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Available at Amazon and IndieBound	Spring 2013 May NANTUCKET BLUE by Leila Howland *PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW Cricket Thompson is inseparable from her best friend Jules Clayton, so much so that she's practically a member of the Clayton family. When Jules's mother, Nina, dies unexpectedly, everything changes, including the friends' plans to spend the summer in Nantucket - it's "family only" now. Disappointed, 17-year-old Cricket heads to Nantucket anyway, becoming a chambermaid at a popular inn ("Would I be churning butter, cleaning chimneys, beating rugs with a broom? Who cared?"). As she tries to handle Nina's death and rejection by Jules, unexpected love awaits. Debut author Howland's descriptions for everything from a summer storm ("The grass in the back yard was rain-drunk") to the stirrings of first love ("There was this lightness that occasionally took me over, making me feel like I was made of balloons") are lush and moving. Readers should feel empowered by Cricket's efforts to grow up into a strong, honest, and emotionally intelligent young woman, even as they are enchanted by the romantic and exclusive island setting. This is a natural beach read, but will easily win Howland year-round fans, too. Ages 14-up.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	April A GIRL CALLED PROBLEM by Katie Quirk *KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW Thirteen-year-old healer Shida (Swahili for "problem") can't save 6-year-old Furaha ("happiness") from an untimely death in the Tanzanian village of Njia Panda that its inhabitants label cursed. Despite having penned this work of fiction as an outsider to the culture, Quirk's debut novel for children gives readers an intimate view of rural Tanzania in the early 1970s through details of daily life, folklore, family dynamics and spiritual beliefs. A budding healer, Shida is blamed for her father's death, which occurred at Shida's birth, and this weighs heavily on her. Since that time, her mother has wallowed in self-pity and refused to work. When President Nyerere asks Shida's village to become a model of ujamaa (familyhood) for the country by moving to Njia Panda and farming communally, Shida eagerly anticipates what she has never had: an education and a nursing mentor. After the move, however, the cotton crop mysteriously fails overnight, the villagers' prize possessions, their cattle, escape from their pens, and Furaha dies of fever. With the help of Shida and her cousin Grace, Babu, their grandfather and the village elder, unearths the truth. The novel offers a captivating introduction to Tanzanian life, culture and language (both Swahili and Sukuma), while the mystery of who has cast the "curse" keeps readers intrigued. A mesmerizing read that expands young readers' worldview even as the pages turn.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	ROTTEN by Michael Northrop A troubled teen. A rescued Rottweiler. An unlikely friendship. Jimmer "JD" Dobbs is back in town after spending the summer "upstate." No one believes his story about visiting his aunt, and it's pretty clear that he has something to hide. It's also pretty clear that his mom made a new friend while he was away -- a rescued Rottweiler that JD immediately renames Johnny Rotten (yes, after that guy in the Sex Pistols). Both tough but damaged, JD and Johnny slowly learn to trust each other, but their newfound bond is threatened by a treacherous friend and one snap of Johnny's powerful jaws. As the secrets JD has tried so hard to keep under wraps start to unravel, he suddenly has something much bigger to worry about: saving his dog.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	TAKEN by Erin Bowman "An action-packed thrill ride from beginning to end. I devoured this in one sitting and might have gnawed a nail or two off from all the excitement. More, please!" - Marie Lu, author of the Legend trilogy There are no men in Claysoot, only boys. But every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends . . . and he's gone. The villagers call it the Heist. Gray Weathersby's eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he's prepared to meet his fate - until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to question everything he's been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. What may lie beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot - a structure that no one can cross and survive. Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken - or risk everything on the hope of the other side?
