Best Books for Young Adults 2005

 

Aidinoff, Elsie V.     The Garden.    HarperCollins Children's Book Group: HarperTempest, 2004.   0-06-055605-6.   In an alternate Eden after the creation of the first human beings, Adam is tutored by God as Eve is left in the care of the Serpent.

                       

Allen, Thomas B.     George Washington, Spymaster: How the Americans Outspied the British and Won the Revolutionary War.   National Geographic,   2004.   0-7922-5126-1.   Who knew our most famous Founding Father was a colonial James Bond? This book features Washington in a little known but incredibly important role as the mastermind behind an intricate network of Patriot spies during the Revolutionary War.

 

Almond, David.     Fire-Eaters.    Random House Children's Books: Delacorte Press, 2004.   0-385-73170-1.   It is 1962 and the whole world is holding its breath as the Cuban Missile Crisis intensifies.   In Keely Bay, Bobby Burns is walking the tightrope between faith and fear as he struggles with a sadistic school master, his father’s mysterious illness and the overwhelming events of a world poised on the brink of destruction.

 

Bass,    L.G.   Sign of the Qin: Outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh, No. 1.   Hyperion Books for Children,   2004.   0-7868-1918-9.   Dangers abound in this magical epic martial arts fantasy that follows Prince Zong, the Starlord, and his mother Silver Lotus, the First Consort, after their separate escapes from the dangerous and corrupt Emperor Han.

 

Bausum, Ann.     With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman's Right to Vote.   Simon & Schuster: National Geographic, 2004.   0-7922-7647-7.   The long, arduous, and sometimes violent struggle for a woman's right to vote is told in an engaging narrative.   The roots of the movement as well as the other efforts it spawned are well told.

 

Bolden, Tonya.     Wake Up Our Souls: A Celebration of Black American Artists.   Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,   2004.   0-8109-4527-4.   This book highlights influential and important Black American 20th-century artists, from those of the early part of the century, to important participants in the Harlem Renaissance, to modern and contemporary artists. The text also includes sidebars highlighting individual pictures and creators, describing a wonderful chapter in the history of American art and African American life.

 

Braff, Joshua.     The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green.    Workman Publishing Co.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2004.   1-56512-420-0.   Jacob Green tries to establish his identity in his seriously dysfunctional suburban Jewish family during the late seventies/early eighties.

 

Burgess, Melvin.     Doing It.    Henry Holt & Co.: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 2004.   0-8050-7565-8.   Rude, crude, and obsessed with the needs of Mr. Knobby Knobster, high school students Jonathon and his mates Dino and Ben provide an unflinching inside look at the terrors and delights of male sexuality.

 

Choldenko, Gennifer.     Al Capone Does My Shirts: a Novel.   Putnam Publishing Group,   2004.   0-399-23861-1.   Twelve year old Moose Flanagan is dismayed and more than just a little wary when his family moves to Alcatraz Island because of his father's new job as a prison guard, so that his autistic sister Natalie may attend an exclusive special school.

 

Chotjewitz, David.     Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi . Doris Orgel, translator .   Simon & Schuster: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2004.   0-689-85747-0.   

When Daniel tells his parents that they cannot forbid him from joining the Hitler Jugend (HJ), they tell him the truth - that he is half Jewish and the Nazi Party will not allow him to join.

 

Corrigan , Eireann.     Splintering.    Scholastic,   2004.   0-439-53597-2.   A family faces the aftermath of a brutal attack by a violent stranger.

 

Curtis, Christopher Paul.     Bucking the Sarge.    Random House Children's Books: Wendy Lamb Books, 2004.   0-385-32307-7.   Fifteen year-old Luther T. Farrell has come to terms with the fact that his mother is a number one scam artist, preying on the weak and powerless, including her own son. Luther's plan is to do well in school, win prizes for science projects, go away to a good college with the money his mother is putting away in his college fund. When Luther's project threatens to expose his mother's illegal dealings, Luther's plans nearly unravel.

 

de Lint, Charles.     The Blue Girl.    Penguin USA: Viking Children's Books, 2004.   0-670-05924-2.   Being temporarily blue-skinned hasn't helped brash, street-smart Imogene's status as her high school's social outcast, nor does it help her and her friends-- real, dead and imaginary-- to defeat the soul-eating Anamithims.

