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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
Alex Rider: the Gadgets (age 10+)
by Anthony Horowitz
brilliant protagonist ... math/science/technology ... mystery ... action ... adventure
As fans of teen spy Alex Rider know, nothing is more fun or mind-boggling than the gadgets that time and again help free him from tight spots. Such as the Game Boy that doubled as a Geiger counter in Skeleton Key. Or the CD player with the fast-spinning saw blade in Point Blank that helped free Alex from a steel-barred window. Now, for the first time, readers everywhere can glimpse the secret files and blueprints that detail each gadget. It's almost as much fun as actually owning these techno-toys...
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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
title: Skeleton Key
title: Eagle Strike
title: Scorpia
title: Ark Angel
title: Snakehead
title: Crocodile Tears
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AIK
Midnight Is a Place (age 10+)
by Joan Aiken
adventure ... mystery ... historical ... spooky
Publisher comments: Lucas Bell is lonely and miserable at Midnight Court, a vast, brooding house owned by his intolerable guardian, Sir Randolph Grimsby. When a mysterious carriage brings a visitor to the house, Lucas hopes hes found a friend at last. But the newcomer, Anna Marie, is unfriendly and spoiled—and French. Just when Lucas thinks things cant get any worse, disastrous circumstances force him and Anna Marie, parentless and penniless, into the dark and unfriendly streets of Blastburn.
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BAR
Science Fair: A Story of Mystery, Danger, International Suspense, and a Very Nervous Frog (age 10+)
by Dave Barry
mystery ... school ... adventure ... humor
Publisher comments: Grdankl the Strong, president of Kprshtskan, is plotting to take over the American government. His plan is to infiltrate the science fair at Hubble Middle School, located in a Maryland suburb just outside Washington. The rich kids at Hubble cheat by buying their projects every year, and Grdankl's cronies should have no problem selling them his government-corrupting software. But this year, Toby Harbinger, a regular kid with Discount Warehouse shoes, is determined to win the $5,000 prize-even if he has to go up against terrorists to do it. With the help of his best friends, Tamara and Micah, Toby takes on Assistant Principal Paul Parmit, aka The Armpit, a laser-eyed stuffed owl, and two eBay buyers named Darth and the Wookiee who seem to think that the Harrison-Ford-signed BlasTech DL-44 blaster Toby sold them is a counterfeit. What transpires is a hilarious adventure filled with mystery, suspense, and levitating frogs.
F
BRU
Skeleton Man (age 10+)
by Joseph Bruchac
spooky ... mystery
Publisher comments: Ever since the morning Molly woke up to find that her parents had vanished, her life has become filled with terrible questions. Where have her parents gone? Who is this spooky old man who's taken her to live with him, claiming to be her great-uncle? Why does he never eat, and why does he lock her in her room at night? What are her dreams of the Skeleton Man trying to tell her? There's one thing Molly does know. She needs to find some answers before it's too late.
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FAR
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm: a novel (age 10+)
by Nancy Farmer
growing up ... mystery ... adventure ... science fiction
General Matsika's children steal out of the house on a forbidden adventure--and disappear. In Zimbabwe, in the year 2194, the children's parents call in Africa's most unusual detectives--the Ear, the Eye and the Arm--who have powers far beyond those of other human beings. The children must avoid the evils of the past, the technology of the future, and a motley assortment of criminals in order to return home safely.
F
STE
First Light (age 10+)
by Rebecca Stead
math/science/technology ... fantasy ... adventure ... mystery
Peter is thrilled to join his parents on an expedition to Greenland, where his father studies global warming. Peter will get to skip school, drive a dogsled, and-finally-share in his dad's adventures. But on the ice cap, Peter struggles to understand a series of visions that both frighten and entice him. Thea has never seen the sun. Her extraordinary people, suspected of witchcraft and nearly driven to extinction, have retreated to a secret world they've built deep inside the arctic ice. As Thea dreams of a path to Earth's surface, Peter's search for answers brings him ever closer to her hidden home. Rebecca Stead's fascinating novel is a dazzling tale of mystery, science and adventure at the top of the world.
