The Little House

      Virginia Lee Burton
     The Little House

Virginia Lee Burton won the Caldecott Medal in 1943 for her memorable picture book The Little House, a poignant story of a cute country cottage that becomes engulfed by the city that grows up around it. The house has an expressive face of windows and doors, and even the feelings of a person, so she’s sad when she’s surrounded by the dirty, noisy city’s hustle and bustle: “She missed the field of daisies / and the apple trees dancing in the moonlight.” Fortunately, there’s a happy ending, as the house is taken back to the country where she belongs.

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    After

      Amy Efaw
     After

An infant left in the trash to die. A teenage mother who never knew she was pregnant . . . Before That Morning, these were the words most often used to describe straight-A student and star soccer player Devon Davenport: responsible, hardworking, mature. But all that changes when the police find Devon home sick from school as they investigate the case of an abandoned baby. Soon the connection is made. Devon has just given birth; the baby in the trash is hers. After That Morning, there's only one way to define Devon: attempted murderer. And yet gifted author Amy Efaw does the impossible. She turns Devon into an empathetic character, a girl who was in such deep denial that she refused to believe she was pregnant. Through airtight writing and fast-paced, gripping storytelling, Ms. Efaw takes the reader on Devon's unforgettable journey toward clarity, acceptance, and redemption.

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    The Lines We Cross

      Randa Abdel-Fattah
     The Lines We Cross

Michael likes to hang out with his friends and play with the latest graphic design software. His parents drag him to rallies held by their anti-immigrant group, which rails against the tide of refugees flooding the country. And it all makes sense to Michael. Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school, and turns out to be funny, smart -- and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly, his parents' politics seem much more complicated. Mina has had a long and dangerous journey fleeing her besieged home in Afghanistan, and now faces a frigid reception at her new prep school, where she is on scholarship. As tensions rise, lines are drawn. Michael has to decide where he stands. Mina has to protect herself and her family. Both have to choose what they want their world to look like.

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    Karen's Stepmother

      Ann M. Martin
     Karen's Stepmother

Now that their new custody arrangement has them spending every other month at their father's house, Karen and Andrew are having a hard time getting used to their stepmother Elizabeth. What do you do for Mother's Day when you've got both a real mom and a wicked one?

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    Mary Anne's Big Breakup

      Ann M. Martin
     Mary Anne's Big Breakup

More than 100 stories after meeting Logan, Mary Anne is ready for a change. And she's about to find out that breaking up is hard to do. Martin's classic series is going in a new direction with a new look and new focus on the four characters who started it all.

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    Gossamer

      Lois Lowry
     Gossamer

Where do dreams come from? What stealthy nighttime messengers are the guardians of our most deeply hidden hopes and our half-forgotten fears? Drawing on her rich imagination, two-time Newbery winner Lois Lowry confronts these questions and explores the conflicts between the gentle bits and pieces of the past that come to life in dream, and the darker horrors that find their form in nightmare. In a haunting story that tiptoes between reality and imagination, two people—a lonely, sensitive woman and a damaged, angry boy—face their own histories and discover what they can be to one another, renewed by the strength that comes from a tiny, caring creature they will never see. Gossamer is perfect for readers not quite ready for Lois Lowry's Newbery-Award winner The Giver and also for readers interested in dreams, nightmares, spirits and the dream world.

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    Secrets in the Shadows

      V. C. Andrews
     Secrets in the Shadows

Everyone Says Her Mother Was Crazy. Is She Doomed to Repeat the Past? Up in the attic, that's where Alice's mother used to escape to...and it's where, so Alice has been told, she plotted the murder of her own stepfather. Now, years later, with her mother locked away for life, the attic is where Alice finds comfort in her aloneness, writing poetry and painting pictures. When Alice finally finds the courage to come out of her shell, exchanging her dowdy looks for flattering clothes and makeup, her life completely opens up -- she even attends the prom with a cute, popular boy. But it's a night that turns quickly tragic -- sending her newfound happiness crashing down around her, and hurtling Alice into a shattering new life, one that leads her to a shocking reunion with the shadows she had fled. From the imagination behind Flowers in the Attic comes a sensational new novel that spins a seductive web between fantasies and lies -- and uncovers the price for keeping secrets in the shadows.

