AQUIFER - Coming July 2013!
Only He Can Bring What They Need to Survive.
In 2250, water is scarce, and those who control it, control everything. They'll do anything to maintain their power---deceiving, dividing families, banning love ... killing those who oppose them. Above all, they seek to control knowledge and communication---ensuring the truth that will bring their downfall will never be known. But one person verges on discovering it all.
Sixteen-year-old Luca becomes the Deliverer, the one chosen to make the yearly pilgrimage: He must descend to the domain of the hideous 'Water Rats,' creatures who mine the essential water and pump it to the desperate 'Toppers,' in exchange for light. But when Luca meets a Water Rat who captures his heart and leads him to secrets---secrets about a vast conspiracy, and about himself---the net around him tightens.
Luca and those around him must uncover and share the truth needed to overthrow tyranny---even as they fight for their lives.
ALDO'S FANTASTICAL MOVIE PALACE -Now Available!
In the Darkness of this Theater, Anything Can Happen.
The family's broken-down theater has always been a safe place for Chloe. There, no one can see the scars that line her face—scars her inventor father accidentally caused, leaving even deeper wounds between them.
In the darkness she meets Nick, a boy with his own hurts. While Nick isn't the most pleasant companion, a rocky friendship is formed over their love of films. Soon the two are working on a movie script about a fantastical world—one that suddenly comes alive on the screen.
Chloe and Nick are transported into an adventure beyond what they ever imagined, filled with dragons, magical pools, and a sinister vapor that threatens to destroy everyone. But when tragedy strikes, Chloe must find the courage to step out of the shadows and find what she's always longed for.
THE LAST MARTIN
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review, School Library Journal
There's always a Martin. Only one Martin.
Martin Boyle already has plenty to worry about. His germaphobic mother keeps him home from school if she hears so much as a sneeze, and his father is always off somewhere reenacting old war battles. Julia, the most beautiful girl in school, won't even speak to Martin, and the gym teacher is officially out to get him. Which is why Martin really doesn't need this curse hanging over his head.
On a trip to the family cemetery, Martin wanders among the tombstones of his ancestors and discovers a disturbing pattern: when one Martin is born, the previous Martin dies. And---just his luck---Martin's aunt is about to give birth to a baby boy, who will, according to tradition, be named Martin. Martin must find a way to break the curse, but every clue seems to lead to a dead end. And time is running out.
RUSH - Available Now from Penguin/Speak
Get an inside scoop from the Author
"Eighteen-year-old Jake’s latest stunt got him kicked out of school, but that’s small potatoes to a kid who scales bare mountain rock in the pouring rain and dives off treacherous waterfalls without blinking. It’s all for the rush, which erases the itching numbness of normal life; when free-falling, he thinks: “I’m Jake King, small and stupid and reeling with a glorious panic.”
Though he has avoided the firefighting life of his father and older brother—and much of their town—now it seems like the only way to salvage his troubled life. Just like that, he is hired on to a hotshot heli-rappeling crew alongside men who debate dinner choices while beating back blazes. Quickly Jake clashes with Mox, the leader of an elite group called the Immortals, as well as a secret society called the Rush Club—a grim brotherhood of daredevils that Jake is simultaneously attracted to and repelled by.
Friesen’s thrill ride benefits from its unusual setting and its pulse-pounding action (and romance!), making it go down like a six-pack of Red Bull. Grades 9-12." --Daniel Kraus, Booklist
JERK, CALIFORNIA - Available Now from Penguin/Speak
Winner, ALA 2009 Schneider Family Book Award~"Best Book for Teens"
Listen to an Audio Clip read by Jonathan
Listen to Jerk, California Music
Sam Carrier is one confused kid. The high-school senior has Tourette's Syndrome messing with his body, Naomi Archer messing with his heart, and a dead dad messing with his mind.
Sam takes off on a road-trip to California looking for some peace. Each stop brings Sam and Naomi (yep, she comes along) closer to a truth Sam doesn't want to face, but can't run from anymore. It's the adventure of a lifetime, and his last chance to find out whose he really is.
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"Emotionally rewarding." --VOYA
"Sam and his story are quixotic in the best possible way: he is a good-hearted dreamer trying to do right by his dulcinea. Debut author Friesen has Tourette syndrome, and he brings complexity and nuance to Sam’s struggle for understanding and self-acceptance. The pacing is leisurely, but like any good road story, there are enough corners and bends to keep readers eagerly anticipating what lies ahead at the journey’s end." --Booklist
"Compelling!" --School Library Journal
