After the Moment
by Garret Freymann-Weyr
Published 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH)

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780618605729

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Jacket Notes:

Leigh Hunter is completely and forever in love with Maia Morland. But life is not a romance novel and theirs will never become a true romance. For when Maia needs him the most, Leigh betrays both her trust and her love, in this new novel by the Printz Honor-winning author Freymann-Weyr. A new novel by the Printz Honor author Garret Freymann-Weyr, about a boy who discovers what happens when love fails us--or we fail love.

Maia Morland is pretty, only not pretty-pretty. She's smart. She's brave. She's also a self-proclaimed train wreck.

Leigh Hunter is smart, popular, and extremely polite. He's also completely and forever in love with Maia Morland.

Their young love starts off like a romance novel--full of hope, strength, and passion. But life is not a romance novel and theirs will never become a true romance. For when Maia needs him the most, Leigh betrays both her trust and her love.

Told with compassion and true understanding, After the Moment is about what happens when a young man discovers that sometimes love fails us, and that, quite often, we fail love.

Publishers Weekly 05/04/2009

After his stepsister's father dies, good guy Leigh moves from New York to Washington, D.C., to support her and finish his senior year. There, he falls in love with train wreck Maia, a recovering anorexic, self-injurer and germaphobe, whom he tries desperately to protect. When a group of boys do something unspeakable to Maia, Leigh commits an act of violence that threatens his future and their relationship. Readers will appreciate how real this story feels, in its telling details and careful conversations, as well as in the murky motivations behind Leigh's actions and his whole relationship with Maia, which haunts him years later. As she did in "My Heartbeat" and "Stay with Me", the author creates a wonderful, complicated but loving family for her protagonist. Readers may have difficulty tracking all the characters, but they will understand that each family member is there to support Leigh, from his emotionally challenged father to his romance novelist mother who constantly warns Leigh that he didn't take enough time for what might please himfor what he wanted. This is an expertly crafted story about a complicated first love. Ages 14up. "(May)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

05/01/2009 School Library Journal

Gr 9 UpLeigh Hunter, 17, moves from New York to Washington, DC, to help his stepsister Millie cope with the death of her father. Maia Morland, a recovering anorexic and self-mutilator, eats her meals with the Hunters as part of her recovery. At first Leigh wants only to keep her safe but finds himself falling in love. He eats so that she will eat. She's raped (and filmed) by three prep-school classmates on his one night away from DC. In the background, bombs drop on Baghdad, and Leigh discovers that nations, like preppies, can justify anything. The author's feel for character and voice has never been better, and Leigh narrates with deep intelligence and heightened feeling. He's a complex and fully fleshed out protagonist. Millie is an especially vivid supporting characterprecocious and hyper-verbal, wide-eyed yet cosmopolitan. Maia, however, around whom so much of the narrative revolves, sometimes seems too lightly drawn. She's clearly tortured and is ultimately unreachable. The author's prose is at once spare and sophisticated, and the resulting mood gentle and furious by turns. Simple detailsLeigh synchronizing bites of cake with Maiaevoke astonishing emotion. The DC suburbs are appropriately generic, and the guilty comforts of the prep-school world are thoughtfully presented. The story begins and ends four years after Leigh and Maia part, and a sense of tense foreboding moves the plot."Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Breathless
by Lurlene McDaniel
Published 2009 by Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780385734592

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Jacket Notes:

"What is the toughest request anyone can be asked to fulfill?

"

Travis Morrison is a champion diver and one of the most popular kids at school. On the first day of summer vacation, while boating on the lake with his friends, Travis attempts a silly stunt dive that goes wrong. He fears he has broken his leg. Instead, his trip to the hospital reveals he has a rare form of cancer, and to save him, the doctors tell his parents they must amputate. In an instant, Travis's life and the lives of everyone around him are forever changed.

Travis is determined that he and only he should decide the course of his life. He has a plan, but he can't carry it out alone. Will he convince one of his friends to fulfill his most important request?

Lurlene McDaniel tackles a controversial subject, probing the issues of personal choice and quality of life.

