Community Corner

New Books at the Palisades Library: Fall 2011

Need a new page-turner this fall? Our local branch has fiction and nonfiction that will keep you reading.

Turn off the TV and shut down the computer. It's time to head down to the to pick up one of its brand new books.

The following list features the new books available at the library this fall. The information below was composed by the staff at the Palisades Branch Library.

New Adult Fiction

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Spell Bound
Kelley Armstrong
While defenseless and on the run from witch-hunting assassins, Savannah Levine encounters a danger that will take the whole Otherworld to stop. Savannah is forced to fight deadly enemies that seek to destroy both the world and Savannah herself. Spell Bound is the 11th book in the Otherworld series.

Back of Beyond
C.J. Box
Police officer Cody Hoyt refuses to believe his best friend Hank Winters has committed suicide. As he looks closer at the scene of his friend's death, it becomes clear that Hank was murdered and Cody vows to find the killer. However, when the search turns up a link to the tourist group Cody's son is involved in, Cody fears he may be close to losing another loved one.

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Split Second: An FBI Thriller
Catherine Coulter
FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock join forces with Special Agents Lucy Carlyle and Cooper McKnight to track down a serial killer with ties to an infamous and long-dead monster. In the course of their investigation, the team turns up a connection to Lucy's family that shocks them all and forces Lucy to question everything she has known about her past.

All the Pretty Hearses: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery
Mary Daheim
Bed-and-breakfast owner Judith McMonigle Flynn donates an overnight stay at Hillside Manor to the annual auction for the parish school, but the winners end up being the picky Paine family. Judith will have to contend with their allergies and aversions when planning dinner service, while her husband, Joe, whose latest surveillance case ends abruptly, is arrested as a murder suspect. All the Pretty Hearses: A Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery is the 26th in the series.

Infernal Angels: An Amos Walker Novel
Loren D. Estleman
Detroit private investigator Amos Walker, having agreed to look into the theft of HDTV converter boxes for a local merchandise dealer, finds a suspect dead. Amos must cooperate with the local police and federal agents in order to clear his name and find the real killer.

The Ideal Man
Julie Garwood
Doctor Ellie Sullivan is the only person to witness the shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of a modern day Bonnie-and-Clyde duo known as the Landrys. When she finds herself in the middle of a tense criminal investigation headed by the handsome Agent Max Daniels, she is consumed by both the danger involved in testifying and her attraction to Max.

Among the Missing
Morag Joss
Annabel, a pregnant tourist believed to have died in a bridge collapse in Scotland, drifts into living in a cabin near the site of the disaster with Silva, an illegal immigrant whose husband and child have disappeared. Annabel and Silva also live with a boatman by the name of Ron, an ex-convict. They create a sanctuary that proves unstable when the past intrudes.

Dreams of the Dead: A Nina Reilly Novel
Perri O’Shaughnessy
Defense attorney Nina Reilly helped clear Jim Strong, the son of millionaire ski resort owner Philip Strong, of murder two years earlier. However, she found her life devastated by him. Nina has to deal with the Strong family once again when Philip asks her for help in authenticating a letter from Jim demanding a part of the sale of the resort. When two women are murdered, Nina begins to question Jim's disappearance and Philip's innocence.

Justice
Karen Robards
Criminal attorney Jessica Ford has done everything to comply with the Secret Service's unofficial witness protection program's orders since witnessing the First Lady's murder. However, when she wins a high-profile court case, agent Mark Ryan, who happens to be Jessica's ex-boyfriend, fears she has put herself at risk of being recognized and will stop at nothing to protect her from a would-be assassin.

Portrait of a Spy
Daniel Silva
After failing to stop a suicide bomber attack in London, master art restorer and assassin Gabriel Allon is summoned by the CIA. Gabriel is faced with an organization riddled with dissent—and ill-equipped to deal with the deadly new face of global jihadist terror.

Robert Ludum’s The Bourne Dominion
Eric Van Lustbader
Searching for terrorists planning attacks on America's most strategic natural resources, Jason Bourne enlists the help of General Boris Karpov, the head of Russia's most feared spy agency. However, General Karpov has actually been tasked with Bourne's assassination.

