New Releases by Gordon Korman

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unteachables comes a hilarious story about a boy who is homeschooled in his grandmother''s retirement community...until he is forced to go to public school. Dexter Foreman is twelve going on eighty. He has lived at The Pines retirement village with his grandmother since he was six years old, and as a result he gets along better with senior citizens than kids his own age. He''s homeschooled by the residents up until the day the county''s truancy officer shows up and announces that Dex has to go to a "real" school, to the local middle school. At school, Dex sticks out like a sore thumb. He dresses like a grandpa (and can be just as cranky). His taste in movies and music is decades out of date. Only a few students--like Gianna Greco, a reporter at the school''s newspaper--find him intriguing. For most, he is either a weirdo or a target. Dexter would do anything to return to his old life at The Pines. But when his wish finally seems to be coming true, his old and new worlds collide in a way that surprises everyone--Dexter most of all.

From the #1 bestselling author of RESTART, the story of a family of liars... and the son who wants to break the family tradition. Trey knows the drill: His dad gets him into a school full of kids with rich parents. Trey makes friends, and his dad makes connections. Soon, there''s the con, where Trey''s dad suckers the other parents into investing in one of his schemes. Once the money''s in the bank, Trey, his sister, and their dad are on the run... until they set up somewhere else and start again. Trey believes his father when he says no one''s getting hurt. After all, these parents have money to spare. But Trey''s starting to get tired of running... and lying... and never having a friend for longer than a few months. But how do you get your family to stop lying when your lives depend on it?

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unteachables comes a hilarious new story about a group of underdogs who come together when they are forced to attend summer school—for failing PE. Yash is the best athlete at Robinette Middle School. So good, in fact, that he''s already been playing on the high school''s JV sports teams. Imagine his shock when he learns that his JV practices have kept him from earning a board-mandated credit for eighth-grade PE. To graduate, he has to take Physical Education Equivalency — PEE — which is also known as "Slugfest," in summer school.At Slugfest, Yash meets the other students. Kaden is an academic superstar who''s physically hopeless. Twins Sarah and Stuart are too busy trying to kill each other to actually pay attention in class. Jesse is a notorious prankster. Arabella protests just about everything — including mandatory PE. And Cleo is a natural athlete who has sworn off sports. Then there''s their "coach," Mrs. Tamara Finnerty, a retired teacher whose idea of physical education seems to have frozen in preschool. But Yash doesn''t care — as long as he gets the credit. Too bad one of his fellow "slugs" is determined to blow the lid off a scandal that could make all their time in summer school a waste. And if that weren''t bad enough, Yash is in danger of losing his star spot on the JV football team.So Yash recruits his fellow PE rejects to train with him. Spending the summer with the most hapless crew in school can really surprise a person. And their teacher might be hiding the biggest surprise yet . . .

From the author of Restart, the story of two boys who are losing their memories... to each other. Reef and Theo don''t know what''s happening to them. They''ll be going about their days and then suddenly they''ll have these strange flashes of memory -- but the memories don''t belong to them. And at the same time, their own memories are starting to... vanish. For Reef, this is a big problem, because memories are all he has left of his mom. For Theo, it''s strange because the new memories give him a freedom he doesn''t have with his domineering dad.

It''s The Unteachables meets I, Robot in another funny middle school tale from Gordon Korman! It''s the start of a new school year and Oliver is looking forward to a seventh-grade year full of spitballs, jokes and pranks with his friend Nathan. And their new homeroom teacher, Mr. Aidact, looks like a prime target. He''s an odd duck — with a weird, stilted vocabulary, an unusual way of looking at things, and a strangely old student teacher constantly in tow. He also has a seemingly superhuman ability to detect and defuse almost every one of Oliver''s schemes. But that''s not all of it. Mr. Aidact seems to be teaching pretty much every subject. He''s willing to take over jobs no other teacher will, like supervising detention and coaching the field hockey team. Oliver and Nathan are determined to find out what is up with this guy. What they uncover is out of this world! Mr. Aidact is, in fact, superhuman — he''s an android, a secret project of the Department of Education. And when the secret leaks out, the school and the PTA are in an uproar, and calls for his "deactivation" are loud and clear. Can Oliver and his friends turn this plan around and save the teacher they''ve grown to love and appreciate?

