2015-2016
Fantasy / Science Fiction
Fantasy/ Science Fiction
The Bar Code Tattoo
Individuality vs. conformity. Identity vs. access.
Freedom vs. control. The bar code tattoo.
The bar code tattoo. Everybody's getting it. It will
make your life easier, they say. It will hook you in. It
will become your identity.
But what if you say no? What if you don't want to
become a code? For Kayla, this one choice
changes everything. She becomes an outcast in
her high school. Dangerous things start happening
to her family. There's no option but to run . . . for
her life.
Individuality vs. conformity.
Identity vs. access.
Freedom vs. control.
Fantasy/ Science Fiction
The Night Gardner
A Victorian ghost story with shades of
Washington Irving and Henry James. More
than just a spooky tale, it’s also a moral
fable about human greed and the power of
storytelling.
The Night Gardener follows two
abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work
as servants at a creepy, crumbling English
manor house. But the house and its family
are not quite what they seem. Soon the
children are confronted by a mysterious
spectre and an ancient curse that threatens
their very lives. With Auxier’s exquisite
command of language, The Night
Gardener is a mesmerizing read and a
classic in the making.
Fantasy/ Science Fiction
The Boundless
All aboard for an action-packed escapade from the
internationally bestselling author of Airborne and the
Silverwing trilogy.
The Boundless, the greatest train ever built, is on its
maiden voyage across the country, and first-class
passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the
adventure of his life!
When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train
car containing priceless treasures, he becomes the
target of sinister figures from his past.
In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus,
enlisting the aid of Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and
leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age who is
an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their
heels, can Will and Maren reach Will's father and
save The Boundless before someone winds up dead?
Fantasy/ Science Fiction
A Path Begins
When Kara Westfall was five years old, her
mother was convicted of the worst of all
crimes: witchcraft. Years later, Kara and her
little brother, Taff, are still shunned by the
people of their village, who believe that
nothing is more evil than magic…except,
perhaps, the mysterious forest that covers
nearly the entire island. It has many names,
this place. Sometimes it is called the Dark
Wood, or Sordyr's Realm. But mostly it's
called the Thickety.
The villagers live in fear of the Thickety and
the terrible creatures that live there. But
when an unusual bird lures Kara into the
forbidden forest, she discovers a strange
book with unspeakable powers. A book that
might have belonged to her mother.
And that is just the beginning of the story.
Fantasy/ Science Fiction
Fahrenheit 451
Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television
rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen
start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy
the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along
with the houses in which they are hidden.
Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his
actions produce, returning each day to his bland life
and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her
television "family." But then he meets an eccentric
young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past
where people didn't live in fear and to a present where
one sees the world through the ideas in books instead
of the mindless chatter of television.
When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly
disappears, Montag begins to question everything he
has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home,
and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to
run for his life.
Fantasy/ Science Fiction
Breathe: A Ghost Story
Jack is not a normal boy. He can talk to ghosts. In
his new home, an aging farmhouse, he meets the
Ghost Mother, a grief-stricken spirit who becomes
very attached to him...too attached. He learns that
the Ghost Mother is preying in the cruelest
imaginable way on four child ghosts who are
trapped in the house, stealing their energy to
sustain her own. Before Jack can figure out how to
help them, the Ghost Mother takes possession of
his real mother's body. Jack wants to fight back, but
he has severe asthma and risks fatal attacks with
any physical exertion. It will take all his resources,
and his mother's as well, to fight off the Ghost
Mother and save the ghost children from a horrible
fate.
Historical Fiction
Historical Fiction
Zane and the Hurricane: The Story of
Katrina
Zane Dupree is a charismatic 12-year-old boy of
mixed race visiting a relative in New Orleans when
Hurricane Katrina hits. Unexpectedly separated from
all family, Zane and his dog experience the terror of
Katrina's wind, rain, and horrific flooding. Facing
death, they are rescued from an attic air vent by a
kind, elderly musician and a scrappy young girl-both African American. The chaos that ensues as
storm water drowns the city, shelter and food
vanish, and police contribute to a dangerous,
frightening atmosphere, creates a page-turning tale
that completely engrosses the reader. Based on the
facts of the worst hurricane disaster in U.S. history,
Philbrick includes the lawlessness and lack of
government support during the disaster as well as
the generosity and courage of those who risked their
lives and safety to help others. Here is an
unforgettable novel of heroism in the face of truly
challenging circumstances.
Historical Fiction
Seeing Red
Life will never be the same for Red Porter. He's a kid
growing up around black car grease, white fence paint,
and the backward attitudes of the folks who live in his
hometown, Rocky Gap, Virginia.
