Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/12/2013
ISBN-13: 9781442408968
ISBN-10: 1442408960

Fiction. A trip to the mall turns into a brutal nightmare for high school dance student Diamond when she’s kidnapped by a sexual predator. As Diamond desperately fights to survive, her friends at the dance academy grapple with their own issues: Mercedes blames herself for Diamond’s disappearance, while Justin hides his love for Layla, whose controlling boyfriend might be just as dangerous as Diamond’s kidnapper. Told with real-sounding dialogue from multiple narrators, this “pulse-pounding and inspiring” (Kirkus Reviews) novel will hook fans of gritty, psychologically intense reads like Elizabeth Scott’s Living Dead Girl or The Missing Girl by Norma Fox Mazer.

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Publisher: Dial Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 04/23/2013
ISBN-13: 9780803739697
ISBN-10: 0803739699

Science Fiction/Fantasy. Fans of Incarceron will be thrilled by this 1st book in a spellbinding new trilogy from Catherine Fisher. Determined to avenge his father’s murder, Jake Wilde is shocked to discover that his father is still alive, lost within the perilous time-travel portal created by a mysteriously powerful obsidian mirror. But Jake is not the only one seeking the mirror: fairies, revolutionaries, ghosts from the past, and Replicants from the future all collide in this intricately plotted sci-fi/fantasy fusion with touches of steampunk and dark hints of dystopia. The Obsidian Mirror will leave you “dazzled, captivated, frustrated and desperate for the next installment” (Kirkus Reviews).

Publisher: Razorbill
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 02/21/2013
ISBN-13: 9781595145185
ISBN-10: 1595145184

Fiction. Mandel Academy: the elite training ground for the next generation of criminal masterminds. With a student body of drug dealers, hackers, thieves, and assassins, it’s “Hogwarts for hustlers”…and if teen pickpocket Flick can only survive there until graduation, he can finally take down his evil father (a Mandel grad) for his brother’s murder. Flick's revenge plans are sidelined, however, when his girlfriend Joi is enrolled at Mandel as well. Can the two cooperate to protect each other, or will the vicious competition and deadly treachery of the school destroy them? Find out in this fast-moving, unpredictable, and intriguingly gruesome page-turner.

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/26/2013
ISBN-13: 9781250021526
ISBN-10: 1250021529

Fiction. Most people take things like food, safety, and indoor plumbing for granted, but for 15-year-old Carey and her little sister Jenessa, they feel like foreign territory. Raised in isolation and eventually abandoned by their abusive, meth-addicted mother, the sisters must learn to navigate normal life -- school, friends, clothes, relationships -- when they move in with Carey’s father and his new family. Readers will be immediately drawn in by Carey’s haunting, intimate narration and her painfully moving struggle to confront the crushing secrets she hides in this lyrical, unforgettable, and emotionally powerful debut.

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Publisher: Dial
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 03/21/2013
ISBN-13: 9780803738430
ISBN-10: 0803738439

Fiction. If you’ve ever felt like an outsider, you’ll appreciate the eccentric, well-developed characters and angsty (but ultimately hopeful) tone in this darkly funny tale of self-acceptance. Awkward, sarcastic, and obsessive-compulsive, high school senior Danielle is a social misfit who reassures herself by color-coding her collection of hats and Chuck Taylors. But when some quirky new friends (and the philosophy of The Big Lebowski) challenge her to adjust her attitude, Danielle reluctantly starts to unravel the trauma of her past. For another flawed, complicated heroine coping with a troubled history, check out Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King.

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/21/2010
ISBN-13: 9781416989530
ISBN-10: 1416989536

Short Stories. In this alternately hilarious, grisly, sexy, and terrifying collection of paranormal tales, superstar YA authors such as Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, and Meg Cabot do battle over which beings reign supreme: zombies or unicorns. Anyone who liked Diana Peterfreund's Rampant (about killer unicorns) or Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth (about a zombie apocalypse) will enjoy revisiting those books' worlds, and fans of offbeat fantasy in general should also appreciate this unicorns-vs.-zombies smack-down -- which includes plenty of playful editorial commentary. Reviewers seem torn over which side to root for, but they all agree that this book's readers are the real winners.

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Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 09/14/2010
ISBN-13: 9781442402324
ISBN-10: 1442402326

Science Fiction. After the zombie apocalypse, teens must find work by the age of 15 if they want to keep their food ration. And that’s why lazy, resentful, 15-year-old Benny reluctantly leaves the safety of home and joins his bounty-hunting half-brother Tom in the zombie-riddled wilds of the Rot and Ruin. As the brothers encounter villains far more inhuman than the undead, Benny begins to question his understanding not only of Tom, but also of life, death, and what bravery really means. Before you devour this thought-provoking, gore-splattered thriller, beware -- it’s the 1st in a series of three books, with a 4th and final volume arriving in August.

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Publisher: HarperTeen
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 05/10/2011
ISBN-13: 9780062004017
ISBN-10: 0062004018

Paranormal Romance. Nothing, not even moving to Paris, can lighten Kate’s melancholy over her parents’ recent deaths. Nothing, that is, until she meets gorgeous, enigmatic Vincent, and learns his secret -- though he seems human, he’s actually a reanimated, immortal revenant (they prefer you not use the z-word) dedicated to dying over and over again to save the lives of humans. But just as Kate and Vincent’s smoldering romance ignites, it’s threatened by Vincent’s undead enemies. First in a trilogy, the action and drama of this deliciously atmospheric and richly imagined love story continues in Until I Die and If I Should Die.

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 06/19/2012
ISBN-13: 9780312656744
ISBN-10: 0312656742

Horror. First-person, present-tense narration brings psychological tension and raw authenticity to this unusual and gripping survival story. Sloan Price is so damaged by her horrifically abusive home life that when the zombie infection hits her town, she sees it a welcome opportunity to die. Yet when she’s barricaded inside the high school with a group of other teens, she finds herself fighting for life instead, even as personal relationships strain and flesh-eating monsters beat down the door. Pushing the boundaries of traditional brains-and-blood-soaked zombie stories, This Is Not a Test is a must-read for fans of Carrie Ryan.

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