New books!

"13 little blue envelopes" by Maureen Johnson

Seventeen-year-old Ginny had always admired her aunt Peg, a free-spirited artist who often disappeared for months, most recently to Europe. Now Aunt Peg has died of brain cancer, and in a characteristically cryptic gesture made before her death, she arranged for her niece to receive a plane ticket to London, where Ginny will begin a series of adventures. Guided by Peg's friends and the instructions in each of 13 letters her aunt wrote, Ginny sets off across Europe. Staying with Peg's contacts or in hostels, Ginny begins to peel away some of the mythic layers surrounding her aunt, even as she falls into thrilling escapades and a blossoming romance

"Rash" by Pete Hautman

In 2076 in the United Safer States of America, verbal abuse, obesity, and dangerous activities are against the law. The penalty for breaking any of the rules is a lengthy prison term, and 24 percent of the population is incarcerated and responsible for doing much of the country's manual labor–without pay. For Bo Marsten, 16, the punishment for allegedly spreading a rash through school is a prison sentence, which is suspended, but he then goes to jail for lack of self-control after he hits a classmate. Bo has the opportunity to reduce his sentence when he's chosen for the prison's (illegal) football team, but the sadistic coach is determined that his players win at any cost

"Palms to the ground" by Amy Stolls

In this debut novel, eighth-grader Calman Pulowitz makes a life-changing trip from Boston to Walla Walla, Washington, to visit his pen pal. Overprotected, paranoid, and in therapy since he was seven, Calman is unprepared for Rizzy Dickson (a girl!) and her large, nonchalant, but close-knit family. Rizzy, as unstructured and freewheeling as Calman is uptight, introduces him to physical activity (including fighting), liquor, girls, and true friendship.

"Capt Hook: the adventures of a notorious youth" by J.V. Hart

When he enters England's storied Eton school as a teen, James (the future Hook) has never known his mother and has only met his aristocratic father a few times. He channels his loneliness and rage into superior scholarship, plotting wild "devices of revenge" against sadistic classmates. At last, he escapes to the high seas, but he unwittingly boards a slave ship that reveals horrifying brutality and family secrets.