New releases of science fiction and fantasy for kids and teenagers--the first half of February, 2011

This is a really, really long list, with lots of books I want. I want Zita the Space Girl. I want The Floating Islands. I want the third of the Books of Umber. I could go on and on. I also very much want the time to read the three books on this list that I have in my possession, and that is why the YA books didn't get pictures this time around--I used up my alloted time.

disclaimer: since I haven't actually read all of these, I'm deciding they are sff based on their descriptions, except for Tall Story, which I'm putting in the list because it was nominated for the Cybils in mg sff (but I never got hold of a copy...). My information comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs (except, of course, the ones I couldn't find) come from Amazon and Goodreads.

BONGO FISHING by Thacher Hurd "Jason has a pretty normal life: he lives with his mom, he goes to school, he does his homework. But when he meets a short, bluish alien named Sam, his life begins to seem much less normal and a lot more...well, alien. Sam takes Jason bongo fishing in space, and a whole new world opens up. But when Jason's cat, Sputnik, disappears, things start to get a little weird. Interstellar travel isn't just fun and games, after all! Is the evil Dr. Zimburger involved? Or are there even more sinister forces at work?"

BRASS MONKEYS by Terry Caszatt "Bumbling, cowardly Eugene is forced to transfer to a new school in northern Michigan - in the middle of the year, and in the middle of a blizzard. Eugene is used to weird things happening in his life, but this feels really bad. He has no idea how bad it's going to get until he meets his English teacher, "Ming ther Merciless." To save his classmates from a fatal graduation from Ming's School of the Brass Monkeys, Eugene must deliver an unfinished book to a legendary teacher named McGinty, who is hiding in the underworld. With the help of some renegade teachers and his new friends, he begins an epic journey to find McGinty. Will Eugene survive the Cliffs of Notes and the Sea of Hot Lunches?"

THE CASE OF THE GLASGOW GHOUL: A SLIGHTLY JONES MYSTERY by Joan Lennon

LICENCE TO FISH: AGENT ALFIE by Justin Richards "SPUD—Secret Partners for Undertaking Destruction—has set up a secret base under the school pond and is using radio-controlled duck-cameras to gather information. But the chief SPUD agent has made the mistake of having his weekly edition of SPUD's Nasty Newsletter redirected to his new base—by Alfie's dad, the local postman! It doesn't take long for the gang to work out what SPUD are up to. Can Alfie and his friends find a way of turning the SPUD infiltration to their advantage? Of course they can—and soon the school is teaching the pupils using even more bizarre methods than usual, all for SPUD's benefit. Will the evil organization really believe in assassination by daffodil? Or that trained hamsters are used to infiltrate their bases? Of course they will!"

THE MASK WEARER: AMOS DARAGON by Bryan Perro "Amos Daragon's life changes forever the day a mermaid gives him a mask capable of harnessing the strength of the wind—and appoints Amos as the new Mask Wearer. His task: to find the masks for the other elements, earth, fire, and water. Only then will Amos be fully empowered to battle the evil forces that threaten to destroy the balance of nature and plunge the world into darkness.
To fulfill his destiny, Amos must make his way to the mysterious woods of Tarkasis. But a wicked sorcerer is terrorizing the land, searching for a skull pendant that was stolen from him—a pendant that conceals a secret weapon. What will Amos do when the pendant falls into his hands? Will Beorf, a boy who can morph into a bear, and Medusa, a snake-haired gorgon, turn out to be friend or foe? And will Amos master any of his newfound skills as Mask Wearer in time to face a formidable enemy? His chanllenges are great . . . and they're just beginning."

MIDNIGHT HOWL by Clare Hutton "Marisol and her mom move from the city to rural Montana for a few months, and stay with family friends and their twin children, Jack and Hailey. Marisol loves looking at the stars so far away from city lights, but she feels creeped out by the woods right by their house. She's even more scared when her new friend Lily warns her about the wolves there -- wolves that are most dangerous around the full moon. When she notices Hailey disappear several times late at night, Marisol starts to wonder...could she be friends with a werewolf?"

NO PASSENGERS BEYOND THIS POINT by Gennifer Choldenko "Three siblings - India, Finn, and Mouse - have less than forty-eight hours to pack up all their belongings and fly, without Mom, to their uncle Red's in Colorado, after they lose their house to foreclosure. But when they land, a mysterious driver meets them at the airport, and he's never heard of Uncle Red. Like Dorothy in Oz, they find themselves in a place they've never heard of, with no idea of how to get home, and time is running out."

OWL NINJA: SAMURAI KIDS by Sandy Fussell
"Across the valley, a drumbeat echoes. For ten days, the drum will call the mountain ryus to war, including the samurai kids from the Cockroach Ryu. Only Japan’s feudal emperor can stop the war, so Niya and Sensei Ki-Yaga set off on a grueling journey with all the Cockroaches, whose firm friendship and unusual skills must be put to the test in order to beg the Emperor to maintain peace. Sensei Ki-Yaga is respected and wise, but unfortunately, the last time he encountered the Emperor, the Emperor threatened to cut off his head. All seems hopeless until Ki-Yaga guides the Cockroaches to meet with the Owl Ninja clan. Samurai and ninja are supposed to be enemies, but can these two groups somehow work together to save the sensei and stop the battle in time?"

PANDORA GETS ANGRY: MYTHIC MISS-ADVENTURES by Carolyn Hennesy "Pandora and her friends are off to Persia to track the fifth evil: Rage. They have camels to help them cross the desert, but mysterious sandstorms and frightening strangers keep them from moving quickly. Luckily, help arrives in the form of a cute Persian boy who helps Pandy and her friends search for Persia's secret Garden of the Jin. In the garden, where genies hide their treasure, there is a lamp that was once used to imprison an angry genie. So Pandy & Co. just have to figure out how to capture one of the most enraged genies of all time. Easy, right?"

QUEST FOR THE SPARK: BONE by Tom Sniegoski Twelve-year-old Tom Elm is just an ordinary turnip farmer from the Valley, but he's always felt destined for something bigger. So when he discovers everyone in his village is asleep and plagued by nightmares, he assembles a band of unlikely heroes. They must fight to preserve the Spark--a divine light born at the core of a vast, dark nothingness called the Nacht. The Nacht is trying to permeate the Waking World with nightmares of the Dreaming, and it's Tom's mission to defeat the Nacht and its most loyal follower, the Constable. If he fails, his family--and everyone--might never wake up again.

