A Look Back:
2010 Books
Get lost in the pages of these books! Presenting the 2010 book selection for A Cavalcade of Authors.
Aria of the Sea, by Dia Calhoun
$7.95 – Limited Stock, Buy thru Amazon.com
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
272 pp
Cerinthe chooses to train as a healer rather than a dancer. When her healing powers fail to save her mother, Cerinthe attends The School of Royal Dancers. Now miserable, it takes an ill-fated rivalry with an aristocratic classmate Elliana to make her realize what she really wants. When the rivalry between the two girls causes a terrible accident, Elliana's life hangs in the balance. Cerinthe faces the same awful choice she had faced with her mother: Should she try to heal Elliana herself or hope that the mederi arrives in time? Only the song of the Sea Maid holds the answer. (Amazon.com – Gr. 6 & Up)
Firegold by Dia Calhoun
Buy thru Amazon.com
Publisher: Winslow Press
320 pp
Everyone in the Valley has brown eyes--except 13-year-old Jonathon. Ugly rumors about Jonathon's beautiful red-haired mother are surfacing among the self-righteous Valley folk, as are whispers about her son. He's beginning to worry that he's a "loony-blue," one of the blue-eyed, red-headed Dalriada--the much-feared mountain people who have magnificent horses, mystical powers, and horns growing out of their foreheads. After his mother's sudden death, the whispers grow to angry threats, and Jonathon escapes the Valley and goes in search of his heritage, his manhood, and his true love. In the mountains he experiences a mystical rite of passage that takes him to the Dalriada encampments, through caves echoing with his own spirit voices, to the very top of the world. From the mountain peak he carries back one of the legendary Firegold apples--a gift that brings reconciliation with his father and his rightful home among the Valley people. (Amazon.com – Gr. 6 - 9)
Silver Ship and the Sea by Brenda Cooper
$7.99
Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
400 pp
Cooper's first solo novel is an engrossing tale of six young outsiders growing up on a colony planet. They were left behind as young children, descendants of a group of "altered" (genetically modified) people who landed on the planet and ultimately fought with its original colonists. Now 12 years have gone by, the "altered" children are teens, and many members of the colony are profoundly uneasy about them. With no one to turn to, Chelo and the others must now learn how to use their distinct skills to make this unwelcome planet home, or find a way off of it. They have few tools—an old crazy woman who wanders the edges of town spouting cryptic messages; their appreciation and affection for each other; a good dose of curiosity; and that abandoned silver space ship that sits locked and alone in the middle of the vast grass plain. (Amazon.com / Barnes and Noble – HS - adult)
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
$5.99
Publisher: HarperCollins
256 pp
Angry, defiant, smug--in short, a bully. Cole Mathews’s anger has taken him too far this time. After beating up a ninth-grade classmate to the point of brain damage, Cole is facing a prison sentence. But then a Tlingit Indian parole officer named Garvey enters his life, offering an alternative called Circle Justice, based on Native American traditions, in which victim, offender, and community all work together to find a healing solution. Privately, Cole sneers at the concept, but he's no fool--if it gets him out of prison, he'll do anything. Ultimately, Cole ends up banished for one year to a remote Alaskan island, where his arrogance sets him directly in the path of a mysterious, legendary white bear. Mauled almost to death, Cole awaits his fate and begins the transition from anger to humility. (Amazon.com – Gr. 7 & Up)
Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelsen
$8.99
Publisher: Harper Teen
240 pp
In her remote Guatemalan village, 14-year-old Gabriela is known as Tree Girl for her habit of fleeing to the forest and climbing high to escape the world. When guerrilla warfare comes to her area, her life is changed forever. Soldiers eventually discover the small school she attends, beat and murder her teacher, and shoot the other students. Tree climbing saves Gabi from that massacre, and she is away from home when her village is destroyed and nearly all of her family members are murdered. In the course of her flight north to a Mexican refugee camp, she again hides in a tree while soldiers rape and murder the inhabitants of another village. After arriving at the camp, Gabi cares for two elderly women and her one surviving sister and eventually founds a school. Her concern for others helps her recover from the trauma of her experiences. – (School Library Journal – Gr. 6 – 10)
Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors
$8.99
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
272 pp
Mimi Wallingford's famous theater family includes a renowned Shakespearean actress. The teen herself has performed since the age of three, and is constantly reminded by her mother that the family's reputation (and the financial stability of the Wallingford Theater) rests upon her shoulders. Mimi, however, would rather major in pre-med at UCLA than study acting. When she is cast as Juliet opposite teen-idol Troy's Romeo, the two are transported to medieval Verona via a magical Shakespeare charm where they meet the real Juliet, an unpretentious, freckle-faced girl of 13. As Mimi begins to see the parallels between the situation with her mother and Juliet's being pressured by Lady Capulet to marry Paris and save the family's fortunes, she resolves to help Juliet escape. Troy and Mimi get involved in a series of misadventures as she attempts to give Romeo and Juliet a happy ending and return to Manhattan. (School Library Journal – Gr. 8 & up)
