Mockingjay

By Suzanne Collins

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss' family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins' groundbreaking Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Gracelings

By Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change: She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . A secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more. ~~ back cover

These is my Words

By Nancy E. Turner

The classic adventure of one courageous woman's life and struggles in the Arizona Territories in the late nineteenth century . . . Winner of the Arizona Author Award and Finalist of the Willa Cather Literary Award.

"Jack and Sarah are as delicious a couple as Rhett and Scarlett. The three-hankie ending to their long love affair will definitely make you give a damn." ~~ USA Today

"Clear, at times lyrical prose . . . providing vivid, colorful characters and historically accurate backdrop." ~~ Washington Post

A moving, exciting, and heartfelt American saga inspired by the author's own family memoirs, these words belong to Sarah Prine, a woman of spirit and fire who forges a full and remarkable existence in a harsh, unfamiliar frontier. Scrupulously recording her steps down the path Providence has set her upon -- from child to determined young adult to loving mother -- she shares the turbulent events, both joyous and tragic, that molded her, and recalls the enduring love with cavalry officer Captain Jack Elliot that gave her strength and purpose. ~~ back cover

Sarah, who longingly wants to be more beautiful, refined, and religious like her sister-in-law, just possesses too much grit and spitfire and can out shoot any man. Qualities needed and well used in surviving the rugged frontier. Indian raids are a constant fear and threat.

One serendipitous event of traveling on the wagon trek was the acquisition of a large stash of books which set Sarah on the path of learnin'. Secondly, was the watchful care of Captain Elliot -- a man so fierce one minute and so gentle the next. Sarah couldn't decide if was a scoundrel or gentleman.

Check out Nancy Turner's website to see the other two books in this saga.

Breaking Dawn

By Stephenie Meyer

"When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options."

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecendented events is about to unfold. ~~ front book flap

Alvor

By Laura Bingham

Alvor is a spellbinding blend of magic and mystery, enchantment and fairy tale that asks the age old question, "do you believe in magic?"

Erin and her twin brother, Bain, never expected to find that the cabin in the woods near their home is actually a secret entrance to a magical world. Surrounded by pegasi, dragons, and fairies, they discover new powers within themselves and a secret they have unknowingly been preparing for: they are training to become elves. Now they are faced with the decision to stay in this dream world or return home to the life they knew. ~~ back cover

The Graceling

By Kristin Cashore

If you had the power to kill with your bare hands, what would you do with it?

Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa's Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council of like-minded citizens who carry out secret missions to promote justice over cruelty and abuses of power.

Combining elements of fantasy and romance, Cashore skillfully portrays the confusion, discovery, and angst that smart, strong-willed girls experience as they creep toward adulthood. Katsa wrestles with questions of freedom, truth, and knowing when to rely on a friend for help. This is no small task for an angry girl who had eschewed friendships (with the exception of one cousin that she trusts) for her more ready skills of self-reliance, hunting, and fighting. Katsa also comes to know the real power of her Grace and the nature of Graces in general: they are not always what they appear to be. ~~ Amazon

Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

Sixteen-year-old Katniss poaches food for her widowed mother and little sister from the forest outside the legal perimeter of District 12, the poorest of the dozen districts constituting Panem, the North American dystopic state that has replaced the U.S. in the not-to-distant future. Her hunting and tracking skills serve her well when she is then cast into the nation's annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death where contestants must battle harsh terrain, artificially concocted weather conditions, and two teen aged contestants from each of Panem's districts.

District 12's second "tribute" is Peeta, the baker's son, who has been in love with Katniss since he was five. Each new plot twist ratchets up the tension, moving the story forward and keeping the reader on edge. Although Katniss may be skilled with a bow and arrow and adept at analyzing her opponents' next moves, she has much to learn about personal sentiments, especially her own. A tale of physical adventure, political suspense, and romance, and the first in a series. ~~ front flap

Catching Fire

By Suzanne Collins

Against all odds Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all she hasa returned to her family and her longtime friend Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol -- a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped to create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she is afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should even try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying. ~~ front flap