The Phoenix Code


Helen Moss - 2014
    Can Ryan and Cleo unravel the mystery and solve the phoenix code before it's too late?

The Dam Keeper


Robert Kondo - 2017
    A dangerous black fog looms outside the village, but its inhabitants are kept safe by an ingenious machine known as the dam. Pig’s father built the dam and taught him how to maintain it. And then this brilliant inventor did the unthinkable: he walked into the fog and was never seen again.Now Pig is the dam keeper. Except for his best friend, Fox, and the town bully, Hippo, few are aware of his tireless efforts. But a new threat is on the horizon—a tidal wave of black fog is descending on Sunrise Valley. Now Pig, Fox, and Hippo must face the greatest danger imaginable: the world on the other side of the dam.Based on the Oscar-nominated animated short film of the same name, The Dam Keeper is a lush, vibrantly drawn graphic novel by Tonko House cofounders Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi.

Bully.com


Joe Lawlor - 2013
    But his world turns upside down when the principal accuses him of posting pictures on the school's website that expose the eating disorder of one of his classmates. To prove his innocence, Jun has seven days to track down the true cyber bully.Jun's investigation will bring him face-to face with computer hackers, a jealous boyfriend, and more than one student who has been a victim of bullying. But he discovers along the way that everyone's story is more complicated than it seems -- and that the people he meets have more in common than they think. With likeable characters and a fast-paced, humorous plot, Bully.com is a compelling look at the consequences of cyber bullying.

The Memory Coat


Elvira Woodruff - 1999
    Grandma Bubba tries to convince Grisha, her grandson, to leave behind an old coat that might prevent him from being accepted at Ellis Island upon the family's arrival in America. Grisha refuses since the coat is lined with wool from the coat of his deceased mother. The family begins their transatlantic journey, but when they arrive at Ellis Island, Grisha is threatened with deportation until his cousin Rachel comes up with a plan to save him. Woodruff's historical detail is based on research she discovered at the Ellis Island museum.A fine introduction to European immigration for young readers ages four to eight. A moving example of familial love.

Bird in a Box


Andrea Davis Pinkney - 2011
    And they're also a lot like their hero, famed boxer Joe Louis. Throughout this moving novel, their lives gradually converge to form friendship, family, and love. Their trials and triumphs echo those of Joe Louis, as he fights to become the heavyweight boxing champion.Andrea Pinkney masterfully weaves in factual information about Joe Louis and actual radio commentary from his fights, enriching the narrative of this uniquely rendered and beautifully written novel.

Don't Eat the Mystery Meat!


Tom B. Stone - 1994
    When pets start disappearing, the kids get suspicious.

The Wolf Princess


Cathryn Constable - 2012
    But just like in a fairy tale, a princess comes to her rescue: the beautiful, exotic Anna Volkonskaya. Over a river of ice in a horse-drawn sleigh, she brings Sophie and her friends to a magnificent, if weathered, winter palace.At first, Sophie is enchanted by Princess Anna's stories of long-ago royalty, of white wolves and gray diamonds. But when the princess takes a particular interest in her, Sophie grows concerned. What is her place in the sinister mystery that surrounds her? Even as the wind and wolves howl outside, is she more in danger now, a prisoner of the palace, than she ever was lost in the snow?

H.N.I.C.


Albert Johnson - 2013
    . . Tight, terse prose harkens back to pulp fiction of the 1950s . . . The work is a breath of fresh air from lengthy, trying-too-hard-to-shock street lit and is an excellent choice for all metropolitan collections."--Library Journal (starred review, Pick of the Month)“The urban setting is unnamed but familiar in this brief, bloody tale of wasted lives lived short and hard.”--Publishers Weekly“Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale, H.N.I.C. peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance.”--Brooklyn Daily Eagle"In a genre that too often places incorrect ebonics in the mouths of black characters and fails to cross the empathy gap to get into their heads, Savile and Prodigy arrive at a seamless voice that is a refreshing take on crime fiction tropes…if tone and texture are what you’re looking for in your hardcore literature…H.N.I.C. delivers the goods."--Okayplayer"If you don't have this novella in your library collection already, please be on the lookout for this 2013 release, H.N.I.C., penned by Hip Hop artist Prodigy of the group, Mobb Deep."--StreetLiterature.com"H.N.I.C. is written by Prodigy himself and shows the extent to which good rappers can make good storytellers."--Brooklyn Based"The strength of this novella, in addition to its straightforward prose and rapid pacing, rests on the universal theme at its center: loyalty. Loyalty and the bullshit our friends put us through…Like any good work of crime, H.N.I.C. is grounded in such common experiences and, like any good work of crime, it speaks to all of us, despite the fact that very few of us can bypass an alarm system through some computer trickery."--Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together"It tells the…urban tale of deceit, greed and questioned loyalty with just enough drama to keep you turning the pages."--Literary Jewels"A brutal and quick read…custom-made for the big screen."--Charles Tatum's Review ArchivePappy tries to break out of the game before the head of his crew, Black, gets them all killed. Against his better judgment Pappy agrees to do one last job, but only because it's the price of his freedom. He knows his "brother" Black would rather see him dead than let him walk away. Yet he still agrees to do the job because Black isn't the only one who can't be trusted.Further developing the stark realism and uncompromising streetwise narratives of his lyrics, H.N.I.C. cements Prodigy's position as one of the foremost chroniclers of contemporary urban life. Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale, H.N.I.C. peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance.With H.N.I.C., Prodigy inaugurates Infamous Books, a revolutionary partnership that pairs the Infamous Records brand with Brooklyn-based independent publisher Akashic Books. Infamous Books' mission is to connect readers worldwide to crime fiction and street lit authors both familiar and new.

