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Mystery at the Meet (The Gymnasts #11)
by Elizabeth LevyWho's the thief? Ti An can't stand to see her teammates fighting. Ever since their good luck charm disappeared, they've been in an uproar. Everybody's sure they know who's guilty, but nobody has any proof. Ti An thinks they're wrong...and now she has a plan. But can she trap the real culprit before suspicion tears the team apart?
Day of Tears
by Julius LesterOn March 2 and 3, 1859, the largest auction of slaves in American history took place in Savannah, Georgia. More than 400 slaves were sold. On the first day of the auction, the skies darkened and torrential rain began falling. The rain continued throughout the two days, stopping only when the auction had ended. The simultaneity of the rain storm with the auction led to these two days being called "the weeping time." Master storyteller Julius Lester has taken this footnote of history and created the crowning achievement of his literary career. Julius Lester tells the story of several characters including Emma, a slave owned by Pierce Butler and caretaker of his two daughters, and Pierce, a man with a mounting gambling debt and household to protect. Emma wants to teach his daughters--one who opposes slavery and one who supports it--to have kind hearts. Meanwhile, in a desperate bid to survive, Pierce decides to cash in his "assets" and host the largest slave auction in American history. And on that day, the skies open up and weep endlessly on the proceedings below. Using the multiple voices of enslaved Africans and their owners, Julius Lester has taken a little-known, all-true event in American history and transformed it into a heartbreaking and powerfully dramatic epic on slavery, and the struggle to affirm humanity in the midst of it.<P><P>Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Star Quality (Girl Talk #17)
by L. E. BlairWhat happens when a TV game show comes to Acorn Falls? It's one hilarious situation after another when Sabrina's favorite television program, a lip-synching game show, comes to Acorn Falls. Sabrina and her friends are ready to do anything--even try out against Stacy the Great and her group--for a chance to be on TV!
The Curse of the Ruby Necklace (Sweet Valley Twins and Friends Super Chiller #5)
by Francine Pascal Jamie SuzanneIdentical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are thrilled when they land small parts in a movie being made in Sweet Valley. The film is based on the true story of the mysterious death of twelve-year-old Lillian Keller, and it's being filmed at the creepy old Keller mansion. One stormy afternoon, Jessica finds an old necklace on the beach near the mansion. She puts it on, and that very night she has a terrible nightmare about a girl falling to her death. She becomes convinced that someone -- or something -- is trying to tell her that the mystery of Lillian Keller's death is far from solved. But can a necklace really hold the secret to a murder?
Standing Out (Sweet Valley Twins #25)
by Francine Pascal Jamie SuzanneSTANDING OUT. Too many changes... Billie Layton is a real tomboy. She's the only girl on the Little League softball team and the most respected athlete at Sweet Valley Middle School. But suddenly her whole world is turning upside down. First, Billie's parents are expecting a new baby and don't seem to have any time for her. Then there's her longtime friend, Jim Sturbridge, who's always been Billie's best friend, but now he seems interested only in Sally Holcomb--and Billie is jealous! Could it be that Billie likes Jim as a boyfriend and not just a buddy? Something is happening to Billie and it's very confusing! How can Elizabeth and Jessica convince Billie that she can have everything she wants?
The Hotline Emergency (The Fabulous Five #16)
by Betsy HaynesWHO IS THE MYSTERY CALLER? CHRISTIE HAS TO FIND OUT... BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! Jana Morgan, Melanie Edwards, Beth Barry, Christie Winchell, Katie Shannon... they're The Fabulous Five. They started out as a club whose secret purpose was to keep up with snobby Taffy Sinclair. Now these five best friends are in the seventh grade--are they ready for the ups and downs of junior high? THE HOT-LINE EMERGENCY When Christie Winchell is chosen for Wakeman Junior High's new homework hot line, she thinks it will be fun to help kids who are having trouble with their school assignments. But the fun fades when a mysterious seventh-grader starts calling to brag about the pranks he's going to pull. Now it's Christie who needs some answers...and fast. For somewhere in Wakeman Junior High is a boy who is either playing a terrible joke on her or has a real problem--and his pranks are about to take a dangerous turn.
