BORIS
Cynthia Rylant
Harcourt Children's Books
ISBN: 015205412X
Ages 12-up
80 pages

Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant's powerful collection of poems introduces readers to Boris, a big gray cat who loves to sleep, play, explore and hunt. And his owner absolutely adores him. But Boris is part of a much larger story in this moving exploration of love, longing, compassion, and most of all, the continuous give-and-take of companionship.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Peter Moore
Viking
ISBN: 0670059900
Ages 12-up
256 pages

Ethan Lederer is an honors student who has a great girlfriend. Life is almost normal until Lydia Krane shows up in chemistry class. She's not really Ethan's type, but he feels an unexplainable attraction to her. As they get to know each other, Ethan finds himself opening up in ways he never could with his girlfriend or his family. Lydia loves theater just like Ethan, and they'll even be starring together in the school play, a Hollywood version of Macbeth. But suddenly Lydia changes. Why does she seem so attached and desperate? It doesn't take long for Ethan to realize that Lydia will do anything to keep him.

FADE TO BLACK
Alex Flinn
HarperTempest
ISBN: 0060568399
Teen Fiction
192 pages

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What really happened on Monday, October 27, at 6:00 a.m.?

The facts: Alex Crusan, an HIV-positive student, was attacked by an assailant who shattered the windows of his car with a baseball bat. Alex is now in the hospital with multiple injuries.

The suspect: Clinton Cole was seen riding his bicycle in the area that morning. He's had problems with Alex before, but he never would do something like this. Would he?

The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. So if she told the police she saw Clinton do it, she must have. But did she really?

The victim: After the windshield shattered, Alex ducked under the steering wheel. But he knows what he saw. Now he must decide what he wants to tell.

Three people, three perspectives, one truth. Who will tell it?

MAXIMUM RIDE: The Angel Experiment
James Patterson
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 031615556X
Ages 12-up
432 pages

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Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, Angel, and Maximum are six kids who are fairly normal in most ways --- except that they're 98% human and 2% bird. When the bloodthirsty Erasers --- half men, half-wolves genetically engineered by sick and sinister scientists --- kidnap little Angel, the Flock embarks on a rescue mission that will change them forever.

MAXIMUM RIDE is James Patterson's first book for teens. Look for Maximum's next thrilling ride in Spring 2006.

THE SECRET BLOG OF RAISIN RODRIGUEZ
Judy Goldschmidt
Razorbill/Penguin Young Readers Group
ISBN: 1595140182
Ages 10-up
208 pages

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Twelve-year-old Raisin Rodriguez has had to relocate from California to Philadelphia with her mother, sister, stepfather, stepsister Samantha, and Samantha's cross-dressing poodle Countess. The only way Raisin can survive the painful transition is by recording every detail in a secret blog she keeps for her best friends. Raisin shares her latest thoughts and recounts every humiliating incident that prevents her new friendships from taking off. So you can imagine how mortified Raisin is when someone at her new school discovers her blog and prints it out for all to see.

STORKY: How I Lost My Nickname and Won The Girl
D. L. Garfinkle
Putnam
ISBN: 0399242848
Ages 12-up
192 pages

Michael Pomerantz doesn't have great expectations for high school --- people are still calling him "Storky," his mom is dating his dentist, and his father can barely sit through their Sunday night dinners. The only bright spot so far is his weekly Scrabble game with an old-timer at the Senior center. But over the course of the year, things start to pick up for Michael. A new friend introduces him to the joy (and misery) of social drinking, a beautiful sophomore seems interested in him, and Dr. Berman the dentist turns out to be a decent guy. But then a startling announcement from Mom threatens to destroy all of Michael's progress.

A THIEF IN THE HOUSE OF MEMORY
Tim Wynne-Jones
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374374783
Ages 12-up
224 pages

It's been six years since sixteen-year-old Dec's free-spirited mother disappeared. Dec feels so trapped in the present that he's avoided examining his past. But when an intruder dies in the museum-like family home, Dec suddenly is flooded with visions of his mother that seem so real, and soon these visions turn into nightmares. What exactly happened to his mother? And who really is the thief in the house of memory?

WHERE I WANT TO BE
Adele Griffin
Putnam
ISBN: 0399237836
Ages 12-up
160 pages

Jane was at one time "the big sister," teaching Lily to play make believe and protecting her from thunderstorms. But then Lily grew up. She started making friends and dating boys, while Jane wanted to go on playing make believe forever. For Jane, the line between fantasy and reality had always blurred, whereas Lily had high expectations for a bright future and embraced change.

Unfortunately the relationship between the sisters altered considerably --- while Lily was taking great pleasure in her newfound love, a frustrated Jane could only watch from the sidelines. Then tragedy struck. But the story was far from over....

THE WITCH'S BOY
Michael Gruber
HarperTempest
ISBN: 0060761644
Teen Fiction
384 pages

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Michael Gruber's first novel for young readers is about a boy named Lump, who is raised by a witch, a talking cat, a bear and a demon. But when Lump inevitably stumbles into the human world, his innocence is no match for the depths of people's cruelty, which turns his heart to stone, and fuels a vengeance that places him and his witch mother in deadly peril. Yet these disasters also send Lump on a journey of self-discovery, to realms deep within the earth and far beyond mortal imagination.

Series Books

The Princess Diaries

PRINCESS IN TRAINING: The Princess Diaries, Volume VI
Meg Cabot
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0060096136
Ages 12-up
288 pages

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Princess Mia's best friend Lilly nominates her for student body president. This is not how Mia imagined kicking off her sophomore year, even if Grandmère thinks ruling her high school makes good practice for ruling Genovia someday. As usual, though, Mia has bigger problems to worry about. Sophomore Geometry appears to be just as hard as freshman Algebra, and a shocking B on her first English assignment has Mia upset. And with Michael, her one true love, away at college, what's the point of even getting up for school in the morning?

The A-List

TALL COOL ONE: An A-List Novel, #4
Zoey Dean
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316735086
Ages 15-up
304 pages

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TALL COOL ONE is the fourth novel in Zoey Dean's bestselling series about the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. New Yorker Anna Percy came to L.A. to learn how to have a good time. Now she's surfing Zuma Beach with the industry's hottest young television producer. The fun ends when Anna must fly down to Las Casitas, Mexico, on a secret mission. But it turns out that Anna isn't the only one staying at the super-luxury resort with a secret.

Charmed

CHANGELING PLACES
Micol Ostow
Simon Spotlight Entertainment
ISBN: 0689878524
Ages 12-up
176 pages

In CHANGELING PLACES, babies all over town are being switched for seemingly exact replicas. When it becomes apparent that Wyatt, Piper's newborn son, isn't really Wyatt, the Charmed Ones spring into action to save their family, their legacy, and the next generation of San Francisco.

The Party Room Trilogy

AFTER HOURS: Book Two
Morgan Burke
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689872267
Ages 16-up
256 pages

Kirsten is still recovering from the death of her best friend, Samantha. She's trying desperately to forget that she hooked up with Kyle --- before she knew he was the Prep School Murderer. Kirsten is out every night hitting the clubs and the Party Room, partying hard to forget the pain. Then one night in the Hamptons, Kyle shows up and tells Kirsten a different story. He's not the one who killed all those girls. Kirsten wants to believe him. But then, it's too late....