After by Hazel Hutchins

When a random shooting plunges the families of both victim and perpetrator into intense grief, two young teens from very different backgrounds struggle to rebuild their lives. From a horse ranch in a remote corner of the western foothills to the grimy streets of a city apartment, Kate and Sam will never meet. But the link is real. And an act of personal courage will help them and their families move once more toward the light.

The Ancient Ocean Blues by Jack Mitchell

Corruption, comedy, intrigue, shipwrecks, pirate battles – it all starts when likable teenager Marcus Oppius is unwittingly involved in “promoting” the young Julius Ceasar in a Roman election.  When Marcus proves better at politics than anyone suspected, he is assigned an almost impossible mission.  He must follow an enemy agent across the sea, hoping with help from a rash young woman and a clever Greek to stop Cicero from controlling Rome.  If Marcus succeeds, he will be on the inner circles of Roman power.  If he fails, he faces exile or worse. 

Breathing Soccer by Debbie Spring

 Dr. Emerson, Lisa’s family doctor, has warned her that her asthma must be taken seriously, and that the aggressive demands that soccer places on her breathing could be lethal.  Her parents and even her soccer coach accepts that she must be a limited athlete, but just as when it seems that everyone has conspired against her dream, Lisa discovers a new source of strength by watching Olympic Rower Silken Laumann, who rose above her physical challenges in order to win an Olympic medal for Canada. With encouragement from her camp counsellor and her new asthma doctor, Lisa find the inner strength and develops the training to become the soccer player she always knew she could be.

Child of Dandelions by Shenaaz Nanji

 A girl's courage and strength of spirit are put to the test when the Uganda she calls home becomes a place of danger for her and her family. Inspired by real events – It is 1972, and fifteen year-old Sabine enjoys a comfortable life as the daughter of Indian parents living in Uganda. Her world is turned upside down when the country's military President, General Idi Amin, declares foreign Indians must be "weeded out" of Uganda in ninety days. Soldiers raid her family home and force her father to flee, then her mother and Sabine must go into hiding. It will take all Sabine's strength and resilience to find a way to escape what used to be her home.

Death in the Air by Shane Peacock

After the harrowing experience of losing his mother while solving a brutal murder in London’s East End, young Sherlock Holmes commits himself to fighting crime … and is soon involved in another case. While visiting his father at the magnificent Crystal Palace, Sherlock stops to watch a remarkable and dangerous trapeze performance high above, framed by the stunning glass ceiling of the legendary building. Suddenly, the troupe’s star is dropping, screaming and flailing, toward the floor. He lands with a sickening thud just a few feet away, and rolls up almost onto the boy’s boots. Unconscious and bleeding profusely, his body is grotesquely twisted. In the mayhem that follows, Sherlock notices something that no one else sees — something is amiss with the trapeze bar! He knows that foul play is afoot. What he doesn’t know is that his discovery will put him on a frightening, twisted trail that leads to an entire gang of notorious criminals. Wrapped in the fascinating world of Victorian entertainment, its dangerous performances, and London’s dark underworld, Death in the Air raises The Boy Sherlock Holmes to a whole new level.

Dog Lost by Ingrid Lee

11-year-old Mackenzie has got one friend in the whole world: Cash, his brown-eyed pit bull. His dad won the runt after a long night of drinking and gambling--ever since Mac's mom died, that's all he seems to do, and soon he erupts in a rage at the innocent pup, takes her away in the trunk of his car, and dumps her in the middle of nowhere. Mac vows to find Cash and bring her back home--he has to: All strays are about to be outlawed! Little does he know that while he searches for Cash, she's surviving her own adventures and proving in the process that all dogs--even pit bulls--are born good.

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester

 You just can’t keep a good girl down . . . unless you use the proper methods. Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie. Sure, she hasn’t mastered reverse propulsion and her turns are kind of sloppy, but she’s real good at loop-the-loops. Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma’s at her wit’s end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents’ farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities. School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. (Plus all the homemade apple pie she can eat!) But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences. Consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore.

Greener Grass by Caroline Pignat

 Kit Byrne's family is a strong one, but their strength and unity are being severely tested, as life becomes more and more desperate in 19th century rural Ireland. Lord Fraser is the wealthy landowner, from whom the Byrne's and many other families rent their lands. When the potato blight hits, the farmers can no longer make their payments much less produce food for themselves, and the cruel system has no mercy as Lord Fraser wields an iron fist, driving families from their homes and burning their cottages. Kit's dreams are now dashed as her family experiences a series of tragedies, and as she undergoes a daunting event that tears her away from her family. With her father dead, she must fight for survival and help her ailing mother and siblings escape Ireland for good. This story is a glimpse into the tragic events of the Great Hunger, the famine that devastated Ireland, forcing thousands of impoverished families to seek better livelihoods outside of their homeland.

Libertad by Alma Fullerton

 With their father gone to America to make money for his family, Libertad, his little brother Julio and their mother scrape a living out of a dump in Guatemala City. Although it is too late for him, Libertad is determined that his little brother should go to school. Taught to play the marimba by his father, Libertad uses his talent as a street musician to raise enough money for his brother's school supplies. But his dreams for their future are destroyed when their mother is killed in a freak accident. Libertad must face the inevitable truth: they cannot survive on the streets of Guatemala City alone. There is only one thing to do. They must set out on the long and lonely journey to the Rio Grande River, where they plan to cross the water and enter the United States to find their father. A moving story about determination and hope, Libertad is a stunning free verse novel by the author of In the Garage and Walking on Glass.

