HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE: Book #6
J.K. Rowling
Scholastic
Fantasy
ISBN: 0439784549
652 pages

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• Harry Potter Series Feature

J.K. Rowling has promised that each of Harry Potter's years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be darker and more difficult than the one before. She has kept her promise in this sixth installment, which is the darkest and most complex of the books yet. But just in case you have any doubt, Harry is proving well up to the tasks at hand --- and his magical world seems more vivid and real than ever.

ELDEST: Inheritance, Book II
Christopher Paolini
Knopf
Fantasy
ISBN: 037582670X
Ages 12-up
704 pages

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Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime.

But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn't know whom he can trust. Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle --- one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.

47
Walter Mosley
Little, Brown and Company
Historical Fiction/Fantasy/Science Fiction
ISBN: 0316110353
240 pages

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In his first book for young adults, Walter Mosley writes about 47, a young slave boy who lives under the watchful eye of a brutal slave master. His life seems doomed until he meets a mysterious runaway slave named Tall John. 47 then finds himself swept up in a struggle for his own liberation.

ARE WE THERE YET?
David Levithan
Knopf
Fiction
ISBN: 037582846X
224 pages

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Elijah and his older brother Danny can barely tolerate each other. So their parents come up with a solution: they trick their sons into taking a trip to Italy together, which means they will be forced to spend countless hours together. But when Elijah meets Julia, they aren't together nearly as much. And then Julia meets Danny. Will these two young men be able to put aside their differences and remember the affection they once had for each other?

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MY DEAD BROTHER
Walter Dean Myers
Amistad/HarperTempest
ISBN: 006058291X
Fiction
224 pages

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What do you do when your best friend becomes someone you don't know anymore --- or trust? Jesse searches for the answer by filling his sketchbook with portraits of his blood brother, Rise, and his comic strip, Spodi Roti and Wise. But in a neighborhood where drive-bys, vicious gangs and abusive cops are everyday realities, Jesse fears his best friend's fate and his own have already been decided.

THE CRY OF THE ICEMARK
Stuart Hill
The Chicken House/Scholastic
Fantasy
ISBN: 0439686261
480 pages

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A new voice in fantasy bursts onto the scene with debut novelist Stuart Hill's action-packed military fantasy, an epic tale of a northern warrior princess who, following the death of her beloved father, faces the monumental task of defending her homeland from a formidable invader.

DOUBLE IDENTITY
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Simon & Schuster
Thriller
ISBN: 0689873743
224 pages

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It's sometime in the future. Mom and dad drive twelve-year-old Bethany, usually an overprotected only child, to an unknown town and leave her with a stranger. As Bethany learns truths about herself, she realizes just how much of her life is a mystery.

ELSEWHERE
Gabrielle Zevin
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fiction
ISBN: 0374320918
288 pages

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• Author Interview

Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place similar to Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driver's license, graduate from high school and go to college. But now that she's dead, Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn't want with a grandmother she has only just met. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one?

FLUSH
Carl Hiaasen
Knopf
Fiction
ISBN: 0375821821
272 pages

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Noah's dad is sure that the owner of the Coral Queen casino boat is flushing raw sewage into the harbor, but he doesn't have any proof. Noah is determined to prove that the owner is guilty of these accusations. Although his allies may not be ideal --- his sister Abbey, an unreformed childhood biter; Lice Peeking, a greedy drunkard with poor hygiene; Shelly, a bartender and a woman scorned; and a mysterious pirate --- Noah has a plan that should sink the crooked little casino, once and for all.

THE FORETELLING
Alice Hoffman
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction
ISBN: 0316010189
176 pages

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Rain is a girl of the Amazon tribe of women warriors, the daughter of Queen Alina, living in a time of blood and fear. As the future leader of her people, she must seek and hold fast to her inner warrior. But amid the horrors of the battlefield, Rain is startled and mystified by the first stirrings of mercy towards the enemy --- men --- within her. Along the poignant and harrowing path toward her destiny, she encounters a kind young man, a strange recurrent prophecy, and a condemned baby brother.

HELP WANTED: Stories
Gary Soto
Harcourt Children's Books
Fiction/Short Stories
ISBN: 0152052011
224 pages

Carolina writes to Miss Manners for help not just with etiquette but with bigger problems in her life; Ronnie and Joey feel so alienated from their world that they spend their days as "Teenage Chimps"; Javier knows the stories his friend Veronica tells him are lies, but he can't find a way to prove it; and Adan watches in shame and horror as his dad becomes a victim of the "Raiders Nation." In Gary Soto's new collection of short stories, these kids, and many others, are caught up in the difficulties of figuring out what it means to be alive.

