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HOR |
The Night of the Scorpion
(age 10+) by Anthony Horowitz mystery ... adventure ... action Catalog: An English journalist, his thirteen-year-old ward, and an Incan boy battle the supernatural evil of the Old Ones, who plan to enter our world through a secret gate somewhere in Peru. |
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HOR |
The Alex Rider Series (age 10+) by Anthony Horowitz brilliant protagonist ... math/science/technology ... mystery ... action ... adventure They told him his uncle died in a car accident. Fourteen-year-old Alex knows that's a lie, and the bullet holes in his uncle's windshield confirm his suspicions. But nothing prepares him for the news that the uncle he always thought he knew was really a spy for MI6 ... Britain's top secret intelligence agency. Recruited to find his uncle's killers and complete his final mission, Alex suddenly finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. title: Stormbreaker title: Point Blank: An Alex Rider Adventure |
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COL |
The Supernaturalist
(age 10+) by Eoin Colfer spooky ... science fiction ... adventure ... action Publisher comments: In futuristic Satellite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from his abusive orphanage and teams up with three other people who share his unusual ability to see supernatural creatures. Together they determine the nature and purpose of the swarming blue Parasites that are invisible to most humans. |
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ALE |
The Iron Ring
(age 10+) by Lloyd Alexander action ... voyages/journeys ... humor ... magic ... adventure ... fantasy Driven by his sense of "dharma," or honor, young King Tamar sets off on a perilous journey, with a significance greater than he can imagine, during which he meets talking animals, villainous and noble kings, demons, and the love of his life. |
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PIE |
The Circle Opens Series (age 10+) by Tamora Pierce action ... adventure ... mystery ... magic ... fantasy Publisher comments: While caring for her uncle in Summersea, Lady Sandrilene Fa Toren witnesses a boy working a most unusual spell. Pasco can dance magic, but he wants nothing to do with his powers. It's up to Sandry to teach him about his magic, and to convince him he can use it to get to the bottom of a series of gruesome murders. title: Street Magic title: Cold Fire |
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PIE |
Song of the Lioness Series (age 10+) by Tamora Pierce knights/castles/dragons ... action ... adventure ... fantasy Publisher comments: Becoming a legend is not easy, as young Alanna of Trebond discovers when she disguises herself as a boy and begins training to be a knight. Alanna's skills and stubborness help her befriend Prince Jonathan and alienate his evil uncle, Duke Roger. Filled with swords and sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, this book is a rousing introduction to the intensely satisfying story of Alanna. title: Alanna: The First Adventure title: In the Hand of the Goddess |
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COL |
The Hunger Games Series (age 10+) by Suzanne Collins action ... adventure ... survival ... fantasy ... science fiction Publisher comments: Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place. title: The Hunger Games |
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GOR |
Tunnels Series (age 10+) by Roderick Gordon action ... fantasy ... adventure Publisher comments: 14-year-old Will Burrows has little in common with his strange, dysfunctional family. In fact, the only bond he shares with his eccentric father is a passion for archaeological excavation. So when Dad mysteriously vanishes, Will is compelled to dig up the truth behind his disappearance. He unearths the unbelievable: a secret subterranean society. "The Colony" has existed unchanged for a century, but it's no benign time capsule of a bygone era--because the Colony is ruled by a cultlike overclass, the Styx. Before long--before he can find his father--Will is their prisoner.... title: Tunnels |
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HOB |
Go Big or Go Home
(age 10+) by Will Hobbs adventure ... action Publisher comments: A meteorite is hurtling toward the Black Hills of South Dakota. . . . Brady Steele watches in awe as a fireball comes crashing through the roof of his house. Brady immediately calls up his cousin, Quinn. They both love all things extreme, and this is the most extreme thing ever! Fred, as Brady names his space rock, turns out to be one of the rarest meteorites ever found. Professor Rip Ripley from the museum in Hill City wants to study a sliver of it in search of extraterrestrial bacteria. He's hoping to discover the first proof of life beyond Earth, a momentous breakthrough for the new science of astrobiology. During a wild week of extreme bicycling, fishing, and caving, Brady and Quinn battle their rivals, the notorious Carver boys, for possession of the meteorite. With each new day, Brady is discovering he's able to do strange and wonderful feats that shouldn't be possible. At the same time, he's developing some frightening symptoms. Could he be infected with long-dormant microbes from space? Is Fred a prize or a menace? |
