Welcome to the Monday Morning Book Buzz, a preview of notable books being released this week. Some of them will be added to the Academy Library collection; if you read about a title that you would like added to the collection, let me know by either commenting on this post or by contacting me directly at the Library.

If you would like to subscribe to the CA Library Blog, click the Entries (RSS) button at the top of the menu on the right and add the link to your favorite news aggregator. You can also follow us on Facebook by visiting http://www.facebook.com/calibrary and hitting the ‘Like’ button.

This week’s releases are listed by category: Young Adult Fiction, General Fiction and Nonfiction. On-sale dates are indicated in parentheses.

Notable New Releases for the week of October 1st:

Young Adult Fiction

• The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus Series #3) by Rick Riordan (10/2/2012) — In The Son of Neptune, Percy, Hazel, and Frank met in Camp Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Camp Halfblood, and traveled to the land beyond the gods to complete a dangerous quest. The third book in the Heroes of Olympus series will unite them with Jason, Piper, and Leo. But they number only six–who will complete the Prophecy of Seven?

• Son by Lois Lowry (10/2/2012) — Son thrusts readers once again into the chilling world of the Newbery Medal winning book, The Giver, as well as Gathering Blue and Messenger where a new hero emerges. In this thrilling series finale, the startling and long-awaited conclusion to Lois Lowry’s epic tale culminates in a final clash between good and evil. “Infinitely more satisfying than the previous installment, Son is a tender conclusion to this memorable story, and definitely the best of the books in this sequence since The Giver itself.” — School Library Journal

• Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls Series #4) by C. C. Hunter (10/02/2012) — Kylie Galen, attending a camp full of vampires, werewolves, and fairies in Shadow Falls, finally finds out who she is, and, while trying to understand her powers and sort out her feelings for Derek and Lucas, she must choose between staying in Shadow Falls or embracing her destiny.

• Promised (Birthmarked Trilogy Series #3) by Caragh M. O’Brien (10/2/2012) — Gaia succeeds in leading her people to Wharfton and the Enclave, but rebellion there threatens them all just when everything they have dreamed of seems to be at hand. “Less polished and more potentially troubling for close readers, but those who have read the first two will want to see Gaia succeed against the odds once again.” — Kirkus Reviews

• Poison Princess (Arcana Chronicles Series) by Kresley Cole (10/2/2012) — In the aftermath of a cataclysmic event, sixteen-year-old Evie, from a well-to-do Louisiana family, learns that her terrible visions are actually prophecies and that there are others like herself–embodiments of Tarot cards destined to engage in an epic battle. “The prose crackles with energy and interest, and the content taps into the demand for paranormal romance; this could be the next Twilight.” — Booklist

• The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde (10/02/2012) — Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs an agency for underemployed magicians in a world where magic is fading away, but when visions of the death of the world’s last dragon begin, all signs point to Jennifer–and Big Magic.  “Reminiscent of [Terry] Pratchett in tone, this is nevertheless Fforde’s own creature entirely — and entirely satisfying.” — Horn Book

• Fire Season (Star Kingdom Series #2) by David Weber and Jane Lindskold (10/02/2012) — Stephanie Harrington, fourteen-year-old Provisional Forest Ranger on the planet Sphinx, can tell something is wrong with her alien treecat friend, Climbs Quickly, and with the help of Karl Zivonik and others, Stephanie is determines to save the treecat clan from disaster.

• Lucid by Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass (10/02/2012) — Two young girls with very different lives dream themselves into the other’s reality at night, but when their worlds begin to blend, the girls are left to question what is real and what is a dream.

• Feedback by Robison Wells (10/02/2012) — The sequel to Variant. After escaping the walls of Maxfield Academy, Benson Fisher finds himself trapped in a town that is also under the school’s control–where he discovers that Maxfield’s plans are deadlier than anything he imagined.  “An absorbing read that won’t let fans of the first down.” — Kirkus Reviews

• Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt (10/02/2012) — Superstitious before being diagnosed with leukemia, high school senior Mia becomes irrationally dependent on horoscopes, good luck charms, and the like when her life shifts from cheerleading and parties to chemotherapy and platelets, while her parents obsess and lifelong friend Gyver worries.

• Endangered by Eliot Schrefer (10/01/2012) — A girl, having travelled with her mother to an animal sanctuary for bonobos in the Congo, struggles to survive with the animals after revolution breaks out and she and the chimpanzees are forced to flee into the jungle.

• Eve and Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant (10/02/2012) — With the help of her geneticist mother at Spiker Biotech Laboratory, sixteen-year-old Eve Spiker recovers incredibly quickly from the life-threatening injuries she suffered during an accident, and upon becoming friends with handsome teenage lab assistant Solo, the two make discoveries about the what is really going on at the laboratory. “Observant, smart, and unencumbered by emotion, this is a tasty read that readers will devour in a flash. Lucky for them, there’s a sequel planned.” — Publishers Weekly

• Through to You by Emily Hainsworth (10/02/2012) — When a teen boy loses the love of his life in a car accident, he’ll do anything to get her back–even travel to another universe.

• Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch (10/01/2012) — In the twenty-second century, Glennora Morgan’s father has been working on a project that will allow him to penetrate the Rift border and retrieve Glennora’s mother; but now that he has succeeded the Authority is suddenly trying to kill them both, and Glennora and her friend Kevin must flee into the Magisterium to escape them. “This fast-paced, action-packed story features a strong protagonist, fabulous imagery, and romance.” — Booklist

• Kiss & Make Up by Katie D. Anderson (10/02/2012) — Lip gloss addict Emerson Taylor and her best friend, Trina, have declared this year the Year of the Boy and vowed to find boyfriends. But for Emerson, there’s just one problem: she can read the mind of anyone whose lips touch hers.

• Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow (10/02/2012) — In a dystopian, near-future Britain, sixteen-year-old Trent, obsessed with making movies on his computer, joins a group of artists and activists who are trying to fight a new bill that will criminalize even more harmless internet creativity. “For computer-savvy kids who like to think.” — Kirkus Reviews

• Live Through This by Mindi Scott (10/02/2012) — When a relationship trespasses the boundaries of trust, the consequences are complex in this nuanced page-turner from “a formidable talent” (Booklist).

General Fiction

• Mad River (Virgil Flowers Series #6) by John Sandford (10/2/2012) — Virgil Flowers joins the growing army of cops trying to run down three teenagers with dead-end lives who are on a crime spree in Minnesota and who think they are just like Bonnie and Clyde, and their sidekick. “This may be the best entry in a stellar series.” — Booklist Starred Review

• Dark Storm (Dark Series #23) by Christine Feehan (10/2/2012) — Buried alive in a volcano in the Carpathian mountains for hundreds of years, Dax discovers that Mitro, the evil vampire he has been hunting for centuries, is still alive.

• Phantom by Jo Nesbo (10/2/2012) — In this follow-up to Nesbo’s best-selling The Snowman and The Leopard, Harry returns to Oslo to prove that the son of his old love could never be a killer when he is arrested for murder. “Superb on every level.” — Booklist starred review
  

• Live by Night by Dennis Lehane (10/2/2012) — In 1926, during Prohibition, Joe Coughlin defies his strict law-and-order upbringing by climbing a ladder of organized crime that takes him from Boston to Cuba where he encounters a dangerous cast of characters who are all fighting for their piece of the American dream. “Lehane has created a mature, quintessentially American story that will appeal to readers of literary and crime fiction alike.” — Publishers Weekly

• In Sunlight and in Shadow by Mark Helprin (10/2/2012) — Former paratrooper Harry Copeland meets heiress Catherine Thomas Hale on the Staten Island Ferry in the summer of 1946, and struggles to win her heart despite the fact that she is already engaged. “So declarative is this philosophical tale that it can be read as Helprin’s spiritual and lyrical answer to the big, bossy, and enduring novels of Ayn Rand.” — Booklist starred review
  

• The Blackhouse: A Novel by Peter May (10/2/2012) — When a grisly murder occurs on a Scottish island, Edinburgh detective Fin Macleod must confront his past if he is ever going to discover if the killing has a connection to another one that took place on the mainland. “A gripping plot, pitch-perfect characterization, and an appropriately bleak setting drive this outstanding series debut.” — Booklist starred review

• Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey (10/2/2012) — A young Herald trainee in Haven, Mags, is trained as a spy to uncover secrets held by a mysterious new enemy of the kingdom of Valdemar.

• Goldberg Variations: A Novel Susan Isaacs (10/2/2012) — A septuagenarian business owner evaluates her grandchildren as possible successors to her multi-million-dollar beauty empire, including New York movie studio editor Daisy, womanizing sports PR representative Matt, and religious Legal Aid lawyer Raquel. “Fans of her previous novels…and of comparable authors such as Nancy Thayer will enjoy the comic wit of Isaacs’s latest.” — Library Journal

• Dick Francis’s Bloodline by Felix Francis (10/2/2012) — When race caller and television presenter Mark Shillingford confronts his twin sister, Clare, an accomplished and successful jockey, about why she came in second when she should have won a horserace, she storms off. Hours later, she jumps to her death from the balcony of a London hotel — or so it seems. “The usual pleasures of Francis father and son, from inside dope about announcing races to carefully controlled bursts of physical violence, fly by with all the speed of a promising filly on her second one-mile run.” — Kirkus Reviews

Nonfiction

• Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O’Reilly (10/2/2012) — Recounts in gripping detail the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath.

• The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (10/2/2012) — Schwalbe shares his experiences with his mother, Mary Anne, when they formed a bond through reading and discussing the books they read during the two years she was being treated for terminal cancer. “Although it is a story about death, it is mostly a celebration of life and of the way books can enrich it.” — Booklist starred review

• Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger (10/1/2012) – The autobiography of bodybuilder, actor, and politician Schwarzenegger.

• America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren’t by Stephen Colbert (10/2/2012) — Covering subjects ranging from healthcare to the economy to food, Stephen gives a satirical outlook about America getting back on track.

• The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace by H. W. Brands (10/2/2012) — Discusses the reputation of Ulysses S. Grant, who was a popular Civil War general and United States president but who fell into disfavor decades after his death. “Opining on matters for which critics attacked Grant (being surprised at the Battle of Shiloh, scandals during his presidency), Brands’ able portrayal captures the immense popularity that enveloped him in both life and posterity.” — Booklist

• Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat by Dan Hampton (10/2/2012) — Profiles the life of fighter pilot Dan Hampton, describing his service in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and including actual flight data, mission reports, and intelligence summaries, all of which have been declassified. “The author concentrates on the fighting and does a fine job communicating the camaraderie, adolescent horseplay, conservative politics and hair-raising incidents of service in the elite macho fraternity of American fighter pilots.” — Kirkus Reviews