Dare Me     Megan Abbott

 

Author Abbott's "deliciously slick and dark" (PW) novel follows 16-year-old Addy Hanlon, her best friend and pep squad captain Beth Cassidy, and their cheerleading team. Their world is turned upside-down when the school hires young, ambitious Colette French as the new cheerleading coach. Beth has always been in command, but after Beth is demoted, Addy gains favor with Colette and the team evolves into a competitive force, sending everyone and everything into a tailspin.Friendships are broken, lines are crossed and a murder is suspected -- with Addy in the middle of it all. Mature YA readers will relish this riveting novel by Edgar Award-winner Abbott. Booklist says, "This is cheerleading as bloodsport, 'Bring It On' meets 'Fight Club' -- just try putting it down." 

 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl     Jesse Andrews

 

Senior Greg Gaines is a social nomad who has almost made it through his educational career without belonging to any one clique when opportunity comes knocking. He spends most of his time with his only true friend, a foul-mouthed African-American boy named Earl who shares Greg's passion for filmmaking. Greg's world is turned upside-down when his mother suggests he befriend Rachel, a classmate and former crush dying of leukemia. Greg's attempts to keep people at arm's length is compromised as he and Earl are encouraged to make a movie for Rachel. Reminiscent of John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars" (2011), author Andrews' offering "stands on its own in inventiveness, humor and heart" (KIRK). 

 

Shadow and Bone     Leigh Bardugo

 

Struggling to survive in their war-torn homeland of Ravka, orphan Alina Starkov and her best friend Mal work as army soldiers. On a mission with the Darkling, the King's right-hand man, Alina and Mal face a terrifying attack while traveling across the Fold, and Alina reveals a powerful ability she never knew she had to save Mal's life. As a Sun Summoner, Alina has the power to destroy evil forces of the Fold once and for all. The Darkling takes her away and begins to train her as a Grisha, an elite group of people with magical powers. Separated from Mal, Alina hones her talents as a Summoner but quickly realizes that she cannot trust anyone -- not even herself. "Fast-paced and unpredictable, this debut novel will be a hit with readers who love dark fantasy" (SLJ). 

 

Black Heart    Holly Black 

 

Cassel Sharpe is trying to put his past life as an assassin, curse worker (magic user) and con man behind him by becoming a Fed-in-training. The past keeps coming back to him, however, and he's discovering that many of his old cons are still having effects that he might get blamed for. Complicating his life further is Lila, the girl of his dreams, the girl who is set to become the head of a crime family. She also hates his guts. Then the Fed ask Cassel to break his own rules and take a chance on love, or die. Kirkus Reviews calls Black Heart the “perfect end to this gem of a trilogy.” 

 

 

Above     Leah Bobet

 

Safe, an underground realm “that is simultaneously fantastic and painfully real” (PW), is home to Matthew, the Teller of Safe, and other outcasts who are not wanted Above. As a Teller, Matthew retains and recounts the stories of Safe’s inhabitants. At his side is beautiful Ariel, who he saved and took underground. Matthew’s life in Safe is peaceful until once of Safe’s former residents, Corner, returns with a vengeance – killing Safe’s leader and seeking to destroy the underground haven once and for all. Matthew and the other Safe residents are forced to flee. After entering the world of Above, the outcasts decide to fight for what’s rightfully theirs. “Heartbreaking, romantic, complex and magical, this fantasy lingers on the senses” (PW). 

The Diviners     Libba Bray

 

Starcrossed    Elizabeth Bunce

 

The 2nd novel from the winner of the ALA's YA Debut Award is Tamora Pierce meets THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER -- a thrilling fantasy about a thief at a snowbound castle, caught in a simmering rebellion .

In a glamorous castle full of Llyvraneth's elite, Celyn Contrare serves as a lady-in-waiting to shy young Merista Nemair. Her days are spent dressing in velvet, attending Lady Merista, navigating court gossip, and charming noblemen over lavish feasts.

And at night, she picks locks, steals jewels, forges documents, and collects secrets. Because Celyn isn't really a lady-in-waiting; she's not even really Celyn Contrare. She's Digger, a sneak-thief on the run from the king's Inquisition, desperate to escape its cruel instruments and hatred of magic. If she's discovered, it will mean her certain death.
 

Bitterblue    Kristen Cashore

 

The long-awaited companion to New York Times bestsellers Graceling and Fire

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart.  

 

 

The Queen's Daughter     Susan Coventry  

 

Joan's mother is Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most beautiful woman in the world. Her father is Henry II, the king of England and a renowned military leader. She loves them both--so what is she to do when she's forced to choose between them? As her parents' arguments grow ever more vicious, Joan begins to feel like a political pawn. 

