Tuesday, January 17, 2012

THE THRONE OF FIRE

By: Rick Riordan

In this exciting second installment of the three-book series, Carter and Sadie, offspring of the brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane, embark on a worldwide search for the Book of Ra, but the House of Life and the gods of chaos are determined to stop them.TitlePeek
SEXTING

By: Stefan Kiesbye

A compendium of opinion on the topic of sexting, the practice of sharing sexually explicit photos, videos, and text by cell phone or online.TitlePeek
THE SCORPIO RACES

By: Maggie Stiefvater

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shiver and Linger comes a brand new, heartstopping novel. Some race to win. Others race to survive. It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die. At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen. As she did in her bestselling Shiver trilogy, author Maggie Stiefvater takes us to the breaking point, where both love and life meet their greatest obstacles, and only the strong of heart can survive. The Scorpio Races is an unforgettable reading experience.TitlePeek
THE SACRED ACRE

By: Mark Tabb

On a Sunday in May 2008, an F-5 tornado struck the town of Parkersburg, Iowa, killing eight people and destroying 250 homes and businesses within 34 seconds. The next day, Parkersburg's beloved football coach, Ed Thomas, made a stunning prediction: 'God willing, we will play our first home game here on this field this season.' One hundred days later, the home team scored a victory on the field they dubbed 'The Sacred Acre,' serving as a galvanizing point for the town to band together and rebuild.But just as Parkersburg was recovering, another devastating tragedy struck. While working with a group of football and volleyball players early one morning, one of Ed's former students walked in and gunned him down point blank. Ed Thomas was 58.The murder of this hometown hero spread across national news headlines. Ed's community and family reeled from shock. Yet the story doesn't end here.What happened next proves that even a double tragedy is no match for faith, love ... and the power of forgivenessTitlePeek
ROBOPOCALYPSE

By: Daniel H. Wilson

They are in your house. They are in your car. They are in the skies&Now they’re coming for you.   In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication. In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans – a single mother disconcerted by her daughter’s menacing “smart” toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a ‘pacification unit’ go haywire – but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.   When the Robot War ignites -- at a moment known later as Zero Hour -- humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us&and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years.TitlePeek
RAIN

By: V.C Andrews

RAIN ALREADY KNOWS HOW HARD LIFE CAN BE. BUT SHE IS ABOUT TO DISCOVER A SHATTERING SECRET FROM THE PAST THAT WILL CHANGE HER FUTURE FOREVER.... Growing up in the ghettos of Washington, D.C., the cards are stacked against a hardworking dreamer like Rain Arnold. Rain has fought to be the best daughter she can: she studies hard and gets good grades; she helps her mother cook and clean. And unlike her defiant younger sister, she avoids the dangers of the city streets as if her life depends on it...and it does. But Rain can't suppress the feeling that she has never truly fit in, that she is a stranger in her own world. Then one fateful night, Rain overhears something she shouldn't: a heartbreaking revelation from the past, a long-buried secret that is about to change her life in ways she never could have imagined. In the blink of an eye, everything Rain has ever known -- the family she has loved and the familiar place she has called home is left behind, and Rain is sent to live with total strangers, the wealthy Hudson family. But just as she did not belong to the troubled world she was raised in, Rain is also out of place in this realm of luxury and privilege. With nowhere to turn, Rain finds an escape in the theater, inside the walls of an exclusive private school. But will it be enough to fulfill her heart's deepest wish -- and give her a place to call home?TitlePeek
QUATRAIN

By: sharon Shinn

Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses books have fascinated readers and critics alike with their irresistible blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure. Now in Quatrain , she weaves compelling stories in four of the worlds that readers love in Fight, Blood, Gold, and Flame .TitlePeek
THE MERCHANT OF DEATH

By: D.J Machale

Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. He has a family, a home, and even Marley, his beloved dog. But there is something very special about Bobby. He is going to save the world. And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory inhabited by strange beings, ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution. If Bobby wants to see his family again, he's going to have to accept his role as savior, and accept it wholeheartedly. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning....TitlePeek
THE LOST GATE

By: Orson Scott Card

Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different, and that he was different from them. While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an outself. He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins, and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father. Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people. There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow.  There is a secret library  with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English -- but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books. While Danny's cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see. Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny  as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.TitlePeek
IS OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING WORTH THE RISKS?

