The teenage descendant of Sir Lancelot featured in The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (2005) and Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon (2007, both Bloomsbury) returns for another adventure. Alfred has died and been restored to life, is looked after by Archangel Michael, and can heal others with his blood. He is trying to live a normal life with his legal guardian, the former Operative Nine (top agent) of OIPEP (Office of Inter-dimensional Paradoxes and Extraordinary Phenomenon). When Samuel is shot in a surprise attack, Alfred pursues the perpetrator and an intense chase leads to the death of several police officers. The teen is arrested and placed in a psych ward. He is soon offered a deal by OIPEP's new Op-Nine, Nueve: they will help him escape if he gives them the Seal of Solomon. Can Alfred trust OIPEP? Who is trying to kill him? And what is the thirteenth skull? Fast paced from start to finish, with numerous chase scenes (by car, horse, and other means), flying bullets, betrayals, and more, this is a great book for action fans and reluctant readers.

This creepy, allegorical thriller by a Carnegie Medal-winning author grabs readers from the very first page. Kit, 15, and his parents are sailing in unfamiliar, fog-shrouded waters when their boat rams into jagged rocks. His parents don't believe Kit when he admits that he lost control of the helm after he saw an older man's face, identical to his own, beneath the waves. They manage to get to a nearby island that appears to be deserted until Kit spots a lone girl nimbly jumping from cliff to cliff. When he and his parents set off after her, they discover a small group of religious fanatics living there. Their request for help is met with hostility, particularly toward Kit, and the islanders threaten them with clubs and stones. Soon after, the teen returns to camp to find his parents gone and their tent torn to pieces. In his search for them, Kit repeatedly encounters his mysterious doppelganger. The islanders believe that this man is the Devil and his return will herald the start of the Apocalypse and the end of the world. Is he really the Devil and Kit his spawn, as the islanders believe? Or is he God?

Alex Rider is giving it up. Being a teenage secret agent is just too dangerous. He wants his old life back. As he lies in the hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound, he contemplates the end of his career with MI6, the British secret service. But then he saves the life of Paul Drevin, son of multibillionaire Nikolei Drevin, and once again he is pulled into service. This time his mission involves eco-terrorists, rockets to space, maniacal killers, and a less-than-idyllic tropical island. Is it all in a day's work, or will this truly be Alex Rider's last mission? The action-filled plot develops quickly and keeps readers on the edge of their seats. The over-the-top characters, with their exaggerated quirks and personalities, work well in this James Bond-like novel.

Brooks's (The Road of the Dead) latest novel wraps high-speed, adrenaline-laced adventure around a thought-provoking exploration of the very nature of identity and existence. A routine endoscopy goes terribly wrong for 16-year-old Robert when the camera discovers that the boy's belly is filled with a network of mysterious, inhuman machinery. Rousing himself from deep anesthetization, Robert calls on hitherto untapped inner powers to escape from a steely-eyed and sinister man called Ryan and others who seem to have been called in from a covert government agency. Robert finds himself accused of murder and, in desperation, lands on the doorstep of Eddi Ray, a young woman who specializes in producing thoroughly documented false identities. Soon Robert and Eddi flee the English chill and gloom (so vividly evoked by Brooks that the icy drizzle is nearly palpable) for a new life-and eventually romance-in sunny southern Spain. A tantalizingly open-ended conclusion invites speculation long after the book's finish.

Abandoned by her mother and raised by an emotionally distant father, Frances, a teen of Japanese-Jewish descent, struggles to accept herself and cope with her brother's suicide. She recognizes that to come to grips with her guilt and grief, she must understand the reasons behind Daniel's tragic death. Daniel was actively involved with Unity, their private school's charitable organization, but Frances avoided it, even though it was responsible for both siblings' scholarships. She feels the need to carry on his work with Unity despite the unwillingness of the group to accept her. As time passes, she senses that things are not right; teachers, students, and the organization itself are not who they seem to be. What she uncovers puts her own life in danger and leads to some shocking truths about Daniel's life and death.

When fifteen-year-old Max Gordon's environmentalist-adventurer father goes missing while working in Namibia and Max becomes the target of a would-be assassin at his school in England, he decides he must follow his father to Africa and find him before they both are killed.

Eighteen-year-old Eli Samuels, whose once-vibrant mother is losing her long battle with the ravages of Huntington's disease, is hired at the Wyatt Transgenics Lab. Eli's father is dead set against the job because of a secret he harbors concerning the lab's owner, Dr. Quincy Wyatt, and Eli's mother. Shortly after starting work, the teen meets Kayla Matheson, a beautiful girl who eerily reminds him of a photo of his mother when she was young. Slowly, Eli uncovers one layer after another of the shocking truth about Dr. Wyatt's genetic-engineering experiments and their connection to his parents, Kayla, and himself. With the support of his longtime girlfriend and soul mate, he confronts Dr. Wyatt in a taut climax to the story. Werlin clearly and dramatically raises fundamental bioethical issues for teens to ponder. She also creates a riveting story with sharply etched characters and complex relationships that will stick with readers long after the book is closed.