04/01/2009 School Library Journal

Gr 8 UpTravis, a champion diver about to start his junior year of high school, is hanging out with his friends and sister on the first day of summer vacation. The cliffs over the lake call to him, and he climbs up to dive from them, only to hear his leg snap when he jumps. Still in the hospital days later, Travis finally hears the diagnosis: bone cancer. Facing amputation and chemotherapy, he knows he'll never get back to the life he had. As Travis gets sicker, his only comfort is his research into death-with-dignity and right-to-die groups, and his only hope is that his friends will help him once he can no longer help himself. The narrative rotates among four teens: Travis, his sister, his girlfriend, and his best friend. Each voice is distinct and shows a different perspective on Travis's life since his diagnosis. The ending is heavily telegraphed from the beginning (the book opens on an unnamed character who admits that "right and wrong dissolved into what I knew I had to do"), but this does not diminish the impact of the final chapters. This is a heartstrings-tugging read that retains the central character's dignity and peace in the face of insurmountable odds. A sensitive book on a delicate topic."Brandy Danner, Wilmington Memorial Library, MA" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.Gr 8 UpTravis, a champion diver about to start his junior year of high school, is hanging out with his friends and sister on the first day of summer vacation. The cliffs over the lake call to him, and he climbs up to dive from them, only to hear his leg snap when he jumps. Still in the hospital days later, Travis finally hears the diagnosis: bone cancer. Facing amputation and chemotherapy, he knows he'll never get back to the life he had. As Travis gets sicker, his only comfort is his research into death-with-dignity and right-to-die groups, and his only hope is that his friends will help him once he can no longer help himself. The narrative rotates among four teens: Travis, his sister, his girlfriend, and his best friend. Each voice is distinct and shows a different perspective on Travis's life since his diagnosis. The ending is heavily telegraphed from the beginning (the book opens on an unnamed character who admits that "right and wrong dissolved into what I knew I had to do"), but this does not diminish the impact of the final chapters. This is a heartstrings-tugging read that retains the central character's dignity and peace in the face of insurmountable odds. A sensitive book on a delicate topic."Brandy Danner, Wilmington Memorial Library, MA" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Publisher's Marketing Text:

"What is the toughest request anyone can be asked to fulfill?
"
Travis Morrison is a champion diver and one of the most popular kids at school. On the first day of summer vacation, while boating on the lake with his friends, Travis attempts a silly stunt dive that goes wrong. He fears he has broken his leg. Instead, his trip to the hospital reveals he has a rare form of cancer, and to save him, the doctors tell his parents they must amputate. In an instant, Travis's life and the lives of everyone around him are forever changed.
Travis is determined that he and only he should decide the course of his life. He has a plan, but he can't carry it out alone. Will he convince one of his friends to fulfill his most important request?
Lurlene McDaniel tackles a controversial subject, probing the issues of personal choice and quality of life.

The Chosen One
by Carol Lynch Williams
Published 2009 by St. Martin's Griffin

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780312555115

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Jacket Notes:

Williams' chilling novel of life in a polygamous sect is both harrowing in its unsparing realism and hopeful in its reaffirmation of the power that books and reading have to change and redeem lives at risk.--"Booklist." Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters, with two more on the way. That is, without questioning them much---if you don't count her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with Joshua, the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her. But when the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle---who already has six wives---Kyra must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family forever.

Publishers Weekly 05/25/2009

Williams strikes just the right balance between informative and cautionary in this gripping tale about a 13-year-old girl trapped in a polygamist cult. At first, Kyra's struggles center around her situationa lack of privacy, too many mothers and the urge to experiment with various sins (reading books besides scripture, exploring outside the compound, kissing a boy). But when she's chosen to be the seventh wife of her brutish, 60-something uncle, Kyra's desperation to be somewhere (or someone) else escalates (God has given you to me, Kyra Leigh, her uncle tells her. You "will "do what He says. What the Prophet says. What "I" say). Is she brave enough to run away from the community that has sheltered her since birth? Although the ending verges on the sensational, Williams ("Pretty Like Us") takes such care in crafting Kyra's internal strugglesand her hellacious storythat the ensuing drama rings true. Williams's highlighting all aspects of cult membership (fear of leaving, desire to belong, guilt about sinning), rather than relying on one-sided generalizations (cults are bad), makes this a prudent and powerful read. Ages 12up. "(May)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

If the Witness Lied
by Caroline B Cooney
Published 2009 by Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers

Library Binding, English. ISBN: 9780385904513

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Jacket Notes:

"Choices "do "matter and forgiveness "is "possible."

