Chandler Baker

Wesley King

A witty and thought-provoking YA love story set during the COVID-19 quarantine, written by two NYT bestselling authors, with shades of Five Feet Apart and Anna and the French Kiss. Maxine and Jonah bump into each other in the canned goods aisle of the grocery store just as the state of California is going into lockdown, when everything changes completely. Could there be a worse time to meet? Max's part-time job at a supermarket is about to transform into a hellish gauntlet. Jonah's preexisting anxiety is about to become an epic daily struggle. As Max, Jonah, and their friends live together but apart through hijinks, humanity, and heartbreak, Hello (From Here) cuts across urgent matters much bigger than a teenage crush. Differences of class, privilege, mental health, and sacrifice are thrown into stark relief by the profound and personal stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic. As thoughtful, probing, and informed as it is buoyant, romantic, and funny, Hello (From Here) looks at the first two months of the quarantine and adds falling hopelessly in love to the mess.

Hello (from Here)

A thirteen-year-old boy's life revolves around hiding his obsessive complsive disorder until a girl at school, who is unkindly nicknamed Psycho Sara, notices him for the first time and he gets a mysterious note that changes everything.

OCDaniel

Kobe Bryant

A struggling team of kids from a poor neighborhood is transformed by the appearance of a mysterious coach.

Training Camp

“A swift-paced survival tale that’s a cool blend of Lord of the Flies and Journey to the Center of the Earth.” —School Library Journal “A sharp meditation on the seemingly universal difficulties of being young, smart, and uncertain.” —BCCB “A multifaceted journey from darkness to light.” —Kirkus Reviews Winner of the Red Maple Fiction Award A class field trips turns into an underground quest for survival in the latest middle grade novel from the author of Edgar Award winner OCDaniel. Mr. Baker’s eighth grade class thought they were in for a normal field trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. But when an earthquake hits, their field trip takes a terrifying turn. The students are plunged into an underground lake…and their teacher goes missing. They have no choice but to try and make their way back above ground, even though no one can agree on the best course of action. The darkness brings out everyone’s true self. Supplies dwindle and tensions mount. Pretty and popular Silvia does everything she can to hide her panic attacks, even as she tries to step up and be a leader. But the longer she’s underground, the more frequent and debilitating they become. Meanwhile, Eric has always been a social no one, preferring to sit at the back of the class and spend evenings alone. Now, he finds himself separated from his class, totally by himself underground. That is, until he meets an unexpected stranger. Told from three different points of view, this fast-paced adventure novel explores how group dynamics change under dire circumstances. Do the students of Mr. Baker’s class really know each other at all? Or do they just think they do? It turns out, it’s hard to hide in the dark.

A World Below

“It’s the vivid, insightful depiction of Sara’s internal struggles that readers will remember.” —Booklist In this prequel to the Edgar Award–winning OCDaniel, fan-favorite Sara quests for “normal” and finds something even better along the way. Sara’s Rules to be Normal 1. Stop taking your pills 19. Make a friend 137. Don’t put mayonnaise on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sara wants one thing: to be normal. What she has instead are multiple diagnoses from Dr. Ring. Sara’s constant battle with False Alarm—what she calls panic attacks—and other episodes cause her to isolate herself. She rarely speaks, especially not at school, and so she doesn’t have any friends. But when she starts group therapy she meets someone new. Talkative and outgoing Erin doesn’t believe in “normal,” and Sara finds herself in unfamiliar territory: at the movies, at a birthday party, and with someone to tell about her crush—in short, with a friend. But there’s more to Erin than her cheerful exterior, and Sara begins to wonder if helping Erin will mean sacrificing their friendship.

Sara and the Search for Normal

Daniel is different

When supervillains of the Vindico realize they are getting too old to fight the League of Heroes, they kidnap and begin training five teens, but James, Lana, Hayden, Emily, and Sam will not become the next generation of evil without a fight.

The Vindico

James, Hayden, Lana, Sam and Emily use their new superpowers to try to save abducted members of the League of Heroes, and when Emily disappears, they must find their friend before it's too late.

The Feros

Reggie has never felt destined for greatness. He dreams about basketball brilliance all day and night, but the hard truth is that he's a benchwarmer for the West Bottom Badgers the worst team in the league. Even their mysterious new coach, Rolabi Wizenard, can't seem to help them end their losing streak. Reggie is willing to train tirelessly to improve his game, but the gym itself seems to be working against him in magical ways. Before Reggie can become the player he dreams of being, he must survive the extraordinary trials of practice.

The Wizenard Series, Season One

Mónica Rubio

Serie Wizenard. Libro II

Training camp. El libro de Twig

In 2156, when Jonah awakens on the Fantastic Flying Squirrel, he is informed that he is one of 200 children being trained as The Incredible Space Raiders, whose mission is to destroy the Entirely Evil Things of the Dark Zone, but there is more going on than any of the children could guess.

The Incredible Space Raiders from Space!

Lord of the Rings meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets The Duff in this funny, fast-paced tale of middle-school monsters, self-image, and, oh yeah, actual monsters that want to kill everyone. Laura Ledwick is... well... large. The kids at school don't let her forget it, and call her by various names: Laura Largebottom, Laura Lardo, Lots of Laura--you get the idea. When Laura's family moves to the next town over before eighth grade, she expects more of the same. What she doesn't expect are the snake-like yellow eyes watching her from the forest. Or the mysterious rattling in her closet. Or finally making real friends for the first time. Or handsome uber-nerd Liam R. Kelp, who might just be the cutest boy to ever wear a Science Is Cool T-shirt. But when Laura finally discovers the source of the rattling, things take on a whole new level of weird. It turns out Laura has just been given the most important job in the world: Monster Crusher. Her role is simple: protect the earth from the horrors beneath their feet. Eighth grade is about to get a lot more interesting.

