New Releases of Science Fiction and Fantasy for Children and Teens--the middle of August edition

Here are the new releases of science fiction and fantasy for kids and teens from August 6 to 18th. Actually, there is no science fiction on the list, but if there had been any released I would have included it (why isn't more sci fi for kids being written/published?)

The list is taken as usual from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are lifted from Amazon, unless otherwise noted.

For 9-12 year olds:

THE ARCTIC INCIDENT: ARTEMIS FOWL GRAPHIC NOVEL by Eoin Colfer & Giovanni Rigano. "Now, in this second graphic novel installment of the series, fans can follow along as the world's youngest criminal mastermind rushes to save a man who has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya: his own father."




THE BLACK CIRCLE: THE 39 CLUES (Book 5) by Patrick Carman. "WHERE ARE AMY AND DAN CAHILL? The two kids were last seen in Egypt, hunting for one of the 39 Clues that could make them the most powerful people on earth. But no one has seen the siblings since. Has the ruthless Irina Spasky finally tracked them down? Or worse . . . the Madrigals?"



THE CURSE OF THE ROMANY WOLVES by S. Jones Rogan. "The creatures of Porthleven are suffering from a mysterious illness that looks like Febra lupi, the curse of the Romany wolves, which has no known cure. The dashing apothecary fox Penhaligon must find a cure or risk losing everyone he holds dear! Penhaligon uncovers a fragment of parchment that just might be a recipe for a cure—and it includes ingredients found only on the haunted Howling Island. But the obstacles Penhaligon must face on his quest for the cure make ghosts seem friendly: Pirates! Sea serpents! Double-crossing ferrets! Can Penhaligon make it back in time to save his village?"

THE HANGING HILL by Chris Grabenstein. "After narrowly escaping a malevolent spirit in The Crossroads, Zack and Judy are hoping to relax during the rehearsals for a show based on Judy’s bestselling children’s books. Little do they know that the director is planning to raise a horde of evil specters from the dead, and to accomplish this, he needs a human sacrifice . . . and Zack fits the bill perfectly."


JOURNEY TO ATLANTIS by Philip Roy. Sequel to Submarine Outlaw (2008), "Alfred, the intrepid young submarine outlaw, once again sets out to sea in his homemade submarine. In Journey to Atlantis, Alfred and his crew (his dog Hollie and his second mate the seagull Seaweed) sail across the Atlantic and enter the Mediterranean in search of the fabled lost island of Atlantis."

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO VAMPIRES by Lisa Trumbauer. "How old is a vampire fledgling? Why do vampires avoid mirrors? What's the best way to slip into a vampire's home? New York Times best-selling author Lisa Trumbauer illuminates the twilight world of vampires in the next edition in the Practical Guide family of fantasy essentials."



THE POISONS OF CAUX by Susannah Appelbaum. "There's little joy left in the kingdom of Caux: the evil King Nightshade rules with terrible tyranny and the law of the land is poison or be poisoned. Worse, eleven-year-old Ivy’s uncle, a famous healer, has disappeared, and Ivy sets out to find him, joined by a young taster named Rowan. But these are corrupt times, and the children—enemies of the realm—are not alone. What exactly do Ivy and Rowan’s pursuers want? Is it Ivy’s prized red bettle, which, unlike any other gemstone in Caux, appears—impossibly—to be hollow? Is it the elixir she concocted—the one with the mysterious healing powers? Or could it be Ivy herself?"

RAGTAG by Karl Wolf-Morgenlander. "Warring birds battle over the city of Boston in an action-packed fantasy. In this engrossing story for older middle-graders, hundreds of birds of prey have been driven out of the Berkshires by encroaching human development. They head toward Boston, which is already occupied by the birds of the city—but that won’t stop the raptors. Soon the Talon Empire and the Feathered Alliance are at war, and as the battle ensues, an unlikely hero emerges to defend his home: a young swallow named Ragtag."

