AT THE END OF WORDS: A Daughter's Memoir
Miriam R. Stone
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 0763618543
Ages 12-up
64 pages

Miriam Stone's mother is dying of cancer, and for the first time in this young writer's life, words seem powerless. If she tells her mother all the things she wants to say, it would be akin to losing hope. Saying goodbye would mean she was giving up. Writing poetry no longer comforts Miriam; she now writes a different kind of poetry, spare and without answers. As Stone conveys in this deeply moving memoir, poetry is found in every moment of every day, and at the end of words comes a new beginning. Those of us who have ever experienced grief or loss in our lives will be able to relate to and perhaps find comfort in Miriam Stone's genuine and heartfelt words.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: Script Book, Season Two, Volume 4
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689857616
Ages 16-up
288 pages

Buffy the Vampire Slayer couldn't have known that a moment of perfect happiness would turn her soul mate, Angel, into the vicious vampire Angelus. She couldn't have predicted that he would cruelly stalk or murder her friends and loved ones. But, even if she had known, she might not have been able to prevent herself from loving him anyway. Yet, she's prepared to kill him.

Read along to the wrenching conclusion of Season Two as Buffy must thwart Angelus's plan to bring about the destruction of mankind. Buffy fans can follow along with original shooting scripts --- complete with inside jokes, production notes and cut dialogue for these episodes: "Killed by Death," "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Go Fish," "Becoming, Part One," and "Becoming, Part Two."

CLAWS
Will Weaver
HarperTempest
ISBN: 0060094737
Ages 13-19
240 pages

16-year-old Jed Berg is on top of the world. He has received his driver's license, landed a major girlfriend and made number one singles in varsity tennis. His dad has even begun to let him drive his 1969 Chevy Camaro, making him the envy of every guy at school. However, Jed is soon brought back down to earth when he meets his nemesis, a strange female punk who seems to know everything about Jed --- and about his family. She has a secret to share, a secret so unsettling that it triggers a chain of dreadful events.

DISAPPEARED: An Alias Prequel (Alias, 3)
Lynn Mason
Bantam Doubleday Dell
ISBN: 0553494007
Ages 13-19
224 pages

Sydney is sent by SD-6 to pose as the heiress of a former ruling family of Romania now mixed up in the black market. But instead of collecting intelligence, something goes very wrong. One by one, people end up disappearing. Tragically, when someone is found, they're dead. Will Sydney be the prime suspect . . . or the newest victim?

FIFTEEN LOVE
Robert Corbet
Walker & Co.
ISBN: 0802788513
Ages 12-up
186 pages

Mia thinks boys are immature because they only talk about cars and sports, and all they think about is sex. But Will has no idea what girls talk about. He wishes he were a fly on the wall. Oh, if only he had a tape recorder and a hidden microphone! FIFTEEN LOVE is a funny story about a boy and a girl, a viola and a tennis racquet. More importantly, though, it's about family and friends, flirting and true love.

FINDING OUR WAY
Rene Saldana, Jr.
Dell Publishing Company
ISBN: 0385730519
Ages 12-up
160 pages

In this excellent collection of coming-of-age stories, teenagers struggle to find their own way in life. They become involved in dramas about family, first dates, going to the prom and getting expelled from school. Ranging from intense and serious to light and funny, all of these stories share the theme of self-discovery and the adolescents involved often find their way out of serious situations with guidance from the adults in their lives.

GEOGRAPHY CLUB
Brent Hartinger
HarperTempest
ISBN: 0060012218
Ages 13-19
240 pages

• Read a Review and Excerpt

Russel Middlebrook is convinced he's the only gay kid at Goodkind High School --- until he finds out that his online gay chat buddy is none other than Kevin, the popular but closeted star of the school's baseball team. Soon Russel meets other gay students, including his best friend Min, who reveals that she's bisexual, her soccer-playing girlfriend Terese, and Terese's politically active friend, Ike. But how can teenagers this diverse get together without drawing attention to themselves?

LIFE LISTS FOR TEENS: Tips, Steps, Hints, and How-Tos for Growing Up, Getting Along, Learning, and Having Fun
Pamela Espeland
Free Spirit Publishing
ISBN: 1575421259
Ages 11-up
304 pages

Many people love making lists, and why not? Lists organize your thinking, focus your energy, free up time in your day (and space in your brain) and give you confidence. LIFE LISTS FOR TEENS includes over 200 powerful self-help lists that focus on a number of major topics: health, relationships, feelings, creativity, personal safety, school, self-esteem and problem-solving. Each list is like a mini self-help book --- a starting point for learning, thinking and making positive choices and decisions.

MONSTER ISLAND (A Buffy/Angel Novel)
Christopher Golden and Thomas Sniegoski
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689856652
Ages 16-up
304 pages

Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are in for quite a treat, because Simon Pulse is launching a series of crossover novels featuring these two wildly popular characters. The series kicks off with this heart-racing thriller!