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	March DR. BIRD'S ADVICE FOR SAD POETS by Evan Roskos "A powerful, brave, and important debut that will make you eager to celebrate yourself. A beautifully authentic yawp." - Matthew Quick, author of THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK "A poignant, funny, and bighearted novel about the power of saving oneself." - Nina LaCour, author of HOLD STILL *KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW Self-deprecating humor abounds in this debut novel that pulls no punches about the experience of depression and anxiety for its teen protagonist. The words of Walt Whitman provide solace for 16-year-old James, whose mental health struggles are exacerbated by living with abusive parents and agonizing over what he could have done differently to prevent his older sister, Jorie, from being thrown out of the house. James' intense first-person narration, which includes imagined therapy sessions with a pigeon he calls Dr. Bird, both flares with frenetic silliness and sinks heavily into despair, realistically depicting his mood swings. At times contemplating suicide, he's aware of the gravity of his situation, even as his parents react with heartbreaking ambivalence: "Therapy isn't what you need....You're just at that age where you think everything is so horrible and terrible." His self-awareness makes him an enormously sympathetic character. Readers will root for him to win over Beth, the editor of his school's literary magazine, and forgive him for going over the top ("I know that they're all just going to pretend like I'm not here trying to tear the walls down with my fucking barbaric yaawwwwwppppp!") when he rages at a woman who has been carrying on an affair, with his best friend Derek, behind the back of her fiance. Captivating introspection from a winning character.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	Winter 2013 January THE WATER CASTLE by Megan Frazer Blakemore *KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW Weaving legacy and myth into science and magic, old into new and enemies into friends, Blakemore creates an exquisite mystery. Crystal Springs, Maine, "isn't on the map," but it's still where Price, Ephraim and Brynn's mother brings their family when their father has a stroke. The "looming stone house" with hidden floors and impossible rooms, owned by their family (the Appledores) for over a century, was once a resort that claimed its spring water had healing properties - possibly a fountain of youth. Ephraim struggles to fit in at Crystal Springs' peculiarly overachieving school; his classmate Mallory steels herself against her mother's recent departure and her teacher's assignment to study Matthew Henson ("He just assumed she would want to do him, because Henson was black too"). While Mallory, Ephraim and another sixth-grader named Will unravel the castle's secrets (each for different reasons, all serious) and confront age-old hostility among their families, a 1908 storyline unfolds: Young Nora Darling (Mallory's relative) assists old Orlando Appledore in feverish scientific research. Peary and Henson's Arctic expedition features in both timelines; science, history and literature references glow; Nikola Tesla visits Nora and Orlando. With keen intelligence and bits of humor, the prose slips calmly between narrative perspectives, trusting readers to pick up a revelation that Ephraim and Mallory don't see - and it's a doozy. This one is special.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	Fall 2012 MAGISTERIUM by Jeff Hirsch From the USA TODAY Bestselling Author of THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE On one side of the Rift is a technological paradise without famine or want. On the other side is a mystery. Sixteen-year-old Glenn Morgan has lived next to the Rift her entire life and has no idea of what might be on the other side of it. Glenn's only friend, Kevin, insists the fence holds back a world of monsters and witchcraft, but magic isn't for Glenn. She has enough problems with reality: Glenn's mother disappeared when she was six, and soon after, she lost her scientist father to his all-consuming work on the mysterious Project. Glenn buries herself in her studies and dreams about the day she can escape. But when her father's work leads to his arrest, he gives Glenn a simple metal bracelet that will send Glenn and Kevin on the run -- with only one place to go. With MAGISTERIUM, Jeff Hirsch brings us the story of a complex, captivating world that will leave readers breathless until the very last page.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	MONSTROUS BEAUTY by Elizabeth Fama KIRKUS A mermaid's attraction to a man begets both love and evil in the waters off Plymouth, Mass., where these exotic creatures have always lived and will live forever. The romance between Syrenka and her beau, Ezra, in 1872 leads to a particularly disturbing murder-suicide, and the pact she makes with Noo'kas, the queen of the mermaids, has repercussions that reach into the present. In modern times, Hester puzzles over her family history; her female ancestors have tended to die young for generations, her mother included, making her decide to swear off love and maybe have a chance to survive into old age. Fama's lush language makes the past seem as immediate as the present-day scenes. Fantasy elements are incorporated seamlessly, so despite knowing about the mermaids from the first, readers will only gradually comprehend the extent to which they have influenced the lives of those around them. The sense of foreboding grows as Hester learns more and more about the past and struggles to find answers to her questions about her own future. The blend of history and fantasy enhances both storylines as the narrative shifts between past and present, gradually doling out clues. Dilemmas and choices are complex, providing much food for thought. Not so much romance as suspense, this stylish fantasy mesmerizes. WALL STREET JOURNAL Elizabeth Fama's 'Monstrous Beauty'…is by far the most sophisticated but also the most mature in its treatment of the consuming loves and violent deaths wrought by mer-folk. The story begins in 1522 when the mermaid Syrenka accidentally murders her mortal beloved. Three centuries later, she renounces her fins and tail for the love of another human man, but the exchange comes at a terrible price. Nor does her transformation go unnoticed: A local woman's suspicion of Syrenka leads to a scene of Grand Guignol that will send ghastly effects down to the present day and into the life of a teenager named Hester. PW In a chilling and original story, Fama (Overboard) alternates chapters between Hester and Syrenka, an ancient mermaid with a penchant for human men. Syrenka is no Ariel - to gain human lungs, she eats a pair - but her plight tugs at the same heartstrings as that of another monster, Frankenstein's... The horror and humanity are adroitly handled...
