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Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom [Wayside School] by Louis Sachar; illus. by Tim Heitz Intermediate Harper/HarperCollins 182 pp. g 3/20 978-0-06-296538-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-296542-4 $10.99 Yes, per the introductory author's note to this fourth book about the wacky elementary school, it's been forty years since the first...
War at the Snow White Motel and Other Stories by Tim Wynne-Jones Intermediate, Middle School Groundwood 245 pp. g 5/20 978-1-77306-047-7 $16.95 e-book ed. 978-1-77306-048-4 $11.99 Most of the protagonists in these nine short stories are twelve years old and bumping into the realities of human nature — their own...
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk Intermediate, Middle School Dutton 359 pp. g 4/20 978-0-525-55556-8 $17.99 Since the Great Depression forced twelve-year-old Ellie’s family to move from town up to Echo Mountain, she hasn’t known how to interact with her mother and older sister; they miss their former life and blame...
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 357 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-282025-9 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-282027-3 $10.99 At seventeen, Felix Love feels marginalized as a Black teen, an aspiring artist, and a trans male. His mom left the family when he was ten, and although his...
Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen by Anne Nesbet Intermediate, Middle School Candlewick 357 pp. g 4/20 978-1-5362-0619-7 $18.99 “Sometimes the real danger is not what you thought it would be at all.” So begins the story of Darleen, young (fictional) star of silent movie serials. It is 1914, and...
With a Star in My Hand: Rubén Darío, Poetry Hero by Margarita Engle Middle School, High School Atheneum 150 pp. g 2/20 978-1-5344-2493-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-2495-1 $10.99 Written in first person, this heartfelt verse novel tells the fictionalized story of Rubén Darío (based on his autobiography), who was born...
I Am Here Now by Barbara Bottner High School Imprint/Macmillan 347 pp. g 8/20 978-1-250-20769-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-20770-8 $9.99 Fourteen-year-old Maisie characterizes her 1960s coming-of-age in the Bronx as “one of those fairy tales / where the witch eats the child.” And for good reason. Her perfume mogul dad...
The Book of Fatal Errors by Dashka Slater Intermediate Farrar 322 pp. g 7/20 978-0-374-30119-4 $16.99 Slater (winner of a Boston Globe–Horn Book Nonfiction honor for The 57 Bus, rev. 1/18) here presents an entertaining, fantastical summertime story. Twelve-year-old Rufus’s grandfather lives at Feylawn, an estate overtaken by nature and,...
Worse Than Weird by Jody J. Little Intermediate, Middle School Harper/HarperCollins 265 pp. 3/20 978-06-285258-8 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-285253-3 $7.99 Expressing disapproval of one’s parents’ values and lifestyles is a rite of passage for many tweens, and Mac (short for MacKenna MacKensie MacLeod) is no exception. Her family lives off...
The Water Bears by Kim Baker Intermediate Lamb/Random 264 pp. g 4/20 978-1-9848-5220-5 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-5221-2 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-5222-9 $9.99 Newt Gomez dreams of leaving Murphy Island, his isolated home in the Pacific Northwest — especially after he was attacked by a bear a year ago, which left...
Again Again by E. Lockhart High School Delacorte 293 pp. g 6/20 978-0-385-74479-9 $18.99 Library ed. 978-0-375-99185-1 $21.99 e-book ed. 978-0-385-39139-9 $10.99 In this novel set in the same world as The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (rev. 5/08), Lockhart explores the intersection between love and the multiverse. The summer...
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo High School Quill Tree/HarperCollins 422 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-288276-9 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-288278-3 $11.99 In this sharp and compelling verse novel (a 2020 Boston Globe–Horn Book honoree), sixteen-year-old Camino Rios lives in the Dominican Republic and dreams of medical school. Sixteen-year-old Yahaira Rios...
Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 357 pp. 2/20 978-0-06-274253-3 $18.99 After a consensual (and vividly described) sexual encounter with her boyfriend that, to her surprise, ends in her beginning to menstruate for the first time, sixteen-year-old Bisou is attacked by a wolf on her...