Welcome to Echo Falls.Home of a thousand secrets, where Ingrid Levin-Hill, super sleuth, never knows what will happen next. Ingrid is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or at least her shoes are. Getting them back means getting involved in a murder investigation rivaling those solved by her idol, Sherlock Holmes, and Ingrid has enough on her plate with club soccer, school, and the plum role of Alice in the Echo Falls production of Alice in Wonderland . But much as in Alice's adventures down the rabbit hole, things in Ingrid's small town keep getting curiouser and curiouser. Her favorite director has a serious accident onstage (but is it an accident?), and the police chief is on Ingrid's tail, grilling her about everything from bike-helmet law to the color of her cleats. Echo Falls has turned into a nightmare, and Ingrid is determined to wake up. Edgar Award-nominated novelist Peter Abrahams builds suspense as a smart young girl finds that her small town isn't nearly as safe as it seems.

In this breathtaking new story from the astonishing imagination of James Patterson, a girl has to save herself from an army assembled just to capture her - and maybe save the planet while she's at it. THEN SHE WAS THREATENED. Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control genetic experiment. Max and the other members of the flock - five kids who share her remarkable ability - have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the effects of global warming. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism - and escaping government forces who are watching the flock all the time.
THIS IS HER FINAL WARNING. But even in Antarctica, enduring in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world. . . .
 

When his father is framed for murder and bioterrorism, high-school junior Evan, using clues from a stolen laptop, travels from Seattle to Paris with two friends to find the real culprit.

Edgar Award-winner Sorrells writes both adult mysteries and young adult thrillers; among the latter is Fake ID,  a 2005 Top 10 Youth Mystery. His latest youth thriller is captivating on several counts. For starters, its teen narrator, David Crandall, is in the midst of a Dickensian drama: his mother was murdered, and his father, the head of the boarding school that David attends, abuses David emotionally and physically. Keeping the suspense taut is David's suspicion that his father murdered his mother. David's first-person narration pulls readers into the young man's torment, which is vividly reinforced by the bleak atmosphere of his school. Add to that David's desire to hold on to his distinction as the best marksman at school, and the plot fairly races.

If Robert Ludlum ever wrote a book for young adults, it would probably be a lot like Whyman's action-packed techno-thriller. Carl Hobbes, a 17-year-old British hacker, has penetrated the ultimate network: he's hacked into Fort Knox. Although he hasn't done it for profit ("I did it because I could.... It was the security measures I wanted to beat"), his ingenuity isn't exactly appreciated. The U.S. government essentially kidnaps him, and, along with some of the most infamous mercenaries and terrorists in the worlds, transports him to a U.S. detainment camp in the Arctic Circle known as the Guant namo Bay of the North" for questioning. Soon after arrival, Hobbes and other enemies of the state are subjected to brutal interrogations-but when one of the detainees successfully stages a violent uprising, Hobbes must decide which side he is on. Powered by a fast-paced narrative, the exploration of numerous timely themes-criminality on the digital frontier, the war on terrorism, the ethics of torture and prolonged detainment versus human rights-gives this eminently readable adventure a degree of depth.

Griffin O'Conner, a precocious nine-year-old jumper (a person with the power to self-teleport), becomes the target of a ruthless cabal hell-bent on killing him. After assassins murder his parents in their San Diego home, Griffin barely escapes with his life by jumping to a location hundreds of miles away. But every time Griffin relocates, the mysterious operatives somehow track him down and kill those close to him. As the once na?ve Griffin grows older, he learns to use his abilities in ingenious ways and ultimately embarks on a quest to avenge the deaths of his parents and others who died just because they befriended him.

Fourteen-year-olds Ananka Fishbein, Kiki Strike, and the other Irregulars encounter a Chinese mummy, a ghost, trained squirrels, and old enemies as they try to stop an art forgery ring and safeguard the secret streets hidden beneath New York City in this quirky and suspenseful mystery.

Life will never be the same for Ananka Fishbein after she ventures into an enormous sinkhole near her New York City apartment with Kiki Strike and her "dangerous" group of Irregulars. A million rats, delinquent girls out for revenge, and a secret city below the streets of Manhattan combine in this remarkable novel about a darker side of New York City you have only just begun to know about...

Britney is the girl everyone loves to hate. Ever since Britney transformed herself from freak-and-geek to the most popular girl at school, her life has been touched by tragedy. First it was her mom, who drowned on a family rafting trip. Then her hockey-star boyfriend, Ricky, was killed in a hit-and-run.When the deaths continue to pile up, everyone fears for Britney. Sure she's popular, blond, and fabulous. But is that enough reason for someone to want to... kill her?

Fifteen-year-old Moo Nelson, smart, perceptive, but also shy, overweight, and bullied by his classmates, finds his life spinning out of control after he witnesses a car chase and a fight that results in a murder.

