Brand New Releases for Teens!

*NEWBERY HONOR BOOK!

An enlightening, poignant and unexpectedly funny novel in verse is rooted in the author's childhood experiences. In Saigon in 1975, 10-year-old Kim Hà celebrates Tet (New Year) with her mother and three older brothers; none of them guesses at the changes the Year of the Cat will bring. (Hà's father's been MIA from the South Vietnamese Navy for nine years.) On the eve of the fall of Saigon, they finally decide they must escape. Free verse poems of, usually, just two to three pages tell the story. With the help of a friend, the family leaves, and they find themselves trapped at sea awaiting rescue. Only one of her brothers speaks English, but they pick America as their destination and eventually find a sponsor in Alabama. Even amid the heartbreak, the narrative is shot through with humor. In her not-to-be-missed debut, Lai evokes a distinct time and place and presents a complex, realistic heroine whom readers will recognize, even if they haven't found themselves in a strange new country.

- Kirkus Reviews

Annie says: In the sequel to Matched, Cassia has been moving from work camp to work camp, trying to find Ky. Ky is stuck at a village in the Outer Provinces which is fired at almost almost every night. Then Cassia escapes from the work camp with another girl and together they make it to the village where Ky had lived but ran away from. Cassia is now more determined to find Ky and Ky needs to find Cassia in order to live with himself. When they find each other, both want different things; Cassia wants to join the Rising while Ky wants nothing to do with it. As they silently fight, Cassia wonders if this is love or if she should have stuck with Xander and lived a full life back in Society. Narrated from both Cassia and Ky's point of view, Crossed makes you constantly questions if they are truly meant for each other. This book was so good and I can't wait for the final book.

Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek's throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Service.) And if they weren't technically enemies. The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board: secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is at it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld's brilliant trilogy.

Sydney says: It's after World War II and Janie and her family have just moved to London. At her new school, she meets a boy names Benjamin Burrows whose father is an apothecary. When the Apothecary gets kidnapped by the Soviets, Janie and Benjamin must try to save him by using his secret book of potions. In it, they find elixers that can make them invisible and turn them into birds. Janie and Benjamin go on a wild adventure full of magic, secrets and betrayel to save the Apothecary and maybe even the whole world from a Soviet bomb. I really liked this book and it is now my favorite. There was action on every page!