Res Judicata by Vickie Grant

 Cyril MacIntyre, son of firebrand lawyer, Andy MacIntyre, smells something fishy about one of his mother's cases. And it's not just that there are sea lice in the coffee. When Cyril starts investigating the death of a millionaire inventor, he gives a whole new meaning to the term legal aid. Long on smarts and short on--well, just plain short, Cyril tangles with deranged criminals, indulges in a little bit of B & E and confronts the scariest person in the world--his mother.

Scooter King understands illusions. In the midst of the Roaring Twenties, he performs them behind the scenes at his mother’s séances, giving the impression that Madam King communicates with the dead. Scooter also admires Harry Houdini and can hardly wait to see the famed magician escape from his razzle-dazzle Burmese Torture Tank. But when Scooter stumbles upon a dead body in the visiting Houdini’s tank, it’s no illusion. Who could the murderer be? And did he—or she—kill the right person? As Scooter sets out to unmask the killer, the mysterious worlds of mediums, séances, and magic are revealed. No one is above suspicion, and appearances are deceiving. If Scooter doesn’t sort out the clues—and fast—he may end up as the next dead body.

The Shadow of Malabron by Thomas Wharton

 Malabron the Night King seeks to turn all stories into one – his story, a nightmare of absolute power. When Will Lightfoot, a rebellious teenager, stumbles into the Perilous Realm where all stories come from, he is unwillingly caught up in the struggle against this ancient evil. Aided by some of the Storyfolk – including the feisty Rowen, her grandfather, Pendrake the loremaster, Finn Madoc, a knight-in-training, and Shade, the wise and loyal wolf – Will must set out on a dangerous journey and face a host of perils if he is ever to find the gateless gate that will take him home. This is high fantasy on a grand scale, which imaginatively intertwines well-known stories with Will’s quest to weave an unforgettable adventure.

Tweaked by Katharine Holubitsky

 Sixteen-year-old Gordie Jessup is a good kid but he's living a nightmare. His eighteen-year-old brother Chase's two-year addiction to crystal meth has left their family emotionally and financially drained. And just when Gordie thinks he can no longer stand the manipulating, the lying and the stealing, things get even worse. Chase is arrested for aggravated assault, released on bail and sent home to his family. But his dealers are after him and Chase appeals to Gordie for help. Gordie, disgusted with his brother and fully aware that it's a gamble, risks everything he has in the hope of bringing his family some peace

War Brothers by Sharon McKay

 Jacob, the son of a wealthy landowner, attends a Catholic school and expects to go to university. A good boy, he believes keep him safe from harm. Oteka lost his parents to AIDS and lives on one of the many displacement camps that circle the city of GULU. Alone in the world, upon the advice of a medicine man, he sets out for an unknown future. Jacob and Oteka's lives become entwined as they find themselves in the clutches of the Lord's Resistence Army (LRA), forced to obey the strange and brutal rules of Joseph Kony's henchmen. Marching endlessly through rough terrain with little food or water, the boys form a plan to make their escape. Will hope, friendship, courage and resilience be enough to save them?

What World is Left by Monique Polak

 A pampered child used to having her own way, Anneke Van Raalte lives outside Amsterdam, where her father is a cartoonist for the Amsterdam newspaper. Though Anneke's family is Jewish, her religion means little to her. Anneke's life changes in 1942 when the Nazis invade Holland, and she and her family are deported to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Not only are conditions in the camp appalling, but the camp is the site of an elaborate hoax: the Nazis are determined to convince the world that Theresienstadt is an idyllic place and that European Jews are thriving under the Nazi regime. Because he is an artist, Anneke's father is compelled to help in the propaganda campaign, and Anneke finds herself torn between her loyalty to her family and her sense of what is right. What World is Left was inspired by the experiences of the author's mother, who was imprisoned in Theresienstadt during World War II.

Withershins by Susan Rocan

 Most people have heard of Withershins- the ritual where one runs around a church three times at midnight. Some claim you will be transported to the Netherworld. What happens to Michelle is quite different. She finds herself trapped in the past, forced to survive without modern conveniences. A native shaman tells her she is the chosen one, but Michelle has no idea why. As she struggles with life in a primitive time, she learns more than just how to survive. Despite facing illness, death, and bigotry, she learns patience and even falls in love, as much as she tries to avoid it.

Word Nerd by Susin Nielsen

Twelve-year-old Ambrose is a glass-half-full kind of guy. A self-described “friendless nerd,” he moves from place to place every couple of years with his overprotective mother, Irene. When some bullies at his new school almost kill him by slipping a peanut into his sandwich — even though they know he has a deathly allergy — Ambrose is philosophical. Irene, however, is not and decides that Ambrose will be home-schooled. Alone in the evenings when Irene goes to work, Ambrose pesters Cosmo, the twenty-five-year-old son of the Greek landlords who live upstairs. Cosmo has just been released from jail for breaking and entering to support a drug habit. Quite by accident, Ambrose discovers that they share a love of Scrabble and coerces Cosmo into taking him to the West Side Scrabble Club, where Cosmo falls for Amanda, the club director. Posing as Ambrose’s Big Brother to impress her, Cosmo is motivated to take Ambrose to the weekly meetings and to give him lessons in self-defense. Cosmo, Amanda, and Ambrose soon form an unlikely alliance and, for the first time in his life, Ambrose blossoms. The characters at the Scrabble Club come to embrace Ambrose for who he is and for their shared love of words. There’s only one problem: Irene has no idea what Ambrose is up to.

Would You by Marthe Jocelyn

 A summer night. A Saturday. For Natalie’s amazing older sister, Claire, this summer is fantastic, because she’s zooming off to college in the fall. For Natalie, it’s a fun summer with her friends; nothing special. When Claire is hit by a car, the world changes in a heartbeat. Over the next four days, moment by moment, Natalie, her parents, and their friends wait to learn if Claire will ever recover.