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SPR
The Enola Holmes Mystery Series (age 10+)
by Nancy Springer
historical ... mystery
A new series featuring Sherlock Holmes' much-younger sister Enola begins. When her mother disappears, Enola is determined to find her and sets out to the heart of London. There Enola becomes involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess.
title: The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery
title: The Case of the Lefthanded Lady: An Enola Holmes Mystery
title: The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets: An Enola Holmes Mystery
title: The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan: An Enola Holmes Mystery
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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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SKU
Mysteries in Our National Parks Series (age 10+)
by Gloria Skurzynski
math/science/technology ... survival ... action ... nature ... mystery
In the first of these fast-paced adventures, the Landons trail a wounded wolf in Yellowstone National Park. The park is abuzz with rumors of a wolf attack. Meanwhile, a killer stalks the woods. Unaware of the danger, Jack and Ashley are more concerned about rebellious teenage foster child, Troy Haverson. From the opening moments at Old Faithful through 48 action-packed hours, the tension builds: What is lodged in the wolf's radio collar? And what is the meaning of the Native American story of Sin-a-Wavi? A heady mix of suspense, adventure, and moments of tenderness lure readers into this story of kids discovering the natural world.
title: Wolf Stalker
title: Cliff-Hanger
title: Rage of Fire
title: The Hunted
title: Ghost Horses
title: Buried Alive
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NIX
The Haunting (age 10+)
by Joan Lowery Nixon
mystery ... spooky
Fifteen-year-old Lia comes from a long line of courageous women, dating back to a Civil War survivor who single-handedly saved her Louisiana plantation house, Graymoss, from destruction. But Graymoss is haunted by a terrible evil. With clues from a diary and Favorite Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Lia, who doesn't feel as if she's inherited any family genes of courage, must figure out what--or whom--the evil wants. When Lia's parents decide to move into Graymoss, Lia isn't sure how to convince them to change their minds. But it's up to her to chase away the horror lurking inside the old house. Can she find the courage to deal with a noisy ghost who wants vengeance?
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MAS
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life (age 10+)
by Wendy Mass
mystery ... realistic ... growing up
In one month Jeremy Fink will turn thirteen. But does he have what it takes to be a teenager? He collects mutant candy, he won't venture more than four blocks from his apartment if he can help it, and he definitely doesn't like surprises. On the other hand, his best friend, Lizzy, isn't afraid of anything, even if that might get her into trouble now and then. Jeremy's summer takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious wooden box arrives in the mail. According to the writing on the box, it holds the meaning of life Jeremy is supposed to open it on his thirteenth birthday. The problem is, the keys are missing, and the box is made so that only the keys will open it without destroying what's inside. Jeremy and Lizzy set off to find the keys, but when one of their efforts goes very wrong, Jeremy starts to lose hope that he'll ever be able to open the box. But he soon discovers that when you're meeting people named Oswald Oswald and using a private limo to deliver unusual objects to strangers all over the city, there might be other ways of finding out the meaning of life.
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IBB
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle (age 10+)
by Eva Ibbotson
humor ... spooky ... mystery
When their parents go to America, Madlyn and Rollo are sent to their relatives at Clawstone Castle, home of the legendary Wild White Cattle of Clawstone Park. Times are hard at Clawstone, so Madlyn and Rollo audition a cast of ghosts to add some thrills to the Clawstone tours. Then a very real mystery arises.
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BRU
The Dark Pond (age 10+)
by Joseph Bruchac
school ... spooky ... mystery ... folklore
After he feels a mysterious pull drawing him toward a dark, shadowy pond in the woods, Armie looks to old Native American tales for guidance about the dangerous monster lurking in the water.
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CON
Stonewords: a Ghost Story (age 10+)
by Pam Conrad
mystery ... spooky
The first time Zoe met Zoe Louise, Zoe was four years old. Zoe Louise was more than 100. From that day on, living in the same house, separated by a staircase and a century, Zoe and Zoe Louise have been an important and permanent part of each other's lives. Now Zoe is older. And although Zoe Louise never grows up, she is changing in dreadful, frightening ways. Time is running out for Zoe's best friend, and Zoe is the only one who can help her.
