New Books

Graphic Novels:
Maximum Ride the manga vol. 5 -- Escaping ITEX in Florida, the Flock head west, with Max more burdened than ever by the knowledge that she's meant to save the world. But while their leader is keen to stay on the path leading to her destiny, Fang and the others are more interested in settling down and letting the chips fall where they may.
Captain America: Man out of Time -- Decades after Captain America is presumed killed, he is found in suspended animation by the Avengers and awakens to a strange new America he barely recognizes, with the death of his partner, Bucky Barnes, hanging over him.
Flashpoint -- Barry Allen is a hero. He protects the innocent and battles evil as the Flash - the world's fastest man. But this is not the world he knew. This is a world where Wonder Woman and Aquaman have plunged millions into the darkness of war...where the fastest man alive is just another man.
Twilight the graphic novel vol. 2 -- Having uncovered the dark secret of her enigmatic classmate, Edward Cullen, Bella Swan embraces her feelings for him, trusting Edward to keep her safe despite the risks. When a rival clan of vampires makes its way into Forks, though, the danger to Bella has never been more real. Will she make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the people dearest to her?


Fiction:
Big Crunch by Pete Hautman -- June is starting at her sixth school in four years when she meets Wes, who has just broken up with a girlfriend, and although they do not share an instant or intense connection, attraction turns to love and they wonder where it will lead.
Beatle Meets Destiny by Gabrielle Williams -- When superstitious eighteen-year-old John "Beatle" Lennon, who is dating the best friend of his twin sister, meets Destiny McCartney, their instant rapport and shared quirkiness make it seem that their fate is written in the stars.
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins -- When Anna's romance-novelist father sends her to an elite American boarding school in Paris for her senior year of high school, she reluctantly goes, and meets an amazing boy who becomes her best friend, in spite of the fact that they both want something more.
Exposed by Kimberly Marcus -- High school senior Liz, a gifted photographer, can no longer see things clearly after her best friend accuses Liz's older brother of a terrible crime.
Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan -- Homelanders Book 2 - As eighteen-year-old Charlie West continues to elude the law and the group of terrorists looking for him, he tries to remember what happened a year ago and find out who has framed him so he can clear his name.
Karma: a Novel in Verse by Ostlere -- In 1984, following her mother's suicide, 15-year-old Maya and her Sikh father travel to New Delhi from Canada to place her mother's ashes in their final resting place. On the night of their arrival, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated, Maya and her father are separated when the city erupts in chaos, and Maya must rely on Sandeep, a boy she has just met, for survival.
Something to Hold by Katherine Noe -- In the early 1960s, Kitty is one of only two white children in her class on Warm Springs Reservation, Oregon, where her father is a government forester, and although past injustices and pain are still very much alive there, she eventually finds friendships and opportunities to make a difference. Includes map, author's note, glossary, and pronunciation guide.
Miles from Ordinary by Carol Williams -- As her mother's mental illness spins terrifyingly out of control, thirteen-year-old Lacey must face the truth of what life with her mother means for both of them.
Queen of Hearts by Martha Brooks -- Shortly after her first kiss but before her sixteenth birthday in December, 1941, Marie Claire and her younger brother and sister are sent to a tuberculosis sanatorium near their Manitoba farm.
Thunder Over Kandahar by Sharon McKay -- A powerful novel of enduring friendship set amid the terror and chaos of present-day Afghanistan.
It's a Wonderful Life by Jesse Goossens -- Dutch almost-eighteen-year-old Anna is not allowed to go on a Spanish beach vacation with her friends. Instead, her parents send her to small town America to spend the summer with her uncle. To pass the time, Anna starts working in an antique shop where she befriends different kinds of people ranging from the local undertaker -- a boy her age -- to an elderly Jewish couple. Anna could never have imagined that what she thought would be the dullest holiday ever would turn out to be a time where she discovers what life is about.
Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Stolarz -- When someone starts stalking high school junior Camelia, everyone at school assumes that it is Ben, who is new at school and rumored to have killed his previous girlfriend, but Camelia is nevertheless inexplicably drawn to him.
All Men of Genius by Lev Rosen -- Violet Adams finds it difficult to keep her true gender secret when she disguises herself as a man to attend an exclusive college.
Ashes by Ilsa Bick -- Alex, a resourceful seventeen-year-old running from her incurable brain tumor, Tom, who has left the war in Afghanistan, and Ellie, an angry eight-year-old, join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky and kills most of the world's population, turning some of those who remain into zombies and giving the others superhuman senses.