Jack Fountain knows that what's happened to his family sounds like the most horrible soap opera anyone could ever write. But it happened--to Jack; his parents; his sisters, Smithy and Madison. And to his baby brother, Tris. What made it worse was that the media wanted to know every detail.

Now it's almost Tris's third birthday, and everything's starting again. Aunt Cheryl, who's living with the Fountain children now that their parents are gone, has decided that they will heal only if they work through their pain--on camera. The very identities they've created for themselves are called into question. In less than twenty-four hours their fate will change yet again, but this time they vow to not be exploited and to discover the truth.

In this gripping thriller, Caroline B. Cooney details how love, devotion, and forgiveness make resilience--and recovery--possible. "From the Hardcover edition."

05/01/2009 School Library Journal

Gr 69Three orphaned teenage siblings, separated by the tragic supposed patricide of their father by their two-year-old brother, reunite a year later to save this same brother from the clutches of their evil aunt, who wants to sell them out on a tell-all television show. The plot involves a lot of aimless meandering around their small Connecticut town, the characters are unremarkable, and the title, of course, gives away the mystery, but, as with all of Cooney's novels, the joy is in readers being more clued in than the hapless characters. Thus every chapter, narrated alternately by each sibling, ends with a successful degree of suspense. Contemporary technologytexting, cell phone videos, digital photography, online bank accountsplays a weighty role; initially the reliance upon them aids each character's unhealthy distance from one another, but by the conclusion, it has become the link between them, creating laughably miraculous resolutions at every turn. A Christian theme pervades as well, as the siblings each question their relationship with God as well as with one another, and inevitably resolve both issues simultaneously. Fans of previous Cooney offerings will enjoy this, but most others can pass on it."Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.Gr 69Three orphaned teenage siblings, separated by the tragic supposed patricide of their father by their two-year-old brother, reunite a year later to save this same brother from the clutches of their evil aunt, who wants to sell them out on a tell-all television show. The plot involves a lot of aimless meandering around their small Connecticut town, the characters are unremarkable, and the title, of course, gives away the mystery, but, as with all of Cooney's novels, the joy is in readers being more clued in than the hapless characters. Thus every chapter, narrated alternately by each sibling, ends with a successful degree of suspense. Contemporary technologytexting, cell phone videos, digital photography, online bank accountsplays a weighty role; initially the reliance upon them aids each character's unhealthy distance from one another, but by the conclusion, it has become the link between them, creating laughably miraculous resolutions at every turn. A Christian theme pervades as well, as the siblings each question their relationship with God as well as with one another, and inevitably resolve both issues simultaneously. Fans of previous Cooney offerings will enjoy this, but most others can pass on it."Rhona Campbell, Washington, DC Public Library" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Love You Hate You Miss You
by Elizabeth Scott
Published 2009 by Harper Teen

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780061122835

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Jacket Notes:

With sarcastic humor, cutting insight, and beautiful prose, Scott delivers a searing story of a teenage girl who thinks she may have killed her best friend, and her struggle to put the pieces of her life back together. Get this, I'm supposed to be starting a journal about "my journey." Please. I can see it now: "Dear Diary, As I'm set adrift on this crazy sea called "life"" . . . I don't think so. It's been seventy-five days. Amy's sick of her parents suddenly taking an interest in her. And she's really sick of people asking her about Julia. Julia's gone now, and she doesn't want to talk about it. They wouldn't get it, anyway. They wouldn't understand what it feels like to have your best friend ripped away from you. They wouldn't understand what it feels like to know it's your fault. Amy's shrink thinks it would help to start a diary. Instead, Amy starts writing letters to Julia. But as she writes letter after letter, she begins to realize that the past wasn't as perfect as she thought it was--and the present deserves a chance too.