Laura Monster Crusher

#1 New York Times Bestseller From the mind of basketball legend and Academy Award–winning storyteller Kobe Bryant comes this radically original portrait of five young basketball players, one enlightening coach, and the awesome transformative power of the game. Filled with insights about the mental stamina and emotional clarity that peak performance requires, this is an indispensable story for young athletes, coaches, educators, and anyone interested in the astonishing potential of team sports to unlock individual growth. THE GAME WILL NEVER BE THE SAME Magic doesn’t seem possible for the West Bottom Badgers. They’re the lowest-ranked basketball team in their league, and they live in the poorest neighborhood in Dren. Nobody expects them to succeed at anything. Plus, every kid on the team has secret struggles of his own. When a new coach named Professor Wizenard arrives on the first day of training camp, the Badgers can’t explain the magical-seeming things they see and hear. Every player experiences unique and strange visions—visions that challenge everything they thought they knew about basketball, and about their lives and their secrets off the court. To survive the increasingly intense ordeals of training, the Badgers will need to take unimaginable risks, learn to trust their teammates, and confront the darkness within themselves.

The Wizenard Series: Training Camp

Sara auf der Suche nach Normal

The high-octane sequel to The Vindico, for superhero fans everywhere! After using their new superpowers to defeat their evil mentors, James, Hayden, Sam, Emily, and Lana are ready to join the League of Heroes. But as their induction into the League draws near, they are framed by a group of rogue Heroes and given life sentences on the Perch, and the only one who can clear their names is missing. Unsure of who to trust or where to turn, the teens’ new skills are further put to the test when a group of strange Shadow people start trailing their every move and the Vindico, their group of evil mentors, are let out of prison.

#1 New York Times Bestseller Reggie has never felt destined for greatness. He dreams about basketball brilliance all day and night, but the hard truth is that he's a benchwarmer for the West Bottom Badgers, the worst team in the league. Even their mysterious new coach, Rolabi Wizenard, can't seem to help them end their losing streak. Reggie is willing to train tirelessly to improve his game, but the gym itself seems to be working against him in magical ways. Before Reggie can become the player he dreams of being, he must survive the extraordinary trials of practice. Basketball legend Kobe Bryant presents this illuminating follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller The Wizenard Series: Training Camp—a story of strain and sacrifice, supernatural breakthroughs, and supreme dedication to the game.

The Wizenard Series: Season One

A young computer genius is chased by sleek, high-tech drones into a land populated by Godzilla-size dragons, setting off a war that only he can stop. Part Eragon, part Transformers, with a magical beating heart at its center. Marcus Brimley was just four years old when his CIA analyst father went missing and the world branded him a traitor. Eight years later, searching for clues to find his father and prove his innocence, Marcus breaks a complex code that sends him shooting through a storm into an alternate realm . . . but he doesn't travel alone. When Marcus lands in this new world, Dracone, he finds that he has been followed by government drones. And they're out to destroy Marcus and all of Dracone. While fleeing the drones, Marcus meets Dree, a twelve-year-old Draconian girl who comes from a family of dragon riders. Dree explains to Marcus that while humans and dragons used to be friends, Dracone's new prime minister has turned them into enemies, with humans hunting dragons for sport and dragon-riding families like Dree's pushed to the poorer outskirts of the city. But the drones are firing on both the dragons and the people of Dracone. Soon, Marcus and Dree discover that they must get help from the dragons if they want to stop an all-out war that will leave the incredible realm of Dracone decimated.

Dragons Vs. Drones

Marcus and Dree's efforts to organize a quest to find the storied, magical Egg are challenged by the reluctance of Dracone's rebels and dragons and the advancing war against Francis' army of drones.

Enemy of the Realm

Dragons vs. Drones

In book two of the series that's Eragon meets Transformers, Marcus and Dree prepare to set out on a quest to find the storied, magical Egg. But first they'll have to rally Dracone's rebels and dragons if they're going to have any chance of winning the war against Francis's army of drones. Having barely escaped the wrath of Prime Minister Francis Xidorne and his army of drones, Marcus Brimley finds himself back on Earth, this time with Dree and George in tow. The group's mission is clear: Find the Flames' ancient Egg and bring it back to Dracone, so that its powerful dragon magic can be harnessed in the fight against the drones. But when the U.S. government complicates their plans, Marcus, Dree, and George must figure out another way to get their hands on the Egg—even if it means making an enormous sacrifice. Meanwhile, the situation waiting for Marcus and Dree back in Dracone is worse than ever. Francis's factories continue to churn out new drones by the day, and with attacks becoming more powerful and more frequent, the displaced citizens of Dracone begin to form a rebel army of their own—one that isn't quite on board with the dragon/human alliance. And as the war escalates and Francis's army grows stronger, Marcus and Dree can't help but wonder: Who's on their side? Praise for Dragons vs. Drones: "This mash-up of fantasy and sci-fi is excellently done. Middle-grade readers will devour this and rejoice that the ending leaves room for a sequel." —Booklist "[Dragons vs. Drones] will hold strong appeal for kids who are into coding and all things tech." —School Library Journal

Wesley King

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