September+2009


 * __THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY__** **by Jill Alexander** (September 2009): Austin Gray is tired of standing at the curb and watching the parade pass her by. Literally. She decides this is the year she'll ride on the hood of a shiny pickup truck in the annual parade, waving to the crowd and finally showing the town bully that she's got what it takes to be the Sweetheart of Prosper County.

But far from simply being a beauty contest, becoming Sweetheart involves participation in the Future Farmers of America (FFA), raising an animal, and hunting or fishing. Austin will do almost anything to become Sweetheart, and has the support of her oldest friend, Maribel, her new FFA friends (including the reigning Sweetheart, and a quiet, cute cowboy), an evangelical Elvis impersonator, a mysterious Cajun outcast, and a rooster named Charles Dickens. If only her momma would stop overprotecting her, and start letting Austin live her own life. But Austin can't move on until Momma moves on, too-and lets the grief of losing Austin's daddy several years before out into the open. Here is a bighearted story that will leave readers agreeing with Austin that sometimes, it's not what you ride, it's how you roll.

They're searching for one fair day—a day where the good guy wins and everything adds up to something just and right. Their destination: Langdon, a town that Destiny’s unsuspecting companions simply hope will hold a day of fun. But, as Destiny says, “Things are not always what they seem.” Only she knows it holds far more than that—a deep secret she has never shared with anyone.
 * __THE MILES BETWEEN__** by Mary E. Pearson (September 2009): Destiny Faraday makes a point of keeping her distance from her classmates at Hedgebrook Academy. Her number one rule: Don’t get attached. But one day, unexpectedly finding a car at their disposal, Destiny and three of her classmates embark on an unauthorized road trip.

Buckle your seatbelts! THE MILES BETWEEN is a wild ride that explores the wonder and magic of a very real world where chance, mystery, and secrets abound.


 * __DEMON CHICK__** by Marilyn Kaye (September 2009): Jessica Hunsucker may not have the warmest relationship with her mother, aspiring presidential candidate Margaret Hunsucker, but it still comes as something of a shock when she discovers, on her sixteenth birthday, that she’s been sold to the devil. Will she have to spend eternity in hell living in a dreary suburban ranch house with one of Satan’s minions, a demon named Brad? Brad takes pains to explain that this is one of hell’s better neighborhoods, and he seems like a nice enough guy, but still! And things only get worse when Jessica learns (via hell’s own version of reality television) of the full extent of her mother’s evil plans. Can she and Brad come up with a plan to save the world from Margaret Hunsucker? Is there any way for Jessica to get back to earth and live a normal life? And what’s Brad doing in hell anyway, if he’s such a nice guy?

These and other pressing questions (like, what is there to eat in hell?) are all answered in Marilyn Kaye’s delightfully satirical DEMON CHICK.


 * __RUNNING ON THE CRACKS__** by Julia Donaldson (September 2009): Leonora Watts-Chan is missing, and she’ll do just about anything to stay that way. Leo has no idea how she’s going to find the grandparents she’s never met, or even a place to sleep, but she knows she can never go back. Leo’s running from her past. Finlay’s running into trouble. Together, they stumble into a crazy new world of secrets, lies, and Chinese food. But someone is on Leo’s trail . ..

Eccentric, unforgettable characters and genuine, heart-pounding suspense make for a stunning combination as celebrated author Julia Donaldson expands her talents in her first novel for young adults.


 * __EPISODES: MY LIFE IN SYNDICATION__** **by Blaze Ginsberg:** (September 2009): EPISODES is a memoir like no other. Debut writer, Blaze Ginsberg, offers a unique perspective on his life as a highly-functioning autistic 21 year old. Inspired by the format of the Internet Movie Database, Blaze organizes his life events as a collection of episodes. Some episodes are still running, some are in syndication, and some have sadly come to an end. With an innovative style and approach that is all its own, EPISODES reinvents the traditional memoir; and it will inspire young readers to see the world as they've never seen it before.

What Lindsay doesn’t yet realize is that Mandy and her cohorts are becoming possessed by spirits who have haunted the school for two hundred years. Spirits who want someone dead... And that someone is Lindsay. And behind them all flies Magpie Windwitch, first champion of the new age of faeries, desperate to rescue Whisper and the Azazel alike before they fall in the clutches of a sinister hidden enemy. Steve Cole has created an absurdly gripping and kid-friendly thriller that will capture imaginations. If Jurassic Park were to meet Alex Rider, the result might well be this irresistible new novel. Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life. In __How to Steal a Car__, National Book Award winner Pete Hautman takes teen readers on a thrilling, scary ride through one suburban girl's turbulent life - one car theft at a time.
 * __POSSESSIONS__** **by Nancy Holder:** The //It Girl// meets //The Exorcist// in this chilling, haunted boarding school tale. New-girl Lindsay discovers all is not right at the prestigious Marlwood Academy for Girls. Ethereal, popular Mandy and her clique are plotting something dangerous. Lindsay overhears them performing strange rituals, and sees their eyes turn black. It doesn’t help that the school itself is totally eerie, with ancient, dilapidated buildings tucked into the Northern California woods, a thick white fog swirling through campus. There are hidden passageways, odd reflections in the windows at night, and scariest of all is the vast lake rumored to have captured the ghost of a girl who drowned many years ago.
 * __AN OFF YEAR__** **by Claire Zulkey:** Cecily has always done everything as she was supposed to: taken the right classes, gotten the right grades, applied to the right colleges. But after a lifetime of following the rules, she surprises everyone by arriving for her freshman year of college . . . and turning around. There are infinite possibilities for Cecily’s unexpected gap year. She could volunteer, or travel around the world—but, for now, Cecily is content to do absolutely nothing. What follows is a year of snarkily observed self-doubt and self-discovery during which Cecily must ask herself, for the first time, what does she really want to do with her life?
 * __DREAMDARK: SILKSINGER__** **by Laini Taylor:** One faerie, the last of her clan, must fight to complete her sacred duty. Whisper Silksinger is the last of the secret guardians of the Azazel, one of the powerful Djinn who dreamed the world into being. Relentlessly pursued by bloodthirsty devils, she flees to the city of Nazneen to restore the Azazel to his temple. At the same time, Hirik Mothmage is also on a secret quest, to find the Azazel and restore his disgraced clan’s ancient honor.
 * __THE HUNTING, BOOK ONE: Z. REX__** **by Steve Cole:** Jurassic Park meets virtual gaming in a blockbuster new thriller! You’re 14 and find yourself on your own. Your father, who has developed the world’s cutting edge research on virtual electronic game-playing, has been missing for weeks. And suddenly you’re being hunted by men with guns, your picture is on the news, and, worst of all, something seemingly impossible is chasing you—a savage, man-eating dinosaur. How can that be? Why is everyone trying to capture you? And what is your strange connection with this 21st-century prehistoric monster?
 * __HATE LIST__** **by Jennifer Brown**: Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.
 * __HOW TO STEAL A CAR__** **by Pete Hautman**: Some girls act out by drinking or doing drugs. Some girls act out by sleeping with guys. Some girls act out by starving themselves or cutting themselves. Some girls act out by being a bitch to other girls. Not Kelleigh. Kelleigh steals cars.

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.
 * __Once a Witch__ by Carolyn MacCullough**