Rachel Buchanan, 15, is Blackthorn Academy's newest student. Arrested in California for grand theft auto, the wealthy teen is sent to this Pennsylvania boarding school to avoid a sentence in juvenile detention. It is here that Rachel's life changes forever. Blackthorn Academy is no ordinary boarding school, and Jonathon Kim is no ordinary headmaster. Rachel's penchant for discovering the truth leads her unwittingly into her first mission-to save the Book of Seraphim-and ultimately to uncover Kim's secret. A former FBI special agent, the headmaster runs a covert operation through the school to protect the world from Simon Blankenship, another former Special Forces agent who believes he is the mythical underworld god, Mithras, reborn and destined to rule the world.

CHERUB agents are all seventeen and under. They wear skate tees and hemp, and look like regular kids. But they're not. They are trained professionals who are sent out on missions to spy on terrorists and international drug dealers. CHERUB agents hack into computers, bug entire houses, and download crucial documents. It is a highly dangerous job. For their safety, these agents DO NOT EXIST. Two hundred eighty child criminals live in the sunbaked desert prison Arizona Max. One of them is the son of a weapons dealer who has been selling U.S. missiles to terrorists. If CHERUB can get the kid, they can get the parent. Over the years, CHERUB has put plenty of criminals behind bars. Now, for the first time ever, they've got to break one out....

An alternative England is divided between the Naughts and the Crosses. Callum is a looked-down-upon naught, and, as readers slowly realize, he's white. His best friend, Sephy, a black Cross, comes from a privileged family for whom Callum's mother works. A misunderstanding leads to her firing, but Callum and Sephy maintain deep affection for one another. After Callum gets into Sephy's previously all-black high school, the world begins to close in on them. The premise--what would happen if societal roles were reversed--is not unfamiliar, but the way Blackman personalizes it makes for a thrilling, heartbreaking story. The tale unfolds in 117 short chapters, alternately narrated by Sephy and Callum, and readers will watch with something akin to horror as the teenagers try to sustain what has become love through serpentine wrong turns and events beyond their control: Sephy's do-gooder efforts, the suicide of Callum's sister, and Callum's family's turn to violence.

Danny and his ex-SAS grandfather, Fergus Watts, survive an attempt on their lives while hiding out in Spain. They stop running and return to the UK with the hope of clearing their names and resuming a normal life, and are recruited to help uncover a corrupt MI5 agent who, at the same time, is trying to have them killed. Danny enlists the help of his friend Elena so that he and Fergus can accomplish the impossible: breaking into the heavily secured British Ministry of Defense in order to get official proof of Fergus's background and save their lives. The police are on high alert because of a series of suicide bombings carried out by teenagers, and MI5 tries to frame Danny as a terrorist. Adventure and suspense drive this plot.

Brian uses basketball to block out memories of his girlfriend and her family who were gunned down a year ago, but the upcoming murder trial and a high school history assignment force him to face the past and decide how far he should go to see justice served.

 Like M. T. Anderson's Feed (2002), this hip, fascinating thriller aggressively questions consumer culture. Seventeen-year-old Hunter lives up to his name. A cool hunter, he's paid by corporations to comb his native Manhattan in search of street style that could become the next new trend. Hunter meets and falls for fellow teen culture-watcher Jen, just before Hunter's boss mysteriously disappears. Jen and Hunter hold the most clues, and their wild, increasingly dangerous search uncovers a plot to subvert a consumer system that dictates what is cool.

STORM: Science and Technology to Over-Rule Misery is an organization founded in London by 14-year-old genius Andrew, a software millionaire who wants to change the world for the better. He has recruited Will, Gaia, and Caspian, also prodigies, to help him with his endeavor. After one successful mission, though, things start to go awry. Caspian's father, Vassily Baraban, a famous astrophysicist, has been kidnapped, and his son is willing to do whatever it takes to save him, even if that means breaking away from STORM and joining a group that might destroy it. This is a great novel for aficionados of Anthony Horowitz's "Alex Rider" books (Philomel), but it's a lot more technical.

When Agent Six, a member of The Deck, a group fighting against their corrupt society, discovers that he is the product of an illegal experiment by the evil Lab, he takes dangerous steps to discover the truth about himself.

Strange situations seem to follow Jenna Blake like a plague. At her father's wedding reception many guests fall ill, and several are briefly paralyzed. Soon the illness sweeps Jenna's college campus. Now she and her forensics team must identify the unusual infection.

Following their parents' bitter divorce, Rachel and Adam are sent from their New York home to stay with their grandmother. But the quiet English village where their mother was born is a sinister and unsettling place. Is there a genuinely dark heart beating beneath the thatched roofs of the picturesque village of Triskellion? Against a brooding background of very real danger, the two young outsides follow an incredible trail on an archaeological adventure with a startling paranormal twist. In a community where many terrible secrets lie hidden, the villagers of Triskellion have a great deal to protect.

After seventeen-year-old Cam Stewart escapes from the kidnappers who took him from right in front of his San Diego home, he continues a dangerous adventure that includes finding a mysterious chip in his arm which leads him to question his identity.