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“Powerful.” “Explosive.” “Snappy.” “Breathtaking.” These are just a few of the words that have been used to describe some of the fantastic titles hitting the shelves this week. These books may span all kinds of subject matters and genres --- from sports and family dramas like THE BATBOY and SHAKESPEARE MAKES THE PLAYOFFS, and romances like FLIRTING WITH DISASTER and THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, to fantasies like THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES and THE SINGING --- but what they all have in common is the sheer excellence to be found between their pages.


New Releases for March 9th

Hardcover
THE BATBOY by Mike Lupica (Philomel Books)
It is every baseball kid’s dream summer job: batboy for your hometown Major League team. Yet for fourteen year-old Brian, the job means more than just the chance to hang around his idols. Baseball was the job his father loved so much, in the end he couldn’t leave it. Yet he could leave his family. Now Brian sees the job as the way to win back his father.

There is no winning back some people, though. Just ask Hank Bishop --- once the most popular player in baseball before he was banned for using steroids. Now he is making his comeback. And an unlikely friendship slowly develops between this man in need of a family and this boy in need of a father.

Mike Lupica, king of the sports novel, delivers his most powerful and kid-friendly to date.

BORDERLINE by Allan Stratton (HarperTeen)
The truth is closing in.

Life’s not easy for Sami Sabiri since his dad stuck him at a private school where he’s the only Muslim kid. But it’s about to get a lot worse.

When Sami catches his father in a lie, he gets suspicious…He’s not the only one. In a whirlwind, the FBI descends on his home, and Sami’s family becomes the center of an international terrorist investigation. Now Sami must fight to keep his world from unraveling.

An explosive thriller ripped from today’s headlines, borderline is the story of a funny, gutsy Muslim-American teen determined to save his father, his family, and his life.

THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Carrie Ryan (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

HOURGLASS by Claudia Gray (HarperTeen)
Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas.

After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas take refuge with Black Cross, a fanatical group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at their hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend --- the vampire Balthazar --- hiding is no longer an option.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run again, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they travel, Bianca can’t escape her destiny.
Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything…but can it survive what’s to come?

KEEP SWEET by Michele Dominguez Greene (Simon Pulse)
Alva Jane has never questioned her parents, never questioned her faith, never questioned her future. She is content with the strict rules that define her life in Pineridge, the walled community where she lives with her father, his seven wives, and her twenty-eight siblings. This is the only world Alva has ever known, and she has never thought to challenge it.
But everything changes when Alva is caught giving her long-time crush an innocent first kiss. Beaten, scorned, and now facing a forced marriage to a violent, fifty-year old man, Alva suddenly realizes how much she has to lose--and how impossible it will be to escape.

POISONED HONEY: A Story of Mary Magdalene by Beatrice Gormley (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
This story begins with Mariamne, a vulnerable girl who knows little of the ways of the world. Much as she wants to be in control of her own destiny, she soon learns she has no such power. She must do as her father and brother see fit, and when tragedy strikes, Mari must marry a man she does not love and enter a household where she is not welcome, for the good of her family.

But she finds a small way to comfort herself when she meets an Egyptian wisewoman who instructs her in the ways of the occult arts. In the spirit world, Mari finds she has power. Here, she really is in control of her fate. But is she? Or is the magic controlling her?

This gripping portrait of one of the most misunderstood and controversial Biblical figures is the story of a young girl’s path through manipulation and possession, madness and healing, to a man who will change the world forever.

SAVING MADDIE by Varian Johnson (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
Joshua Wynn is a preacher’s son and a “good boy” who always does the right thing. Until Maddie comes back to town. Maddie is the daughter of the former associate pastor of Joshua’s church, and his childhood crush. Now Maddie is all grown up, gorgeous—and troubled. She wears provocative clothes to church, cusses, drinks, and fools around with older men. Joshua’s ears burn just listening to the things she did to get kicked out of boarding school, and her own home.

As time goes on, Josh goes against his parents and his own better instincts to keep Maddie from completely capsizing. Along the way, he begins to question his own rigid understanding of God and whether, as his mother says, a girl like Maddie is beyond redemption. Maddie leads Josh further astray than any girl ever has…but is there a way to reconcile his love for her and his love for his life in the church?

SHAKESPEARE MAKES THE PLAYOFFS by Ron Koertge (Candlewick Press)
Fielding his social life is a bigger challenge for Kevin than hitting a fastball in Ron Koertge’s funny, insightful sequel to SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP.

Fourteen-year-old Kevin Boland has a passion for playing baseball, a knack for writing poetry --- and a cute girlfriend named Mira who’s not much interested in either. But then, Kevin doesn’t exactly share Mira’s new-found fervor for all things green. So when Kevin signs up for open mike night at Bungalow Books and meets Amy, a girl who knows a sonnet from a sestina and can match his emails verse for verse, things start to get sticky. Should he stay with Mira? Or risk spoiling his friendship with Amy by asking her out? Ron Koertge, master of snappy dialogue and a deft poet, offers a fast-paced, sympathetic story that interweaves two narrative voices with humor and warmth.

THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson (Dial Books for Young Readers)
Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life --- and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

This remarkable debut is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Francesca Lia Block. Just as much a celebration of love as it is a portrait of loss, Lennie’s struggle to sort her own melody out of the noise around her is always honest, often hilarious, and ultimately unforgettable.

SOFTWIRE: The Awakening on Orbis 4 by PJ Haarsma (Candlewick)
The sci-fi series careens to a conclusion as JT comes to terms with the startling truth about his destiny on the Rings of Orbis.