06/01/2009 School Library Journal

Gr 11 UpSixteen-year-old Amy, an honor student returning to school in the fall following a brief stay in an alcohol treatment center, has isolated herself from her friends as punishment for the death of her best friend, Julia. In letters to "J," Amy provides insight into her own character as she reminisces about their shared exploits, including shoplifting, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual promiscuity, and pregnancy tests. It is through these letters, along with Amy's therapy sessions and eventual conversations with family and friends, that the teen acknowledges her role in the fatal car accident. Amy's parents try to overcompensate for their initial ignorance of their daughter's problems but remain clueless as to how to relate to her. All the while, Amy is aware of her need for their attention as she appreciates little things like cooking with her mother. At times slowed by descriptions of school cliques and Amy's rejection of them, the plot is elegantly carried by her honest, clear expression of how she feels about what she is going through."Sue Lloyd, Franklin High School, Livonia, MI" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.Gr 11 UpSixteen-year-old Amy, an honor student returning to school in the fall following a brief stay in an alcohol treatment center, has isolated herself from her friends as punishment for the death of her best friend, Julia. In letters to "J," Amy provides insight into her own character as she reminisces about their shared exploits, including shoplifting, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual promiscuity, and pregnancy tests. It is through these letters, along with Amy's therapy sessions and eventual conversations with family and friends, that the teen acknowledges her role in the fatal car accident. Amy's parents try to overcompensate for their initial ignorance of their daughter's problems but remain clueless as to how to relate to her. All the while, Amy is aware of her need for their attention as she appreciates little things like cooking with her mother. At times slowed by descriptions of school cliques and Amy's rejection of them, the plot is elegantly carried by her honest, clear expression of how she feels about what she is going through."Sue Lloyd, Franklin High School, Livonia, MI" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Peace, Love & Baby Ducks
by Lauren Myracle
Published 2009 by Dutton Books

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780525477433

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Jacket Notes:

Growing up in a world of wealth and pastel-tinted entitlement, fifteen-year-old Carly has always relied on the constancyaand authenticityaof her sister, Anna. But when fourteen-year-old Anna turns plastic-perfect-pretty over the course of a single summer, everything starts to change. And "there are boys involved," complicating things as boys always do. With warmth, insight, and an unparalleled gift for finding humor even in stormy situations, beloved author Lauren Myracle dives into the tumultuous waters of sisterhood and shows that even very different sisters can learn to help each other stay afloat.

Publishers Weekly 03/30/2009

An honest narrator grounds this sweet story about two sisters learning to accept their differencesand help each other grow up. The sisters, who live in an exclusive Atlanta neighborhood, both attend the most prestigious prep school in the South, but while narrator Carly thrives on being an individual, Anna's pretty face and developing body earn her a different kind of attention. Carly stands up for her softer sister often (telling their mom to stop treating curvy Anna like she is fat, for example). She realizes, though, that she is jealous of Anna's looks even though I'm her big sister, who should be above such things. As the sisters get different friends and interests, Carly spends less time with Anna, and they find themselves saying mean things and betraying each other (Anna even hooks up with Carly's crush). The conclusion gets emotionally overwrought with a teary scene in which the sisters turn into a puddle of ridiculous-ness, but mostly readers will find both the characters and their problems genuine. Ages 12up. "(May)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Publisher's Marketing Text:

Growing up in a world of wealth and pastel-tinted entitlement, fifteen-year-old Carly has always relied on the constancyaand authenticityaof her sister, Anna. But when fourteen-year-old Anna turns plastic-perfect-pretty over the course of a single summer, everything starts to change. And "there are boys involved," complicating things as boys always do. With warmth, insight, and an unparalleled gift for finding humor even in stormy situations, beloved author Lauren Myracle dives into the tumultuous waters of sisterhood and shows that even very different sisters can learn to help each other stay afloat.