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COL
Who Is Carrie? (age 10+)
by James Lincoln Collier
mystery ... identity ... historical
Publisher comments: Carrie has been a kitchen slave in Sam Fraunces's tavern in New York City for as long as she can remember. But after she narrowly escapes a kidnapper, Carrie becomes more curious about her mysterious past. After all, she doesn't even know her own last name. When her friend Dan Arabus comes to town, he talks about his dream of buying his mother's freedom with the Continental notes his father left him. Following his lead, Carrie eventually stumbles on the startling truth about her own family.
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SAC
Holes (age 10+)
by Louis Sachar
humor ... mystery ... friendship
Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys ``build character'' by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment, and redemption.
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BEL
The Mansion in the Mist (age 10+)
by John Bellairs
science fiction ... fantasy ... mystery ... spooky
While spending the summer in an old house on a desolate Canadian island, Anthony Monday and Miss Eells discover a chest that can transport them to another world and a maniacal group who are plotting the destruction of people on Earth.
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VAN
Sammy Keyes Series (age 10+)
by Wendelin VanDraanen
mystery
Sammy is a smart and spunky seventh grader, and she's an irrepressible sleuth. In the first book of this mystery/detective series, Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief, Sammy witnesses a robbery, and then sets out to prove it.
title: Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief
title: Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception
title: Sammy Keyes and the Curse of Moustache Mary
title: Sammy Keyes and the Sisters of Mercy
title: Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man
title: Sammy Keyes and the Runaway Elf
title: Sammy Keyes and the Search for Snake Eyes
title: Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things
title: Sammy Keyes and the Dead Giveaway
title: Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy
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RAS
The Westing Game (age 10+)
by Ellen Raskin
humor ... mystery
When an eccentric millionaire dies mysteriously, sixteen very unlikely people are gathered together for the reading of the will...and what a will it is!
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HAM
The House of Dies Drear (age 10+)
by Virginia Hamilton
spooky ... historical ... mystery
The house held secrets, Thomas knew, even before he first saw it looming gray and massive on its ledge of rock. It had a century-old legend - two fugitive slaves had been killed by bounty hunters after leaving its passageways, and Dies Drear himself, the abolitionist who has made the house into a station on the Underground Railroad, had been murdered there. The ghosts of the three were said to walk its rooms...
sequel: The Mystery of Drear House
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HOL
Following Fake Man (age 10+)
by Barbara Ware Holmes
identity ... illness/loss ... mystery ... family
Homer Aldrich Winthrop was a neurologist who died of a neurological illness. That's all Homer Jr.'s mother will say about his father, who died when he was two. On an unexpected trip to Maine, 12-year-old Homer realizes there may be a reason his father is such a secret.
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HOE
Hermux Tantamoq Adventures (age 10+)
by Michael Hoeye
the arts ... mystery ... adventure ... friendship
Hermux Tantamoq is an average mouse who works in his watch shop by day and spends his evenings at home. Nothing extraordinary has ever happened to him, but that changes when Linka Perflinger, daredevil aviatrix, drops off her watch to be repaired and steals his heart. But when a shady-looking rat tries to claim the repaired watch instead of Linka, Hermux knows something's gone wrong. Before long, Hermux is entangled in the convoluted schemes of an eccentric cosmetics tycoon, a sinister plastic surgeon, and a squad of ruthless lab rats. Hermux is caught up in a deadly race against time.
title: Time Stops for No Mouse
title: The Sands of Time: a [new] Hermux Tantamoq Adventure
title: No Time Like Show Time: a Hermux Tantamoq Adventure
title: Time to Smell the Roses: a Hermux Tantamoq Adventure
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HIA
Hoot (age 10+)
by Carl Hiaasen
mystery ... nature ... humor
If Dana hadn't been sinking his thumbs into Roy's temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and...here's the odd part...wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.
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BYN
Molly Moon Series (age 10+)
by Georgia Byng
identity ... mystery ... magic ... adventure ... friendship ... family
Molly Moon is no ordinary orphan. When she finds a mysterious old book on hypnotism, she discovers she can make people do whatever she wants. But a sinister stranger is watching her every move, and he'll do anything to steal her hypnotic secret...
title: Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism
title: Molly Moon Stops the World
title: Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure
title: Molly Moon, Micky Minus, and the Mind Machine
title: Molly Moon and the Morphing Mystery

Walter Hays Elementary School, Sat Aug 25 11:55:30 2012
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