YA ARC BLOG HIATUS

The YA ARC Blog is going on a brief hiatus due to unforseen complications and time shortages. I will still be monitoring the YALSA-BK listserv so if you need to reach me please email me at yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com.

Any books that are currently in circulation may continue to be read and enjoyed. Unfortunately no new books will be added at this time. If you need to return a book to me, you can mail it to:
West Bend Community Memorial Library
630 Poplar St.
West Bend, Wisconsin 53095

I really do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. I will try to get things back online as soon as possible.
Kristin

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts.They were also one another's only friend.So when Cameron disappears without warning, Jennifer thinks she's lost the only person who will ever understand her.Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed.Known as Jenna, she's popular, happy, and dating, everything "Jennifer" couldn't be---but she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost friend. When Cameron suddenly reappears, they are both confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.Sweethearts is a story about the power of memory, the bond of friendship, and the quiet resilience of our childhood hearts.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

The Postcard by Tony abbott

She died today. One phone call changes Jason's summer vacation-and life!-forever.
When Jason's grandmother dies, he's sent down to her home in Florida to help his father clean out her things. At first he gripes about spending his summer miles away from his best friend, doing chores, and sweating in the Florida heat, but he soon discovers a mystery surrounding his grandmother's murky past.
An old, yellowed postcard...a creepy phone call with a raspy voice at the other end asking, "So how smart are you?"...an entourage of freakish funeral goers....a bizarre magazine story. All contain clues that will send him on a thrilling journey to uncover family secrets.
Award-winning author Tony Abbott weaves an intriguing and entertaining mystery of adventure, friendship and family.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Secrets of the Cirque Medrano by Elaine Scott

Inspired by the painting, Family of Saltimbanques, by Pablo Picasso, this story of adventure is set against the backdrop of Belle Époque Paris as whispers of revolution stir in Russia . Elaine Scott creates a world filled with characters from the art scene such as Picasso and his friends, circus folk, and revolutionaries. And fourteen-year-old Brigitte meets them all. She moves to Paris after her mother’s death to live with her aunt and uncle and work in their café, where the artists gather. It is hard for her to adjust but the energy of the vast and growing city thrills her and a boy who flies on a trapeze at the circus intrigues her. Monsieur Pavlov is the most intriguing of all, however. What secrets does the diplomat hide behind the doors of the Russian Consulate?

Young readers will follow Brigitte’s coming of age with great interest as she becomes involved in international espionage, aids her new friends who are mistreated by a corrupt circus owner, and touches the lives of artists who changed the world

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Cesca Morgan
cmorgan@charlesbridge.com

The Assist by Neil Swidey

Hoop Dreams meets Common Ground in this riveting portrait of a driven basketball coach at an iconic high school, and of his players, each struggling to rise above the many forces pulling them down.
Jack O'Brien, the impossibly demanding basketball coach at Charlestown High School in Boston, has led his team to five state championship titles in six years. Less talked about is O'Brien's other winning record: Nearly every one of the players who stuck with his program--poor kids growing up in high-crime neighborhoods and saddled with the lousy educational system available in urban America--managed to get to college. But O'Brien is no saint. Saints give without expecting anything in return. O'Brien needs his players and their problems as much as they need him.

Revolving around fascinating, complex characters, The Assist is a captivating narrative of a basketball team in pursuit of a championship that also drills down into the legacy of desegregation and explores issues of education, family, and race. O'Brien is a middle-aged white guy coaching an all-black team playing in an all-white neighborhood that three decades ago was at the center of the busing wars dividing cities across the country--a time and place indelibly described in J. Anthony Lukas's powerful book Common Ground. It's the inspiring story of a man who makes a difference, and of boys surmounting nearly impossible odds; it is also the story of the ones who don't make it, and why.