The Summer I Turned Pretty
by Jenny Han
Published 2009 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9781416968238

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Jacket Notes:

Belly has spent her summers at the beach house with Conrad and Jeremiah, who had never noticed her noticing them. Every summer Belly hoped it would be different. This time, it is. The summer that Belly turns pretty is the summer that changes everything--for better and for worse. Some summers are just destined to be prettyBelly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Publishers Weekly 04/27/2009

This well-written coming-of-age story introduces 15-year-old Isabel, aka Belly, for whom summer has always been the most important time of year: it's when her family shares a beach house with her mother's best friend, Susannah, and her two sons. Like Belly's older brother, Steven, Susannah's boys have always thought of Belly as their younger sister. But this summerIt was the summer everything beganis different. One brother, Jeremiah, is suddenly interested in Belly, but she has always had a crush on dark and unattainable Conrad. And then there is Cam, also spending the summer at the beach, who becomes Belly's first boyfriend. Han ("Shug") realistically balances Belly's naïveté with her awareness of the changes the years have brought (In some ways it was even harder being the only girl back then. In some ways not). Anecdotal chapters of past summers are interspersed, rounding out Belly's character, her attachment to Susannah and her desire for the boys to include her. First in a planned trilogy, Han's novel offers plenty of summertime drama to keep readers looking forward to the next installment. Ages 12up. "(May)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

04/01/2009 School Library Journal

Gr 710Romantic and heartbreakingly real, this novel follows 15-year-old Belly through the most important summer of her life. Every year, her family shares a beach house with Belly's mother's best friend, Susannah, and her two sons. Belly has always had a crush on Conrad, the older boy, but he has always treated her like an annoying younger sister. This summer, everything changes. The beautifully written novel captures Belly's realization that she is changing into an attractive young woman with a growing power over the boys in her life. They include Cam, the "nice" boy she should fall for but doesn't, and Jeremiah, Susannah's younger son. Only Conrad is seemingly immune to Belly's charms. Meanwhile, Susannah and her family are dealing with problems that Belly does not fully comprehend. Flashbacks to previous summers show her struggles to make Conrad and Jeremiah notice and include her, and how hurt she was when they didn't. The novel perfectly blends romance, family drama, and a coming-of-age tale, one that is substantially deeper than most, but it will still satisfy those hoping for a soapy story of summer love. Belly's discovery that you can't always choose who you love will appeal to readers, as will the author's expert evocation of a magical time when absolutely anything could happen."Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Unified School District" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Cathy's Ring: If Found Call (650) 266-8263 [With Poster and Plastic Silver Ring]
by Sean Stewart
Published 2009 by Running Press Kids

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780762435302

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Jacket Notes:

Cathy cannot manage to find more than a few days to relax in her hectic (and mortal) life--she barely has time to put the mystery surrounding her father to rest before she finds herself targeted by a group of Ancestor Lu's professional killers!Recognizing she is a serious threat to everyone in her life, Cathy makes plans to leave town. But her friends, Emma, Pete, Victor, and, surprisingly, Jun, unite to convince Cathy that they must finish Lu once and for all to have any chance at peace--mortal or immortal. In order to defeat Lu, the friends must come together in a way they never have before. Meanwhile--unbeknownst to Cathy--Victor has made the ultimate sacrifice hoping it will bring him closer to a normal relationship with Cathy. But when Victor is seriously wounded and Cathy finds herself attracted to another mortal with similar feelings for her, Cathy's world turns upside down and she is forced to make a decision about her future with Victor, while his life hangs by a thread. What will Cathy decide, and how will their epic battle with Lu play out? Find out in the newest adventure-packed installment of the "Cathy" story!

06/01/2009 School Library Journal

Gr 8 UpAs book three in a complicated trilogy, "Cathy's Ring" is like a series of inside jokes among friends that outsiders will never understand. The authors make a feeble attempt to explain the basics of the story, but characters and situations creep up that are impossible to comprehend without having read the previous two books. Figuring out how the characters relate to one another is too challenging at times to enjoy the action-packed thriller this book is intended to be. In the confusing plot, Cathy is being targeted by a group of professional killers who work for Ancestor Lu, who wants the anti-immortality serum that Cathy stole. Cathy is dealing with her immortal father and boyfriend while she grows older each day. She decides to leave town to escape the hired guns, but they seem to show up at every turn. Her friends convince her to stay and fight Ancestor Lu, and they develop a plan to use the serum to take him down. The story is fast paced and, coupled with Cathy's unique voice, could make for a compelling read for teens familiar with the earlier titles."Julianna M. Helt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Skunk Girl
by Sheba Karim
Published 2009 by Farrar Straus Giroux