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	PICKLE by Kim Baker PW Baker's debut is a lighthearted romp with cross-gender appeal. When good-natured sixth-grader Ben Diaz stumbles on the chance to pull a perfect, anonymous prank at school (the balls from a pizzeria's ball pit are involved), the satisfaction - and his schoolmates' reaction - inspire him to seek out bigger opportunities. He recruits two classmates for his "secret prank task team"; they are soon joined by two more, creating a multicultural and personable crew of mischief-makers. Together they go undercover as the most boring official school club they can think of, the League of Pickle Makers. Soon the school fountain is overflowing with soap bubbles, and kids in soaked clothing are emerging from the restrooms (where the sinks have been wrapped in plastic), thanks to Ben's Prank and Trick Association (the other P.T.A.), which must also keep up its pickle-making cover for an upcoming Pioneer Fair. Fair warning: the practical jokes are troublesome and annoying to authority figures but harmless and hilarious to kids, and thus may prove inspirational to like-minded readers. KIRKUS Would you want to join the League of Pickle Makers? Sixth-grader Ben Diaz is not a troublemaker. (His best friend Hector's grandmother is the persnickety principal of Fountain Point Middle School; troublemaking is inadvisable.) Ben does think harmless pranks enhance the school experience, though. So when he sees an ad for thousands of free ball-pit balls, he responds and fills his homeroom. It's so much fun he starts a club of pranksters (by invitation only). The Prank and Trick Association (P.T.A.) masquerades as the League of Pickle Makers ('cause who would want to study veggie brining after school?). Several pranks later, the school's abuzz, and the principal is cheesed off. Success! However, the exclusivity of the club jeopardizes Ben's friendship with Hector, whose grandmother can get him to confess to anything. And then a rogue prank threatens to expose them all. Baker's debut, with genial black-and-white illustrations by Probert, is a gently sarcastic, multicultural tale... Sure to please anyone with a puckish sense of humor or a hankering for innocent prank ideas.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	FEEDBACK by Robison Wells The Sequel to VARIANT, a PW Best Book of 2011 KIRKUS In VARIANT, Benson Fisher thought he lucked out when he was admitted to Maxfield Academy in New Mexico, and then even luckier when he escaped what turned out to be a virtual prison populated by robot clones, but... Ben and Becky have fled to the forest, with Becky badly injured. Ben has to find help before they're discovered. The hunt for them is on, and the clock is running against them. Ben finds a settlement outside the school grounds, but he is shocked to discover that it's populated by people he already knows... or thought he knew. But these people are real, while the kids from his past were no more than clones of these originals. Hiding out until Becky recovers, Ben tries to learn who is for real and who can be trusted, always looking for a path to safety. But it becomes clear there is only one way to go: back to school to destroy the enemy from within. Picking up only moments after the first book ends, this book features the same nonstop, breathless pace, adding new dimension to old characters and new plot twists that are hard to see coming... An absorbing read that won't let fans of the first down.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	Summer 2012 FLESH & BONE by Jonathan Maberry BOOKLIST Zombies have run amok in YA lit, but the standard bearer remains Maberry's straight-ahead, action-dramaseries that began with Rot & Ruin (2010) and Dust & Decay (2011). ...Waiting for the full reveal in volume four won't be easy. KIRKUS The third time's the charm with even more adventure - and gore - as the series continues....