ROSE by Holly Webb. "Rose is an orphan, who has lived at St Bridget's Home for Abandoned Girls for as long as she can remember. One afternoon, a thin woman in a smart black coat comes to the orphanage looking for a maid-of-all-work, and chooses Rose. Rose is delighted. Miss Bridges looks stern, but she is surprisingly pleasant as they walk to Rose's new home -- a tall, thin town house in a smart square. When she's inside and being shown her small attic bedroom, Rose realises that the house is drenched in magic! Rose knows this because she has a certain amount of magic herself. She can tell thrilling stories that transform themselves into pictures on shiny surfaces as she speaks, and she rescues her alchemist master's apprentice from a mist-creature he has mistakenly conjured up. It is this magic that she will call upon in times of dire need, for children are going missing across the town, and none of them show any signs of returning..."

SYLVIE AND THE SONGMAN by Tim Binding. "Sylvie Bartram lives alone with Mr Jackson the dog and her eccentric composer father who invents strange and wonderful musical instruments. One day she returns from school to find a message left in toothpaste on the bathroom mirror; her father has been kidnapped. Later that night, the house is visited by a terrifying apparition - a half-man/half-creature who is searching for something and will not rest until he has found it . . .Sylvie uncovers an underground world of magic and evil, and with help from her friends, she must hold off a power that threatens the lives of all beings in the world. The Songman is at large, and is determined to steal music and use it for his own evil ends . . . " (from the Random House website).

Young Adult:

EMPIRE OF THE SKULL: ALEC DEVLIN by Philip Caveney. "Mexico, 1924. At his father's hacienda, restlessly waiting for adventurer Ethan to arrive, sixteen-year-old Alec and his faithful valet Coates head out into the wilderness in search of an ancient archaeological site...only to discover that Mexico is every bit as perilous as The Valley of the Kings. Pursued by ruthless bandits, involved in a plane crash in the middle of remote rain-forest and finally an unwelcome guest in a lost Aztec city where the inhabitants still practice rituals of human sacrifice, once again Alec must use all of his skills and stamina to survive."

HEAVENLY by Jennifer Laurens. "I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoë's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoë lost in her broken life. Zoë escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoë's autistic sister. After Zoë is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever."

FAIREST OF ALL: A TALE OF THE WICKED QUEEN by Serena Valentino. "For anyone who's seen Walt Disney's Snow White, you'll know that the Wicked Queen is one evil woman! After all, it's not everyone who wants to cut out their teenage step-daughter's heart and have it delivered back in a locked keepsake box. (And even if this sort of thing is a common urge, we don't know many people who have acted upon it.) Now, for the first time, we'll examine the life of the Wicked Queen and find out just what it is that makes her so nasty. Here's a hint: the creepy-looking man in the magic mirror is not just some random spooky visage-and he just might have something to do with the Queen's wicked ways!"

MERIDIAN by Amber Kizer. "Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain. Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos."

NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE by E. Van Lowe. "On the night of her middle school graduation, Margot Jean Johnson wrote a high school manifesto detailing her goals for what she was sure would be a most excellent high school career. She and her best friend, Sybil, would be popular and, most important, have boyfriends. Three years later, they haven't accomplished a thing! Then Margot and Sybil arrive at school one day to find that most of the student body has been turned into flesh-eating zombies. When kooky Principal Taft asks the girls to coexist with the zombies until the end of the semester, they realize that this is the perfect opportunity to live out their high school dreams. All they have to do is stay alive...."

SLEEPLESS by Thomas Fahy. "Emma Montgomery has been having gruesome nightmares. Even worse, when she wakes up, she isn't where she was when she fell asleep. And she's not the only one. One by one the students of Saint Opportuna High start having nightmares, and sleepwalking. And the next morning one of their classmates turns up dead. Something is making them kill in their sleep. Emma and her friends need to band together, to keep themselves awake until they can figure out what's behind the murders--before anyone else dies."

And here's one that's historical fiction, but sounds like it would appeal to readers of fantasy:

TROUBADOUR by Mary Hoffman. "A story of persecution and poetry, love and war set in 13th century Southern France. As crusaders sweep through the country, destroying all those who do not follow their religion, Bertrand risks his life to warn others of the invasion. As a troubadour, Bertrand can travel without suspicion from castle to castle, passing word about the coming danger. In the meantime Elinor, a young noblewoman, in love with Bertrand, leaves her comfortable home and family and becomes a troubadour herself. Danger encircles them both, as the rising tide of bloodshed threatens the fabric of the society in which they live."