FICTION
Mystery,
Action and Suspense
Alten, Steve.
Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror. Bantam,
1998. 352p. $6.99 (0-553-57910-X). Grades 9 and up.
On
a top-secret dive into the Pacific
Ocean's deepest canyon,
Jonas Taylor finds himself face-to-face with terror.
Avi. Wolf Rider: A Tale of Terror.
Simon and Schuster/Pulse, 1993. 202p. $5.99 (0020415133). Grades 6 and
up.
After
receiving an apparent crank call from a man claiming to have committed
murder, fifteen-year-old Andy finds his close relationship with his
father crumbling as he struggles to make everyone believe him.
Beale,
Fleur. I Am Not Esther.
Hyperion, 2004. 256p. $6.99 (0-7868-1673-2). Grades 7 and up.
After
her mother unexpectedly leaves her with her uncle's family, members of a
fanatical Christian cult, Kirby tries to learn what has become of her
mother and struggles to cope with the repressiveness of her new
surroundings and to maintain her own identity.
Bloor,
Edward. Tangerine. Scholastic,
2001. 294p. $5.99 (0-4392-8603-4). Grades 6 and up.
Twelve-year-old
Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights
for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins
to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.
Cooney,
Caroline. The Face on the Milk
Carton. Laurel Leaf, 1994 reprint. 220p. $6.99 (0-440-22065-3).
Grades 6 and up.
Recognizing
herself as the missing child on a school milk carton, Janie is compelled
to investigate and has to choose between her love for the people she has
always known as her parents and needing to learn the truth.
Cooney,
Caroline. The Voice on the Radio.
Laurel Leaf, 1998. 220p. $5.99 (0-440-21977-9). Grades 6 and up.
Fifteen-year-old
Janie feels devastated when she discovers that her boyfriend has betrayed
her and her family through his college radio program.
Cooney,
Caroline. What Janie Found.
Laurel Leaf, 2000. 235p. $5.99 (0-440-22772-0). Grades 6 and up.
When
Janie's father suffers a severe stroke, her happily established life is
suddenly shaken as she must now help her mother through the difficult
times both emotionally and financially.
Cooney,
Caroline. Whatever Happened to Janie.
Laurel Leaf, 1994 reprint. 224p. $5.99 (0-440-21924-8). Grades 6 and up.
Suffering
an identity crisis after reuniting with her biological family, Janie
realizes that the past twelve years cannot be brought back, and is torn
between the Spring family's desire for justice and her love for the Johnsons.
Duncan,
Lois. Don’t Look Behind You.
Laurel Leaf, 1990 reprint. 179p. $5.50 (0-44-020729-0). Grades 7 and up.
April's
father's job as an undercover F.B.I. agent forces the family to move far
from home and assume new identities as part of the Federal Witness
Security Program, and April must leave everything that she loves.
Duncan,
Lois. Daughters of Eve. Laurel
Leaf, 1990 reprint. 266p. $5.50 (0-44-091864-2). Grades 7 and up.
As
the club sponsor for the Daughters of Eve at Modesta
High, Irene Stark, a popular and dedicated teacher, uses feminist
philosophy to manipulate the girls' lives in a bizarre plan to avenge
past injustices.
Duncan,
Lois. Down a Dark Hall. Laurel
Leaf, 1997 reprint. 150p. $5.99 (0-44-091805-7). Grades 7 and up.
Kit
Gordy and three other students at an exclusive
boarding school for girls find themselves part of a terrifying
experiment.
Duncan,
Lois. I Know What You Did Last
Summer. Laurel Leaf, 1999 reprint. 250p. $5.99 (0-44-022844-1).
Grades 7 and up.
Four
teenagers try to conceal their responsibility for a hit-and-run accident
while being pursued by a mystery figure seeking revenge.
Duncan,
Lois. Killing Mr. Griffin.
Laurel Leaf, 1993 reprint. 165p. $5.99 (0-44-094515-1). Grades 7 and up.
A
joke about killing the toughest teacher in school, the one who demands
the most and gives the lowest grades, becomes a topic of serious
discussion among the boys in the local hangout.
