13: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen
edited by James Howe
Atheneum
ISBN: 0689828632
Ages 12-up
288 pages
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Being 13 years old can be an awkward time for many. You're officially a teenager, even though you may not feel like one --- but you're no longer a little kid, either. Here, from thirteen different points of view, are stories about that wonderful (or dreadful) time. Written by some of today's finest writers for young adults --- including Meg Cabot, Laura Godwin, Ron Koertge and Carolyn Mackler --- these stories truly capture the agony and ecstasy of being 13.

ACCELERATION
Graham McNamee
Wendy Lamb Books
ISBN: 0385731191
Ages 12-up
224 pages

During a sweltering summer, 17-year-old Duncan has the unenviable job of cataloging lost things and sifting through accumulated junk in the Toronto Transit Authority's Lost and Found Department. Duncan can't take it anymore --- he's sick and tired of the endless dusty boxes that overflow with objects no one will ever claim, and it doesn't help matters that the person who runs the place is a cranky old man.

But then Duncan finds a diary filled with the dark and dirty secrets of a twisted mind, a serial killer who is stalking women in the subway. Duncan can't make himself stop reading it --- and he is determined to stop this madman.

THE BEAST
Walter Dean Myers
Scholastic
ISBN: 0439368413
Ages 14-up
176 pages

Seventeen-year-old Anthony "Spoon" Witherspoon is returning to Harlem after his first semester at an exclusive prep school. Originally he had mixed feelings about leaving New York City to finish high school at the mostly white, very preppy New England school. But now that Spoon is back home, he realizes how much he has grown to like his prep-school life and his new friends.

Still, Spoon is thrilled to be able to see his girlfriend again, whom he has sorely missed. However, he is shocked to discover upon his return that this bright young poet has now become a drug addict.

BECAUSE I'M WORTH IT: A Gossip Girl Novel
Cecily von Ziegesar
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316909688
Ages 15-up
208 pages
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The girls of Constance Billard School have completed their college applications, and it is time for them to focus their attention on more pressing matters. Could it be that Serena is smitten with Blair's stepbrother, or will the Fashion Week parties pull her away from any attempt at true love? Dan and Vanessa are crazy about each other and are looking to pursue their creative dreams, but they better be careful of what they wish for. Meanwhile, Nate hits an all-time low as Blair's Yale interview with a tall and handsome alum takes an unexpected turn, while Jenny makes a new friend who gets a little too close for comfort. And just who is going to be awarded early acceptance into college?

THE CRYING ROCKS
Janet Taylor Lisle
Atheneum
ISBN: 068985319X
Ages 12-up
208 pages

Joelle remembers nothing about her life before she was found, when she was brought in from the railway depot, a scrawny five-year-old child. But when fellow classmate Carlos tells her she looks like a girl in an old painting of Rhode Island's Narragansett Indians, Joelle is surprised by a flicker of recognition.

It's Carlos who then leads her through the forest to the ancient Crying Rocks, where howls on windy days are thought to be the spirit voices of children who were flung from the boulders long ago to an early death. This terrible story triggers Joelle's own memory about a window, a shadowy mother, and a freight train escape from Chicago. It also leads her toward the history of a lost American people and the discovery of a rare kind of courage that runs deep in her family.

FEARLESS: Angel Series
Doranna Durgin
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689864310
Ages 16-up
320 pages

The gang at Angel Investigations is surprised one day to find themselves in a very giddy state. Their clothes are torn and bloody and their bodies are battered, but they can't quite remember what they did the night before to put them in such a state. Angel is accustomed to being healed supernaturally, but he's now recovering as an average human being would. What is wrong with Angel, and will he be strong enough to protect his friends the next time they face danger?

FLAME: The Book of Sorahb - Volume 1
Hilari Bell
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0689854137
Ages 12-up
352 pages

An enemy approaches Farsala's borders, yet the rulers of Farsala believe they cannot be beaten. Three young people --- Jiann, Soraya and Kavi --- aren't so sure of Farsala's invincibility and see their peaceful land headed toward the Flames of Destruction. But what they aren't able to see is how inextricably their lives are linked to Farsala's fate --- until it's too late.

MONDAYS ARE RED
Nicola Morgan
Delacorte Press
ISBN: 0385730993
Ages 12-up
176 pages
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Fourteen-year-old Luke begins to see the world and the people in it from an entirely new perspective when he wakes up from a coma after having meningitis. Suddenly he's seeing two worlds at once, and a strange ugly creature named Dreeg is stuck in his mind. Dreeg offers him gifts of recovery, the return of his athletic ability, a "dream" girlfriend, and even the power to fly --- but on one HUGE condition. Luke must turn against his friends and his sister and join in Dreeg's evil plans.

NIRVANA'S CHILDREN
Ranulfo
HarperTempest
ISBN: 0060541555
Teen Fiction
224 pages

Fifteen-year-old Napoleon has had enough. His life has thus far been one big disappointment, so he decides to hit the streets and explore the world for himself, leaving his family and friends behind. He meets a gang leader who has some destructive plans up his sleeve and falls for a girl who has serious issues of her own to deal with. But with Mr. Bones taunting him at every corner, Napoleon knows he must find a way out if he is to maintain any degree of sanity.

OPEN YOUR EYES: Extraordinary Experiences in Far Away Places
edited by Jill Davis
Viking Children's Books
ISBN: 0670036161
Ages 12-up
240 pages

Living in a new place is quite different from visiting one, especially when that place is in another country. In OPEN YOUR EYES ten writers --- including M.T. Anderson, Lois Lowry and Graham Salisbury --- talk about their travels and how their lives changed as a result. A boarding school in England, parenthood in France, the most beautiful spots in Italy, China on the Yangtze, and a tiny shop in Tokyo, Japan are just some of the topics explored here. Though each story offers an original viewpoint, they all address two important themes: where we come from and how we become who we are.

PLEASE DON'T KILL THE FRESHMAN: A Memoir
Zoe Trope
HarperTempest
ISBN: 0060529369
Young Adult Nonfiction
304 pages

Contained in this witty and intimate memoir are diary entries that Zoe Trope has written about her experiences in high school. She reflects upon such subjects as her love life, friends and teachers --- all with refreshing honesty. Trope describes the book as a "reckless love story" and her "shameless confession" --- one that every high school student will be able to relate to in some way.

SEASONS OF THE WITCH, Vol. 1
Charmed
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689865457
Ages 12-up
192 pages

Phoebe is recruited to help reunite a couple. Paige walks into a local club and finds herself at the center of an evil plot. Piper is having a difficult time looking ahead to the future because her sister's powers are on the fritz. These are the premises contained in SEASONS OF THE WITCH, the first-ever Charmed short story collection, featuring contributions from three popular Charmed authors.

THE WOLVING TIME
Patrick Jennings
Scholastic
ISBN: 0439395550
Ages 12-up
208 pages

Thirteen-year-old Laszlo Emberek is caught between two worlds: the life of a shepherd and the secret life of his parents, who can become wolves whenever they please. Laszlo would love to follow in his parents' footsteps, and he knows that someday he will learn how to be transformed. But when his family's secret is discovered by a village girl --- a ward of the evil and corrupt priest, no less --- Laszlo must decide how he wants to live. Can he trust himself to remain compassionately human as other wilder instincts overcome him? And are humans truly less dangerous than the wolves they hate with such passion?