New YA

Graphic Novels:

Astonishing X-Men. Vol. 11, Weaponized -- The X-Men are under attack when Karma goes rogue, psychically assaulting her teammates as she loses her grip on reality, and Wolverine explodes in a ball of fire in Central Park!
Wolverine and the X-Men [2011]. Vol. 3 -- Wolverine is torn between two teams! Cyclops comes to the Jean Grey School to extend an olive branch, but will Wolverine's X-Men join their estranged ex-teammates against the Avengers?





Amazing Spider-Man. Lizard : no turning back -- Spider-Man must contend with the cold-blooded combination of the Lizard and Morbius -- one a rampaging reptile that may have cut the cord with his human host forever, the other a scientific genius with a vampiric lust for human blood. Morbius has developed a cure for the Lizard, but is there anything left of Dr. Curt Connors to save? Who exhumed the body of Connors' late son, Billy? And how can Spidey trust Morbius when every time he turns around, the Living Vampire is sinking his teeth into yet another victim? The answers come fast and furious in a frightening tale that reminds readers that when it comes to senses-shattering savagery, no one can stand with the Lizard!


Superman vs. Zod -- Some of Superman's greatest battles with his Kryptonian foe, General Zod, are collected for the first time. In his first appearance, Zod meets Superboy, projecting him into the Phantom Zone, the cosmic prison for Kryptonian criminals.

Batman. Detective Comics. Volume one, Faces of Death -- Batman races to uncover the Joker's latest laugh, a kidnapped Commissioner Gordon, and the mystery of the Gotham Ripper.
Batman illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 2 -- This second volume, featuring Adams's contributions from 1967-1969, shows the process of introduction, adaptation, and innovation that the young artist brought to this legendary crime fighter.

Flash Chronicles Volume four -- The Fastest Man Alive battles members of his infamous Rogues Gallery including Mirror Master, The Trickster, and Captain Boomerang. This volume includes the famous tale "Flash of Two Worlds," in which The Flash first meets his Golden Age predecessor.
combination of the Lizard and Morbius -- one a rampaging reptile that may have cut the cord with his human host forever, the other a scientific genius with a vampiric lust for human blood. Morbius has developed a cure for the Lizard, but is there anything left of Dr. Curt Connors to save?

Free Downloadable Audiobooks all summer & new books in the Library

Are you an audiobook fan? I am! I love to listen to audiobooks, so this summer, I'll be listening to free audiobooks from SYNC...

The first download will be available May 30, and the final one will be available until August 21st.

Escape Theory by Margaux Froley -- Bound by her oath of confidentiality and tortured by unrequited love, sixteen-year-old Devon, a peer counselor at a prestigious California boarding school, finds herself on a solitary mission to get to the bottom of a popular student's apparent suicide.







Not Exactly a Love Story by Audrey Couloumbis -- After his parents divorce, high school junior Vinnie Gold moves to Long Island with his mother and new stepfather, and must negotiate a secret crush and a rather complicated connection with the popular girl next door.

Pulse by Patrick Carman -- In the year 2051, when most Americans live in one of two gigantic, modern States, Faith Daniels, part of a dwindling group that lives between, learns that she, like other misfits, has unusual abilities that could help when the inevitable war begins.







Iceman by Chris Lynch -- Fourteen-year-old Eric, a ruthless hockey player prone to violence on the ice, tries to reconcile his own needs with those of his parents.

Shadow Boxer by Chris Lynch -- After their father dies of boxing injuries, George is determined to prevent his younger brother, who sees boxing as his legacy, from pursuing a career in the sport. This is a republication of Chris Lynch's debut novel from 1993.