About the Author
Neil Swidey is a staff writer for The Boston Globe Magazine. His writing has won the National Headliner Award and has been anthologized in The Best American Science Writing and The Best American Crime Writing. He lives outside Boston with his wife and their three daughters.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

This is the story of a secret, and also a secret story. This is the story of Cass and Max-Ernest, two friendless 11-year olds who come together to solve the mystery surrounding a dead magician and the clues he left behind. When they find a mysterious case containing vials of liquid labeled The Symphony of Smells with an encoded message asking for help, they decide to investigate. Along the way they must solve puzzles and word games and face incredible danger to answer their questions. They encounter the dark and looming Dr. L and his seemingly ageless accomplice, Ms. Mauvais, who have kidnapped one of their classmates in a desperate attempt to unlock the secrets of immortality.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson

Laurel Gray Hawthorne needs to make things pretty, whether she's helping her mother make sure the literal family skeleton stays in the closet or turning scraps of fabric into nationally acclaimed art quilts. Her estranged sister Thalia, an impoverished Actress with a capital A, is her polar opposite, priding herself on exposing the lurid truth lurking behind middle class niceties. While Laurel's life seems neatly on track--a passionate marriage, a treasured daughter, and a lovely home in suburban Victorianna--everything she holds dear is suddenly thrown into question the night she is visited by the ghost of a her 13-year old neighbor Molly Dufresne. The ghost leads Laurel to the real Molly floating lifelessly in the Hawthorne's backyard pool. Molly's death is inexplicable--an unseemly mystery Laurel knows no one in her whitewashed neighborhood is up to solving. Only her wayward, unpredictable sister is right for the task, but calling in a favor from Thalia is like walking straight into a frying pan protected only by Crisco. Enlisting Thalia's help, Laurel sets out on a life-altering journey that triggers startling revelations about her family's guarded past, the true state of her marriage, and the girl who stopped swimming.

Richer and more rewarding than any story Joshilyn Jackson has yet written, yet still packed with Jackson's trademarked outrageous characters, sparkling dialogue, and defiantly twisting plotting, THE GIRL WHO STOPPED SWIMMING is destined both to delight Jackson's loyal fans and capture a whole new audience.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

With the Light by Keiko Tobe

With the Light is one of the first titles from our Yen Press imprint. The manga format novel tells the story of a Japanese family dealing with the birth and growth of an autistic son, Hikaru.

This book has received an incredible reaction from everyone who sees it, from librarians to retailers and friends. It seems that so many people have been affected by or knows someone who has been affected by autism. Our hope is that, by seeing how Hikaru and his family rises to meet the issue head on, readres will find comfort in the fact that they are not alone.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle

Martin lives in a perfect world. Every year a new generation of
children arrives on a conveyer belt to meet their parents. Every
spring the residents of this suburb take down the snow they've stuck
on their windows and put up the flowers. Every morning the residents
gather around their televisions and vote for whatever matter of
national importance the president has on the table. Today, it is the
color of his drapes. It's a world of genius children and robotic
pets.

And it's all about to come crashing down, because as Martin grows more
and more curious about what makes his domed suburb run, he begins to
wonder what lies outside the walls that have surrounded him his entire
life. And when a man arrives to take a group of children away,
including Martin's sister Cassie, Martin has no choice but to find a
way out.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Navah Wolfe
navah.wolfe@gmail.com

You Know Where to Find Me by Rachel Cohn

First cousins Laura and Miles grew up like sisters. Miles thought of
Laura as the golden one—smart, beautiful, rich, and popular, while
Miles considered herself the unwanted one—an unattractive,
underachieving outcast. Laura's suicide shatters Miles, leaving her
feeling completely alone, and setting Miles on a dangerous downward
spiral. But in the strength Miles finds in herself and in those she
didn't believe cared about her, she is able to rebuild her life in
unexpected ways.

Rachel Cohn's emotionally powerful new novel views serious issues such
as depression, suicide, prescription-drug abuse, and alternative
family configurations through the lens of family love and survival.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Navah Wolfe
navah.wolfe@gmail.com

Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick

Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick
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.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Sonja Cole
sonja@bookwink.com

Bounce by Natasha Friend

The perils of dealing with a new stepfamily are illuminated with the
same Blume-like heart and wit that Natasha Friend brought to PERFECT
and LUSH.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Sonja Cole
sonja@bookwink.com

Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel

Book Description

In Alyson Noël's newest teen novel, one sister's secrets save the other's life--in more ways than one.

