New Releases by Carol Plum-Ucci

The eve of his eighteenth birthday, Toby Kellerman plummeted ninety feet down a well. For seven weeks, he lay in "suspension hell," confined to a rotating bed for spinal injuries and fractures. With only an adjustable mirror to glimpse the world, he pondered the event: someone had pushed him. He recalled the sound of running footsteps as he stood by the well. Strangers surrounded them, but there was no apparent motive. An Anglican priest, passing by, had seen the siblings but no one else. In the darkness, suspicion fell on Toby''s sisters. Grace, a vivacious 15-year-old, was popular, while 11-year-old Trinity, gifted with a towering IQ, struggled with communication and compulsively scratched her face. Despite this, Toby shared a unique bond with Trinity, forged after a dog attack six years prior. In rehab, with the help of a fellow patient, Toby began to suspect a haunting. He dismissed local lore of a witch with a meat hook until he learned of an 18th-century orphan who died falling down a well-the same one he fell into. Confined, he experienced unsettling phenomena from unseen forces. Was he haunted by a malevolent spirit, or was he shielding his beloved sister from the truth?

Years later . . . what really happened to Christopher Creed? When Torey Adams posts on his blog that a body has been found in Steepleton—four years after Christopher Creed disappeared—college reporter Mike Mavic sells his laptop and hops a plane to capture the story that will undoubtedly launch his journalistic career. But what Mike finds is a town suffering under a cloud of bad frequency and people with an underlying streak of meanness. To the teens of Steepleton, Chris is nothing more than history—but to Justin Creed, a teen obsessed with his older brother’s memory and balancing on the edge of sanity, discovering what really happened to Chris Creed is a matter of life and death. This ebook includes a sample chapter of FIRE WILL FALL.

The four teen survivors from Streams of Babel face a new terroristic threat in a thriller that “will keep readers enthralled right up to the climax” (School Library Journal). ShadowStrike poisoned the water of Trinity Falls two months ago. Now the Trinity Four, the teens most affected by the poison, have been isolated in a remote mansion under twenty-four-hour medical care while scientists on four continents rush to discover a cure. Meanwhile, US operatives scour the world for the bioterrorists responsible for this heinous crime, as two teen virtual spies, also infected, hunt for the criminals on the Internet. The danger remains real—for ShadowStrike has every reason to pursue the Trinity Four, and their evil plan will unleash a new designer virus that’s even deadlier than the first. “Figuring out whom to trust gets harder for everyone, including the reader, and the narrative picks up speed. Sexual tension and fragile relationships are part of the story as much as the terrorist hunt is, and the two couples’ fears about their own possible impending mortality will captivate a high-school audience.” —Booklist

“A story about the threat of bioterrorism as seen through the eyes of the generation that will grow up with it as a reality . . . page-turning intensity.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) Bioterrorism has come to a small town in New Jersey. Two residents die of brain aneurysms within twenty-four hours and several teens become ill with a mysterious flu, leading the government to suspect that a terrorist cell has unleashed a deadly biochemical agent. With each glass of water they drink, the people of Trinity Falls are poisoning themselves. A world away in Pakistan, a sixteen-year-old computer genius working as a spy for the U.S. sees an influx of chatter from extremists about a substance they call Red Vinegar that will lead to many deaths. Can he warn the victims before it’s too late? “The teens are the focus here, all excellent character studies drawn adeptly with few words. The swift pace grabs the reader right from the start . . . Plum-Ucci takes the incredible and makes it all too believable.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A compelling tale of bioterror . . . a tautly paced thriller that will force readers to think about the complexities of living in a post-9/11 world.”—School Library Journal “A page-turner . . . Plum-Ucci has also fleshed out a basic panic-inducing scenario into a thriller more thoughtful than most.”—Booklist

A taut YA crime thriller from the author of The Body of Christopher Creed. “There’s no doubt Plum-Ucci can tell a heck of a story” (Booklist). A tiny pistol, passed from friend to friend at a party on an abandoned pier, suddenly fires—and Casey Carmody falls into the water below. Kurt, Casey’s older brother, endures a seemingly endless night at the police station while the coast guard searches for his sister and his friends are questioned, one by one. Was the gunfire accidental or deliberate? Or was the whole drama one of Casey’s practical jokes? And where is Casey—or her body—now? “The Night My Sister Went Missing has all the suspense and drama of a locked-room mystery . . . Carol Plum-Ucci, author of the award-winning The Body of Christopher Creed, has crafted an intricate mystery filled with shocking surprises and characters whom readers will remember for a long time.” —Teenreads “Plum-Ucci’s mastery at intensifying their observations into something dire and ominous speeds the plot along and should keep readers wondering just how this convoluted mystery will wrap up.” —Kirkus Reviews “All the members of this loosely connected community harbor secrets they do not want to be revealed. But in the end, someone’s secret comes to light with devastating consequences.” —Publishers Weekly “The mystery is engrossing and the dramatic ending satisfying.” —School Library Journal

Award-winning novelist Carol Plum-Ucci takes readers on her magical journey through four years of home schooling with daughter Abbey, now 11. This entertaining memoir will appeal to parents who want an intimate look at home schooling life as well as those who simply question the value of traditional education. Plum-Ucci states that no religious belief inspired her to home school, nor did she fancy herself a better teacher than what was found at Abbey''s local school. She fell into the home-schooling-mother role haphazardly but says now that if she can get five thousand families nationwide to lose their fears of home education and try it, she would be thrilled to have published this memoir. Winner of the Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award and twice an Edgar Allan Poe Award finalist, Plum-Ucci writes with the same edgy and glimmering insights that readers have loved for nearly a decade.

The often-tortured class weirdo has disappeared, leaving an enigmatic note on the school library computer. Is he a runaway, a suicide, or a murder victim?

Describes the history of Divali, its symbols, and how it is celebrated today.

It''s been eight years since Evan''s parents disappeared at sea. Searching for answers, Evan wonders if they were swallowed up by The She, the she-devil of legend that devours ships off the New Jersey coast.

The appearance of a mysterious teen leads to tragedy on a small fishing island in this “taut, provocative novel . . . [that] crackles with suspense” (Publishers Weekly). The close-knit residents of Hackett Island have never seen anyone quite like Lani Garver. Everything about this new kid is a mystery: Where does Lani come from? How old is Lani? And most disturbing of all, is Lani a boy or a girl? Popular Claire McKenzie isn’t up to tormenting Lani with the rest of the high school elite. Instead, she decides to befriend the intriguing outcast. But within days of Lani’s arrival, tragedy strikes, and Claire is left questioning herself, her friendships, and, most interesting of all, the possibility that angels may exist on earth. “Gripping.”—YM Magazine “Prejudice, homophobia, friendship, tolerance, individuality, and the possibility that something spiritually bigger than all of us rules this universe are wonderfully woven into this powerfully told story. Outstanding writing, strong characterization, and riveting plot development make this title rise above many recent coming-of-age stories.”—School Library Journal “The characterizations are superb . . . The hint of supernatural only adds to the appeal. Successfully raising many valid issues, this should appeal to teens from the popular to the marginalized.”—Kirkus Reviews “Lani’s androgyny and his angelic possibilities are intriguingly played out.”—Booklist

Profiles basketball player Stephon Marbury, whose childhood dreams of an NBA career led him to play for Georgia Tech University, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the New Jersey Nets, and the Phoenix Suns.