THE QUEST OF THE WARRIOR SHEEP by Christine & Christopher Russell "When Sal the sheep is bonked on the head by an unidentified falling object, it can only mean one thing: Lord Aries, the Sheep of all Sheepdom is in trouble, and the sheep posse must save him.

Little do the sheep know that the mysterious object is actually a cell phone dropped by a couple of baaaaad bank robbers who will do anything to get it back. And a couple of woolbags aren't going to stand in their way!

And so the quest of the Warrior Sheep begins.
The bravest sheep in the universe are in for a wild ride!"

SECRETS AND SHADOWS: THE SECRET ZOO by Bryan Chick "Only weeks after their return from the Secret Zoo, Noah and his friends must go back—and face their biggest challenge yet. With monstrous sasquatches freely attacking the denizens of the zoo and the evil Shadowist at large, the fate of the world is at stake. As Crossers, Noah, Megan, Richie, and Ella would help protect the zoo from these dangers. But do they have what it takes to complete their training? And what other secrets are hiding in the shadows?"

SPIRITS IN THE STARS: SEEKERS by Erin Hunter "United once again, Toklo, Lusa, Kallik, and Ujurak continue across the ice. Conditions are harsh and especially treacherous for the black bear and grizzly bears who are not used to the brutal cold, never-ending snow, and limited food. But the bears are certain now that they're on the right course, and with the stars still guiding them, they push forward. When they reach land at last, the group is overjoyed, but something is not right. The bears who live here are ill. What's wrong with them? What can the foursome do to help? Is aiding these strangers the ultimate goal of their quest? Ujurak just might hold the key to their mission in his paws, yet it's Lusa the new bears are especially interested in.

Three young cubs, each from different backgrounds, and their mysterious shape-shifting companion have grown up together in their long and dangerous journey to save the wild. Now, when their task appears more difficult than ever, the bears must make a critical decision . . . and for one bear the path ends here."

STING THE SCORPION MAN: BEAST QUEST, THE DARK REALM by Adam Blade "Step into the Dark Realm--home to the most dangerous Beasts yet! The good Beasts of Avantia have been imprisoned in the kingdom of Malvel the evil wizard. Tom has already fought five terrible Beasts and is nearing the end of his Quest. But in order to achieve victory, Tom must navigate through the tunnels under Malvel's castle, where Sting the Scorpion Man is waiting."

TALL STORY by Candy Gourlay "Andi is short. And she has lots of wishes. She wishes she could play on the school basketball team, she wishes for her own bedroom, but most of all she wishes that her long-lost half-brother, Bernardo, could come and live in London where he belongs.

Then Andi's biggest wish comes true and she's minutes away from becoming someone's little sister. As she waits anxiously for Bernardo to arrive from the Philippines, she hopes he'll turn out to be tall and just as crazy as she is about basketball. When he finally arrives, he's tall all right. Eight feet tall, in fact—plagued by condition called Gigantism and troubled by secrets that he believes led to his phenomenal growth."

A TRUE PRINCESS by Diane Zahler "Twelve-year-old Lilia is not a very good servant. In fact, she's terrible! She daydreams, she breaks dishes, and her cooking is awful. Still, she hardly deserves to be sold off to the mean-spirited miller and his family. Refusing to accept that dreadful fate, she decides to flee. With her best friend, Kai, and his sister, Karina, beside her, Lilia heads north to find the family she's never known. But danger awaits. . . .

As their quest leads the threesome through the mysterious and sinister Bitra Forest, they suddenly realize they are lost in the elves' domain. To Lilia's horror, Kai falls under an enchantment cast by the Elf King's beautiful daughter. The only way for Lilia to break the spell and save Kai is to find a jewel of ancient power that lies somewhere in the North Kingdoms. Yet the jewel will not be easy to find. The castle where it is hidden has been overrun with princess hopefuls trying to pass a magical test that will determine the prince's new bride. Lilia has only a few days to search every inch of the castle and find the jewel—or Kai will be lost to her forever."

THE WAY OF THE DRAGON: YOUNG SAMURAI by Chris Bradford "Japan is threatened with war and Jack Fletcher is facing his greatest battle yet. Samurai are taking sides and, as the blood begins to flow, Jack’s warrior training is put to the ultimate test. His survival – and that of his friends – depends upon him mastering the Two Heavens, the secret sword technique of the legendary samurai Masamoto Takeshi. But first Jack must recover his father’s prize possession from the deadly ninja Dragon Eye. Can Jack defeat his ruthless enemy? Or will the ninja complete his mission to kill the young samurai..."

ZITA THE SPACEGIRL by Ben Hatke "When her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult, Zita leaps to the rescue and finds herself a stranger on a strange planet. Humanoid chickens and neurotic robots are shocking enough as new experiences go, but Zita is even more surprised to find herself taking on the role of intergalactic hero. Before long, aliens in all shapes and sizes don’t even phase her. Neither do ancient prophecies, doomed planets, or even a friendly con man who takes a mysterious interest in Zita’s quest."

YOUNG ADULT

ANGEL: A MAXIMUM RIDE NOVEL by James Patterson In the seventh book in the bestselling series, evil scientists are still trying to convince Max that she needs to save the world, this time by providing the genetic link in speeding up the pace of evolution. Worse, they're trying to convince her that her perfect mate is Dylan, the newest addition to the flock. The problem is that, despite herself, Max is starting to believe it.

Fang travels the country collecting his own gang of evolved humans, but the two separate flocks must unite to defeat a frightening doomsday cult whose motto is Save the Planet: Kill the Humans. And this time, the true heroine, for once, might just be little Angel.

ANGELFIRE by Courtney Allison Moulton
First there are nightmares.

Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her. Then come the memories.

When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.

Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

THE AUTUMN PALACE: ONDINE by Ebony McKenna "One boy, one girl, one plot to be foiled! Hamish the gorgeous man (and part time ferret) has a new job with the Duke as a spy in his Autumn Palace. So Ondine goes with him. She imagines a hugely romantic escapade together that involves lots of kissing. What she hadn't imagined was having to do endless laundry, go to school and keep Hamish the man a secret. All the while trying to find out who is plotting to kill the Duke. And if that weren't bad enough, it seems that Hamish is more interested in getting the Duke's attention than hers. Plus he's always in ferret form. Things can't go on like this! Can Ondine foil the would-be assassin, save the Duke and get her man back in gorgeous human form? It's going to take a little bit of magic, a lot of stolen kisses and some ferreting around..."

