Man Overboard!

When sixteen-year-old Scott and his friend Adam find summer jobs as deckhands on the Rapids Prince, little do they know what lies in store. It is July 1943, and a German agent is rumored to have landed in Canada from U-boat. Curtis Parkinson uses this true historical event to take the reader on a rollicking ride down the St. Lawrence River, through the Long Sault Rapids, to the streets of Old Montreal. When the boys get wind of a possible bomb aboard the Rapids Prince, they go into high gear to search the ship and save the innocent passangers. But is there time?

Curtis Parkinson has written an impossible-to-put-down novel that combines history with high adventure.

The Scorpio Races

Maggie Stiefvater turns to a new world, where a pair are swept up in a daring, dangerous race across a cliff–with more than just their lives at stake should they lose. Nineteen-year-old returning champion Sean Kendrick competes against Puck Connolly, the first girl ever to ride in the annual Scorpio Races, both trying to keep hold of their dangerous water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 3

I Will Come Back For You

What was it like to grow up Jewish in Italy during World War II? Sit with a little girl as her grandmother tells the story of her childhood in Rome, of being separated from her father, and of going into hiding in the mountains. Based on the experiences of the author’s own family, this deeply moving book set during the Holocaust deals with a difficult subject in a way that is accessible and appropriate for young readers. I Will Come Back for You is an incredible story of bravery and kindness in the face of danger.

A Monster Calls

At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting— he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth.

Fly Trap

Having barely escaped the revolution they had a huge (if accidental) part in causing, sharp-eyed orphan Mosca Mye; her guard goose, Saracen; and their sometimes-loyal companion the con man Eponymous Clent, must start anew.

All too quickly, they find themselves embroiled in fresh schemes and twisting politics as they are trapped in Toll, an odd town that changes its entire personality as day turns to night.  Mosca and her friends attempt to fend off devious new foes, subvert old enemies, prevent the kidnapping of the mayor’s daughter, steal the town’s Luck, and somehow manage to escape with their lives- and hopefully a little money in their pockets.

In the eagerly awaited sequel to Fly By Night, acclaimed storyteller Frances Hardinge returns to a vivid world rich with humor, danger, and discovery.

Sindbad

Perhaps the best known of the Tales of the Thousand and One Nights are those about Sindbad the Sailor. For centuries, people have been fascinated by the stories of a simple, sometimes confused, sailor who mistakes a giant whale for a lovely island and the egg of the Roc (a bird so huge that she can carry an elephant in her talons) for a mountain. Sindbad encounters many dangers, but he prevails in this irresistible trilogy, thanks to nothing but his own wits. Ludmila Zeman’s exciting text and lavish illustrations have made Sindbad, Sindbad in the Land of Giants, and Sindbad’s Secret an international and critical success.

Azad’s Camel

In a big Arabian city, an orphan boy is forced to work as a camel jockey — a dangerous job he doesn’t like. But a new friendship and a magical escape into the desert are about to change his life.

Camel racing is a popular sport in the Gulf states of the Middle East, where child jockeys from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Mauritania, and Eritrea are used to ride the camels. Some impoverished families are persuaded to sell sons as young as five years old, who are taken away to be trained and often badly treated. Accidents are common, and when a little jockey falls off a racing camel, he can receive serious injuries. Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates have all banned the use of child jockeys and are returning children to their families so that they can go to school and live a normal life.

My Freedom Trip: A Child’s Escape from North Korea

The story of a young girl’s escape from North Korea, based on the life of the authors’ mother.

Numbers

Whenever Jem meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such an awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. But while they’re waiting to ride the Eye Ferris wheel, Jem notices that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today’s number. Today’s date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem’s world is about to explode!