New Young Adult fiction @ the Dubbo Branch Library

If you like Science fiction and fantasy try these new titles:

Skinned by Robin Wasserman

No one to trust... everything to lose.
Before the accident, Lia Kahn was happy.Before the accident, Lia Kahn was loved. Before, Lia was a lot of things: Normal. Alive. Human.
Lia no longer lives in before. Six months after the crash that killed her, six months after being reborn, Lia has finally accepted her new reality. She is a machine, a mech, and she belongs with her own kind. It’s a wild, carefree life, without rules and without fear. Because there’s nothing to fear when you have nothing left to lose.But when a voice from her past cries out for revenge, everything changes. Lia is forced to choose: between her old life and her new one. Between humans and mechs. Between sacrificing the girl she used to be and saving the boy she used to love.
Even if it means he’ll hate her forever.

Hive: The Overlord Protocol by Mark Walden

Someone is threatening Number One’s supremacy – very dangerous. The same person is trying to kill Otto, star pupil of H.I.V.E. – even more dangerous, in this hilarious, thrilling and villainous sequel.
Otto and Wing have special permission to leave H.I.V.E.’s secret island location to attend a funeral (all too common in their line of business). But before they reach their destination they are ambushed. Who would risk assassinating Otto Malpense, star pupil of the Higher Institute of Villainous Education and favourite of Number One, the most powerful villain alive? A new power is rising to challenge Number One’s authority, and they need H.I.V.E. and its powerful computer to do so. Otto thought the only thing he wanted was to escape from H.I.V.E., but now he’s desperately trying to save it, and himself!

New titles for Vampire and Paranormal fiction lovers...

The Van Allen Legacy: a Blue Bloods novel by Melissa de la Cruz
With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss's true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival.
Not to worry, love is still in the air for the young vampires of the Upper East Side. Or is it? Jack and Schuyler are over. Oliver's brokenhearted. And only the cunning Mimi seems to be happily engaged.
Young, fabulous and fanged, Melissa de la Cruz's vampires unite in this highly anticipated fourth instalment of the Blue Bloods series.

The Splendour Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Sylvie Davies is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but what broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage. Still reeling Sylvie is shipped off to stay with relatives in the back of beyond. Or so she thinks, in fact she ends up in a town rich with her family’s history . . . and as it turns out her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, is the expected choice. But handsome and mysterious Rhys has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand. Then Sylvie starts seeing things – a girl by the lake and a man with dark unseeing eyes peering in through the window . . . Sylvie’s lost nearly everything - is she starting to lose her mind as well?

Feel like a read that is like real life?

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
Lia and Cassie were best friends. But something went wrong and Cassie changed. Now Cassie is dead and Lia has thirty-three unanswered calls on her phone, thirty-three messages from her ex-best friend, all sent the day she died.
How did she die? Why did she cut herself off?
While Lia searches for answers, she drives herself relentlessly down her own path to destruction—to be thin, strong, in control. And completely empty.
Wintergirls is a powerful but intimate story of one girl’s chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.

New books about centaurs and mythology...

Brighid's Quest by P.C Cast

Rather than follow her family's restrictive rules, centaur Brighid chose to set out on her own to make friends and form relationships with humans as well as centaurs.Now she's facing her toughest challenge yet. While helping guide home a grieving human - Cuchulainn, her friend Elphame's brother - Brighid finds herself beginning to care for him. An emotion forbidden by her clan.To add to her troubles, the Great Goddess has awoken the power of the Shaman within Brighid - the first centaur so blessed in ages. And just as she's torn between taking up a power she never expected and a love she's afraid to admit to, Brighid receives a vision of a tragedy that might destroy everyone she's ever cared about.

Halo by Zizou Corder

'Until you know who you are, you're no one.'
Washed ashore as a baby in ancient Greece, Halo is discovered by a family of centaurs. Although her true identity remains a mystery, she is loved as one of their own. But when Halo is dragged away by fishermen, her wild adventure begins . . .
Halo soon realizes that if she is to survive then she must live in disguise – as a boy. A violent war is threatening to erupt and Halo is at the mercy of the mighty Spartan warriors. And as she battles to hide her secret, Halo never forgets her quest to find out who she is – and where she really came from.