Johnny Turnbull now knows that his sister, Ketheria, is the Scion --- a long-awaited being who will bring understanding and healing to the universe. But what about him? As the Scion’s protector and guardian, JT is expected to start training to become a Space Jumper, a mercenary soldier who can jump through time and space. And he’s not happy about it, especially as he promised his girlfriend, Max, he would never take on that dangerous role, which could take him who-knows-how-far away. Can anything --- or any one --- guide Johnny to his true calling? And as new trouble brews on Orbis, will even Space Jumper skills be enough to help JT protect his sister and his friends?

SPLIT by Swati Avasthi (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Sixteen-Year-Old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist), $3.84, and a secret.

He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind—his mother, who is still trapped with his dad, and his ex-girlfriend, who is keeping his secret.

At least so far.

Worst of all, Jace realizes that if he really wants to move forward, he may first have to do what scares him most: He may have to go back. First-time novelist Swati Avasthi has created a riveting and remarkably nuanced portrait of what happens after. After you’ve said enough, after you’ve run, after you’ve made the split --- how do you begin to live again? Readers won’t be able to put this intense page-turner down.

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR STALKING: The Clique #12, by Lisi Harrison (Poppy/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
The twelfth novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series about Westchester County’s most exclusive private middle school girls.

VINTAGE VERONICA by Erica S. Perl (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Veronica Walsh is 15, fashion-minded, fat, and friendless. Her summer job in the Consignment Corner section (Employees Only!) of a vintage clothing store is a dream come true. There Veronica can spend her days separating the one-of-a-kind gem garments from the “Dollar-a-Pound” duds, without having to deal with people. But when two outrageous yet charismatic salesgirls befriend her and urge her to spy on and follow the mysterious and awkward stock boy Veronica has nicknamed the Nail, Veronica’s summer takes a turn for the weird. Suddenly, what began as a prank turns into something else entirely. Which means Veronica may have to come out of hiding and follow something even riskier for the first time: her heart.


Paperback

ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL by Nora Raleigh Baskin (Simon & Schuster)
Jason Blake is an autistic 12-year-old living in a neuro-typical world. Most days it’s just a matter of time before something goes wrong. But Jason finds a glimmer of understanding when he comes across PhoenixBird, who posts stories to the same online site as he does.
Jason can be himself when he writes and he thinks that PhoneixBird-her name is Rebecca-could be his first real friend. But as desperate as Jason is to met her, he’s terrified that if they do meet, Rebecca wil only see his autism and not who Jason really is. By acclaimed writer Nora Raleigh Baskin, this is the breathtaking depiction of an autistic boy’s struggles-and a story for anyone who has ever worried about fitting in.

FLIRTING WITH DISASTER by Rhonda Stapleton (Simon Pulse)
Felicity is a total romantic. That’s why she follows her heart --- not the rules --- in her job as a cupid. But when Felicity turns her matchmaking magic on her best friend, Andy, it’s Andy who breaks their golden rule: friends always come first. Andy is so wrapped up in her new guy that she’s ditching everyone else. How can Felicity stop her BFF from letting a BF come between them?

Meanwhile, Felicity decides to get over her crush on Derek by setting him up with someone else --- but in her impulsive haste, she accidentally matches him with the whole school, and now everyone is in love with him. The entire student body is headed toward heartbreak, just weeks before prom. Does Felicity have what it takes to make everyone’s heart happy --- including her own?

HE FORGOT TO SAY GOODBYE by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing)
“I mean, it’s not as if I want a father. I have a father. It’s just that I don’t know who he is or where he is. But I have one.”

Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove don’t appear to have much in common. Ram lives in the Mexican-American working-class barrio of El Paso called “Dizzy Land.” His brother is sinking into a world of drugs, wreaking havoc in their household. Jake is a rich West Side white boy who has developed a problem managing his anger. An only child, he is a misfit in his mother’s shallow and materialistic world. But Ram and Jake do have one thing in common: they are lost boys who have never met their fathers. This sad fact has left both of them undeniably scarred and obsessed with the men who abandoned them. As Jake and Ram overcome their suspicions of each other, they begin to move away from their loner existences and realize that they are capable of reaching out beyond their wounds and the neighborhoods that they grew up in. Their friendship becomes a healing in a world of hurt.

San Antonio Express-News wrote, “Benjamin Alire Sáenz exquisitely captures the mood and voice of a community, a culture, and a generation”; that is proven again in this beautifully crafted novel.

JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta (HarperTeen)
In this lyrical, absorbing, award-winning novel, nothing is as it seems, and every clue leads to more questions.

At age 11, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At 14, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now 17, Taylor’s the reluctant leader of her school’s underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can’t avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future.

SCANDAL by Kate Brian (Simon & Schuster)
Kate Brian’s Private series gets even better when Reed returns from her horrific vacation.

THE SINGING: The Fourth Book of Pellinor by Alison Croggon (Candlewick)
In a battle-ravaged land, Maerad, Cadvan, and Hem desperately search for one another as they make their separate journeys. The Black Army is advancing, and all of the Seven Kingdoms are threatened with devastating defeat. Yet in Maerad and Hem lives the secret to the mysterious Singing, and legend holds that if they release the music of Elidhu together, they have the power to defeat the Nameless One. Can brother and sister find each other in time --- and are they strong enough, even reunited --- to defeat the supreme enemy before all is lost?