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780374370114

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Jacket Notes:

In this wryly funny debut novel, the smart, sassy, and utterly lovable Nina Khan tackles friends, family, and love, and learns that it's possible to embrace two very different cultures--even if things can get a little bit, well, "hairy." If Nina Khan were to rate herself on the unofficial Pakistani prestige point system - the one she's sure all the aunties and uncles use to determine the most attractive marriage prospects for their children - her scoring might go something like this:

+2 points for getting excellent grades

-3 points for failing to live up to expectations set by genius older sister

+4 points for dutifully obeying parents and never, ever going to parties, no matter how antisocial that makes her seem to everyone at Deer Hook High

-1 point for harboring secret jealousy of her best friends, who are allowed to date like normal teenagers

+2 points for never drinking an alcoholic beverage

-10 points for obsessing about Asher Richelli, who talks to Nina like she's not a freak at all, even though he knows that she has a disturbing line of hair running down her back In this wryly funny debut novel, the smart, sassy, and utterly lovable Nina Khan tackles friends, family, and love, and learns that it's possible to embrace two very different cultures - even if things can get a little bit, well, "hairy."

04/01/2009 School Library Journal

Gr 8 UpEleventh-grader Nina struggles with her Pakistani-Muslim identity and all that it entails. Her parents are strict and won't allow her to date. She also struggles with an abundance of dark facial and body hair, especially the stripe of hair down her back. Because she is the lone Asian student at her small high school in upstate New York, she feels isolated. Worse, her "supernerd" sister, Sonia, has left high academic expectations in her wake. When the boy she has a crush on shows an interest in her, Nina is both surprised and uncertain of what to do. She struggles with the values of her parents and her own feelings about right and wrong. She comes to a conclusion that leaves the story both satisfyingly unresolved and true to Nina's character. The author is nonjudgmental about Nina's decisions that are in conflict with her parents' beliefs, such as experimenting with alcohol, but through Sonia is also able to portray a character who is more comfortable abstaining. There are a lot of different plot elements, and the story is really more about Nina's development than about any single issue (such as her hirsuteness, as the title suggests). This is a solid choice for libraries in which Randa Abdel-Fattah's "Does My Head Look Big in This?" (2007) and "Ten Things I Hate About Me" (2009, both Scholastic) are popular."Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Gentlemen
by Michael Northrop
Published 2009 by Scholastic Press

Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780545097499

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Jacket Notes:

Gritty, fast-paced, and brutally real, this debut novel takes an unflinching look at what binds friends together--and what can tear them apart.

Publishers Weekly 04/06/2009

Northrop's debut is one dark ride, as events spin out of control for three friends who haven't had many lucky breaks. High school sophomores Micheal (the narrator), Tommy, Mixer and Bones are a pretty tight crew. (And, yes, that's how Micheal's name is spelled: Mom or Dad, one of them dropped the ball on that one, probably Dad, in the hospital or wherever it is you fill out that paperwork.) Then Tommy goes missing. It isn't the first time, so the guys aren't initially too worried, but as time passesand following increasingly unsettling interactions with their English teacher, Mr. Haberman, during a unit on "Crime and Punishment"they begin to suspect that the teacher is involved in Tommy's disappearance. Micheal, who has an eye injury stemming from a childhood incident, is a sympathetic but unreliable narratorsomething he himself recognizes (Having a messed-up eye, you know, it'll affect how you see things). The brutal narration, friendships put through the wringer and the sense of dread that permeates the novel will keep readers hooked through the violent climax and its aftermath. Ages 15up. "(Apr.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Who Made You a Princess?
by Shelley Adina
Published 2009 by Faithwords

Paperback, English. ISBN: 9780446179621

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Jacket Notes:

Shani Hanna find a new addition to Spencer Academy's student body: Prince Rashid al Amir of Yasir. Shani's family and the prince's go back for generations, and they have expanded their business interests through arranged marriage. Will God answer Shani's prayers for an intervention? Shani Hanna returns to SpencerAcademy for her senior year after an amazing summer spent with her friends Lissa, Gillian, and Carly. But the best part about summer was meeting Danyel Johnstone. Danyel is cute, smart, cool, and super nice. All Shani has to do is get him to see her as more than just one of the gang.