Survival Kit by Donna Freitas -- After her mother dies, sixteen-year-old Rose works through her grief by finding meaning in a survival kit that her mother left behind.
Silence of Murder by Dandi McKall -- Sixteen-year-old Hope must defend her developmentally disabled brother (who has not spoken a word since he was seven) when he is accused of murdering a beloved high school baseball coach.
Misfit by Jon Skovron -- Seattle sixteen-year-old Jael must negotiate normal life in Catholic school while learning to control the abilities she inherited from her mother, a demon, and protect those she loves from Belial, the Duke of Hell.
Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst -- After sixteen-year-old vampire Pearl Sange is stabbed through the heart by a were-unicorn, she develops non-vampire-like traits that lead her to save her high school classmates from the Vampire King of New England.
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan Told in the alternating voices of Dash and Lily, two sixteen-year-olds carry on a wintry scavenger hunt at Christmas-time in New York, neither knowing quite what -- or who -- they will find.
Lie by Caroline Bock -- Told in several voices, a group of Long Island high school seniors conspire to protect eighteen-year-old Jimmy after he brutally assaults two Salvadoran immigrants, until they begin to see the moral implications of Jimmy's actions and the consequences of being loyal to a violent bully.
Michael Vey : the Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans -- 1st in the Michael Vey series: To everyone at Meridian High School, fourteen-year-old Michael Vey is nothing special, just the kid who has Tourette's syndrome. But in truth, Michael is extremely special -- he has electric powers. Michael thinks he is unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor has the same mysterious powers.
Girls Don't Fly by Kristen Chandler -- Myra, a high school senior, will do almost anything to win a contest and earn money for a study trip to the Galapagos Islands, which would mean getting away from her demanding family life in Utah and ex-boyfriend Erik, but Erik is set on winning the same contest.
Always War by Margaret Haddix -- In a war-torn future United States, fifteen-year-old Tessa, her childhood friend Gideon, now a traumatized military hero, and Dek, a streetwise orphan, enter enemy territory and discover the shocking truth about a war that began more than seventy-five years earlier.
Poisoned House by Michael Ford -- As the widowed master of an elegant house in Victorian-era London slips slowly into madness and his tyrannical housekeeper takes on more power, a ghostly presence distracts a teenaged maidservant with clues to a deadly secret.
Bronxwood by Coe Booth -- Tyrell's life is spinning out of control after his father is released from prison, his little brother is placed in foster care, and the drug dealers he's living with are pressuring him to start dealing.
Legend by Marie Lu -- In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.
Robot by Paul Watson -- When unpopular freshman Gabe Messner and his best friend Dover crack the code to the forbidden laboratory of Gabe's father, they unwittingly unleash T.R.I.N.A., a beautiful blonde robot programmed with a mission that the two boys must put to a stop.
Leverage by Joshua Cohen -- High school sophomore Danny excels at gymnastics but is bullied, like the rest of the gymnasts, by members of the football team, until an emotionally and physically scarred new student joins the football team and forms an unlikely friendship with Danny.
Between by Jessica Warman -- By weaving through her memories and watching the family and friends she left behind, eighteen-year-old Liz Valchar solves the mystery of how her life ended in the Long Island Sound.
Variant by Robison Wells -- First in a series -- After years in foster homes, seventeen-year-old Benson Fisher applies to New Mexico's Maxfield Academy in hopes of securing a brighter future, but instead he finds that the school is a prison and no one is what he or she seems.
Brooklyn, Burning by Steven Brezenoff -- Sixteen-year-old Kid, who lives on the streets of Brooklyn, loves Felix, a guitarist and junkie who disappears, leaving Kid the prime suspect in an arson investigation. But a year later, Scout arrives, giving Kid a second chance to be in a band and find true love.
Hunted by Adam Slater -- Shadowing, book 1 -- At the time called The Shadowing, the barrier between the netherworld and the human world begins to break down, and as fourteen-year-old Callum sees his visions of grisly murders coming true, he strives to fulfill his destiny to stand against bloodthirsty demon forces while he, himself, is being hunted.
Planesrunner by Ian McDonald -- When fourteen-year-old Everett Singh's scientist father is kidnapped from the streets of London, he leaves a mysterious app on Everett's computer, giving him access to the Infundibulum -- a map of parallel earths -- which is being sought by technologically advanced dark powers that Everett must somehow elude while he tries to rescue his father.

New Books

Graphic Novels:
Shonen Jump for January 2012 -- Bakuman artist issue!