The Twenty Seven Club


Lucy Nichol - 2021
    The music industry is mourning Kurt Cobain, Right Said Fred have re-emerged as an ‘ironic’ pop act and John Major is the country’s prime minister. Nothing is as it should be. Emma, a working-class rock music fan from Hull, with a penchant for a flaming Drambuie and a line of coke with her best mate Dave down The Angel, is troubled. Trev, her beloved whippet, has doggy IBS, and her job ordering bathroom supplies at the local caravan company is far from challenging. So when her dad, Tel, informs her that Kurt Cobain has killed himself aged 27, Emma is consumed with anxiety. Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix…why have so many rock musicians died aged 27? And will Emma be next to join The Twenty Seven Club?The Twenty Seven Club is a nostalgic, often humorous, drug and booze-infused tale of friendship, discovery and anxiety as Emma tries, for once, to focus on life, rather than death.

The Hand of Mary Constable


Paul Gallico - 1964
    Are the spiritual manifestations of Professor Constable's dead daughter Mary genuine or is someone trying to sabotage his work? The only hard evidence is a wax hand bearing a set of Mary's fingerprints, but the truth must be uncovered as the apparent spirit is sapping the Professor's will with each passing hour.

Echo of an Angry God


Beverley Harper - 1999
    A history that cannot be hidden forever.Lana Devereaux travels to Malawi seeking the truth behind her fathers disappearance near Likoma Island fifteen years ago. But Lana soon finds herself caught in a web of deciet, passion and black magic that stretches back over two hundred years and has ramifications that reach well beyond the shores of Lake Malawi.

The Crooked Sixpence


Jennifer Bell - 2016
    Soon their house is ransacked by unknown intruders, and a very strange policeman turns up on the scene, determined to apprehend them . . . with a toilet brush. Ivy and Seb make their escape only to find themselves in a completely uncommon world, a secret underground city called Lundinor where ordinary objects have amazing powers. There are belts that enable the wearer to fly, yo-yos that turn into weapons, buttons with healing properties, and other enchanted objects capable of very unusual feats. But the forces of evil are closing in fast, and when Ivy and Seb learn that their family is connected to one of the greatest uncommon treasures of all time, they must race to unearth the treasure and get to the bottom of a family secret . . . before it’s too late.

Mary's the Name


Ross Sayers - 2017
    That must’ve been why the robbers used hammers.”Orphaned Mary lives with her granpa, but after he is mixed up in a robbery at the bookies where he works, they flee to the Isle of Skye. Gradually, Mary realises that her granpa is involved. And the robbers are coming after him–and their money.Mary’s quirky outlook on life, loss, and her love of all things Elvis, will capture your heart. Full of witty Scots banter, Mary’s the Name will have you reaching for the hankies, first with laughter, then with tears.Heart-warming and heart-breaking, this darkly comic debut is from a fresh voice set to become Scotland’s answer to Roddy Doyle.

Castle of Shadows


Ellen Renner - 2010
    Now revolution whispers through the air, and Charlie is powerless to stop it.Then she discovers a clue: a desperate, unfinished letter scribbled years before by the missing Queen. Charlie doesn't understand the danger her mother writes of, but she does know that the Queen absolutely must be found—together, they can surely save the King and the kingdom.So plucky Charlie embarks on a quest to track down her mother, armed with the precious scrap of paper and with Tobias, the gardener’s boy, as an unlikely ally. Putting away her tattered old clothes, she must deal with games of political intrigue, the rebels’ rough-laid schemes, and the prime minister’s sudden interest in the forgotten princess’s well-being. And every step closer to the Queen pulls Charlie deeper into an entangling web of lies and secrets, where nothing is as it seems and people are not who they say...

The Complete Detective Sophie Allen Mystery Series


Michael Hambling - 2020
    This is the COMPLETE DETECTIVE SOPHIE ALLEN SERIES.Book 1: DARK CRIMESA young woman’s body is discovered on a deserted footpath in a Dorset seaside town late on a cold November night. She has been stabbed through the heart. It seems like a simple case for DCI Sophie Allen and her team to solve. But not when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning.Book 2: DEADLY CRIMESA young man’s mutilated body is found on top of the Agglestone, a well-known local landmark on Studland Heath.Book 3: SECRET CRIMESTwo women go away for the weekend, but only one comes back alive. Was it just the music they were into? And who was the man the victim met at the festival?Book 4: BURIED CRIMESA devastating family secret unearthed. Sisters with a murderous rivalry.Book 5: TWISTED CRIMESRetired couple Sylvia and Ted Armitage attend the wrong funeral. It’s an honest mistake. But one month on, their bodies are found in their car, abandoned in the depths of a tranquil nature reserve.Book 6: EVIL CRIMESA young man’s body is spotted in the stormy Dorset sea. Did he lose his footing and fall in? Or is there a more sinister cause of death?Book 7: SHADOW CRIMESAn undercover detective disappears. A retired prison guard is found dead. Drugs and contraband phones are out of control in the local prisons. How are they getting in?Book 8: SILENT CRIMESDetective Sophie Allen’s daughter discovers the body of a reclusive tramp out in the woods. Sophie and her team try to piece together something about his life, but progress is slow. NO ONE IS QUITE WHAT THEY SEEM.