THE BOY FROM THE BASEMENT
Susan Shaw
Dutton Children's Books
ISBN: 0525472231
Ages 12-up
208 pages

For Charlie, the basement is his home --- he's being punished. But when he is accidentally thrust outside, Charlie awakens to a world that he is completely unfamiliar with. Though haunted by his father's rage and the basement that was his prison, Charlie is determined to escape the physical and emotional abuse to which he has been subjected.

FIRST CROSSING: Stories About Teen Immigrants
edited by Donald R. Gallo
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 0763622494
Ages 12-up
224 pages

Fleeing from political violence in Venezuela, Amina and her family have settled in the United States. Sarah, who is adopted, is desperate to know her Korean birth parents. Maya is adapting well to life in the U.S. and wishes her strict Kazakh parents would do the same. Adrian's new friends have some spooky --- and hilarious --- misconceptions about his Romanian origins.

The characters in this anthology have traveled far and faced countless challenges. Like the hundreds of immigrants who arrive on U.S. soil every year, each courageous teenager in FIRST CROSSING is unique.

JUDE
Kate Morgenroth
Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 0689864795
Ages 12-up
288 pages

After Jude witnesses the killing of his drug-dealer father, he is taken from their dangerous neighborhood to a comfortable home, an elite private school, and a mother he doesn't remember. At fifteen, Jude is under suspicion for his father's murder, but to save his own life, he can't tell the police what he knows.

To make matters worse, Jude's mother is the district attorney. She can protect him from the police --- but when Jude's classmate overdoses on heroin, Jude is implicated, and his mother decides to prosecute. Jude is determined to clear his name, but he doesn't know that mysteries from his past have yet to be revealed.

KISSING VANESSA
Simon Cheshire
Delacorte Press
ISBN: 0385732120
Ages 12-up
144 pages

It's literally love at first sight for Kevin Watts, who has instantly fallen for the new girl. Not only is Vanessa gorgeous, sophisticated and intelligent, she also enjoys photography just like him. Kevin is sure they would be perfect for each other --- if it weren't for the sad fact that he's always in the background, upstaged by nearly every one else in school. How can an average guy like Kevin ever hope to win over a girl like Vanessa?

THE O'REILLY FACTOR FOR KIDS: A Survival Guide for America's Families
Bill O'Reilly and Charles Flowers
HarperEntertainment
ISBN: 0060544244
208 pages

Bill O'Reilly --- a former schoolteacher, now an award-winning broadcast news journalist, husband, and father of two --- joins forces with an experienced educator to bring America's youth a code of ethics by which to live. In this essential book, O'Reilly talks openly and honestly to adolescents about such topics as school, sex, drugs, alcohol, the Internet, money and parents. He offers sensible advice to help teenagers find the courage and willpower to stand up and be who they really are.

PRIVATE PEACEFUL
Michael Morpurgo
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 0439636485
Ages 12-up
202 pages
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Private Thomas Peaceful has followed his older brother to France in order to fight in the First World War --- leaving his family behind. Now, after living through gas attacks and watching childhood friends die by his side, Thomas has been ordered to stand night watch over the battlefields, where the enemy lurks in the darkness. If Thomas falls asleep, he will be shot.

SAVING FRANCESCA
Melina Marchetta
Knopf
ISBN: 0375829822
Ages 12-up
256 pages

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Francesca constantly battles with her mother Mia over what's best for her. All Francesca wants is her old friends and her old school, but instead Mia sends her to St. Sebastian's, an all-boys' school that is now co-ed. Unfortunately, the boys who Francesca encounters are weirdos --- or worse.

One day, Mia is too depressed to get out of bed. As days turn into months, her family begins to fall apart and Francesca realizes that without her mother's high spirits, she hardly knows who she is. With a little unlikely help from St. Sebastian's, she just might be able to save her family, her friends, and --- especially --- herself.

SNAKECHARM
Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Delacorte Press
ISBN: 0385730721
Ages 12-up
176 pages

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Zane Cobriana, cobra shapeshifter, thanks the gods every day for Danica, his hawk pair bond, and the peace their union has brought to the avian and serpiente. Soon, Danica will have a child to carry on their royal line.

Enter Syfka, an ancient falcon who claims that one of her people is hidden in their midst. The falcons are more powerful than the avians and serpiente combined, and Syfka shows nothing but contempt for Zane and Danica's alliance.

TRICKSTER'S QUEEN
Tamora Pierce
Random House
ISBN: 0375814671
Ages 12-up
480 pages

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Alianne, the only daughter of Alanna the Lioness, doesn't want to become a knight like her mother. In TRICKSTER'S CHOICE, following a particularly bad fight with Alanna, Alianne is kidnapped and sent to the Copper Isles to work as a slave for an exiled royal family.

In TRICKSTER'S QUEEN, Tamora Pierce's powerful sequel, Alianne is no longer a slave. She is now spying as part of an underground rebellion against the colonial rulers of the Copper Isles. The people in the rebellion believe that a prophecy, in which a new queen will rise up to take the throne, is about to become a reality.

Series Books

Gossip Girl

YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT: A Gossip Girl Novel
Cecily von Ziegesar
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 0316735167
Ages 15-up
224 pages

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College is one of the main topics in Cecily von Ziegesar's sixth Gossip Girl novel. Has Nate's devotion to his misbehaving heiress hurt his chances of getting into Brown? Is Blair too busy daydreaming to remember her real mission in life (which is Yale)? Hopefully Serena can help her friend --- that is, if Serena even cares anymore. Everyone is so concerned about college acceptances that they seem to be forgetting an even more important question: will they all graduate?

Angel

LOVE AND DEATH (Angel Series)
Jeff Mariotte
Simon Spotlight Entertainment
ISBN: 068987085X
Ages 16-up
304 pages

Incited by an outspoken radio host named Mac Lindley, a horde of monster killers has descended upon the Los Angeles area. They're out to rid the city of the demons that have overrun it, and are determined to destroy each and every one of these demonic creatures --- as quickly and as bloodily as possible. Angel soon realizes that these demon hunters don't know the difference between a demon who's on the side of good and one who's just out for blood.

Everwood

LOVE UNDER WRAPS (Everwood #3)
Emma Harrison
Simon Spotlight Entertainment
ISBN: 0689871074
Ages 12-up
256 pages

Ephram Brown can't seem to focus on anything but Madison. Ever since he saw her dancing at a wedding and then kissed her at the DMV, he just can't get her out of his head. The problem though is that she's four years older than he is and their being together is technically illegal. They'll have to keep their budding romance a secret --- if he can figure out how to get a gorgeous woman like her to date a half-geek like him.