The Christmas Countdown (The Fabulous Five #13)
by Betsy HaynesCan A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE HAPPEN? Jana Morgan, Melanie Edwards, Beth Barry, Christie Winchell, Katie Shannon... they're The Fabulous Five. They started out as a club whose secret purpose was to keep up with snobby Taffy Sinclair. Now these five best friends are in the seventh grade--are they ready for the ups and downs of junior high? THE CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN When Melanie Edwards's parents won't buy her a puppy for Christmas, she hopes she can find one for free at the local animal shelter. There among all the cats and dogs, she discovers the perfect pet. She also uncovers some horrifying news: If no one adopts the older animals at the shelter soon, they'll be put to sleep...on Christmas Eve! Now it's up to The Fabulous Five and their friends to save the animals. But with Christmas Eve only nine days away, can their pet project possibly succeed?
Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library
by Eth CliffordMary Rose and Jo-Beth are sisters who hardly ever agree on anything, but they both feel as if this night will never end. First their car runs out of gas in an unfamiliar city and their father goes in search of a gas station. Then Jo-Beth makes Mary Rose go with her to find a bathroom and they stumble across a curious old library. And then, worst of all, they get locked in! But their troubles are just beginning. Is Jo-Beth right about the library being haunted by banshees? Or is there a logical explanation, as Mary Rose claims?
The Christmas Killer
by Patricia WindsorAt Christmastime, as young girls are disappearing, Rose is having disturbing dreams that reveal where their dead bodies can be found.
On Your Toes, Susie (Susie the Young Ballerina #4)
by Lee Wyndham"I've waited three whole years for these pink toe shoes!" No wonder Susie is excited. At last she is to dance on her toes! Surely this will be her happiest year at ballet school. Perhaps she will even win the dance scholarship! Then the new girl comes--unpleasant Mimi who is such a fine dancer. Because of Mimi and her pet monkey, everything seems to go wrong for Susie. Especially when Susie sprains her ankle--just before the big recital. There is a surprise ending to this delightful story. It proves that nothing can stop a girl who wants to dance as much as Susie does.
The Gadget War
by Betsy DuffeyMEET THE GADGET WHIZ.. Kelly Sparks has forty-three inventions to her credit -- and she's only in third grade! Just name a problem, and in no time Kelly will come up with a gadget to solve it. But when Albert Einstein Jones walks into Kelly's class, he becomes Kelly's stickiest problem yet! Albert's been to Young Inventor's Camp, and he's determined to prove who the real gadget whiz is. This is sure to be a mastermind fight to the finish!
Lester's Turn
by Jan SlepianIn the stunning sequel to Jan Slepian's critically acclaimed first novel, The Alfred Summer. Everything has changed and none of it good as far as 16-year-old Lester is concerned. Worst of all is watching his retarded friend Alfie waste away in the hospital. Lester, himself a cerebral palsy victim, is desperate to save Alfie, and from this desperation is born the daring-- but disastrous--kidnapping attempt. Still determined to rescue Alfie somehow, Lester enlists the aid of his old friend Claire who awakens his desire to love a girlfriend, Claire's new neighbors, Lena, who seems like a movie star, her musical prodigy son Alex; and a young hospital volunteer, generous, endearing, impossibly romantic Tillie-Rose. But even their combined efforts cannot save Alfie. In the ensuing tragedy, Lester is forced to examine the real motives behind "The Alfred Fund" and is finally able to turn to his own future with hope. With honesty and sensitivity, Jan Slepian confronts the problems of disabled youngsters in this witty, powerful coming-of-age novel that explores the many ways we need, use and love others. She shows how teens cling to unrealistic fantasies of their future and of how reality forces them to look at their lives differently. Bookshare has "The Alfred Summer," the tale of Alfie and Lester one happy, challenging, summer when they adventure together to build a boat. Check it out to read more of Lester's story.
