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Cool New Books for November

In this month's roundup of cool new books, you'll meet teenagers who must overcome serious obstacles in their lives. You may not be able to fully comprehend what they're going through or how they're feeling, but you'll sympathize with them nonetheless. And let's not forget those series updates --- we have six, including the latest book in the popular Buffy/Angel crossover series.

BREATH
Donna Jo Napoli
Atheneum
ISBN: 0689861745
Ages 12-up
272 pages

Salz is a boy afflicted with cystic fibrosis --- he coughs repeatedly and can't catch his breath. Unfortunately it's the Middle Ages in Saxony, and no one can identify the disease. The only way he can stay alive is to become an outcast. Suddenly his father and brothers are affected by horrifying fits, and the entire town is visited by a pestilence of rats that crawl in their soup bowls, swarm in their sick beds, and jump into their babies' cradles. Only Salz remains unaffected. Is this because he is innocent, or is he the devil himself?


CRASHING
Chris Wooding
Scholastic
ISBN: 0439090121
Ages 12-up
160 pages

Sixteen-year-old Jay wants to throw a party to celebrate the start of the summer. He would like to spend time with his friends before they all drift apart and to make himself known to Jo, the girl he has had a crush on for years. But things start going wrong very quickly --- friends turn on each other, the past comes back with a vengeance, and the party is crashed by some locals who want to drag Jay to a place he had vowed he would never go again.


HARD TIME
Julian F. Thompson
Atheneum
ISBN: 0689854242
Ages 14-up
256 pages

Annie Ireland is constantly trying to live up to her parents' never-ending expectations. The only person she can really count on for unconditional support is her best friend Arby. But then Pantagruel Primo, Esquire, comes into Annie's life and she suddenly has another friend. Primo is a leprechaun who, thanks to a little joke, is trapped inside the body of a life-size baby doll.

Because of a story she writes for English class, Annie and her friends find themselves at the Back to Basics Center, a wilderness school for troubled teens. But it's here where Annie finally realizes that she's unique, strong and lovable, and that it doesn't matter what other people think.


MY THIRTEENTH WINTER: A Memoir
Samantha Abeel
Orchard Books
ISBN: 0439339049
Ages 11-15
208 pages

Samantha Abeel tells her own story of living with and overcoming dyscalculia. She describes in painstaking detail how her life was affected by her learning disability before and after she was diagnosed, and the way her peers, family and teachers treated her. In seventh grade, Samantha suffered anxiety attacks as she struggled to keep up in her classes, remember two locker combinations, and deal with new teachers. Samantha was placed in Special Education classes in eighth grade, but she continued to feel anxious about her future.


RAINBOW HIGH
Alex Sanchez
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ISBN: 0689854773
Ages 12-up
272 pages

Jason, Kyle and Nelson have come a long way since running into each other at a gathering for gay teens. Now, as graduation nears, Kyle and Jason are forced to reexamine their futures as well as their feelings for each other when Kyle's acceptance into his dream school destroys their plans of going to college together, and Jason's sexuality seriously jeopardizes his place on the basketball team and his chances for attending any college. Meanwhile, Nelson is freaking out because he may have been exposed to the HIV virus and is terrified of testing positive. But what if being positive is the only way to keep the guy of his dreams?


WASTELAND
Francesca Lia Block
Joanna Cotler Books
ISBN: 006028644X
Teen Fiction
160 pages
Read a Review & Excerpt

Lex and his sister, Marina, have been inseparable since early childhood. But when they take their love to a shocking extreme, Lex commits suicide. Shattered, Marina needs her friend West to help her cope with this heartbreaking loss. But Marina will never be truly complete until she faces the past that is haunting her.


SERIES BOOKS:

FATHER FIGURE: An Alias Prequel
Laura Peyton Roberts
Bantam Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 055349404X
Ages 12-up
240 pages

Sydney is not so sure about Wilson, her handler at SD-6. He seemed on the level and acted as if he really cared. But a new assignment has given her serious doubts about the man she trusts with her life. Is her boss a double agent? And if he is, what will he do if he discovers that Sydney knows the truth?


TALES OF THE SLAYER: Volume 3 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Yvonne Navarro
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689864361
Ages 16-up
336 pages

Four bestselling Buffy novelists come together in a collection of novellas chronicling tales of Slayers past. Christopher Golden, Nancy Holder, Mel Odom, and Yvonne Navarro each present a new entry in the historic line of Slayers.


CURSED (A Buffy/Angel Novel)
Mel Odom
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 068986437X
Ages 16-up
448 pages

The distance between Sunnydale and Los Angeles has always seemed just right for Buffy, until she and vampire Spike hooked up. Now her current fling is headed for the City of Angels, and Buffy's present is catching up with her past. But Spike is on the trail of the person or demon who has put a hit on him. And Angel has his hands full with a mysterious woman who should have died a hundred years ago --- at the hands of Angelus and Spike.


TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES (Charmed)
Cameron Dokey
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689857918
Ages 12-up
208 pages

Phoebe accepts what appears to be an innocent date with a friendly stranger. Cole leaves work early to surprise Phoebe --- and is stunned to find her sharing a meal with another man. Cole can't believe that Phoebe would betray him, and Phoebe can't believe that Cole would even think she'd do such a terrible thing. But soon they discover themselves trapped in the underworld, at the center of a lovelorn demon's plot to destroy the Power of Three. If Phoebe and Cole can't reconcile their suspicions and insecurities, they will be risking more than just their relationship.


FREAK (Fearless #30)
Francine Pascal
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689857675
Ages 16-up
240 pages

"Once upon a time, Uncle Oliver was Loki, Jake was just a friend, and Sam was dead. That was before things got complicated." This is the description that the publisher has provided for the latest book in the Fearless series. It doesn't give much away, but you can bet that this new adventure will be well worth the read.


TURNABOUT (Roswell)
Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689864108
Ages 16-up
272 pages

Following Liz's threatening vision in PURSUIT, the gang decides to split up to ensure that the events of her vision never materialize. Half go to Los Angeles to free FBI captives, while the other half go to Chicago to enlist Jesse Ramirez's legal assistance. But Michael, Isabel and Max are about to learn that some old friends have resurfaced, which brings up a new set of complications.


    --- Compiled and Written by Tom Donadio

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