New Releases by Carol Matas

After the shocking murder of her husband, 19-year-old Ros and her one-year-old son relocate to her childhood home to live with her parents. Palm Springs--full of sunlight, small and safe--should be the perfect place to bring up a child. But things aren''t always as they appear. When the father of one of Ros''s friends is shot in front of her house--an incident that also lands Ros in the hospital--it marks the beginning of a terrible string of events. Someone is out to get her, and they seem determined not to stop until her friends and family are also drawn in. As she struggles to uncover the identity of her mysterious enemy, Ros finds herself looking for answers in the most unusual places. Could the attacks have something to do with her increasingly disturbing dreams? And if so, how can she make them stop? In Past Crimes, bestselling author Carol Matas once again asks her readers to question their assumptions about the world around them. Are we capable of fully understanding the lives we lead, or do the things we fail to understand far outnumber those that we do? Growing out of her work in books like The Freak, Past Crimes offers an innovative twist on the mystery/thriller genre, and is a must-read for fans of Matas''s work. Veteran novelist Carol Matas knows that a fast-paced plot is mandatory for youth raised on television. In Ros [the protagonist], Matas has created a heroin who will appeal to teenage girls Canadian Review of Materials Ive read Past Crimes and its interesting that shes tackled something typically new. Shes gone from one genre to another and not many writers can. Shes willing to challenge different kinds of writing, and shes incredibly productive. Helen Norrie, Childrens reviewer from the Winnipeg Free Press as quoted in the Jewish Tribune

Ben flees Nazi Germany only to find himself in a battle for his life and his soul.

Jade decides to use her psychic ability to try and prevent a murder from taking place.

After a life-threatening illness, fifteen-year-old Jade wakes up w ith some unexpected new abilites.

The thrilling sequel to Cloning Miranda and The Second Clone. When Miranda is accused of vandalism on school property, she''s confident she can clear her name - until she''s shown the security tapes. Even she can''t tell that the girl on the tapes isn''t her, or her cloned "twin" sister Ariel. Miranda must fight to clear her name or face being expelled, and possibly charged by the police. But one way or another, she knows she can''t tell the truth to the authorities, or share her suspicions about the real culprit. Meanwhile, Dr. Mullen, her creator, has called a press conference to announce that he is the first scientist ever to create a living human clone. Could the girl on the security tape be yet another Mullen-made Miranda clone? Or could it be Eve, the dying third clone that Mullen kidnapped? No matter what, it looks like Miranda and Ariel are about to face the biggest challenge of their lives.

This dramatic story tells of 11-year-old Devorah''s efforts to help her cousin and pen pal Sarah emigrate from Paris before the Nazis deport the Jews to internment camps. Devorah learns that 5,000 Jewish children in France have visas to leave the country, but the Canadian government will not let them in, leading Devorah to desperately lobby the government to change its policies. Turned Away illustrates the restrictions on the life of Jews in Paris via letters from Sarah who is living in German-occupied France. It also reveals Canada''s dismal record on Jewish immigration during World War II and depicts the impact of the war in Canada. In Winnipeg, one intriguing response to the war was "If Day," when local people posed as Nazis and staged a mock invasion to illustrate what it would be like if the city was occupied. Also included are fascinating period documents and photographs, many from the Holocaust Memorial Museum. The historical consultants for Turned Away were Dr. Irving Abella, co-author of the ground-breaking book None is Too Many, and Terry Copp, author of the remarkable book No Price Too High.

Watch out, Hollywood-here comes Rosie! The year is 1912 and with the success of Papa''s latest baseball film, 13-year-old Rosie and her family move to beautiful Los Angeles to shoot more films starring Rosie. And there''s no wasting time; within days of unpacking, Papa brings home an entire Wild West show so he can make authentic Westerns. Rosie''s so excited about riding a horse for the first time that she forgets to watch her step-and before she knows it, she''s caused a terrible accident for the show''s best trick rider. Where will Papa''s Western movies be without a real trick rider....and with a star who doesn''t even know how to get on a horse? Enter Zach, the son of the injured rider. Rosie finds him simply irritating! And just when it seems that things can''t get worse, she and Zach get hopelessly lost in the hills. All they have to get past the mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and other enemies in the wild are their wits, their skills, and each other. Can Rosie and Zach set aside their differences and brave the challenges ahead?

In her third adventure, Rosie and her family leave Chicago to make movies in Los Angeles and Papa brings home an entire Wild West show for filming.

When Mama falls ill and Papa invests all the family''s money in a new business, eleven-year-old Rosie Lepidus must go to work in a garment factory and soon gets involved in union activities.

After being released from Buchenwald at the end of World War II, fifteen-year-old Ruth risks her life to lead a group of children across Europe to Palestine.