The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown; illus. by the author Middle School, High School First Second/Roaring Brook 206 pp. 3/20 978-1-62672-925-4 $24.99 Paper ed. 978-1-62672-924-7 $17.99 In this dark graphic novel with an unconventional cast and setting — an ode to outsiders, “freaks,” and misfits everywhere — Jane and Isabel...
Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan Intermediate, Middle School Scholastic 254 pp. g 3/20 978-1-338-15786-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-15788-8 $11.99 Growing up in Santa Maria, a (fictional) country “somewhere in the Américas,” Maximiliano Córdoba is familiar with the legends of the Guardians and the Hidden Ones they led to safety —...
In the Role of Brie Hutchens… by Nicole Melleby Middle School Algonquin 265 pp. g 4/20 978-1-61620-907-0 $16.95 When the novel opens, thirteen-year-old Brie’s mother almost stumbles upon Brie looking at a soap opera star’s Playboy photos online. Brie distracts her mom by claiming (falsely) that she’s been chosen to...
Redwood and Ponytail by K. A. Holt Middle School Chronicle 417 pp. 10/19 978-1-4521-7288-0 $18.99 Seventh grader Kate’s (“Ponytail”) life is largely defined by pressure from her mom to become captain of the cheerleading squad and by her friends’ similar expectations; less popular, gangly girl Tam (“Redwood”) has had a...
The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 409 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-299029-7 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-299031-0 $9.99 Winner of the 2020 Stonewall Book Award, this British verse novel by a poet and drag performer offers a welcome exploration of the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality....
What About Worms!? [Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!] by Ryan T. Higgins; illus. by the author; with additional illustrations by Mo Willems Primary Hyperion 64 pp. g 5/20 978-1-368-04573-5 $9.99 Tiger is BIG. Tiger is BRAVE. Tiger is afraid of nothing...“except worms.” Tiger, a plush Calvin and Hobbes-ian animal with...
The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski High School Farrar 358 pp. 3/20 978-0-374-30638-0 $18.99 As a member of the Half Kith (the lowest, most oppressed caste in society), Nirrim is focused on avoiding the notice of the militia, who extract tithes of blood, hair, and teeth from Half Kith they...
We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly Intermediate, Middle School Greenwillow 392 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-274730-3 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-274732-7 $9.99 In the foreground of this novel are three siblings. Twelve-year-old Fitch lives for video games and is angry through and through. His twin sister Bird is an amiable,...
Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim Intermediate, Middle School Kokila/Penguin 314 pp. g 3/20 978-0-525-55497-4 $16.99 Eleven-year-old Yumi is spending the summer helping her family’s struggling Korean barbecue restaurant in L.A. and studying to earn an academic scholarship to the private school where she has just spent her sixth-grade...
Parachutes by Kelly Yang High School Tegen/HarperCollins 485 pp. g 5/20 978-0-06-294108-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-294113-8 $10.99 Claire lives in Shanghai with her wealthy, image-obsessed, and unhappy family. When Claire’s parents send her to prep school in America, she boards with a fellow student (who’s on scholarship), Filipina American teen...
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander; illus. by Dawud Anyabwile Intermediate, Middle School Houghton 218 pp. 9/19 978-1-328-96001-6 $22.99 Paper ed. 978-1-328-57549-4 $12.99 e-book ed. 978-1-358-12816-8 $8.99 Alexander's Newbery Medal–winning verse novel of the same name (rev. 5/14), about African American twins and middle-school b-ballers Josh and JB Bell, is an ideal choice for graphic-novel adaptation, with its on-court action, swaggering narrative voice, and poignant emotional pitches. Anyabwile's (of Alexander's Rebound,...
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone; illus. by Dawud Anyabwile Intermediate Crown 229 pp. 1/20 978-1-9848-9297-3 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-9298-0 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-9299-7 $9.99 When G’ma asks Scoob to go on “a little adventure” during spring break, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes (especially since he’s been grounded for fighting...
Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis with Traci Sorell Intermediate Tu/Lee & Low 209 pp. g 9/19 978-1-62014-839-6 $18.95 This novel (based on McManis's childhood) is set against the background of U.S. government actions beginning in the 1940s that terminated the status of many Native Nations and forced relocation of families living on reservations. With a stroke of the pen, in 1954, eight-year-old Regina Petit...