Montana 1948
by Larry WatsonFrom the summer of my twelfth year I carry a series of images more vivid and lasting than any others of my boyhood and indelible beyond all attempts the years make to erase or fade them. So begins David Hayden's story of what happened in Montana in 1948. The events of that cataclysmic summer permanently alter twelve-year-old David's understanding of his family: his father, a small-town sheriff; his remarkably strong mother; David's uncle Frank, a war hero and respected doctor; and the Haydens' Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations turn the family's life upside down as she relates how Frank has been molesting his female Indian patients. As their story unravels around David, he learns that truth is not what one believes it to be, that power is abused, and that sometimes one has to choose between family loyalty and justice.
Prairie Tale: A Memoir
by Melissa GilbertA fascinating, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting tale of self-discovery from the beloved actress who earned a permanent place in the hearts of millions when she was just a child. To fans of the hugely successful television series Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert grew up in a fantasy world with a larger-than-life father, friends and family she could count on, and plenty of animals to play with. Children across the country dreamed of the Ingalls' idyllic life--and so did Melissa. She was a natural on camera, but behind the scenes, life was more complicated. Adopted as a baby into a legendary show business family, Melissa wrestled with questions about her identity and struggled to maintain an image of perfection her mother created and enforced. Only after years of substance abuse, dysfunctional relationships, and made-for-television movies did she begin to figure out who she really was. With candor and humor, the cherished actress traces her complicated journey from buck-toothed Laura "Half-pint" Ingalls to Hollywood starlet, wife, and mother. She partied with the Brat Pack, dated heartthrobs like Rob Lowe and bad boys like Billy Idol, and began a self-destructive pattern of addiction and co-dependence. Left in debt after her first marriage, and struggling to create some sense of stability, she eventually realized that her career on television had earned her popularity, admiration, and love from everyone but herself. Through hard work, tenacity, sobriety, and the blessings of a solid marriage, Melissa has accepted her many different identities and learned to laugh, cry, and forgive in new ways. Women everywhere may have idolized her charming life on Little House on the Prairie, but Melissa's own unexpectedly honest, imperfect, and down-to-earth story is an inspiration.
The Haunting of Cabin 13
by Kristi D. Holl[from the cover flaps: "Was "Eleanor" really a ghost? When Laurie, her family, and her best friend Jenny arrive at Cabin 13 in Backbone State Park for a week's vacation, the mysterious notes left in the cabin don't really alarm her. Laurie thinks it's just a prank to scare campers. After all, there were also eerie bobbing lights said to be seen floating out over the lake. Soon Laurie discovers that "Eleanor"--the signature on all the notes--was the name of a young girl who had stayed in Cabin 13 the previous summer and had died in an accidental drowning. The ghostly notes become more frequent and alarming, and Laurie finds she can't get Eleanor off her mind. Although Jenny is more interested in meeting boys, she reluctantly agrees to help Laurie track down the truth. Their investigations become terrifying when their canoe sinks--was it deliberately sabotaged?--and Laurie is tricked into meeting the "ghost" late one night at the park's cave. But Laurie persists, and as she does she learns more about the rich history of the Backbone Trail. She also becomes convinced that Eleanor's death was no accident. Will Laurie be the next victim of the haunted Cabin 13?" The cover illustration is described.