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    The Key

      Michael Grant
     The Key

Time is short for Mack MacAvoy and the Magnifica! Mack hates doing homework (that's what golems are for), but it seems that the only way to defeat the Pale Queen and her evil daughter, Risky, is to learn the magical language of Vargran. If only ancient, magical languages came with cheat sheets . . . . . . Oh! But they do! (Or at least, this one does. We can't speak for any other ancient, magical languages.)Mack, Jarrah, Xiao, Dietmar, and Stefan travel to Europe to find the Key, an engraved stone that unlocks the power of Vargran. But can they locate the invisible castle of William "Blisterthöng" MacGuffin, who guards the Key?(Yeah, we said "Blisterthong." Yeah, it's as painful as it sounds.)Mack has less than thirty days to master Vargran, round up the rest of the Magnifica, and defeat Princess Risky. Will the Key be enough? Or is there something else Mack must find in order to save the world?The Magnificent 12:...

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    Nameless

      Lili St. Crow
     Nameless

When Camille was six years old, she was discovered alone in the snow by Enrico Vultusino, godfather of the Seven—the powerful Families that rule magic-ridden New Haven. Papa Vultusino adopted the mute, scarred child, naming her after his dead wife and raising her in luxury on Haven Hill alongside his own son, Nico. Now Cami is turning sixteen. She’s no longer mute, though she keeps her faded scars hidden under her school uniform, and though she opens up only to her two best friends, Ruby and Ellie, and to Nico, who has become more than a brother to her. But even though Cami is a pampered Vultusino heiress, she knows that she is not really Family. Unlike them, she is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. And it’s not until she meets the mysterious Tor, who reveals scars of his own, that Cami begins to uncover the secrets of her birth... to find out where she comes from and why her past is threatening her now.

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    Isolation

      Dan Wells
     Isolation

Two decades before the events of Partials, the world was locked in a different battle for survival: a global war for the last remaining oil reserves on the planet. It was for the Isolation War that the American government contracted the ParaGen Corporation to manufacture the Partials—our last hope in reclaiming energy independence from China. And it was on these fields of battle that the seeds of humanity's eventual destruction were sown. Isolation takes us back to the front lines of this war, a time when mankind's ambition far outstripped its foresight. Heron, a newly trained Partial soldier who specializes in infiltration, is sent on a mission deep behind enemy lines. What she discovers there has far-reaching implications—not only for the Isolation War, but for Partials and humans alike long after this war is over. A powerful take of our world on the brink, Isolation gives readers a glimpse into the history from which Partials was born—as well as clues to where the Partials Sequence is heading next.

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    Deadly Little Games

      Laurie Faria Stolarz
     Deadly Little Games

High school juniors Camelia and Ben have discovered a powerful bond: They both possess the power of psychometry, the ability to see the future through touch. For Ben, the gift is a frightening liability. When he senses a strong threat or betrayal, he risks losing control. Camelia's gift is more mysterious. When she works with clay, her hands sculpt messages her mind doesn't yet comprehend. Before either one has a chance to fully grasp their abilities, a new danger surfaces, but this time, Camelia is not the target. Adam, a familiar face from Ben's past, is drawn into a puzzle he can't solve...and his life is on the line. As the clues pile up, Camelia must decide whether to help him and risk losing Ben or do nothing and suffer the consequences. But in these games, who can be trusted? Packed with the suspense and romance that made Deadly Little Secret and Deadly Little Lies breakout hits, Deadly Little Games is sure to be a bestseller.

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    Snow White

      Cindy C. Bennett
     Snow White

The death of Snow White's father has left her at the mercy of her stepmother Katarina. Katarina cares for one thing, and one thing only: herself. Vain and arrogant, she sends Snow into the forest to be killed. Snow manages to escape and hide herself from the murderous Hugo. After wandering for days, lost and hungry, she stumbles upon Fableton, an enchanted village created by Katarina to entrap Prince Philip after he spurned her. Philip has been unable to leave Fableton for half a millennium. Snow White just might be the one spoken of by a fairy who promised the day would come when a girl, pure of heart, would be able to break the curse and free the inhabitants of Fableton. But is Philip willing to risk Snow's life to gain his freedom? Snow does the thing no one has ever been able to do before - leave the enchanted village. Her only hope of winning freedom for not only the residents of Fableton, but for herself as well, is to defeat the evil and powerful Katarina.

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    Goody Two-Shoes

      Anonymous
     Goody Two-Shoes

A variation on the Cinderella story. This story was originally published in the 18th century by John Newbery in London. Goody Two-Shoes is the nickname of a poor orphan girl named Margery Meanwell who goes through life with only one shoe until a rich man gives her a new pair.

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