Reading Rants & Rigmarole

	Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender (Supernatural/Horror) Alexis is a loner who has a grudge against the cheerleading team for driving away the only friend she ever had. To deal with her loneliness, she turns to photography and seeks shelter in her darkroom. After sneaking out one night to photograph her 100-year-old house, Alexis’s sister Kasey begins acting very strangely. She becomes spiteful and demanding, and she has extreme mood swings and her eyes have changed color. At first, Alexis thinks it might just be because her sister has become a teenager but after a series of incidents that may not have been accidents, Alexis has to ask herself, “Is something more sinister at work?”
	The Brain Finds a Leg by Martin Chatterton (Mystery/Humor) Sheldon’s dad died two years ago when crazed whales attacked his ship. Now a surfer is found dead with a leg missing and a crocodile who thinks it’s a dog is carrying the leg around like a stick. Can the new toothpaste factory have something to do with it? And what about that horrible teacher, Mrs. Fleming and the bumbling cop dating Sheldon’s mom? Sounds like a case for Theo Brain and his trusty sidekick. Yes, of course, it’s Sheldon.
	The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd (Science Fiction) In 2015, England becomes the first nation to introduce carbon dioxide rationing in a drastic bid to combat climate change. Laura documents the first year of rationing as her school, friends, band, and family spirals out of control.
	Chasing the Bear: A Young Spencer Novel by Robert B. Parker (Realistic) Spenser, the famous Boston private detective, reflects back to when he was fourteen years old and how he helped his best friend Jeannie when she was abducted by her abusive father.
	Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn (Mystery) When thirteen-year-old Logan and his family move into a run-down old house in rural Virginia, he discovers that a woman was murdered there and becomes involved with his neighbor Arthur in a dangerous investigation to try to find the killer.
	The Compound by S.A. Bodeen (Science Fiction) When Eli was nine, his billionaire father led his family into the Compound, an extravagant underground bunker built to protect them against nuclear war. Despite having every comfort, Eli is haunted by the fact that his twin and his grandmother were left behind. He also begins to question his father after an inventory miscalculation threatens their survival, and his dad hatches a morally corrupt plan to “enhance their food supply.”
	Crossing Stones by Helen Frost (Historical/Novel in Verse) In their own voices, four young people, Muriel, Frank, Emma, and Ollie, tell of their experiences during World War I. As the boys enlist and are sent overseas, Emma finishes school, and Muriel fights for peace and women’s suffrage.
	Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang (Graphic Novel) In three graphic novellas, Yang and Kim explore the power of dreams and, more to the point, the power of waking up.
	Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis (Novel in Verse) Mazzy’s mother won’t get out of bed. Her father has virtually abandoned the family. But everything will be fine . . . right?
	Ghost Huntress: The Awakening by Marley Gibson (Supernatural) Kendall did not want to leave Chicago and move to Radisson, Georgia. She certainly did not want the power of communicating with ghosts. But that is what happened. Kendall forms a ghost hunting team to battle a belligerent spirit that is trying to harm her father.
	Ghosts Caught on Film: Photographs of the Paranormal by Dr. Melvyn Willin (Nonfiction) An extraordinary collection of strange and unexplained photographs that offer the exciting possibility of ghosts and paranormal activity captured on film. The book features early photographs from the Society for Psychical Research of Psychics and Mediums producing ectoplasm, ghost pictures and other paranormal phenomena, as well as celebrated modern images.
	If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Realistic) It’s a snow day and Mia and her family pile into their beat-up station wagon for a drive. Unlike most teenagers, Mia enjoys hanging out with her quirky family until an oncoming driver shatters their lives, leaving the gravely injured Mia with the ultimate decision: Should she stay or go?
	Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor (Horror/Humor) What could these students and fellow Killer Pizza employees have in common - an aspiring chef, a guy named Strobe, the popular girl and a slacker?? Monster hunting, perhaps?!?!
	Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (Science Fiction) In an alternate 1914 Europe, 15-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.
	The Mitochondrial Curiosities of Marcels 1-19 by Jocelyn Brown (Realistic) Biology is not Dree’s thing. Equally heinous are English, social studies, her sister and mother, not to mention Edmonton in general. Toronto’s upcoming Renegade Craft Fair is where she belongs. On her 15th birthday, she will get the special fund her father promised, and the day after that she’ll be on Westjet Flight 233 to Toronto. Instead, her dad has a fatal heart attack, and all she finds are clues leading to the ominous Alberta Psychiatric Hospital where her parents once worked.