 

New Adult Non-Fiction

The Memory Palace
Mira Bartok
Mira Bartok describes life with her mother, Norma, whose struggle with schizophrenia forced Mira and her sister to leave in order to stay safe. However, when the sisters learn that Norma is dying, they travel to Cleveland to reunite with their mother. The sisters find keys to Norma's storage unit, where they find photos, toys and other mementos that remind them of childhood.

A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage
Sally Ryder Brady
Sally Brady tells the story of her marriage to Upton, a classics major at Harvard who became editor of the Atlantic Monthly Press. Brady discusses how Upton, once charming and brilliant, grew cranky and controlling. She shares her discovery, after over 40 years of marriage, that her husband desired the love of other men.

Theories of International Politics and Zombies
Daniel W. Drezner
Theories of International Politics and Zombies explores how well-known theories from international relations can be applied to a war with zombies. The book examines the plots of popular zombie films, songs and books to predict realistic scenarios for the political stage in the face of a zombie threat. The author also considers how valid or implausible certain scenarios might be.

Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned
John A. Farrell
Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned chronicles the life of defense attorney Clarence Darrow, focusing on his legal career, his controversial court cases, his commitment to liberty and other related topics.

God, No! Signs You May Already be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales
Penn Jillette
Comedian and magician Penn Jillette, a self-proclaimed libertarian atheist, presents his own slant on the biblical Ten Commandments.

Bad Dog (A Love Story)
Martin Kihn
Martin Kihn recounts his humorous efforts to train his Bernese mountain dog Hola. Kihn describes their experiences in the rigorous American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen program, numerous training schools and other failed attempts at teaching Hola proper manners.

Quantum Man: Richard Feynman’s Life in Science
Lawrence M. Krauss
Quantum Man: Richard Feynman’s Life in Science examines the life and science of Richard Feynman, focusing on his role in some of the key physics advances of the 20th century. The book includes short physics lessons related to each of his discoveries.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Michael Lewis
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine chronicles the events leading up to the economic crash in 2008 by following the lives of various individuals, including Steve Eisman, Vincent Daniel, Michael Burry, Greg Lippmann, Gene Park, Howie Hubler and others.

The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie
Wendy McClure
The author pays homage to Laura Ingalls Wilder by retracing the pioneer journey taken by the Ingalls family from Wisconsin to Plum Creek and South Dakota. McClure examines how Wilder's life and books have influenced ideas about girlhood and the American West.

The Long Goodbye: A Memoir
Meghan O’Rourke
Meghan O'Rourke chronicles her efforts to come to terms with her grief over her mother's death, describing the final months of her mother's life and the emotional trauma she felt as she and her family tried to move on in the year that followed.

Paris was Ours: Thirty-two Writers Reflect on the City of Lights
Penelope Rowlands
In original and previously published essays, 32 diverse writers share both exciting and depressing Paris moments.

Baseball Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Baseball
Matthew Silverman
Baseball Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Baseball provides answers to 27 miscellaneous questions about baseball, covering umpire hand signals, starting pitchers, the loss column, the seventh-inning stretch and more.

Sisters of Fortune: America’s Caton Sisters at Home and Abroad
Jehanne Wake
Sisters of Fortune: America’s Caton Sisters at Home and Abroad draws from the unpublished letters of the Caton sisters to share the story of the American heiresses, Marianne, Bess, Louisa and Emily. The sisters who won over English Regency society with their intelligence and charm. The book shares their opinions on prominent people of their time, politics, financial dealings and family.

 

New Young Adult Fiction

A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie
Matt Blackstone
Rene, a high school freshman with obsessive-compulsive disorder, finds life to be like a scary movie. Even after he makes friends with the ultra-cool Giovanni he still feels responsible for saving his favorite teacher. Rene is also dealing with his missing father, courting the beautiful Ariel and trying to pretend to be normal for the school psychologist.

Cruel Love: A Privilege Novel
Kate Brian
Ariana Osgood is living the life she always thought she deserved after escaping from the Brenda T. Trumball Correctional Facility for Women and stealing the identity of a rich socialite. However, when her past catches up with her, she is forced to return to her old ways and risks losing everything she has come to love. Cruel Love: A Privilege Novel is the sixth book in the series.