Duncan,
Lois. Ransom. Laurel Leaf, 1993
reprint. 144p. $5.99 (0-44-097292-2). Grades 7 and up.
Five
teenaged students are kidnapped from their school bus and held for ransom
by two men who have already killed old Mr. Godfrey, their regular bus
driver.
Duncan,
Lois. They Never Came Home.
Laurel Leaf, 1992 reprint. 183p. $5.99 (0-44-020780-0). Grades 7 and up.
When
two youths fail to return home from a weekend camping trip, a nightmare
of terror begins for their families.
Duncan,
Lois. The Twisted Window.
Laurel Leaf, 1991 reprint. 216p. $5.50 (0-44-020184-5). Grades 7 and up.
Tracy,
a high school junior, becomes embroiled in the problems of a strange boy,
who asks her assistance in "snatching" his half-sister from her
father who has allegedly kidnapped her.
Forsyth,
Christine. Adrenaline High.
James Lorimer, 2003. 126p. $4.99
(1-55028-792-3). Grades 7 and up.
Real-life
issues, including drug dealing and domestic violence, combine in a
mystery as sixteen-year-old D'Arcey Dufresne and her loyal companions team up to help a
classmate in need.
Giles,
Gail. Dead Girls Don't Write
Letters. Simon Pulse, 2004. 128p. $6.99 (0-689-86624-0). Grades 7 and
up.
Things
had been getting a little better until Sunny got a letter from her dead
sister. That more or less ruined her day.
Haddix,
Margaret Peterson. Running Out of
Time. Aladdin, 1997. 192p. $4.99 (0-689-81236-1). Grades 6 and up.
Living
in a historical site where the time is the 1840s, Jessie escapes into the
present. This book now has a renewed interest since the release of the
movie The Village, which bears
some striking similarities.
Hartinger,
Brent. Last Chance Texaco.
Harper Collins, 2004. 240p. $16.99 (0-06-050912-0). Grades 9 and up.
Troubled
teen Lucy Pitt struggles to fit in as a new tenant at a last-chance
foster home.
<shade>
“I
believe that good writing is clear writing. There should never be a moment where
the reader has to stop and say, ‘Okay, what just happened?’
or re-read the paragraph.”
Brent Hartinger
<shade>
Horowitz,
Anthony. Alex Rider series. Puffin, 2003-2005. Grades 6 and up.
Stormbreaker. 234p. $5.99 (0-14-240165-X).
Point Blank. 304p. $5.99 (0-14-240164-1).
Skeleton Key. 288p. $5.99 (0-14-240102-1).
Eagle Strike. 352p. $5.99 (0-14-240292-3).
Scorpia. 312p. $17.99 (0-3992-4151-5).
Working
as a secret agent for Britain’s most exclusive agency, Alex Rider
battles international terrorists, rebellious teenagers and
arch-villains—all with appropriately cool spay gadgets.
Lawrence,
Iain. The Wreckers. Random
House, 1999. 224p. $5.50 (0-440-41545-4). Grades 6 and up.
John
Spencer narrowly escapes with his life after the ship on which he is
traveling with his father, the owner, is wrecked off the Cornish coast,
lured to its destruction by a gang seeking to plunder its cargo.
Madison,
Bennett. Lulu Dark Can See Through
Walls. Penguin/Razorbill, 2005. 248p. $9.99 (1-5951-4010-7). Grades 7
and up.
When
someone steals her purse and her identity, high-school junior and
reluctant girl sleuth Lulu Dark investigates.
McNamee,
Graham. Acceleration. Random
House, 2003. 224p. $15.95. (0-385-73119-1). Grades 8 and up.
"It's
like the Hardy boys meet Hannibal Lecter."
Naylor,
Phyllis Reynolds. Sang Spell.
Simon and Schuster/Simon Pulse, 2000. 212p. $4.99 (0-689-82006-2). Grades
6 and up.
When
his mother is killed in an automobile accident, high-schooler
Josh decides to hitchhike across country, and finds himself
trapped in a mysterious village somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, among a group of people who call themselves Melungeons.