The Dragon Thief by Zetta Elliott; illus. by Geneva B Primary, Intermediate Random 170 pp. g 10/19 978-1-5247-7049-5 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-5247-7050-1 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5247-7051-8 $9.99 According to Aunty, "every problem has a solution." But what if your problem is a dragon that won't stop growing? This sequel to Dragons in a Bag (rev. 9/18) alternates between Jaxon, the previous book's protagonist, and Kavita, sister of Jaxon's best friend Vikram....
Stella Díaz Never Gives Up by Angela Dominguez; illus. by the author Intermediate Roaring Brook 196 pp. 1/20 978-1-250-22911-3 $16.99 This sequel to Stella Díaz Has Something to Say (rev. 5/18) finds Stella wanting to do something big: save the oceans. After a family vacation to Mexico, Stella (less shy...
Charlie & Mouse Outdoors by Laurel Snyder; illus. by Emily Hughes Primary Chronicle 48 pp. 3/20 978-1-4521-7066-4 $14.99 Their fourth outing (most recently Charlie & Mouse Even Better, rev. 5/19) takes the siblings into the Great Outdoors for a family camping trip…but first a “Boring” (the title of chapter 1)...
The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories [Fox + Chick] by Sergio Ruzzier; illus. by the author Preschool, Primary Chronicle 56 pp. 3/19 978-1-4521-5289-9 $14.99 Ruzzier presents three more brief adventures, in hybrid picture-book/early-chapter-book/comic form, about friends Fox and Chick (The Party and Other Stories, rev. 3/18). The first...
Snail & Worm All Day by Tina Kügler; illus. by the author Primary Houghton 32 pp. g 9/19 978-0-358-06364-3 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-16846-1 $12.99 The two inveterate invertebrate pals (Snail & Worm, rev. 5/16; Snail & Worm Again, rev. 5/17) return in another set of adventures in three easy-reader-style chapters. “Best Day Ever,” as described by...
This Place: 150 Years Retold by various authors; illus. by various artists Middle School, High School HighWater 265 pp. 5/19 Paper ed. 978-1-55379-758-6 $36.00
e-book ed. 978-1-55379-782-1 $29.00 This comics anthology celebrates Indigenous peoples and stories of Canada past, present, and future. In a foreword, writer Alicia Elliott asserts that Indigenous people have...
SLAY by Brittney Morris High School Simon Pulse 323 pp. 9/19 978-1-5344-4542-0 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-4544-4 $10.99 "By day, I'm an honors student at Jefferson Academy. At night, I turn into the Nubian goddess most people know as Emerald." Seventeen-year-old narrator Kiera is not just a gamer; she is (secretly) the creator of the hugely popular multiplayer gaming community SLAY, which is...
Wicked as You Wish by Rin Chupeco High School Sourcebooks Fire 371 pp. g 3/20 978-1-4926-7266-1 $17.99 Tala and Alexei are refugees from the magical kingdom of Avalon, living in the troublingly conservative Royal States of America. Alexei, the crown prince of Avalon, can use magic, while Tala has the...
Love from A to Z by S. K. Ali High School Salaam/Simon 342 pp. 4/19 978-1-5344-4272-6 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-4274-0 $10.99 Zayneb, a Muslim American high school senior, leaves for spring break in Doha, Qatar, a week early when she is suspended for a note she wrote in class about her Islamophobic history...
The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas Middle School, High School Tu/Lee & Low 348 pp. g 9/19 978-1-62014-804-4 $19.95 Mulan has studied martial arts since childhood to prepare for her generation’s duel against a rival family for possession of two legendary swords. But the duel is postponed...
Maximilian & the Curse of the Fallen Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller [Max’s Lucha Libre Adventures] by Xavier Garza; illus. by the author Intermediate, Middle School Cinco Puntos 213 pp. g 1/20 978-1-947627-30-7 $19.95 Paper ed. 978-1-947627-31-4 $12.95 e-book ed. 978-1-947627-32-1 $12.95 This fourth series entry is another entertainingly...
Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley; illus. by the author; color by Whitney Cogar Intermediate, Middle School RH Graphic/Random 223 pp. g 5/20 978-0-593-12524-3 $20.99 Paper ed. 978-1-9848-9684-1 $12.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-9686-5 $9.99 This tender graphic novel by Alex Award winner (for Relish) Knisley illuminates the challenges of finding oneself in...
The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein Middle School, High School Little, Brown 426 pp. g 5/20 978-1-368-01258-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-368-01651-3 $9.99 In this companion novel to Code Name Verity (rev. 5/12) and its prequel The Pearl Thief (rev. 5/17), and featuring characters from both, Wein takes her turn at...
Kent State by Deborah Wiles Middle School, High School Scholastic 132 pp. g 4/20 978-1-338-35628-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-35630-4 $10.99 On May 4, 1970, four students were killed by the National Guard on the campus of Kent State University during a protest against the Vietnam War and the bombing of...
The Blossom and the Firefly by Sherri L. Smith Middle School, High School Putnam 311 pp. g 2/20 978-1-5247-3790-0 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5247-3791-7 $10.99 Almost buried alive in a bombing by Allied forces in 1945 Chiran, Japan, fifteen-year-old Hana feels as though she is already dead, just going through the...
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed; illus. by Victoria Jamieson; color by Iman Geddy Intermediate, Middle School Dial 264 pp. g 4/20 978-0-525-55391-5 $20.99 Paper ed. 978-0-525-55390-8 $17.99 This poignant graphic novel about growing up in a Kenyan refugee camp is based on co-author Mohamed’s experiences...
Leaving Lymon by Lesa Cline-Ransome Intermediate, Middle School Holiday 199 pp. 1/20 978-0-8234-4442-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-8234-4633-9 $10.99 Lymon Caldwell, a secondary character in Finding Langston (rev. 9/18), tells his story in this companion novel that explores the question, “Are bullies born or are they made?” Lymon lives with his...
Village of Scoundrels: Based on a True Story of Courage During WWII by Margi Preus Middle School, High School Amulet/Abrams 294 pp. g 2/20 978-1-4197-0897-8 $16.99 In 1940s Vichy France, a remote mountain-plateau village known for sheltering refugees fleeing Nazi persecution houses a unique and innovative high school that draws...
Fing’s War by Benny Lindelauf; trans. from the Dutch by John Nieuwenhuizen Intermediate, Middle School Enchanted Lion 411 pp. 6/19 978-1-59270-269-5 $16.95 This sequel to Nine Open Arms (rev. 9/14) falls into two parts. In the early chapters we follow the fortunes and adventures of the Boon family, in 1938...
Catherine’s War by Julia Billet; illus. by Claire Fauvel; trans. from French by Ivanka Hahnenberger Intermediate, Middle School HarperAlley/HarperCollins 168 pp. 1/20 978-0-06-291560-3 $21.99 Paper ed. 978-0-06-291559-7 $12.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-291561-0 $10.99 This graphic novel (adapted from a novel by Billet and inspired by her mother’s life) follows teenage Rachel...
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renée Watson; illus. by Nina Mata Intermediate Bloomsbury 178 pp. g 4/20 978-1-5476-0056-4 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5476-0057-1 $11.89 African American fourth grader Ryan Hart approaches challenges in her life with bravery, common sense, and humor. When the house her family rents is sold and her...
Go with the Flow by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann; illus. by Lily Williams Middle School, High School First Second/Roaring Brook $14.99 1/20 978-1-250-30572-5 $21.99 Paper ed. 978-1-250-14317-4 $14.99 After noticing bloodstains on new-girl Sasha’s white pants, longtime friends Abby, Christine, and Brit swoop in and save the day. It’s...
The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead Intermediate Lamb/Random 218 pp. g 4/20 978-1-101-93809-6 $16.99 Library ed. 978-1-101-93810-2 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-1-101-93811-9 $9.99 From the outside it appears that Bea lives a charmed life. She has loving (albeit divorced) parents; an involved extended family; a kindly, funny teacher; a loyal...
Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson High School Holt 484 pp. 8/19 978-1-250-16265-6 $19.99 Jase and Kazi (from Dance of Thieves, rev. 11/18) are on their way back to Hell’s Mouth with news that Tor’s Watch is to be recognized as a kingdom and that Jase’s family, the Ballengers,...
The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson High School Greenwillow 442 pp. g 4/20 978-0-06-269190-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-269192-7 $10.99 Set in the world of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, this engrossing fantasy follows two threads about protagonist Red. In the present, the teenager is devastated when her planned...
The Queen of Nothing [Folk of the Air] by Holly Black High School Little, Brown 293 pp. g 11/19 978-0-316-31042-0 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-316-31040-6 $12.99 In a stunning act of betrayal, the High King, Cardan, exiled Jude (secretly his wife and the ostensible Queen of Faerie) to the mortal world...
Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron High School HarperTeen 490 pp. 9/19 978-0-06-287095-7 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-287097-1 $8.99 Arrah was born into a family of powerful witchdoctors, though magic has always evaded her. But when children are abducted and omens of death appear in the market streets, Arrah doesn’t need...
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi High School Holt 405 pp. 12/19 978-1-250-17099-6 $19.99 In Orïsha, where magic has recently been restored (Children of Blood and Bone, rev. 5/18), Princess Amari tries to unite the kingdom to prevent it being torn apart by the magic-using rebels called the...
York: The Clockwork Ghost by Laura Ruby Middle School Walden Pond/HarperCollins 449 pp. 5/19 978-0-06-230696-8 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-230698-2 $7.99 Despite the destruction of their beloved apartment building at the end of the previous book (York: The Shadow Cipher, rev. 5/17), codebreaking twins Theo and Tess Biedermann, along with artistic...
The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent Intermediate, Middle School Harper/HarperCollins 282 pp. 1/20 978-0-06-289670-4 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-289672-8 $7.99 Cassie is enlisted by her neighbors to find their missing peacocks — again — because of her skill at noticing details. But there are plenty of other things for the Australian...
The Thief Knot: A Greenglass House Story by Kate Milford; illus. by Jaime Zollars Intermediate, Middle School Clarion 456 pp. 1/20 978-1-328-46689-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-16427-2 $9.99 In the Liberty, a part of Nagspeake (Greenglass House, rev. 9/14, and sequels) where retired rogues and smugglers find sanctuary from the long...
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park Middle School Clarion 260 pp. g 3/20 978-1-328-78150-5 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-33083-7 $9.99 In 1880, fourteen-year-old Hanna and her father settle in the (fictional) town of LaForge, in Dakota Territory. Papa is white; Hanna’s late mother immigrated from China and had both Chinese and...
Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 440 pp. g 2/20 978-0-06-293704-9 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-293705-6 $11.99 In alternating chapters, teens Maya (a Muslim girl) and Jamie (a Jewish boy) narrate a story set amidst a longshot Georgia state senate campaign. Pushed...
Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn; illus. by Isabelle Follath Intermediate Tundra 325 pp. g 2/20 978-0-7352-6546-2 $15.99 e-book ed. 978-0-77352-6547-9 $9.99 In 1902 Torquay, England, twelve-year-old Aggie befriends a Belgian refugee, Hector Perot, and investigates a murder roiling the town. When Mrs. Eversham,...
There Will Come a Darkness [Age of Darkness] by Katy Rose Pool High School Holt 485 pp. 9/19 978-1-250-21175-0 $19.99 A prophecy foretells that an “age of darkness” will come down upon the land unless a new prophet can prevent it. This time of reckoning throws the story’s diverse cast...
The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horwitz Intermediate, Middle School Algonquin 329 pp. g 10/19 978-1-61620-894-3 $17.95 Clementine’s father, the Dark Lord Elithor Morcerous, has been cursed by the Whittle Witch and is unable to fulfill his dastardly duties. Clementine takes it upon herself to run Castle Brack, with...
Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland Middle School, High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 554 pp. 2/20 978-0-06-257063-5 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-257065-9 $10.99 Irascible Jane McKeene and posh Katherine Deveraux, zombie-dispatching graduates of Miss Preston’s School of Combat for Negro Girls, are back in this suspenseful, satisfying sequel to Dread Nation (rev....
Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles High School HarperTeen 391 pp. 1/20 978-0-06-234919-4 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-234921-7 $9.99 Del’s forever crush on schoolmate Kiera comes to a head when she finally becomes single in their junior year of high school. Del is poised to do whatever it takes...
The Whispering Wars by Jaclyn Moriarty Intermediate Levine/Scholastic 408 pp. g 10/19 978-1-338-25587-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-25588-1 $11.99 Moriarty returns to the magical universe of The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone (rev. 9/18) in this companion novel. The town of Spindrift, in the Kingdom of Storms, is under siege...
Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite High School Inkyard 428 pp. g 9/19 978-1-335-77709-6 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-488-05133-3 $9.99 To avoid being expelled after a school presentation accidentally lands a classmate in the hospital, Alaine Beauparlant is sent to Haiti, her parents’ birthplace, to participate in...
The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert High School Little, Brown 327 pp. g 8/19 978-0-316-44856-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-316-44857-4 $9.99 African American sixteen-year-old Dove Randolph, Birdie to her family, is on the “right” track, with good grades and a clear plan for her life after high school. The...
Jackpot by Nic Stone High School Crown 341 pp. g 10/19 978-1-9848-2962-7 $17.99 Library ed. 978-1-9848-2963-4 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-2964-1 $10.99 School, work, home; repeat. Such is the life of Rico, high school senior, part-time convenience-store clerk, and full-time caregiver to her nine-year-old brother. In Rico’s life, there is not...
Someday We Will Fly by Rachel DeWoskin Middle School, High School Viking 360 pp. g 1/19 978-0-670-01496-5 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-101-61788-5 $10.99 In 1940, Lillia’s Jewish family plans to escape the Nazi threat in Warsaw for Shanghai. Her parents are acrobats, and when their circus is raided, Lillia and her...
Frankly in Love by David Yoon High School Putnam 414 pp. g 9/19 978-1-9848-1220-9 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-9848-1221-6 $10.99 High school senior Frank Li is the son of two first-generation Korean immigrant parents, and he knows that they have made sacrifices all their lives in order to give him opportunities....
Stargazing by Jen Wang; illus. by the author; color by Lark Pien Intermediate First Second/Roaring Brook 218 pp. 9/19 978-1-250-18387-3 $21.99 Paper ed. 978-1-250-18388-0 $12.99 In Wang’s (The Prince and the Dressmaker, rev. 3/18) middle-grade graphic novel, Christine follows the rules and tries to live up to her strict Chinese-immigrant...
Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker Intermediate, Middle School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 309 pp. 2/20 978-0-06-269895-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-269897-1 $10.99 After his grandmother’s fall derails the family’s summer plans, eleven-year-old Ware’s parents sign him up for the town’s summer rec program. Ware, who loves medieval history and...
I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi High School HarperTeen 420 pp. g 10/19 978-0-06-274145-5 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-274147-9 $9.99 When the world learns that omnipotent aliens will decide humanity’s fate in eight days, chaos erupts, and three teens strive to make their (potentially) final days count....
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender Intermediate, Middle School Scholastic 263 pp. g 2/20 978-1-338-12933-5 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-12935-9 $10.99 In their second middle-grade novel (Hurricane Child, rev. 5/18), set in contemporary small-town Louisiana, Callender masterfully balances resonant themes of grief, love, family, friendship, racism, sexuality, and coming-of-age. Twelve-year-old...
Light It Up by Kekla Magoon Middle School, High School Holt 359 pp. g 10/19 978-1-250-12889-8 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-12890-4 $9.99 In this follow-up to How It Went Down (rev. 11/14), Peach Street is seething. Two years after a young man was gunned down by police on the same street,...
