
doesn’t know what killed him. Together, Nadia and Nate must discover
what really happened without revealing the secrets that those who run
their world would kill to protect.
A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin
A hint of Recovery Road, a sample of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and a cut of Juno.
A Really Awesome Mess is a laugh-out-loud, gut-wrenching/heart-warming
story of two teenagers struggling to find love and themselves.
Two teenagers. Two very bumpy roads taken that lead to Heartland Academy.
Justin
was just having fun, but when his dad walked in on him with a girl in a
very compromising position, Justin's summer took a quick turn for the
worse. His parents' divorce put Justin on rocky mental ground, and after
a handful of Tylenol lands him in the hospital, he has really hit rock
bottom.
Emmy never felt like part of her family. She was adopted
from China. Her parents and sister tower over her and look like they
came out of a Ralph Lauren catalog-- and Emmy definitely doesn't. After a
scandalous photo of Emmy leads to vicious rumors around school, she
threatens the boy who started it all on Facebook.
Justin and Emmy
arrive at Heartland Academy, a reform school that will force them to
deal with their issues, damaged souls with little patience for
authority. But along the way they will find a ragtag group of teens who
are just as broken, stubborn, and full of sarcasm as themselves. In the
end, they might even call each other friends.
Starglass by Phoebe North
Terra has never known anything but life aboard the Asherah,
a city-within-a-spaceship that left Earth five hundred years ago in
search of refuge. At sixteen, working a job that doesn't interest her,
and living with a grieving father who only notices her when he's
yelling, Terra is sure that there has to be more to life than what she's
got.
But when she inadvertently witnesses the captain's guard
murdering an innocent man, Terra is suddenly thrust into the dark world
beneath her ship's idyllic surface. As she's drawn into a secret
rebellion determined to restore power to the people, Terra discovers
that her choices may determine life or death for the people she cares
most about. With mere months to go before landing on the long-promised
planet, Terra has to make the decision of a lifetime--one that will
determine the fate of her people.
Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan
A shocking human rights tragedy brought to light in a story of heartbreak and triumph.
Thirteen-year-old
Habo has always been different— light eyes, yellow hair and white skin.
Not the good brown skin his family has and not the white skin of
tourists. Habo is strange and alone. His father, unable to accept Habo,
abandons the family; his mother can scarcely look at him. His brothers
are cruel and the other children never invite him to play. Only his
sister Asu loves him well. But even Asu can’t take the sting away when
the family is forced from their small Tanzanian village, and Habo knows
he is to blame.
Seeking refuge in Mwanza, Habo and his family
journey across the Serengeti. His aunt is glad to open her home until
she sees Habo for the first time, and then she is only afraid. Suddenly,
Habo has a new word for himself: Albino. But they hunt Albinos in
Mwanza because Albino body parts are thought to bring good luck. And
soon Habo is being hunted by a fearsome man with a machete.
To survive, Habo must not only run but find a way to love and accept himself.
The Fury by Alexander Gordon Smith
From the creator of the Escape from Furnace series, a ferocious epic of supernatural terror, perfect for Stephen King fans.
Imagine if one day, without warning, the entire human race
turns against you, if every person you know, every person you meet
becomes a bloodthirsty, mindless savage . . . That’s the horrifying
reality for Cal, Brick, and Daisy. Friends, family, even moms and dads,
are out to get them. Their world has the Fury. It will not rest until
they are dead.
In Alexander Gordon Smith’s adrenaline-fueled
saga, Cal and the others must uncover the truth about what is happening
before it destroys them all. But survival comes at a cost. In their
search for answers, what they discover will launch them into battle with
an enemy of unimaginable power.
Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton
I can’t weep. I can’t fear. I’ve grown talented at pretending.
Elizabeth
Caldwell doesn’t feel emotions . . . she sees them. Longing, Shame, and
Courage materialize around her classmates. Fury and Resentment appear
in her dysfunctional home. They’ve all given up on Elizabeth because she
doesn’t succumb to their touch. All, that is, save one—Fear. He’s
intrigued by her, as desperate to understand the accident that changed
Elizabeth’s life as she is herself.
Elizabeth and Fear both sense
that the key to her past is hidden in the dream paintings she hides in
the family barn. But a shadowy menace has begun to stalk her, and try as
she might, Elizabeth can barely avoid the brutality of her life long
enough to uncover the truth about herself. When it matters most, will
she be able to rely on Fear to save her?
Deviant by Helen Fitzgerald
When 16-year-old
Abigail's mother dies in Scotland--leaving a faded photo, a weirdly
cryptic letter, and a one-way ticket to America--she feels nothing. Why
should she? Her mother gave her away when she was a baby, leaving her to
grow up on an anti-nuclear commune and then in ugly foster homes. But
the letter is a surprise in more ways than one: Her father is living in
California. What's more, Abigail discovers she has an eighteen-year-old
sister, Becky. And the two are expecting Abigail to move in with them.
After struggling to overcome her natural suspicions of a note from
beyond the grave (not to mention anything positive) Abigail grows close
to her newfound sister. But then Becky is found dead, the accidental
victim of an apparent drug overdose. As Abigail wrestles with her
feelings and compiles a "Book of Remembrance" of her sister's short
life, she uncovers a horrifying global plot aimed at controlling teen
behavior: one that took her sister's and mother's lives, with vast
implications.
