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 If you are a fan of the vampire genre, take a bite out of NIGHT STAR, book five in The Immortals series. While there is a plethora of vampire books on the YA shelves, this week’s release of Salman Rashdie’s LUKA AND THE FIRE OF LIFE caught my eye. It’s beautiful cover and Indian-inspired storytelling makes it a refreshing read.

November 15th

Hardcover

THE LAST FULL MEASURE by Ann Rinaldi (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

As Confederate and Union soldiers take over their town, the local residents can do little more than hunker down in their homes while cannon and gunfire explode around them. But the battles are not only fought between soldiers. At home, fourteen-year-old Tacy and her disabled brother lock horns as David struggles with his desire to go to war. He has strong principles, and it tortures him to allow others to fight while he does nothing.

In the aftermath of this great and terrible battle, in which so many soldiers sacrifice their lives for their beliefs, David gives his last full measure…and leaves Tacy struggling to make sense out of it all.

A LONG WALK TO WATER by Linda Sue Park (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

A Long Walk to Water is based on the true story of Salva, one of some 3,800 Sudanese "Lost Boys" airlifted to the United States beginning in the mid 1990s.

Before leaving Africa, Salva's life is one of harrowing tragedy. Separated from his family by war and forced to travel on foot through hundreds of miles of hostile territory, he survives starvation, animal attacks, and disease, and ultimately leads a group of about 150 boys to safety in Kenya. Relocated to upstate New York, Salva resourcefully learns English and continues on to college. Eventually he returns to his home region in southern Sudan to establish a foundation that installs deep-water wells in remote villages in dire need of clean water. This poignant story of Salva's life is told side-by-side with the story of Nya, a young girl who lives today in one of those villages.

November 16th

Hardcover

BLANK CONFESSION by Pete Hautman (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Shayne Blank is the new kid in town--but that doesn't stop him from getting into a lot of trouble very quickly. The other kids don't understand him. He's not afraid of anything. He seems too smart. And his background doesn't add up. But when he walks into the police department to confess to a murder, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems. There's more to Shayne--and his story--than meets the eye. As the details begin to fill in, the only thing that becomes clear is that nothing about Shayne's story is clear at all.

The Immortals, NIGHT STAR: The Immortals, Book 5 by Alyson Noël (St. Martin's Griffin)

With 2 million copies of her "Immortals series" in print, Alyson Noel is one of the hottest paranormal teen authors writing today. "Night Star" continues the epic love story that has enchanted readers across the world. Ever and Damen must face bitter rivals, jealous friends and their own worst fears - all in the hope of being together forever. "Night Star" is guaranteed to mesmerize fans and leave them breathlessly awaiting the sixth and final book!

Sequel to HAROUN AND THE SEA OF STORIES
LUKA AND THE FIRE OF LIFE by Salman Rushdie (Random House)

With the same dazzling imagination and love of language that have made Salman Rushdie one of the great storytellers of our time, Luka and the Fire of Life revisits the magic-infused, intricate world he first brought to life in the modern classic Haroun and the Sea of Stories. This breathtaking new novel centers on Luka, Haroun’s younger brother, who must save his father from certain doom.

For Rashid Khalifa, the legendary storyteller of Kahani, has fallen into deep sleep from which no one can wake him. To keep his father from slipping away entirely, Luka must travel to the Magic World and steal the ever-burning Fire of Life. Thus begins a quest replete with unlikely creatures, strange alliances, and seemingly insurmountable challenges as Luka and an assortment of enchanted companions race through peril after peril, pass through the land of the Badly Behaved Gods, and reach the Fire itself, where Luka’s fate, and that of his father, will be decided.

Filled with mischievous wordplay and delving into themes as universal as the power of filial love and the meaning of mortality, Luka and the Fire of Life is a book of wonders for all ages.