But when the girls return to school, they find a new addition to the distinguished student body: Prince Rashid al Amir of Yasir, an oil-rich desert kingdom in the Middle East. Prince Rashid moved to California to prepare for an eventual MBA at Stanford . . . and to romance his future wife: Shani Hanna!

It turns out, Shani's family and the prince's go back for generations, entwined in tradition, obligation, and family honor. In each generation, members of the two families have expanded their business interests through arranged marriage. Will Shani put aside her feelings for Danyel to pursue her family's wishes? Or will God answer her prayers for an intervention?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth
by Carrie Ryan
Published 2009 by Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers

Library Binding, English. ISBN: 9780385906319

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Jacket Notes:

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future--between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Carrie Ryan lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can visit Carrie at www.carrieryan.com. "From the Hardcover edition."

Publishers Weekly 02/02/2009

Mary's village has been trapped for generations by a very near, very visible menace: the Unconsecratedinsatiable, flesh-eating zombies that constantly tear at the village's fences. Yet the Sisterhooda conventlike order of religious women charged to protect the village's survivalis as much responsible for the submission of Mary's village as the Unconsecrated. When the fences are breached and the village overrun, Mary and several others escape through gated paths and arrive deep into the Forest of Hands and Teeth, forced to search beyond it for their future. Mary's observant, careful narration pulls readers into a bleak but gripping story of survival and the endless capacity of humanity to persevere. That Mary maintains emotional distance serves to render her yearnings and romantic feelings even more poignant and powerful. Fresh and riveting. Ages 14up. "(Apr.)" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

05/01/2009 School Library Journal

Gr 9 UpMary knows little about the past and why the world now contains two types of people: those in her village and the undead outside the fence, who prey upon the flesh of the living. The Sisters protect their village and provide for the continuance of the human race. After her mother is bitten and joins the Unconsecrated, Mary is sent to the Sisters to be prepared for marriage to her friend Harry. But then the fences are breached and the life she has known is gone forever. Mary; Harry; Travis, whom Mary loves but who is betrothed to her best friend; her brother and his wife; and an orphaned boy set out into the unknown to search for safety, answers to their questions, and a reason to go on living. In this sci-fi/horror novel, the suspense that Ryan has created from the very first page on entices and tempts readers so that putting the book down is not an option. The author skillfully conceals and reveals just enough information to pique curiosity while also maintaining an atmosphere of creepiness that is expected in a zombie story. Some of the descriptions of death and mutilation of both the Unconsecrated and the living are graphic. The story is riveting, even though it leaves a lot of questions to be explained in the sequel."Debra Banna, Sharon Public Library, MA" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.Gr 9 UpMary knows little about the past and why the world now contains two types of people: those in her village and the undead outside the fence, who prey upon the flesh of the living. The Sisters protect their village and provide for the continuance of the human race. After her mother is bitten and joins the Unconsecrated, Mary is sent to the Sisters to be prepared for marriage to her friend Harry. But then the fences are breached and the life she has known is gone forever. Mary; Harry; Travis, whom Mary loves but who is betrothed to her best friend; her brother and his wife; and an orphaned boy set out into the unknown to search for safety, answers to their questions, and a reason to go on living. In this sci-fi/horror novel, the suspense that Ryan has created from the very first page on entices and tempts readers so that putting the book down is not an option. The author skillfully conceals and reveals just enough information to pique curiosity while also maintaining an atmosphere of creepiness that is expected in a zombie story. Some of the descriptions of death and mutilation of both the Unconsecrated and the living are graphic. The story is riveting, even though it leaves a lot of questions to be explained in the sequel."Debra Banna, Sharon Public Library, MA" Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.