CLOAKED by Alex Flinn "I'm not your average hero. I actually wasn't your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all. It all started with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn't a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I've ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades. Don't believe me? I didn't believe it either. But you'll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got cloaked."

CLOSER: TUNNELS by Roderick Gordon & Brian Williams "Closer to victory...or closer to death? An army of darkness is on the march: Who won't escape with their life? The fourth book in the New York Times Bestselling TUNNELS series!

At long last reunited with his dad, Will now spends his days exploring the "land of the second sun," decoding the cryptic glyphs carved into its three mysterious temples--or eyeing the wild animals with renegade girl Elliott. Chester, meanwhile, has finally returned Topsoil, where his homecoming is rapidly becoming a horror show. But an army of darkness is on the march. And the ruthless Rebeccas have once more cheated death. With a corps of cold-blooded Limiters at their command, they're determined to hunt Will to the bitter innards of the earth. This time, who WON'T escape with their life?"

CONSUMED by Kate Cann "The thrilling sequel to POSSESSED finds 16-year-old Rayne still entwined in the creepy history of Morton's Keep -- and about to discover that she's the only one who can stop the evil lurking there. Rayne's countryside escape has proven to be anything but -- the remote mansion house where she lives and works holds terrible secrets, and she feels trapped there. And when a new manager shows up, things take an even more sinister turn. Rayne doesn't know who to trust -- even the ghosts of Morton's Keep seem to be warning her. It's up to Rayne to overcome the ancient evil lurking here -- but how?"

CRYER'S CROSS by Lisa McMann "The small town of Cryer’s Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain.

When a second student goes missing—someone close to Kendall’s heart—the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall’s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school—messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there—Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions.

Something’s not right in Cryer’s Cross—and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried."

CYBORG: CLONE CODES by The McKissacks "In the next Clone Codes installment, Houston, a cyborg, tells his story. Set in the year 2130, The World Federation of Nations determines through laws and regulations that all enhanced persons with three or more synthetic body or organ replacements are classified as three-fifths of a human being. As such, Houston is considered less than human and must fight to overcome the rules of his strange universe. Drawing on parallels to slavery, terrorism, caste system oppression, and war, readers confront the troubling and complex moral questions probed throughout history.

If the government learns of Houston’s cyborg status it could cost him his life--and change the course of history forever. With the help of Leanna, his friend, Houston is in a race with time, and he’s in a fight against the oppressive ways of The Cyborg Act of 2130...."

DARK MOON: WERELING by Steve Feasey "A few short months ago, Trey Laporte learned the news that would change him forever: He is a werewolf, and the evil vampire Caliban wants him dead. The threat becomes real when Caliban attacks Trey’s mentor, Lucien Charron, and leaves him fighting for his life.

Gwendolin, a wicked sorceress, holds the only key to saving Lucien. Together, Trey and Lucien’s beautiful daughter, Alexa, must enter the Netherworld to defeat her. The pressure for Trey is great—Alexa is counting on him to save her father. But when Trey and Alexa find themselves trapped and surrounded by demons, can Trey use his werewolf strength to save them both?"

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver "Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't."

THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER by Jana Oliver "Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.

But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?"

DESIRES OF THE DEAD by Kimberly Derting "The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.

Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger."

THE END OF TIME: THE BOOKS OF UMBER by P. W. Catanese The third book in P.W. Catanese's Books of Umber trilogy concludes the imaginative, page-turning adventures of Umber and Hap.

THE FLOATING ISLANDS by Rachel Neumeier "When Trei loses his family in a tragic disaster, he must search out distant relatives in a new land. The Floating Islands are unlike anything Trei has ever seen: stunning, majestic, and graced with kajurai, men who soar the skies with wings. Trei is instantly sky-mad, and desperate to be a kajurai himself. The only one who fully understands his passion is Araene, his newfound cousin. Prickly, sarcastic, and gifted, Araene has a secret of her own . . . a dream a girl cannot attain.

Trei and Araene quickly become conspirators as they pursue their individual paths. But neither suspects that their lives will be deeply entwined, and that the fate of the Floating Islands will lie in their hands. . . ."

GALLOWS AT TWILIGHT: WITCHFINDER by William Hussey "Eight pale hands - some with fingers stripped down to the bone - rose out of the earth. Slimy with rain, the rat-gnawed heads of four soldiers loomed into view. They moaned at the sky and their cry moulded itself into a word: 'FLLLLLLEEESSSSSSSSHHHHH!' The Demon Father has escaped from hell and walks among us, his trident symbol branded into the earth in countries all over the world. A scorching beacon. A call to arms. A sign that war is coming. Jake is struggling to harness his powers and live up to his reputation of the boy who closed the demon door. But now he must push all doubt aside. To stop the Demon Father Jake must change the course of history - embark on a treacherous journey deep into the past and into another dimension, filled with horror and pain. A place where innocent people are tried and tortured. A place where the law of the Witchfinder rules. Let the rushes be lit for there will be gallows at twilight."

HAUNTED by Joy Preble "Anne Michaelson is trying to forget everything that happened last year. But it's hard to do when her heart aches for Ethan and there's a wild-haired woman stalking her...

Ethan Kosinsky is embracing his newfound mortality. But something is drawing him back to the girl he left behind-back to Anne and back to the magic...

A mysterious stranger is hunting Anne wherever she goes. No one sees her but Anne. When she searches for the woman's identity, Anne exposes secrets about her own life- things that will change her life forever. And when the gorgeous Ethan returns, her life gets a lot more complicated. Anne thought her journey with the Romanov family had ended, but it was just the beginning..."

THE HORN OF MORAN: ADVENTURERS WANTED by M. L. Forman "The land of Norsland is on the brink of war as two men have each claimed the throne. Only the true king can sound the Horn of Moran and prove his nobility. But the horn has been lost for years. If it is not found and soon it could mean the destruction of an entire nation. Young Alexander Taylor joins a band of seasoned adventurers who have been called up to retrieve the legendary Horn of Moran. Their journey to the mysterious Tower of the Moon will take them through an enchanted forest, into battle against a goblin army, past the watchful eyes of griffin guards, and face-to-face with a sphinx and her deadly riddles. With his sword, Moon Slayer, and the wise counsel from his wizard mentor, Whalen Vankin, Alex must use all his wizard and warrior skills to slay a darkness that may consume them all. Sequel to the bestselling Slathbog's Gold."

HOW TO BE A WEREWOLF: THE CLAWS-ON GUIDE FOR THE MODERN LYCANTHROPE by Serena Valentino. "Celebrate your inner beast —and harness that newfound animal magnetism! — with this essential guide to the lycanthropic lifestyle.

