New Book Alert!!
New Book Alert!!!
The Shadowmask: Stone of Tymora, Book II R. A. Salvatore
Cross swords with swashbuckling pirates and unravel the mystery of the masked spellcaster in this second book of the Stone of Tymora trilogy.
Though robbed by a masked spellcaster and left for dead by a demon, twelve-year-old Maimun refuses to give up the magic that rightfully belongs to him. After reuniting with dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden and Captain Deudermont's crew, Maimun sets off on a sea-faring chase that will test both the strength of his spirit and of his friendships. As perilous storms rock Sea Sprite and vicious pirates bombard its decks, a mysterious force gathers in the Moonshaes, determined to bring Deudermont's ship--and Maimun's quest--crashing to an end on its shores.
In this second book of the Stone of Tymora trilogy, R.A. Salvatore and his son Geno continue their gripping tale of coming-of-age in a world filled with magic, featuring another cameo of R.A. Salvatore's signature character Drizzt Do'Urden.
Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci
Bronx teen Rose, defined by friendlessness and ballet, is moping alone as usual one Friday night when the girl who lives in the Russian-inhabited apartment complex next door sneaks through her window. Yrena wants to experience normal American teen life, and Rose impulsively decides that she might be able to show her. They head to a party downtown and make friends with some unattainably cool kids from Rose's performing-arts school as they embark on that timeless teen rite of passage: the all-night caper, fueled by exhilaratingly ignoring the trouble they'll be in tomorrow (though, admittedly, it being the Cold War and having the KGB and CIA involved make their particular trouble a little hotter). Castellucci (Beige and The Plain Janes, both 2007) works with her familiar raw materials of artsy outsider kids and the group dynamics of teen friendship. She really doesn't have an un-hip strand in her writer DNA and proves that even a story set in 1982 with its legwarmers and Reagan-bashing can still feel fresh.
I, Q: The White House by Roland Smith
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue:
There was another knock on my door. I opened it.
Standing in the hallway was a very serious Secret Service agent.
“The President would like to see you both in the Oval Office,“ he said.
“Now?” I asked. It was 3 a.m.
He gave me a curt nod.
“Maybe we should change,“ I said.
“You’re fine,“ the agent said. “He’s waiting. Follow me.”
Angela and I were going to meet the president of the United States in our pj’s. I. Q. The White House takes us on another thrilling caper, this time to the White House where Q and Angela continue their quest to uncover the truth behind the supposed death of Angela’s real mother - a former Secret Service agent - while trying to differentiate the “good guys” from the “bad guys.”
The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block
Red-haired Olivia doesn’t look like her parents and is locked in typical teen struggles with their values. But things aren’t normal otherwise. Liv’s hair is embarrassingly rich on every part of her body—even her toes—and her police-chief dad hasn’t been able to solve the brutal murders of four hunters in the local woods. Readers will figure out that Liv is a werewolf several chapters before she does, and Block’s spin on modern werewolf lore includes a dose of small-minded, small-town meanness that Liv—with a black boyfriend, a gay best friend who commits suicide, and a mom who is fashion sensitive and emotionally shallow—must deal with. From another writer, this would be passing fare for the magical-creature hungry, but missing here are Block’s insouciant and pithy dialogue, her usual stellar balancing of scene and action, and other hallmarks that readers adore in—and expect from—her writing. Werewolf fans will accept this, as will those who consume anything by a favorite author, but this is a mere a gateway to Block’s more creative titles.
Girl, Stolen by April Henry
A trip to the pharmacy turns into a nightmare for Cheyenne Wilder, a blind teenager. Sick with pneumonia, she waits in the backseat of her stepmother's car when someone steals it, unintentionally kidnapping her. Things become even more complicated when the inadvertent kidnapper, Griffin, returns home to his hostile father and his criminal cronies, who have their own designs on Cheyenne upon learning that her father is the president of Nike. Still sick and held captive, Cheyenne must use her other senses and intellect to break free and find help before it's too late. The novel is a nail-biter with an unforgettable protagonist who smartly and bravely turns her weakness, and her captors' underestimation of her capabilities, into an advantage. Henry illuminates the teen's predicament using all of her intact senses, making every touch, sniff, and breath palpable. Cheyenne's growing sympathy for Griffin, who becomes her protector, adds layers of complexity to this thriller, especially when she faces leaving him injured in the woods or slowing her own escape by saving him. Readers will be hard-pressed to put this one down before its heart-pounding conclusion.
