New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teenagers--the end of April, 2010, edition

Here are the new releases of science fiction and fantasy for kids and teenagers from the end of April. My list is taken from Teens Read Too, and the publisher's blurbs are lifted from Amazon.

Of special note, in my mind, at least, this list contains Mistwood, by Leah Cypess, which I bet makes it to my top ten list for 2010. (That being said, Mistwood is the only book on this list I've actually read yet...although several are waiting for me).

For Kids:

ABBY CARNELIA'S ONE AND ONLY MAGICAL POWER by David Pogue. "One day, Abby Carnelia, ordinary sixth grader, realizes she has a magical power. Okay, it’s not a fancy one (she can make a hard-boiled egg spin by tugging on her ears). But it’s the only one she has, and it’s enough to launch her into an adventure where she meets a host of kids with similarly silly powers, becomes a potential guinea pig for a drug company, and hatches a daring plan for escape."


BURNING SKY: LOST SOULS by Mel Odom. "In this first book in a new trilogy created by new media genius Jordan Weisman, Nathan Richards is your typical teen, one of the smartest at his school and the son of two famous archeologists, but he fails at everything because he refuses to apply himself. Never knowing his mother, who died on an archeological dig in a Mayan tomb while giving birth to him, Nathan is shocked, when on his thirteenth birthday he receives his birthright from the Mayan god Kukulkan. He is granted the ability to travel the frequencies and interact with the dead—including his mother! Now the fate of the human race rests with Nathan, who must play a game for the world’s survival—all culminating with the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21, 2012. Now it is time for Nathan to use his newfound gifts, fulfill his potential, and save the world!" (Amazon has this as middle grade, and I couldn't find anything to contradict this, but it might not be. 13 is getting old...)

THE CASE THAT TIME FORGOT: THE SHERLOCK FILES by Tracy Barrett. (possibly not, strictly speaking, fantasy) "Xander’s classmate gives a report at school about a famous amulet of the Egyptian god of time, Thoth. It was thought to be so powerful that it could turn back time one day every hundred years. And that day will come in a week! The amulet disappeared from a museum in London years ago. Xena and Xander’s celebrated ancestor, Sherlock Holmes, tried to find it, but with no luck. The twins are on the case—but so are some mysterious foes who are trying to thwart and perhaps even harm them! Can Xander and Xena track down what Sherlock Holmes could not?"

A COVEN OF WITCHES: THE LAST APPRENTICEby Joseph Delaney. "Beware a girl in pointy shoes! A girl wearing pointy shoes might be a witch. And the first thing a spook's apprentice learns is never, ever to trust a witch. In this bone-chilling collection of tales, you will learn exactly why that is, as you encounter:
* a fair and beautiful woman with green scales running down her spine . . .
* a dead witch who lurks under rotting leaves and hunts for blood . . .
* Alice, Tom Ward's best friend, who once lived with one of the darkest witches of all...
* and a witch whose cry of revenge can kill.
The dark is all around. Who will survive?"

EMILY WINDSNAP AND THE SIREN'S SECRETby Liz Kessler. "Emily Windsnap is finally enjoying a swimmingly peaceful life on Allpoints Island, hanging out with her mermaid BFF, Shona, and her new friend Aaron (half-merperson like herself ). But their idyll is cut short when Emily learns that the Windsnaps and friends must return to their old home in Brightport, where construction projects are threatening a secret mermaid community under the sea. Neptune’s mandate? No less than an interspecies intervention to bring merpeople and humans together, a task the imperious god feels the mixed Windsnap family is well suited for. There are just a few snags for Emily, however, like dealing with old nemeses Mandy and Mr. Beeston, figuring out her feelings toward Aaron, and untangling a high-suspense mystery related to a group of legendary lost sirens."

GOOP SOUP: NATHAN ABERCROMBIE, ACCIDENTAL ZOMBIE by David Lubar. "Nathan is just getting started with his training for secret organization BUM when greasy green globs of goop start oozing from every faucet in town. Gross! When BUM asks Nathan to investigate, he and his friends Abigail and Mookie follow the trail to the smelliest place they can imagine—deep in the heart of the sewers of East Craven. And what they encounter there may end Nathan’s career as a zombie spy before it has even begun…."

For Teenagers:

BURNED: HOUSE OF NIGHT by P.C. & Kristin Cast. "Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird’s soul has shattered. With everything she’s ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey’s fading fast. It’s seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampyre High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left…Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae’s hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world. In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She’s always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess’s own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite’s loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey’s fate hangs in the balance."

THE CURSE OF SNAKES: HELLION by Christopher Fowler. "Something had been released into the night streets. It moved unnoticed and sucked the life from people. It caused slow painful death, but even those who could sense its presence were too scared to admit it was there. And now, with quiet deliberation, it was heading for the street where I lived'. Red Hellion lives opposite the creepy, tightly locked Torrington Park, or 'Viper's Green'. Walking home from school one day, he meets Max, who is trying to break in. Before he knows it, Red finds himself sucked into Max's plans to discover the whereabouts of his father, who disappeared weeks before under sinister circumstances connected with the park. But neither Max nor Red realize just how much their lives are at risk for their investigations into the park, are linked to the terrible the legend of Medusa, and are about to lead them into horrific danger..."

KISS OF DEATH: THE MORGANVILLE VAMPIRES by Rachel Caine. "Vampire musician Michael Glass has attracted the attention of a big- time producer who wants to cut a demo and play some gigs-which means Michael will have to enter the human world. For this, he's been assigned escorts that include both a dangerous immortal as well as Michael's all-too-human friends. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell..."