Are you subject to savage moods, extreme and unexplained buffness, and cravings for meat on the rare side? Do you long for super speed and reflexes, along with rapid healing and maybe a talent for telepathy? Welcome to the pack — and get ready to howl — as you sink your claws into this guide to everything life as a werewolf has to offer."

KINDRED by Tammar Stein "Miriam is an unassuming college freshman stuck on campus after her spring break plans fall through. She's not a religious girl--when pressed she admits reluctantly to believing in a higher power. Truth be told, she's about as comfortable speaking about her faith as she is about her love life, which is to say, not at all. And then the archangel Raphael pays Miriam a visit, and she finds herself on a desperate mission to save two of her contemporaries. To top it all off, her twin brother, Mo, has also had a visitation, but from the opposite end of the good-evil spectrum, which leaves Miriam to wonder--has she been blessed and her brother cursed or vice versa? And what is the real purpose behind her mission?"

THE IRON WITCH by Karen Mahoney "When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed Donna Underwood’s father and drove her mother mad. Her own nearly fatal injuries were fixed by alchemy—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. Now seventeen, Donna feels like a freak, doomed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. Only her relationship with her best friend, Navin, is keeping her sane.

But when vicious wood elves abduct Navin, Donna is forced to accept her role in the centuries-old war between human alchemists and these darkest outcasts of Faerie. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous guy with faery blood running through his veins and secrets of his own, Donna races to save Navin—even if it means betraying everything her parents fought to the death to protect."

LEX TRENT FIGHTING WITH FIRE by Alex Bell "Lex Trent is reigning champion of The Games contested between fickle Gods using human playing pieces. He has it all: Fame. Glory. Wealth. An enormous ego. But The Games are about to begin again and the Goddess of Luck wants Lex to defend their title. A challenge he can't resist, despite the risk of death, because the final round will take place in the Wild West, giving Lex the chance to claim the legendary Sword of Life (who wouldn't want that?). With Lex's mix of skill, quick wittedness and no small amount of outright cheating, he can't lose! Can he? Luck may usually be a lady to Lex...but in the Wild West they play by their own rules...and Lex has never been that good with rules."

THE LOCKET by Stacey Jay "On her seventeenth birthday, Katie discovers a locket and decides to wear it for good luck. But when her boyfriend Isaac finds out she cheated on him- with their mutual best friend Mitch, no less-he dumps her, leaving her devastated.

And then a miracle happens. The locket burns on Katie's chest and she feels herself going back two weeks in time, to the night she cheated with Mitch. At first, Kate is delighted to be a better girlfriend to Isaac this time around. But as other aspects of her life become inexplicably altered, she realizes that changing the past may have had a dangerous effect on her present.

Can she make things right before the locket destroys everything-and everyone-she loves?"

MIND GAP by Marina Cohen "Fourteen-year-old Jake MacRae's life is spinning out of control. He's making all the wrong choices; gambling, drinking, hanging around gang members; and now he's been asked to make a special delivery. What should he do? Jake knows either way that his decision will seal his fate, but what he doesn't realize is that this choice might not only destroy his life but the lives of those close to him.

Before Jake has a chance to make up his mind, he receives a mysterious text message inviting him to a flash party on a midnight subway train. As Jake steps off the platform and onto the ghostly 1950s-style Gloucester car, he has no idea he has just boarded a train bound for his worst nightmare. And what's more; he can't get off!"

ONE HUNDRED CANDLES: PAST MIDNIGHT by Mara Purnhagen
It's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend….

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

OUTSIDE IN by Maria V. Snyder "Me? A leader? Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion—between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again—while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside.

And something from Outside wants In."

RANCOUR by James McCann "Alix of Fillmore High is depressed about the prospect of finding a date for the prom. Boys who understand her — or whom she understands — are few and far between. But soon Alix’s life takes a turn that makes finding a prom date the least of her worries. She finds herself in the middle of a feud that’s been going on for a millennium. The combatants? A vampire and a werewolf! Werewolf Rancour has spent centuries trying to rid the world of vampires, while vampire Shay has been there to thwart his efforts at every turn. Alix gets more deeply involved when she learns that she was Rancour’s wife in a previous life. As the bodies continue to pile up, Rancour and Shay find themselves forced into an alliance by a new enemy stalking them. Author James McCann expertly blends the typical concerns of teens — love, football, parties, fitting in, racial tensions — with a chilling story of the supernatural."

RED MOON RISING by Peter Moore "Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny's other half is human. Which is a good thing. Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods. Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist. But lately Danny's been having some weird symptoms -- fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon. Even though it's easy to be in denial, it's hard to ignore evidence. There's only a month until the next few moon, and Danny's time is running out."

SECRETS AND SHADOWS: 13 TO LIFEby Shannon Delany "Nothing's simple when you run with werewolves. Jess Gillmansen thinks she's seen it all but her eyes are about to be opened to even more danger and a reality far more paranormal than she's suspected. With Jess' realization that the Rusakovas' mother is still alive and imprisoned, the group's choices become harder and trust more important. Lines are drawn and relationships change as the broken Rusakova family struggles to reunite to free their mother - and those who Jess thought to be normal people show themselves to be much, much more..."

SHADOW WALKERS by Brent Hartinger "Zach lives with his grandparents on a remote island in Puget Sound in Washington State. With only his little brother, Gilbert, to keep him company, Zach feels cut off from the world. But when Gilbert is kidnapped, Zach tries the only thing he can think of to find him: astral projection. Soon, his spirit is soaring through the strange and boundless astral realm—a shadow place. While searching for his brother, Zach meets a boy named Emory, another astral traveler who's intriguing (and cute).

As Zach and Emory track the kidnappers from the astral realm, their bond grows—but each moment could be Gilbert's last. Even worse, there's a menacing, centuries-old creature in their midst that devours souls and possesses physical bodies. And it's hungry for Zach."

TORN FROM TROY: ODYSSEY OF A SLAVE by Patrick Bowman “You heard what the little filth said to me,” Ury growled. “He’ll be trouble. I say trench him now.” The other man spoke, his voice low and even. “I heard him, Ury. His mind is quick, and his Greek is good.” He knelt down beside my head. “Your choice, boy. Decide now.”