Meet fifteen-year-old Echo, a typical teen trying to survive high school without being totally traumatized by boy trouble, friend drama, and school issues. As if she didn't have enough on her plate, Echo is also still dealing with the murder of her sister Zoë. Although it's been over a year, Echo is still reeling from tragedy that changed everything. Beautiful and full of life, Zoë was the glue that held her family together, and although the two sisters were as different as night and day, they still had a bond that Echo can't let go of. When Zoë's old boyfriend Marc shows up one day with Zoë's diary, Echo doesn't think there's anything in there she doesn't already know. But as she gives in to curiosity and starts reading, she learns that her sister led a secret life that no one could have guessed--not even Echo.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything In It by Sundee T Frazier

Book Description
TEN-YEAR-OLD TAE KWON DO blue belt and budding rock hound Brendan Buckley keeps a "Confidential" notebook for his top-secret
scientific discoveries. And he's found something totally top secret. The grandpa he's never met, who his mom refuses to talk about or see, is an expert mineral collector and lives nearby! Secretly, Brendan visits Ed DeBose, whose skin is pink, not brown like Brendan's, his dad's, or that of Grampa Clem's, who recently died. Brendan sets out to find the reason behind Ed's absence, but what he discovers can't be explained by science, and now he wishes heÕd never found him at all. . . .

About the Author
Sundee Frazier wrote Check All that Apply: Finding Wholeness as a Multiracial Person. She lives in Renton, Washington.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Slam by Nick Hornby

Book Description
Just when everything is coming together for Sam, his girlfriend Alicia drops a bombshell. Make that ex-girlfriend-- because by the time she tells him she's pregnant, they've already called it quits. Sam does not want to be a teenage dad. His mom had him at sixteen and has made it very clear how having a baby so young interrupted her life. There's only one person Sam can turn to--his hero, skating legend Tony Hawk. Sam believes the answers to life's hurdles can be found in Hawk's autobiography.
But even Tony Hawk isn't offering answers this time--or is he? Inexplicably, Sam finds himself whizzed into the future, for a quick glimpse of what will be . . . or what could be. In this wonderfully witty, poignant story about a teenage boy unexpectedly thrust into fatherhood, it's up to Sam to make the right decisions so the bad things that could happen, well, don't.

About the Author
The New Yorker calls bestselling author Nick Hornby "the maestro of the male confessional." His bestselling adult novels include High Fidelity and About a Boy, both of which were made into highly successful movies. He lives in the UK.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Fearless by Tim Lott

Book Description
A Whitbread Award-winning novelist tells a chilling dystopian tale about a heroic girl prepared to risk everything in the pursuit of justice.

In the not-too-distant future, the world is safe from terrorists, the streets are clean, and girls labeled "juvies" or "mindcrips" have been hidden away behind the smartly painted exterior of the City Community Faith School. Their birth names are forgotten and replaced with a letter and number, but they give each other nicknames like Tattle or Stench or Little Fearless. As they slave away at chores, Little Fearless, who is actually the bravest girl in the school, tells the other girls stories, stories about the day their families will return for them. Little Fearless’s own hope and conviction spur her on a dangerous adventure — a bold and unthinkable plan that will either save the imprisoned girls or mean the end of Little Fearless herself, or both.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Fell by David Clement-Davies

The book fans have been waiting for! A sequel to the acclaimed animal fantasy novel The Sight.

With the same bold storytelling that has made The Sight a cult favorite, David Clement-Davies tells the story of Fell, the black wolf whose betrayal of his family in The Sight almost led to the enslavement of all wolves by the evil Morgra. Wandering alone in the forests of Transylvania, lost in the pain of his sister Larka’s death, Fell rejects their shared gift of seeing into the minds of others.. It is only when a message comes from his old friend Skart, the eagle, that Fell begins to accept his destiny: to enter the world of humans and restore a lost girl to her family, thus healing the wounds of a divided kingdom.

