New books for Fall 2011

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer

Foster McFee dreams of having her own cooking show like her idol, celebrity chef Sonny Kroll. Macon Dillard's goal is to be a documentary filmmaker. Foster's mother Rayka longs to be a headliner instead of a back-up singer. And Miss Charleena plans a triumphant return to Hollywood. Everyone has a dream, but nobody is even close to famous in the little town of Culpepper. Until some unexpected events shake the town and its inhabitants - and put their big ambitions to the test.


Hammerin' Hank Greenburg Baseball Pioneer  by Shelley Sommer

The first Jewish baseball hall-of-famer, who battled anti-Semitism on and off the field. Hank Greenberg was raised in New York City, the son of Romanian-Jewish immigrants, and went on to become a baseball legend. This thought-provoking biography follows him from his service during WWII, his long career with the Detroit Tigers - where the moniker Hammerin' Hank came to life - and finally to his role as a baseball executive. Readers will experience the prejudice Greenberg endured, even as he made his way into the annals of baseball history: two-time AL MVP, 331 home runs, and first Jewish baseball player inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archival photos add to the appeal of this amazing story.


Kick by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman

On September 3, 2007, acclaimed YA author Myers received a fan e-mail from a young New Jersey teen named Ross Workman. Two hours later, Myers extended a remarkable invitation: Okay, let's make a story. Amazingly, they did. And here's the result, the story of a 13-year-old boy named Kevin in trouble with the law. Because he is the son of a fallen policeman, the judge in the case asks a veteran police officer, Sergeant Brown, to investigate. Told in alternating chapters by the coauthors, the book features a dramatic subplot about Kevin's soccer team's participation in an important tournament. Workman is a genuine talent, writing short, declarative sentences that move the narrative forward with assurance and a page-turning tempo. Myers, of course, is a master, and it's fascinating to see him writing from the first-person perspective of an adult. The respective voices and characters play off each other as successfully as a winning, high-stakes soccer match.

Rip Tide by Kat Falls

The sequel to the acclaimed subsea adventure DARK LIFE.
Ty has always known that the ocean is a dangerous place. Every time he swims beyond the borders of his family's subsea farm, he's prepared to face all manner of aquatic predators-sharks, squid, killer whales . . .
What Ty isn't prepared to find in the deep is an entire township chained to a sunken submarine, its inhabitants condemned to an icy underwater grave. It's only the first clue to a mystery that has claimed hundreds of lives and stands to claim two more -- lives very precious to Ty and his Topsider ally, Gemma.
Now in a desperate race against the clock, Ty and Gemma find themselves in conflict with outlaws, Seaguard officers, and the savage, trident-wielding surfs -- plus a menagerie of the most deadly creatures the ocean has to offer.

The Emeral Atlas by John Stephens

 With a timeless writing style that invokes thoughts of children’s fantasy classics such as Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, author John Stephens weaves a gripping tale of mystery and magic into The Emerald Atlas. His enchanting prose and spot-on wit can only be described as both hip (Stephens was previously the executive producer of Gossip Girls) and Dickensian, a delightful combination that will both engage young readers with its relatable nature and fascinate them with its aberrant charm. If Stephens's comic finesse and archetypal writing style aren’t enough to engage young readers, they will no doubt be captivated by the plot. Stephens's complex formula for time travel and fascinating explanation for the disappearance of the magical realm is so convincing that readers might begin to believe that there is, in fact, far more to the world than meets the eye.

This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel

Growing up, twin brothers Victor and Konrad fill their lives with imaginary adventures...until the day they stumble upon The Dark Library, where they discover secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies. When Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is drawn back to The Dark Library and uncovers an ancient formula, beginning a treacherous search for the ingredients to create the forbidden Elixir of Life. Their success depends on how far they are willing to push the boundaries of nature, science…and love.

The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
Fourteen-year-old Karl Stern has never thought of himself as a Jew. But to the bullies at his school in Naziera Berlin, it doesn't matter that Karl has never set foot in a synagogue or that his family doesn't practice religion. Demoralized by relentless attacks on a heritage he doesn't accept as his own, Karl longs to prove his worth to everyone around him.

So when Max Schmeling, champion boxer and German national hero, makes a deal with Karl's father to give Karl boxing lessons, Karl sees it as the perfect chance to reinvent himself. A skilled cartoonist, Karl has never had an interest in boxing, but as Max becomes the mentor Karl never had, Karl soon finds both his boxing skills and his art flourishing.

But when Nazi violence against Jews escalates, Karl must take on a new role: protector of his family. Karl longs to ask his new mentor for help, but with Max's fame growing, he is forced to associate with Hitler and other Nazi elites, leaving Karl to wonder where his hero's sympathies truly lie. Can Karl balance his dream of boxing greatness with his obligation to keep his family out of harm's way?