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	THE HOLLOW CITY by Dan Wells PW An amnesiac paranoid schizophrenic holds the key to a serial killer's motivation in Wells's provocative new thriller. Michael Shipman is the ultimate unreliable narrator, tortured by his senses and afflicted with delusions about being pursued by Faceless Men. Now the authorities want to know whether Michael's Faceless Men are involved with the Red Line Killer, whose de-faced victims were associated with the Children of the Earth, a cult based in the former home of notorious murderer Milos Cerny - the man who killed Michael's mother. When the Faceless Men start stalking Michael in the psychiatric hospital, he escapes to uncover the truth behind the killer, the cult, and his own shadowy childhood memories of a hollow city of empty houses. Wells (I Am Not a Serial Killer) has created an intense, uncanny protagonist who's trapped in an eerie world where denying the insane and otherworldly truth means death
	February 2012 THE DISENCHANTMENTS by Nina LaCour *PW, STARRED REVIEW "LaCour skillfully draws connections between art and life as she delves into the heart of her characters, revealing their fears and celebrating the creative forces that inspire them to reach for the stars." *KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW Each member of the band chronicles their trip in a unique way: journaling, taking photographs, drawing, even with a tattoo. Colby's continued devotion to the self-centered and dishonest Bev is at times irritating, but it is also completely real. Long-held secrets strain friendships and forge new bonds. The old friends quickly realize that dreams are a combination of holding on and letting go. Quirky characters, each with his or her own story, are woven into the narrative, creating a rich tapestry that will make readers confident that they are in the hands of a master storyteller. Hauntingly beautiful. *SLJ, STARRED REVIEW "Enchanting in its depiction of the cusp of young disenchantment, this realistic novel will hit home with many thoughtful YAs... Characters and scenes are created with the same care and attention to detail that Bev spends on her tiny sculptures that allow the people and places of Colby's road trip of passage to pop to life. Profundities will be found or echoed for many readers: we all feel pain, need love, overcome fear, crave beauty - and lose ourselves and gain strength in the elemental force of music."
	January 2012 THE WHOLE STORY OF HALF A GIRL by Veera Hiranandani *KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW Four decades separate Sonia Nadhamuni and Judy Blume's Margaret Simon, but these feisty, funny offspring of Jewish interfaith marriages are sisters under the skin. Perched on the uncertain cusp of adulthood, each grapples with perplexing cultural identity issues, but in very different worlds. While Margaret's grandparents pressure her to label herself as they wish, it's Sonia's peers who expect her to define herself racially and culturally. Having a nominally Hindu, Indian-immigrant dad and Jewish-American mom wasn't a big deal until her father lost his job. Now Sonia must leave her comfortably small private school behind and - with Dad sinking into clinical depression and Mom taking on more work - chart her own course at Maplewood Middle School... Like Blume, Hiranandani resists simplistic, tidy solutions. Each excels in charting the fluctuating discomfort zones of adolescent identity with affectionate humor. (Fiction. 9-13) *PW, STARRED REVIEW In Hiranandani's debut novel, Sonia's struggles are painfully realistic, as she wrestles with how to identify herself, how to cope with her family's problems, and how to fit in without losing herself. True to life, her problems do not wrap up neatly, but Sonia's growth is deeply rewarding in this thoughtful and beautifully wrought novel.
