Murder, Mayhem and the Mall

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Murder, Mayhem and the Mall

• The Next BIG Reads for Teens

Maureen Ambrosino, CMRLS mambrosino_at_cmrls.org Sara
h Sogigian, MMRLS sarah_at_mmrls.org
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Zen and the Art of Faking It
By Jordan Sonneblick

• When eighth-grader San Lee moves to a new town
  and a new school for the umpteenth time, he
  doesn't try to make new friends or be a loner or
  play cool. Instead he sits back and devises a
  plan to be totally different. When he
  accidentally answers too many questions in World
  History on Zen (only because he just had Ancient
  Religions two schools ago) all heads turn and San
  has his answer he's a Zen Master. And just when
  he thinks everyone (including the cute girl he
  can't stop thinking about) is on to him, everyone
  believes him . . . in a major Zen way.

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The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian
By Sherman Alexie

• In his first book for young adults, bestselling
  author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior,
  a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane
  Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future
  into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled
  school on the rez to attend an all-white farm
  town high school where the only other Indian is
  the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and
  beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of
  a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the
  author's own experiences, coupled with poignant
  drawings by acclaimed artist Ellen Forney, that
  reflect the character's art, chronicles the
  contemporary adolescence of one Native American
  boy as he attempts to break away from the life he
  was destined to live.

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Heaven Looks A Lot Like the Mall
By Wendy Mass

• When 16-year-old Tessa suffers a shocking
  accident in gym class, she finds herself in
  heaven (or what she thinks is heaven), which
  happens to bear a striking resemblance to her
  hometown mall. In the tradition of It's a
  Wonderful Life and The Christmas Carol, Tessa
  starts reliving her life up until that moment.
  She sees some things she'd rather forget, learns
  some things about herself she'd rather not know,
  and ultimately must find the answer to one
  burning question--if only she knew what the
  question was. Written in sharp, witty verse,
  Wendy Mass crafts an extroardinary tale of a
  spunky heroine who hasn't always made the right
  choices, but needs to discover what makes life
  worth living.

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Right Behind You
By Gail Giles

• When he was nine, Kip set another child on fire.
  Now, after years in a juvenile ward, he is ready
  for a fresh start. But the ghosts of his past
  soon demand justice, and he must reveal his
  painful secret. How can Kip tell anyone that he
  really is--or was--a murderer?

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Arrival
By Shaun Tan

• What drives so many to leave everything behind
  and journey to a mysterious country a place
  without family or friends, where everything is
  nameless and the future is unknown? This silent
  graphic novel is the story of every migrant,
  every refugee, every displaced person, and a
  tribute to those who have made the journey.

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Snakehead An Alex Rider Adventure
By Anthony Horowitz

• What goes up must come down, and when we last
  saw Alex Rider, he was as up as can bein outer
  space. When he crash lands off the coast of
  Australia, the Australian Secret Service recruits
  him to infiltrate one of the ruthless gangs
  operating across South East Asia. Known as
  snakeheads, the gangs smuggle drugs, weapons, and
  worst of all, people. Alex accepts the
  assignment, in part for the chance to work with
  his godfather and learn more about his parents.
  What he uncovers, however, is a secret that will
  make this his darkest and most dangerous mission
  yet . . . and that his old nemesis, Scorpia, is
  anything but out of his life.
• From the slums of Bangkok to the Australian
  Outback to the middle of the Timor Sea, Snakehead
  is Alex Riders most action-packed adventure yet.

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Payback
By Andy McNab

• A series of high-profile suicide bombing has
  devastated London and stymied British
  Intelligence. But none of that matters to Danny
  Watts and his ex-spy grandfather Fergus, who are
  living peacefully incognito in Spainthat is,
  until their cover is blown in a botched
  assassination attempt.
• Suddenly, Danny and Fergus are forced to return
  to London and into the swirl of current events.
  Their only hope of clearing the family name is to
  break into Intelligence headquarters and steal
  the files that prove Fergus was framed by his
  commanding officer. But when Fergus takes a
  bullet in the leg, its up to Danny to do the job
  alone. Is Danny up to the task? And what is the
  Watts familys connection to the bombings?
• With a story ripped from todays headlines, and
  filled with authentic details from Andy McNabs
  experiences in British Special Ops, Payback
  continues the explosive action that made Traitor
  a YA action fan favorite.

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The Specialists
By Shannon Greenland

• Teen genius Kelly James is in a lot of hot
  water. A whiz with computers, she agreed to help
  her college RA, David, uncover some top-secret
  information. After all, she doesnt have many
  friends and David has always been nice to her. it
  doesnt hurt that hes supercute and
  irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into
  the governments main computer system. but a few
  hours later, her whole life changes. she is
  caught and taken in for questioning, only this
  isnt your run-of-the-mill arrest. rather than
  serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts
  the option to change her name and enlist in a
  secret government spy agency that trains teen
  agents to go undercover. As if that wasnt
  overwhelming enough, she discovers that David
  works for this agency as well! And before she
  even begins to understand what is going on, shes
  sent on her first mission as an undercover model.
  And who better to partner with than David himself!

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Gallagher Girls
By Ally Carter

• The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young
  Women is a fairly typical all-girls school that
  is, if every school taught advanced martial arts
  in PE, the latest in chemical warfare in science
  and students received extra credit for breaking
  CIA codes computer class. So in truth, Gallagher
  Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses
  but its really a school for spies. Cammie Morgan
  is a second generation Gallagher Girl, and by her
  sophomore year shes already fluent in fourteen
  languages and capable of killing a man in seven
  different ways (three of which involve a piece of
  uncooked spaghetti).But the one thing the
  Gallagher Academy hasnt prepared her for is what
  to do when she falls for an ordinary boy who
  thinks shes an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap
  his phone, hack into his computer, and track him
  through a mall without his ever being the wiser,
  but can she have a regular relationship with a
  regular boy who can never know the truth about
  her? Cammie may be an elite spy in training, but
  in her sophomore year, shes beginning her most
  dangerous mission shes falling in love.

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Sure Fire
By Jack Higgins

• For fifteen-year-old twins Rich and Jade, their
  lives have just been turned upside down. When
  their mother is tragically killed in a car crash,
  their long-lost father John Chance appears to
  collect them at the funeral. He's a bachelor who
  lives on his own, and it's clear that Rich and
  Jade aren't welcome. But when Chance suddenly
  disappears, Rich and Jade uncover the truth He's
  a spy. And now, whoever kidnapped their father is
  after them, too.
• Dangerous, fast-paced, and packed with action,
  Sure Fire is a gripping adventure from the master
  of the modern thriller.

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The Luxe
By Anna Godbersen

• Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland
  rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears.
  When the girls discover their status among New
  York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly
  everyonefrom the backstabbing socialite Penelope
  Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry
  Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina
  Broudthreatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden
  future.
• With the fate of the Hollands resting on her
  shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family
  duty and true love. But when her carriage
  overturns near the East River, the girl whose
  glittering life lit up the city's gossip pages is
  swallowed by the rough current. As all of New
  York grieves, some begin to wonder whether life
  at the top proved too much for this ethereal
  beauty, or if, perhaps, someone wanted to see
  Manhattan's most celebrated daughter disappear...
• In a world of luxury and deception, where
  appearance matters above everything and breaking
  the social code means running the risk of being
  ostracized forever, five teenagers lead
  dangerously scandalous lives. This thrilling trip
  to the age of innocence is anything but innocent.