I AM THE MESSENGER
Markus Zusak
Knopf
Fiction
ISBN: 0375830995
368 pages

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Ed Kennedy, an underage cab driver and a pathetic card player, lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog and is hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That's when the first Ace arrives --- and Ed becomes the messenger. Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), but one question still remains: Who is behind Ed's mission?

INEXCUSABLE
Chris Lynch
Atheneum
Fiction
ISBN: 0689847890
176 pages

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Keir Sarafian is a good guy --- at least in his own mind. He considers himself to be a devoted son and brother, a loyal friend, and a reliable teammate. And perhaps most important of all, he understands that when a girl says "no," she means it. But Gigi Boudakian, a childhood friend and Keir's lifelong love, would strongly object to his assessment. What Gigi says he is seems impossible to Keir. It is something inexcusable --- the worst thing he can imagine, the very opposite of everything he wants to be.

As Keir recalls the events leading up to his fateful night with Gigi, he realizes that the way things look definitely are not the way they really are --- and that it may be all too easy for a good guy to do something terribly wrong.

THE KINGDOM KEEPERS: Disney After Dark
Ridley Pearson
Disney Editions
Fantasy/Action & Adventure
ISBN: 0786854448
324 pages

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When Disney comes looking for five teenagers to serve as actors for a new technology -- Daylight Hologram Images, or DHIs -- there is more to it than meets the eye.

Finn Whitman, a middle-schooler, goes to sleep one night and has the dream of a lifetime: he "wakes up" inside Walt Disney World as his DHI character, a glowing hologram. He meets an old man there, Wayne, who claims to be one of the original Imagineers and explains to Finn that he "and your friends" have a mission to save the park from forces that humans can neither see nor hear. Back in real life, Finn sets out to find the four other kids who were chosen to be DHIs and in the process learns an eerie fact: he is not alone in this "dream." The five kids must solve the Stonecutter's Quill, a puzzle/fable left behind by Walt Disney --- and the solution of each phase of the puzzle involves a different ride in the park.

LAST SHOT: A Final Four Mystery
John Feinstein
Knopf
Historical Fiction
ISBN: 0375831681
Ages 10-up
256 pages

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Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson are the two lucky winners of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association's contest for aspiring journalists. Their reward? A trip to New Orleans and a press pass for the Final Four! But it turns out that the behind-the-scenes action involving coaches, the players, the media, and the fans is more fiercely competitive than anything that transpires on the court. Stevie and Susan Carol overhear what sounds like a threat to throw the championship game. They have just 48 hours to figure out who is blackmailing one of Michigan State's star players --- and why.

THE MINISTER'S DAUGHTER
Julie Hearn
Atheneum
ISBN: 0689876904
272 pages

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Conceived on May Morning, Nell is claimed by the piskies and faeries as a merrybegot, one of their own. She is a wild child: herb gatherer and healer, spell-weaver and midwife...and, some say, a witch.

Grace is everything Nell is not. She is the Puritan minister's daughter: beautiful and refined, innocent and sweet-natured...to those who think they know her. But she is hiding a secret --- a secret that will bring everlasting shame to her family should it ever be revealed.

The fates of these two girls collide when Grace and her younger sister, Patience, are suddenly spitting pins, struck with fits, and speaking in fevered tongues. The minister is convinced that his daughters are the victims of witchcraft. And all signs point to Nell as the source of the trouble.

THE ORDER OF THE POISON OAK
Brent Hartinger
HarperTempest
Fiction
ISBN: 0060567317
240 pages

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• Author Interview -- April 12, 2005

Russel Middlebrook (from GEOGRAPHY CLUB) is back, and he and his friends are now working as counselors at a summer camp. After some tough months at school following his formation of a gay-straight alliance at his high school and tired of being an "out" teenager, Russel feels that this is the perfect getaway. But he must earn the respect of his ten-year-old campers, who are all burn survivors. And then he meets fellow counselor Web Bestian, who may or may not be straight.

PROM
Laurie Halse Anderson
Viking Children's Books
Fiction
ISBN: 0670059749
224 pages

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High school senior Ashley Hannigan seems to be the only one in her urban Philadelphia high school who doesn't care about the prom. But when the faculty advisor gets in serious trouble for taking the prom money, Ashley suddenly finds herself with the huge responsibility of putting together a gala dance out of absolutely nothing. But she isn't on her own --- her large family, her best friend's eccentric grandmother, and her fellow classmates all lend a helping hand. And in coordinating the Big Dance, Ashley learns that she has choices about her life after high school.

