Middle Grade:
ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE KNIGHTS OF CRYSTALLIA by Brandon Sanderson. "When Alcatraz and Grandpa Smedry make a pilgrimage to the Free Kingdom city of Crystallia, the Smedry home base, Alcatraz is shocked to see that he is, in fact, a legend. When he was a baby he was stolen by the Evil Librarians, and his mother, a Librarian herself, was behind the whole scheme. Now, with his estranged father, who is acting indeed strange, Bastille, who has been stripped of her armor, and Grandpa Smedry, who is, as always, late to everything (that's his Talent), Alcatraz tries to save a city under siege. From who? Why, the Librarians of course!"
THE BIG BIG BOOK OF GIBBLEWORT THE GOBLIN by Victor Kelleher. "From the spiky outback to the ski slopes of the Snowy Mountains, Gibblewort the Goblin blunders and crawls his way through Australia's vast landscape in this collection of hilarious stories. Whether he's cuddled by a python in the rainforest, caged with a love-struck chimp in the Zoo, or strapped to a runaway snowboard in the Snowy Mountains, trouble sticks to Gibblewort. Wherever Gibblewort goes across the continent, he never can find any peace! Will he ever be able to get back home?"
THE BRAIN FINDS A LEG by Martin Chatterton "Something strange is happening in Farrago Bay and Sheldon McGlone is going to get to the bottom of it. The local wildlife is behaving strangely and so are some of the grown-ups, particularly his teacher, the weird and elusive Miss Fleming. It doesn't help that Sheldon is being relentlessly pursued by bullies--including his older brother! Just when things couldn't get much worse, a new kid turns up in Sheldon_s classroom. Theophilus Brain, aka _The Brain,_ has an excessive imagination and a lot of odd ideas about what is ailing Farrago Bay. With a missing human leg and a crocodile who likes to play fetch as clues, Sheldon and the Brain turn detective and uncover a web of evil that stretches across two continents."
THE DOOM MACHINE by Mark Teague. "When a spaceship lands in Vern Hollow, Jack's hometown, he and his no-account inventor-uncle Bud are busy trying to fix a car driven by Dr. Shumway and her daughter, Isadora. Although Uncle Bud secretly knows the aliens are after one of his inventions, everyone is surprised when the space aliens capture seven of Vern Hollow's residents and take them into outer space on a wild adventure. . . . (more) After a series of twists and turns, all of them are taken to Skreepia, the aliens' planet, where they have to defeat the Skreep queen before she can use Uncle Bud's invention to take over planet Earth."
THE FEATHERED CLOAK by Sean Dixon. "When 11-year-old Freya meets Morton — a peregrine falcon who has been stripped of his feathers — in the woods near her home, she has no idea what to make of him. What has happened to this poor creature, and what force has made him cross her path? Before long, Freya and Morton have embarked on an adventure that will take her far from her goatherd father’s small house. As the often bad-tempered girl and the once-majestic bird begin to form an unlikely bond, they find themselves at the center of a battlefield — one that pits old against new, god against mortal, peace against war, pagan against Christian, and brother against brother. Is this the end for the race of Norse gods and goddesses, and the Vikings who fight in their shadows?"THE GHOST THAT FOLLOWED US HOME by Peg Kehret. "Enjoying the antique doll display at the museum, Kayo Benton and Rosie Saunders are amazed when they encounter a ghost with a tragic secret just before they are trapped among the exhibits by a pair of ruthless thieves."
THE LOST EMPIRE OF KOOMBA: SECRETS OF DROON by Tony Abbott. "Keeah, Julie, and Neal are determined to find a cure for the poison that transformed Eric into the evil Prince Ungast. Their quest takes them to a lost empire deep in the desert, where the mischievous Sand Children are hiding a magical elixir that may hold the secret to Eric's recovery. But the journey is filled with danger, for Gethwing is determined to stop them. And the Moon Dragon has a powerful new henchman at his disposal: Lord Sparr. . ."