The Twinkie Squad
by Gordon KormanIn the world of Gordon Korman, dreamers, geniuses, and misfits do triumph, and in this book they triumph hilariously, wonderfully, and in the best Gordon Korman style. Readers will cheer for the Twinkie Squad, which includes Dave with an attitude problem who thinks everything stinks, Yolanda who skips school to watch movies, Gerald, the ten-year-old boy genius terrified of middle-school, hyperactive, wall-climbing Ric, and Anita who agrees with everybody because she can't think for herself. The kids are resentful and bored until Douglas, son of diplomats, visionary, dreamer--the most eccentric sixth-grader in Middle School, joins. Then Commando, smooth mover, basketball star, a short kid who fights bullies and wins, and a way cool guy--until he met Douglas is forced to join up too, thanks to hitting Douglas in the nose with a basketball. Only special students, students who get 45 minutes of group counseling after school every day, get to be in the group labeled Twinkie Squad by the rest of the school who calls them crazy losers and won't go near them. Commando never planned on being that special. But Douglas doesn't understand why Commando is worried. The Twinkie Squad, Douglas feels, has real potential. And he has Big Plans for it. Before Douglas is through, the school will smell like rotting fish, the principal will be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and reality itself will be up for special discussion. Best of all, with Douglas's help, the Twinkie Squad will have achieved its potential--in ways nobody, not even Douglas Fairchild, could ever have anticipated. You'll start out laughing, laugh your way through the book, and end up high fiving The Twinkie Squad! The cover is described.
Chestnut Mare, Beware (Nattie Gold Mystery #2)
by Jody Jaffe"Delightful," raved the Washington Post Book World of Jody Jaffe's first mystery thriller, Horse of a Different Killer, "I hope Natalie Gold doesn't wait too long before jumping back into the suspense-story saddle again." Now, the wait is over: Equestrienne journalist Nattie Gold is back--and with the threat of murder afoot, it may just be her final ride. It's Christmas, but at the Charlotte Commercial Appeal two disturbing events nip Nattie's holiday in the bud. One is a chilling anonymous letter that threatens big-wig Carolinians--many of them known to Nattie from the show horse circuit--with horrible death. Then she's approached by a woman with a strange tale about her beautiful dead daughter. The official version of how former beauty queen Josane Ashmore died is that she was trampled by her unruly chestnut mare. Her mother declares that it was murder. Can Nattie go to Virginia and prove it? Nattie and her friend, Henry Goode, the paper's chief investigative reporter, light out for the beautiful green hills of northern Virginia, where great estates shelter the world's finest horses and their wealthy owners. It is the place where Josane rode to her death. Unfortunately, all that Josane's old buddies will say is that she chose to ride a crazy horse and paid the price ... and, well, she may have had a little coke habit. But who set Josane up in her charming Middleburg shop and paid for her horse and her designer gear? What about her abusive boyfriend? Why were her personal belongings disposed of with such unseemly haste? And urgently, who keeps trying to kill Nattie and Henry? The behind-the-print politics of a daily newspaper, the secret lives of the filthy rich, the dirty deals and killing competition of the show horse circuit--in Chestnut Mare, Beware Jody Jaffe creates a brilliant balance of murder, mischief, and menace.
O the Red Rose Tree
by Patricia BeattyHere is the story of a warm and lively friendship that grows among four young teen-age girls and a life-battered old lady. When thirteen-year-old Amanda Barnett and her three cohorts meet Mrs. Hankinson, they discover that she is an accomplished quilt maker. Her dream is to make the beautiful quilt named O the Red Rose Tree, but to do so she needs seven shades of red in materials that will not bleed. The four resourceful girls resolve to find the scarce cloth, and their search leads them into one hilarious escapade after another. Whether they are scheming to get their hands on the local doctor's red flannel chest protector or a glamorous opera singer's red petticoat, their energy and determination never flag. Patricia Beatty has created a vivid picture of a small town in the mid-1890's on the west coast of Washington. The novel, rollicking and touching in turn, gains added depth from its underlying theme that frequently the young and the old have much in common. The book cover is described.
The Revealers
by Doug WilhelmThrowing light on a dark problem: Parkland Middle School is a place the students call Darkland, because no one in it does much to stop the daily harassment of kids by other kids. <P><P>Three bullied seventh graders use their smarts to get the better of their tormentors by starting an unofficial e-mail forum at school in which they publicize their experiences. <P>Unexpectedly, lots of other kids come forward to confess their similar troubles, and it becomes clear that the problem at their school is bigger than anyone knew. <P>The school principal wants to clamp down on the operation, which she does when the trio, in their zealousness for revenge, libel a fellow student in what turns out to have been a setup. <P>Now a new plan of attack is needed ... <P>This suspenseful story of computer-era underground rebellion offers fresh perspectives on some of the most enduring themes in fiction for young readers.