Family means everything to 12-year-old Rebecca Bernstein. Even after a fire destroys their farm and the family must relocate to the bustling city of Winnipeg, Rebecca feels safe and happy as long as everyone is together. But life is hard in the city, and Papa cannot find work. Rebecca''s greatest fears are realized when she is sent into foster care until Papa can earn more money. She is terrified to discover that she''ll be living with a Ukrainian family--Jews and Ukrainianswere archenemies in the old country. What if the Kostianuks hate her? Rebecca discovers an unexpected soulmate in Sophie, the Kostianuks'' daughter. Normally shy, Rebecca soon finds herself battling prejudice both in the schoolyard and at home in order to protect the forbidden friendship. Fighting anti-Semitism, Rebecca comes to appreciate what faith means to her and learns some important truths about her parents'' personal and spiritual sacrifices.

On the anniversary of her great-grandmothers birthday, Roz is given a family heirloom: her great-grandmothers locket. She convinces her mother she wont lose the locket if she wears it to school. But then the unthinkable happens. Someone steals her locket! Can Roz and her friends get it back before her mother finds out?

Isobel thinks that she and her family will find their fortune in Canada. But Isobel''s mother dies before they even cross the ocean, and other misfortunes follow their every step. Isobel''s family and the other Selkirk Settlers are caught in the fur-trading rivalry between the Hudson''s Bay Company and the North West Company and cannot even start to build when they do reach their destination. The harsh climate, and escalating threats against the settlers, make it impossible to start a new life. Only through perserverance and help from the local Cree band are Isobel and her family finally able to put down roots in the Red River Valley. Vetted by historical experts, each book in this series contains maps, numerous period illustrations, and an extensive historical note.

In 1862, after Union forces expel Hannah''s family from Holly Springs, Mississippi, because they are Jews, Hannah reexamines her views regarding slavery and the war.

Ariel, Miranda''s clone, is becoming a person in her own right. Ariel is living with Miranda and they arebecoming close, as sisters do. Everything seems perfect, until Miranda starts noticing things that don''t seem to fit with the Ariel she knows. She sees her sister in places she shouldn''t be, doing things Ariel would never be doing, and Miranda begins to wonder if she herself is going crazy. But then Ariel beginsacting stranger than ever and Miranda gets a horrible feeling... what if there''s more than one clone? And if so, can she find out what''s going on and give Ariel back the life she''s built before it''s too late?

Rebecca learned at a young age how important it is to be liked, when her family left Russia to settle in Hirsch, Saskatchewan, a mostly Jewish community. But Rebecca''s close-knit extended family returns from her triumph on-stage at an amateur night to find their home in flames. With everything they own destroyed, the family is devastated and penniless. They move to Winnipeg, where Rebecca''s father struggles to find work, and where all the family members try to adjust to life in a big city. Rebecca is sent to live with a non-Jewish family until her parents get settled. There, she learns the true meaning of bravery, loyalty, and friendship. As she struggles to re-unite her family, Rebecca bridges the distance between the old world and the new, between her family''s traditional immigrant values and the opportunities of the modern world.

When Lenora and Coren find themselves trapped in a world created as part of the contest held in preparation for their marriage, they encounter the writers who are responsible for their existence.

About to be married in Coren''s homeland of Andilla, Coren and Leonora discover that before the wedding can proceed they must find out why the Andillan people have lost their special powers and why Leonora is having nightmares about the evil Hevak.

"In this sequel to ''After the War, '' Ruth and other refugees forge a new life on a kibbutz in Palestine. Danger strikes as the U.N. prepares to vote on partitioning Palestine and hostilities escalate. For mature audiences" Cf. Our choice, 1998-1999

The Telling chronicles one dramatic summer in the lives of three sisters - aged 12, 14 and 17 - as recounted by them in late night tell-alls. (1998)

After being released from Buchenwald at the end of World War II, fifteen-year-old Ruth risks her life to lead a group of children across Europe to Palestine.

After her father''s sudden death, fourteen-year-old Rose Rives finds that sixteenth-century France is a dangerous place for women, when some greedy, vindictive men charge her mother and others with being witches.

Trouble comes to the kingdom of Gepeth in the form of a flying giant, the appearance of forbidden snow, a tornado, and the loss of Princess Lenora''s extraordinary mental powers.

Follows the adventures of two royal teenagers who possess extraordinary mental powers.

When fourteen-year-old Debbie moves to a new town and Hebrew school following the death of her grandmother, she begins to be uncomfortable with the overly familiar behavior of the Rabbi principal.

In nineteenth-century Russia, betrayed by a fellow Jew, sixteen-year-old Aaron is taken by officers of the Czar and forced into military service.

In the sequel to Adventure in Legoland, the Lego+ao toy characters join together to go on an exciting safari journey. Original.