From the bestselling author of RESTART, the story of a middle-school “band of brothers” — five friends who need to stick together after they set up a hideout in an abandoned bomb shelter and discover that the only way to be true friends is to reveal their secrets and help each other out. The morning after Hurricane Leo rips through the town of Canaan, residents awaken to widespread destruction — power outages, downed branches, uprooted trees, broken windows and damaged roofs. Four eighth-grade friends — Evan, Jason, Mitchell, and CJ — meet to explore the devastation. The tight-knit group is dismayed to find that Evan has brought along a stray — Ricky, who is new to their town and school, and doesn’t have any friends yet. Ricky is the one to find the strange trap door that’s appeared in the middle of the woods — the door to an old bomb shelter, unearthed by the hurricane. Inside, the boys find a completely intact underground lair, complete with electricity, food, and entertainment (in the form of videocassettes). The boys vow to keep the place’s existence to themselves. Things soon get tense. Some bad locals keep snooping around. And what started out as a fun place to escape soon becomes a serious refuge for one of the kids who is trying to avoid an abusive home situation. In order to save the shelter, the friends must keep its secret... and in order to save themselves, they’re going to have to share their individual secrets, and build the safest place they can.

In a collection of personal stories and essays, award-winning and bestselling artists from Matt de la Peña and Veera Hiranandani to Max Brallier and R.L. Stine write about how hope always wins, even in the darkest of times. Where does hope live? In your family? In your community? In your school? In your heart? From a family restaurant to a hot-dog shaped car, from an empty road on a moonlight night to a classroom holiday celebration, this anthology of personal stories from award-winning and bestselling authors, shows that hope can live everywhere, even—or especially—during the darkest of times. No matter what happens: Hope wins. Contributors include: Tom Angleberger, James Bird, Max Brallier, Julie Buxbaum, Pablo Cartaya, J.C. Cervantes, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Stuart Gibbs, Adam Gidwitz, Karina Yan Glaser, Veera Hiranandani, Hena Khan, Gordon Korman, Janae Marks, Sarah Mlynowski, Rex Ogle, James Ponti, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Ronald L.Smith, Christina Soontornvat, and R.L. Stine.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unteachables, Gordon Korman, comes a hilarious new high-concept friendship story in the vein of Back to the Future. Perfect for fans of Korman’s Restart. Mason and Ty were once the very best of friends, like two nerdy sides of the same coin . . . until seventh grade, when Ava Petrakis came along. Now Mason can trace everything bad in his life to that terrible fight they had over the new girl. The one thing he’d give anything for is a do-over. But that can’t happen in real life—can it? As a science kid, Mason knows do-overs are impossible, so he can’t believe it when he wakes up from a freak accident and finds himself magically transported back to seventh grade. His parents aren’t yet divorced and his beloved sheepdog is still alive. Best of all, he and Ty haven’t had their falling-out yet. It makes no logical sense, but Mason is determined to use this second chance to not only save his friendship (and his dog!) but do other things differently—like trying out for the football team and giving new friends a chance. There’s just one person he’ll be avoiding at all costs: Ava. But despite his best efforts, will he be able to stop the chain of events that made his previous life implode?

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?

King of middle-grade Gordon Korman''s new standalone novel full of mystery, humour, friendship . . . and alligators! Jett Baranov is Silicon Valley''s number one spoiled brat. The son of a billionaire tech genius, he has everything money can buy, which means he''s in the habit of getting into a lot of trouble. When one of his stunts brings in the US Air Force, Jett''s father sends him off to Oasis Mind and Body Wellness center where he''ll be unplugged and disconnected from the outside world. Of course Jett hates it instantly and does his best to get himself kicked out. But it''s not as easy as he thinks. When Grace Atwater rescues a defenseless lizard, Jett is drawn into caring for the little guy with the help of Grace, Tyrell Karrigan and Brooklyne Feldman. But things aren''t as they seem at Oasis. There''s something going on with the head meditation pathfinder, Ivory -- something dangerous that threatens the future of all the guests at Oasis. And Jett is the only one who can put a stop to it. Told in Gordon''s now classic multi-voice style, Unplugged combines mystery, comedy, friendship . . . and don''t forget about the crocodiles!