Alexi’s city is still burning when the Greeks catch him and give him a brutal choice: slavery or death. With his sister dead and his home destroyed, Alexi, a 15-year-old orphan from the streets of Troy, grits his teeth and chooses the life of a captive. He and the other Trojan survivors are forced aboard a ship bound for faraway Ithaca, under the command of the Greek warrior Odysseus. But none could foresee the perils of the cursed voyage to come: a brutal raid on the Cicones, a visit to the bewitching Lotus Eaters and a grisly encounter with a Cyclops all take a gruesome toll. Alexi has no idea how much worse his life is about to get.

WATERFALL: RIVER OF TIME by Lisa T. Bergren "In Book One, American teenager Gabi Betarrini accidently finds herself in sixteenth-century Italy . . . Knights. Swords. Horses. Armor. And Italian hotties.

Most American teens want an Italian vacation, but the Bentarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives there with their archeologist parents. Stuck on yet another hot, dusty dig, they are bored out of their minds… until they place their hands atop handprints in an ancient tomb and find themselves in the sixteenth-century—and in the middle of a fierce battle between knights bent on killing one another."

WITCH BREED: HELL'S UNDERGROUND by Alan Gibbons

WORD OF HONOUR: THE LAWS OF MAGIC by Michael Pryor "Magical genius Aubrey Fitzwilliam, along with his loyal friend George, is trying to immerse himself in his new life at college. But for Aubrey life is never straightforward. When Aubrey's father, the Prime Minister, invites them to take a ride on a top-secret submersible, Aubrey and George can't resist. But a sudden magical attack threatens to send them to the bottom of the ocean and begins a whirlwind series of events—a plot to rob Albion's largest bank, strange underground disturbances, and an opera singer who bears an uncanny resemblance to Aubrey's nemesis, Dr. Tremaine."

New releases of fantasy for teenagers and kids--the beginning to middle of October, 2010 edition--Part 2, Young Adult

This list of Young Adult titles continues the new releases of science fiction and fantasy books from October 1 to October 15. As I said in Part 1 (the middle grade titles), all of these books are eligible for the Cybils Awards! There are no second chances, not even for those published on October 15!

As usual my information comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are gleaned mainly from Amazon.

ALIEN INVASION AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES by Brian Yansky A polite race of telepathic killer aliens, a ten-second world conquest, and one teenage boy collide in this wry, gutsy adventure.

Jesse is in history class when a formidable, efficient race of aliens quietly takes over the earth in less time than it takes him to brush his teeth. Most humans simply fall asleep and never wake up. In moments, everyone Jesse knows and loves is gone, and he finds that he is now a slave to an inept alien leader. On the bright side, Jesse discovers he’s developing telepathic powers, and he’s not the only one. Soon he’s forging new friendships and feeling unexpectedly hopeful. When a mysterious girl appears in his dreams, talking about escaping, Jesse begins to think the aliens may not be invincible after all. But if Jesse and his friends succeed, is there anywhere left to go? Brian Yansky offers a funny, grim novel packed with everything boys and sci-fi fans love: aliens, humor, action, and a healthy dose of triumph.

ARIZONA: BEAUTIFUL DEAD by Eden Maguire Not alive. Not dead. Somewhere in between lie the Beautiful Dead. There's been no sign of the Beautiful Dead for weeks. Darina achingly misses Phoenix all over again. Surely he will return to help solve the remaining mysteries. It's been almost a year since Arizona drowned in Hartman Lake. Suicide, it would seem. But something doesn't add up...Drowning herself in the lake does not sound like strong, confident, Arizona: Ellerton high school's high-maintenance drama queen. Darina must help Arizona the way she helped Jonas. But invisible wings are beating, the Beautiful Dead are in danger, and time is running out...

BANISHED by Sophie Littlefieldhere isn’t much worth living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives. Hailey figures she’ll never belong—not with the popular kids at school, not with the rejects, not even with her cruel, sickly grandmother, who deals drugs out of their basement. Hailey never knew her dead mother, and she has no idea who her father was, but at least she has her four-year-old foster brother, Chub. Once she turns eighteen, Hailey plans to take Chub far from Gypsum and start a new life where no one can find them.

But when a classmate is injured in gym class, Hailey discovers a gift for healing that she never knew she possessed—and that she cannot ignore. Not only can she heal, she can bring the dying back to life. Confused by her powers, Hailey searches for answers but finds only more questions, until a mysterious visitor shows up at Gram’s house, claiming to be Hailey’s aunt Prairie.

There are people who will stop at nothing to keep Hailey in Trashtown, living out a legacy of despair and suffering. But when Prairie saves both Hailey and Chub from armed attackers who invade Gram’s house in the middle of the night, Hailey must decide where to place her trust. Will Prairie’s past, and the long-buried secret that caused her to leave Gypsum years earlier, ruin them all? Because as Hailey will soon find out, their power to heal is just the beginning.

BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

BEHEMOTH: LEVIATHANby Scott Westerfeld The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers. Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory. Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what's ahead.

BIRTH OF A KILLER: THE SAGA OF LARTEN CREPSLEY by Darren Shan Before Cirque Du Freak...Before the war with the vampaneze... Before he was a vampire. Larten Crepsley was a boy. As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his brother as an example to the other children. In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.

THE BLENDING TIME by Michael KinchCongratulations on turning age seventeen. You are now ready for placement by the Council government.
For kids in the year 2054, turning seventeen means they’re ripe for Global Alliance work assignments that range from backbreaking drudgery to deadly canal labor. Trying to survive in a desiccated world that’s been ravaged by plagues, AIDS III, and environmental disasters, three “s’teeners” from very different backgrounds think they’ve gotten lucky. Jaym, Reya, and D’Shay are chosen to be among thousands of blenders whose task is to help repopulate Africa after a solar flare left its people sterile. But the continent itself—roiling with civil war and mercenaries intent on crushing the blending program at any cost—poses the gravest danger of all. Separated, the three friends struggle to escape horrific situations, somehow reunite, and reach a camp in the mountains that promises salvation from the harsh and threatening world.

BLOODTHIRSTY by Flynn Meaney Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his school are obsessed with a vampire romance novel called Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to boldly go where no sane guy has gone before-he becomes a vampire, minus the whole blood sucking part. With his brooding nature and weirdly pale skin, it's surprisingly easy for Finbar to pretend to be paranormal. But, when he meets the one girl who just might like him for who he really is, he discovers that his life as a pseudo-vampire is more complicated than he expected.