My Chemical Mountain by Corina Vacco
Rocked by his
father's recent death and his mother's sudden compulsion to overeat,
Jason lashes out by breaking into the abandoned mills and factories that
plague his run-down town. Always by his side are his two best friends,
Charlie, a fearless thrill junkie, and Cornpup, a geek inventor whose
back is covered with cysts. The boys rage against the noxious pollution
that suffocates their town and despise those responsible for it; at the
same time, they embrace the danger of their industrial wasteland and
boast about living on the edge.
Then on a night the boys
vandalize one of the mills, Jason makes a costly mistake--and
unwittingly becomes a catalyst for change. In a town like his, change
should be a good thing. There's only one problem: change is what Jason
fears most of all.
A Trick of the Light
Mike Welles had
everything under control. But that was before. Now things are rough at
home, and they’re getting confusing at school. He’s losing his sense of
direction, and he feels like he’s a mess.
Then there’s a voice
in his head. A friend, who’s trying to help him get control again. More
than that—the voice can guide him to become faster and stronger than he
was before, to rid his life of everything that’s holding him back. To
figure out who he is again. If only Mike will listen.
Telling a story of a rarely recognized segment of eating disorder sufferers—young men—A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger is a book for fans of the complex characters and emotional truths in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls and Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.
Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller
A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?
In the Bermuda Triangle—a lot.
Hoping
to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life--her father's death
years ago, her mother's medical problems, and the loser who’s
practically stalking her--seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a
ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the
Bermuda Triangle, she fears she's gone nuts for more than one reason:
that loser’s suddenly claiming they're a happy couple... a hot guy is
wrapping his arms around her and saying "Happy Anniversary"... and
suddenly, she’s full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV
medication. Autumn visits the ship's doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot
to make the craziness go away. Instead, she's warned that these
"alternate realities" could become permanent.
She just has to ask herself one question—how the hell is she going to get out of this mess?
Defy the Dark by Saundra Mitchell
Defy the Dark, an all-new anthology edited by Saundra Mitchell. Coming Summer 2013 from HarperTeen!
It
features 16 stories by critically-acclaimed and bestselling YA authors
as they explore things that can only happen in the dark. Authors include
Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Hawkins, Carrie Ryan, Aprilynne Pike,
Malinda Lo, Courtney Summers, Beth Revis, Sarah Ockler, and more.
Contemporary,
genre, these stories will explore every corner of our world- and so
many others. What will be the final story that defies the dark? Who will
the author be?
fml by Shaun David Hutchinson
There’s more
than one way to get the girl in this fun and fast-paced novel about one
epic party and a kiss that could change everything.
Tonight’s
the night: Simon’s big chance to finally get with Cassie. Cassie, who
he’s loved for ages. Cassie, who is newly boyfriend-free. Cassie, who
just happens to be throwing the biggest party of the year. Simon’s plan
is simple: He’ll go to the party, she’ll fall in love with him, they’ll
make out like crazy, and the night will be a complete success.
But things don’t ever go as planned… especially when it comes to Cassie.
In
two alternating plotlines, Simon goes after the girl of his dreams and
stumbles toward his destiny. It’s one night, one party, and a thousand
ways for things to go wrong… but a million ways for them to go right.
One by Leigh Ann Kopans
When having two powers
makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one
makes you a sad half-superpowered freak.
It makes you a One.
Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover.
If
she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally
figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and
salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers,
all in hopes of boosting her chances.
Then she meets Elias
VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the
window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to
make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska
cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other.
Merrin's mad
chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub's internship short list, but
as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that
the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s
up to her to decide if it's more important to fly solo, or to save
everything - and everyone - she loves.
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
It says quite a lot
about Jeremy Johnson Johnson that the strangest thing about him isn't
even the fact his mother and father both had the same last name. Jeremy
once admitted he's able to hear voices, and the townspeople of Never
Better have treated him like an outsider since. After his mother left,
his father became a recluse, and it's been up to Jeremy to support the
family. But it hasn't been up to Jeremy alone. The truth is, Jeremy can
hear voices. Or, specifically, one voice: the voice of the ghost of
Jacob Grimm, one half of the infamous writing duo, The Brothers Grimm.
Jacob watches over Jeremy, protecting him from an unknown dark evil
whispered about in the space between this world and the next. But when
the provocative local girl Ginger Boultinghouse takes an interest in
Jeremy (and his unique abilities), a grim chain of events is put into
motion. And as anyone familiar with the Grimm Brothers know, not all
fairy tales have happy endings...
PODs by Michelle Pickett
Seventeen-year-old Eva
is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful
death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of
symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats
built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly
virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in
the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all,
it's a balm for the broken soul.
After a year, scientists
believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the
virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened,
survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated,
infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.
Eva and
David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to
build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are
relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for
survival, and pray for a cure.
Wooh! Hours later....
Finally, I have reached the point where I share with you all the book that I'm the most looking forward to see released this upcoming week. And that is....
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
A brilliantly brain-warping thriller and a love story that leaps back and forth in time - All Our Yesterdays is an amazing first novel, perfect for fans of The Hunger Games.
Em
is locked in a bare, cold cell with no comforts. Finn is in the cell
next door. The Doctor is keeping them there until they tell him what he
wants to know. Trouble is, what he wants to know hasn't happened yet.
Em
and Finn have a shared past, but no future unless they can find a way
out. The present is torture - being kept apart, overhearing each other's
anguish as the Doctor relentlessly seeks answers. There's no way back
from here, to what they used to be, the world they used to know. Then Em
finds a note in her cell which changes everything. It's from her future
self and contains some simple but very clear instructions. Em must
travel back in time to avert a tragedy that's about to unfold. Worse,
she has to pursue and kill the boy she loves to change the future.