In a starred review, Booklist called The Sight, “full-bodied, lyrically told,” School Library Journal called it "quite exciting,” and Voice of Youth Advocates said, “The narrative is rich, complex, and, most importantly, credible.”

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Falling from Grace by Jane Godwin

It was all meant to be just a game, but now Grace is missing and may not even be alive. During an elaborate game of hide-and-seek on the beach, twelve-year-old sisters Annie and Grace are caught in the rising tide, and Grace seems to have been swept away. In the midst of this, fourteen-year-old Kip is also in the wrong place at the wrong time. Finding Grace's abandoned back-pack sets off a chain of events that lands Kip under police surveillance. As the search for Grace intensifies, suspicions grow. But can Kip piece everything together and clear his name before it's too late for Grace? Told in Kip's and Annie's alternating voices, this spellbinding mystery looks at the choices young people make-and their consequences.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

The Kayla Chronicles by Sherri Winston

Kayla Dean, junior feminist and future journalist, is about the break the story of a lifetime. She is auditioning for the Lady Lions dance team to prove they discriminate against the not-so-well endowed. But when she makes the team, her best friend and fellow feminist, Rosalie, is not happy.

Now a Lady Lion, Kayla is transformed from bushy-haired fashion victim to glammed-up dance diva. But does looking good and having fun mean turning her back on the cause? Can you be a strong woman and still wear really cute shoes? Soon Kayla is forced to challenge her views, coming to terms with who she is and what girl power really means.

Narrated with sharp language and just the right amount of attitude, The Kayla Chronicles is the story of a girl's struggle for self-identity despite pressure from family, friends and her own conscience. Kayla's story is snappy, fun and inspiring, sure to appeal to anyone who's every questioned who they really are.


Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Denise Byers
dbyers1977@gmail.com

Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress by Shelly Mazzanoble

Most Dungeons & Dragons game players are men, yet storytelling and roleplaying come so naturally to women. So where are all the female gamers? The answer is - everywhere!

Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress is a smart, humorous examination of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game from a female gamer's point of view. The book delves into the myths and realities of gamer stereotypes. It explains how to build a character for a D&D game, how to shop for gear, how to play, and how to find the perfect gaming group, all the while exploring the things that make the D&D game a rewarding and recurring social experience for both men and women.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Denise Byers
dbyers1977@gmail.com

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Thirteen Reasons Why By Jay Asher

Clay Jenkins returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Amy Pelman
amypelman@gmail.com

Beastly by Alex Flinn c2

You already know Beauty... now discover the Beast.
I am a Beast.
Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. And I'll stay this way forever - ruined - unless I can break the spell.
Acclaimed author Alex Flinn breaks new ground in this fresh, modern take on the classic story. Her urban fair tale shakes up what you think you know about Beauty and the Beast

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Beastly by Alex Flinn

You already know Beauty... now discover the Beast.
I am a Beast.
Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog, but a horrible new creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. And I'll stay this way forever - ruined - unless I can break the spell.
Acclaimed author Alex Flinn breaks new ground in this fresh, modern take on the classic story. Her urban fair tale shakes up what you think you know about Beauty and the Beast

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins c2

Don't call me a demon. I prefer the term Fallen Angel.
Everybody deserves a vacation, right? Especially if you have a pointless job like tormenting the damned. So who could blame me for blowing off my duties and taking a small, unauthorized break?

Besides, I've always wanted to see what physical existence is like. That's why I "borrowed" the slightly used body of a slacker teen. Believe me, he wasn't going to be using it anymore anyway.
I have never understood why humans do the things they do. Like sin—if it's so terrible, why do they keep doing it?

I'm going to have a lot of fun finding out!