Red's daddy, his idol, has just died, leaving Red and
Mama with some hard decisions and a whole lot of doubt.
Should they sell the Porter family business, a gas station,
repair shop, and convenience store rolled into one, where
the slogan -- "Porter's: We Fix it Right!" -- has been
shouting the family's pride for as long as anyone can
remember?
With Daddy gone, everything's different. Through his
friendship with Thomas, Beau, and Miss Georgia, Red
starts to see there's a lot more than car motors and rusty
fenders that need fixing in his world.
When Red discovers the injustices that have been
happening in Rocky Gap since before he was born, he's
faced with unsettling questions about his family's legacy.
Historical Fiction
Shadow
Michael Morpurgo touched our hearts with this
beautiful story of a boy, his lost dog, and the
lengths he would go to be reunited. This timely
story of battle-scarred Afghanistan delivers a
masterful portrait of war, love, and friendship.
With the horrors of war bearing down on them,
Aman and his mother are barely surviving in
an Afghan cave, and staying there any longer
will end horribly. The only comfort Aman has is
Shadow, the loyal spaniel that shows up from
places unknown, it seems, just when Aman
needs him most.
Aman, his mother, and Shadow finally leave
the destroyed cave in hopes of escaping to
England, but are held at a checkpoint, and
Shadow runs away after being shot at by the
police. Aman and his mother escape--without
Shadow. Aman is heart-broken.
Historical Fiction
Breathing Room
Evvy Hoffmeister is thirteen years old when
her family brings her to Loon Lake
Sanatorium to get cured of tuberculosis
(TB). Evvy is frightened by her new
surroundings; the rules to abide are harsh
and the nurses equally rigid. But Evvy soon
falls into step with the other girls in her
ward. There's Sarah, quiet but thoughtful;
Pearl, who adores Hollywood glamour; and
Dina, whose harshness conceals a deep
strength. Together, the girls brave the
difficult daily routines. Set in 1940 at a time
of political unrest throughout the U.S. and
Europe, this thought-provoking novel sheds
light on a much-feared worldwide illness.
Hundreds of thousands of people died
each year of TB, and many ill children were
sent away to sanatoriums to hopefully
recover.
Historical Fiction
Penny from Heaven
It’s 1953 and 11-year-old Penny
dreams of a summer of butter pecan
ice cream, swimming, and baseball.
But nothing’s that easy in Penny’s
family. For starters, she can’t go
swimming because her mother’s afraid
she’ll catch polio at the pool. To make
matters worse, her dog, Scarlett
O'Hara, is sick. Her favorite uncle is
living in a car. Her best friend is
turning into a criminal. And no one will
tell Penny the truth about how her
father died.
Historical Fiction
Hattie Big Sky
Alone in the world, teen-aged Hattie is driven to
prove up on her uncle's homesteading claim.
For years, sixteen-year-old Hattie's been shuttled
between relatives. Tired of being Hattie Here-andThere, she courageously leaves Iowa to prove up
on her late uncle's homestead claim near Vida,
Montana. With a stubborn stick-to-itiveness, Hattie
faces frost, drought and blizzards. Despite many
hardships, Hattie forges ahead, sharing her
adventures with her friends--especially Charlie,
fighting in France--through letters and articles for
her hometown paper.
Her backbreaking quest for a home is lightened by
her neighbors, the Muellers. But she feels
threatened by pressure to be a "Loyal" American,
forbidding friendships with folks of German
descent. Despite everything, Hattie's determined to
stay until a tragedy causes her to discover the true
meaning of home.
Mystery
Mystery
Three Times Lucky
Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives
in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC,
where everyone's business is fair game and
no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a
hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been
making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes
someday to find her "upstream mother," she's
found a home with the Colonel--a café owner
with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss
Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will
protect those she loves with every bit of her
strong will and tough attitude. So when a
lawman comes to town asking about a
murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale
Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the
truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has
ever known.
Mystery
Under the Egg
When Theodora Tenpenny spills a bottle of rubbing
alcohol on her late grandfather’s painting, she
discovers what seems to be an old Renaissance
masterpiece underneath. That’s great news for
Theo, who’s struggling to hang onto her family’s
two-hundred-year-old townhouse and support her
unstable mother on her grandfather’s legacy of
$463. There’s just one problem: Theo’s grandfather
was a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, and she worries the painting may be stolen.
With the help of some unusual new friends, Theo's
search for answers takes her all around Manhattan,
and introduces her to a side of the city—and her
grandfather—that she never knew. To solve the
mystery, she'll have to abandon her hard-won selfreliance and build a community, one serendipitous
friendship at a time.
