The Fall 2009 Simon & Schuster catalog is packed with great books! Here’s a sample:
Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld, October 2009: The first book in a new trilogy, Leviathantakes place on the cusp of WWI, and all the European powers are arming themselves for combat. The machine-loving Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their big steam-powered Clankers loaded with guns and explosives. Inspired by the discoveries of Darwin, the British have fabricated animals into warships. Their mothership, the Leviathan, is a marvelous whale-dirigible.
The Hollow, Jessica Verday, September 2009: When Abbey’s best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead?and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen’s funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey’s life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he’s the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again…but also special.
The Wyrm King (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles #3), Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, September 2009: In the final installment of Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, Nick and Laurie had thought they solved their giant problems when they drove all the giants into the sea. But now, the Grace kids have come back to tell them they may have more trouble coming their way! It turns out the giants control the population of Hydra, a dragon like creature that is creating sinkholes all over Florida. But with the mermaids refusing to return the giants to the shore, the nixie’s still missing and the threat of a destroyed Florida drawing closer, the kids have to take matters in their own hands. Will Nick and Laurie be able to stop the destruction they unwittingly caused? Can a new giant hunter help save the day? Can Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide help them out of this or are they on their own? Find out in the final conclusion of the Spiderwick saga!
Robot Zot! Jon Scieszka, September 2009: From the minds of Scieszka and Shannon comes a tale of a quixotic robot determined to conquer the earth. The only problem is that the earth he lands on is a suburban kitchen and he is three inches tall. Robot Zot, the fearless and unstoppable warrior, leaves a trail of destruction as he encounters blenders, toasters, and televisions. But when he discovers the princess…a pink cell phone…his mission takes a new course. Robot Zot must learn how to be a hero – in the name of true love.
The Shadow Dragons (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, Book 4), James Owen, October 2009: As a terrible battle rages, the Caretakers, past and present must come together with the legendary Don Quixote to decide the fate of the Imaginarium Geographica. Their only hope lies with the quest for the broken sword Caliburn. They must sail to the ends of the Archipelago to find the sword and the only person who can repair it: Madoc.
Tricks, Ellen Hopkins, August 2009: Five teenagers from different parts of the country. Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching…for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don’t expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words “I love you” are said for all the wrong reasons. Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story — a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, “Can I ever feel okay about myself?”
And there’s even more to get excited about:
- Dark Visions (Dark Visions Trilogy), L.J. Smith, October 2009: Kaitlyn has always felt ostracized from her peers. But when she’s invited to attend the Zetes Institute with other psychic teens, she finally feels like she fits in.
- The Monstrumologist, Rick Yancey, September 2009: It’s 1888, and orphan Will Henry is apprentice to a monster-hunting doctor. In this first book in his new gothic series, Yancey brings the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft to a spine-tingling adventure.
- Everwild (The Skinjacker Trilogy), Neal Shusterman, November 2009: In this riveting sequel to Everlost, Nick, the “Chocolate Ogre,” wants to help the children of Everlost reach the light at the end of the tunnel.
- William S. and the Great Escape, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, September 2009: 12 year old William S. Baggett is a good kid trapped in a really awful family. When he runs away with his little sister and 2 other siblings, the trip doesn’t go as planned. Will they ever make it to Aunt Fiona’s?
- Island of the Blessed, Nancy Farmer, October 2009: The crowning volume of the trilogy that started with The Sea of Trolls and continued with The Land of the Silver Applesbegins with a tornado (Odin on a Wild Hunt, as the young berserker Thorgil sees it). This telling is beguilingly suspenseful and, ultimately, a testament of love.
- Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware, M.T. Anderson, September 2009: The third and wacky installment in M.T. Anderson’s Thrilling Tales.