The Year We Fell from Space by Amy Sarig King Intermediate, Middle School Levine/Scholastic 264 pp. g 10/19 978-1-338-23636-1 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-338-23646-0 $10.99 Twelve-year-old “amateur creative astronomer” Liberty Johansen, having memorized all the constellations, makes up her own and meticulously maps them. Her love of the cosmos comes from...
Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly; illus. by Lian Cho Intermediate Greenwillow 388 pp. 9/19 978-0-06-274727-3 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-274729-7 $9.99 Kelly turns from the contemporary realistic settings of the Newbery-winning Hello, Universe (rev. 3/17) and of You Go First (rev. 3/18) to a tropical island–set fantasy...
The Secret Commonwealth [The Book of Dust] by Philip Pullman Middle School, High School Knopf 635 pp. g 10/19 978-0-553-51066-9 $22.99 Library ed. 978-0-553-51067-6 $25.99 e-book ed. 978-0-553-51068-3 $11.99 Don’t start here. While bibliographically this second entry in Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy follows La Belle Sauvage (rev. 10/18), biographically...
Penny and Her Sled by Kevin Henkes; illus. by the author Primary Greenwillow 56 pp. 10/19 978-0-06-293453-6 $14.99 Library ed. 978-0-06-293454-3 $15.89 In her first easy-reader outing in six years (most recently Penny and Her Marble, rev. 3/13), Penny waits for snow. It’s winter, and the young mouse wants nothing...
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds Intermediate, Middle School Dlouhy/Atheneum 193 pp. 10/19 978-1-4814-3828-5 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-3830-8 $10.99 Ten blocks. Ten stories. Lots of middle-school kids doing many different things after school. Jasmine and TJ walk home together, wondering what they’re made of—dust...
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi Middle School Make Me a World/Random 204 pp. 9/19 978-0-525-64707-2 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-525-64708-9 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-0-525-64709-6 $10.99 A haunting and poetic work of speculative fiction—the first for young readers by adult author Emezi. Jam, the adolescent protagonist, is a transgender hearing person who communicates...
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 367 pp. 10/19 978-0-06-231764-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-231766-7 $10.99 At first, this seems to be the story of Frankie, a girl in a Catholic orphanage in Chicago in the 1940s. She and her sister and brother...
Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis; illus. by the author Middle School Walker U.S./Candlewick 396 pp. 5/19 978-1-5362-0498-8 $24.99 In a graphic novel loosely inspired by sixteenth-century British history “during the reigns of King Henry VIII and his daughters, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I,” young Margaret has...
A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata; illus. by Julia Kuo Intermediate, Middle School Dlouhy/Atheneum 405 pp. 5/19 978-1-4814-4664-8 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-4666-2 $10.99 They had been such proud Americans—working hard at their San Francisco restaurant and hopeful for the future. Then came Pearl Harbor, and Hanako, her little brother,...
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys High School Philomel 498 pp. g 10/19 978-0-399-16031-8 $18.99 Sepetys’s riveting historical epic examines the enduring effects of the Spanish Civil War through the perspectives of four young people living under the shadow of Franco’s fascist dictatorship in 1957 Madrid. Ana and Rafael...
Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot! by Cece Bell; illus. by the author Primary Candlewick 70 pp. g 3/19 978-0-7636-7936-1 $12.99 Gone are the days of Dick and Jane easy readers, with their boring characters and their notably unthreatening dog. Bell’s (El Deafo, rev. 11/14; the Rabbit & Robot books)...
Butterfly Yellow by Thanhhà Lai Middle School, High School Harper/HarperCollins 296 pp. g 9/19 978-0-06-222921-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-222923-6 $9.99 During the 1975 fall of Saigon, twelve-year-old Hang determines that she and her younger brother, Linh, should escape to America. They attempt to impersonate orphans to join Operation Babylift, but...
Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell; illus. by Faith Erin Hicks;
color by Sarah Stern High School First Second/Roaring Brook 222 pp. 8/19 978-1-250-31285-3 $24.99 Paper ed. 978-1-62672-162-3 $17.99 Graduating high-school seniors Josiah and Deja have worked together at DeKnock’s World Famous Pumpkin Patch & Autumn Jamboree every fall for the past...