 

Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons.    Dugald Steer, editor.    Candlewick Press,   November 2003.   0-7636-2329-6.   Dragonologists, both amateur and academic, will hail Dr. Drake’s lavishly illustrated rediscovered guide that includes a classification of dragons by habitat, anatomical drawings, helpful riddles for outwitting the European genus and a practical list of essential equipment for the serious scientist ready to leave his armchair.   Dragon dust and important spells are included in the appendix.

 

Dunkle, Clare B.     The Hollow Kingdom.    Henry Holt & Co.,   October 2003.   0-8050-7390-6.   Beautiful Kate agrees to marry the King of the Goblins in exchange for the safe return of her kidnapped sister.

 

Farmer, Nancy.     The Sea of Trolls.    Simon & Schuster: Atheneum. 2004.   0-689-86744-1.   When the Northmen invade Great Britain in 793, 11-year-old Jack, who has been apprenticing with The Bard, and Lucy, his five year old sister, are taken as slaves and partake in a series of adventures involving trolls, dragons, magic, and a very angry young Berserker girl.

 

Fisher, Catherine.     The Oracle Betrayed.    HarperCollins Children's Book Group: Greenwillow Books, 2004.   0-06-057157-8.   The Archon sacrifices himself to the scorpion to bring rain to his drought-stricken land but not before warning shy Mirany, the new Bearer that treachery and deceit are all around.

 

Flake, Sharon.     Who Am I Without Him?: Short Stories about Girls and the Boys in Their Lives.   Hyperion Books for Children: Jump at The Sun, 2004.   0-7868-0693-1.   Ten short stores focus on sometimes difficult male-female relationships as experienced by African American teen girls.

 

Flinn, Alex.     Nothing to Lose.    HarperCollins Children's Book Group: Avon Tempest, 2004.   0-06-051750-6.   What happened the night that Michael Daye joined the carny life? Now that his mother is on trial for murder, perhaps the real truth will come out.

 

Freedman, Russell.     The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights.   Houghton Mifflin Company: Clarion Books, 2004.   0-618-15976-2.   A biography of the great singer Marian Anderson and her role in bringing the injustice of segregation in the arts to national awareness.

 

Fusco, Kimberly Newton.     Tending to Grace.    Random House Children’s Books: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.   0-375-82862-1.   Cornelia Thornhill, who refuses to speak because of her speech impediment, is left with her Great- Aunt Agatha when her mother and her boyfriend head off to greener pastures in Vegas.

 

Gothic: Ten Original Dark Tales    Deborah Noyes.    Candlewick Press,   2004.   0-7636-2243-5.   Ten gifted authors create short gothic tales that thrill and chill.

 

Greenberg, Jan and Sandra Jordan.     Andy Warhol: Prince of Pop.   Random House Children's Books: Delacorte Press, 2004.   0-385-73056-X.   This biography of Andy Warhol illuminates his life and times, highlighting his impact on art and culture.

 

Halpin, Brendan.     Donorboy.    Random House: Villard Books, 2004.   1-4000-6277-2.   14-year old Rosalind Butterfield's life is suddenly destroyed when her two lesbian parents die in a freak accident.   Her genetic father, a casual, past friend of her mothers', embarks on a journey to be her father in her time of need.

 

Hautman, Pete.     Godless.    Simon & Schuster,   2004.   0-689-86278-4.   Sixteen-year-old Jason Bock, tired of the tedious "Teen Power Outreach" sessions he is forced to attend at his Catholic church, decides to create his own religion that involves worshipping the town's water tower as a god.

 

Hoose, Phillip M.     The Race to Save the Lord God Bird.    Melanie Kroupa Books,   2004.   0-374-36173-8.   The story of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker's demise is the centerpiece for a book about extinction and the pressures of mankind upon the Earth.

 

Horowitz, Anthony.     Eagle Strike: An Alex Rider adventure.   Putnam Publishing Group: Philomel Books, 2004.   0-399-23979-0.   Teenage British spy Alex Rider is back in an all new addicting adventure that includes a reunion with an old enemy, a celebrity madman, and a near fatal rendez-vous with destiny aboard the famous Presidential Air Force One!

 

Janeczko, Paul B.     Worlds Afire: The Hartford Circus Fire of 1944.   Candlewick Press,   2004.   0-7636-2235-4.   On July 6, 1944, 167 people were killed and over 500 were injured when the circus they were attending in Hartford, Connecticut caught fire.   Janeczko recreates the before, during, and after of this true event in haunting poetry.

