CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 1, 2011
"The abrupt ending leaves enough unanswered questions to set breathless readers up for volume two of this trilogy. (Science fiction. 14 & up)"
Oliver's artfully detailed prose reveals, brick by brick, the sturdy dramatic foundation of an initially implausible premise.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2011
"It was just good and bad and interesting and fucked-up and very human, like anything else." (Fiction. 14 & up)"
Finally, a book about a transgender teen that gives its central character a life in which gender and transition matter but do not define his existence!
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2011
"National Book Award–winner Blundell (What I Saw and How I Lied, 2008) delivers a brilliantly conceived novel set against the backdrop of the 1950 Kefauver mob hearings and the Red Scare with a story of redemption and truth at its core. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)"
Caught up in dreams of dancing on Broadway, Kit Corrigan unwisely accepts an apartment and a nightclub job from mob lawyer Nate Benedict in exchange for keeping tabs on his son Billy, who's enlisted in the Army along with Kit's brother, Jamie.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 8, 2011
"Wynne-Jones' finest, most beautifully written novel yet, one more in a career full of distinguished works. (afterword) (Mystery. YA)"
Two teenagers hurt by life "with its never-ending snares and pitfalls and dire consequences" come together in this elegantly constructed noir mystery and love story.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: March 17, 2011
"Delicious. (Fantasy. 14 & up)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 22, 2011
"Sepetys' flowing prose gently carries readers through the crushing tragedy of this tale that needs telling. (maps, timeline, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12 & up, adult)"
This bitterly sad, fluidly written historical novel tackles a topic woefully underdiscussed in English-language children's fiction: Joseph Stalin's reign of terror.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 5, 2011
"Multilayered and engrossing, Cooper's tale alternates between frothy fun and heartbreaking seriousness with utter mastery. (author's note) (Historical fiction. YA)"
Having narrowly escaped the Nazi bombing of their miniscule island kingdom, the young impoverished royal family of Montmaray is living in exile in England with their very wealthy aunt (A Brief History of Montmaray, 2008).
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CHILDREN'S
Released: April 15, 2011
"In its portrayal of race relations in a wounded country as well as of the ugly power dynamics of a community of adolescent boys, this novel excels, bringing readers up to the grim, uncertain present with mastery. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)"
A boarding-school story set in the aftermath of the Rhodesian Civil War examines evil from all sides and provides no easy answers.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2011
"Complex, rich and memorable. (Fantasy. 10-14)"
In this modern fairytale, an insouciant, "somewhat heartless" 12-year-old girl from Omaha visits Fairyland and accepts a quest to rescue its inhabitants from the rule-mad Marquess.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2011
"A compassionate and moving window on a harsh world. (glossary of Zulu words) (Fiction. 12 & up)"
Set in an impoverished South African shantytown where post-Apartheid freedom is overshadowed by rampant AIDS and intractable poverty, this novel takes a loving, clear-eyed look at the clash of old and new through the experience of one appealing teenager.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 10, 2011
"A contemporary reboot that does the original proud. (Fiction. 12 & up)"
Drug addiction and tainted love mess with the mind of a befuddled au pair in this creepy update of Henry James'
The Turn of the Screw.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 12, 2011
"The result is a memorable tale of personal growth and acceptance that will make teens eager to join a Dreamland Social Club of their own. (author's note) (Fiction. 14 & up)"
In this evocative homage to Coney Island, the "Playground of the World," a 16-year-old girl searches for clues about the mother she barely remembers.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 24, 2011
"An informative, insightful account of a fascinating period of American history. (glossary, bibliography, source notes) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)"
When Congress passed the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol, supporters were convinced it would create a stronger, more moral nation. Instead, it ushered in an era of corruption and lawlessness, here brought to life with a fast-paced, gripping narrative and period photographs.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 24, 2011
Sixteen years after the publication of the Pura Belpré–winning An Island Like You (1995), Cofer returns to the characters of her New Jersey barrio with an affecting treatment of one girl's coming-of-age.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 24, 2011
"The humor is both dark and madcap, including footnote asides and commercial scripts that keep the laughs coming. (Fiction. 14 & up)"
This inventive satire mocks celebrity culture while celebrating the resilience of teen girls.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: June 7, 2011
"A book sure to haunt its reader long after the last past is turned—exquisitely eerie. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)"
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: July 5, 2011
"Williams, a renowned dramatist, gives readers compelling characters and, in simple language, delivers a complicated story rooted--sadly and upliftingly--in very real events. (author's note, glossary) (Fiction. 12 & up)"
CHILDREN'S
Released: July 5, 2011
"Wickedly macabre and absolutely terrifying. (Horror. 14 & up)"
Two girls are brought together more from ennui than anything else in this riveting tale that brings the murderous history of a disintegrating coastal town into the present.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: July 12, 2011
"This engaging mystery has plenty of both paranormal and romance, spiced with loving families and satisfyingly packed with self-sufficient, competent girls. (Paranormal mystery. 12-15)"
A pragmatic heroine must confront her magical side to save the day, find the ghost, win the boy and corral the goats.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 2011
"Thoughtful, scary and captivating. (Urban fantasy. 14 & up)"
In an impeccably paced and unusually profound urban-fantasy novel, 16-year-old half-demon Catholic-school student Jael Thompson comes into her powers, explores her heritage and battles a tyrannical Hell beast.
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