Awaken


Rachel M. Humphrey-D'aigle - 2011
    In the process, they have a dark awakening when their own simple, normal world, begins to collide with the complexities of the magical world. The twins face unimaginable dangers, which thrust them into an unexpected choice: to live as they always have or to learn the truth about their past and enter a world that is equally thrilling and terrifying. More importantly, however, is whether they even have a choice, or will destiny not only force this new magical reality upon them, but require them to sacrifice everyone they love in doing so? ...

Storm Glass


Jeff Wheeler - 2018
    The privileged live in sky manors held aloft by a secretive magic known only as the Mysteries. Below, the earthbound poor are forced into factory work to maintain the engine of commerce. Only the wealthy can afford to learn the Mysteries, and they use their knowledge to further lock their hold on society.Cettie Pratt is a waif doomed to the world below, until an admiral attempts to adopt her. But in her new home in the clouds, not everyone treats her as one of the family.Sera Fitzempress is a princess born into power. She yearns to meet the orphan girl she has heard so much about, but her father deems the girl unworthy of his daughter’s curiosity.Neither girl feels that she belongs. Each seeks to break free of imposed rules. Now, as Cettie dreams of living above and as Sera is drawn to the world below, they will follow the paths of their own choosing.But both girls will be needed for the coming storm that threatens to overturn both their worlds.

The Spy Princess


Sherwood Smith - 2012
    Wrede! When twelve-year-old Lady Lilah decides to disguise herself and sneak out of the palace one night, she has more of an adventure than she expected--for she learns very quickly that the country is on the edge of revolution. When she sneaks back in, she learns something even more surprising: her older brother Peitar is one of the forces behind it all. The revolution happens before all of his plans are in place, and brings unexpected chaos and violence. Lilah and her friends, leaving their old lives behind, are determined to help however they can. But what can four kids do? Become spies, of course!

How to Rob a Bank


Tom Mitchell - 2019
    Others enjoy the adrenalin rush. Me? I robbed a bank because of guilt. Specifically: guilt and a Nepalese scented candle…---When fifteen-year-old Dylan accidentally burns down the house of the girl he’s trying to impress, he feels that only a bold gesture can make it up to her. A gesture like robbing a bank to pay for her new home.Only an unwanted Saturday job, a tyrannical bank manager, and his unfinished history homework lie between Dylan and the heist of century. And really, what’s the worst that could happen?---A funny, cinematic, ill-advised comedy-crime adventure perfect for gamers, heist movie fans, and anyone who loves a laugh.

The Girl Who Could Not Dream


Sarah Beth Durst - 2015
    When the dream shop is robbed and her parents go missing, Sophie must unravel the truth to save them. Together with her best friend—a wisecracking and fanatically loyal monster named Monster—she must decide whom to trust with her family’s carefully guarded secrets. Who will help them, and who will betray them?

The Iron Butterfly


Chanda Hahn - 2012
    Their leader has chosen Thalia as the test subject for a torture device of untold power, designed to change and twist her into something that is neither human nor Denai.Escaping, Thalia finds an unwilling warrior to protect her and an unlikely Denai to befriend her. After finding a home at the Citadel as a servant, Thalia’s worst nightmare comes to life and she begins to show signs of power. Scared and unable to control her gifts, she tries to hide her past to fit in among the Denai. But the Septori want their latest test subject back and will stop at nothing to retrieve her, dead or alive.

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy


Noelle Stevenson - 2015
    Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... And they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here. Collects Lumberjanes No. 1-4.

Wider Than the Sky


Katherine Field Rothschild - 2021
    Katherine Rothschild explores the pain and power of forgiveness in a stunning debut novel that will shatter your heart and piece it back together, one truth at a time.Sixteen-year-old Sabine Braxton doesn’t have much in common with her identical twin, Blythe. When their father dies from an unexpected illness, each copes with the loss in her own way—Sabine by “poeting” (an uncontrollable quirk of bursting into poetry at inappropriate moments) and Blythe by obsessing over getting into MIT, their father’s alma mater. Neither can offer each other much support . . . at least not until their emotionally detached mother moves them into a ramshackle Bay Area mansion owned by a stranger named Charlie.Soon, the sisters unite in a mission to figure out who Charlie is and why he seems to know everything about them. They make a life-changing discovery: their parents were hiding secrets about their sexual identities. The revelation unravels Sabine’s world, while practical Blythe seems to take everything in stride. Once again at odds with her sister, Sabine chooses to learn all she can about the father she never knew. Ultimately, she must decide if she can embrace his last wish for a family legacy--even if it means accepting a new idea of what it means to be a family.

Wizard's Key


Mitch Reinhardt - 2016
    Staying alive, however... The dirt-encrusted key didn’t look like much, but when bullied teen Geoff inadvertently activates it, he is suddenly thrust into a strange and beautiful world. It doesn’t help that he’s accompanied by Sawyer, his chief tormentor at school, but there is a silver lining in that intelligent, compassionate Jane is also with them. Soon the three teenagers encounter evil orcs, majestic unicorns, dangerous trolls, and a mysterious elven druid who doesn’t care for humans. Together, they must make their way back home before the new world they find themselves in erupts in war. Along the way, they’ll be tested to the limits of their endurance—and discover hidden powers deep within. But will those powers be enough to stop the ravenous werewolf that is stalking them? * AWARD WINNING, Young Adult Fiction Book of the Year, 2017 NYC Big Book Award

The Thornthwaite Inheritance


Gareth P. Jones - 2009
    But whoever struck first, trying to take each other's lives is simply what they do.