MIDDDLEWORLD: THE JAGUAR STONES by J&P Voelkel. "Fourteen-year-old Max Murphy is looking forward to a family vacation. But his parents, both archaeologists and Maya experts, announce a change in plan. They must leave immediately for a dig in the tiny Central American country of San Xavier. Max will go to summer camp. Max is furious. When he's mysteriously summoned to San Xavier, he thinks they've had a change of heart. Upon his arrival, Max's wild adventure in the tropical rainforests of San Xavier begins. During his journey, he will unlock ancient secrets and meet strangers who are connected to him in ways he could never have imagined. For fate has delivered a challenge of epic proportions to this pampered teenager. Can Max rescue his parents from the Maya Underworld and save the world from the Lords of Death, who now control the power of the Jaguar Stones in their villainous hands? The scene is set for a roller-coaster ride of suspense and terror, as the good guys and the bad guys face off against a background of haunted temples, zombie armies, and even human sacrifice!"

MISTWOOD by Leah Cypess. "Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have. Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat. Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them. Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew."

PENITENCE by Jennifer Laurens Book Two. "Seeing good and evil spirits is a gift Zoe guards with her life. Despite her guardian angel's disappearance, Zoe forces herself to accept that she still has a purpose-but how does she carry the weight of her brother's drug abuse, the hardship of living with an autistic sister, and a best friend who's obsessed with a guy who only wants Zoe? She's never felt more alone. When a mysterious spirit appears, Zoe thinks she has a new guardian angel. Instead, her brother's addiction worsens, her parents are on the brink of separation, and her best friend tries to kill her. The spirit she thinks is her new guardian isn't there to protect her: he's out to destroy her family and seize Zoe's soul. . . for Hell. Will Matthias' return mean that he is Zoe's guardian angel again? Or is their love the reason the jaws of Hell now gape open?"

REMEMBERING GREEN by Lesley Beake. "It is the year 2250. The polar ice has melted and sea levels have risen. With Cape Town gone and Table Mountain an island, the Tekkies cling to a lifestyle long gone and carefully guard their island from outsiders. But their resources are running out. They look to the land that once was Africa — now known as "Out" — where a few remaining people have managed to survive the massive drought by turning their back on 23rd-century technology and following a simple lifestyle based on ancient knowledge. They are the River People. One day, Rain, their princess, and her lion cub, Saa, are seized by the Tekkies in order to gain the River Peoples' secret of harvesting the rain. To do that, they plan to make Rain part of a terrible ceremony to restore the balance of the world. This chilling, thought-provoking science fiction, featuring the fresh setting of a futuristic South Africa, is beautifully told for young teenagers."

THIEF EYES by Janni Lee Simner. "After her mother mysteriously disappears, sixteen-year-old Haley convinces her father to take her to Iceland, where her mother was last seen. There, amidst the ancient fissures and crevices of that volcanic island, Haley meets gorgeous Ari, a boy with a dangerous side who appoints himself her protector. When Haley picks up a silver coin that entangles her in a spell cast by her ancestor Hallgerd, she discovers that Hallgerd's spell and her mother's disappearance are connected to a chain of events that could unleash terrifying powers and consume the world. Haley must find a way to contain the growing fires of the spell—and her growing attraction to Ari."

UNFAMILIAR MAGIC by R. C. Alexander. "Desi is a witch. And she knows she could be a great witch—if only her mom would teach her any spells. Unfortunately, Desi’s mom is more concerned with keeping them safe and their abilities hidden. When her mom leaves town under mysterious circumstances, it should be Desi’s perfect opportunity to explore magic on her own. But Desi has been left in the care of the most unusual babysitter of all time: her pet cat—also her mom’s familiar—now transformed into a teenage girl named Cat. And Cat has only three goals: Learn how to eat sushi with her new hairless monkey paws, get the awkward boy next door to pay for her sushi, and keep Desi out of trouble. And that means no magic."

THE WAGER by Donna Jo Napoli. "Don Giovanni was once the wealthiest and handsomest young man in Messina. Then a tidal wave changed everything. When a well-dressed stranger offers him a magical purse, he knows he shouldn’t take it. Only the devil would offer a deal like this, and only a fool would accept. Don Giovanni is no fool, but he is desperate. He takes the bet: he will not bathe for 3 years, 3 months, and 3 days. Beauty is a small price to pay for worldly wealth, isn’t it? Unless he loses the wager—and with it his soul."



WERELING by Steve Feasey. "Fourteen-year-old Trey Laporte is not a kid anymore. Not after the day he wakes up in agony—retina-splitting, vomit-inducing agony. His clothes are torn. His room is trashed. Enter Lucien Charron, the mysterious, long-lost “uncle” with freakish fire-flecked eyes and skin that blisters in the sun. Suddenly, Trey finds himself living in a luxury penthouse at the heart of a strange and sinister empire built on the powers of the Netherworld—vampires, demons, sorcerers, and djinn. And there is a girl—Alexa Charron—who is half vampire, half human, and insanely pretty, with powers all of her own. Trey is falling for her. Trey is training night and day to control the newly discovered power lurking inside him. Now, demons are closing in on every side, and the most psychopathic bloodsucker to rock the Netherworld wants to destroy him. Above all, he must face one terrifying question:Is he a boy . . . or is he a beast?"

WHISPER by Phoebe Kitanidis. "Joy is used to Hearing Whispers. She's used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people's deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good—to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people's lives—especially Joy's—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears Jessica Whisper I want to kill my Hearing dead, and kill me too if that's what it takes, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car, and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own."