 

Jocelyn, Marthe.     Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance.   Candlewick Press,   2004.   0-7636-2120-X.   Mabel Riley dreams of grand adventures when she and her sister move away from their home and board with a farm family in turn-of-the-century Ontario.

 

Johnson, Angela.     Bird.    Penguin USA: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2004.   0-8037-2847-6.   Thirteen-year-old Bird runs away from her home in Ohio in hopes of retrieving her departed stepfather, Cecil.

 

Johnson, Kathleen Jeffrie.     A Fast and Brutal Wing.    Henry Holt & Co.: Roaring Brook Press, 2004.   0-59643-013-3.   Emmet and Niki may or may not be a brother and sister pair of shape shifters implicated in the disappearance of a local celebrity who may or may not be dead.

 

Johnson, Maureen.     The Key to the Golden Firebird.    HarperCollins Childrens Books:   2004.   0-06-054138-5.   A year after their father dies from a heart attack in his prized 1967 Firebird, the three Gold sisters try to cope with their grief and get their lives back to normal.

 

Koertge, Ron.     Margaux With An X.    Candlewick Press,   2004.   0-7636-2401-2.   Margaux,"with an X", a beautiful ice queen, can have any boy she wants, and what she wants to do is tease. That is, until she meets Danny Riley, school outcast.

 

Koja, Kathe.     The Blue Mirror.    Farrar, Straus & Giroux: Frances Foster Books, 2004.   0-374-30849-7.   The Blue Mirror serves as Maggy's escape from her alcoholic mother, and her entrance into the destructive, abusive life of Cole, an enigmatic and homeless Pied Piper.

 

Konigsburg, E.L.     The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place.    Simon & Schuster: Atheneum. 2004.   0-689-86636-4.   Rescued from summer camp bullies by her Old World-styled Granduncles, Margaret Rose Kane spends a transformative month lodging at their unusual home.

 

Kubert, Joe.     Yossel, April 19, 1943: A Story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.   Simon & Schuster: Ibooks, October 2003.   0-7434-7516-X.   With rough pencil sketches, fifteen-year-old Yossel chronicles the horrifying events of the Holocaust in the Warsaw Ghetto, culminating in the ill-fated uprising.

 

Lawrence, Michael.     A Crack in the Line.    HarperCollins Children's Book Group: Greenwillow Books, 2004.   0-06-072477-3.   Sixteen-year-old Alaric stumbles into a parallel universe in which his dead mother still lives and discovers that his room is occupied by Naia, a girl who looks just like him.

 

Lawrence , Iain.     B for Buster.    Random House Children’s Books: Delacorte Press, 2004.   0-385-73086-1.   Kak, 16, illegally enlists in the Canadian Air Force in 1943 and experiences the horror of war as he battles his fear of flying in the bombing raids over Germany.

 

Leavitt, Martine.     Heck, Superhero.   Front Street, 2004.   1-886910-94-4.   HECK, SUPERHERO reveals ninety-six critical hours in the life of a thirteen-year-old all-too-human kid who has channeled a lifetime of chronic neglect by his severely depressed mother into becoming a caregiver and doer of Good Deeds as well as a truly extraordinary artist.

 

Levithan, David.     The Realm of Possibility.    Random House Children's Books: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 2004.   0-375-82845-1.   This ambitious and romantic novel in verse presents twenty distinctive-yet-interwoven stories by twenty high school students who each share defining pieces of their lives in a variety of poetic forms.

 

Marchetta, Melina.     Saving Francesca.    Random House Children's Books: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 2004.   0-375-82982-2.   Random House Children's Books: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 2004                 (0-375-82982-2)                         Fiction

Teenaged Francesca is facing her classes, her friends, and the complications that arise from being one of thirty girls in a school with 750 guys, while also groping for some key that might help lead her high-powered mother back from a breakdown.

 

McKinley, Robin.     Sunshine.    Berkley Publishing Group,   September 2003.   0-425-19178-8 .   A band of vampires chain Sunshine to the wall of an abandoned ballroom and leave her to be devoured by the ballroom's other inhabitant, a vampire who instead asks her to help him escape.

 

McNaughton, Janet.     An Earthly Knight.    HarperCollins Children's Book Group:   2004.   0-06-008992-X.   In 1162, Jenny finds herself in the role of elder daughter when her older sister runs away with an dangerous suitor -- but what happens when Jenny falls in love with Tam Lin instead of the brother of the King?