Mystery
Loot
On a foggy night in Amsterdam, a man falls
from a rooftop to the wet pavement below. It's
Alfie McQuinn, the notorious cat burglar, and
he's dying. As sirens wail in the distance, Alfie
manages to get out two last words to his young
son, March: "Find jewels."
But March learns that his father is not
talking about a stash of loot. He's talking about
Jules, the twin sister March never knew he
had. No sooner than the two find each other,
they're picked up by the police and sent to the
world's worst orphanage. It's not prison, but it
feels like it.
March and Jules have no intention of
staying put. They know their father's business
inside and out, and they're tired of being
pushed around. Just one good heist, and they'll
live the life of riches and freedom most kids
only dream about.
Mystery
The Screaming Staircase
A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all
nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and specters
are appearing throughout the city, and they
aren't exactly friendly. Only young people have
the psychic abilities required to see-and
eradicate-these supernatural foes.
In The Screaming Staircase, the plucky and
talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony
Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood
& Co, a small agency that runs independent of
any adult supervision. After an assignment
leads to both a grisly discovery and a
disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their
sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take
part in the perilous investigation of Combe
Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in
England. Will Lockwood & Co. survive the
Hall's legendary Screaming Staircase and Red
Room to see another day?
Mystery
All The Lovely Bad Ones
Travis and his sister, Corey, can't resist a
good trick. When they learn that their
grandmother's quiet Vermont inn, where
they're spending the summer, has a history of
ghost sightings, they decide to do a little
"haunting" of their own. Before long, their
supernatural pranks have tourists flocking to
the inn, and business booms.
But Travis and Corey soon find out that
they aren't the only ghosts at Fox Hill Inn.
Their thoughtless games have awakened
something dangerous, something that should
have stayed asleep. Can these siblings lay to
rest the ghosts they’ve stirred?
Mystery
Hunt for the Seventh
Jim moves to ancient Minerva Hall and
encounters the ghosts of six children. They
urge him to find the seventh child and leave
him cryptic clues that point to a dark, ancient
prophecy that only Jim can stop from being
fulfilled. Jim turns to Einstein, a brilliant
autistic boy who lives at the Hall. If anyone
can help Jim, Einstein can. But the boy, who
speaks in riddles, proves to be as mysterious
as the dead children. Time is running out; if
Jim doesn't figure out the clues, innocent
people will die.
Christine Morton-Shaw has linked ancient
rites with modern mystery to create a chilling,
suspenseful tale that will keep readers
guessing to the very end.
Nonfiction
Nonfiction
I am Malala
Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan transformed
by terrorism, Malala was taught to stand up for what she
believes. So she fought for her right to be educated. And
on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause:
She was shot point-blank while riding the bus on her way
home from school.
No one expected her to survive.
Now Malala is an international symbol of peaceful
protest and the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner.
In this Young Readers Edition of her bestselling memoir,
which has been reimagined specifically for a younger
audience and includes exclusive photos and material, we
hear firsthand the remarkable story of a girl who knew
from a young age that she wanted to change the world -and did.
Malala's powerful story will open your eyes to
another world and will make you believe in hope, truth,
miracles and the possibility that one person -- one young
person -- can inspire change in her community and
beyond.
Nonfiction
Tom Thumb: The Remarkable True Story of a Man in
Miniature
When Charles S. Stratton was born in 1838, he
was a large baby, perfect in every way. But then he
stopped growing. At age four, though a happy and
mischievous child, he was just over two feet tall and
weighed only fifteen pounds—the exact same size
he had been as a seven-month-old baby. It was
then that the notorious showman P.T. Barnum
dubbed him Tom Thumb and put him on display,
touring him around the world as a curiosity.
A natural performer, Charley became
enormously popular and wealthy, more so than any
other performer before him. In this spirited
biography—the first on its subject—George Sullivan
recounts the fascinating adventures of Tom Thumb,
and raises challenging questions about what
constitutes exploitation—both in the 19th century
and today.
Nonfiction
Witches! The Absolutely True Tale
of Disaster in Salem
In the little colonial town of Salem Village,
Massachusetts, two girls began to twitch, mumble, and
contort their bodies into strange shapes. The doctor
tried every remedy, but nothing cured the young
Puritans. He grimly announced the dire diagnosis: the
girls were bewitched! And then the accusations began.
The riveting, true story of the victims, accused
witches, crooked officials, and mass hysteria that
turned a mysterious illness affecting two children into a
witch hunt that took over a dozen people's lives and
ruined hundreds more unfolds in chilling detail in this
young adult book by award-winning author and
illustrator Rosalyn Schanzer.
