Unraveller by Frances HardingeMiddle School, High School Amulet/Abrams 432 pp.1/23 9781509836970 $19.99e-book ed. 9781647005627 $15.54In a magical land where anger grows like an egg inside certain people until it bursts into a destructive curse, quick-tempered Kellen has a special talent: through persistent sleuthing and his own lively intuition, he can...
Honey and Me by Meira DrazinIntermediate, Middle School Scholastic 304 pp.10/22 9781338155433 $17.99Milla and Honey are best friends who spend time together at synagogue but have always attended different Orthodox schools. When Honey and her siblings transfer to narrator Milla’s school at the beginning of sixth grade, the colliding worlds...
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb High School Levine Querido 408 pp. 10/22 9781646141760 $19.99 In this expansive queer tale that marries historical fiction with inventive world-building based on Jewish folklore, a demon called Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) and an angel who takes on different...
The Hope of Elephants by Amanda Rawson HillIntermediate Charlesbridge 480 pp.9/22 9781623542597 $17.99e-book ed. 978163289863 $10.99How does a family live with recurring cancer? Would you want to know if you had that same cancer gene? These questions anchor a powerful verse novel in which twelve-year-old Cass copes with her dad’s...
Lotus Bloom and the Afro Revolution by Sherri WinstonMiddle School Bloomsbury 304 pp.9/22 9781547608461 $16.99e-book ed. 9781547608478 $11.89Seventh grader Lotus Bloom marches to the beat of her own drum. She rocks a unique vintage style and a huge afro, and she is a gifted violinist who has been invited to...
Four for the Road by K. J. ReillyHigh School Atheneum 288 pp.8/22 9781665902281 $19.99e-book ed. 9781665902311 $10.99In this at once funny and moving novel, it’s been just over a year since seventeen-year-old Asher’s mom died in a car accident, and “everyone says that I’m not handling it well.” In addition...
Looking for True by Tricia Springstubb Intermediate Ferguson/Holiday 288 pp. g 11/22 978-0-8234-5099-2 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-8234-5401-3 $11.99 This is a neatly constructed story of two parallel characters. Gladys is a small, bright, intense eleven-year-old with a sensitive nature and quirky clothing sense. Her mom runs an...
A Seed in the Sun by Aida Salazar Intermediate, Middle School Dial 273 pp. g 10/22 978-0-593-40660-1 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-593-40661-8 $10.99 In this lyrical verse novel set in 1965 California, Lula has lost her voice. She can only speak in “a whispery rasp” that doesn’t help when...
Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega; illus. by Rose Bousamra Intermediate First Second 224 pp. g 10/22 978-1-250-25962-2 $21.99 Paper ed. 978-1-250-25963-9 $12.99 In a graphic novel that takes on antiblackness and colorism, every Sunday Marlene must sit for hours at the beauty salon while her naturally...