 

McWhorter, Diane.     A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968.   Scholastic: Scholastic Reference, 2004.   0-439-57678-4.   This handsome volume summarizes and explains the key years of the Civil rights Movement, bringing in major players as well as lesser known heroes and heroines.

 

Meyer, L.A.     Curse Of The Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady.   Harcourt Children's Books,   2004.   0-15-205115-5.   Having her blown "grand Deception," Jacky Faber, ships' boy and aspiring fine lady, has been unceremoniously dropped off in Boston by the H.M.S. Dolphin crew to attend the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls. There she encounters worse sharks than any she could ever meet in the open ocean!

 

Morgan, Nicola.     Fleshmarket.    Random House Children's Books: Delacorte Press. 2004.   0-385-73154-X.   A young Scottish boy, Robbie Anderson, tries to uncover the true nature of a head surgeon and learn about early nineteenth century medicine after he hears (at the tender age of eight) the sounds of his mother's breast surgery at the Theater of Surgeons in Surgeons Square in Edinburgh, Scotland.

 

Moriarty, Jaclyn.     The Year Of Secret Assignments.    Scholastic: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2004.   0-439-49881-3.   Best friends Lydia, Emily and Cassie's penpal project with boys from a rival school results in hilarious high school hijinks, including out of control pranks, identity theft and a text-book perfect act of sweet, sweet revenge.

 

Morpurgo, Michael.     Private Peaceful.    Scholastic,   2004.   0-439-63648-5.   Fifteen-year-old Tommy Peaceful and his older brother Charlie enlist in the British army and are sent to fight in the trenches in France after their noble landlord offers them a choice between joining up or having the family evicted from their home.

 

Myers, Walter Dean.     Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices.   Holiday House,   2004.   0-8234-1853-7.   The hopes, dreams, and disappointments of the iconic African American community are explored in verse and vintage photographs.

 

Napoli, Donna Jo.     Bound.    Simon & Schuster: Atheneum Books for Young Readers,   2004.   0-689-86175-3.   In this retelling of Chinese Cinderella tales, Xing Xing, 14, is resigned to a life of servitude to her ungrateful stepmother and sickly stepsister, until, with the help of an extraordinary fish, she finds the strength to decide her own fate.

 

Nelson, Blake.     Rock Star, Susperstar.    Penguin USA: Viking Children's Books, 2004.   0-670-05933-1. Sixteen year old bass players Peter learns bittersweet lessons of life, love and rock and roll during his sophomore and junior years of high school, playing with the underground band, The Tiny Masters of Today.

 

Oppel, Kenneth.     Airborn.    HarperCollins Children's Book Group: Eos, 2004.   0-06-053180-0.   Matt Cruse is more at home in the air than anywhere on land. He pursues his dream of someday serving as captain on an airship like the Aurora, that takes passengers and cargo around the world.   When the Aurora, part dirigible, part shipping vessel is forced to land on an uncharted island, Matt and fellow traveler, Kate must battle pirates and strange winged creatures in order to return their damaged ship to its voyage in the sky.

 

Peck, Richard.     The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts.   Penguin USA: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2004.   0-8037-2736-4.   When mean ole Myrt Arbuckle hauls off and dies, fifteen year old Russell Culver thinks he is finally done with school forever until his older sister becomes the new teacher.

 

Peters, Julie Anne.     Luna: A Novel.   Little, Brown & Co.: Megan Tingley Books, 2004.   0-316-73369-5.   Luna, like her namesake the moon, can only come out at night. What happens when she decides to become a presence in the daylight too, changing Liam into Luna before his family's very eyes?

 

Pratchett, Terry.     A Hat Full Of Sky.    HarperCollins Children's Book Group:   2004.   0-06-058660-5.   When Tiffany Aching leaves the Chalk and her Wee Free Men to become a witch-in-training, she does not know that she will soon need their help to battle an invisible foe.

 

Rapp, Adam.     Under the Wolf, Under the Dog.    Candlewick Press,   2004.   0-7636-1818-7.   Gifted and talented high school student Steve Nugent reveals how he ended up in a teen facility after his mother dies of cancer and his brother shortly thereafter kills himself.

 

Reeve, Philip.     Predator's Gold: a Novel.   HarperCollins Children's Book Group: Eos, 2004.   0-06-072193-6.   In a futuristic world where wheeled cities devour other cities, lovers Hester and Tom are pursued by a terrorist group as they shelter on a traction city attempting to find the "Dead Continent" of America in this sequel to Mortal Engines.