	October 2011 VARIANT by Robison Wells * PW BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2011 * PW, STARRED REVIEW In a chilling, masterful debut, Wells gives the classic YA boarding school setting a Maze Runner twist, creating an academy of imprisoned teenagers who must fight to survive when the rules change daily, and the punishment for breaking those rules is death. Seventeen-year-old Benson Fisher, tired of foster homes, applies for a scholarship to Maxfield Academy in New Mexico, hoping for a fresh start. Instead, he is trapped with roughly 70 other teens divided into three factions, with no teachers, no real classes, and no chance of escape at a school overseen by the mysterious and sinister "Iceman," who doles out punishments and award points. Though Wells doesn't provide much detail about Benson's past, his honesty and determination to escape make him a compelling protagonist, and it's easy to get drawn into his fellow students' plights as well. There are plenty of "didn't see that coming" moments and no shortage of action or violence. With its clever premise, quick pace, and easy-to-champion characters, Wells' story is a fast, gripping read with a cliffhanger that will leave readers wanting more. KIRKUS "Benson's account unfolds in a speedy, unadorned first person. Hard to put down from the very first page, this fast-paced novel answers only some of the questions it poses, holding some of the most tantalizing open for the next installment in a series that is anything but ordinary." "Variant is a compelling story on so many levels. I loved it! The twist behind it all is my favorite since Ender's Game." - James Dashner, New York Times bestselling author of THE MAZE RUNNER
	DEAD OF NIGHT by Jonathan Maberry "Jonathan Maberry is the top gun when it comes to zombies, and with DEAD OF NIGHT, he's at the top of his game. Frankly, I'm shocked by how effortlessly he moves between the lofty intellectual heights of T.S. Eliot's poetry and the savage carnality of the kill. DEAD OF NIGHT develops with the fevered pace of a manhunt, and yet still manages to hit all the right notes. Strap in, because Maberry's latest is one hell of a wild ride. I loved it." - Joe McKinney, author of DEAD CITY and APOCALYPSE OF THE DEAD "Jonathan Maberry has created an homage to death itself and an homage to the undead that is as poetic as it is terrifying. It's a brand new and intriguingly fresh slant on the zombie genre that we all love!" - John A. Russo, co-screenwriter of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD "Maberry is a master at writing scenes that surge and hum with tension. The pacing is relentless. He presses the accelerator to the floor and never lets up, taking you on a ride that leaves your heart pounding. It's almost impossible to put this book down. DEAD OF NIGHT is an excellent read." - S.G. Browne, author of BREATHERS "DEAD OF NIGHT stands drooped-head and lurching-shoulders above most zombie novels. The nightmare increases exponentially - from minor outbreak to major crisis with unstoppable speed, building to a heart-stopping climax you won't be able to put down." - David Moody, author of the HATER and AUTUMN books
	September 2011 FROST by Marianna Baer "Marianna Baer's novel, FROST, puts a unique, 21st Century spin on the usual Gothic ghost story." - Lois Duncan, author of DOWN A DARK HALL and STRANGER WITH MY FACE "Providing chills and romance at an unflagging pace, Frost is a mysterious, suspenseful thrill ride that refuses to let the reader go even after the last word is read." - Carrie Jones, NYT bestselling author of the NEED series KIRKUS Baer has a knack for dialogue and creating creepy situations that will intrigue teens. BOOKLIST A lot is going on in this multilayered first novel, much of it beneath the surface, which leaves the reader appropriately on edge... this nuanced blend of psychological suspense and and boarding-school drama will tingle the spines of plenty of readers. Leena Thomas's senior year at boarding school starts with a cruel shock: Frost House, the cozy Victorian dorm where she and her best friends chose to live, has been assigned an unexpected roommate - confrontational, eccentric Celeste Lazar. What Celeste lacks in social grace, however, her brother, David, a recent transfer student, makes up for in good looks and charm. But while he and Leena hit it off immediately, Leena finds herself struggling to balance her growing attraction with her fear of getting hurt. As classes get under way, strange happenings begin to bedevil Frost House - frames mysteriously falling off walls, doors locking by themselves, furniture toppling over. Celeste blames the housemates, convinced they want to scare her into leaving. And while Leena tries to play peacekeeper between her best friends and new roommate, soon the mysterious happenings in the dorm, an intense triangle between Leena, Celeste, and David, and the reawakening of childhood fears all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. But does the threat lie with her new roommate, within Leena's own mind . . . or in Frost House itself?
	THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE by Jeff Hirsch "THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE hits disturbingly close to home... An excellent, taut debut novel." - Suzanne Collins, author of THE HUNGER GAMES Dad turned all around, sheets of water coursing off his head and shoulders. I wanted to scream that it was pointless, that we needed to keep running, but then there was another crack and a flash of lightning, and for a second it seemed like there might be a ridge of some kind out ahead of us. Dad grabbed my elbow and pulled us toward it. "Come on! Maybe there's shelter!" By then, the ground had turned to a slurry of mud and rocks and wrecked grass. Every few steps my feet would sink deep into it and I'd have to pull myself out one foot at a time, terrified that I'd lose sight of Dad and be lost out in that gray nothing, alone forever. As we ran, the ridge ahead of us became more and more solid, a great looming black wall. I prayed for a cave, but even a good notch in the rock wall would have been enough to get us out of the rain and hide until morning. We were only fifty feet or so from it when Dad came to an abrupt halt. "Why are we stopping?!" Dad didn't say anything, he simply pointed. Between us and the ridge there was an immense gash in the earth, a gorge some thirty feet across and another thirty deep, with steep, muddy walls on our side and the ridge on the opposite. A boiling mess of muddy water, tree stumps, and trash raged at the bottom. Dad searched left and right for a crossing, but there wasn't any. His shoulders slumped. Even through the curtain of rain I could see the sunken hollow of his eyes, deep red-lined pits that sat in skin as gray as the air around us. "I'm sorry, Stephen. I swear to God, I'm so sorry."
	August 2011 DUST & DECAY by Jonathan Maberry KIRKUS The zombie attacks are bigger, better - and gorier - in this nearly non-stop action sequel to ROT & RUIN. BOOKLIST Maberry knows this world well; when the zombie apocalypse comes down, I want him on my team. * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY STARRED REVIEW of ROT & RUIN "The delineation between man and monster, survivor and victim is fiercely debated in Maberry's (Patient Zero) thoughtful, postapocalyptic coming-of-age tale. In Mountainside, an oasis of civilization in a world ravaged by zombies, residents must find work at age 15 or have their rations halved. With every other option exhausted, Benny Imura reluctantly apprentices with his older brother, Tom, as a zombie killer, despite blaming Tom for their parents' deaths. As Benny accompanies Tom into the hostile wilderness, he learns how wrong he was about many things, from the supposed "coolness" of larger-than-life bounty hunter Charlie Matthias to the inhuman nature of "zoms" and the true purpose of Tom's work. The eye-opening experiences continue when Charlie kidnaps Benny's potential girlfriend, Nix, as part of his efforts to track down the fabled Lost Girl, who holds the key to a deadly secret. In turns mythic and down-to-earth, this intense novel combines adventure and philosophy to tell a truly memorable zombie story, one that forces readers to consider them not just as flesh-eating monsters or things to be splattered, but as people."
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	June 2011 SHARKS & BOYS by Kristen Tracy * KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW Thoughtless teen behavior leads four sets of twins on a deadly adventure in a horribly realistic but often very funny survival tale. These eight teens have been part of a research study and know each other all too well. Enid, the only girl (she is a fraternal twin), is on a break from dating Wick, whose brother conspired to diss her in a zine co-authored by Burr and Skate, twins whose parents have just died in an accident. Narrator Enid isn't funny on purpose, but her angst and stalker behavior are hilarious, as she abandons her responsibilities and drives five hours to eavesdrop on the guys, who are partying. The boys head to the Gretchen, a boat owned by Burr and Skate, for a slightly tipsy outing on the high seas, and Enid follows, sure that Gretchen is female and possibly a stripper. She ends up hiding on board in the head. When the boat goes down and they are left with only a plastic raft, the reality turns increasingly deadly as the often-fortunate coincidences of survival tales don't help these kids out. As Enid names a few of the circling sharks, their increasingly dire situation reveals more about all eight twins, with twins Munny and Sov, who've seemed vulnerable, exhibiting unsuspected strength. William Golding updated with humor.