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LUP |
The Big Field
(age 10+) by Mike Lupica action ... friendship ... sports ... family Publisher comments: For Hutch, shortstop has always been home. It's where his father once played professionally, before injuries relegated him to watching games on TV instead of playing them. And it's where Hutch himself has always played and starred. Until now. The arrival of Darryl "D-Will" Williams, the top shortstop prospect from Florida since A-Rod, means Hutch is displaced, in more ways than one. Second base feels like second fiddle, and when he sees his father giving fielding tips to D-Will...the same father who can't be bothered to show up to watch his son play. Hutch feels betrayed. With the summer league championship on the line, just how far is Hutch willing to bend to be a good teammate? |
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SMI |
Sasquatch
(age 10+) by Roland Smith nature ... adventure ... action Thirteen-year-old Dylan follows his father into the woods on the slopes of Mount St. Helens, which is on the brink of another eruption, in an attempt to protect the resident Sasquatch from ruthless hunters. |
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MOR |
Canyon Winter
(age 10+) by Walt Morey nature ... adventure ... action ... survival The private plane taking Peter to his wealthy father's ranch crashes in the Rockies, and its pilot is killed. Struggling to survive, and sure that no one will rescue him, Peter stumbles across rough and unforgiving Omar Pickett, who has lived in the mountains for years. Peter must rely on Omar--and learn to rely on himself. |
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D'L |
The Fire Within Series (age 10+) by Chris D'Lacey knights/castles/dragons ... magic ... action ... adventure When David moves in with Liz and Lucy, he discovers a collection of hand crafted, clay dragons that comes to life and has magical powers. David's personalized dragon, Gadzooks, can forecast the future, and inspires him to write a story which reveals the truth behind an unsolved mystery close to home. The story has an unhappy ending, and when David realizes the consequences of it he is angry. Then David finds Gadzooks crying and near death, and he discovers that these special dragons die when they are not loved. Soon David is forced to save his friend and unlock the powers of the fire within. title: The Fire Within title: Fire Star title: The Fire Eternal title: Icefire |
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STR |
The Bartimaeus Trilogy (age 10+) by Jonathan Stroud humor ... adventure ... action ... fantasy ... magic Nathaniel is a young magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hotshot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of everyone he knows, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who's boss. With revenge in his mind, he masters one of the toughest spells of all: summoning the all-powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal the powerful Amulet of Samarkand, Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt. title: The Amulet of Samarkand |
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STO |
Five Ancestors Series (age 10+) by Jeff Stone identity ... adventure ... action ... historical Twelve-year-old Fu and his temple brothers Malao, Seh, Hok, and Long don’t know who their parents were. Raised from infancy by their grandmaster, they think of their temple as their home and their fellow warrior monks as their family. Then one terrible night, the temple is destroyed by an army led by a former monk named Ying, whose heart is bent on revenge. Fu and his brothers are the only survivors. Charged by their grandmaster to uncover the secrets of their past, the five flee into the countryside and go their separate ways. Somehow, Grandmaster has promised, their pasts are connected to Ying’s. Understanding that the past is the key to shaping the future, the first book in the series follows Fu as he struggles to find out more and prove himself in the process. Fu’s name literally means “tiger,” for he is the youngest-ever master of the fierce fighting style modeled after that animal. title: Mouse |
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SMI |
Cryptid Hunters
(age 10+) by Roland Smith adventure ... action ... mystery In this thrilling adventure, 13-year-old twins Grace and Marty are sent to live with their anthropologist uncle and discover that he's obsessed with finding cryptids, mysterious creatures believed to be long extinct. |