Demonkeeper by Royce Buckingham
$7.99
Publisher: Penguin Group
224 pp
Ever since his mentor—the original Demonkeeper— mysteriously disappeared, Nat has been in charge of the demons that live in his house. Most of them are just nuisances, but the Beast who lives in the basement is very dangerous. When Nat goes out one night, a clueless burglar breaks into the house and unwittingly sets the Beast free. Meanwhile, a vicious villain, the Thin Man, wants to use the Beast for his own evil purposes. Can Nat defeat the Thin Man and return the Beast to the basement without any major casualties? (Barnes and Noble – Gr. 4 – 7)
Atherton: House of Power by Patrick Carman
$5.99
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
384 pp
The world of Atherton consists of three distinct, interconnected lands stacked atop each other like a layer cake. At the top are the Highlands, home to Atherton's rich and oppressive ruling class; the middle layer is the Flatlands, populated by Atherton's subservient working class; the bottom layer is The Wastelands where none dare venture, for the few that have done so have never been heard from again. When the three worlds inexplicably begin to collapse into each other, and the Highlands and Flatlands prepare for war, it may well be young, insatiably curious Edgar who holds the key to Atherton's survival. (Barnes and Noble – Gr. 7 – 10)
Ghost in the Machine by Patrick Carman
$14.99
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
192 pp
Strange things are happening in Skeleton Creek...and Ryan and Sarah are trying to find out why. Ryan writes down everything in his journal, and Sarah records everything on her videocam. The two move deeper into the mystery they've uncovered, determined to discover the secrets buried in Skeleton Creek, in the conclusion to Patrick Carman's thrilling series. (Barnes and Noble – Gr. 6 – 10)
Read this book and enter a raffle to win: Autographed copies of Skeleton Creek & The Black Circle (39 Clues)
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: 
The Real Deal Friends: Best, Worst, Old, New, Lost, False, True and More
by Deborah Reber
$14.95
Publisher: HCI Teens
320 pp
Friends are more than just the people you hang out with. They make you laugh, they keep your secrets, they offer advice (some good, some bad), they give you a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes they move away, or betray your trust, or flake out, but mostly they are the people who are always there for you. And they know you'll be there when they need you most. Because that's what it means to be a friend. Sometimes friendship is overwhelming, sometimes it's confusing, sometimes you feel like you don't have a friend in the world, but don't worry, it's like that for everyone. That's what the stories in this book are all about. They're from real teens, and they're about the bizarre, difficult and wonderful things that really happened to them and their friends. Put that together with weird facts, cool graphics, fun advice and quizzes designed to help you figure out what you and your friends are all about, and you've got the real deal on friendship! (Amazon.com – Young Adult)
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul:
The Real Deal Challenges: Stories about Disses, Losses, Messes, Stresses & More
by Deborah Reber
$14.95
Publisher: HCI Teens
280pp
Failing a class, getting dumped and figuring out where you fit in, are all difficult high school challenges. Finding the answer is not always easy. And let's face it, your parents may give you advice, but rarely do they really know where you’re coming from. So, if you’re looking for the real deal on issues like anorexia, dating, or helping a friend in trouble, you've come to the right place.
The good news about tackling challenges is that you end up stronger and smarter once you reach the other side. These stories are from teenagers just like you who have gone through many of the same problems and survived. Whether it’s standing up to the mean girl in the cafeteria or staying true to yourself under peer pressure, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: The Real Deal Challenges tells you the absolute truth about what it means to be a teen. (Amazon.com – Young Adult)
Loose Threads
by Lorie Ann Grover
$14.95
Publisher: Aladdin
304pp
When her grandmother is diagnosed with breast cancer, and throughout the months after, seventh-grader Kay feels the fabric of her family will soon unravel. How can she deal with this tragedy, along with her own preteen problems with school, boys, and friends. Through her narrative, this series of brief poems relays the emotions of four generations of women affected by Grandma Margie's announcement, subsequent mastectomy, chemotherapy, and death. (Amazon.com – Grades 5 – 8)
Read this book and enter a raffle to win: Autographed copy of Loose Threads
On Pointe by Lorie Ann Grover
$14.99
Publisher: Aladdin
320pp
Clare, a talented ballet student, refuses to define what she does as "dancing." First she must bloody her feet, strain her muscles, be perfect in every way; then she'll earn a place in the prestigious City Ballet and be a real dancer. Clare's wise, loving grandfather, with whom she lives while taking lessons, believes this definition is too limited, but Clare refuses to listen--until she's dismissed from her program for being too tall. Devastated, Clare begins to confront a terrifying question: "What do you do / if they don't let you / learn to dance"? Her self-discovery is hastened by a (perhaps overly convenient) family crisis, during which relationships new and redefined help her understand that she can't allow arbitrary, external forces to stifle what gives her joy. (Amazon.com – Grades 6 – 10)