 

Robinson, Sharon.     Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America   Scholastic,   2004.   0-439-42592-1.   Jackie Robinson's daughter weaves interesting narrative about her father's baseball career, family life and political activism with beautiful photographs and handwritten correspondence to create an unforgettable read.

 

Rosoff, Meg.     how i live now.    Random House Children's Books: Wendy Lamb Books, 2004.   0-385-74677-6.   Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth (Daisy) finds her whole world turned upside down when she travels to England to stay with relatives, falls in love, and is caught up in a   devastating world war.

 

Saenz, Benjamin Alire.     Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood.    Cinco Puntos Press,   2004.   0-938317-81-4.   Sammy Santos dreams of getting away from the barrio to college but when Juliana Rios, the girl he loves, is tragically killed his grief nearly overwhelms him.

 

Satrapi, Marjane.     Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return.   Random House: Pantheon Books, 2004.   0-375-42288-9.   Marjane Satrapi continues where she left off in Persepolis, living in Vienna and enduring the hardships of being a Third World citizen in a Western country.

 

Schmidt, Gary D.     Lizzie Bright and the Buckminister Boy.    Houghton Mifflin Company: Clarion Books, 2004.   0-618-43929-3.   Turner's family moves to Phippsburg, Maine at a time when the town's white leaders are seeking to eliminate a nearby island community, originally founded by former slaves, in hopes of attracting tourism. Based upon a historic 1912 incident.

 

Seagle, Steven T.     It's a Bird.    DC Comics: Vertigo, 2004.   1-40120-109-1.   A comic writer named Steve is unable to accept the job of a lifetime, to write a Superman story, because the problems in his family's past continue to haunt him in the present.

 

Shinn, Sharon.     The Safe-Keeper’s Secret.   Penguin USA: Viking Childrens Books, 2004.   0-670-05910-2.   The foundling, Reed, is raised with the Safe-Keeper's own baby, Fiona. As the two grow older they must come to terms with who they are as well as who they might become.

 

Shusterman, Neal.     The Schwa was here.    Penguin USA,   2004.   0-525-47182-0.   When Antsy Bonano realizes that his friend Calvin Schwa is functionally invisible, they decide to use this "Schwa Effect" to make some big bucks.   Their plan works wonderfully until they are caught in loony Old Man Crawley's apartment.

 

Silverstein, Ken.     The Radioactive Boy Scout: The True Story of a Boy and His Backyard Nuclear Reactor.   Random House,   2004.   0-375-50351-X.   Science geek David Hahn's obsession with nuclear energy results in the unsupervised creation of a radioative device with the potential to spark an environmental disaster in his community.

 

Sones , Sonya.     One of those Hideous Books where the Mother Dies.    Simon & Schuster,   2004.   0-689-85820-5.   After her mother dies of cancer, Ruby is forced to move to "Cali-phony-a" to live with her father, the famous movie star, Whip Logan.

 

Strasser, Todd.     Can't get there from here.    Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing,   2004.   0-689-84169-8.   A homeless teen, Maybe, and her tribe of fellow street urchins try to survive the natural and human elements of a winter on the street in Manhattan.

 

Stratton, Allan.     Chanda's Secrets.    Firefly Books: Annick Press, 2004.   1-55037-835-X.   Sixteen-year-old Chanda loves school and dreams of a scholarship and a life beyond her family's poverty.   But her Mama is tired all the time after her little sister's death and Chanda must fight to keep her dreams alive and conquer her fears in the face of the brutal reality of Africa's AIDS epidemic.

 

Stroud, Jonathan.     The Golem's Eye: The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book Two.   Hyperion Books for Children: Miramax, 2004.   0-7868-1860-3.   Nathaniel, a talented and ambitious 14-year-old governmental magician, again summons Bartimaeus, the sarcastic and irreverent djinni from The Amulet of Samarkand, to help him destroy a hideous golem that is attacking London.

 

Tocher, Timothy.     Chief Sunrise, John McGraw, and Me.    Cricket Books,   2004.   0-8126-2711-3.   Escaping his abusive father, fifteen-year-old Hank Cobb joins Chief Sunrise, "immortal in the making," in a journey to meet John McGraw and try out for the 1919 New York Giants baseball team.