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MOW |
The Guild Trilogy (age 10+) by Joshua Mowll historical ... letters/journal ... action ... adventure A sister and brother's search for their missing parents uncovers a mysterious secret society in an action-filled sea-and-land saga centered in 1920s Shanghai. For Joshua Mowll, it was the surprise of a lifetime. There, among the archives inherited from his great-aunt Rebecca MacKenzie, was a 1920s journal recounting the thrilling and dangerous adventures of fifteen-year-old Rebecca and her younger brother, Doug, in the wake of their parents' mysterious disappearance in the deserts of China. Now carefully re-created, the siblings' tale begins aboard the Expedient, their uncle's enigmatic research ship, and moves at a breathless pace through the streets of Shanghai and on to a terrifying island fortress. Along the way, Doug and Becca encounter an ancient order of Chinese mercenaries, a brutal pirate warlord, a feisty Texan heiress, and a stolen cache of a volatile explosive called zoridium. By their saga's end, the intrepid duo has exposed a murderous plot involving their parents and uncovered a high-minded secret society hidden from the world for hundreds of years. title: Operation Red Jericho title: Operation Typhoon Shore |
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CHR |
The Tripods Series (age 10+) by John Christopher adventure ... action ... science fiction Young Will Parker and his companions make a perilous journey toward an outpost of freedom where they hope to escape from the ruling Tripods, who capture mature human beings and make them docile, obedient servants. title: The White Mountains title: The City of Gold and Lead title: The Pool of Fire title: When the Tripods Came |
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CAR |
The Atherton Series (age 10+) by Patrick Carman action ... science fiction ... adventure From the creator of the Land of Elyon comes a riveting adventure set in an extraordinary satellite world, created as a refuge from a dying Earth, that begins to collapse and forever change the lives of its inhabitants. Edgar, a gifted climber, is a lonely boy scaling the perilous cliffs that separate the three realms of Atherton: a humble fig grove; a mysterious highland world of untold beauty and sinister secrets; and a vast wasteland where he must confront an unspeakable danger that could destroy the people of Atherton. When Edgar discovers a book which contains the history of Atherton's origins and ultimate apocalypse, his world, quite literally, begins to turn inside out. title: Atherton: The House of Power title: Rivers of Fire |
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AND |
The May Bird Series (age 10+) by Jodi Lynn Anderson princesses ... spooky ... action ... adventure ... fantasy Most people aren't very comfortable in the woods, but the woods of Briery Swamp fit May Bird like a fuzzy mitten. There, she is safe from school and the taunts and teases of kids who don't understand her. Hidden in the trees, May is a warrior princess, and her cat, Somber Kitty, is her brave guardian. Then May falls into the lake. When she crawls out, May finds herself in a world that most certainly does not feel like a fuzzy mitten. in fact, it is a place few living people have ever seen. Here towns glow blue beneath zipping stars and the people (people?) walk through walls. Here the Book of the Dead holds the answers to everything in the universe. And here, if May is discovered, the horrifying evil Bo Cleevil will turn her into nothing. May Bird must get out. Fast. title: May Bird and the Ever After title: May Bird Among the Stars title: May Bird, Warrior Princess |
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PAO |
The Inheritance Series (age 10+) by Christopher Paolini adventure ... action ... magic ... fantasy Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy ... until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save ... or destroy ... the Empire. title: Eragon title: Eldest title: Brisingr, or, the Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular |
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PUL |
His Dark Materials (age 10+) by Philip Pullman growing up ... spooky ... action ... adventure ... fantasy Lyra Belaqua is content to run wild among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar Pantalaimon always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle ... a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold, far North, young Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: She alone is destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle. title: The Golden Compass |
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RIO |