Payback Time by Carl Deuker
Senior Daniel True is short, pale, and round, hence his nickname the Michelin Man, or Mitch, for short. His former elementary school best friend, Horst Diamond, is the star quarterback and BMOC at their Seattle high school. Mitch's ambition is to be an ace investigative reporter, à la Woodward and Bernstein, but the new editor of the school newspaper assigns him to cover sports. Worse still, Coach McNulty makes it clear that Mitch's job is to be Horst's cheerleader. McNulty intends to ride his star player to a college coaching job, and he won't let Mitch do anything to jeopardize that opportunity. While covering a practice, Mitch notices Angel Marichal, a senior transfer student. Angel is clearly the best athlete in the school, but McNulty keeps him hidden, playing second string, changing his jersey number, and denying any interview requests. Mitch knows that McNulty and Angel are hiding something, and he is determined to get to the bottom of it. What he finds is far different from what he suspects, and along the way his personal and journalistic ethics are tested. Deuker has crafted another entertaining and readable football story. The game descriptions are well done and will appeal to players and fans. Many teens who dreamed of being a star as children but don't make the team in high school will identify with Mitch.
Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
While the ending may be anticlimactic, Grisham brings to his crossover bid the lapidary prose and frank insider's view of this country's legal system that makes his adult best sellers so absorbing. Only 13 but already so much a lawyer in his own mind that he keeps an "office" at home and dispenses legal advice to classmates and even adults, Theo finds himself in over his head when he's told in strict confidence that there's an eyewitness to a high-profile local murder whose perp is about to walk due to lack of evidence. That witness is an illegal immigrant, and so is understandably afraid of coming forward. What to do? Grisham injects occasional side remarks into the narrative (students in Theo's school are gender-separated "according to a new policy adopted by the smart people in charge of educating all the children in town,") and he embroiders Theo's dilemma with intriguing public and behind-the-scenes looks at courts, lawyers, and the realities of the judicial process. He also sets up the plot to move in ominous directions in future episodes—which partly, at least, compensates for leaving the murder trial unresolved at the end of this one. Expect heavy publicity-driven demand.
The Candidates by Inara Scott
Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that's not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe. In fact, Dancia's mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just...happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt. So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, belieiving this way she can supress her powers and keep them hidden.
But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia's days of living under the radar may be over. Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats' kids and child geniuses--not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies. So why are they treating Dancia like she's special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome.
And then there's her mysterious new friend Jack, who can't stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what. But Dancia isn't convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her "gift" than they're letting on. Maybe they can help her understand how to use it...But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy.
Check out the new reads at St. Andrews Regional Library.
Surreptitiously living in Hello Yellow, the school bus her mother drives as a part-time job, Amber Appleton is an upbeat Catholic who spreads joy and happiness while keeping her own difficulties at home very quiet. Her dog, Billy Big Boy, is her companion whenever possible. Routinely, Amber teaches ESL to the KDFC, dubbed the Korean Divas for Christ, with Father Chee on the piano; visits Private Jackson, a Vietnam veteran and haiku specialist; and regularly stops at a nursing home where Old Man Linder backs her corner in her ongoing war of insults with Joan of Old, a Nietzschean cantankerous grump who inevitably smiles in the face of Amber's upbeat humor. The teen and her friends comprise the Franks Freaks Force Federation, ostensibly a school marketing club, but really a place for them to gather. AA's unending optimism in the face of difficult circumstances is well depicted with snappy dialogue and inner musings. When real tragedy hits and Amber is unable to cope, the stark difference between the Amber of the past and the present is delivered in extensive white space and short paragraphs. Amber feels blank. Her reemergence is abrupt, but like a musical, it provides the feel-good ending that rolls on until every bow is tied, every bad guy is given a dose of the Amber spirit, and all of the people in her life are brought together. 
This is the final adventure of the young witch, Tiffany Aching, and her obnoxious, fawning, and yet lovable small blue companions, the Nac Mac Feegles. In many ways it's a coming-of-age novel, as Tiffany is now on her own. Known as “The Hag O'the Hills,” she spends her time tending to the messy, menial, everyday things that no one else will take care of, such as fixing bones or easing the pain of a dying man. But as she tries to serve the people of the Chalk hills, she senses a growing distrust of her, and a loss of respect for witches in general. Along with the Nac Mac Feegles, she has to seek out the source of this growing fear. Tiffany discovers she may have been responsible for waking an evil force when she kissed the winter in Wintersmith . The Cunning Man is in need of a host body and is searching for Tiffany. Pratchett combines gut-busting humor and amusing footnotes with a genuine poignancy as Tiffany tries to decide what her future should be. 