The Vampire is just not that into you by Vlad Mezrich

The Vampire Is Just Not That Into You, is a tongue-in-cheek look at the ups and downs of loving a vampire.

Are you in love with a vampire? Are you worried that you might not be his (blood) type? Do you wonder whether that cold stare means he isn't interested ... or if it's because he's been dead for three centuries (nothing personal)? Have you tried to coax him out of his crypt with a flash of your neck or a near-death situation that requires him to save you at the very last possible moment? Have you ever considered what it will be like to introduce him to your mother?

Even though your vampire's skin is transfixingly translucent, he can still be very hard to read. Sometimes he's simply holding back his true feelings, resisting the urge to bite you on the chance that one day you will truly love him. And other times ... well, he's just not that into you. How can you tell? Undead dating specialist Vlad Mezrich has all the answers, utilising quizzes, Top Ten lists, language analysis, real-life (and real-death) testimonials, and fancy charts to show you what you need to do in order to get your vampire and keep him forever.

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment. But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen -- and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

I really enjoyed this book. It is well-written and I didn't want to put it down. A particularly good quality first novel from Becca Fitzpatrick.

Escape from Shadow Island by Paul Adam

Max is an ordinary north London schoolboy by day, but at night he performs sell-out public shows as an escapologist – nicknamed The Half-Pint Houdini by the tabloid press. His father, Alexander, was also a world-renowned escapologist, who disappeared two years earlier in the Central American state of Santo Domingo. His body was never found, but Max’s mother, Helen, was convicted of murdering her husband by a Santo Domingan court. One evening, after his show, Max receives a visit from a mysterious man from Santo Domingo. Lopez-Vega tells Max that his mother’s trial was rigged and, if Max comes to his hotel room the following night, he has something to give him. When Max goes to the hotel, he finds Lopez-Vega dead, shot through the head. The room has clearly been searched by the killer, but what was he looking for? By chance, Max finds a piece of paper hidden under Lopez-Vega’s wig. Written on the paper is a sequence of eight numbers - 83521113.What do the numbers mean? Are they a code, or maybe the combination for a lock or a safe? Could they be the key to unlocking the mystery of his father’s disappearance and getting his mother out of prison?

Songwriting with Patricia Cruzado

The Dubbo Branch Library held a Songwriting workshop with talented local songwriter Patricia Cruzado on Wednesday 6 January. The young people who attended had great ideas and were very creative.

The Dubbo Branch Library has activities for young people during all school holidays. For more information, contact 68014510.

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

Blood Promise is the fourth in the Vampire Academy series. I believe it helps if you read the books in order, but due to random circumstances I have managed to skip from book 1 (Vampire Academy) to book 4...

Blood Promise continues the story of Rose, Lissa and Dimitri. Apparently (spoiler alert) in book 3, (Shadow Kiss) Dimitri has met a fate worse than death - he has become a Strigoi - basically a blood-sucking killer vampire. Rose, whose job is destroying Strigoi, is understandably upset that her honey has crossed over to the dark side. Rose sets off to Russia, to hunt Dimitri down and kill him. Once she gets there, chaos ensues and Rose finds herself in great danger...

The Vampire Academy series is well written and compelling. Richelle Mead writes believable characters and her world of dhampirs, Moroi and Strigoi will entertain any Twilight fans who are looking for something new to read. Even if you are not a Twilight fan, give this series a try.

Blue Noise by Debra Oswald

Blue Noise is about people letting you down, how to survive your family and the amazing thrill of making music with your friends.

Ash is drooling over his favourite guitar - the one he can't afford - when he meets Charlie Novak. One jam session later and Charlie convinces Ash to play in his band. But it'll never work. Bands never do.Erin is wandering down a corridor at school - overthinking things as usual - when she runs into Charlie. Literally. The guy is a fruit loop with his weird hair and hyperactive rantings. When Charlie invites her to be the band's keyboard player, Erin can't get a word in to say no. She's a classical pianist. It'll never work.But maybe this time things will be different. Maybe blues music is just what Ash and Erin need.