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	May 2011 YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME by Brian Meehl * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY STARRED REVIEW Meehl (Suck It Up) draws inspiration from an American classic in this thought-provoking, often philosophical coming-of-age tale. Almost 16, Billy has spent his entire life traveling with his mother and fighting the good fight as "ninja warriors for the Lord." While Billy is secure in his faith and a willing crusader, he's ready to give up homeschooling for high school and lead a normal, nonnomadic life. The arrival of a message from his (supposedly dead) father gives Billy the impetus to break free and go on a wild road trip. Led by clues hidden in a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he travels cross-country, finding an unlikely traveling companion in Ruah Branch, a closeted gay black, professional baseball player. Billy and Ruah's friendship is tested by religious and personal beliefs, forcing Billy to rethink everything he's ever known. Throw in a trip to Burning Man, a pair of con artists, and the legendary sequel to Huckleberry Finn, and you have a recipe for a story both strange and wonderful. Meehl doesn't pull any punches as his characters undergo their own journeys to freedom in this powerful, intelligent tale. Sixteen-year-old Billy Albright is about to bust out of the sheltered cocoon his mother has created for him and go on a gonzo road trip. He just doesn't know it yet. His ticket to freedom? A mysterious Bible containing two resurrection stories. The second story is about a man Billy has never met, and who is supposedly dead: his father. But the road to a risen-from-the-grave dad, and the unusual inheritance he promises, is far from straight. Billy zigzags across the American West in a geocaching treasure hunt. After encountering a runaway baseball star, nudists who perform wild sun dances, a girl with neon green beauty parts, and con artists who blackmail him into their "anitaction movie," Billy quickly realizes that the path to self-discovery is mega off road. Brian Meehl's contemporary reimagining of Mark Twain's ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN is a probing and comic exploration of the enslaving chains that still rattle in America today.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	April 2011 THE DRAGON OF CRIPPLE CREEK by Troy Howell "I hate it when really wonderful illustrators turn out to be even more wonderful at writing novels. Somehow it's not fair. Yet how could I hate Troy Howell whose sassy, self-aware (and hurting) heroine Kit has one of the freshest voices in children's novels today. Whose dragon Ye has a marvelous world-weary insouciance. Whose landscapes and cave-scapes are as visualized in words as in his paintings. You guessed it. I love this book." - Jane Yolen, author of the Pit Dragon Chronicles, The Dragon's Boy, The Young Merlin Trilogy, and The Devil's Arithmetic "Troy Howell's heroine, Kat, is as luminous as the gold in her pocket. Readers better hang on to their hats as she tells her funny, sad, lyrical and finally- breathtaking tale. I absolutely loved this book." - Mary Pope Osborne, author of the Magic Treehouse series When Kat and her father and brother visit the Mollie Kathleen, an old gold mine now open for tours by the busload, Kat gets lost from the group and falls down a shaft, where she discovers an awe-inspiring world of fantasy. She meets an ancient dragon--the last of his kind--and discovers a secret about the god that litters the creature's den and why dragons throughout time have hoarded the sparkling treasure. The dragon helps Kat escape the endless caverns, but not before Kat greedily takes a piece of gold for herself. Feeling guilty, Kat decides to return it, but before she can do this she drops it in front of a group of visitors, and media frenzy ensues. Soon the mining town is filled with gold seekers. In order to save the dragon and his gold Kat and her brother must venture back into the mine to warn him. But will they get there in time? This fast-paced, beautifully told modern fantasy tale is children's book illustrator Troy Howell's writing debut.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	March 2011 I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU by Dan Wells PUBLISHERS WEEKLY In Wells's smart and sassy third supernatural featuring likable teenage sociopath John Wayne Cleaver (after Mr. Monster), The Handyman, a serial killer who removes the tongues and hands of his victims, is targeting the town fathers of Clayton, N. Dak. John, who sometimes assists his mother in the local mortuary business, believes the killer is demon possessed, and consults with a local priest, who's horrified to discover that empathy-empty John is a potential murderer himself. Then a rash of teen suicides breaks out, threatening John's girlfriend, Marci, and forcing him to revise his deductions about the killer's identity. Wells lards his fanciful narrative with enough mortuary pathology to give it a grisly edge. His true achievement, though, is his compelling depiction of John, who nurtures a darkness within that makes him seem much older than his actual years. Praise for I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER: * KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW Wells's debut, the first in a projected trilogy starring a character who seems the love child of Showtime's Dexter and F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack, is an unabashedly gory gem. While certainly not for all audiences, this deft mix of several genres features a completely believable teenage sociopath (with a heart of gold), dark humor, a riveting mystery and enough description of embalming to make any teen squeamish even if they won't admit it. "This dazzling unputdownable debut novel proves beyond a doubt that Dan Wells has the gift. His teenage protagonist is as chilling as he is endearing. More John Wayne Cleaver, please." - F. Paul Wilson, New York Times Bestselling author "The beauty of the prose, mixed with the depth of characterization, gives the haunting, first-person narrative a human touch. Regardless of your age or genre preferences, you will find this story both profound and enthralling." - Brandon Sanderson, New York Times Bestselling author