Permanent Record by Leslie Stella -- Being yourself can be such a bad idea. For sixteen-year-old Badi Hessamizadeh, life is a series of humiliations. After withdrawing from public school under mysterious circumstances, Badi enters Magnificat Academy. To make things "easier," his dad has even given him a new name: Bud Hess. Grappling with his Iranian-American identity, clinical depression, bullying, and a barely bottled rage, Bud is an outcast who copes by resorting to small revenges and covert acts of defiance, but the pressures of his home life, plummeting grades, and the unrequited affection of his new friend, Nikki, prime him for a more dangerous revolution. Strange letters to the editor begin to appear in Magnificat's newspaper, hinting that some tragedy will befall the school. Suspicion falls on Bud, and he and Nikki struggle to uncover the real culprit and clear Bud's name. Permanent Record explodes with dark humor, emotional depth, and a powerful look at the ways the bullied fight back.

New YA Fiction

Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead -- Bloodlines #3 - As former Alchemist Marcus Finch pushes Alchemist Sydney Sage to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood -- or else she might be next.






Bruised by Sarah Skilton -- When she freezes during a hold-up at the local diner, sixteen-year-old Imogen, a black belt in Tae Kwan Do, has to rebuild her life, including her relationship with her family and with the boy who was with her during the shoot-out.


Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson -- Ultraviolet #2 - To prevent the public from learning about Tori's unusual DNA, technology "geek" Tori and her adoptive parents move to a new town and change their names.

Earth Girl by Janet Edwards -- Abandoned on Earth because of her inability to survive on other planets, Jarra crafts a fake background for herself to join a class of norms who are excavating the dangerous ruins of the old cities.










Spellcaster by Claudia Gray -- Spellcaster #1 - Descended from witches, high school senior Nadia can tell as soon as her family moves to Captive's Sound that the town is under a dark and powerful spell. Then, she meets Mateo, the teenage local whose cursed dreams predict the future, and they must work together to prevent an impending disaster that threatens the entire town.

Ruining by Anna Collomore -- Still feeling guilty over the death of her little sister leaves eighteen-year-old Annie vulnerable when she takes a nanny job in beautiful Marin County, California, and meets her very controlling employer.

New Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels:

Avengers Academy. Vol. 5, Avenger vs. X-Men -- The teenage mutant from Generation Hope and Utopia arrive at Avengers Academy ... but as guests or prisoners? And have the Academy students switched sides in the war with the mutants? When Sebastian Shaw strikes, it may not matter! Then, the Phoenix-powered X-Men come for the school's Sentinel! Who will take a stand? Plus, Thor leads a team of Secret Avengers into space to stop the Phoenix by any means necessary! Who is Minister Marvel, and why has he drawn the Phoenix to the Kree homeworld? The Avengers devise a way to save the Kree, but one man stands in their way: the original Captain Marvel, reborn to unite his people! Can Ms. Marvel and the Protector break free of Minister Marvel's influence to aid their former companions?

X-Men. Wolverine/Gambit -- Wolverine and Gambit are brought together by a series of brutal murders in London that seem to herald the return of the nineteenth-century killer called Jack the Ripper, and as the two look into the situation, it comes to light that one of them may have a secret motive behind their involvement.

Spider-Man. The Death of Jeanne Dewolff -- When police Captain Jean DeWolff becomes the sinister Sin-Eater's first murder victim, Jean--in death as in life--prompts Spider-Man into action against a killer whose threat is too serious for the hero's trademark banter. After a similar tragedy strikes Matt Murdock's life, Daredevil joins the hunt--tracking a criminal too vile for even the Kingpin's tastes. Spidey thinks the villain's solved the case for him when a man in Sin-Eater's mask visits the Daily Bugle, but the challenge has only started. Spider-Man is forced to uncover more dark deeds--within himself--and the Man Without Fear must stop his longtime friend from becoming the Man Without Restraint.

Thor. The Mighty Avenger. The Complete Collection -- A re-imagining of the God of Thunder! Thrill as Thor battles robots the size of cities! Gasp as he tames the mightiest sea creatures! Swoon as he rescues damsels from the vilest villains! It's Thor as you've never seen him, as the god of thunder tests his might against the Sub-Mariner, learns why he was banished from Asgard, battles Fin Fang Foom, takes on raging robots, and fights side-by-side with Iron Man for the very first time! Plus, when mischevious Loki's machinations throw Thor and a World War II-era Captain America into King Arthur's court, it's a time-twisting tale of Camelot craziness that neither Avenger will ever forget!