One of the Gang (Sweet Valley Twins #10)
by Francine Pascal Jamie SuzanneWinning and losing... Jessica Wakefield has always been the center of everything at school. And Pamela Jacobson has always spent her time on the sidelines, especially in gym. When Jessica hurts her ankle, she starts to feel left out, too. Suddenly, the two girls have something in common. Jessica, who is chairman of the Mini Olympics, can hardly get to and from class, let alone run the committee meetings. And bossy Lila Fowler begins to take advantage of Jessica's injury to gain more power so she can run the Olympics her way! That's when Jessica comes up with a plan. With Pamela's help, it might just put both of them in the winner's circle!
Boys Against Girls (Sweet Valley Twins #17)
by Jamie Suzanne Francine PascalPlaying favorites... All the girls in Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield's sixth-grade class are about to explode! Mr. Davis, their new teacher, is giving all the good assignments to the boys and treating the girls as if they were less than human. And now, the boys are even beginning to think that they really are better than the girls! Something definitely has to be done. Led by Elizabeth and Jessica, the girls come up with a surefire plan to teach the teacher and all the boys a lesson they will never forget!
Seeker (Sweep #10)
by Cate TiernanIt's a time of joy for Hunter as he is reunited with his father, who vanished mysteriously years before. Only Morgan senses that something is wrong, that Hunter's father is hiding a dark secret that could threaten them all.
Liar, Liar
by Barthe DeclementsGretchen Griswald thinks everything about her best friend, Susan November, is neat. Her name, her red, curly hair, her cool clothes. Actually, most of the kids in Gretchen's class are so nice that the class is given a first year teacher, Ms. Cooper. She's not much on discipline. That is, until new kid Marybelle Jackson shaves off a good part of Susan's hair with a trimmer during class. Although Gretchen and her friends are angry with Marybelle, she continues to hang around them, insisting the incident was an accident. She also seems to know a lot about what's going on around school. When Susan suddenly gets ill, it's Marybelle who tells the group that she has hepatitis. With Susan out of school for several weeks, Gretchen feels lost--but Marybelle is anxious to be friends. She tells Gretchen that she saw Susan steal a pair of earrings at the mall. Susan says they belong to her sister, but Gretchen knows that she never lets Susan borrow her things. Whom should she believe? Then Susan and her family begin to treat Gretchen strangely, as though she's a criminal. Gretchen grows increasingly more confused and depressed. She believes she has lost Susan's friendship because of another lie. But what is it? Gretchen's brother says that liars eventually trap themselves in their own webs. With his help, Gretchen weaves a plan that will divulge the truth once and for all. In a surprising twist, the liar is cleverly exposed, but the outcome--and the feelings it inspire--are not what Gretchen and her friends expect in this unforgettable slice-of-life novel.
Freshman Follies (Freshman Dorm #17)
by Linda A. CooneyLauren's in love-- again! Gorgeous Dimitri Broder has swept her off her feet. But is Dimitri the poor student he claims to be-- or a con artist who uses gullible rich girls? The more KC parties with the fast crowd, the more she fights with her real friends. Can Faith and Courtney stop her before she goes over the edge?
Civil War in Paradise! (The Secret World Of Alex Mack #27)
by Bonnie D. StoneWhen Alex Mack finds out that the historic Civil War landmark Fort Paradise will be demolished for a new road, she and her friends go into action to stop the deconstruction process. Alex leads the charge, only to find trouble around every corner. Time is running out, but Alex and her powers have to keep a low profile. If she and her friends don't move fast, Fort Paradise--and maybe Alex--will be history.