New on my Shelves

This week:

1. Stake That!- Mari Mancusi

Back cover:
Sisters. They'll swipe your clothes, your boyfriends, your destiny. But it wasn't exactly my twin Sunny's fault. Magnus, a vamp hottie and coven leader, mistook her for me last month and bit her instead. Now they're doing the interspecies dating thing.

But back to me. Turns out that for every generation (yes, just like on Buffy), there's a vampire slayer--and this time around, it just happens to be yours trult. My first mission: infiltrate a seedy vamp bar downtown and expose its vampire owner for purposely spreading a blood disease he created himself. A task almost harder than passing trig.

After going it alone once, I realized I needed help. So Magnus sent his sexy Goth buddy Jareth to go undercover with me. And let me just say I wouldn't mind going under the covers with him. Maybe boys don't bite after all...

2. The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool- Margaret Gray

Back Cover:
A very long time ago, a princess was born who was not beautiful. She wasn't even remotely pretty, and the whole kingdown was in deep shock about it.

Princess Rose doesn't get prettier as she grows up, but the kingdom does get over its shock. Everyone adores the skinny, buck-toothed princess, and she doesn't mind her appearance--until the handsomest prince in the world comes looking for a bride.

Despite warnings from her seafaring fairy godmother and a wise fool named Jasper, reckless Rose wishes ffor beauty. She gets her wish and wins the prince, but to her disappointment she finds that neither is as nice as she expected. How can she undo the magic and go back to her old self?

Rose's hilarious struggle to reverse the spell creates a deeply satisfying orginal fairy tale.

3. Ironman- Chris Crutcher

Back Cover:
Bo brewster has been at war with his father as long as he can rememver. After angry outbursts at his football coach and English teacher that cost him his spot on the football team and move him dangerously close to expulsion from school, Bo gets sent to Mr. Nak's before-school Anger Management group (rumored to be populated with future serial killers and freeway snipers).

There he meets a hard-edged pack of survivors whose own defenses are rigged as high as his. And there he meets and falls in love with Shelly, a future American Gladiator, whose passion for physical challenge more than matches his own.

4. Chinese Handcuffs- Chris Crutcher

Back Cover:
Dillon is living with the painful memory of his brother's suicide--and the role he played in it. To keep his mind and body occupied, he trains intensely for the Ironman tiathalon. But outside of practice, his life seems to be falling apart.

Then Dillon finds a confidante in Jennifer, a star high school basketball player who's hiding her own set of destructive secrets. Together, they must find the courage to confront their demons--before it's too late.

5. Stotan!- Chris Crutcher

Back Cover:
It's the last swimming season for Walker, Nortie, Lion, and Jeff, and their coach is building their self-discipline in a grueling four-hour-a-day test of stamina designed to bring them to the outer edge of their capabilities.

As it turns out, Stotan Week is also the week in which secrets are revealed, and the four friends must draw upon their new strengths for an endurance they never knew they'd need.

Yay for new books!