To be a Fae Queen


Tricia Copeland - 2021
    Maas and Jenna Wolfhart will love this epic Fae fantasy.The last of her line, a faerie princess prepares to take the throne. But multiple forces plot against her, some trusted friends…After losing her brothers, Titania studied and trained to rule Aubren. But she hadn’t planned on becoming Queen at fifteen. Now with her reign challenged from within the castle walls, she must decide what is best for her kingdom. Should another rule in her stead? Or has fate led her to this moment?Only she can decide a path that becomes littered with choices. Will a marriage shore up her reign? Could naming a successor be enough? And what of the creatures of the deep and a tale of one who can end all evil? Faced with a choice to aid beings of Upper Earth, she must weigh whether to believe her inner compass and face charges of treason. Accepting the edicts of the High Council may be a safer route, but is it the best choice for the realm?Titania’s emerging power lies just beyond her reach. Will it manifest we she most needs it? Or do they face an eternity in darkness?To Be a Fae Queen is a magical journey into the realm of Middle Earth. If you like fearless heroines, you’ll love Tricia Copeland’s thrilling fantasy.Get To Be a Fae Queen to descend into a new world today!

Dragon Prince


Kelly N. Jane - 2020
    Jane and Ashley McLeo take you into a supernatural world that exists right under your nose.Coffee house waitress wasn’t on my list of life-long goals, but it paid the bills. The only thing that really mattered was keeping a low profile.Dead-end jobs where no one paid attention made it easier to avoid awkward questions like, “what do you mean you hear voices inside your head?” No, I didn’t need to end up like Mom. I’d pay our bills no matter what to keep from living on the streets.Everything was going as well as it could, until a hulking man carrying a giant red murse showed up at work. Strange, but hot as hell, he was far too intense for my liking. But just my luck, his was the next weirdo voice that invaded my mind.I tried to ignore him, but when a different creepy guy mentally issued threats against the muscled man, I had to warn him. Didn’t I? After that, things went nuts and now I’m in the middle of a supernatural mission I don’t understand. The weird thing is that for the first time in my life I finally feel like I might fit in someplace—I just need to live long enough to find out why that is.

Troubletwisters


Garth Nix - 2011
    The weather is turning against them. Magical disasters occur when they're around. And a mysterious explosion has just destroyed their house...from the inside.Without knowing why, the twins are stolen away to live with Grandma X -- a relative they've never, ever met. At Grandma X's house, things are even stranger. Weather vanes point in the opposite direction of the wind. Doors appear and disappear. Cats talk.Jaide and Jack don't know the reason behind all this strangeness. They don't know that they're troubletwisters, and that they must defend the world against a dark, evil force. The time has come for them to discover the truth--and the powers that come with the truth.Are they ready?

Tell Me Lies


Carola Lovering - 2018
    The wrong one. The one you couldn’t let go of. The one you’ll never forget.Lucy Albright is far from her Long Island upbringing when she arrives on the campus of her small California college, and happy to be hundreds of miles from her mother, whom she’s never forgiven for an act of betrayal in her early teen years. Quickly grasping at her fresh start, Lucy embraces college life and all it has to offer—new friends, wild parties, stimulating classes. And then she meets Stephen DeMarco. Charming. Attractive. Complicated. Devastating. Confident and cocksure, Stephen sees something in Lucy that no one else has, and she’s quickly seduced by this vision of herself, and the sense of possibility that his attention brings her. Meanwhile, Stephen is determined to forget an incident buried in his past that, if exposed, could ruin him, and his single-minded drive for success extends to winning, and keeping, Lucy’s heart. Alternating between Lucy’s and Stephen’s voices, Tell Me Lies follows their connection through college and post-college life in New York City. Deep down, Lucy knows she has to acknowledge the truth about Stephen. But before she can free herself from this addicting entanglement, she must confront and heal her relationship with her mother—or risk losing herself in a delusion about what it truly means to love. With the psychological insight and biting wit of Luckiest Girl Alive, and the yearning ambitions and desires of Sweetbitter, this keenly intelligent and staggeringly resonant novel chronicles the exhilaration and dilemmas of young adulthood, and the difficulty of letting go, even when you know you should.

Nightbooks


J.A. White - 2018
    This thrilling contemporary fantasy from J. A. White, the acclaimed author of the Thickety series, brings to life the magic and craft of storytelling.Alex’s original hair-raising tales are the only thing keeping the witch Natacha happy, but soon he’ll run out of pages to read from and be trapped forever. He’s loved scary stories his whole life, and he knows most don’t have a happily ever after. Now that Alex is trapped in a true terrifying tale, he’s desperate for a different ending—and a way out of this twisted place.This modern spin on the Scheherazade story is perfect for fans of Coraline and A Tale Dark and Grimm. With interwoven tips on writing with suspense, adding in plot twists, hooks, interior logic, and dealing with writer’s block, this is the ideal book for budding writers and all readers of delightfully just-dark-enough tales.