MALICE by Chris Wooding. "Three kids get trapped in the world of a deadly comic book in this middle-grade thriller." (although Amazon has it as YA)
THE PHARAOH'S SECRET by Marissa Moss. "When Talibah and her younger brother, Adom, accompany their father, an academic, to his homeland of modern Egypt on his research assignment, they become involved in a mystery surrounding an ancient, lost pharaoh—a rare queen ruler. Someone has tried to wipe her from the record, to make it appear as if she never existed! She needs Talibah to help her and her high priest, Senenmut, reclaim their rightful place in history. Exotic locales, mysterious strangers, and a sinister archaeologist round out an adventure that is full of riddles, old tales, and, most surprisingly of all, a link to Talibah’s and Adom’s mother, who died mysteriously."
RIDDLE OF GREEN: LITTLE FUR by Isobelle Carmody. "When Little Fur loses touch with the flow of earth magic, she knows that she must regain it, whatever it takes. A visit to the prophetic Sett Owl makes it clear that Little Fur has to embark on the most dangerous of all her adventures and follow the dreams of a lemur. Accompanied by new companions including the lemur, a horde of lemmings, and a panther, Little Fur leaves the human city and sets out across the great salten sea. What Little Fur discovers about the past and the future on this most dangerous, yet most personal and rewarding journey, makes for an exciting and moving conclusion to this eco-fantasy quartet."
SECRETS OF DELTORA by Emily Rodda. "A book for old and new fans of the popular Deltora Quest series, this travel guide is told from the perspective of Doran the Dragonlover, the greatest Deltoran explorer ever and a friend of the dragons. Readers will travel with Doran through the seven gem territories, learning the secrets of Deltora-from its many dangers to its special places and magical creatures."
TOO AFRAID TO SCREAM: NIGHTTIME by Todd Strasser. "The third installment of the Nighttime series is packed with short scary stories sure to please young readers. A phantom text messenger, a skeleton on the hunt for his missing foot, and ghostly hitchhikers are a few of the topics in these spooky, contemporary tales."
THE WIZARD OF RONDO by Emily Rodda. "When Leo Zifkak inherited an antique music box from his stuffy great-aunt, he never expected that it might hide a wondrous secret. The music box is the portal to a new world, Rondo. Leo's first visit to Rondo was to rescue his cousin, Mimi, and he almost lost his life. On his second visit, something much more important is at stake - his soul. There's a wizard missing and an innocent young man accused of his death. If Leo and Mimi are to right this wrong, they're going to have to risk everything...
Young Adult
BALLAD: A GATHERING OF FAERIE by Maggie Stiefvater. "James Morgan has an almost unearthly gift for music. And it has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. James has plenty of reasons to fear the faeries, but as he and Nuala collaborate on an achingly beautiful musical composition, James finds his feelings towards Nuala deepening. But the rest of the fairies are not as harmless. As Halloween—the day of the dead—draws near, James will have to battle the Faerie Queen and the horned king of the dead to save Nuala's life and his soul."
THE BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE: SACRED BOOKS by David Michael Slater. "The last few days have seemed like a lifetime for Dexter and Daphna Wax. Between the various attempts on their lives, the assault on their father, and the discovery that their deceased mother had been thousands of years old they've endured enough for several lifetimes. They barely have enough energy to stand, let alone to save the world. Unfortunately, they don't have a choice. If they work together, the twins might stand a chance of discovering the truth about The Book of Nonsense. But are they really working together?"
CITY OF SCREAMS by John Brindley. "All Phoenix really wants to do is fly - fly and be with Gabriel, the angel. But their world is a brutal one where accelerated evolution has fractured the city into factions that can barely coexist without killing one another. So it seems impossible for earthbound Phoenix to be with airborne Gabriel, one of the rare humans with wings.
Then the Adults come. Violent, fanatical, and "blessed" by evolution with armored flesh that makes them appear only barely human, the Adults are intent on stamping out anyone they see as a mutation - especially those with wings. Phoenix may be the only one who can save Gabriel, but in so doing, she just might start a war that kills everyone she loves - or possibly destroys the whole world."