Fiction:
King's Ransom by Jude Watson -- 39 Clues. Vespers vs. Cahills bk. 2 -- After seven members of their family are kidnapped by an organization called the Vespers, Dan and Amy Cahill must race against time to track down an ancient map to pay as ransom to bring the hostages home.
Body of Water by Sarah Dooley -- After their trailer home and all their belongings are burned, twelve-year-old Ember and her Wiccan family move to a lakeside campground where Ember's anguish over losing her dog, as well as her friendship with the boy she fears started the fire, stops her from making new friends and moving on.
Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch -- Twenty years after the start of the war that caused the Collapse, fifteen-year-old Stephen, his father, and grandfather travel post-Collapse America scavenging, but when his grandfather dies and his father decides to risk everything to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down.
Future of Us by Jay Asher -- It's 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on -- and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.
Illusions by Aprilynne Pike -- As her senior year of high school starts, Laurel is just beginning to adjust to Tamani's absence when he suddenly reappears, telling her he must guard her against the returning threat of the trolls that pose a danger both to her and to Avalon.

Free short story by Cynthia Leitich Smith

If you enjoy her books, or if you want to find out if you'd enjoy them, try THIS link!
She writes really neat vampire/werewolf stories, like Tantalize and Eternal... which are all set in Austin, TX. So give it a try!

Book Review

Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer - I've always liked Susan Pfeffer as an author, since I read "The Year Without Michael" during my first year as a YA Librarian. But I do think that Blood Wounds might be my favorite book by her. It follows the complex emotional journey of Willa, a girl whose birth father, whom she has not seen since she and her mother ran away when she was four, commits an act of terrific evil. Willa is forced to confront the ramifications of being a killer's daughter, of living with two stepsisters who have "everything" that she lacks, of having a mother who has kept secret, closed off, the whole history of her life before running away. Willa is a strong heroine, with her own secrets. She manages to endure, to struggle, to speak out, but her journey is a tough one. You'll want to take it with her... I'd recommend this to anyone who loves realistic, emotional stories about strong young women without an ounce of romance, supernatural elements or other window dressing. Five stars!

Pikapals Club update

Anyone who wants to come to Central Library and pick up their baked polymer clay critters is now welcome to do so. Remember, I'll have them up here all month, and I will also bring any as-yet unclaimed critters to the program in January. We'll be watching one of the Anime movies I mentioned last month (at least the first hour or so). Please come and join us! Snacks and water as usual...

Book Reviews

I thought I'd tell you about two books I read recently, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed. First is The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, and second was Witchlanders by Lena Coakley.

The Princess Curse is a retelling of the fairytale "Twelve Dancing Princesses" with a lot of mythology (Persephone among others) and medieval history. But it doesn't feel heavy! It's a very sprightly, enjoyable tale that follows Reveka, a girl who is determined to make her own future by breaking the "silly curse" that affects the twelve princesses of the kingdom. But as Reveka comes to understand the ramifications of the curse, she realizes it is far more serious than she ever imagined. With the aid of a kindly maid, her father's apprentice, and others, Reveka embarks on a quest to save both her kingdom, and the underworld realm she discovers. This was the third retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses story I've read recently, and I liked it the best. Reveka was a believable heroine who had strong motives and a realistic ability to succeed in her mission. I look forward to the potential sequel. This story is one I would recommend especially to younger teens, who enjoy historical fiction or fantasy.

Witchlanders is a slightly longer story, more intense and darker in tone. Ryder's mother is a witch, and since his father's death, her strange behavior has disturbed and worried him. Now she is determined to summon the members of her old coven, because she has had a vision she cannot interpret. But Ryder soon discovers that nearly everything he has been taught about his country, his mother's history, and witchcraft, is wrong. And when he meets a mysterious stranger from the hated nation of Baen, his whole view of the world may have to change... if he is going to be able to save the lives of his sisters, his village, and perhaps his entire people! I would recommend Witchlanders (and the possible sequels) to anyone, teens or adults, who likes fantasy with believable characters, good worldbuilding, and ambivalent villains.

New Books (almost all graphic novels)