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Restart, a story of telling truth from lies -- and finding out what being a hero really means. There are two things Trevor loves more than anything else: playing war-based video games and his great-grandfather Jacob, who is a true-blue, bona fide war hero. At the height of the war, Jacob helped liberate a small French village, and was given a hero''s welcome upon his return to America.Now it''s decades later, and Jacob wants to retrace the steps he took during the war -- from training to invasion to the village he is said to have saved. Trevor thinks this is the coolest idea ever. But as they get to the village, Trevor discovers there''s more to the story than what he''s heard his whole life, causing him to wonder about his great-grandfather''s heroism, the truth about the battle he fought, and importance of genuine valor.

Gordon Korman''s next stand-alone novel, a fun, funny ghost story about a nobody kid who becomes a somebody while helping a ghost right a wrong from the past. Cooper Vega''s family moves so often that he''s practically invisible at any school he attends. Now they''ve relocated to the town of Stratford - where nobody even makes an effort to learn Cooper''s name. To them, he''s just . . . whatshisface.Cooper''s parents feel bad about moving him around so much, so they get him a fancy new phone. Almost immediately, it starts to malfunction. First there''s a buzzing. Then there''s a weird glare on the screen. Then that glare starts to take on the form of . . . a person?It''s not just any person trapped inside Cooper''s phone. It''s a boy named Roderick, who says he lived in the time of William Shakespeare - and had a very tangled history with the famous playwright. Cooper thinks his phone has gone haywire, but there''s nothing he can do to get rid of Roderick. Then, even stranger, Roderick starts helping him. Even though his seventeenth-century advice isn''t always the best for a twenty-first century middle school.

The thrilling finale to the New York Times bestselling Masterminds trilogy from middle grade star author Gordon Korman. Perfect for fans of Stranger Things and James Patterson! After a serious betrayal from one of their former friends, the clones of Project Osiris are on the run again. Now separated into pairs, Eli and Tori and Amber and Malik are fighting to survive in the real world. Amber and Malik track down the one person they think can help them prove the existence of Project Osiris, notorious mob boss Gus Alabaster, also known as Malik’s DNA donor. But as Malik gets pulled into the criminal world—tantalized by hints of a real family—his actions put him and Amber into greater danger. Eli and Tori get sucked into even bigger conspiracies as they hunt down Project Osiris’s most closely guarded secrets—who does Eli’s DNA come from? With a surprising new ally and another cross-country adventure, the four will have to work together to overcome the worst parts of themselves if they are going to end Project Osiris once and for all.

"A group of kids discovers they were cloned from the DNA of some of the greatest criminal masterminds in history for a sociological experiment, and they must find a way to prove it to the rest of the world"--

The eighth installment in #1 New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman''s Swindle series! JINGLE: a light clinking or tingling sounds, often heralding the approach of Santa, reindeer, or the mysterious thief of a priceless possession . . . Griffin Bing and his friends are NOT happy. Instead of going away for winter break, they''ve been signed up to volunteer at a local Christmas extravaganza . . . as elves.It''s not easy being an elf. Not when Santa is bad news and Rudolph is being played by a Doberman who makes up his own rules wherever he goes.But being an elf is nothing compared to being blamed when a prized Christmas possession -- worth over ten million dollars -- is stolen right from under your nose.It''s time for these elves to get off the shelf and track down a Christmas thief!

When eighth-grader Cameron Boxer creates the Positive Action Group at school he intends it as a diversion to fool his parents, teachers, and sister into letting him continue to concentrate on his video-gaming--but before he knows it other kids are taking it seriously, and soon he finds himself president of the P.A.G., and involved in community service, so the boy who never cared about anything is now the center of everything, whether he likes it or not.

Gordon Korman''s uproarious, outrageous, and all-too-familiar summer camp adventure is BACK! Rudy Miller really isn''t into the whole camping thing. So when his parents send him to Camp Algonkian "for his own good" all he wants to do is go home. Rudy teams up with his cabin-mate Mike for a series of carefully planned — yet hilariously bungled — escape attempts. Unfortunately, their counsellor (and nemesis) Chip is as determined to keep them there as they are to get away. Rudy and Mike spend their days plotting, playing chess, and working off punishments for their failed escapes. Hmmm, maybe it isn''t such a bad way to spend the summer after all . . .