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Amanda Jenkins
jenkinsj@airmail.net

Repossessed by A.M. Jenkin

Don't call me a demon. I prefer the term Fallen Angel.
Everybody deserves a vacation, right? Especially if you have a pointless job like tormenting the damned. So who could blame me for blowing off my duties and taking a small, unauthorized break?

Besides, I've always wanted to see what physical existence is like. That's why I "borrowed" the slightly used body of a slacker teen. Believe me, he wasn't going to be using it anymore anyway.
I have never understood why humans do the things they do. Like sin—if it's so terrible, why do they keep doing it?

I'm going to have a lot of fun finding out!

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Amanda Jenkins
jenkinsj@airmail.net

Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern c2

Anna Bloom is depressed—so depressed that her parents have committed her to a mental hospital with a bunch of other messed-up teens. Here she meets a roommate with a secret (and a plastic baby), a doctor who focuses way too much on her weight, and a cute, shy boy who just might like her.
But wait! Being trapped in a loony bin isn’t supposed to be about making friends, losing weight, and having a crush, is it?
In her fiction debut, Julie Halpern finds humor in the unlikeliest of places, and presents a character whose voice—and heart—will resonate with all of us who have ever felt just a little bit crazy.

“I completely fell in love with Anna Bloom’s voice – it’s wry, romantic, and so, so true.” --Gabrielle Zevin, author of ELSEWHERE

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Julie Halpern
juliethelibrarian@hotmail.com

What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy by Gregory Maguire

From the author of the best-selling WICKED, a transporting tale-within-a-tale about the strange world of skibbereen — aka tooth fairies — and the universal need to believe.

A terrible storm is raging, and ten-year-old Dinah is huddled by candlelight with her brother, sister, and cousin Gage, who is telling a very unusual tale. It’s the story of What-the-Dickens, a newly hatched orphan creature who finds he has an attraction to teeth, a crush on a cat named McCavity, and a penchant for getting into trouble. One day he happens upon a feisty girl skibberee who is working as an Agent of Change — trading coins for teeth — and learns that there is a dutiful tribe of skibbereen (call them tooth fairies) to which he hopes to belong. As his tale of discovery unfolds, however, both What-the- Dickens and Dinah come to see that the world is both richer and less sure than they ever imagined.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

The Declaration by Gemma Malley

It’s the year 2140 and Longevity drugs have all but eradicated old age. A never-aging society can’t sustain population growth, however…which means Anna should never have been born. Nor should any of the children she lives with at Grange Hall. The facility is full of boys and girls whose parents chose to have kids—called surpluses—despite a law forbidding them from doing so. These children are raised as servants, and brought up to believe they must atone for their very existence. Then one day a boy named Peter appears at the Hall, bringing with him news of the world outside, a place where people are starting to say that Longevity is bad, and that maybe people shouldn’t live forever. Peter begs Anna to escape with him, but Anna’s not sure who to trust: the strange new boy whose version of life sounds like a dangerous fairy tale, or the familiar walls of Grange Hall and the head mistress who has controlled her every waking thought?
Chilling, poignant, and endlessly though-provoking, The Declaration is a powerful debut that will have readers agonizing over Anna’s fate until the very last page.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Iron Thunder by Avi

Book Summary on it's way

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Hero by Perry Moore

A longtime fan of children’s literature and comic books, Moore’s first novel, Hero, the first of a fantasy series about a group of modern-day superheroes, will be published by Hyperion this September. The young adult novel tells the story of the world’s first gay teen superhero. The industry’s foremost jacket designer, Chip Kidd, delivers his first YA cover with the book, and a big screen adaptation is in the works with comic book legend Stan Lee.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

Your best friend hates you. The guy you liked hates you. Your entire group of friends hates you.

All because you did the right thing.

Welcome to life for Mena, whose year is starting off in the worst way possible. She's been kicked out of her church group and no one will talk to her—not even her own parents. No one except for Casey, her supersmart lab partner in science class, who's pretty funny for the most brilliant guy on earth.