Superman vs. Shazam -- It's the Man of Steel vs. the World's Mightiest Mortal in this action-packed collection, featuring appearances by many of their allies in the battle for justice, as well as villains including Mr. Mxyzptlk, Mr. Mind, Captain Nazi, Black Adam, and more.

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

I have liked both of Sarah Beth Durst's previous novels, but with Vessel I think she has moved from being a writer whom I enjoy, to a writer for whom I wait with anticipation.

Vessel tells the tale of a young woman chosen to die for her people. Her sacrifice is a willing one, as she knows it will bring water, in the form of god-given magic, back to her drought-stricken people. She dances to call her goddess to her, to allow Bayla to possess her and drive her soul from her body, and use it as her tool, her vessel, in the act of providing for her people. But when Bayla does not arrive, Liyana is forced to re-evaluate everything she knows, believes, and wants.

Soon, Liyana finds herself on a quest, to rescue her lost and possibly kidnapped goddess. But will the rescue mean that she must, in turn, die? What does it mean that when she looks upon Korbyn, the god who loves Bayla, that her heart stirs?

Liyana is a marvelous heroine, strong in her beliefs and in her cause, certain of her own rightness, but willing to see that others may have views that, while different from hers, are also right. She grows and changes over the course of the story, but never strays from her original sense of right and wrong. Liyana's tale of grief, trust, love, faith and ultimate sacrifice is beautifully told; her world is believable and I was thrilled to live in it for a while. I hope that we will share other tales of the desert clans, or at least of the world connected to the Dreaming.

New YA Fiction

Graphic Novels:

D.Gray-Man Vol. 22 by Hoshino -- Struggling with mounting turmoil over his own identity, Allen meets The Cardinal. Who is he? What is he? Why is he interested in Allen? The answers are startling, and arrive with a vision that shocks the young demon fighter to the core!



Strobe Edge Vol. 3 by Sakisaka -- Ninako's feelings for Ren continue to stir, especially since he seems to be sending her mixed messages. One minute he's avoiding her and the next minute he's holding her to hide her away from Ando! Could seeing Ando's interest in Ninako be causing some subtle changes inside Ren?

Fiction:

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare -- Infernal Devices #3 - When seventeen-year-old orphaned shapechanger Tessa Gray is kidnapped by the villainous Mortmain in his final bid for power, the London Institute rallies to save her, but is beset by danger and betrayal at every turn.

Sever by Lauren DeStefano -- After modern science turns every human into a genetic time bomb with men dying at age twenty-five and women dying at age twenty, teenaged Rhine finds hope for a brighter future from a surprising source.







Balthazar by Claudia Gray -- Evernight #6 - Vampire Balthazar More emerges from his centuries-long isolation to help Skye Tierney, a psychic girl who once attended Evernight Academy, when she catches the attention of the cruel master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries earlier.

New YA

Graphic Novels:

Beautiful Creatures: the manga by Kami Garcia --  In a graphic novel adaptation of the book, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.

Broxo by Zack Giallongo -- Broxo, the only surviving member of a tribe of barbarians, spends his time on a mountain hunting and avoiding the man-eating walking dead until everything changes when Zora, a foreign princess, arrives on the mountain seeking Broxo's lost tribe.








I, Witness by Norah McClintock -- Boone and Robbie witness a violent murder and decide to keep it to themselves, but then Robbie is murdered and another friend soon after. Boone decides he needs to figure out who is killing his friends. And why. Soon, the cops and the bad guys are after him, and Boone has to decide what the truth is worth.

Cat's Cradle. Book 1, The Golden Twine by Jo-Ann Fioux -- With monsters slipping through the mountains into the valley of Galatea, Suri, an orphan, dreams of becoming a monster tamer.

Fiction:

Odette's Secrets by Maryann MacDonald -- When Odette's father becomes a Nazi prisoner-of-war and the Paris police begin arresting Jews, her mother sends Odette to hide in the Catholic French countryside where she must keep many secrets to survive.








Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell -- Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits -- smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.
Feral Nights by  Smith