Feeling a little bored? Well, the fastest and easiest way to bring a little excitement to your life is to pick up a really great book. This week we have ten buzzworthy releases to share with you, including thrilling new installments of the hit Vampire Diaries, Maximum Ride, and Keys to the Kingdom series; as well as the reality-bending SPLIT, by science fiction author Stefan Petrucha. The love triangle in Elizabeth's Scott's THE UNWRITTEN RULE will certainly spice things up, while the nail-biting historical drama of Moying Li's coming-of-age tale SNOW FALLING IN SPRING promises to inspire and illuminate. New Releases for March 15th
Hardcover
FANG: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Being a kid with wings --- constantly on the run --- has never been easy, and Max and her flock are getting tenser than ever. First, on a trip to Africa, they meet a mysterious billionaire whose intense scrutiny of the flock makes her fear the worst. Then, a cryptic message from a young girl arrives, warning them “The sky will fall.” And as if an impending apocalypse weren’t bad enough, canny birdkid Angel makes a dire prophecy about Max’s soul mate: Fang will be the first to die.
Max’s desperate desire to protect Fang brings the two closer than ever. But can the team weather the storm, or will the turmoil rip them apart for the last time?
New Releases for March 16th
Hardcover
THE BODY FINDER by Kimberly Derting (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the 16-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies --- or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world ... and the imprints that attach to their killers.
Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.
Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer --- and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer…and becoming his prey herself.
LORD SUNDAY by Garth Nix (Scholastic Press)
Seven days. Seven keys. Seven virtues. Seven sins.
In this thrilling conclusion to Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom series, Arthur Penhaligon must complete his quest to save the Kingdom he is heir to...and Arthur’s world.
THE RETURN: Shadow Souls by L. J. Smith (HarperTeen)
On the run…
Elena Gilbert’s love, the vampire Stefan Salvatore, has been captured and imprisoned by demonic spirits who are wreaking havoc in Fell’s Church. While her friends Bonnie and Meredith explore the evil that has taken over their town, Elena goes in search of Stefan.
In order to find him, she entrusts her life to Stefan’s brother, Damon Salvatore, the handsome but deadly vampire who wants Elena, body and soul. Along with her childhood friend Matt, they set out for the slums of the Dark Dimension, where Stefan is being held captive. It is rumored to be a world where vampires and demons roam free, but humans must live enslaved to their supernatural masters…
Elena will stop at nothing to free Stefan. Yet with each passing day the tension between Elena and Damon grows, and she is faced with a terrible decision: Which brother does she really want?
Back in Fell’s Church, Bonnie and Meredith have made some dire discoveries. They hastily try to follow Elena and warn her --- only to be caught up in Elena’s most dangerous adventure yet.
SPLIT by Stefan Petrucha (Walker Books for Young Readers)
Wade Jackson has always felt split, his love for playing and writing music competing with his ambition to do well in school. But when his mother dies, this need for order competes with his desire to leave it all behind. What follows is a split in his consciousness that takes him to two very different worlds.
Told in alternating chapters that together form one cohesive story, SPLIT follows both Wades as they pursue what they think is the correct path. One Wade continues working hard in school, pulling all-nighters to write a computer code he believes will save the world. The other Wade pursues the dream of being a dive-bar singer, pulling all-nighters to party, gamble, and live on the edge. But when these two worlds begin to collide, each Wade will need to find a balance between control and abandon, order and chaos, life missed and life lost, in order to save himself.
THE UNWRITTEN RULE by Elizabeth Scott (Simon Pulse)
Another sweet and funny coming-of-age novel by the author of BLOOM; PERFECT YOU; SOMETHING, MAYBE; and LIVING DEAD GIRL.
VOICES OF DRAGONS by Carrie Vaughn (HarperTeen)
On one side of the border lies the modern world: the internet, homecoming dances, cell phones. On the other side dwell the ancient monsters who spark humanity’s deepest fears: dragons.
Seventeen-year-old Kay Wyatt knows she’s breaking the law by rock climbing near the border, but she’d rather have an adventure than follow the rules. When the dragon Artegal unexpectedly saves her life, the rules are abruptly shattered, and a secret friendship grows between them.
But suspicion and terror are the legacy of human and dragon inter¬actions, and the fragile truce that has maintained peace between the species is unraveling. As tensions mount and battles begin, Kay and Artegal are caught in the middle. Can their friendship change the course of a war?
In her young-adult debut, New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn presents a distinctly twenty-first-century tale of myths and machines, and an alliance that crosses a seemingly unbridgeable divide.
Paperback
THE SECRET LIFE OF PRINCE CHARMING by Deb Caletti (Simon Pulse)
A thoughtful, funny, and layered teen novel by National Book Award Finalist Deb Caletti.
SNOW FALLING IN SPRING: Coming of Age in China During the Cultural Revolution by Moying Li (Square Fish)
Most people cannot remember when their childhood ended. I, on the other hand, have a crystal-clear memory of that moment. It happened at night in the summer of 1966, when my elementary school headmaster hanged himself.
Moying Li is 12 years old when the Cultural Revolution sweeps across China. Studying at a prestigious language school in Beijing, she seems destined for a promising future. But everything changes when student Red Guards orchestrate brutal assaults, violent public humiliations, and forced confessions throughout the country. After watching her headmasters beaten in public, Moying flees school for the safety of home, only to witness her beloved grandmother denounced, her home ransacked, and her father taken away --- along with this precious books. Struggling to make sense of her crumbling world, she finds sanctuary in literature. But with many schools shut down and most books forbidden, how can she keep her passion for learning alive?
TEEN, INC. by Stefan Petrucha (Walker & Co.)
Ever since his parents were killed by a faulty piece of equipment manufactured by NECorp, 14-year old Jaiden Beale’s family has been the corporation. But after meeting some new friends, he’s confronted with the truth about NECorp and must make the tough decision whether to stay loyal to his “family” or to side with his new friends and the rest of the community.
New Releases for March 18th Hardcover
Hardcover
SHADOW MIRROR by Richie Tankersley Cusick (Speak)
Unsettling. There’s no better word to describe Miranda Barnes’s ability to hear the cries of the dead, feel the wind move her hair when they run by, and --- dare she look into a mirror --- see the reflection of a ghostly woman behind her. There’s only one person to turn to for support: Etienne. As sexy as he is mysterious, Miranda can’t help but be drawn to him. He believes her; he wants to help her. But there’s a secret in Etienne’s past, something Miranda’s on the verge of discovering. As paranormal activity escalates, passion grows, and soon Miranda is caught up in both love…and tragedy.