When her parents marry her off to the king of Sicily, Joan finds herself stuck with a man ten years her senior. She doesn't love her husband, and she can't quite forget her childhood crush, the handsome Lord Raymond.

As Joan grows up, she begins to understand that her parents' worldview is warped by their political ambitions, and hers, in turn, has been warped by theirs. Is it too late to figure out whom to trust? And, more importantly, whom to love?

The Queen's Daughter is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.  

The Butterfly Clues     Kate Ellison

 

Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.

But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death. 

 

National Book Award winning author Pete Hautman lets us in on the secret.

Lita is the writer. Adam is the entrepreneur. They are JUST FRIENDS.

So Adam would never sell copies of a self-help book before he'd even written it. And Lita would never try to break up Adam's relationship with Blair, the skankiest girl at school. They'd never sabotage their friends Emily and Dennis. Lita would never date a guy related to a girl she can't stand. They'd never steal each other's blog posts. And Adam would never end up in a fist fight with Lita's boyfriend. Nope, never.

Adam and Lita might never agree on what happened, but in this hilarious story from Pete Hautman, they manage to give the world a little more insight into what boys and girls are really looking for.  

 

 

The Fear     Charlie Higson

 

The sickness struck everyone sixteen and over. Mothers and fathers, older brothers, sisters, and best friends. No one escaped its touch. And now children across London are being hunted by ferocious grown-ups who are hungry, bloodthirsty, and not giving up.

DogNut and the rest of his crew, in search of the friends they lost during the fire, set off on a deadly mission from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace and beyond, as the sickos lie in wait. But who are their friends and who is the enemy in this changed world?

 

More details from the author at his blog

Grave Mercy    Robin Lafevers

 

"Fiction and history coalesce in a rich, ripping tale of assassinations, political intrigue and religion. . . . LaFevers' ambitious tapestry includes poison and treason and murder, valor and honor and slow love, suspense and sexuality and mercy. A page-turner--with grace." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage to the respite of the convent of St. Mortain. Here she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts and a violent destiny. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. But how can she deliver Death's vengeance upon a target who has stolen her heart?

 

 

Sixteen-year-old A has no gender, family or friends. In fact, A is just a soul who inhabits a different body every day. Each day, A finds itself inside a new host with a new life -- going through the motions and experiencing life as that particular person but still keeping its own essence. This is the way it is until A resides in the body of Justin. Justin is dating Rhiannon, and A falls deeply in love with her. Up until this point, A has been like a fly on the wall but can no longer remain indifferent to the feelings for Rhiannon. Rhiannon gains an awareness of A's presence and learns to experience A in whatever form it takes, but the teens will face a series of challenges as they realize the ever-changing nature of their relationship. "An awe-inspiring, thought-provoking reminder that love reaches beyond physical appearances or gender" (KIRK). 

 

All Daniel wants to do is spend one last summer with his grandfather before he moves away for college and his grandfather's dementia pulls them apart. But when his dear old Da starts to let things slip about the job he used to hold--people he's killed, countries he's overthrown--old work "friends" show up to make sure he stays quiet. Was his grandfather really involved in a world of assassinations and coups, or are the stories just delusions of a crumbling mind? On the run from the police (and possibly something worse) before he has time to find out, Daniel may have to sacrifice everything to protect his grandfather from those who would do him harm.  

Carnival of Souls     Melissa Marr

 

In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father—and every other witch there—fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and Graveminder, comes a brand-new tale of lush secrets, dark love, and the struggle to forge one's own destiny.

 

A provocative new novel from the national ambassador for young people's literature and the New York Times bestselling author of Monster

 

Who's on top of the social food chain? How do you get ahead? Who makes the rules? Who needs to follow them?

Paul DuPree is working at a soup kitchen in Harlem the summer his father dies, just trying to get by. But Elijah, the soup man, won't stop talking about the social contract and asking Paul questions about heavy-duty things. Paul has never thought about this stuff. He'd rather hang out with Keisha, an unwed teen mom whose basketball skills rival his own.

Then Sly, a notorious Harlem big shot, shows up. Paul is both intrigued and intimidated by Sly and his conspiracy theories, and for once he starts contemplating how you really get ahead in life. As the talk of what-ifs turns into reality, Paul realizes his summer is about more than getting by—it's about taking charge of your life.

 

Author Oliver's riveting follow-up to “Delirium” (2011) finds 17-year-old Lena living a new life as a rebel Invalid in a repressive world that condemns love and punishes those who are affected by it. With Alex and her former life gone, Lena barely finds the will to live. Through gripping flashbacks, readers gain an understanding of Lena's longings. Teens will root for her as she wages an uphill battle in an attempt to honor the memory of Alex and to stand up for what she truly believes. Will Lena remain a love vigilante when she uncovers feelings for someone new? Kirkus Reviews says, "Lena's strength and the complexity of her internal struggles will keep readers up at night."  