Dragon’s Oath
P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
In the early 19th century, Bryan Lankford is sent to America aboard a dragon-powered ship, sealing his fate and opening the doors to a dangerous new world where he becomes a Sword Master. Bryan falls for the beautiful Anastasia, whom he must protect from a dark power that could destroy them all. Dragon's Oath is a House of Night novella.

Wolfsbane
Andrea Cremer
Alpha wolf Calla Tor wakes up in the Searchers's lair, her sworn enemy, but they give her the opportunity to save her pack and the man she left behind if she promises to destroy her former masters. Wolfsbane is the second book in the Nightshade series.

Plague: A Gone Novel
Michael Grant
A deadly, flu-like epidemic and a plague of flesh-eating creatures threaten the lives of the children at Perdido Beach while Sam, Astrid, Caine and Diana each struggle with doubts and uncertainties. Plague: A Gone Novel is the fourth book in the series.

Incredibly Alice
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Maryland teenager Alice McKinley spends her last semester of high school performing in the school play, working on the student paper, worrying about being away from her boyfriend, who will be studying in Spain and anticipating her future in college. Incredibly Alice is the 23rd book in the series.

Vesper
Jeff Sampson
By the time 16-year-old Emily discovers that she and several of her high school classmates in their small Washington town are products of genetic engineering, they all display very dangerous powers by night and are stalked by a murderer. Vesper is the first book in the Deviants series.

Okay for Now
Gary D. Schmidt
Doug Swieteck, 14, faces many challenges, including an abusive father, a brother traumatized by Vietnam, suspicious teachers and police officers and isolation. However, when he meets a girl known as Lil Spicer, he develops a close relationship with her and finds a safe place at the local library. This book is companion to The Wednesday Wars.

Mad Love
Suzanne Selfors
When her famous romance-novelist mother is secretly hospitalized in an expensive mental facility, 16-year-old Alice tries to fulfill her mother's contract with her publisher by writing a love story—with the help of Cupid.

Forever
Maggie Stiefvater
As the werewolves are hunted by those intent on destroying them, Sam and Grace risk everything to be together. Forever is the third book in the Shiver trilogy.

Blood Red Road
Moira Young
In a distant future, 18-year-old Lugh is kidnapped. While his twin sister, Saba, and 9-year-old Emmi are trailing him across bleak Sandsea they are also captured. They are taken to brutal Hopetown, where Saba is forced to be a cage fighter until new friends help plan an escape. Blood Red Road is the first book in the Dustlands trilogy.

 

New Young Adult Non-Fiction

Build Your Own Mini Golf Course, Lemonade Stand, and Other Things to Do
Tammy Enz
Build Your Own Mini Golf Course, Lemonade Stand, and Other Things to Do provides step-by-step instructions for building rattling tin can stilts, a mini golf course, a boomerang, an old-fashioned tree swing, a kaleidoscope, a lemonade stand and a pop gun from common household materials.

GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens
Kelly Huegel
GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens offers gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teens—as well as those questioning their sexuality—information and practical advice to help them deal with the issues they may face with their families, at school and within contemporary society.

Graff 2
Scape Martinez
With lessons that delve deeper into the elements covered in Graff (2009), Graff 2 will expand and fine tune your graffiti techniques including 3D wild style, characters and objects and letter manipulation.

 

New Children’s Picture Books

Itsy Mitsy Runs Away 
Elanna Allen
When a little girl decides to run away, her father helps her pack.

Slightly Invisible  
Lauren Child
Charlie and his friend Marv do not want Charlie's little sister, Lola, interrupting them while they use the invisibility potion they invented to find strange creatures. However, when Lola gets help from her invisible friend and gathers various materials, she is able to help Charlie and Marv with their task.

Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet
Kelly S. DiPucchio
Gilbert the goldfish enjoys his life with a castle, treasure chest and food that falls from the sky, but what he really wants is a pet.

Rrralph  
Lois Ehlert
The narrator describes discovering how Ralph the dog can talk, appropriately saying words such as "roof," "rough," "bark," and "wolf."

My Side of the Car
Kate Feiffer
Sadie and her father have been planning a trip to the zoo for a long time but something always gets in the way. So when they finally start out, and her father sees some raindrops, Sadie insists there is no rain on her side of the car.

