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Set in West Fork, Colorado, at Meddlehart Academy, A House of Vipers is Emma Jackson’s debut young adult novel. A boarding school for young people with wealthy parents, Meddlehart has a hidden treasure story, but is there really a buried treasure or is the story just one to entice the youth to join the Order of the Vipers? With mystery at its core, Jackson’s book has a three-pronged plot: a tragedy, a treasure, and a love triangle. Five students are bound by the loyalty of friendship and a bond like family, so when Sutter Heyward seeks the support of his friends: Carter Sterling, Grayson Hendricks,Read More →

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Set in Massachusetts, Found Sound by Meg Wolitzer and Charlie Panek begins with Felix Frank almost missing his fifth grade graduation since it’s easier to ignore the world than to listen to it. As a middle child, Felix feels like his parents don’t ever listen to him. His younger brother, Miles, is a genius who is always inventing something, and his older brother Dylan is now 20 but left home on unsettling terms. This leaves Felix feeling somewhat guilty as well as ignored. After a septic tank explosion causes the closure of the Fun in the Sun program that Felix had signed up for, heRead More →

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With We’re a Bad Idea, Right? K.L. Walther writes a hilarious romance for young adults. Set in Connecticut, this coming-of-age story explores themes of friendship, love, and self-discovery. Told with just the right amount of realism, the rom-com pulls in the reader with characters who are full of shenanigans but who are enduring conflicts that resonate as relevant. Just about to graduate from high school, Audrey Barbour has been accepted to Wharton School for Business, but she has also been granted an internship with the Blue Ridge Glass School. An artisan and entrepreneur with her best friend’s support, Audrey blows glass, not only as aRead More →

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A producer of animated short films, Morr Meroz has created a new series called Snowlands with art by Collin Fogel. Book One: A Blood Moon is not only a story about survival but about finding your pack. Set in the Himalayas, this graphic novel for middle grade readers features three animal characters: Usha, an independent and ferocious leopard; Feba, a rare white wolf cub; and Batu, an awkward and somewhat clumsy wildcat. Wandering the Snowlands, the three cross paths and form an unlikely partnership as they search for answers on their individual quests. Along with Feba, readers learn that every job matters, regardless of itsRead More →

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Wishing to learn from the teachers at Sibylline, a college of magical arts that trains students to understand and use their powers, Atticus Garcia, Dorian Winthrop, and Raven Chen instead learn that wanting is a terrible thing. The trio is denied admission to the “oldest and best” school dedicated to the study of magic. So, they go under cover as staff members, hoping to glean whatever knowledge they can. But when they get caught up in a grand conspiracy and attacked by a shadow monster, things grow complicated. Such is the plot of Melissa De La Cruz’s novel Sibylline. In Book One of what promisesRead More →

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Anna Priemaza writes a fascinating mystery with her novel, The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass set in Edmonton, Canada. Initially, readers may suspect that the book is a paranormal story, and while it does carry threads of that genre, it also carries threads of science fiction and fantasy. As the story opens, fifteen-year-old Vera and her brother are cooking the family meal, but by the time they sit down to dinner, Al no longer exists. Slowly, other characters also disappear with no one seeming the wiser about their disappearance. When Vera begins to experience a deep sensation of loss, one shared by other characters whoRead More →

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Caldecott Medalist National Book Award winner, Dan Santat adds Thick as Thieves to his Sidekicks series. In this installment, Harry James Blake, aka Captain Amazing whose kryptonite is a peanut allergy, is trying to retire from the Society of Superheroes (SOS). In order to assist Harry in the transition, his sister Kelly decides to take him on a five-day vacation to the Crochet-Con: the Biggest Ball of Yarn. While the siblings are gone, Harry’s sidekicks Fluffy, Shifty (or is his name Gus?), Roscoe, and Manny will hold down the fort. After a data breach at SOS headquarters, Whipley arrives by Next Day Delivery. The sidekicksRead More →

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A sophomore at Hero High School, Eliza Gordon-Fergus lives a regimented life.  Imposed by her scientist parents and monitored remotely, rules for everything from nutrition, sleep, and exercise to socializing and studying regulate Eliza’s behavior. Meanwhile, her parents conduct research at such places as Brazil or the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station. Although rules and routines feel safe, Eliza discovers that capable, brilliant, and independent are synonyms for lonely. She begins to yearn for family and maybe even a boyfriend, wondering  whether love is real and whether she trusts herself enough to be vulnerable and inept. Friends like Merri Campbell keep Eliza, who may beRead More →

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At twelve years old, Max Conway resents that other people want to make plans for him. He’s not interested in sports despite his father’s passion for them, and it’s not so easy to brush off his dad’s disapproval. Although his dad is Big Max and he’s Little Max, he’s tired of trying to fill his dad’s expectations. So, when he and his mother will be spending the summer on Lafitte Island off the Texas coast, he borrows the name Milo from a brand-new giraffe at the Houston Zoo he loves and takes on a new identity. When he tries the name out with his mom,Read More →