Angel lost his first "friend" from Los Angeles when the half-demon Doyle sacrificed himself to save Angel and a boatload of peaceful demons. Now Doyle's demon father, Axtius, has arrived in Los Angeles intending to build a pure-demon army --- and avenging his son's death on the vampire he holds responsible. But this has not escaped the notice of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She and her gang of Scoobies are now headed to Los Angeles. And on a small island off the coast of California, a showdown is scheduled with nothing less than the fate of the world and a human soul at stake.

QUARANTINE (Roswell Series)
Laura J. Burns
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689855192
Ages 16-up
176 pages

Roswell's new pharmaceutical company, Meta-chem, accidentally infects the townspeople with a disease. Unfortunately, Liz is one of them. She's dying --- and Max finds he is powerless to help her. Meanwhile, a mysterious girl shows up in town; it turns out she means more to Maria than she could have even thought possible.

SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP
Ron Koertge
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 0763621161
Ages 12-up
128 pages

MVP Kevin Boland receives the unfortunate news one day that he has mono and will not be playing baseball for a while. Suddenly, he finds himself jotting down a poem on one of the pages in his journal. He even takes a poetry book from his father's den to help improve his writing skills. Before he knows it, Kevin is writing in verse about all different kinds of topics: Will his jock friends give up on him? What's the deal with girlfriends? Surprisingly, after his health improves, Kevin continues to write --- about the smart-talking Latina girl who thinks poets are cool and even about his mother's death, for which he finally finds the words to express how he feels.

This funny and poignant story will appeal to a variety of people, including poetry lovers, baseball fans and those who have been inflicted with mono. And with several poetic forms slipped into the mix, this book is sure to become a particular favorite among English teachers.

SHOOTING MONARCHS
John Halliday
Margaret McElderry
ISBN: 0689843380
Ages 12-up
144 pages

Macy grew up unwanted, unloved and alone. By the age of 18, he is a high school dropout, a shoplifter, a car thief and a murderer. Danny, who is physically disabled, grew up a loner, raised only by his grandmother. Now, at 16, he finds comfort in taking photographs --- particularly of monarch butterflies --- and thinking about Leah, the most beautiful girl in town. It is Leah who unintentionally causes these two very different boys, who share some startling similarities, to meet in a first and final terrifying encounter.

SMALL AVALANCHES AND OTHER STORIES
Joyce Carol Oates
HarperTempest
ISBN: 006001217X
Ages 13-19
400 pages

A high-school girl is confronted with the haunting memory of childhood. A jealous teenager lets her cousin go off alone with a dangerous Capricorn, aware of the terrifying possibilities. A vulnerable young girl cunningly outwits a menacing stranger and exults in her newfound power.

These are among the twelve riveting tales master storyteller Joyce Carol Oates has created. The stories in this collection are intense, unnerving, uplifting and triumphant, as they explore the choices we make in our everyday lives and their fateful consequences.

SOMETHING WICCAN THIS WAY COMES (Charmed Series)
Emma Harrison
Simon Pulse
ISBN: 0689855540
Ages 12 and up
192 pages

Paige Matthews is looking to further explore her newfound powers. So, when she reads of a Wiccan convention that is taking place just outside of Las Vegas, she thinks it's a great opportunity for her and her sisters to learn more about their "witchy" ways. Piper and Phoebe are convinced that the convention will consist of blessed wannabes, but their skepticism is rendered moot when attendees begin to disappear and then reappear --- murdered!

TEEN TALK WITH DR. GILDA: A Girl's Guide to Dating
Dr. Gilda Carle
Quill
ISBN: 0060958715
Ages 13-19
304 pages

Based on thousands of e-mails she receives from around the world, Dr. Gilda, formerly MTV Online's "Love Doc", has written TEEN TALK WITH DR. GILDA, which addresses teen issues as they really are. She shows girls how to protect themselves from the not-so-good guys and girlfriends, find stable, loving relationships, and prevent a lifetime of unhealthy and unhappy commitments. Jam-packed with quizzes, exercises and her famous "Gilda-Grams," TEEN TALK WITH DR. GILDA is a must-read for all teenage girls --- as well as their concerned moms.

WARRIOR ANGEL
Robert Lipsyte
HarperCollins Juvenile Books
ISBN: 0060004967
Ages 12-up
192 pages

Heavyweight champion Sonny Bear is on a fast downhill slide, and there's no brake in sight. Nothing seems to matter anymore --- not the money, not the fame and not even the title. Sonny needs someone or something to make him realize that he is still the champ.

Starkey has never met Sonny, but he knows that he can help him get back in the ring. But first, Starkey needs to find Sonny before it's too late. With Starkey's help, Sonny does indeed get back on track --- but will his rise back to the top mean a knockout for Starkey?