FINAL HOURS Tick tock. Fifteen-year-old Amy Cahill has only a few days to live. There''s a poison coursing through her, and her only chance is to collect ingredients for an antidote. Too bad the antidote''s ingredients are scattered around the world. And too bad that survival is by far Amy''s smallest problem.The antidote she needs is also the only thing capable of stopping a deadly enemy. J. Rutherford Pierce is on the brink of becoming the most powerful man in the world, and if he does, no one will be safe. Amy and her younger brother, Dan, will do everything it takes to bring Pierce down. Even if Amy must pay the ultimate price.

The second entry in an all-new, mesmerizing adventure from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Gordon Korman! Jax Opus knows he''s not like other kids. And it isn''t his skill on the basketball court or his test scores that set him apart. No, Jax is different because he can hypnotize people. In fact, he might be the best hypnotist the world has seen in a very long time.You would think Jax would be happy about this. But really? It''s ruining his life. He and his family are hiding from a master hypnotist who wants Jax out of the picture . . . forever. And the FBI is also starting to ask questions about Jax and his abilities. Jax thinks life might be getting a little better when a very rich, very powerful man asks him to help out with something. The reward will be great. And the price -- well, the price is that Jax starts taking on the man''s memories. And some of them are pretty deadly.#1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Gordon Korman keeps the thrills coming and the adventure nonstop as the past and the present collide to build a memory maze that Jax Opus may never escape. . .

A thrilling adventure trilogy from Gordon Korman that follows a group of young climbers to the top of Mt. Everest! The height of danger.Everest. The ultimate climb. The greatest of risks.Four kids are on a quest to reach the top-and none of them are among the four anyone expected to be there when Summit Athletic started the contest to bring the youngest team of climbers to the peak. Their ascent is not easy. The weather is harsh, and the competition is even harsher.Then the unexpected happens, and the climbing contest becomes a life-or-death rescue mission. With thinning air-and on thin ice-no one is guaranteed to survive.

Gordon Korman offers another edge-of-your-seat action/adventure in a return to the trilogy format that sold more than 1 million copies of Island, Everest, and Dive.It''s every brother''s worst fear: As Aiden and his sister Meg are walking home from school one day, a van pulls over and Meg is kidnapped. There''s no way for Aiden to stop it from happening. He''s the only witness to his sister''s disappearance.Why has Meg been kidnapped? Is it for ransom? As a vendetta against Meg and Aiden''s parents? Or is there an even bigger conspiracy at work?While Meg fends off her kidnappers and plans an escape, Aiden must team up with the FBI to try to find her--tracking down clues only a brother could recognize.

Two kids break out of a juvenile detention center and become fugitives in order to clear their convicted parents'' names in this heartstopping series from kid-read master Gordon Korman.Aidan and Meg Falconer are their parents'' only hope. The Falconers are facing life in prison -- unless Aidan and Meg can follow a trail of clues to prove their innocence. The problem? Right now they''re trapped in a juvenile detention center. Until they escape one night -- and find themselves on the run, both from the authorities and from a sinister attacker t who has his own reason to stop them. The Falconers must use their wits to make it across the country ... with plenty of tests along the way. Gordon Korman takes readers into FUGITIVE territory -- with thrilling results.

An all-new, mesmerizing adventure from the masterful Gordon Korman! Jackson Opus has always been persuasive, but he doesn''t know that he''s descended from the two most powerful hypnotist bloodlines on the planet. He''s excited to be accepted into a special program at the Sentia Institute -- but when he realizes he''s in over his head, Jackson will have to find a way to use his powers to save his friends, his parents, and his government.

Sharks, shipwreck, and sunken treasure in the latest adventure trilogy from Gordon Korman.Four kids are on a marine expedition for the summer, diving to explore an underwater habitat that''s just been altered by a seismic event. What they find, though, is much more than fish - it''s sunken treasure. Can they salvage it without anyone else getting to it first? Will the prospect of wealth set them against one another? And what about those sharks . . . .DIVE is another action-packed trilogy from Gordon Korman. The narrative will shift between an account of two kids caught in the shipwreck and the story of the four kids fighting over and desperately trying to get the treasure.

