Books in Laurel-Leaf Books series

Will Lansa, raised by his white mother in Aspen, is spending the summer on the Hopi reservation with his father, the tribal police chief. The chief is investigating the murder of a man found near a sacred place. Some suspect it's the work of a powaqu, a powerful witch. Will's own investigation finds him caught up in ancient prophecies and mystical visions that suddenly place his life in jeopardy.

IT IS THE summer of 1938 when young Paul Moreaux discovers he can “fade.” First bewildered, then thrilled with the power of invisibility, Paul experiments. But his “gift” soon shows him shocking secrets and drives him toward a chilling act.“Imagine what might happen if Holden Caufield stepped into H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man, and you’ll have an idea how good Fade is. . . . I was absolutely riveted.”—Stephen King

During her preschool years, Tara Sullivan lived in terror that something bad would happen to her mother while they were apart. In grade school, she panicked during the practice fire drills. Practice for what?, Tara asked. For the upcoming disaster that was bound to happen? Then, at the age of 11, it happened. Tara heard the phrase that changed her life: Step on a crack, break your mother's back. Before Tara knew it, she was counting every crack in the sidewalk. Over time, Tara's quirks grew and developed: arranging her meals on plates, nonstop prayer rituals, until she developed a new ritual wherin she kissed her fingers and touched doorknobs....

Andrea didn't want to accompany her aunt and a group of privileged people on a boat trip to the Bahamas to look at a valuable artifact. But she's stuck there now, and angry when she realizes that this is a stolen artifact. All the adults want to own it, but Andrea knows it should be retumed to the Peruvian government. Then the object disappears... and someone is found murdered. Who will be next?

Survival in the wilderness--Gary Paulsen writes about it so powerfully in his novels "Hatchet "and" The River "because he's lived it.These essays recount his adventures alone and with friends, along the rivers and in the woods of northern Minnesota. There, fishing and hunting are serious business, requiring skill, secrets, and inspiration. Luck, too--not every big one gets away. This book takes readers through the seasons, from the incredible taste of a spring fish fresh from the smokehouse, to the first sight of the first deer, to the peace of the winter days spent dreaming by the stove in a fishhouse on the ice. In Paulsen's north country, every expedition is a major one, and often hilarious. Once again Gary Paulsen demonstrates why he is one of America's most beloved writers, for he shows us fishing and hunting as pleasure, as art, as companionship, and as sources of life's deepest lessons."

The events in these stories are real. Some names have been changed so I don’t get yelled at.Ned Vizzini writes about the weird, funny, and sometimes mortifying moments that made up his teen years. With wit, irony, and honesty, Teen Angst? Naaah . . . invites you into his world of school, parents, street people, rock bands, friends, fame, camp, sex (sort of), Cancun (almost), prom, beer, Nintendo, the cool (and almost cool), and more. A Holden Caulfield for Generation Y, Ned Vizzini is an original voice to be reckoned with, read, and enjoyed.

Thirteen-year-old Staggerlee used to be called Evangeline, but she took on a fiercer name. She's always been different—set apart by the tragic deaths of her grandparents in an anti-civil rights bombing, by her parents' interracial marriage, and by her family's retreat from the world. This summer she has a new reason to feel set apart—her confused longing for her friend Hazel. When cousin Trout comes to stay, she gives Staggerlee a first glimpse of her possible future selves and the world beyond childhood.