THE CARNIVAL OF LOST SOULS (A HANDCUFF KID NOVEL), by Laura Quimby For one charismatic kid, the dangerous world of the Forest of the Dead becomes the setting for the ultimate escape trick in this exciting debut novel. Jack Carr has been shuttled from foster home to group home to foster home his entire life. The only constant has been his interest in magic, especially handcuff escapes like those mastered by his hero, Harry Houdini. When he’s placed with the Professor, however, he feels like he’s finally found a home—but his new guardian is hiding a dangerous secret. Years ago the Professor bartered his soul to the undead magician Mussini, and when the payment is due, he sends Jack in his place. Jack must travel with Mussini to the Forest of the Dead, a place in between the real world and the afterlife, where he’s forced to perform in Mussini’s traveling magic show. If he stays in the Forest long enough, he’ll die himself. To find his way home, he’ll have the help of Mussini’s other “minions”—kids stolen just like Jack—and his wits, nothing more. Can he follow the example of his hero, Houdini, and escape the inescapable?

CLOAKED IN RED by Vivian Vande Velde Eight witty stories that parody the Little Red Riding Hood tale. Each story has a different viewpoint. [I don't think "parodied" is the right word--more like "re-imagined."]

CROSSING OVER by Anna Kendall Roger Kilbourne has the ability to 'cross over' into the land of the dead and speak with its residents. It is a startling gift, and not a pleasant one. Roger manages to escape his brutal uncle, who has exploited his talents for years; after he gets a job in the palace laundry, he thinks he will be safe. Instead, there are worse dangers. First, he falls hopelessly in love with the bewitching, willful Lady Cecilia; next, he is pulled into the midst of life-threatening court intigue. Soon Roger is using his gift as a way to get the life he dreams of-even if it means bringing the dead back to the land of the living.

THE CURSE OF THE WENDIGO: THE MONSTRUMOLOGISTby Rick Yancey While attempting to disprove that Homo vampiris, the vampire, could exist, Dr. Warthrop is asked by his former fiancÉ to rescue her husband from the Wendigo, a creature that starves even as it gorges itself on human flesh, which has snatched him in the Canadian wilderness. Although Warthrop also considers the Wendigo to be fictitious, he relents and rescues her husband from death and starvation, and then sees the man transform into a Wendigo. Can the doctor and Will Henry hunt down the ultimate predator, who, like the legendary vampire, is neither living nor dead, whose hunger for human flesh is never satisfied?

DAWN LAND by Joseph Bruchac Ten thousand years ago, in what would one day be known as North America, Young Hunter set out on an epic quest to overcome the Stone Giants who were terrorizing his people. Pitted against creatures of legend, Young Hunter journeyed to the innermost heart of his own humanity, even meeting the very gods of the land. He was entrusted with his tribe’s most dangerous secret, a weapon that would change mankind forever.

Inspired by the classic Joseph Bruchac novel, Will Davis brings a timeless story to life, as the lore of old spawns a thrilling new kind of graphic novel. Drawing from the enduring creation myths of the Abenaki nation, Dawn Land immerses readers in Young Hunter’s vision quest and offers a fresh perspective on the Native American experience.

THE DRAGONS OF NOOR by Janet Lee Carey A dreamwalker who has lost her way. A shape shifter who fears his own dark power. A fire herd punished for his magic. Can these three teens keep the human world of Noor and the magical world of Oth from splitting apart?

The ancient trees of Noor are dying. If the blight kills the last azure trees whose deep roots bind the worlds, the bridge between Noor and Oth will split apart forever. Already as Hanna, Miles, and Taunier sail to the source of the blight, the rent between the worlds is widening, and magic is going out of Noor. The quest deepens when a strange wind blows across Noor stealing young children, and Hanna is powerless to protect her younger brother from the stealing wind. The Three journey east to the azure forests of Jarrosh. East to the dragon lands. East to the place where the wind-stolen children were taken. In Jarrosh, among dragons, the Three will be challenged to discover their hidden powers. Each of them must break beyond the boundaries of self to discover the ancient magic joining all to all.


ELIXIR by Hilary Duff Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. The daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington DC politician, she has grown to be a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world. But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, Clea’s photos begin to feature eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful man—a man she has never seen before.
When fate brings Clea and this man together, she is stunned by the immediate and powerful connection she feels with him. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance, and they discover the centuries old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fates, together they race against time to unravel their pasts in order to save their lives—and their futures.

EMPTY by Suzanne Weyn It's the near future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be.
Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - just there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought. Teens like Nicki, Tom, and Leila may find what they need to survive. But their lives are never going to be the same again.

ENCHANTED IVY by Sarah Beth Durst What Lily Carter wants most in the world is to attend Princeton University just like her grandfather. When she finally visits the campus, Grandpa surprises her: She has been selected to take the top-secret Legacy Test. Passing means automatic acceptance to Princeton. Sweet!
Lily's test is to find the Ivy Key. But what is she looking for? Where does she start? As she searches, Lily is joined by Tye, a cute college boy with orange and black hair who says he's her guard. That's weird. But things get seriously strange when a gargoyle talks to her. He tells her that there are two Princetons—the ordinary one and a magical one—and the Key opens the gate between them. But there are more secrets that surround Lily. Worse secrets.
When Lily enters the magical Princeton, she uncovers old betrayals and new dangers, and a chance at her dream becomes a fight for her life. Soon Lily is caught in a power struggle between two worlds, with her family at its center. In a place where Knights slay monsters, boys are were-tigers, and dragons might be out for blood, Lily will need all of her ingenuity and courage—and a little magic—to unite the worlds and unlock the secrets of her past and her future.

THE ETERNAL DAWN: THIRST NO. 3 by Christopher Pike Alisa has spent the past five thousand years as a vampire, living alone and fighting for survival. In her loneliness, Alisa cannot resist bringing Teri—a descendant of her human family—into her life. But Alisa is surrounded by death and destruction, and just by knowing Alisa, Teri’s life is at risk.
Alisa’s guilt grows when she becomes involved in a dangerous conspiracy. A top-secret group knows Alisa’s secret and will stop at nothing to use her powers for their cause. As Alisa desperately tries to protect herself and Teri from the unknown enemy, she discovers a force more powerful and more lethal than anything she has ever seen. Alisa doesn’t know who to trust, who to challenge, or who she will become….

FEARSCAPE: THE DEVOURING by Simon Holt The Vours: evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the Winter Solstice.

It's been a year since Reggie first discovered the Vours, and the Winter Solstice is approaching once again. It will be another night of unspeakable horror for those unlucky enough to be taken by the Vours, because this time, she won't be able to stop them. The Vours have imprisoned Reggie in a psychiatric hospital, where she is subjected to a daily routine of unfathomably sadistic experiments. Her life is a living Hell, but she won't give up. They attacked her brother. They killed her friend. And Reggie will never stop fighting back.

