Young Adult Animals

Peter lives in a silent world. Thirteen, deaf, and tormented by neighborhood bullies, Peter seeks solace in summertime snorkeling outings with his eccentric Viking-horn-helmeted Uncle Sverrir. But after a dangerous encounter with a giant hammerhead predator, Peter discovers he has a unique gift: He can talk to sharks.

Arnora, whose love and understanding of horses is known throughout the land, is saved from death by her great horse, Skyfaxi, and the witch Thorbjorg, feared by everyone. The witch gives Arnora a tiny bronze horse, a talisman to carry when she voyages to Vinland with Ragnar, the Viking youth who loves her. A thousand years later, in a forest in Maine, Kate, a lonely girl, finds a tiny bronze horse, hidden in a cairn of stones, and then...the magic happens.

Ned Wallis knows he's forbidden to touch the rifle in the attic. But he can't resist sneaking it out of the house just once. Before he realizes it, Ned takes a shot at a dark shadow. When Ned returns home, he's sure he sees a face looking down at him from the attic window. Who has seen and heard him? Ned's feelings of guilt and fear only get worse when one day, while helping an elderly neighbor, he spots a wild cat with one eye missing. Could this be the thing Ned shot at that night?

Mama has died and is now with the Great Spirits. Her strong-willed, crotchety husband is dead set on having her ashes buried in the Historic Conundrum County Cemetery. Mama's dying wish to her beloved son Hackett, "Don't let him do it!" During her lifetime Mama was a great lover of animals and now after her death they aim to repay her in spades. Events are thus set in motion bringing together Hackett and a rag-tag team of animals in a hilarious effort to honor Mama's final wish.

At an elite summer program, a teen girl gets sucked into a secret society, with deadly consequences. Protect the girls. Arlee Gold has always lived in the shadow of her successful mom; even after everything Arlee’s been through, her mother still expects nothing but the best. In an effort to get her daughter back on track after a less-than-stellar few school years, she’s enrolled Arlee as a legacy at Camp Rockaway, an elite college prep summer camp deep in the North Carolina wilderness.

Abby Lovitt doesn't realize how unprepared she is when she takes her beloved horse, True Blue, to a clinic led by the most famous equestrian anyone knows. The biggest surprise, though, is that Sophia, the girl who never makes a mistake, suddenly makes so many that she stops riding. Who will ride her horse?

Jason is born the son of King Aeson. His destiny is to rule Iolcus, the land that his father's brother, King Pelias, has taken from him. When Jason comes of age, he returns to Iolcus. But the king is not yet willing to give up his throne. So he cunningly persuades Jason to accept a dare to bring back the famous Golden Fleece of Colchis. Jason accepts the challenge, unaware that he is being conned into a dangerous and perhaps fatal journey far, far from the land he loves.

Vivienne embarks upon the summer of her dreams as one of the few students selected for a training program back east at Liberty Farms. But as focused as she is on her riding, Vivvie also has a secret agenda: to investigate the death of Joel Parker, her friend who she believes was tragically murdered. Vivvie has hardly set foot in the state-of-the-art barns before things start to go amiss.

Every once in a while a great race horse is born that will become famous throughout the land. This book is about such a horse. Perhaps even rarer comes a truly wonderful story about a horse and the human being closest to it. Two beings, horse and human, are bound in an unspoken love and respect which draws the finest from both of them. This book by award-winning author Kathleen Peyton, tells their story.

Snub is a young gorilla, living in the heart of what will eventually be known as Africa. She is jealous of her mother's new baby and restless in her need to explore. When a natural disaster shakes up her family, Snub finds herself as the guardian of her young sibling and lost in a reshaped world. Snub may feel orphaned, but she's not alone. There are other creatures stalking through the woods - a new form of predator, walking on two legs.

It all begins a thousand years ago on the flats of Africa and follows a wolf-dog as he makes life-altering decisions not just for himself but for the human with whom he develops a bond. This union remains inviolable as Puck’s soul passes from one life to the next. Puck’s story is as spiritual as it is terrestrial. His earthly visits are interwoven with returns to The Bridge and Azul, the latter a divinity who advises Puck but does not predetermine his actions - or his fate(s).

Zoe named the kitten Pipsqueak, because she was so tiny, and promised to always take care of her. Then the kitten grew. And grew. Now she’s bigger than a horse - and talking as well! Fleeing into the woods to escape the curious eyes of the internet, Zoe and her best friend, Harrison, must keep the giant cat hidden as they desperately search for a way to return her to normal size. If they don’t succeed, Pipsqueak may never be safe again. But why did she grow so large in the first place? And what if trying to change her back leads to even greater danger?

While on a whale-watching excursion with her dad, Willa is alone on one side of the boat when she sees a humpback whale. Her awe and wonderment about this massive and beautiful creature turns to shock when the whale communicates with her, introducing herself as Meg. As their friendship develops, Willa comes to view Meg as a trusted confidant - who offers her advice about difficult issues in Willa’s life.

Van has always been an outsider. Most people don’t notice him. But he notices them. And he notices the small trinkets they drop, or lose, or throw away—that’s why his collection is full of treasures. Then one day, Van notices a girl stealing pennies from a fountain, and everything changes.

Aran has never truly fit in with his selkie clan. He was born in his human form, without a pelt to transform him into a sleek, strong seal. Each day he waits, left behind while his selkie family explores the deep ocean. What if his pelt never comes? Does the Moon even see him? Is he putting his clan at risk? When his mother undertakes a journey to the far north to seek help, Aran is left in the care of a reclusive human woman on remote Spindle Island. Life on land is full of more wonders - and more dangers - than Aran could have ever imagined.

Twelve-year-old Natalia Rose Baleine Gallagher loves possibilities: the possibility that she'll see whales on the beach near her new home, the possibility that the trans-gender boy she just met will become her new best friend, the possibility that the paparazzi hounding her celebrity father won't force them to move again. Most of all, Nat dreams of the possibility that her faraway mother misses her, loves her, and is just waiting for Nat to find her....

In one vast and sparkling city, everyone can fly. Almost everyone. A few, nicknamed leadfeet, are sentenced by a trick of nature or fate to forever spend their lives closer to the ground. But one night, a girl named Gurl - a leadfoot, an orphan, a nobody - discovers that she can do something much better than fly. She can become invisible. This amazing power will help her uncover the secret mysteries of the city. But even with her newfound talent, Gurl can't seem to hide from a giant rat man with a taste for cats.

Author Kathleen Van Cleve delivers a promising debut with this magical novel. Eleven-year-old Polly Peabody lives on a farm like no other. It rains every Monday at 1:00 p.m., the crops taste like chocolate, the bugs can communicate, and Polly’s best friend is a rhubarb plant named Harry. But when the weekly downpours stop, and Polly’s brother grows ill, she must figure out how to make it rain again—or her family’s future could be destroyed.

The stories Hannah Gale’s father told her of breaking wild horses in Nevada one glorious summer when he was her age have captured her imagination. After her dad is called to fight in Iraq, she regularly stops to watch the horses at the nearby stable to feel closer to him, and finally gathers the nerve to ask the owner for a job. There she helps bring a rescued mare back from the brink, takes her first riding lesson, and witnesses the birth of the filly who steals her heart.

In this sequel to The Dark Portal, the evil rat Jupiter has been defeated, and the young Deptford mice emerge from the sewers to start a new life in the country. But the albino mouse Oswald is seized by an illness and lies near death. His friend Audrey enlists the help of the ancient squirrel mystic Starwife, who agrees to heal him on one condition.