Graphic Novels:
Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 26 -- With all the pieces now in his possession, the homunculus 'father' executes his master plan as Edward and the others watch in horror. When the dust settles, the entire world has been reshaped. With the help of Hohenheim, the Elric brothers lauch a desperate final attack, but is it all too late...?
Bakuman vols 1-3 Average student Moritaka Mashiro enjoys drawing for fun. When his classmate and aspiring writer Akito Takagi discovers his talent, he begs Moritaka to team up with him as a manga-creating duo. But, what exactly does it take to make it in the manga-publishing world? Moritaka is hesitant to seriously consider Akito's proposal because he knows how difficult reaching the professional level can be.
Nabari No Ou vols 1-2 -- Apathetic schoolboy Miharu Rokujou is content to meander through life in the sleepy village of Banten. But, his quiet existence is shattered when the Grey Wolves of Iga, a powerful ninja clan, attempt to kidnap him in broad daylight. Only then does Miharu discover that the ultimate power of the hidden ninja realm -- a power that can do both great good and great harm -- is sealed within his body.
Blood Blockade Battlefront vol. 1 -- A breach between Earth and the netherworlds has opened up over the city of New York, trapping New Yorkers and creatures from other dimensions in an impenetrable bubble. They've lived together for years, in a world of crazy crime sci-fi sensibilities. Now, someone is threatening to sever the bubble, and a group of stylish superhumans is working to keep it from happening.
Eye of the World vol. 1 by Robert Jordan -- Three young friends from a village so far on the fringes that its residents no longer know they're part of the queen's kingdom set out on an adventure that will change their lives and place them in the middle of events they can neither control nor escape.
Naruto vol. 52 -- Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto finally meet, as the former classmates' complicated past gives way to a violent and unsure future. Naruto realizes he must eventually battle Sasuke one-on-one... to the death! But with Sasuke and his dark allies bent on complete destruction, and political intrigue in the villages, will the powerful Allied Shinobi Forces allow the two "friends" to meet in battle?!
Blue Exorcist vols 1-3 -- Fight hellfire with hellfire! Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. One day, a fateful argument with Father Fujimoto forces Rin to face a terrible truth -- the blood of the demon lord Satan runs in Rin's veins!
Hero Tales vol. 5 -- The time is drawing near when Taitou must face the self-proclaimed ruler of the Ken Empire, Keirou -- and the avatars of the opposing stars Hagun and Tonrou will decide the fate of the world! Taitou makes his way to the capital with only a handful of friends and Divine Warriors.
Eyeshield 21 vols 11-15 -- The Devil Bats are up against the NASA Aliens, who just happen to have a huge front line and a quarterback who throws like a rocket launcher. Will Sena's speed be enough to give them an edge?
Romeo x Juliet -- Neo-Verona was once peacefully ruled by the Capulet family, but the rival house of Montague led a coup against the Capulets, wiping them out. Fourteen years later, Lord Montague rules Neo-Verona with an iron fist. But there is hope for the suffering citizens: Juliet Capulet survived the massacre and now turns her sword against the wealthly Montagues in an effort to aid the poor.
Fairy Tail vols 15-16 -- Laxus' protectors have all been defeated, but he still remains one of the most powerful wizards in Fairy Tail, and his Thunder Palace is threatening to rain down death and destruction on the innocent people of Magnolia! Can the two dragon slayers, Natsu and Gajeel, manage to keep from fighting each other enough to stop him?
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan vols 1-2 -- While the day belongs to humans, the night belongs to yokai, supernatural creatures that thrive on human fear. Caught between these worlds is Rikuo Nura. He's three-quarters human, but his grandfather is none other than Nurarihyon, the supreme commander of the Nura clan, a powerful yokai consortium. So, Rikuo is an ordinary teenager three quarters of the time, until his yokai blood awakens. Then, Rikuo transforms into the future leader of the Nura clan, leading a hundred demons.
Uncanny X-Men. Breaking Point -- Magneto is an X-Man. This may not be news to you, but only a handful in the Marvel Universe know that the poster boy for Fearing Mutants is now living just off the coast of one of the United State's largest cities. How on Earth are the X-Men going to explain the presence of one of the world's most infamous super villains?
X-Men. Legacy. Collision -- Following the events of Second Coming, young X-Man Indra is called back to India at the request of his family. Accompanied by Rogue and Magneto, the X-Men arrive to discover that not all is right in Mumbai -- and not just due to tensions with Indra's parents. Earthquakes tear through the streets, and energy flares cause planes to fall from the sky. Could this be a new mutant manifestation? Or is this something far more sinister?
Spider-Man. The Next Chapter -- Peter Parker thought he'd given up a life as Spider-Man, but he keeps getting pulled back in! With threats like the Kingpin, Bullseye, Dr. Octopus, Shadrac, the Scorpion, the Frightful Four, Marrow and Tokkots coming at him from every angle, it's a good thing Spider-Man has friends like the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Madame Web, Thor and Man-Thing at his side!
Showcase Presents The  Trial of the Flash -- Following the murder of The Flash's wife, Iris, by his greatest foe, The Reverse-Flash, the two costumed characters are locked in a round-the-world race and battle -- one that ended in the death of the evildoer. This is only the beginning of a startling chain of events for The Fastest Man Alive, as he is arrested on a charge of murder.
Justice League of America. Vol. 7, Team History -- A new era begins for the JLA as a one-time member falls before he can warn the team of looming peril -- while what's left of the JLA journeys to the heart of their past to decide if the team has any future at all. Also, the Blackest Night darkens the skies over the Justice League. Can the team get it together in time to survive the return of the undead Dr. Light? And then, the team regroups with a new roster that will transcend time and space!

Fiction:
You Are My Only by Beth Kephart -- Tells, in their separate voices and at a space of fourteen years, of Emmy, whose baby has been stolen, and Sophie, a teenager who defies her nomadic, controlling mother by making friends with a neighbor boy and his elderly aunts.