Monday, November 23, 2015

New Fiction











The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith
"Skillfully blending multiple story strands that transcend time and place, award-winning Grasshopper Jungle author Andrew Smith chronicles the story of Ariel, a refugee who is the sole survivor of an attack on his small village. Now living with an adoptive family in Sunday, West Virginia, Ariel's story is juxtaposed against those of a schizophrenic bomber and the diaries of a failed arctic expedition from the late nineteenth century . . . and a depressed, bionic reincarnated crow." –Jacket

All Fall Down by Ally Carter
Embassy Row; Book One
“Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things: she is not crazy; her mother was murdered; someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay. As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believes her -- so there's no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keeping his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands. Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can't control Grace -- no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do.” –Amazon

Born of Deception by Teri Brown
Sequel to Born of Illusion
Moving to London in the 1920s to join a prestigious European vaudeville tour and reunite with her boyfriend Cole, budding illusionist Anna must harness her special powers and navigate the underworld of magic before her murderous enemies catch up with her. –Summary

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
“In 1959 Virginia, the lives of two girls on opposite sides of the battle for civil rights will be changed forever. Sarah Dunbar is one of the first black students to attend the previously all-white Jefferson High School. An honors student at her old school, she is put into remedial classes, spit on and tormented daily. Linda Hairston is the daughter of one of the town's most vocal opponents of school integration. She has been taught all her life that the races should be kept ‘separate but equal.’ Forced to work together on a school project, Sarah and Linda must confront harsh truths about race, power and how they really feel about one another.” –Jacket

Lion Heart by A. C. Gaughen
Scarlet; Book Three
After escaping Prince John's clutches and longing to return to Rob in Nottingham, Scarlet learns that King Richard's life is in jeopardy and accepts Eleanor of Aquitaine's demand that Scarlet spy for her and help bring Richard home safe.

The Map of Chaos by Felix J. Palma
Trilogia Victoriana: Book Three
"The action of the wondrous final volume in Spanish author Palma's speculative thriller trilogy (which began with The Map of Time unfolds in several Victorian eras in parallel universes, beginning with esteemed biologist Herbert George Wells' attempt to create a virus that will allow the residents of his doomed steampunk world to escape to another realm free of threat.” –WorldCat

Prairie Fire by E. K. Johnston
Dragon Slayer of Trondheim; Book Two
“Listen! For the song of Owen Thorskgard has a second verse. Every dragon slayer owes the Oil Watch a period of service, and young Owen was no exception. What made him different was that he did not enlist alone. His two closest friends stood with him shoulder to shoulder. Steeled by success and hope, the three were confident in their plan. And though Siobhan McQuaid was the first bard in a generation, she managed to forge a role for herself and herald Owen as a new kind of dragon slayer for a new kind of future. But the arc of history is long and hardened by dragon fire. Try as they might, Owen and his friends could not twist it to their will. Not all the way. Not all together. Listen! I am Siobhan McQuaid. I know the cost of even a small bend in the course of history. Listen!” –WorldCat

The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige
Dorothy Must Die; Book Two
“To make Oz a free land again, Amy Gumm was given a mission: remove the Tin Woodman's heart, steal the Scarecrow's brain, take the Lion's courage, and then Dorothy must die... But Dorothy still lives. Now the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked has vanished, and mysterious Princess Ozma might be Amy's only ally. As Amy learns the truth about her mission, she realizes that she's only just scratched the surface of Oz's past -- and that Kansas, the home she couldn't wait to leave behind, may also be in danger. In a place where the line between good and evil shifts with just a strong gust of wind, who can Amy trust -- and who is really Wicked?” –WorldCat

The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski
Winner’s Trilogy; Book Two
"A royal wedding is what most girls dream about. It means one celebration after another: balls, fireworks, and revelry until dawn. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement: that she agreed to marry the crown prince in exchange for Arin's freedom. But can Kestrel trust Arin? Can she even trust herself? For Kestrel is becoming very good at deception. She's working as a spy in the court. If caught, she'll be exposed as a traitor to her country. Yet she can't help searching for a way to change her ruthless world . . . and she is close to uncovering a shocking secret." –Jacket