THE GAME by Monica Hughes The Game is just the beginning…

It’s the year 2154. Lisse and her friends have been deemed unemployable in the eyes of society. Now they must scavenge the disintegrating city for food and shelter, just to make ends meet.
But their dismal existence starts to look up when Lisse and her friends are invited to participate in The Game, an experience highly regarded in their society. The Game is a virtual reality experience where they are challenged to survive. But as they spend more time in The Game, the line between reality and fantasy starts to blur. What started as a simple exercise quickly becomes a test of endurance, trust, and their will to live.

A GIRL, A GHOST, AND THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS by Lizabeth Zindel When Holly's mother dies unexpectedly, she thinks things can't get much worse. But then her dad starts dating again. And his new girlfriend is Holly's aunt-her mom's sister! Aunt Claudia is known in Hollywood as the Queen of B Movies. Horror films, zombie flicks, she's made them all. Holly never liked her aunt, but now she positively can't stand her. Especially once the ghost of her mother appears and tells Holly that Claudia was to blame for her death.

Inspired by Hamlet, this funny novel about the danger of family secrets is a modern comic take on a classic Shakespearean tragedy.

THE GOBLIN GATE by Hilari Bell Jeriah's brother, Tobin, is in terrible danger. He's willingly crossed over to the Otherworld with a hedgewitch named Makenna and her legion of goblins. What Tobin doesn’t know is that the Otherworld is a perilous dimension that leeches magic from those who have it—and life from those who don’t. In order to save his brother, Jeriah must find a way to open a mystical gate between the worlds. Searching for the key to rescue Tobin from the clutches of the Otherworld, Jeriah is thrust into a tangled web of political intrigue as he uncovers a dangerous secret that could change the fate of an entire kingdom. Now he must get help from the very beings he’s been taught to hate—the mischievous goblins. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Tobin. . . .

HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER by Lish McBride Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.
With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

ICE CLAW: DANGER ZONE by David Gilman High in the freezing French Pyrenees, Max Gordon’s race to win an extreme sports challenge has become a race for survival. He witnesses the last moments of a mysterious Basque monk, who screams a cryptic clue before plummeting to his death. The clue? A prophecy that foretells a cataclysmic ecological event that will kill millions of people across Europe. Max is desperate to find a solution, but instead, he’s accused of causing the monk’s death, and the hunt is on to find him. How can Max prove his innocence when nobody will trust him … and when he can trust no one?

iDRAKULA by Bekka Black 18-year-old Jonathan Harker is diagnosed with a rare blood disorder after visiting a Romanian Count. His girlfriend Mina and a pre-med student named Van Helsing team up to investigate the source of the disease. The teenagers discover a horrifying truth: the Count is a vampire. The harrowing events unfold through emails, text messages, web pages, Twitter feeds, and instant messaging-the natural modernization of Bram Stoker's original Dracula, which was written in letters, diary entries, and news clippings.

JUMBEE by Pamela Keyes When Esti Legard starts theater school on Cariba, she's determined to step out of the shadow of her late father, a famous Shakespearean actor. But on an island rife with superstition, Esti can't escape the darkness. In the black of the theater, an alluring phantom voice (known only as Alan) becomes her brilliant drama tutor, while in the light of day Esti struggles to resist her magnetic attraction to Rafe, the local bad boy. Toppled sets, frightening rumors of jumbee ghosts, and brewing tropical storms culminate in a tantalizingly spooky finale where romance sizzles and truths are unmasked.

Laced with eerie mystery and the lush scenery of the West Indies, this modern Phantom is perfect for readers who like their love stories served with spine-tingling suspense.

MAGICIAN'S MUSE: THE SEER by Linda Joy Singleton A whisper, too soft to swirl wispy candle smoke, carried across time, beyond life and death—and was heard. “Our bargain is sealed. My secrets will be yours—when the girl dies.” In the thrilling climax to THE SEER series, Sabine Rose’s psychic abilities, sleuthing skills, and courage are pushed to a dangerous edge as she deals with the mysterious disappearance of her ex-boyfriend Josh, a new threat against her boyfriend Dominic, evil magicians (both living and dead)—and a cold-blooded murderer.

THE MERMAID'S MIRROR by L. K. Madigan Lena has lived her whole life near the beach – walking for miles up and down the shore and breathing the salty air, swimming in the cold water, and watching the surfers rule the waves – the problem is, she’s spent her whole life just watching. As her sixteenth birthday approaches, Lena vows she will no longer watch from the sand: she will learn to surf. But her father – a former surfer himself – refuses to allow her to take lessons. After a near drowning in his past, he can’t bear to let Lena take up the risky sport. Yet something lures Lena to the water … an ancient, powerful magic. One morning Lena catches sight of this magic: a beautiful woman – with a silvery tail. Nothing will keep Lena from seeking the mermaid, not even the dangerous waves at Magic Crescent Cove. And soon … what she sees in the mermaid’s mirror will change her life …

NOW YOU SEE ME: GIFTED by Marilyn Kaye The Gifted class are getting suspicious that there's a spy in their midst. But who? The chief suspect is queen-of-mean Amanda, who's started acting out of character and volunteering in the school office. Tracey and Jenna join forces - and gifts - to try to find out more. But when mind-reader Jenna is framed for a crime she didn't commit and sent to an institution, Tracey is on her own. Using her ability to become invisible, Tracey searches for answers and finds out more than she bargained for . . .

PARADISE RED: THE PERFECT FIRE TRILOGY by K. M. Grant As winter falls upon the Occitan, Raimon must find a way to recover the Blue Flame from the hands of the evil White Wolf. But his plan could lead him back to the pyre—and he might not be so lucky to escape from it again.

Meanwhile, Yolanda—unwillingly married to Sir Hugh des Arcis—is threatened by her husband's desire for a son. As Sir Hugh sets off on a mission to claim the Occitain for France, she makes her own journey through the blizzard to find Raimon, a journey that could end in disaster. As the flames rise one last time, Raimon and Yolanda's fates, like the fates of the Flame and the Occitan itself, hang by a smoky thread.

