RECENT TITLES—updated November 30

Sequel to Written in Blood Ghost Moon—It is 1878. On the way to search for work in New Mexico, Jim Doolen encounters a young Billy the Kid and the two are soon enmeshed in a brutal war between two rival trading factions. Jim is a helpless witness to cold-blooded murder and watches as Bill swears revenge and leads a gang of ruthless killers into the hills. However hard he tries, Jim can't escape the violence and is finally drawn into its dramatic conclusion on the streets of Lincoln."Action fans will thrill to the gunplay and other dangers. James' conflicting feelings about his archetypically dangerous friend—and also a telling conversation with an old Mexican survivor of the Alamo about the difference between legend and reality—introduce thought provoking elements. A tale of the Old West with a sturdy historical base and nary a dull moment." Kirkus Reviews"[This] coming-of-age tale is filled with history, including an eyewitness account of what really happened at the Alamo, which is again referenced in the climax. Wilson…captures the dichotomy building in Jim as he seeks his place in a world rife with violence and treachery." VOYA
Set in the harsh desert world of Arizona and Mexico in the 1870s, Written in Blood follows young Jim Doolen as he attempts to find traces of the father who abandoned his family ten years earlier. As he travels through the scorched landscape, Jim crosses paths with an Apache warrior, a cave-dwelling mystic, an old Mexican revolutionary and a mysterious cowboy. With each encounter he adds one more link in a chain that leads back to a dark, violent past. Finally, in a ruined Mexican hacienda, Jim realizes that discovering his past has also opened the way to his future.Praise for Written in Blood"…a captivating and engrossing read." Quill & Quire"Chapters are short and action filled, Jim is a likable character and reluctant readers will find this to be a fast-paced, easy-to-swallow tale of the Old West." Kirkus Reviews

Allan McBride has fought in some of WWI's bloodiest battles. He has seen his comrades, and his best friend, killed. But tonight he waits in a shed outside Amiens, accused of desertion, to discover if dawn will bring a last-minute reprieve—or execution by firing squad. Shot at Dawn a new title in Scholastic Canada's series of historical adventure stories for boys, I Am Canada. Sample: "Shells were landing all along the barbed-wire entanglements in front of us, throwing up great fountains of earth, shattered wooden stakes and tangles of wire. Heavier guns were targeting the strongpoints behind us. We huddled down as low as possible in the bottom of the trench as the ground heaved and clods of earth flew through the air. The sound was a physical presence—a hammer beating constantly inside my head."Review: "The novel is very intense…this is a fascinating portrait of a young man pushed to the edge and struggling to come to terms with a world he could never have imagined.…the powerful writing and strong characters will grip readers from beginning to end, and hopefully provoke some thoughtful discussion about this pivotal moment in history." Quill & Quire