REBEL ANGELS
Libba Bray
Delacorte Press
Fiction/Literary Suspense
ISBN: 0385730292
560 pages

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Gemma Doyle is looking forward to spending Christmas away from Spence Academy and with her family and friends. As she prepares to ring in the New Year, 1896, a handsome young man named Lord Denby has set his sights on Gemma, or so it seems. Yet amidst the distractions of London, Gemma's visions intensify --- visions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened, something only the realms can explain...

SEXY
Joyce Carol Oates
HarperTempest
Fiction
ISBN: 0060541490
272 pages

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Darren Flynn has the perfect life --- until that day in November. After that day, after what happened (did it happen?), life is different. Darren is different. Nothing is as it was --- before. His friends, his family, even the people who are supposed to be in charge are no longer who Darren thought they were. Who can he trust now?

THE SLEDDING HILL
Chris Crutcher
Greenwillow Books
Fiction
ISBN: 0060502436
240 pages

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• Author Interview -- May 10, 2005

Fourteen-year-old Billy Bartholomew is dead. His best friend, Eddie Proffit, is alive. These days, Billy and Eddie meet on the sledding hill, where they used to spend countless hours until Billy's tragic accident. The two were inseparable, and still are. Now, Eddie must deal with the sudden death of his father and a reverend who wants to ban one of Eddie's favorite books from his school. Eddie needs Billy's support now more than ever during this very confusing time.

TEACH ME
R. A. Nelson
Razorbill/Penguin Young Readers Group
Fiction
ISBN: 1595140840
288 pages

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• Author Interview -- October 18, 2005

Seventeen-year-old Carolina "Nine" Livingston is what most adults would call "a good kid." She excels in school, doesn't drink or do drugs, and gets along with her parents. For most of her life she has lived a fairly normal existence, until the day she locks eyes with her English teacher --- the split second when everything changes forever.

TWILIGHT
Stephenie Meyer
Megan Tingley Books/Little, Brown and Company
Horror/Romance
ISBN: 0316160172
512 pages

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Isabella Swan moves to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington. No big deal, right? When she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, however, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in. But now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward cares about the most.

VALIANT: A Modern Tale of Faerie
Holly Black
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Fantasy
ISBN: 0689868227
320 pages

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• Author Interview -- July 20, 2005

When 17-year-old Valerie Russell runs away to New York City, she begins hanging out with a gang of squatters who live in the city's labyrinthine subway system. Lolli speaks of monsters that are in the subway tunnels, and Luis claims he can make deals with creatures that no one else can see. When a bewildered Val allows Lolli to talk her into tracking down the hidden lair of the creature for whom Luis and his brother Dave have been dealing, Val finds herself bound into service by a troll named Ravus. As Val grows to know him, she finds herself torn between her affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

THE WILL OF THE EMPRESS
Tamora Pierce
Scholastic Press
Fantasy
ISBN: 0439441714
560 pages

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• Author Interview -- November 8, 2005

For years the Empress of Namorn has tried to persuade her young cousin, Lady Sandrilene fa Toren, to visit her vast lands within the Empire's borders. But Sandry has always avoided the invitation. Now, the Empress has insisted and Sandry's old friends from Winding Circle --- Daja, Tris and Briar --- are accompanying her on this journey, even though she hardly knows them now.

When they arrive at the palace, Sandry slowly begins to realize the real reason why the Empress has brought her to Namorn --- and she will need her Circle companions now more than ever.

Series Books

Debut Books

The Gatekeepers

RAVEN'S GATE: Book One of THE GATEKEEPERS
Anthony Horowitz
Scholastic Press
Horror/Fantasy
ISBN: 0439679958
256 pages

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• THE GATEKEEPERS series feature
• Author Interview -- August 2005

From the author of the bestselling Alex Rider novels comes The Gatekeepers, a thrilling new series for teens that pits good against evil and past against present in a riveting modern-day drama of ancient secrets, supernatural powers, and spellbinding magic. Five young people unknowingly hold the power to prevent one of the most diabolical plots ever envisioned --- one that will alter the course of history by unlocking an ancient barrier and unleashing unfathomable evil. Will the gatekeepers be able to intervene before it's too late?