	Newsgirl by Liza Ketchum (Historical Fiction) In the spring of 1851 San Francisco is booming. Twelve-year-old Amelia Forrester has just arrived with her family and they are eager to make a new life. But the mostly male town is not that hospitable to females and Amelia decides she will earn more money as a boy. Cutting her hair and donning a cap, she joins a gang of newsboys, selling Eastern newspapers for a fortune.
	One of the Survivors by Susan Shaw (Realistic) When his classmates die in a school fire, 14-year-old Joey is haunted by their deaths and struggles to survive amidst suspicion and anger from the town.
	Pop by Gordon Korman (Realistic/Sports) The strikes against Marcus keep piling up…He’s new in town, but thinks he deserves to play quarterback for the undefeated team; the head cheerleader is flirting with him to make her boyfriend jealous; he’s being blamed for pranks being pulled in town; and a fifty-year-old man is randomly meeting him in the park to play football. Marcus is taking a lot of hard hits and it all has to do with the “King of Pop.”
	Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith (Classic/Horror) An old classic with a new twist. Miss Elizabeth Bennet meets and instantly dislikes the arrogant Mr. Darcy. Unfortunatley, Miss Bennet needs Mr. Darcy to help her battle zombies that are taking over the English countryside.
	The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Biel (Mystery) Sophie, Margaret and Rebecca attend St. Veronica’s, an all-girls’ school in Manhattan, where they encounter the elderly, eccentric Ms. Harriman who lives next door. Ms. Harriman enlists the sympathetic trio to solve an elaborate puzzle her archaeologist father created 20 years ago. As the girls discover, the clues refer to objects or places in St. Veronica’s and challenge their knowledge of religion, classical languages, math, literature, philosophy and art. For each clue solved, another is provided. As the girls get closer to the ring, they realize they aren’t alone in their quest.
	The Roar by Emma Clayton (Science Fiction) It’s been 30 years since the Animal Plague. The world’s population has been living behind a giant wall; the poor eat mold pressed into food and live in darkness under the rich people’s high rises; everyone is afraid of the government. Is that why no one believes Mika when he says his twin sister is not dead, but kidnapped? And why are all the parents allowing their kids to enter a dangerous military contest? There is a hidden agenda here and it’s up to Mika and his contest partner, Audrey, who are both mutants, to uncover the truth and save people from their unbearable lives.
	Sideshow: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists, and Other Matters Odd and Magical by Various Authors (Short Stories) A collection of seven short stories and three short graphic stories. Meet mediums, mummies, bearded ladies, three-headed rats and other creatures that will have the reader rethinking what it means to be different.
	Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman (Mystery) It will take more than Ryan’s broken leg or threats from his parents to stop him from investigating the strange occurrences in is his hometown of Skeleton Creek. In addition to reading Ryan’s journal, readers will be able to watch videos from his friend Sarah’s website.
	Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey (Fantasy) The first book in the Resurrection of Magic trilogy, tells two stories centuries apart, but mysteriously and magically intertwined.
	Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (Nonfiction) In 1993 Greg Mortenson tried to climb K2. On the way down he became lost in the mountains of Pakistan and stumbled into a poor village. The village chief offers him three cups of tea and his villagers nurse Mortenson back to health. Moved by their kindness, he promises to return and build a school for their children.
	The War at Ellsmere by Faith Erin Hicks (Graphic Novel) Juniper wins a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school, Ellsmere Academy, something she’s been wanting for a long time. Unfortunately, the school doesn’t turn out to be what she expected: Her roommate might be slightly crazy, there’s a scary legend about a monster in the forest next to the school, and she’s made a mortal enemy of Ellsmere’s top student, who sets out to destroy her.
	Watersmeet by Ellen Abbott (Fantasy) Fourteen-year-old Abisina is seen as an outcast by her society, which embraces violence and prejudice against anyone or anything different. When their new leader decides to cleanse the lands, Abisina must leave her mother and sets out with a dwarf, Haret, to seek the father she has never met in a place called Watersmeet - a place that welcomes all.
	Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford (Adventure/Historical) Orphaned by a ninja pirate attack off the coast of Japan in 1611, 12-year-old English lad Jack Fletcher is determined to prove himself, despite the bullying of fellow students, when the legendary sword master who rescued him begins training him as a samurai warrior.

Would You by Marthe Jocelyn (Realistic) When Nat’s sister, Claire, winds up in a coma, Nat’s anticipated summer of working, hanging around with friends, and seeing Claire off to college is transformed into a nightmare of doctors, hospitals, and endless questions.

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