Stand-Alone Titles

BIG FAT MANIFESTO
Susan Vaught
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
ISBN: 9781599902067
Ages 12-up
320 pages

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Jamie is a senior in high school and, like so many kids her age, doing too much --- including trying to change the world --- and fighting for her rights as an overweight girl. And not quietly: she's writing a column every week in the paper with her thoughts, fears and gripes. As her column raises all kinds of questions, she must find her own private way in her world, with love popping up in an unexpected place and satisfaction in her size losing ground to real frustration.

BREATHE MY NAME
R. A. Nelson
Razorbill/Penguin Young Readers Group
ISBN: 9781595140944
Ages 14-up
320 pages

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Frances Robinson is in high school now. She lives a quiet, suburban life, far from her horrifying past. When she was a child, her birthmother smothered her three sisters. Through pure luck, Frances survived. Now her mother has just been released from prison and would like to see her. Frances and her new friend Nix embark on a clandestine journey to visit this monster of a parent --- which hopefully will give Frances the peace she’s looking for.

A BRIDGE TO THE STARS
Henning Mankell
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385734950
Ages 12-up
176 pages

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Twelve-year-old Joel lives with his father in the cold northern part of Sweden. At night he often sneaks out of the house to look for a lonely dog he has seen from his window. On the bridge across the icy river he starts a secret society and has adventures. But one night he discovers that his father’s bed is also empty, and so he will have to come to terms with his father’s newfound love.

THE EVER-AFTER BIRD
Ann Rinaldi
Harcourt Children’s Books
ISBN: 9780152026202
Ages 10-up
240 pages

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Now that her father is no longer living, CeCe McGill is left to wonder why he risked his life for the ragged slaves who came to their door in the dead of night. When her uncle, an ornithologist, insists she accompany him to Georgia on an expedition in search of the rare scarlet ibis, CeCe is surprised to learn that there is a second reason for their journey: Along the way, Uncle Alex secretly points slaves north in the direction of the Underground Railroad.

FINDING DADDY
Louise Plummer
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385730921
Ages 14-up
176 pages

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Mira Kent is nearing her 16th birthday and wants to know more about her father, whom she doesn't remember. Her mother tells her she has all of his good qualities, but isn't specific. With nothing but a photo of her father, Mira wants more. She writes him imaginary notes:

Daddy, darling, where are you? I need you in my life. Aren't you curious about me? About school? I have a boyfriend named Dylan. Mom says you both made the decision during the divorce that you wouldn't be part of my life. It was easier, she says. It hasn't been easier for me. Look for me, dearest Daddy, and I'll look for you. I'll look until I find you.

THE LUXE
Anna Godbersen
HarperTeen
ISBN: 9780061345661
Ages 14-up
448 pages

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Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone --- from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud --- threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future.

With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love. But when her carriage overturns near the East River, the girl whose glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is swallowed by the rough current. As all of New York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life at the top proved too much for this ethereal beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear.

OMEGA PLACE
Graham Marks
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
ISBN: 9781599901275
Ages 12-up
256 pages

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Paul Hendry just wants to get away from his mother and annoying stepfather. But when he runs away, he finds that life on the streets is nothing like what he expected. By chance, he falls in with a radical action group called Omega Place, whose members are determined to let people know exactly how closely the government is watching them on closed-circuit TV cameras posted in public places. What are the ramifications of this kind of footage? Paul is about to find out.

THE OUTCASTS
L. S. Matthews
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385733670
Ages 12-up
272 pages

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Four of the Outcasts don't really participate in class, and all five could care less about a group activity. So the fact that all of them actually go on the field trip is something of a miracle. When reality splits, and they end up in another dimension, you can imagine how badly they'll all wish they'd stayed home. Five outcasts fall out of reality. How many will make it back to the world as they know it?

PROJECT 17
Laurie Faria Stolarz
Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9780786838561
Ages 12-up
256 pages

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High atop Hathorne Hill, near Boston, sits Danvers State Hospital. Built in 1878 and closed in 1992, this abandoned mental institution is rumored to be the birthplace of the lobotomy. Locals have long believed the place to be haunted. They tell stories about unmarked graves, cold spots throughout the underground tunnels and treasures found inside. On the eve of the hospital's demolition, six teens break in to spend the night and film a movie about their adventures. But what starts out as a playful dare quickly escalates into a frenzy of nightmarish action. Behind the crumbling walls and down every dark passageway, they will unravel the mysteries of the patients who once lived there -- and the spirits that linger on.

RACE: A History Beyond Black and White
Marc Aronson
Ginee Seo Books/Atheneum
ISBN: 9780689865541
Ages 12-up
336 pages

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Where did racial prejudice come from? Why is it so powerful? What has allowed it to endure? Why have millions been enslaved, murdered or denied their rights because of the color of their skin or the shape of their eyes? Acclaimed young-adult historian Marc Aronson tackles these and other questions in this astounding book, which traces the history of racial prejudice in Western culture back to ancient Sumer and beyond.

UNWIND
Neal Shusterman
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416912040
Ages 13-up
352 pages

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In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance.

Series Books

The Demonata

BLOOD BEAST: The Demonata, Book 5
Darren Shan
Little, Brown for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316003773
Ages 15-up
240 pages

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Grubbs Grady has so far escaped the family curse, but when he begins to experience alarming symptoms at the onset of the full moon, he is scared that the jaws of fate are opening and about to swallow him whole. He has cheated death, defeated demons and moved on with his life. But Grubbs is torn between the world of magic and his wolfen genes. Can he fight the beast inside, or will he fall victim to his tainted blood?

Gemma Doyle Trilogy

THE SWEET FAR THING
Libba Bray
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385730303
Ages 14-up
832 pages

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It has been a year of change since Gemma Doyle arrived at the foreboding Spence Academy. Her mother murdered and her father a laudanum addict, Gemma has relied on an unsuspected strength and has discovered an ability to travel to an enchanted world called the realms, where dark magic runs wild. Despite certain peril, Gemma has bound the magic to herself and forged unlikely new alliances. Now, as Gemma approaches her London debut, the time has come to test these bonds.

The Order --- the mysterious group her mother was once part of --- is grappling for control of the realms, as is the Rakshana. Spence's burned East Wing is being rebuilt, but why now? Gemma and her friends see Pippa, but she is not the same. And their friendship faces its gravest trial as Gemma must decide once and for all what role she is meant for.

The Princess Diaries

PRINCESS MIA: The Princess Diaries, Volume IX
Meg Cabot
HarperTeen
ISBN: 9780060724610
Ages 14-up
288 pages

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Mia has been invited to speak at a gala for Domina Rei, an elite society of powerful businesswomen. But what could she possibly have to say? Now that Michael has broken things off, Mia can barely get out of bed, and her parents are making her see a therapist. School, where Lilly still refuses to speak to her and Lana suddenly wants to be bff, is a total nightmare. Even J.P.'s efforts to cheer Mia up aren't helping. What's a royal to do?

Just when things couldn't get worse, Mia uncovers an old family secret, a long-forgotten diary of a teenage princess of Genovia. It could be just the thing to help Mia write her speech --- but it might also change the fate of the Renaldos forever.