Nonfiction
The President Has Been Shot
A breathtaking and dramatic account of the JFK
assassination by the NEW YORK TIMES
bestselling author of CHASING LINCOLN'S
KILLER!
In his new young-adult book on the Kennedy
assassination, James Swanson will transport
readers back to one of the most shocking, sad,
and terrifying events in American history. As he
did in his bestselling Scholastic YA book,
CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER, Swanson will
deploy his signature "you are there" style -- a
riveting, ticking-clock pace, with an
unprecedented eye for dramatic details and
impeccable historical accuracy -- to tell the story
of the JFK assassination as it has never been
told before.
Nonfiction
We Rode the Orphan Trains
They were “throw away” kids, living in the streets or in
orphanages and foster homes. Then Charles Loring
Brace, a young minister working with the poor in New
York City, started the Children’s Aid Society and
devised a plan to give homeless children a chance to
find families to call their own.
Thus began an extraordinary migration of American
children. Between 1854 and 1929, an estimated
200,000 children, mostly from New York and other
cities of the eastern United States, ventured forth to
other states on a journey of hope.
Andrea Warren has shared the stories of some of these
orphan train riders here, including those of Betty, who
found a fairy tale life in a grand hotel; Nettie Evans and
her twin, Nellie, who were rescued from their first
abusive placement and taken in by a new, kindhearted
family who gave them the love they had hoped for;
brothers Howard and Fred, who remained close even
though they were adopted into different families; and
Edith, who longed to know the secrets of her past.
Nonfiction
Phineas Gage
Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his
head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman,
was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in
1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot
through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live
another eleven years and become a textbook case
in brain science.
At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely
recover from his accident. He could walk, talk,
work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage "was
no longer Gage," said his Vermont doctor,
meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and
well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and
unpredictable.
His case astonished doctors in his day and still
fascinates doctors today. What happened and
what didn’t happen inside the brain of Phineas
Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works
and how you act human.
Realistic Fiction
Realistic Fiction
Seeing Red
Life will never be the same for Red Porter. He's a kid
growing up around black car grease, white fence
paint, and the backward attitudes of the folks who
live in his hometown, Rocky Gap, Virginia.
Red's daddy, his idol, has just died, leaving Red and
Mama with some hard decisions and a whole lot of
doubt. Should they sell the Porter family business, a
gas station, repair shop, and convenience store
rolled into one, where the slogan -- "Porter's: We Fix
it Right!" -- has been shouting the family's pride for
as long as anyone can remember?
With Daddy gone, everything's different. Through his
friendship with Thomas, Beau, and Miss Georgia,
Red starts to see there's a lot more than car motors
and rusty fenders that need fixing in his world.
When Red discovers the injustices that have been
happening in Rocky Gap since before he was born,
he's faced with unsettling questions about his
family's legacy.
Realistic Fiction
Half a Chance
When Lucy's family moves to an old house
on a lake, Lucy tries to see her new home
through her camera's lens, as her father has
taught her -- he's a famous photographer,
away on a shoot. Will her photos ever meet
his high standards? When she discovers that
he's judging a photo contest, Lucy decides to
enter anonymously. She wants to find out if
her eye for photography is really special -- or
only good enough.
As she seeks out subjects for her photos,
Lucy gets to know Nate, the boy next door.
But slowly the camera reveals what Nate
doesn't want to see: his grandmother's
memory is slipping away, and with it much of
what he cherishes about his summers on the
lake. This summer, Nate will learn about the
power of art to show truth. And Lucy will
learn how beauty can change lives . . .
including her own.
Realistic Fiction
Zero Tolerance
Seventh-grader Sierra Shepard has
always been the perfect student, so when
she sees that she accidentally brought her
mother's lunch bag to school, including a
paring knife, she immediately turns in the
knife at the school office. Much to her
surprise, her beloved principal places her
in in-school suspension and sets a
hearing for her expulsion, citing the
school's ironclad no weapons policy.
While there, Sierra spends time with Luke,
a boy who's known as a troublemaker,
and discovers that he's not the person she
assumed he would be--and that the lines
between good and bad aren't as clear as
she once thought. Claudia Mills brings
another compelling school story to life
with Zero Tolerance.
Realistic Fiction
The Willoughbys
Abandoned by their ill-humored parents
to the care of an odious nanny, Tim, the
twins, Barnaby A and Barnaby B, and
their sister, Jane, attempt to fulfill their
roles as good oldfashioned children.