Alfred Kropp

THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ALFRED KROPP
Rick Yancey
Bloomsbury USA
Fiction/Action & Adventure
ISBN: 1582346933
288 pages

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• Author Talk - October 2005

Alfred Kropp was just trying to survive high school when his guardian uncle gets him roped into a suspicious get-rich-quick scheme that changes his life forever: stealing Excalibur --- the legendary sword of King Arthur. But after Alfred unwittingly delivers the sword into the hands of a man with enormously evil intentions, he sets off on an unlikely quest to try to right his wrong and save the world from imminent destruction.

Maximum Ride

MAXIMUM RIDE: The Angel Experiment
James Patterson
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction/Action & Adventure
ISBN: 031615556X
432 pages

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Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, Angel, and Maximum are six kids who are fairly normal in most ways --- except that they're 98% human and 2% bird. When the bloodthirsty Erasers --- half men, half-wolves genetically engineered by sick and sinister scientists --- kidnap little Angel, the Flock embarks on a rescue mission that will change them forever.

MAXIMUM RIDE is James Patterson's first book for teens. Look for Maximum's next thrilling ride in Spring 2006.

The It Girl

THE IT GIRL
created by Cecily von Ziegesar
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction
ISBN: 0316011851
240 pages

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Popular Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphrey is leaving Constance Billard to attend Waverly Academy, an elite boarding school in New York horse country where glamorous rich kids don't let the rules get in the way of an excellent time. Jenny is determined to leave her crazy Manhattan past behind and become a sophisticated goddess on campus. But first she'll have to contend with her self-absorbed roommates, Callie Vernon and Brett Messerschmidt.

The Demonata

LORD LOSS: The Demonata, Book I
Darren Shan
Little, Brown and Company
Horror/Supernatural
ISBN: 0316114995
240 pages

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bGrubbs Grady hates history and loves bacon, rats, and playing tricks on his squeamish older sister. He's a little big for his age, which means he can get into R-rated movies. When Grubbs declines to join his family on a weekend trip, everything seems normal. He never guesses that he is about to take a terrifying journey into darkness. Hungry demons and howling werewolves haunt his waking nightmares --- and threaten his life.

Fearless FBI

KILL GAME: A Gaia Moore Novel
Francine Pascal
Simon Pulse
Action & Adventure
ISBN: 0689878214
272 pages

Francine Pascal's bestselling Fearless series is all grown-up. Gaia Moore is out of college and has been recruited to join the world's leading crime-fighting organization. At FBI training camp in Quantico, Gaia will become a part of an unparalleled team. She will learn the strict codes and procedures of the FBI, and be pushed to her body and mind's utmost limits. She will also learn how to hunt serial killers --- and she will catch one.

LIVE BAIT
Francine Pascal
Simon Pulse
Action & Adventure
ISBN: 0689878222
208 pages

Late one night, in the middle of a rainstorm, Gaia Moore and her roommate stumble upon an actual killing. Since they were the only ones to catch a glimpse of the perpetrator, headquarters has granted Gaia and Catherine temporary FBI badges to solve the case. When the killer strikes again, Gaia tries to piece together some clues, but there's no real lead to go on. And without a profile, the next victim could be anyone. Anyone at all.

Series Updates

Gossip Girl

NOBODY DOES IT BETTER: A Gossip Girl Novel
Cecily von Ziegesar
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction
ISBN: 0316735124
224 pages

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The uptown girls are headed downtown as Serena and Jenny take on their new fabulous roles as rock-star model girlfriends of New York's hottest band, The Raves. Meanwhile, Dan is too busy drinking to notice a mysterious French beauty who is fond of Jim Morrison-wannabe lead singers. And Blair takes residence at the Plaza to think about her future. Will she become a gun-toting international spy, or Manhattan's snobbiest society hostess? It sounds like everyone needs a day off at the spa. Senior Spa Day promises to accomplish that, and a whole lot more!

Gossip Girl

NOTHING CAN KEEP US TOGETHER: A Gossip Girl Nove
Cecily von Ziegesar
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction
ISBN: 0316735094
224 pages

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It's almost graduation and the lives of the young women at Constance Billard are heating up. Will Blair and Nate's love affair continue? More importantly, will Blair finally get into Yale? Or will Nate and Serena hook up in New Haven and leave Blair alone in the city? And as for the juiciest scoop of all, is it really true that Jenny is leaving Constance Billard to go to boarding school?

The Princess Diaries

PRINCESS IN TRAINING: The Princess Diaries, Volume VI
Meg Cabot
HarperCollins
Fiction
ISBN: 0060096136
288 pages

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Princess Mia's best friend Lilly nominates her for student body president. This is not how Mia imagined kicking off her sophomore year, even if Grandmère thinks ruling her high school makes good practice for ruling Genovia someday. As usual, though, Mia has bigger problems to worry about. Sophomore Geometry appears to be just as hard as freshman Algebra, and a shocking B on her first English assignment has Mia upset. And with Michael, her one true love, away at college, what's the point of even getting up for school in the morning?

