Stand-Alone Titles

THE BIG FIELD
Mike Lupica
Philomel Books
ISBN: 9780399246258
Ages 10-up
288 pages

• Buy from Amazon.com

For Hutch, shortstop has always been home. It’s where his father once played professionally, before injuries relegated him to watching games on TV instead of playing them. And it’s where Hutch himself has always played and starred. Until now. The arrival of Darryl “D-Will” Williams, the top shortstop prospect from Florida since A-Rod, means Hutch is displaced, in more ways than one. Second base feels like second fiddle, and when he sees his father giving fielding tips to D-Will --- the same father who can’t be bothered to show up to watch his son play --- Hutch feels betrayed. With the summer league championship on the line, just how far is Hutch willing to bend to be a good teammate?

THE COMEBACK SEASON
Jennifer E. Smith
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9781416938477
Ages 13-up
256 pages

• Buy from Amazon.com

The last place Ryan Walsh should be this afternoon is on a train heading to Wrigley Field. She should be in class, enduring yet another miserable day of her first year of high school. But for once, Ryan isn't thinking about what she should be doing. Because she's finally returning to the place that her father loved, where the two of them spent so many afternoons cheering on their team. And on this --- the fifth anniversary of his death --- it feels like there's nowhere else in the world she should be.

Ryan is once again filled with hope as she makes her way to the game. Good luck is often hard to come by at a place like Wrigley Field, but it's on this day that she meets Nick, the new kid from her school, who seems to love the Cubs nearly as much as she does. But Nick carries with him a secret that makes Ryan wonder if anyone can ever really escape their past, or believe in the promise of those reassuring words: "Wait till next year."

THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS
E. Lockhart
Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9780786838189
Ages 12-up
352 pages

• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Buy from Amazon.com

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14: Debate Club. Her father's "bunny rabbit." A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Landau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer. Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society. Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew is lying to her. And when there are so many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 16: Possibly a criminal mastermind.
 
This is the story of how she got that way.

THE FORTUNES OF INDIGO SKYE
Deb Caletti
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9781416910077
Ages 12-up
304 pages

• Read a Review
• Buy from Amazon.com

Eighteen-year-old Indigo Skye feels like she has it all --- a waitress job she loves, an adorable refrigerator-delivery-guy boyfriend, and a home life that's slightly crazed but rich in love. Until a mysterious man at the restaurant leaves her a 2.5 million-dollar tip, and her life as she knew it is transformed. At first its amazing: a hot new car, an enormous flat-screen TV and presents for everyone she cares about. She laughs off the warnings that money changes people, that they come to rely on what they have instead of who they are. Because it won't happen...not to her. Or will it? What do you do when you can buy anything your heart desires --- but what your heart desires can't be bought?

HOW I SAVED MY FATHER’S LIFE (AND RUINED EVERYTHING ELSE)
Ann Hood
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780439928199
Ages 12-up
224 pages

• Read a Review
• Buy from Amazon.com

Twelve-year-old Madeline believes she can perform miracles. And her biggest one to date is saving her father from an avalanche. But, unmiraculously, he divorces Madeline's mother after his recovery, writes a book about the avalanche, becomes a celebrity, and marries Ava Pomme, a renowned tart maker. When he leaves, Madeline is left with her mother, who is slowly coming undone; her hypochondriac little brother, who spends his days worrying about air-bag safety; a house that is falling apart around her; and no clue how to perform the miracle that will fix it all.

A LITTLE FRIENDLY ADVICE
Siobhan Vivian
PUSH/Scholastic
ISBN: 9780545004046
Ages 12-up
256 pages

• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Buy from Amazon.com

Ruby is turning 16, but the day doesn't turn out to be as sweet as it's supposed to be. Her long lost father shows up, and Ruby doesn't want to have anything to do with him. Instead, she wants to hang out with her friends --- loyal Beth, dangerous Katherine and gossipy Maria. They have plenty of advice for her --- about boys, about her dad, about how she should look and what she should be feeling. But really, Ruby doesn't know what to think or feel. Especially when a new boy comes into the picture…and Ruby discovers some of her friends aren't as truthful as they say.

PERFECT YOU
Elizabeth Scott
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 9781416953555
Ages 14-up
304 pages

• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Buy from Amazon.com

Kate Brown's life can't get much worse. Her family is driving her crazy, and her best friend, Anna, has decided they aren't friends anymore. And then there's Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, who Kate pretends she can't stand. But when he starts acting interested, she can't resist, even though Kate is sure she means nothing to him. Kate thinks things will stop hurting if she keeps to herself and doesn't care about anyone or anything. What she doesn't realize is that while life may not be perfect, good things can happen --- but only if she lets them.

