“You can’t help falling in love with this hilarious upside-down take on Dungeons & Dragons. I read; I cheered; I laughed out loud.”—Gordon Korman In the mystical realm of Bríandalör, every day the brave and the bold delve into hidden temples or forgotten dungeons, battling vile monsters and evil wizards to loot their treasure hoards for sweet, sweet magic items. But in their free time, our heroes—Thromdurr the mighty barbarian, Devis the shifty thief, Vela the noble paladin, Sorrowshade the Gloom Elf assassin, and Albiorix the (good!) wizard—need to relax and unwind. That’s why they meet up once a week to play Homerooms & Hall Passes: a role-playing game where they assume the characters of average American eighth graders. But when the five young adventurers are magically transported into their H&H game by an ancient curse, they must band together to survive their toughest challenge yet: middle school. Who knew that battling ogres would be easier than passing algebra or navigating the cafeteria social scene? They must use what they’ve learned from playing Homerooms & Hall Passes to figure out how to save their game world (which might actually be real...). Dungeons & Dragons meets Jumanji in this new, laugh-out-loud adventure series from the author of the beloved Hamstersaurus Rex series.

It all happened because of Feeney's Original Astronaut Ice Cream. Those accursed pink bars entranced me with their sugary magic! Life on Gelo was fine until the fur-headed "humans" arrived. They invaded our asteroid with their loud drill machines and their endless greed, stealing our precious iridium to take back to their weird-looking blue-and-green planet. Then the mothership took off and four little fur-heads were marooned here. Luckily, the "kids" have cool things like hologram games and rocket bikes. And they know how to pilot starships! But there's plenty the junior humans don't know, like how to fight a feral thyss-cat or ride an usk-lizard. They're decidedly terrible at dealing with my stink gland (yes, we Xotonians have a stink gland). And they definitely seem powerless against the Vorem, a terrifying breed of rival alien that nightmares are made of. Thank goodness the Earthlings have me and all five of my eyes to look after them! If only I knew how to help them get back home. . . .

BEWARE: Rampaging Mutant Dino-Hamster! Fans of My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish and The Terrible Two will be scrambling to get their hands on this hilarious classroom comedy. When a mysterious growling hamster appears at the back of his class, Sam knows just what to call him: Hamstersaurus Rex. Sam tries to protect Hammie from an overzealous Hamster Monitor, and from the meanest bully in the history of Horace Hotwater Middle School. The bully isn’t afraid of some weird little class pet. But maybe he should be. Hamstersaurus Rex is no ordinary hamster.

Just Your Average Teenage Mer-Girl The only thing that terrifies Jade more than the ocean is dancing at the Fall Formal. Because Jade has two left feet—er, flippers. Who knew being a high school freshman is even more awkward than being a plus-size aqua-phobic mer-girl? At least her only drama is of the human variety... Or not. The Mermish Council has just declared that all land-dwelling mers but return to the ocean. Pronto. But there's no way Jade is going to let her mom, or Luke, her...boyfriend? mer-guy-friend?, disappear into the deep, dark ocean. Again. After all, a girl's got to have a date to her first dance. If Jade can stop mer-mageddon, finding a plus-size dress that doesn't look like a shower curtain should be a piece of cake. Praise for Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings: "Bravo to Hélène Boudreau for hitting the bull's-eye with a fresh, affectionate, watery twist on a classic, coming-of-age story."—New York Journal of Books "The author keeps the suspense high...while tapping straight into young teens' angst about friends, enemies, and boys."—Kirkus Reviews

Isabel Sterling's gripping sequel to These Witches Don't Burn is equal parts sweet romance and thrilling mystery. Hannah Walsh just wants to finish high school. It’s her senior year, so she should be focusing on classes and hanging out with her new girlfriend, Morgan. But it turns out surviving a murderous Witch Hunter doesn’t exactly qualify as a summer vacation, and now the rest of the Hunters seem more intent on destroying her magic than ever. Of course, Hannah knows a thing or two about juggling romance and recon missions, so when she learns the Hunters have armed themselves with a serum capable of taking out entire covens at once, she doesn’t think twice about helping. Hannah could be the best shot at finally defeating the Hunters. After all, she’s one of the only Witches to escape a Hunter with her magic intact. Or so everyone believes… As the Hunters get dangerously close to their final target, and Hannah is at risk of losing everything she’s ever known, will all the witches in Salem be enough to stop an enemy determined to destroy magic for good?

In this young adult novel debut, the story of a girl too smart for her own good who, after one tragic night, decides to reject the popular life in exchange for one of solitude. Perfect Parker Fadley isn't so perfect anymore. She's quit the cheerleading squad, she's dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she's failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she's playing games...but what they don't know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn't something she can say out loud. It isn't even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody--be totally alone--then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her. “Cracked Up To Be gives you Parker, her world, her friends, straight up, no chaser. You won't forget her.” —Kathe Koja author of Kissing The Bee

An unforgettable novel from the New York Times bestseller Gordon Korman Link, Michael, and Dana live in a quiet town. But it's woken up very quickly when someone sneaks into school and vandalizes it with a swastika. Nobody can believe it. How could such a symbol of hate end up in the middle of their school? Who would do such a thing? Because Michael was the first person to see it, he's the first suspect. Because Link is one of the most popular guys in school, everyone's looking to him to figure it out. And because Dana's the only Jewish girl in the whole town, everyone's treating her more like an outsider than ever. The mystery deepens as more swastikas begin to appear. Some students decide to fight back and start a project to bring people together instead of dividing them further. The closer Link, Michael, and Dana get to the truth, the more there is to face-not just the crimes of the present, but the crimes of the past. With Linked, Gordon Korman, the author of the acclaimed novel Restart, poses a mystery for all readers where the who did it? isn't nearly as important as the why?