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	February 2011 THE KING OF PLAGUES by Jonathan Maberry PUBLISHERS WEEKLY In Maberry's audacious third novel featuring Department of Military Science agent Joe Ledger (after The Dragon Factory), Joe must stop a cult bent on over-throwing the world order. Though Ledger is unofficially retired, a terrorist attack that levels the Royal London Hospital killing thousands compels him to return to action. The London tragedy proves to be just the opening move in a meticulously planned plot. When a viral research facility in Scotland is compromised, the Bombay Stock exchange is bombed, and Ledger himself is almost killed by assassins, he and his DMS cohorts quickly realize that they are up against a terrorist group with virtually unlimited resources--about which they know little except its name, the Seven Kings. Powered by a cast of over-the-top characters, breakneck, pacing, nonstop action, and a subtle sense of humor, this is an utterly readable blend of adventure fiction, suspense thriller, and horror. Praise for the first Joe Ledger novel, PATIENT ZERO: "When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills...and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance..." * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY "Plenty of man-to-zombie combat, a team traitor and a doomsday scenario add up to a fast and furious read." * KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW "The book is as fun and funny as it is chilling and thrill-packed. Joe is a fantastic character, full of compassion, real vulnerabilities and a deliciously dark sense of humor. An immensely entertaining package." "The action is heated, violent, and furious, the writing remains cool, steady, and low-key, framing all the wildness and exuberance in a calm rationality (given an almost comic edge) that renders it as palatable as your favorite flavor of ice cream. This is a lovely treat and Maberry has written a memorable book." - Peter Straub
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	February 2011 TRAPPED by Michael Northrop The day the Blizzard started, no one knew it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision... BOOKLIST "It's a setup just plausible enough to give you chills. A nor'easter, which will ultimately be known as the worst blizzard in U.S. history, sweeps into a rural New England community, trapping seven kids inside their high school for days. Northrop begins with some dark foreshadowing - "Not all of us made it" - which makes the students' gradual realization of their predicament all the more frightening. First the snow piles up past the windows; then the water pipes freeze; then the roof starts making ominous noises. What begins as a sort of life-or-death The Breakfast Club (there's the delinquent, the pretty girl, the athlete, and so on) quickly turns into a battle for survival... there's no denying that the pages turn like wildfire." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Northrop (Gentlemen) offers a gripping disaster story that, for its reliance on luck and coincidences to set things up, is no less exciting... The problems are expected--darkness, infighting, jealousy, illness, hunger--but conveyed with a tight sense of realism through Scotty's narrative voice. He tells readers early on that "not all of us made it," so the surprise is less that things keep going wrong than how they do. Northrop's solid storytelling should keep readers rapt.
Available at Amazon and IndieBound	January 2011 THE REINVENTION OF BESSICA LEFTER by Kristen Tracy When you are in middle school, it is dumb to expect good things to happen to you. After an unfortunate accident at the hair salon, Bessica is not allowed to see her best friend, Sylvie. That means she's going to start middle school alone. Bessica feels like such a loser. She wants friends. She's just not sure how to make them. It doesn't help that her beloved grandma is off on some crazy road trip and has zero time to listen to Bessica. Or that Bessica has a ton of homework. Or that the gorgeous Noll Beck thinks she's just a kid. Or that there are psycho-bullies in her classes. Bessica doesn't care about being popular. She just wants to survive -- and look cute. Is that too much to ask when you're eleven? * THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS STARRED REVIEW "Readers negotiating their own middle-school minefields or soaking up all the preparatory information they can find will breathlessly follow Bessica's escapades." KIRKUS The first-person narration reveals the inconsistencies of preteendom, the magnified problems and rapid emotional swings. Both family and school are believable, but, appropriately, this is all about Bessica, a character whose newfound bear persona schoolmates and readers alike can applaud.