Capricorn (Cap) Anderson has never watched television. He''s never tasted a pizza. Never heard of a wedgie. Since he was little, his only experience has been living on a farm commune and being home-schooled by his hippie grandmother, Rain. But when Rain falls out of a tree while picking plums and has to stay in the hospital, Cap is forced to move in with a guidance counselor and her cranky teen daughter and attend the local middle school. While Cap knows a lot about tie-dying and Zen Buddhism, no education could prepare him for the politics of public school. Right from the beginning, Cap''s weirdness makes him a moving target at Claverage Middle School (dubbed C-Average by the students). He has long, ungroomed hair; wears hemp clothes; and practises tai chi on the lawn. Once Zack Powers, big man on campus, spots Cap, he can''t wait to introduce him to the age-old tradition at C-Average: the biggest nerd is nominated for class president—and wins.

Gordon Korman''s acclaimed and timely YA novel explores the dangerous side of high school contact sports. Marcus is new in town and is hoping to make the championship high school football team, but it seems like a closed club, run by current star quarterback Troy. One day, while tossing the ball around in a park one day, Marcus meets Charlie, a man in his fifties who can play football like an old pro, which is exactly what he happens to be — a former NFL player and local celebrity. Charlie has boundless energy and coaches Marcus on his fear of being tackled, but as Marcus becomes more involved in this friendship with Charlie, it becomes painfully obvious to him, through the simplicity of Charlie''s thoughts, that the long-term effects of the violent plays he suffered during his football glory days have taken their toll on Charlie. With wit and sensitivity, Gordon Korman tackles truths about high school sports, while delivering a poignant story about an unlikely friendship.

Donovan, whose real gift is getting into trouble, finds himself at an academy for gifted students! Donovan is definitely skilled... at getting into trouble. And when one of his thoughtless pranks accidentally destroys the school gym during the Big Game, with the superintendent watching, he knows he''s in for it. Suspension at best, maybe expulsion. Either way, a lawsuit and paying for damages. But through a strange chain of events, his name gets put on the list for the local school for gifted students: the Academy for Scholastic Distinction. Donovan knows he''s not a genius, but he can''t miss this chance to escape. Now, he has to figure out a way to stay at ASD — and fit in with the kids there. And who knows, maybe his real gift will come to light... A new story from the master of middle-grade and YA humour Gordon Korman, Ungifted is a funny exploration of the special (and often surprising) talents that make each of us gifted in our own way.

The Sports Pages, the third volume in Jon Scieszka''s Guys Read Library of Great Reading, features ten short stories guaranteed to put you in the ring, under the basket, and right behind home plate. From fiction to nonfiction, from baseball to mixed martial arts and everything in between, these are a collection of stories about the rush of victory and the crush of defeat on and off the field. Authors include Dustin Brown, James Brown, Joseph Bruchac, Chris Crutcher, Tim Green, Dan Gutman, Gordon Korman, Chris Rylander, Anne Ursu, and Jacqueline Woodson, with illustrations by Dan Santat.

Ocean''s 11 . . . with 11-year-olds, in a super stand-alone heist caper from Gordon Korman!After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle''s compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way -- a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and their inability to drive -- but Griffin and his team are going to get back what''s rightfully his . . . even if hijinks ensue. This is Gordon Korman at his crowd-pleasing best, perfect for readers who like to hoot, howl, and heist.

The hilarious third SWINDLE book - now in paperback!Griffin Bing''s new principal doesn''t like him. And Griffin doesn''t like the boot camp football atmosphere the new principal has brought. Griffin manages to stay out of trouble -- until a Super Bowl ring disappears from the school''s display case, with Griffin''s retainer left in its place. Griffin has been framed! Unfortunately, the Man doesn''t have a Plan - and everything his team tries to find out who really took the ring backfires. Griffin ends up in an alternate school, then under house arrest, and finally with an electronic anklet - with no way to prove his innocence! Griffin smells a rat - but will he be able to solve the mystery in time?