Bliss by Lauren Myracle

blissBliss In The Morning Dew, who has been raised in a commune, finds herself living with her proper Southern grandmother when her parents skip out to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War. Bliss’s grandmother has enrolled Bliss in the prestigous Crestview Academy for high school. But Crestview has a history and Bliss with her sixth sense hears and feels an evil ghostly presence in one particular school building. Bliss’s new friends have a history too. Bliss, set in the ’60s, brings together many issues of the time, as the tale gets creepier and creepier.

The Circle of Blood by Alane Ferguson

The Circle of BloodThis is Alane Ferguson’s third forensic mystery featuring Cameryn Mahoney. Cameryn is an assistant county coroner in Silverton, Colorado working for her father. Cameryn plans to be a forensic scientist when she graduates from high school. Cameryn and her mother, who has just recently returned to Silverton after a long absence, are getting to know one another and working on building a relationship when a mysterious hitch-hiker is found dead. The last person to see the hitch-hiker alive was Cameryn’s mom, Hannah, who gave the young lady a lift. As evidence is uncovered, Cameryn must decide whether to share information that may incriminate her mother.

The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas

The Possibilities of SainthoodAntonia Lucia Labella wants to be a saint, a living official saint! She also wants to receive her first kiss. Antonia knows all about saints and frequently writes the Vatican suggesting new patron saints and “humbly” nominates herself to take on the job. She constantly prays to saints to intercede on her behalf to make her first kiss a reality with one handsome baseball player from Bishop Francis, Andy Rotellini. Be careful what you wish for!

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

The Last OlympianBook Five of Percy Jackson and The Olympians series finds Percy and his friends taking on Krono’s army in New York City. Percy and the other young demigods must protect Mount Olympus while the other Olympian gods battle Typhon, another one of Krono’s monsters on the loose. Will the prophecy come true? Read the last book of the series to find out Percy’s fate.
The Lightning Thief (Book One) movie is scheduled for release in February 2010. Read the series before the movie comes out because you know the books is always better than the movie. Check the internet for more information on the movie.

The Secret of Priest’s Grotto by Peter Lane Taylor with Christos Nicola

secret of priest's grottoThis is an amazing story of survival. Cavers Peter Lane Taylor and Christos Nicola heard tales of Jews who survived the Holocaust by hiding in Ukrainian caves. Nicola, determined to find out if these tales were true, began investigating the Popowa Yama story. In 2002, four years after beginning his investigation, Nicola received an e-mail from a man claiming to know a Priest’s Grotto Holocaust survivor. Nicola and Taylor visited the Stermer family in Montreal, Canada to learn more of this incredible story of survival. From 1943-1944, three Jewish families survived the Nazi occupation of the Ukraine by living underground in caves. Read The Secret of Priest’s Grotto to find out how they survived.

Check out this National Geographic article to learn even more.

The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu

shadow thievesCharlotte’s cousin Zachary is coming from “across the pond” to live with her family. Zee, as he is called, is an outgoing, talented soccer player. He fits right into life at her high school. He fits in better than Charlotte. But the students are getting sick at school. Zee shares that it happened at his school in London and Charlotte begins to wonder what is going on. When two strange looking men attack Charlotte and Zee, Mr. Metos, their English teacher, intervenes. Charlotte and Zee share their suspicions with Mr. Metos. Mr. Metos warns them of the shadow thieves and confirms their suspicions. Soon Charlotte and Zee find themselves swept up in a plot to overthrow Hades in the Underworld.

If you enjoy Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, you should find The Cronus Chronicles entertaining as well.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Hunger GamesEvery year, the Capitol requires each district to send to representatives between the ages of twelve to eighteen to play in the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games the participants fight to the death on national television. When Katniss Everdeen’s younger sister, Prim, gets chosen in the lottery to represent District 12, Katniss steps forward to take her place. But Katniss has skills, she’s been providing for her family for years using the knowledge her father taught her. The Hunger Games is Survivor with an edge!

Vampirates: Blood Captain by Jason Somper

VampiratesTwins, Connor and Grace Tempest, continue their adventures in the third book of the Vampirates series, Blood Captain. Grace, along with the Captain and other members of The Nocturne, takes blinded Lorcan to the Santuary in hope of a cure for his failing health. While at the Santuary, Grace meets interesting characters, learns more about her healing abilities and struggles with her place in the vampirate world. Meanwhile, Connor aboard the pirate ship, The Diablo, prepares for an exciting mission that will test his commitment to his life as a pirate. Twists and surprises will keep pages turning in this thrilling adventure.

The Children of Alcatraz by Claire Rudolf Murphy

children of alcatrazChildren of Alcatraz: Growing Up on the Rock portrays what it was like for children to grow up on Alcatraz Island. The book covers different time periods in the island’s history from use as a light house, a military post, disciplinary barracks, U.S. penitentiary, site of a Native Amerian occupation, and to its current status as a National Park. Murphy provides interesting photographs of the children who lived on Alcatraz including one of actor Bejamin Bratt who took part in the American Indian occupation of Alcatraz as a child. This book is a perfect non-fiction companion to Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

knife of never letting goTodd Hewitt is the only boy left in Prentisstown, a town full of men. Prentisstown is a settlement town in the New World where Todd’s mother and father were pioneers in search of a new simple life. But a germ on the planet killed the women of Prentisstown and now all the men hear each others thoughts and the creatures that live on this planet in a never-ending stream of noise. Todd is just a month away from his special birthday. On this birthday, he will become a man. But Prentisstown has been hiding something under all the noise. Something terrible that has Manchee and Todd fleeing Prentisstown for their lives.