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (age 10+) by Rick Riordan action ... folklore ... fantasy ... adventure Percy, expelled from six schools for being unable to control his temper, learns the truth from his mother that his father is the Greek god Poseidon, and is sent to Camp Half Blood where he is befriended by a satyr and the demigod daughter of Athena who join him in a journey to the Underworld to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt and prevent a catastrophic war. title: The Lightning Thief title: The Sea of Monsters title: The Titan's Curse title: the Battle of the Labyrinth title: The Last Olympian title: The Demigod Files |
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FAR |
The Sea of Trolls
(age 10+) by Nancy Farmer action ... folklore ... fantasy ... adventure ... historical Jack was eleven when the berserkers loomed out of the fog and nabbed him. ``It seems that things are stirring across the water,'' the Bard had warned. ``Ships are being built, swords are being forged.'' ``Is that bad?'' Jack had asked, for his Saxon village had never before seen berserkers. ``Of course. People don't make ships and swords unless they intend to use them.'' The year is A.D. 793. In the next months, Jack and his little sister, Lucy, are enslaved by Olaf One-Brow and his fierce young shipmate, Thorgil. Nancy Farmer has never told a richer, funnier tale, nor offered more timeless encouragement to young seekers than ``Just say no to pillaging.'' sequel: The Land of the Silver Apples |
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PRA |
The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy (age 10+) by Terry Pratchett action ... war ... science fiction ... humor ... adventure The alien spaceship is in his sights. His finger is on the Fire button. Johnny Maxwell is about to set the new high score on the computer game Only You Can Save Mankind. Suddenly: ``We wish to talk.'' Huh? ``We surrender.'' The aliens aren't supposed to surrender. Now what is Johnny going to do with a fleet of alien prisoners who know their rights under the international rules of war and are demanding safe-conduct? It's hard enough trying to save Mankind from the Galactic Hordes. It's even harder trying to save the Galactic Hordes from Mankind. But it's just a game, isn't it? Isn't it? title: Only You Can Save Mankind title: Johnny and the Dead |
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OPP |
Darkwing
(age 10+) by Kenneth Oppel fantasy ... action ... adventure As the sun sets on the time of the dinosaurs, a new world is left in its wake. . . . Dusk. He alone can fly and see in the dark, in a colony where being different means being shunnedor worse. As the leaders son, he is protected, but does his future lie among his kin? Carnassial. He has the true instincts of a predator, and he is determined that his kind will not only survive, but will dominate the world of beasts. |
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STE |
The Edge Chronicles (age 10+) by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell action ... identity ... adventure ... fantasy Young Twig lives in the Deepwoods, among the Woodtrolls, but he isn't one of them. In a brave attempt to find out where he belongs, Twig wanders into the mysterious, dangerous world beyond the Deepwoods. title: Beyond the Deepwoods title: Stormchaser title: Midnight Over Sanctaphrax title: Freeglader title: The Last of the Sky Pirates title: The Curse of the Gloamglozer title: Vox title: The Winter Knights title: Clash of the Sky Galleons |
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FUN |
Inkheart Series (age 10+) by Cornelia Funke authorship ... magic ... fantasy ... adventure ... action Publisher comments: One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called Inkheart, and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever. title: Inkheart title: Inkspell title: Inkdeath |
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DUP |
The Book of Ember Series (age 10+) by Jeanne Duprau survival ... action ... adventure ... fantasy ... science fiction Publisher comments: Built as an underground refuge for the human race, the city of Ember begins to deteriorate as its lights start to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever. title: The City of Ember title: The People of Sparks title: The Prophet of Yonwood title: The Diamond of Darkhold |
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COO |
The Dark Is Rising Series (age 10+) by Susan Cooper folklore ... action ... adventure ... fantasy On holiday in Cornwall, the three Drew children discover an ancient map in the attic of the house that they are staying in. They know immediately that it is special. It is even more than that...the key to finding a grail, a source of power to fight the forces of evil known as the Dark. And in searching for it themselves, the Drews put their very lives in peril. Begin with "Over Sea, Under Stone." title: Over Sea, Under Stone title: The Dark is Rising title: Greenwitch title: The Grey King title: Silver on the Tree |