Following the models set in lauded tales
from A Christmas Carol to Mary Poppins,
the four Willoughbys hope to attain their
proscribed happy ending too, or at least
a satisfyingly maudlin one. However, it is
an unquestionably ruthless act that sets
in motion the transformations that lead to
their salvation and to happy endings for
not only the four children, but their
nanny, an abandoned baby, a candy
magnate, and his long-lost son too.
Realistic Fiction
Surrounded by Sharks
He couldn't sleep. That's how it all
started.
When Davey wakes, just as the sun is
rising, he can't wait to slip out of the
crammed hotel room he's sharing with
his family. Leave it to his parents and kid
brother to waste an entire day of
vacation sleeping in! Davey heads
straight for the beach, book and glasses
in hand, not bothering to leave a note.
As the sparkling ocean entices him, he
decides to test the water, never mind
that "No Swimming" sign. But as the
waves pull him farther from shore,
Davey finds himself surrounded by water
-- and something else, too. Something
circling below the surface, watching,
waiting. It's just a matter of time.
Realistic Fiction
Shooting the Moon
When twelve-year-old Jamie Dexter's
brother joins the Army and is sent to
Vietnam, Jamie is plum thrilled. She can't
wait to get letters from the front lines
describing the excitement of real-life
combat: the sound of helicopters, the smell
of gunpowder, the exhilaration of being
right in the thick of it. After all, they've both
dreamed of following in the footsteps of
their father, the Colonel.
But TJ's first letter isn't a letter at all. It's a
roll of undeveloped film, the first of many.
What Jamie sees when she develops TJ's
photographs reveals a whole new side of
the war. Slowly the shine begins to fade off
of Army life - and the Colonel. How can
someone she's worshipped her entire life
be just as helpless to save her brother as
she is?
HCPS: Champions Choice
Champions’ Choice: CMS
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar
Children
A mysterious island.
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for
Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes
fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience.
As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteenyear-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast
of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss
Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob
explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it
becomes clear that the children were more than just
peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may
have been quarantined on a deserted island for good
reason. And somehow--impossible though it seems--they
may still be alive.
Champions’ Choice: LMS
I am Number Four
Nine of us came here.
We look like you.
We talk like you.
We live among you—but
We are not you.
We have powers you dream of having.
We are the superheroes you worship in
movies and comic books—
But we are real.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England. And Number
Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.
I am Number Four. I am next.
Champions’ Choice: HHMS
The Vindico
The Vindico are a group of supervillains who
have been fighting the League of Heroes for as
long as anyone can remember. Realizing they're
not as young as they used to be, they devise a
plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over
for them when they retire--after all, how hard can
it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?
Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens
train with their mentors and receive superpowers
beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to
uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens
have to trust each other to plot their escape. But
they quickly learn that the differences between
good and evil are not as black and white as they
seem, and they are left wondering whose side
they should be fighting on after all . . .
Champions’ Choice: OKMS
Among the Hidden
In a future where the Population Police enforce
the law limiting a family to only two children,
Luke, an illegal third child, has lived all his twelve
years in isolation and fear on his family's farm in
this start to the Shadow Children series from
Margaret Peterson Haddix.
Luke has never been to school. He's never had a
birthday party, or gone to a friend's house for an
overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend.
Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child
forbidden by the Population Police. He's lived his
entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing
development replacing the woods next to his
family's farm, he is no longer even allowed to go
outside.
Champions’ Choice: GMS
The Warrior Heir
Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived
an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity.
Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar
above his heart set him apart from the other highschoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine.
Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident
than ever before. And it feels great-until he loses control
of his own strength and nearly kills another player during
soccer team tryouts.
Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: He is
Weirlind; part of an underground society of magical
people who live among us. At the head of this magical
society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the
White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The
Game-a magical tournament in which each house
sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning
house rules the Weir.
As if his bizarre magical heritage isn't enough, Jack finds
out that he's not just another member of Weirlind-he's
one of the last of the warriors-at a time when both
houses are scouting for a player.
Champions’ Choice - SJMS
Anything But Typical
Jason Blake is an autistic 12-year-old
living in a neurotypical world. Most
days it's just a matter of time before
something goes wrong. But Jason
finds a glimmer of understanding when
he comes across PhoenixBird, who
posts stories to the same online site as
he does.
Jason can be himself when he writes
and he thinks that PhoneixBird-her
name is Rebecca-could be his first real
friend. But as desperate as Jason is to
met her, he's terrified that if they do
meet, Rebecca wil only see his autism
and not who Jason really is.