Fiction. Will Carter, aka "Carter," is about to start high school--and between his ADD, the stuttering problem he develops around girls, and his lack of a cool nickname, he's just not ready. But ready or not, he's barreling into his freshman year gung-ho, trying his hand at football, dating, baseball, flirting, drama club, dating, avoiding humiliation and pummeling, and (oh yeah) dating. Will he ever find his niche? Will he ever get lucky? Will he even survive freshman year? Read this hilariously awkward story and find out.

Fantasy. With her father missing and a lecherous merchant attempting to blackmail her into marriage, 17-year-old Ai Ling sets out for the emperor's palace, the last place where her father was seen. On her journey, she meets and joins forces with Chen Yong and his younger brother Li Rong, who are on a quest of their own. When evil forces threaten to keep the trio from their destination--and to destroy all of Xia, their homeland--Ai Ling uses her newly discovered powers to fight back. If you're looking for a grand, exciting martial-arts adventure with a kick-butt heroine, look no further than Silver Phoenix.

Nonfiction. Ryan Smithson, who describes sitting in his high school history class and watching the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11 as the "atypical, unpredictable kind of real that you never see coming," enlisted in the Army as soon as he graduated. In this harrowing and powerful memoir, Smithson brings readers inside his tour of duty in Iraq, from basic training through combat and his return home. If you want to know what life is really like on the battlefield, Smithson's story provides a soldier's unflinching viewpoint; for an Iraqi civilian's account of the early days of the war, check out Thura's Diary by Thura Al-Windawi.

When the laboratory technicians working for Ancestor Lu discover the key to the immortality genetic structure, Victor names it the 'Cathy Key' in honor of his quest to make Cathy immortal, but when events go fatally wrong and a fortune teller's grim prophecy comes true, soon a homicide investigation is underway.

Fourteen-year-old Hector, suffering from severe headaches, is diagnosed with a brain tumor which speaks in his head, calling itself Jack Tumor and making an effort to improve Hector's home life, increase his popularity, and win him a girlfriend before the operation that will mean the end of one or both of them.

Provides the story of a young boy and his experiences at a lake house during four summers, capturing the highs and lows of growing up, falling in love, and dealing with the loss of a first love.

Dealing with insomnia since her parents' divorce and an overly demanding mother, Auden is excited to be staying with her father in a beautiful beach town for the summer, but when she develops a crush on a fellow insomniac named Eli, powerful feelings emerge as they begin to share their deepest secrets while the rest of the world sleeps.

Aislinn and Seth struggle with the unforeseen consequences of Aislinn's transformation from mortal girl to faery queen as the world teeters on the brink of cataclysmic violence.

When a new exchange student at school reveals to Jessica that she is actually a Romanian vampire princess by birth who is also his long-lost fiance, she must research an old book to find truth in his words, but when another girl goes after her prince, Jessica has no intention of letting him go without a fight!.

Fiction. Fifteen-year-old Wonder Blake is wearing headphones, mopping the floor at Dairy Queen and belting out "Smells Like Teen Spirit" when talent manager Gerald Tiggs discovers her. Before long, Wonder is on the fast track to fame and fortune--the same trajectory that her sister Lucky had been on when she was killed by a drunk driver two years before--hoping to put her problems behind her and start a new life. Despite dealing with some serious issues, Pop Princess is a fun and frothy read that anyone fascinated with teen stardom will enjoy. For a rise-to-stardom story more in the vein of punk than pop, check out Gillian Cross' Chartbreaker.

Fiction. Gem and her best friends Lo and Mira have nothing but disdain for their "sucker peers," whom they call "barcodes." When film-fanatic Gem, inspired by Andy Warhol, decides the three of them should make an underground movie, creative disputes lead to betrayals and serious testing of their friendship. Movie buffs and fans of edgy humor will enjoy Australian author Simmone Howell's über-geek, "Heathers meets I Shot Andy Warhol" (Publishers Weekly) drama.

Fiction. Still deeply wounded by his older brother Zeke's recent death, Jed is making a video of Manhattan's Lower East Side over winter break, filming the "cacophony of color and sound" that Zeke wrote about in his poetry. While documenting the everyday lives and tragedies in his neighborhood, Jed meets a homeless girl who may have known his brother--and may know the secret behind his death. With rich characterizations, rhythmic and poetic language, and grittily real emotion, Birdland paints a vivid picture of both the NY setting and Jed's disintegrating family.

Fiction. Aspiring filmmaker Eddy has a hit online video series called Riot Grrl 16--and, if he and his friends win the contest they've entered, soon his show will be on MTV! Meanwhile, Eddy, usually somewhat of a playboy, is unwittingly getting hooked on fiercely free-spirited Lucinda Dulko, one of the few girls who isn't completely charmed by him. With great characters, morbidly hilarious moments (such as when Eddy's younger brother Meatball repeatedly fakes his own death), and tons of movie references, Play Me is one highly entertaining read.