PRETTY FACE
Mary Hogan
HarperTeen
ISBN: 9780060841119
Ages 14-up
224 pages

• Read a Review
• Buy from Amazon.com

Hayley wishes she could love living in Santa Monica, blocks from the beach, where every day --- and everybody --- is beautiful and sunny. But she just doesn't fit in with all the blond, superskinny Southern California girls who have their plastic surgeons on speed dial. Hayley is smart and witty and has such a pretty…face. Translation: Don't even think about putting on a bikini, much less dating superhot Drew Wyler. A bikini will never be flattering, and Drew will never think of her as more than a friend.

Just when Hayley feels doomed to live her life in the fat lane, her parents decide to send her to Italy for the summer --- not for school, not for fat camp, just for fun. It's there, under the Italian sun, that Hayley's vision of herself starts to change.

SKIN DEEP
E. M. Crane
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780385734790
Ages 12-up
288 pages

• Buy from Amazon.com

High school has its predictable heroes, heroines, villains and plotlines, and Andrea Anderson has no problem guessing how each drama will turn out. She is, after all, a professional spectator. In the social hierarchy she is a Nothing, and at home her mother runs the show. Then one day Andrea accepts a job. Honora Menapace, a reclusive neighbor, is sick. As in every other aspect of her life, Andrea’s role is clear: Honora’s garden must be taken care of and her pottery finished, and someone needs to feed her dog, Zena. But what starts out as a simple job yanks Andrea’s back-row seat out from under her. Life is no longer predictable, and nothing is what it seems.

THE SWAN KINGDOM
Zoe Marriott
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 9780763634810
Ages 12-up
272 pages

• Buy from Amazon.com

Shadows fall across the beautiful, lush kingdom after the queen is attacked by an unnatural beast, and the healing skills of her daughter, Alexandra, cannot save her. Too soon the widowed king is spellbound by a frightening stranger, a woman whose eyes reflect no light. In a terrifying moment, all Alexandra knows disappears, including her beloved brothers, leaving her banished to a barren land. But Alexandra has more gifts than she realizes as she confronts magic, murder and the strongest of evil forces, and is unflinchingly brave as she struggles to reclaim what is rightfully hers.

THE TRUTH ABOUT MY BAT MITZVAH
Nora Raleigh Baskin
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9781416935582
Ages 10-14
144 pages

• Read a Review
• Buy from Amazon.com

Caroline's mom is Jewish, her dad isn't, and Caroline has never really thought of herself as any religion. But when her nana dies and leaves Caroline a Star of David necklace, Caroline begins to wonder about her heritage. If she starts going to synagogue, won't that upset her dad? Should she have a Bat Mitzvah like her best friend, Rachel? Does Caroline want to be Jewish? The more she thinks about it, the more questions she has.

WAKE
Lisa McMann
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 9781416953579
Ages 14-up
224 pages

• Read a Review
• Buy from Amazon.com

For 17-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie has seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime. She can't tell anybody about what she does --- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control. Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME
Rachel Cohn
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780689878596
Ages 12-up
208 pages

• Read a Review
• Buy from Amazon.com

First cousins Laura and Miles grew up like sisters. Miles thought of Laura as the golden one --- smart, beautiful, rich and popular --- while Miles considered herself the unwanted one --- an unattractive, underachieving outcast. Laura's suicide shatters Miles and leaves her feeling completely alone, and sets her on a dangerous downward spiral. But in the strength Miles finds in herself and in those she didn't believe cared about her, she is able to rebuild her life in unexpected ways.

Series Books

Maximum Ride

MAXIMUM RIDE #4: THE FINAL WARNING
James Patterson
Little, Brown for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780316002868
Ages 12-up
272 pages

• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Buy from Amazon.com

Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly: the result of an out-of-control government experiment. Max and the other members of the Flock --- six kids who share her remarkable ability --- have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the causes of global warming. Their ability to fly could help the scientists conquer this epic problem. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism --- and escaping government forces who watch the Flock like a hawk. But even in Antarctica, trapped in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world...

The Mortal Instruments

CITY OF ASHES: The Mortal Instruments, Book Two
Cassandra Clare
Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416914297
Ages 14-up
464 pages

• Buy from Amazon.com

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who is becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go --- especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil --- and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings --- and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?