Sonia’s entire village believes she has a gift, but it’s only in leaving home that she finds out who she truly is. A compelling tale from a rich new voice in young adult fiction.Sixteen-year-old Sonia Ocampo was born on the night of the worst storm Tres Montes had ever seen. And when the winds mercifully stopped, an unshakable belief in the girl’s protective powers began. All her life, Sonia has been asked to pray for sick mothers or missing sons, as worried parents and friends press silver milagros in her hands. Sonia knows she has no special powers, but how can she disappoint those who look to her for solace? Still, her conscience is heavy, so when she gets a chance to travel to the city and work in the home of a wealthy woman, she seizes it. At first, Sonia feels freedom in being treated like all the other girls. But when news arrives that her beloved brother has disappeared while looking for work, she learns to her sorrow that she can never truly leave the past or her family behind. With deeply realized characters, a keen sense of place, a hint of magical realism, and a flush of young romance, Meg Medina tells the tale of a strongwilled, warmhearted girl who dares to face life’s harsh truths as she finds her real power.
Young Adult (ages 14-18)
Material appropriate for young adults
Mister Creecher
Billy is a street urchin, a pickpocket, and a petty thief. Mister Creecher is a giant of a man whose appearance terrifies everyone he meets. Their relationship begins as a matter of convenience. But before long, a bond develops between these two misfits as they embark on a bloody journey that will take them from London ever northwards on the trail of their target . . . Doctor Victor Frankenstein. It seems the good doctor had promised Mister Creecher a bride, and Mister Creecher will stop at nothing to get what he’s been promised. Nothing. Perfect for fans of horror novels, this frightening new book from Chris Priestley reinvents a classic literary monster for a new generation of readers.
Beswitched
Twelve-year-old Flora Fox would do anything not to go to Penrice Hall, the boarding school her parents are shipper her off to because of a family emergency. Penrice has horses and an Olympic-size swimming pool, but flashy facilities won’t change how Flora feels about being sent away and having to make new friends. On the train ride to Penrise, Flora awakens from a nap to find herself transported into the past–1935, to be exact. And instead of a posh prep school, she arrives at St. Winifred’s where she has to speak French at breakfast, wear hideous baggy bloomers, and sleep in a freezing dormitory. Life is bearable only because of Flora’s wonderful roommates Pete, Dulcie, and Pogo, who cast the spell that brought her to St. Winifred’s. They’ve pledged to help Flora get back to her own time–but only after she completes the task she was summoned for. In the meantime, as she rises to the challenges of her strange new life, Flora finds that the joys and complications of growing up are the same no matter what the year. And that when you need them, family will always be there.
The Whisper
Listen — can you hear it? The explosive sequel to THE ROAR! From a whisper…to a scream! Telepathic twins Mika and Ellie at last are reunited. But if they’re ever to free the brainwashed, microchipped child soldiers, they must pretend to play along with the tyrant Mal Gorman’s maniacal plan, even as they mind-read his every evil thought. Members of an elite squadron of mutants, the brother and sister have specialized skills that will enable them to steal the top-secret formula for an age-reversing drug developed by rebel scientists on the wild side of The Wall. Juiced by these potent pills, the cadaver-like Gorman foresees a future in which he’ll be forever young – released from the machinery that now supports him. Unless, that is, Ellie and Mika have a master plan of their own: to bring the all-powerful Gorman to his knees, and face-to-face with his greatest fear.
The Dead Of Winter
After his parents’ death, Michael Vyner’s future is unclear. All he knows is that his new wealthy guardian had invited him to a remote country estate. But Michael begins to suspect something is not right on the very night he arrives, when he spots a mysterious woman in the frozen mists.
The chilling solitude of the house itself is another surprise. His guardian is rarely seen, and there’s an evil force lurking in an old hallway mirror. Michael soon realizes that the house and its grounds harbour many more secrets– both dead and very much alive. And Michael’s reason for being there is quickly becoming clearer.
Someone Else’s Life
When 17-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty percent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when Rosie tells her mother’s best friend, “Aunt Sarah,” that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie wasn’t her real mother after all. Rosie was swapped at birth with a sickly baby who was destined to die.Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, joining her ex-boyfriend on his gap year travels, to find her birth mother in California. But all does not go as planned. As Rosie discovers yet more of her family’s deeply buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonizing decision of her own, one which will be the most heart breaking and far-reaching of all.
The Queen’s Lady
England, 1584.When beautiful Lady Jane Rievaulx begins her service to the Queen at Richmond Palace, she is thrilled to see the court’s newest arrival . . . Master James Lacey. No matter that Jane was previously courted by the eldest Lacey brother—James is the one who has won her heart. For his part, James cannot deny his fascination with Jane; his plans, however, do not allow for love. He is about to set sail on a treacherous journey to the Americas, seeking absolution for what he sees as past sins. But when Jane is forced into a terrible situation by her own family, only one man can save her. Will Master James return to his lady before it’s too late?
Scarlet
Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance. Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.
Blood Sun
Desperate to uncover the secret of his mother’s death, fifteen-year-old Max Gordon, pursued by enemies, travels from the bleakness of Dartmoor to the rainforest of Central America, where the environmental devastation hides a sinister secret.
There Is No Dog
When the beautiful Lucy prays to fall in love, God, an irresponsible youth named Bob, chooses to answer her prayer personally, to the dismay of this assistant, Mr. B who must try to clean up the resulting catastrophes.