Young Readers Fiction

Emma Rockford knows it will take bonafide magic to make middle school everything she wants it to be. Luckily, before Emma’s beloved Nana died, she left detailed instructions on how to access an ancient, secret, magical wishing well. Emma follows each step and plans out every moment…except for the one where the obnoxious new kid, Jackson, tosses in wishes of his own that literally knock her wishes off course. When seventh grade starts, Emma discovers that her wishes are starting to come true, alright. But not for her…for Jackson.

When softball star Liv Rodinsky throws one ill-advised punch during the most important game of the year, she loses her scholarship to her fancy private school, her boyfriend, and her teammates all in one fell swoop. With no other options, Liv is forced to transfer to the nearest public school, Northland, where she'll have to convince its coach she deserves a spot on the softball team, all while facing both her ex and the teammates of the girl she punched.... Every. Single. Day. Enter Grey, the injured star quarterback with amazing hair and a foolproof plan.

Germany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to 18-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her body has barely begun to heal; her mind feels broken. And her life is completely shattered: Three years ago, she and her younger brother, Abek, were the only members of their family to be sent to the right, away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Everyone else—her parents, her grandmother, radiant Aunt Maja—they went left.

Inside the tony suburb of Scarsdale is New York’s worst-kept secret: The mob runs everything, and the Nicastro family is at the center. Seventeen-year-old Tasha Nicastro lives a life of glitz and glamour, but she has no idea her family harbors a dark truth. Tasha might look like your classic high school mean girl, but behind the designer clothes is a sharpshooter who knows how to bring anyone to their knees. The only person who has ever gotten under her skin is her former best friend, Leo Danesi, the youngest son of the Nicastro family’s rivals.

While Jude fought for power in the Court of Elfhame against the cruel Prince Cardan, her sister, Taryn, began to fall in love with the trickster Locke. Half-apology and half-explanation, it turns out Taryn has some secrets of her own to reveal.

In every school there are bullies. In every town there are local legends and their scary stories. In the small town of Cokerville, 11 year old Tyler and his friends have to deal with both, but they come to realize that the local legend of a haunted Indian burial ground is much more than just imagination.

One of the finest history books for children, this well-loved Hillyer classic features stories of world history from prehistoric man through the 20th century, inspiring an appreciation of how events relate to one another.

Miriam may be the daughter of Queen Alethia of Tirendell, but she's not a princess. She's the child of Alethia and her previous husband, the King's Champion, who died fighting for the king, and she has no ambitions to rule. When her new baby sister, Aurora, heir to the throne, is born, she's ecstatic. She adores the baby, who seems perfect in every way. But on the day of Aurora's christening, an uninvited Dark Fae arrives, prepared to curse her, and Miriam discovers she possesses impossible power.

Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin's been taken, or if she's even alive. The only clue to both her aunt's disappearance and her father's murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book - an item unheard of in her illiterate society.

School's out, which can only mean one thing: camp! Cuphead has been looking forward to going to Camp Hootenholler for ages. He can't wait to shoot some archery, swim in the lake, and sit around and do nuthin' at all. When he and his best buds, Mugman and Ms. Chalice, arrive, they learn about the camp's bitter rivalry with their neighbors, Camp Punchafink, and discover that a menacing mountain, Glumstone the Giant, is watching over both camps, ready to bring down a fierce punishment upon whichever camp gets on its bad side!

Number-one New York Times best-selling author Cassandra Clare created the Mortal Instruments in 2004 with City of Bones (Simon & Schuster, 2007). Since then, the series has grown to five books, with a sixth due in 2014, and been joined by two spinoff trilogies and an upcoming film starring Jamie Campbell Power and Lily Collins. Featuring stories by Holly Black, Kendare Blake, Gwenda Bond, Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Caine, Sarah Cross, Kami Garcia, Michelle Hodkin, Kelly Link, Kate Milford, Diana Peterfreund, Sara Ryan, Scott Tracey, and Robin Wasserman.

It's a dangerous time for 13-year-old Clara and her family. They have just been imprisoned in Terezin (Terezinstadt), a ghetto in a medieval town near Prague - which was built to show the world how "well" the Nazis were treating Jews during the Second World War. Here Clara encounters hunger, disease and filthy living conditions. Even worse is the constant threat of being deported to concentration camps where the possibility of death awaits her.

The Cul-de-Sac Kids is a lighthearted chapter-book series for young listeners written by the talented Beverly Lewis. Each book centers on the often-humorous escapades of these endearing neighborhood friends as they learn together the value of friendship and faith. An enjoyable book for both parents and kids! Volume One includes The Double Dabble Surprise, The Chicken Pox Panic, The Crazy Christmas Angel Mystery, No Grown-Ups Allowed, Frog Power, and The Mystery of Case D. Luc.

Sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens. It's where he met his best friends. It's where he takes to the stage in the big musical. And it's where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lim - who's only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists. This year, however, it's going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as "Del" - buff, masculine, and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish, and his unicorn bedsheets, he's determined to get Hudson to fall for him.

Ridley Larsen is everything you want in a friend. She's tough as nails, she's fiercely loyal, and she's smart as a whip. But she can be a harsh critic, which has put her position with the Magic Misfits on the rocks, even as the threat of the group's longtime enemy Kalagan looms large. Ever since his recent appearance in Mineral Wells, the kids know that a showdown with the vicious magician is imminent.

After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mom moves them a million miles from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves. Reeling from being uprooted and deserted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation.

It's a special day on the Inkwell Isles: Elder Kettle's birthday! Yes, sirree, it's a very special day. So Cuphead and Mugman need to find the perfect gift to honor their beloved mentor. But along the way, the brothers and their new friend Ms. Chalice are captivated by the sights and sounds of the carnival that just rolled into town. Despite Elder Kettle's warning that the attraction is filled with liars and thieves, the trio gets reeled in.

Miles and Niles find themselves marooned for the summer at Camp Good Times, which is all about peace and good vibes. (Can you say boring?) With no clear prank-ortunities, the Terrible Two fail to see what about all of this is so good. But when kids from the nearby Yawnee Valley Yelling and Push-Ups Camp raid Good Times' super-secret candy stash, the campers look to Miles and Niles for help.

The Scavengers are back, and if you've followed my story up until now, then you'll know it's not all gumdrops and lollipops over here. If it were just The Scavengers, I might've been all about the challenge, but this time they've brought their leader - an eighth grader named Victor. He's everything that Wyatt is, only a bajillion times worse. Victor won't rest until he takes away the most important thing in my life, and guess what? He's doing a bang-up job of it.

Books seven, eight and nine in the Skulduggery Pleasant series - known collectively as the Darquesse Trilogy, Derek Landy's fantastically imaginative series about our favourite dead detective.