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Troublemakers
“We hate school, but trust me, it doesn’t like us either”
– Carlos in “Troublemakers”There’s the athletes, the straight-A students, the computer club… and then there’s these kids. Meet Carlos, Tina, and Byron, three sixth graders who have two objectives in life: to avoid homework at all costs and to make lots of money so they can buy a sweet car and learn to drive it. Their knack for get-rich-quick schemes and clever methods of cheating are only surpassed by their failure to notice how badly most of their plans blow up in their faces.
Gregg Maxwell Parker’s first title suitable for middle grade and young adult readers will take you on a side-splitting, rude, and somehow encouraging ride through the perils of middle school with three kids who absolutely refuse to be told what to do. Whether dreaming up ways to scam classmates out of their allowances, going to incredible lengths to jump on a trampoline, trying to con their way into the smart-kid class, or navigating the ins and outs of snack-based time travel, they’ve always got something up their sleeves, even if it usually ends up getting them detention.
This book is for anyone who knows what the inside of the principal’s office looks like, who looks at the happy families on TV like your dog looks at your smartphone, and who can’t fathom why any sane person would ever want to become a teacher. Get ready: this one will be a blast for troublemakers of all ages.
From author Gregg Maxwell Parker for Readers 10-18.
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Rick Riordan Presents Aru Shah and the End of Time (A Pandava Novel Book 1)
Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she’ll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?
One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru’s doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don’t believe her claim that the museum’s Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again.
But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it’s up to Aru to save them.
The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?
From author Roshani Cholshi for Readers 9-12.
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The Greatest Spy Who Never Was (Hugo Dare Book 1)
Meet Hugo Dare. Schoolboy turned super spy. Both stupidly dangerous and dangerously stupid.
Thirteen-year-old Hugo’s life is turned upside down when his weekend job at secret organization, SICK, is unexpectedly upgraded eight levels to that of a spy. His first mission – to go deep undercover with Agent One and assist him in any way he can.
Sounds simple, right? Wrong. Very wrong.
A robbery at the Bottle Bank. Diamond smuggling at the Pearly Gates Cemetery. The theft of priceless artifact, Coocamba’s Idol. Hugo is there on each and every occasion, but then so too is someone else.
Wrinkles, the town of Crooked Elbow’s oldest criminal mastermind.
In a battle of good versus evil, young versus old, ugly versus even uglier, there can only be one winner … and it better be Hugo otherwise we’re all in trouble!
From author David Codd for Readers 9-14.
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Chase: The Boy Who Hid – The Hide & Seek Chronicles
A kid inventor. A billion-dollar game of hide-and-seek. One chance to save his family.
His engineer grandfather was the only one who really understood fourteen-year-old Chase. When the old man goes missing, Chase discovers his inheritance: futuristic shapeshifting technology beyond his wildest dreams.
Now he must fly, hide, and spy his way into the government’s classified game of high-tech hide-and-seek, the last place anyone saw Grandad. Given the chance, he’ll do anything to reunite his family, even risk disappearing himself.
From author Z. Jefferies for Readers 11-15.
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Bad Hair Days: A mystery
For Mallow, every day is a Bad Hair Day.
Wearing a wig means Mallow can hide her hair loss. But now someone’s sending her creepy messages. It’s a race to stop them before everyone discovers her secret. Losing her hair was hard enough – but will she lose the people she cares about too?
A touching mystery about family, friendships and being different, from J M Forster, the award-winning author of Shadow Jumper, for Readers 10-14.