DARK CALLING: THE DEMONATA by Darren Shan. "The Disciples are being manipulated by beings older than time. Only Kernel Fleck knows that something is wrong. But he is in the grip of a creature who cares nothing for the fate of humanity. Voices are calling to him from the darkness and he's powerless to resist. Kernel has already been to hell and back. Now he's about to go further..."
THE DOOMSDAY MASK by Simon Rose
FIRE by Kristin Cashore
THE HIGH ROAD: ELF REALM by Daniel Kirk. Although this doesn't sound YA to me... "Matt and his sister Becky must work with the elves and Tomtar the troll to save the Cord and the human and elf worlds. After forming an uneasy alliance, Matt, the elf Tuava-Li, and Tomtar set off to find the sick and dying tree at the northern pole, whose roots bind the worlds together through the Cords. The trio must restore the tree to bring well-being to all the realms. Meanwhile, Becky accompanies Asra to free Becky’s parents, held captive in the elfin kingdom of Helfratheim. To their horror, both groups discover that Brahja-Chi has begun kidnapping human children for a mass sacrifice to appease the goddess."
KITH: THE GOOD NEIGHBORS by Holly Black. "Rue Silver's life is not what it appears to be. Her mother is a faerie, and has been taken back to the faerie realm. As Rue goes to bring her back, she must travel deep into an inhuman world. At the same time, the faerie realm is venturing into our world too, and taking its toll on those Rue loves. When her grandfather's plans threaten Rue's city, she realizes that she's the only one who can stop him. But is Rue a human or a faerie? Where does she fit? How does she know the difference between love and enchantment?"
LIPS TOUCHby Laini Taylor. "Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:
Goblin Fruit: In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?
Spicy Little Curses: A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse. (NEXT->)
Hatchling: Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?
ROUGH MAGIC by Caryl Cude Mullin. "Follow the interwoven stories of two girls and one woman, their lives all tied to the enigmatic figure of Caliban, the character first introduced by Shakespeare in The Tempest, his famous play of love, loyalty, and magic. Caliban is the strange, half-wild man Prospero and Miranda discovered on an island after being shipwrecked. Rough Magic forms both prequel and sequel, telling the stories of the sorceress Sycorax, Caliban's mother; Miranda's daughter Chiara, who becomes like a daughter to Caliban; and Calypso, a magical young woman with ties to them all. All three must fight against a world that sees magic as evil and uses women as political pawns. Finally, it is the island and its power that draws them all back, demanding amends from the humans who have exploited its natural wonders."
TALES OF A RELUCTANT PSYCHIC: THE FREAK, VISIONS, FAR by Carol Matas. "Since 1997, young readers have been enthralled by the story of Jade, a 15-year-old girl struggling to adapt to her unexpected gift of psychic ability. Now, all three titles in Carol Matas’ Freak series are available in one volume. When Jade wakes from a life-threatening illness and finds she can read her friend’s most personal thoughts and feelings, she faces social challenges she never could have expected. When she begins to have nightmares predicting local murders, she realizes she has to use her powers for good."
THE VAMPIRE IS JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU by Vlad Mezrich. "Are you in love with a vampire? Are you worried that you might not be his (blood) type? Do you wonder whether that cold stare means he isn’t interested . . . or if it’s because he’s been dead for three centuries (nothing personal)? Have you tried to coax him out of his crypt with a flash of your neck or a near-death situation that requires him to save you at the very last possible moment? Have you ever considered what it will be like to introduce him to your mother? Even though your vampire’s skin is transfixingly translucent, he can still be very hard to read. Sometimes he’s simply holding back his true feelings, resisting the urge to bite you in the chance that one day you will truly love him. And other times . . . well, he’s just not that into you.
How can you tell? Undead dating specialist Vlad Mezrich has all the answers, utilizing quizzes, Top Ten lists, language analysis, real-life (and real-death) testimonials, and fancy charts to show you what you need to do in order to get your vampire and keep him forever.
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