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"It's the night we're going to get murdered so we're sleeping on the living room floor." ~ from Kathleen Lane's The Best Worst Thing
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| A Clatter of Jars by Lisa GraffFantasy. Things are getting weird at Camp Atropos, and it's not just because each of the campers has an unique Talent. True, everyone is showing off, but with Talents ranging from frog identification to telekinesis, that's pretty typical at camp. It's NOT typical, however, for someone to steal and swap other people's Talents. Yet finding the thief won't be easy, since everyone at camp has secrets or regrets to hide. Various characters take turns in the spotlight of this bittersweet sequel to A Tangle of Knots. Though you don't need to have read the 1st book to understand the 2nd, fans will relish a chance to revisit this inventive magical world. |
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| The Best Worst Thing by Kathleen LaneFiction. Are all the doors in the house locked? Is anyone hiding under the beds? Did she recite the right words to protect herself and her family? These questions plague 11-year-old Maggie after a shooting at the local convenience store. With the murderer still at large, Maggie is worried that he'll come to her house. She's also worried about mean classmate Gordy getting a gun for his 12th birthday, and about the baby bunnies next door being sold (and eaten!). Even as Maggie's anxious thoughts become harder for her to control, readers will relate to her concerns about staying safe in a scary and unpredictable world. |
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| The Seventh Wish by Kate MessnerFiction. It's not every ice-fishing expedition that yields a wish-granting fish, and 12-year-old Charlie isn't going pass up the chance to make some changes in her life. She could use a new Irish dancing dress, for instance, and she'd like Roberto Sullivan to notice her. Yet while Charlie's fish-wishes do come true, the results are often complicated. And when her sister Abby returns from college with a painful problem, Charlie is afraid that wishing won't be enough. Honest and just a little bit magical, The Seventh Wish is destined to "zing straight to the hearts of readers" (Kirkus Reviews), especially those who enjoyed Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm's Sunny Side Up. |
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| Cody Harmon, King of Pets by Claudia Mills; illustrated by Rob SheppersonFiction. Third-grader Cody isn't usually interested in school, but the Franklin School's upcoming pet show fundraiser is clearly his moment to prove himself. No one in his class knows more about animals than he does! Cody would love to enter all of his nine pets (even his homework-eating and homework-barfing dog, Angus), but with a $10 entry fee, he'll be lucky if he can raise enough money to enter just his beloved pig, Mr. Piggins. If you love Sara Pennypacker's Clementine and you're looking for further upbeat, realistic chapter books, this 5th in the Franklin School Friends series is the perfect pick. |
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| The Lost Compass by Joel RossScience Fiction. Legend has it that the Compass is the only thing that can stop the Fog, the deadly substance that covers the Earth and forces humans to live on mountaintops and airships. Chess, a 13-year-old airship tetherboy, might be the only fog diver talented enough to retrieve the Compass, making him a target for the power-hungry Lord Kodoc. With Kodoc in pursuit and the Fog closing in on their home port, Chess and his diverse crew of scavengers are in a race to find the Compass before time runs out. Bursting with futuristic action and hilarious misunderstandings about "the ancients" (modern humans), this sequel to The Fog Diver will be irresistible to science fiction fans. |
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| Storybound by Marissa BurtFantasy. In the basement of her school library, Una Fairchild finds a strange book with her name on the cover. Curious, she begins reading and finds herself in the land of Story, where she's been "Written In" to a world of characters-in-training. Here, kids takes classes to become Heroes, Villains, and other typical fairy tale characters. Not everyone is content to play their part, however, and soon Una and her new friend Peter are caught up in a revolution against the controlling Talekeepers. Similar to Angelica Banks' Finding Serendipity, this whimsical fantasy is sure to please book-lovers, who'll want to jump right into the sequel, Story's End. |
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| House of Secrets by Chris ColumbusFantasy. The Walker family's new house might be in a fancy San Francisco neighborhood, but siblings Cordelia, Brendan, and Eleanor can sense that there's something off about the place. The house's former owner was a famous fantasy writer, and after the family is attacked by a sinister neighbor, the Walker kids are hurtled (house and all) inside the worlds of the writer's books. If they want to get home, they'll have to survive skirmishes with pirates, skeletons, sharks, and the scheming Wind Witch. The 1st in a trilogy packed with high-stakes action and outlandish settings, House of Secrets is followed by Battle of the Beasts and Clash of the Worlds. |
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| Saving Thanehaven by Catherine JinksScience Fiction. Noble's life feels like one endless quest -- rescue a princess here, battle a monster there -- but as a Knight, he's got no choice. Or so he thinks until he meets Rufus. A self-declared freedom fighter, Rufus claims that Noble is actually a character in the computer game Thanehaven Slayer, but that if he starts making his own decisions, he can escape his digital destiny. This fast-paced, off-the-wall adventure tells the story of Noble's new quest: to jump from game to game (collecting other game characters from dress-up dolls to zombies along the way) in search of freedom. If you want more smart action and gamer in-jokes, try Terry Pratchett's Only You Can Save Mankind. |
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| Story Thieves by James RileyFantasy. Being literally lost in a good book sounds like a dream come true for Owen, who's obsessed with the Kiel Gnomenfoot fantasy series (think Harry Potter). So when Owen learns that his classmate Bethany has the power to jump into any book, he convinces her to take them both inside the Gnomenfoot series, where Owen is determined to save a beloved character and Bethany hopes to find her long-missing fictional father. Their actions in fiction, however, have far-reaching consequences in reality. Blurring the lines between real life and stories, this inventive series opener will leave fantasy fans "breathless both with laughter and anticipation" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| The Forbidden Library by Django WexlerFantasy. Twelve-year-old Alice Creighton tries to be proper and polite, but she can't help her curiosity about her uncle Geryon's huge, off-limits library. Ever since her father's suspicious death in a shipwreck, Alice has a lot of questions, yet when she ventures into the library and cracks a book, she discovers something more surprising than answers: she's a Reader, a person who can travel inside books. It's an amazing skill, but it's also a dangerous one, and it might destroy her if she's not careful. If you adore Cornelia Funke's Inkheart series, you don't want to miss this imaginative and exciting 1st book in an ongoing series. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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