Chapter One with HPL

When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life. This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of HarperCollins. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

A headless horseman haunts Sleep Hollow. At least that's the legend in the tiny village of Tarrytown. But scary stories won't stop the town's new schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, from crossing through the Hollow, especially when the beautiful Katrina lives on the other side. Will Ichabod win over his beloved or discover that the legend of Sleepy Hollow is actually true?

This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

In 1930s Alabama, twelve-year-old Hoodoo Hatcher is the only member of his family who seems unable to practice folk magic, but when a mysterious man called the Stranger puts the entire town at risk from his black magic, Hoodoo must learn to conjure to defeat him.

This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of Clarion, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

Still feeling broken after her family's battle in Los Lagos, Lula invokes a dark spell to bring her boyfriend and others back after a fatal bus crash, but unwittingly raises an army of hungry, half-dead casimuertos, instead. 

This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Recorded with permission of Sourcebooks Fire. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard... This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of HarperCollins. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

A thrilling reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet, The Steep and Thorny Way tells the story of a murder most foul and the mighty power of love and acceptance in a state gone terribly rotten. 1920s Oregon is not a welcoming place for Hanalee Denney, the daughter of a white woman and an African-American man. She has almost no rights by law, and the Ku Klux Klan breeds fear and hatred in even Hanalee's oldest friendships. Plus, her father, Hank Denney, died a year ago, hit by a drunk-driving teenager. Now her father's killer is out of jail and back in town, and he claims that Hanalee's father wasn't killed by the accident at all but, instead, was poisoned by the doctor who looked after him—who happens to be Hanalee's new stepfather. The only way for Hanalee to get the answers she needs is to ask Hank himself, a "haint" wandering the roads at night.

This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Recorded with permission of ABRAMS. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

April didn't mean to start the fire. She wasn’t the one who broke the vase. April didn’t ask to go live in a big, creepy mansion with a bunch of orphans who just don't understand that April isn’t like them. After all, April’s mother is coming back for her someday very soon.

All April has to do is find the clues her mother left inside the massive mansion. But Winterborne House is hiding more than one secret, so April and her friends are going to have to work together to unravel the riddle of a missing heir, a creepy legend, and a mysterious key before the only home they’ve ever known is lost to them forever. 

This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

The Torres sisters dream of escape - from their despotic father and from the oppressive traditions and expectations of belonging to an old San Antonio family. Then the eldest sister dies, Ana, leaving her younger sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa feeling as though escape is forever out of reach. But then odd things begin to occur around the house - mysterious laughter and shadows, writing on the walls. Maybe Ana isn't really gone after all... This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive.. Recorded with permission of Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Workman Publishing. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

When her grandmother dies, Suraya inherits her pelesit - a ghostly demon who helps Suraya feel not quite so lonely. But pelesit can bring danger as well as hope... This title is intended for tweens and is suitable for most audiences. Recorded with permission of HarperCollins. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.

Dr. Moreau's daughter, Juliet, travels to her estranged father's island, only to encounter murder, medical horrors, and a love triangle. This title is intended for teens, however, it may contain language or themes that some readers may find offensive. Recorded with permission of Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins. Click here to see this title in the Houston Public Library catalog.