 

 

 

 "Readers who have been waiting for a worthy successor to Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games will find it here. Dystopian sci-fi at its best, Starters is a terrific series kickoff with a didn't-see-that-coming conclusion that will leave readers on the edges of their seats . . ." raves the Los Angeles Times. In the future, teens rent their bodies to seniors who want to be young again. One girl discovers her renter plans to do more than party--her body will commit murder, if her mind can't stop it. Sixteen-year-old Callie lost her parents when the genocide spore wiped out everyone except those who were vaccinated first--the very young and very old. With no grandparents to claim Callie and her little brother, they go on the run, living as squatters, and fighting off unclaimed renegades who would kill for a cookie. Hope comes via Prime Destinations, run by a mysterious figure known only as The Old Man. He hires teens to rent their bodies to seniors, known as enders, who get to be young again. Callie's neurochip malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her rich renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, even dating Blake, the grandson of a senator. It's a fairy-tale new life . . . until she uncovers the Body Bank's horrible plan. . . .
 

 

 

 

Athena "Stormy" Sterling is coming to Dullsville, and Raven is both excited and panicked in anticipation of Alexander's little sister's visit. Alexander tells Raven that she and his sister have a lot in common, but can the mini-Raven be everything she hopes for? Alexander calls her Stormy for a reason.

Stormy's visit stirs up the perfect immortal whirlwind. Raven is forced to take a good look at what it would really mean to be a vampire in the Sterling family, aside from some of the things she already loves, like shunning the sun and sleeping in a coffin with Alexander. When Raven compares her life with Stormy's, she can see that it's not all starry skies and black roses. But Raven knows she's always wanted to be a vampire.

Alexander is as romantic and dreamy as ever, and though he keeps showing Raven how much he loves her, will she ultimately be able to convince him that it's the right thing to turn her?

This final chapter of Vampire Kisses' nocturnal romance will keep all mortal and immortal hearts racing.

 

Author Shoemaker's "deliberate, plausible, and gritty whodunit" (BL) stars a trio of 13-year-olds -- friends Cooper, Gordy and Hiro. The teens are hanging out at Frank 'n' Stein's when two men in disguise barge in, beat the owner and take off with a large sum of money. With the thugs' faces masked, Cooper notices that the men are wearing police pants. Cooper and his friends escape unharmed, but Cooper knows the criminals saw them. In fear of being found by the robbers, the teens vow to form code of silence. They weave a web of lies and soon find themselves pitted against each other as they try to conceal the truth -- knowing the truth could get them killed or threaten the life of an innocent man. Either way, there will be a price to pay for lying. 

 

 

 

 

It's finally here. The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling Unwind, which Publishers Weekly called a "gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller."

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa--and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp--people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simltaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.

Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam's fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he'll have to question humanity itself.

Rife with action and suspense, this riveting companion to the perennially popular Unwind challenges assumptions about where life begins and ends--and what it means to live.

 

He couldn’t listen to music or talk on the phone without her jumping all over him about what they listened to up in Maine, or how they talked up in Maine, or how he better not go up to Maine and start acting ghetto.

Maine.

Anthony’s mother didn’t even know where it was until he’d shown it to her on a map, but that still didn’t stop her from acting like she was born there.

Anthony “Ant” Jones has never been outside his rough East Cleveland neighborhood when he’s given a scholarship to Belton Academy, an elite prep school in Maine. But at Belton things are far from perfect. Everyone calls him “Tony,” assumes he’s from Brooklyn, expects him to play basketball, and yet acts shocked when he fights back.

As Anthony tries to adapt to a world that will never fully accept him, he’s in for a rude awakening: Home is becoming a place where he no longer belongs.

In debut author Brian F. Walker’s hard-hitting novel about staying true to yourself, Anthony might find a way to survive at Belton, but what will it cost him? 

 

Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she's still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel's new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T-Boom, co-captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past.

When T-Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again. With help from an artist named Moses and her friend Kaylee, she's able to begin to rewrite her story and start to move on from her addiction.

Incorporating Laurel's bittersweet memories of life before and during the hurricane, this is a stunning novel by one of our finest writers. Jacqueline Woodson's haunting - but ultimately hopeful - story is beautifully told and one readers will not want to miss.  

 

Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani's twin, Jena, isn't so lucky.  She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life. Dani's father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything's normal.  And Jena is wasting away.  To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives.  Maybe they'll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one.  Someone like Jena.  But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she's faced with a startling realization.  Maybe she doesn't have nine lives after all.  Maybe she really only ever had one.