 

Townley, Roderick.     Sky: A novel in 3 sets and an encore.   Simon & Schuster: Atheneum, 2004.   0-689-85712-8.   Sky is a 15-year old jazz musician who is forced to come to

terms with his over-bearing father and struggles to find himself in 1958 Manhattan.

 

Turnbull, Ann.     No Shame, No Fear.    Candlewick Press,   2004.   0-7636-2505-1.   In 1662 Britain, as violent intolerance of Quakers mounts, a 15-year old Quaker girl and the well-educated son of a prosperous and respected Anglican businessman fall in love.

 

Unger, Zac.     Working Fire: The Making of an Accidental Fireman.   Penguin USA: Penguin Press, 2004.   1-59420-001-7.   A young rookie provides a behind-the-firehouse doors look at what is like to fight fire in a big city.

 

Updale, Eleanor.     Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman?   Scholastic: Orchard Books, 2004.   0-439-58035-8.   Montmorency, a petty thief in Victorian England, is badly injured and then caught by the police, but his time recuperating in jail is the beginning of a whole new life for prisoner #493.

 

Van Der Vat, Dan.     D-Day: The Greatest Invasion - A Peoples History.   St. Martin's Press: Bloomsbury, November 2003.   1-58234-314-4.   A visually stunning overview of the pivotal invasion of Europe that changed the course of World War II.

 

Weeks, Sarah.     So B. It: a Novel.   HarperCollins Children's Books: Laura Geringer Books, 2004.   0-06-623622-3.   Twelve-year-old Heidi--whose mother's severe mental disability limits her to only being able to articulate 23 words, sounds, or short phrases--embarks on a journey to discover the truth of her mom's and her own past.

 

Werlin, Nancy.     Double Helix.    Penguin USA: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2004.   0-8037-2606-6.   Haunted by too many unanswered questions, Eli Samuels finds they all seem to lead to world-famous transgeneticist Quincy Wyatt, a man whose eerie familiarity masks a chilling truth.

 

Westerfeld, Scott.     So Yesterday.    Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers: Razorbill, 2004.   1-59514-000-X.   When Hunter Braque, a Cool Hunter, meets Jen Jones, an Innovator, the pair unwittingly fall into a secret scheme to rock the foundations of a multinational shoe manufacturer.

 

Whedon, Joss.     Fray.     Dark Horse Comics,   December 2003.   1-56971-751-6.   In the distant future, Fray is a thief making a living in the slum that was once Manhattan. One day her destiny catches up with her. She's a Slayer, born to kill the monsters that are at war with mankind.

 

Whitney, Kim Ablon.     See You Down The Road: a novel.   Random House Children's Books: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2004.   0-375-82467-7.   Bridget is a sixteen year-old Traveler, part of a family of roaming con artists, who is not sure she wants to stay in the life now that she has been promised in marriage. Bridget is a sixteen year-old Traveler, part of a family of roaming con artists, who is not sure she wants to stay in the life now that she has been promised in marriage. Bridget is a sixteen year-old Traveler, part of a family of roaming con artists, who is not sure she wants to stay in the life now that she has been promised in marriage.

 

Williams-Garcia, Rita.     No Laughter Here.    HarperCollins Children's Book Group: Amistad Press, 2004.   0-688-16247-9.   When Victoria returns from as family visit to Nigeria, she is uncharacteristically distant from her best friend, Akilah.   Soon Akilah learns that her friend was circumcised in keeping with that country's coming-of-age ritual.

 

Wolf, Allan.     New Found Land: Lewis and Clark's Voyage of Discovery.   Candlewick Press,   2004.   0-7636-2113-7.   Fourteen members of the Corps of Discovery tell the story

of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

 

Wooding , Chris .     The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray.    Orchard Press,   2004.   0-439-54656-7.   Possession, wych-kin, airships and Stitch-face all pose tremendous challenges to Thaniel and Cathaline as they fight to rid London of the evil Fraternity.

 

Woodson, Jacqueline.     Behind You.    Penguin USA: Putnam Publishing Group, 2004.   0-399-23988-X.   Family, friends, and Ellie--the love of his life--deal with the tragic death of 15-year-old Jeremiah.

 

Yolen, Jane and Robert J. Harris.     Prince Across the Water.    Penguin USA: Philomel Books, 2004.   0-399-23897-2.   Duncan MacDonald and his cousin Ewan are eager to answer the call to restore Prince Charlie to the Scottish throne, a quest that will lead to the end of the Highland clans at the bloody battle of Culloden.