New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the second half of Feb., 2012

Here are the new releases of sci fi and fanstasy for kids and teens from the second half of February 2012; my information comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are from Amazon. I myself cannot wait for The Humming Room!

Middle grade (ages 9-12 ish)

DEAD WOOD by Andy Croft "Holly's family move to the old house so her dad can do his job: bulldozing the ancient trees to make way for a housing estate. But there's something haunting the old house. Something old, and angry, that doesn't want the trees cut down. Something alive... Highly readable, exciting books that take the struggle out of reading, the Wired and Wired Up series encourage and support reading practice by providing gripping, age-appropriate stories at a manageable length and reading level."

THE HUMMING ROOM by Ellen Potter "Hiding is Roo Fanshaw's special skill. Living in a frighteningly unstable family, she often needs to disappear at a moment's notice. When her parents are murdered, it's her special hiding place under the trailer that saves her life.

As it turns out, Roo, much to her surprise, has a wealthy if eccentric uncle, who has agreed to take her into his home on Cough Rock Island. Once a tuberculosis sanitarium for children of the rich, the strange house is teeming with ghost stories and secrets. Roo doesn't believe in ghosts or fairy stories, but what are those eerie noises she keeps hearing? And who is that strange wild boy who lives on the river? People are lying to her, and Roo becomes determined to find the truth.

Despite the best efforts of her uncle's assistants, Roo discovers the house's hidden room--a garden with a tragic secret."

THE LEGEND OF DIAMOND LIL: A J.J. TULLY MYSTERY by Doreen Cronin "After his last run-in with Vince the Funnel and the mystery of the missing chicks, J.J. the search-and-rescue dog is ready for some much-needed R & R. But just when he thinks he has everything under control, there’s a new problem to worry about: Diamond Lil, a shiny new dog who’s taken up residence next door. Suddenly Moosh and her chicks are spending an awful lot of time with their fancy friend, talking about weird things like fluffy feathers and good posture. And Lil’s not the only new kid cramping J.J.’s style. There’s a possum loose, and it’s up to J.J. to keep everyone safe. But the questions keep piling up. Is Lil all that she seems? And how does the possum keep finding her way to the chicken coop?

In this hilarious follow-up to The Trouble with Chickens, the clues, plot twists, and one-liners add up to an unputdownable read."

SHIP OF SOULS by Zetta Elliott "When Dmitri, an eleven-year-old bird-watcher and math whiz, loses his mother to breast cancer, he is taken in by Mrs. Martin, an elderly white woman. Unaccustomed to the company of kids his own age, D struggles at school and feels like an outcast until a series of unexpected events changes the course of his life.

First, D is asked to tutor the school’s basketball star, Hakeem, who will get benched unless his grades improve. Against the odds, the two boys soon realize they have something in common: they are both taunted by kids at school, and they both have a crush on Nyla, a beautiful but fierce eighth-grade girl. Then Nyla adopts D and invites him to join her entourage of “freaks.” Finally, D discovers an injured bird and brings it home from the park.

D is stunned when the strange bird speaks to him and reveals that she is really a guiding spirit that has been held hostage by ghost soldiers who died in Brooklyn at the start of the American Revolution. As Nuru’s chosen host, D must carry her from Brooklyn to the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan, but the ghost soldiers won’t surrender their prize without a fight."

THE STAR SHARD by Frederic S. Durbin "This beautifully written fantasy tackles the issues of slavery and freedom. Twelve-year-old Cymbril is a slave on Thunder Rake, a gigantic wagon city that rolls from town to town carrying goods to be sold by its resident merchants. The Rake’s master purchases a new slave, a mysterious boy named Loric who is one of the magical Fey. Because he can see in the dark, Loric’s duty is to guide the Rake through the treacherous wilderness at night.Cymbril and Loric secretly join forces to plan their escape—soon the two friends thread their way through a series of increasing dangers, encountering an enchanted market and deadly monsters as their one chance for freedom draws nearer."

WHAT THE DOG SAID by Randi Reisfeld & H.B. Gilmour "Ever since her police officer father was killed a few months ago, Grace Abernathy hasn't wanted to do much of anything. She's pulled away from her friends, her grades are plummeting . . . it's a problem. The last thing Grace wants is to be dragged into her older sister Regan's plan to train a shelter dog as a service dog. But Grace has no idea how involved she'll get-especially when a mangy mutt named Rex starts talking to her. Has Grace gone off the deep end? Or might this dog be something really special-an angel? A spirit? Either way, he is exactly the therapy that Grace needs."

Young Adult:

ALLEGIANCE: THE LEGACY TRILOGY by Cayla Kluver
A BEAUTIFUL EVIL by Kelly Keaton
BZRK by Michael Grant
THE CATASTROPHIC HISTORY OF YOU AND ME by Jess Rothenberg
FAERY TALES & NIGHTMARES by Melissa Marr
FEVER: THE CHEMICAL GARDEN by Lauren DeStefano
FORGIVEN: A DEMON TRAPPERS NOVEL by Jana Oliver
FRIENDS WITH BOYS by Faith Erin Hicks
FUGITIVES: ESCAPE FROM FURNACE by Alexander Gordon Smith
THE HUNGER PAINS by Stefan Petrucha
PARTIALS by Dan Wells
A TOUCH MORBID by Leah Clifford
UNAFRAID: ARCHANGEL ACADEMY by Michael Griffo
WHEN THE SEA IS RISING RED by Cat Hellisen