The In Controversy series presents varied points of view on well-defined, timely topics. Typically, the introduction of each book personalizes the dilemma, the opening chapter looks at the origins and history of the controversy, and the remainder of the book explores the questions raised within the topic. Offshore Oil Drilling discusses America's dependence on offshore oil for energy security, environmental damage (looking particularly at the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill), economic benefits, and how drilling might be made safer. Clearly written and presenting plenty of relevant information, the books offer opposing points of view in a fairly evenhanded way. Clean page design makes the text look more accessible through wide margins as well as the use of color in design elements and photos. Each volume concludes with an annotated list of relevant organizations, a bibliography, and source notes for the quotes in each chapter. Good resources for research projects.--Phelan, Caroly. Copyright 2010 Booklist.  TitlePeek
I BEAT THE ODDS

By: Michael Oher

The football star made famous in the hit film The Blind Side reflects on how far he has come from the circumstances of his youth. Michael Oher is the young man at the center of the true story depicted in The Blind Side movie (and book) that swept up awards and accolades. Though the odds were heavily stacked against him, Michael had a burning desire deep within his soul to break out of the Memphis inner-city ghetto and into a world of opportunity. While many people are now familiar with Oher's amazing journey, this is the first time he shares his account of his story in his own words, revealing his thoughts and feelings with details that only he knows, and offering his point of view on how anyone can achieve a better life. Looking back on how he went from being a homeless child in Memphis to playing in the NFL, Michael talks about the goals he had for himself in order to break out of the cycle of poverty, addiction, and hopelessness that trapped his family for so long. He recounts poignant stories growing up in the projects and running from child services and foster care over and over again in search of some familiarity. Eventually he grasped onto football as his ticket out of the madness and worked hard to make his dream into a reality. But Oher also knew he would not be successful alone. With his adoptive family, the Touhys, and other influential people in mind, he describes the absolute necessity of seeking out positive role models and good friends who share the same values to achieve one's dreams. Sharing untold stories of heartache, determination, courage, and love, I Beat the Odds is an incredibly rousing tale of one young man's quest to achieve the American dream.TitlePeek
HITLER VS  STALIN

By: John R Erickson

For millions of readers, World War II never loses its terrible fascination. This definitive account of Hitler's assault on Russia-the biggest and most destructive military campaign in history-will be published on the 70th anniversary of the start of that invasion. John Erickson, the world's leading authority on the subject, began the book, which has now been completed by his wife Ljubica, whose fluency in Russian was invaluable in its creation.TitlePeek
GLOW

By: Amy kathleen Ryan

One of School Library Journal 's Best Fiction Books of 2011 If a violent battle destroyed the only world you've ever known, would you be brave enough to save who was left? Would love be strong enough to survive the fight? Either way, there's no turning back. The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she and her boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. Everyone is sure he's the best choice. Still, there's a part of Waverly that wants more from lifethan marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth. Suddenly, Waverly's dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable - a violent betrayal by the Empyrean's sister ship, the New Horizon. The New Horizon's leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls. In one pivotal moment, Waverly and Kieran are separated, and find themselves at the helm of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster. Pulse-pounding and addictive, GLOW begins the most riveting series since The Hunger Games.TitlePeek
FORTUNE AND FATE
By: Sharon Shinn 

Plagued by guilt for failing to protect her king, Rider Wren has fled the city of Gilengaria and given herself the penance of a life of wandering, helping strangers in need. But when chance brings her to the great estate known as Fortune, Wren will find her fate, and finally confront the ghosts of her past.TitlePeek
THE FIRE
By: James Patterson


Whit and Wisty Allgood have sacrificed everything to lead the resistance against the merciless totalitarian regime that governs their world. Its supreme leader, The One Who Is The One, has banned everything they hold dear: books, music, art, and imagination. But the growing strength of the siblings' magic hasn't been enough to stop the One's evil rampage, and now he's executed the only family they had left. Wisty knows that the time has finally come for her to face The One. But her fight and her fire only channel more power to this already invincible being. How can she and Whit possibly prepare for their imminent showdown with the ruthless villain that devastated their world-before he can truly become all-powerful? In this stunning climax of the epic Witch & Wizard series, the stakes have never been higher-and the consequences will change everything.TitlePeek
THE EXILED QUEEN
By: Cinda williams chima

Haunted by the loss of his mother and sister, Han Alister journeys south to begin his schooling at Mystwerk House in Oden's Ford. But leaving the Fells doesn't mean that danger isn't far behind, in this second novel of the Seven Realms trilogy.TitlePeek
DAVID
By: Mary Hoffman


Michelangelo's statue, David , is famous around the world. Millions flock to Italy every year to admire the physical perfection of the young man captured within the marble. But the identity of the model has never been known . . . until now. In this epic tale, acclaimed author Mary Hoffman imagines the story of Gabriele, a naive but incredibly handsome young man who is hired as Michelangelo's model, only to find himself drawn into a world of spies, political treachery, and murder. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Florence in its most turbulent times, this rich, colorful, thrilling tale gives life to one of the world's greatest masterpieces.TitlePeek
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
By: Alexandre Dumas

Translated with an Introduction by Robin BussTitlePeek