Nixon,
Joan Lowery. The Kidnapping of
Christina Lattimore. Harcourt, 2004. 185p.
$5.95 (0-15-205031-0). Grades 6 and up.
A
teenage girl is kidnapped, but when freed, is accused of masterminding
the scheme to extort money from her wealthy grandmother.
Peretti,
Frank. Nightmare Academy. (Veritas Project, No. 2). Tommy Nelson, 2003. 320p. $8.99. (1-4003-0340-0). Grades 6
and up.
A
frightening thrill-ride that takes a realistic look at right and wrong,
as Elijah and Elisha seek to find the truth
behind the mysterious disappearance of two runaways. From one of the
best-selling Christian novelists in the United States.
Plum-Ucci, Carol. The
Body of Christopher Creed. Hyperion, 2001. 331p. $6.99
(0-786-81641-4). Grades 8 and up.
When
the town freak left after years of being bullied, Torey
Adams begins to delve into this mystery and uncovers truths that may be
simply too hard for him to handle.
Qualey,
Marsha. Close to a Killer. Delacorte, 2000. 208p. $5.95 (0-440-22763-1). Grades
7 and up.
Two
prominent city residents have been murdered, and Barrie knew both of them. But does she know their killer?
Qualey,
Marsha. Thin Ice. Random House,
1999. 242p. $4.99 (0-440-22037-8). Grades 7 and up.
Arden refuses to believe that her older brother died in a
snowmobile accident.
Roberts,
Willo Davis. Twisted Summer. Simon Pulse, 1998. 189p. $4.99
(0-689-80600-0). Grades 7 and up.
Cici is
devastated when she learns that her friend, Brody, is being considered the
prime suspect in the murder of a young girl in town and begins her own
search to find the real murderer, an investigation that put her in
danger.
Sachar,
Louis. Holes. Random House, 2003. 233p.
$6.50 (0-440-41946-8). Grades 6 and up.
Stanley
Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began
with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and
has since followed generations of Yelnats.
Springer,
Nancy. Blood Trail. Holiday
House, 2003. 112p. $16.95. (0-8234-1723-9). Grades 6 and up.
After
his best friend is murdered, seventeen-year-old Booger realizes he is the
only one who has any idea who might have committed the crime--but he
doesn't dare tell anyone.
Tanzman,
Carol. Shadow Place. Roaring
Brook Press, 2004. 192p. $15.95 (0-7613-1588-8). Grades 6 and up.
Fourteen-year-old
Lissa, sworn to secrecy but worried about her
lifelong friend's weird behavior and increasing hostility toward his
abusive father, learns in a chat room that he intends to buy a gun.
Werlin,
Nancy. The Killer's Cousin.
Dell, 2000. 240p. $5.99 (0-440-22751-8). Grades 8 and up.
Acquitted
of murder, David tries to start a new life in Boston.
Westerfeld,
Scott. So Yesterday.
Penguin/Razorbill, 2004. 225p. $16.99 (1-59514-000-X). Grades 7 and up.
Trend-spotter
and fashion expert Hunter Braque must use all of his cool hunting talents
to find a big-money client who has mysteriously disappeared.
Zindel, Paul.
Night of the Bat. Hyperion,
2003. 144p. $5.99 (0-7868-1226-5). Grades 6 and up.
Teenage
Jake joins his father on an expedition to study bats in the Brazilian
rain forest and finds the project menaced by a giant brain-eating bat.
Zindel, Paul.
Rats. Hyperion, 2000. 176p.
$4.99. (0-7868-1225-7). Grades 6 and up.
Thriller
about rats who escape from a dump on New York City's Staten
Island and the courageous
teenager who stops the rodents from taking over the city.
Zindel, Paul.
Reef of Death. 1998. Hyperion,
2002. 177p. $5.99 (0-7868-1309-1). Grades 6 and
P.C.
McPhee hops a plane to Australia to help his uncle solve an offshore mystery
involving something huge and fierce and hungry in the water.
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