Teens Growing

Twelve-year-old Koby isn't like the other kids in her class. She lost her right foot in an accident four years ago, and she is keenly aware that her classmates don't know how to act around her. The only place she feels at home is in her small boat, where she can watch whales play in the ocean. When Koby discovers a stranded mother whale and her baby, she realizes that their survival depends on her ability to keep them breathing through the night. But she is alone, and help is nowhere in sight.

From the author of the best-selling Guardians of Ga'Hoole series comes the story of the wolves of Ga'Hoole. This is the inspiring story of an abandoned wolf pup, Faolan, who is determined to survive.

A bunch of kids at Stoneybrook Elementary have pen pals at a school in New Mexico. The baby-sitters love hearing the letters that Charlotte, Becca, and the Pike kids get from their new friends.

Aiden and Meg Falconer are on the hunt for the one man who might be able to free their parents from jail. The hitch? There are plenty of other people on the hunt for THEM, including the FBI and an eerie, hairless killer. After one close call too many, the Falconers find themselves stowed away on a ship -- but the chase doesn't end there. Instead, it moves to close quarters, where every step, every breath, could get them caught.

This favorite book for children, based on the author's own youthful experiences, describes the family life of the Marches in a small New England community. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are raised in genteel poverty by their loving mother, Marmee, while their father serves as a chaplain during the Civil War. The story explores their domestic adventures, their attempts to increase the family's income, their friendship with the neighboring Laurence family, and their later love affairs and destinies as women.

The 50 contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner. What’s a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Meet Francie Mills. She's 16. Lives in the boring burbs of LA. Is super determined and hopeful. And wants one thing: to be an amazing tennis player. Because if something exponentially, brilliantly wonderful like that happened, like winning the US Open or even getting to nationals, everything would be okay. Her life. Her family. Her. She would matter. Be part of something important. And wouldn't have to feel so unbearably sad and alone every time her dad gets drunk, again

It's 1950 and Mickey Tussler - the now-famous pitching prodigy with autism and a golden arm - is back for another baseball season in this third installment of Frank Nappi's critically acclaimed Legend of Mickey Tussler series. Talk of Mickey's legendary exploits on the field has grown since his improbable debut two years prior, as have the fortunes of Murph and the rest of the lovable ragtag Brew Crew. Now Mickey, Murph, and Lester find themselves heading to Bean Town to play for the Boston Braves.

It’s 1949 and 18-year-old pitching phenom Mickey Tussler is back with the rejuvenated minor league Brewers in the sequel to The Legend of Mickey Tussler (the basis for the television movie A Mile in His Shoes). Despite Mickey’s proclamation that he will never play baseball again after last season’s violent conclusion, his manager - and now surrogate father - Arthur Murphy cajoles the emotionally fragile, socially awkward boy with autism into giving it another shot.

Alistair Cleary is the kid who everyone trusts. Fiona Loomis is "not" the typical girl next door. Alistair hasn't really thought of her since they were little kids until she shows up at his doorstep with a proposition: she wants him to write her biography. What begins as an odd vanity project gradually turns into a frightening glimpse into the mind of a potentially troubled girl. Fiona says that in her basement, there's a portal that leads to a magical world where a creature called the Riverman is stealing the souls of children.

When Pollyanna Whittier's loving but impoverished father dies, she is left orphaned and alone. Her wealthy spinster aunt, Aunt Polly, agrees to take her in, so she and her few belongs are packed onto an eastbound train. Pollyanna looks forward to living with her aunt, but Aunt Polly is cold and strict. She puts Pollyanna in a musty attic room and expects her to keep quiet and stay out of the way.

The fourth book in Spotlight's fun and delicious tween series is told from the perspective of Alexis, the most organized member of the Cupcake Club. Alexis likes everything to be exact and logical, but she's finding that when it comes to love, there's no room for logic!

The irrepressible Jacky Faber, condemned for life to the English penal colony in Australia for crimes against the Crown, has once again wriggled out of the grasp of British authorities. Back on her flagship, the Lorelei Lee, she eagerly heads back to England in the company of friends and her beloved Jaimy Fletcher.But when the voyage is waylaid by pirates, storms, and her own impetuous nature, Jacky is cast into a world of danger that extends from the South China Sea to the equally treacherous waters of London politics.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is happening. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they are no longer the same - they stutter, and their reactions to everything are slower. Termed "living impaired" or "differently biotic," they are doing their best to fit into a society that doesn't want them. Fitting in is hard enough when you don't have the look or attitude, but when almost everyone else is alive and you're not, it's close to impossible.

"Boys, let us get up a club." Six restless young men raided the linens at a friend's mansion, pulled pillowcases over their heads, hopped on horses, and cavorted through the streets of Pulaski, Tennessee. The six friends named their club the Ku Klux Klan, and, all too quickly, their club grew into the self-proclaimed Invisible Empire with secret dens spread across the South. This is the story of how a secret terrorist group took root in America's democracy.

Gordy’s grandfather, Mezzarix, who is a powerful, evil elixirist, stole the Vessel, the source of power for all potion masters. He fled to Florida to establish a headquarters, declare his manifesto - No More Prisons. No More Rulers. No More Secrets - and launch his final attack. Gordy, an apprentice elixirist, has been hiding in a safe house with his family and friends, but his mom has become increasingly concerned for their safety. Despite her worries, Gordy and his friends enter the underground network known as the Swigs, a haven for renegade potion masters.

Talking to other people isn't Kate Bailey's favorite activity. She'd much rather be out on the lake, soaking up the solitude and sunshine. So when her best friend, Alana, convinces Kate to join their high school's podcast, Kate is not expecting to be chosen as the host. Now she'll have to answer calls and give advice on the air? Impossible. Then the podcast gets a call from an anonymous guy, asking for advice about his unnamed crush. Kate is pretty sure that the caller is gorgeous Diego Martinez, and even surer that the girl in question is Alana.

"So, my beautiful fat girlfriend, Cassidy, is threatening to kick me to the curb again, my best friend suddenly wants to put the brakes on our lives of fabulous fun, my mom and big sister are plotting a future in which I turn into an atomic vampire, and my dad, well, my dad is a big fat question mark that I'm not sure I want the answer to."

In a dark future America where violence, terror, and grief touch everyone, young refugees Mahlia and Mouse have managed to leave behind the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities by escaping into the jungle outskirts. But when they discover a wounded half-man - a bioengineered war beast named Tool - who is being hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers, their fragile existence quickly collapses.

In this 13th mystery, Sammy is entering eighth grade with more than the usual angst - add to it being a bridesmaid in Officer Borsch's wedding, dealing with the break-up of her friend Marissa's parents, and her own mother dating the father of arch-enemy Heather. How will she be able to solve the mystery of who's making death threats against the history teacher that nobody likes (especially with her name at the top of the suspect list?) With wit, style, and spirit as usual!