Ones and Twos
Marthe Jocelyn
Ones and Twos introduces readers to counting animals and objects in the park as two friends play together. The book focuses on the concepts of numeracy, sorting and pairing.

Froggy Goes to Hawaii 
Jonathan London
When Froggy goes on vacation to Hawaii, he is too excited to pay much attention to his parents.

Baby Says “Moo!”
JoAnn Macken
A cumulative, rhyming tale of a baby who sees many animals while out with her family, only one of which makes her favorite sound.

The Amazing Adventures of Supercat!
Kate McMullan
Supercat, traveling from home in the Milky Way, knows just what to do for babies who have lost their blankies, refuse to put on their pajamas and have other small dilemmas.

Al Pha’s Bet  
Amy Rosenthal
Al Pha bets he is the perfect man for the job when the king announces the 26 newly invented letters need to be put in order.

Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator!
Mo Willems
Amanda and her alligator have lots of fun together, but when Amanda's grandfather buys her a panda, Alligator must learn to make new friends.

Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji
F. Zia
Aneel and his grandfather, Dada-ji, tell stories, use their imaginations and make delicious roti, a traditional Indian flatbread.

 

New Children's Fiction

Super Amoeba
Jennifer Holm
The young amoeba Squish, inspired by his favorite comic book hero, Super Amoeba, tries to navigate his way through school and save his friends and the world from the evils that lurk in the halls. Super Amoeba is the first book in the Squish series.

Till Death Do Us Bark
Kate Klise
In this story told mostly through letters, Noah Breth's feuding children come to Ghastly, Illinois, to follow a trail of limericks to their inheritance. Meanwhile, Seymour tries to convince Iggy and Olive to let him keep Mr. Breth's dog. Till Death Do Us Bark is the third book in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series.

A Tale of Two Castles
Gail Carson Levine
Elodie, 12, journeys to Two Castles in hopes of studying acting but instead becomes apprentice to a dragon, who teaches her to be observant and use reasoning, thus helping her to uncover who is poisoning the king.

Lucky For Good
Susan Patron
Lucky, 11, feels like the universe is conspiring against her as she faces troubles with her father, the health inspector, her school principal and middle school boys. Lucky For Good is the third book in the Hardpan trilogy.

The Midnight Gate
Helen Stringer
Belladonna Johnson is still adjusting to her new powers as the Spellbinder, and that her parents, who are ghosts, disappear with no warning. Belladonna must turn to an old friend for help in finding the Queen of the Abyss, who may hold the answers Belladonna needs. The Midnight Gate is the sequel to Spellbinder.

 

New Children's Non-Fiction

Star Wars: Mysteries of the Jedi
Elizabeth Dowsett
Star Wars: Mysteries of the Jedi introduces young readers to Jedi heroes, the requirements for becoming a Jedi, the techniques for using a lightsaber, the secrets of the Force and other topics related to Star Wars.

Time For a Bath
Steve Jenkins
Time For a Bath uses illustrations and text to show how different animals take baths.

Time to Eat
Steve Jenkins
Time to Eat uses illustrations and text to reveal the eating habits of pandas, anacondas, ticks and other animals.

Time to Sleep
Steve Jenkins
Time to Sleep uses illustrations and text to show the sleeping habits of various animals.

Monkey a Trickster Tale From India  
Gerald McDermott
Crocodile wants to feast on Monkey's heart and Monkey must outsmart him if he is to continue to enjoy eating mangoes all day.

We Are America
Walter Dean Myers
We Are America examines the events and people that have shaped America, providing portraits of figures such as Chief Tecumseh, President Abraham Lincoln and musician Jimi Hendrix. We Are America features lyrical, free-verse poetic text.

How to Talk to an Autistic Kid 
Daniel Stefanski
How to Talk to an Autistic Kid offers insight into the common communication patterns of children with autism. The book provides advice to children and adults on how to approach and talk to children affected by this disorder. How to Talk to an Autistic Kid is written by a 14-year-old with autism.

Star Wars: Battles For the Galaxy
Daniel Wallace
Star Wars: Battles For the Galaxy provides information about the soldiers, armies and battles fought in the Star Wars motion pictures. The book also includes production stills.

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