They used "Caps," administered ceremoniously near each child's 14th birthday, to control humans' brains and keep them docile. Now there is pleasant life in villages, little technology, and no war--but there is no freedom either. In this powerful and suspenseful series, 13-year-old Will Parker and his friends deal with hunger, humanity, envy, and pride as they struggle to find out all they can about the Tripods and overthrow their rule. Written by John Christopher, author of many juvenile science fiction and fantasy books, The Tripods Trilogy is sure to make a science fiction fan out of any reader--young or old. This box set of paperbacks includes The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire, the chilling conclusion to the series that poses the question: Who would rule the world if it were freed from the aliens? (Ages 9 and older) --Bonnie Bouman

    The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for "social") has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he's always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy's skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser.Librarian note: This record is for one of the three editions published with different covers and with ISBN 0-140-38572-X / 978-0-14-038572-4. The records are for the 1988 cover (this record), the 1995 cover, and the 2008 cover which is also the current in-print cover.

    Christina discovers a passion for horses and riding but finds herself part of a strange household, divided by emotional undercurrents and cruelty.

    Yet, when, through a series of strong dreams, she came to know a proud, lonely, sixteenth century girl, also adopted, she found answers to questions she had hardly dared ask.

    She must overcome her own shyness when training Kate for the show ring.

    Katie Rose feels sorry for Gil as he tells her of his wealthy parents' neglect of him. Gil tells her that he was "born under a dark star;" Katie Rose attempts to help him, never realizing that her interest in Gil could cause her to choose between this boy and her personal values.

    She looks forward to her birthday because she figures being fifteen will wipe out the mistake of being fourteen - the way her father's mistakes get wiped out when his new driver's license comes. He can forget about his old mistakes as if they never happened. But Josie's mistakes haunt her. And then on the eve of her birthday she makes one of the worst boo-boos she's ever made.Two years in the life of Josie Frost, Everygirl. Two years in which she learns that being a girl is more exciting than being a child, and that becoming an adult promises to be even better.

    A little boy outwits his friend in Taiwan's annual island contest to raise the fattest pig for the Pai-Pai festival.

    

    On her return trip to England, a young girl's life is threatened many times simply because she included a certain man in a farewell photo she took of the Madeira landscape.

    When a letter comes from great aunt Keziah offering the family a home, Amity rebelled against her father's refusal to accept. The determined spirit that had carried her through a long period of difficulty and exhaustion won the day, and the Lyte family set out from Boston to Woburn, Massachusetts, on the newly constructed Middlesex Canal.Amity was puzzled by a number of things: why had her father never spoken of his aunt Keziah? Why was he so unwilling to go back to his old home in Woburn? Why had he left in the first place? Why did he forbid Amity to talk to that friendly young man, Sam Baldwin? Her perplexity increased upon finding Aunt Keziah's front door locked and overgrown with ivy; and discovering within a few days that the people of Woburn were not just unfriendly, but downright hostile to the Lyte family. The answers to her questionings came gradually during a strange, interesting year, while she was finding herself capable of organizing the means of support for an even larger family than before.