And when Ms. Shepherd begins the unit on evolution, school becomes more dramatic than Mena could ever imagine . . . and her own life is about to evolve in some amazing and unexpected ways.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

The Chicken Dance by Jacques Couvillon

On his birthday, Don Schmidt spends the day waiting patiently for his big surprise—a cake, presents, maybe a Chinese clown . . . . But instead, his batty parents get into their monthly argument. This time it’s because his mother has to feed the chickens. It ends with her shouting the same thing as always about their Louisiana chicken farm: “I hate it here!”
What follows is Don’s journey from obscurity to fame and back again, when he becomes the youngest kid to ever win the Horse Island Dairy Festival chicken-judging contest. Gradually, his mom notices that something strange is going on—everyone knows her son!—but once she realizes that Don has become the town celebrity, she sees that there may be benefits to living on a chicken farm. What she doesn’t seem to see are the benefits of having a son like Don.
For Don, the contest is the beginning of a big, big adventure. It involves trips to New Orleans and Baton Rouge, fair weather friends, a missing sister, and one big secret. Readers will cheer for Don, who goes out of his way to see the good in everything.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Toby Wheeler: Eighth-Grade Benchwarmer by Thatcher Heldring

TOBY WHEELER LOVES basketball and playing pickup games at the local rec center. No coaches, no practices, just nonstop action with his best friend, JJ, at his side. But lately JJ's been acting like he's too busy for Toby, and Toby knows it will only get worse once basketball season begins at their junior high. That's because JJ is the star of their school team, while Toby is just an ordinary gym rat.

When Coach Applewhite offers Toby a chance to join the team, Toby's eager to prove he can keep up with JJ. But then the coach announces the lineup, and Toby's hopes of playing ball with JJ are history: he's an eighthgrade benchwarmer! Befriending the coach's daughter only makes matters worse. Now the only way Toby will get in the game is if he starts thinking like a team player, on and off the court.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Deadline by Chris Crutcher

At the beginning of his senior year, during a routine physical, Ben Wolf discovers that he has leukemia. Ben decides to tell no one; he want his last year to be as "normal" as possible. Somewhere deep inside, Ben has always known that he would never escape high school and Trout, Idaho, population 943. This twist of fate seems not exactly fair, but it feels right.
Only, not telling the truth is the same as lying. And how to you lie to your friends, and to your parents, and to your brother Cody, and to the gorgeous Dallas Suzuki? The short answer? You don't. But it takes Ben almost a year to figure out that truth. And what a year it is.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Claire Scott
clairescott@gmail.com

Revolution is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine

It's 1972, and Ling is a young girl living in Communist China. Her life is good - both her parents are doctors at the local hospital and they enjoy a comfortable life style despite the Cultural Revolution going on around them. But life gets progressively more difficult and scary when Comrade Li, one of Mao's top officers, moves into their apartment building and starts arresting people he claims are antirevolutionaries, personal freedoms become more and more restricted, food is very difficult to come by, and all Ling's classmates taunt her for being "bourgeois."

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Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Disguised by Rita De Clercq Zubli

Told in her own words, here is the true story of a girl who posed as a boy during World War II — and dared to speak up for her fellow prisoners of war.

With the Japanese army poised to invade their Indonesian island in 1942, Rita la Fontaine’s family knew that they and the other Dutch and Dutch-Indonesian residents would soon become prisoners of war. Fearing that twelve-year-old Rita would be forced to act as a "comfort woman" for the Japanese soldiers, the family launched a desperate plan to turn Rita into "Rick," cutting her hair short and dressing her in boy’s clothes. Rita’s aptitude for languages earned her a position as translator for the commandant of the prisoner camp, and for the next three years she played a dangerous game of disguise while advocating against poor conditions, injustice, and torture. Sixty-five years later, Rita describes a war experience like no other — a remarkable tale of integrity, fortitude, and honor.