THE SCORCH TRIALS: THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.
In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety . . . until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.
Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.
The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.
Thomas can only wonder—does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

SECONDHAND CHARM by Julie Berry In a secluded village, magic sparkles on the edges of the forest. There, a young girl named Evie possesses unusually strong powers as a healer. A gypsy's charms—no more than trinkets when worn by others—are remarkably potent when Evie ties them around her neck. Her talents, and charms, have not escaped the notice of the shy stonemason's apprentice. But Evie wants more than a quiet village and the boy next-door. When the young king's carriage arrives one day, and his footman has fallen ill, Evie might just get her chance after all . . .

Berry's debut novel garnered glowing reviews and strong sales—and now she's done it again with a beautifully woven tale to keep all readers, young and old, absolutely charmed.

SELFISH ELF WISH by Heather Swain Zephyr Addler has a problem. Her boyfriend, Timber, is now her ex, because she was keeping secrets from him. But what else can she do? After all, it's not that easy being an elf in the middle of Brooklyn, especially when she's not allowed to use magic to hide her family's quirky elvin ways. To make matters worse, Bella, the meanest girl in school and Zephyr's archrival, has vowed to make Zephyr's life a living nightmare. Can Zephyr keep it together long enough to win Timber back, or will she give in to temptation and work some forbidden elven magic in the school halls?

THE SILVER SEA by Julia Golding
[possibly not sff, but it sounds good] Freydis has been left for dead following a raid on her father’s stronghold Her brother has
been taken prisoner. Her father, a Viking leader, is bent on revenge and takes her on his
quest, giving her Enno—a most unusual slave—to protect her. As the hunt for her brother
becomes more desperate, Freydis and Enno draw closer together. But when battle looms,
the bonds of friendship, family, and loyalty are tested to their limits.

SLAYED by Amanda Marrone The Van Helsing family has been hunting vampires for over one hundred years, but sixteen-year-old Daphne wishes her parents would take up an occupation that doesn’t involve decapitating vamps for cash. All Daphne wants is to settle down in one place, attend an actual school, and finally find a BFF to go to the mall with. Instead, Daphne has resigned herself to a life of fast food, cheap motels and buying garlic in bulk.

But when the Van Helsings are called to a coastal town in Maine, Daphne’s world is turned upside down. Not only do the Van Helsings find themselves hunting a terrifying new kind of vampire (one without fangs but with a taste for kindergarten cuisine), Daphne meets her first potential BF! The hitch? Her new crush is none other than Tyler Harker, AKA, the son of the rival slayer family. What's a teen vampire slayer to do?

SONG OF THE SWORD: SHARDS OF EXCALIBUR by Edward Willett A teenage girl inherits the power of the Lady of the Lake.

STARCROSSED by Elizabeth C. Bunce 16-year-old Digger thrives as a spy & sneak-thief among the feuding religious factions of Gerse. But when a routine job goes horribly wrong and her partner & lover Tegen is killed, she disguises herself in a group of young nobles & sneaks out of the city. Accepted as a lady-in-waiting at the stronghold of the powerful Nemair, she finds new peace & friendship (*and* some new targets). But when an old client from the city comes to the castle, she realizes her hosts may be planning the ultimate uprising against the king - & rather than true peace, she may be at the heart of the rebellion.

STORK by Wendy Delsol Sixteen-year-old Katla has just moved from Los Angeles to the sticks of Minnesota. As if it weren’t enough that her trendy fashion sense draws stares, she learns to her horror that she’s a member of an ancient order of women who decide to whom certain babies will be born. Add to that Wade, the arrogant football star whom Katla regrettably fooled around with, and Jack, a gorgeous farm boy who initially seems to hate her. Soon Katla is having freaky dreams about a crying infant and learns that, as children, she and Jack shared a near-fatal, possibly mystical experience. Can Katla survive this major life makeover and find a dress for the homecoming dance? Drawing from Norse mythology and inspired by The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, debut author Wendy Delsol conceives an irreverent, highly entertaining novel about embracing change and the (baby) bumps along the way.

TRANCE by Linda Gerber Ashlyn Greenfield has always known when bad things are going to happen. Each time that familiar tingling at the back of her neck begins, she knows what's to come-a trance. She's pulled in, blindsided, an unwilling witness to a horrible upcoming event. But she's never been able to stop itÑnot even when the vision was of her motherÕs fatal car accident. When soulful Jake enters Ashlyn's life, she begins having trances about another car accident. And as her trances escalate, one thing becomes clear: it's up to her to save Jake from near-certain death.

TRASH by Andy Mulligan [I'm not sure this is sff, but I put it in because the blurb says it's set in the future] In an unnamed Third World country, in the not-so-distant future, three “dumpsite boys” make a living picking through the mountains of garbage on the outskirts of a large city.

One unlucky-lucky day, Raphael finds something very special and very mysterious. So mysterious that he decides to keep it, even when the city police offer a handsome reward for its return. That decision brings with it terrifying consequences, and soon the dumpsite boys must use all of their cunning and courage to stay ahead of their pursuers. It’s up to Raphael, Gardo, and Rat—boys who have no education, no parents, no homes, and no money—to solve the mystery and right a terrible wrong.

THE UNIDENTIFIED by Rae Mariz Fifteen-year-old Katey (aka Kid) goes to school in the Game—a mall converted into a “school” run by corporate sponsors. As the students play their way through the levels, they are also creating products and being used for market research by the sponsors, who are watching them 24/7 on video cameras. Kid has a vague sense of unease but doesn’t question this existence until one day she witnesses a shocking anticorporate prank. She follows the clues to uncover the identities of the people behind it and discovers an anonymous group that calls itself the Unidentified. Intrigued by their counterculture ideas and enigmatic leader, Kid is drawn into the group. But when the Unidentified’s pranks and even Kid’s own identity are co-opted by the sponsors, Kid decides to do something bigger—something that could change the Game forever.

THE WITCHES' KITCHEN by Allen Williams Deep in the walls of a witches' cottage lays an ancient magical kitchen. Dangling over that kitchen's cauldron, pinched between the fingers of two witches, is a toad. And the Toad has no idea how she got there, and no memory of even her name. All she knows is she doesn't think she was always a Toad, or that she's ever been here before. Determined to recover her memories she sets out on a journey to the oracle, and along the way picks up a rag-tag team of friends: an iron-handed imp, a carnivorous fairy, and a few friendly locals.

But the Kitchen won't make it easy. It is pitch black, infinite, and impossible to navigate, a living maze. Hiding in dark corners are beastly, starving things. Worse yet are the Witches themselves, who have sent a procession of horrific, deadly monsters on her trail. With some courage and wisdom, the Toad just might find herself yet-and with that knowledge, the power to defeat the mighty Witches.