HOLIDAY PRINCESS: A Princess Diaries Book
Meg Cabot
illustrated by Chesley McLaren
HarperCollins
ISBN: 0060754346
144 pages

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the royal Genovian Fabergé advent calendar, hot chocolate with marshmallows --- and, of course, all those fabulous holiday movies. How will YOU celebrate this holiday season? Mia and her subjects have a few ideas and will tell you how to have a jolly holiday no matter what you celebrate.

All-American Girl

READY OR NOT: An All-American Girl Novel
Meg Cabot
HarperCollins
Fiction
ISBN: 0060724501
256 pages

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Everyone thinks Samantha Madison --- who saved the President's life --- is ready: Her parents think she's ready to work part-time, her art teacher thinks she's ready for "life drawing," and her boyfriend seems to think that they're both ready to move to the next level in their relationship. The only person who isn't sure she's ready for any of these things is Samantha herself!

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

GIRLS IN PANTS: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Ann Brashares
Delacorte Press
Fiction
ISBN: 0385729359
352 pages

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Tibby, Carmen, Lena and Bridget are facing their last summer together before going to college in September --- four different colleges in four different cities, to be precise. This is the time when they need their cherished magical Pants the most.

Here's why:

Tibby learns that the Pants have always known what she hasn't about Brian, and so she clings to them tightly. Lena wishes the Pants could tell her whether or not she should go to art school. Meanwhile, Carmen needs all the Pants magic possible since she has agreed to watch Lena's cranky Greek grandmother for the entire summer. And Bridget is especially glad to have the Pants at soccer camp when she finds out who her fellow coach is.

The Clique

REVENGE OF THE WANNABES (The Clique, #3)
Lisi Harrison
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction
ISBN: 0316701335
304 pages

• The Clique series feature

In Lisi Harrison's third Clique novel, Alicia puts her social life on the line by starting her own clique. Now she has to deal with Massie, the uncontested ruler of The Clique and the rest of the social scene at Octavian Country Day who has unlimited popularity power. Will Alicia be number one at last, or will she be dead meat?

INVASION OF THE BOY SNATCHERS (The Clique, #4)
Lisi Harrison
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction
ISBN: 0316701343

• The Clique series feature

In the fourth book of the Clique series, Alicia's gorgeous and predatory cousin Nina visits, and the boys are infuriatingly enamored. Massie and her "Pretty Committee" are split between admiration for the newcomer and hatred for her. Can Massie bring down the invincible Nina?

The A-List

TALL COOL ONE: An A-List Novel, #4
Zoey Dean
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction
ISBN: 0316735086
304 pages

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TALL COOL ONE is the fourth novel in Zoey Dean's bestselling series about the rich and famous in Beverly Hills. New Yorker Anna Percy came to L.A. to learn how to have a good time. Now she's surfing Zuma Beach with the industry's hottest young television producer. The fun ends when Anna must fly down to Las Casitas, Mexico, on a secret mission. But it turns out that Anna isn't the only one staying at the super-luxury resort with a secret.

BACK IN BLACK
An A-List Novel, #5
Zoey Dean
Little, Brown and Company
Fiction
ISBN: 0316010928
256 pages

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It's time for the Beverly Hills High senior class trip to Washington, D.C. But every year the reigning A-List call in sick and go to Vegas on their own. Anna joins Cammie, Adam, Sam, Dee and Parker on the Vegas trip to the uber-hip Palms Hotel and Casino. During a hypnosis show on The Strip, the group is hypnotized into telling the truth. Dee is confronted with just how crazy she's become, and Adam and Cammie are forced to confess their forbidden lusty secrets. When Anna's oldest and best friend from New York and Anna's long-time adolescent crush show up in Vegas, Anna finds out just how dangerous telling the truth can be.

The Au Pairs

THE AU PAIRS #2: SKINNY-DIPPING
Melissa de la Cruz
Simon & Schuster
Fiction
ISBN: 1416903828
304 pages

• Read a Review & Excerpt
• Author Interview -- July 20, 2005

Your favorite bikini-clad au pairs --- Mara, Eliza and Jacqui --- are back for another season of skinny-dipping in Georgica Pond, tanning on Main Beach, and (of course) babysitting for the Perry kids. The girls think they're ready for another summer of outrageous fun, but a lot of things have changed since last year.