It’s a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, and Other Jewish Stories edited by Katherine Locke and Laura Silverman High School Knopf 311 pp. g 9/19 978-0-525-64616-7 $17.99 Library ed. 978-0-525-64617-4 $20.99 e-book ed. 978-0-525-64618-1 $10.99 In this anthology of fourteen short stories by Jewish authors and about Jewish teens, youth trips,...
More to the Story by Hena Khan Intermediate, Middle School Salaam/Simon 262 pp. g 9/19 978-1-4814-9209-6 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-4814-9211-9 $10.99 In a novel inspired by Little Women, thirteen-year-old Pakistani American Jameela Mirza, second oldest of four sisters and an aspiring journalist, lives with her family in Atlanta. This Eid...
Becoming Beatriz by Tami Charles High School Charlesbridge Teen 262 pp. g 9/19 978-1-58089-778-5 $17.99 Charles (Like Vanessa, rev. 3/18) presents the story of an Afro–Puerto Rican teen, Beatriz Mendez, who is torn between her own desire to be a dancer and the expectations of her blood and chosen families...
Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo Intermediate, Middle School Candlewick 243 pp. g 9/19 978-0-7636-9464-7 $16.99 In this companion volume to DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale (rev. 3/16) and Louisiana’s Way Home (rev. 9/18) — together the books make up a trilogy in which DiCamillo introduces three girls, each meeting individual challenges...
The Language of Fire: Joan of Arc Reimagined by Stephanie Hemphill High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 495 pp. 6/19 978-0-06-249011-7 $17.99 In this engrossing first-person, present-tense verse novel, Hemphill (Your Own, Sylvia, rev. 3/07; Hideous Love, rev. 9/13) reimagines the fifteenth-century life of French martyr Joan of Arc. Readers follow...
My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi; illus. by Anthony Piper Intermediate, Middle School Dutton 252 pp. g 8/19 978-0-3991-8735-3 $16.99 In the summer before seventh grade, in 1984, Ebony-Grace Norfleet Freeman — also known as E-Grace Starfleet, space cadet, in the comics she imagines — is...
Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers by Celia C. Pérez Intermediate, Middle School Kokila/Penguin 367 pp. g 9/19 978-0-425-29043-9 $16.99 In alternating chapters, readers meet lonely, artistic Lane DiSanti; bird-lover Cat Garcia; cooking whiz Aster Douglas; and aspiring journalist Ofelia Castillo. Spending an enforced summer vacation in sleepy...
The Hero Next Door edited by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich Intermediate, Middle School Crown 266 pp. g 7/19 978-0-525-64630-3 $16.99 Library ed. 978-0-525-64631-0 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-525-64632-7 $9.99 Rhuday-Perkovich, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, has compiled thirteen short stories (by fourteen authors) about “everyday heroes in our midst.” The entries...
Love Sugar Magic: A Sprinkle of Spirits by Anna Meriano Intermediate Walden Pond/HarperCollins 320 pp. 2/19 978-0-06-249849-6 $16.99 Following her discovery in Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble (rev. 3/18) that she (like all the females in her family) is a bruja, Leonora Logroño is busy learning about...
The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta High School Candlewick 342 pp. g 5/19 978-1-5362-0096-6 $17.99 High schooler Danny and her mom arrive in Tempest, California, under mysterious circumstances (Danny: “I was the one who had begged for a new life, my tears salted with guilt”). There, where the redwoods...
Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson; with lyrics by Malik “Malik-16” Sharif High School Tegen/HarperCollins 380 pp. 5/19 978-0-06-284032-5 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-284034-9 $9.99 It’s 1998, and hip-hop reigns supreme on the music charts and in the streets of Brooklyn. Unfortunately, the violence plaguing the community claims...
Juana & Lucas: Big Problemas by Juana Medina; illus. by the author Primary, Intermediate Candlewick 89 pp. 5/19 978-1-5362-0131-4 $14.99 This sequel to Juana & Lucas (rev. 11/16) offers welcome narrative continuity for fans of Bogotá–dwelling protagonist Juana Medina Rosas and her beloved pet dog Lucas, while skillfully balancing changes...
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