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Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Alex and the Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress

Fans of Lemony Snicket, Harriet the Spy, and Alice in Wonderland will love this witty, magical fantasy and its unforgettable tomboy heroine.
A smart, funny mixture of fantasy and high adventure, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman tells the story of Alex Morningside, an inquisitive ten-and-a-half-year-old girl who lives with her uncle above a doorknob shop. A student at the prestigious Wigpowder-Steele Academy, Alex is often mistaken for a boy because of her bowl haircut, but that’s okay -- she has an excellent sense of humor.

Alex hates Wigpowder-Steele because as much as she enjoys learning, she doesn’t enjoy wearing a uniform with a skirt. She also doesn’t enjoy her teachers, who are all very old and smell funny and don’t seem to know about any of the developments that have happened in the world in the last thirty years. And she most definitely does not enjoy her peers, who are quite simply ridiculous. However, that’s okay, too, because her peers don’t enjoy her much either. Luckily for Alex, the new school year brings an exciting new teacher. Mr. Underwood makes lessons fun and teaches her how to fence. But Mr. Underwood has a mysterious family secret -- the swashbuckling and buried treasure kind -- and not everyone is glad he has come to Wigpowder-Steele.

When the pirates of a ship called The Ironic Gentleman kidnap her beloved teacher, Alex sets off on a through-the-looking-glass journey to rescue him, along the way encountering a steady stream of hilarious and colorful characters, including one Captain Magnanimous, Coriander the Conjurer, and the Extremely Ginormous Octopus. Funny, charming, and ultimately tender, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman ends with a twist that readers will find as heartwarming as it is surprising.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

First Daughter: Extreme American

The race for the presidency is on, and Sameera’s dad is a contender. Sameera’s looking forward to some cool campaign perks: hobnobbing with celebrities, meeting smart and hunky young voters, and getting a total makeover. The makeover succeeds in making her look more polished, but some of the campaign staffers aren’t content to stop there. They think the candidate’s dark-skinned, adopted daughter could hurt his chances if she doesn’t “try to be more American.” As the pressure builds, Sameera is forced to choose: Will she hide behind a fake persona or speak up for her true self?

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Mitali Perkins
info@mitaliperkins.com

Grl2Grl by Julie Anne Peters

In this honest, emotionally captivating short story collection, renowned author and National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters offers a stunning portrayal of young women as they navigate the hurdles of relationships and sexual identity. From the young lesbian taking her first steps toward coming out to the two strangers who lock eyes across a crowded train, from the transgender teen longing for a sense of self to the girl whose abusive father has turned her to stone, Peters is the master of creating characters whose own vulnerability resonates with readers and stays with them long after the last page is turned. Grl2grl shows the rawness of teenage emotion as young girls become women and begin to discover the intricacies of love, dating and sexuality.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Grl2Grl by Julie Anne Peters c2

In this honest, emotionally captivating short story collection, renowned author and National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters offers a stunning portrayal of young women as they navigate the hurdles of relationships and sexual identity. From the young lesbian taking her first steps toward coming out to the two strangers who lock eyes across a crowded train, from the transgender teen longing for a sense of self to the girl whose abusive father has turned her to stone, Peters is the master of creating characters whose own vulnerability resonates with readers and stays with them long after the last page is turned. Grl2grl shows the rawness of teenage emotion as young girls become women and begin to discover the intricacies of love, dating and sexuality.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com

Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley

The Worst thing about having it all is having to deal with it all -- the good, the bad, and the just plain weird.

Everybody thinks Syrah is the golden girl. After all, her father is Ethan Cheng, billionaire, and she has everything any kid could possibly desire, right down to a waterfront mansion, jet plane, and custom-designed snowboards. But most of what glitters in her life is fool's gold. Her half-siblings hate her, her best friend Adrian's girlfriend is ruining their friendship, and her own so-called boyfriend is after her for her father's name. When her broken heart results in a snowboarding accident that exiles her from the mountains - the one place where she feels free and accepted for who she is and not what she has - Syrah must rehab both her knee and her heart, and learn that she's worth her weight in real gold.

Amazon Link

Contact info/reading group leader if you're the first person on the list for this ARC with your mailing address:
Kristin Lade
yalibrarianwi@yahoo.com