Prepared by
Tara S
Tara S
Revised
April 25, 2023

Fiction
Edudzi Adodo
Children of Stardust
2022
After stumbling upon a strange, golden pyramid that imbues him with a legendary power, Zero is recruited to take part in a dangerous, intergalactic quest to track down the infamous mask of the Shaman King.
Michelle A. Barry
Moongarden
2022
Crumbling under the pressure at her elite school on the moon, misfit Myra Hodger discovers a lab full of toxic plants and uses her botanical magic to weed out its secrets, but quickly discovers some will do anything to take those secrets to the grave.
Danielle Binks
The Year the Maps Changed
2022
While navigating her own feelings of displacement, 12-year-old Fred befriends a few refugees seeking safety from war-torn Kosovo, forever changing all of their lives and completely redrawing her personal map of friends, family, home and community.
Megan Frazer Blakemore
Princess of the Wild Sea
2023
Hidden away on a remote island infused with magic, cursed princess Harbor Rose, with her kingdom in danger, must decide if she should wait for the prophesied hero to save her or take matters into her own hands.
Meg Cannistra
How To Heal a Gryphon
2022
When a group of witches kidnaps her brother while their parents are away, healer Giada Bellantuono is drawn into the magical underground city of Malavita and needs the help of her new animal companions to save him.
Debbi Michiko Florence
This Is How I Roll
2023
Susannah Mikami dreams of becoming a famous sushi chef like her dad. Only he refuses to teach her, and won't tell her why. So when she meets Koji, a cute boy who wants to help her cook up some trouble in the kitchen-- and film online tutorials to show the world her mad skills-- Sana is all in.
Lexile level
650
Gordon Korman
The Superteacher Project
2023
Determined to teach their new teacher who is boss, Oliver Zhan and his best friend Nathan realize Mr. Aidact is not what they expected and, suspecting something fishy, must get to the bottom of the mystery.
Torrey Maldonado
Hands
2023
Taking boxing lessons to handle his abusive stepdad, talented artist Trev, who needs his hands to help him build a better future, must decide whether to use them to build or to knock down.
Lexile level
430
Sonia Manzano
Coming Up Cuban
2022
Four children from very different backgrounds learn to find a place for themselves in a world forever changed after Fidel Castro's rise to power.
Lexile level
620
Shawn Peters
The Unforgettable Logan Foster
2022
Logan, an undersized, 12-year-old orphan with a photographic memory and no filter, discovers his foster parents are superheroes in grave danger and only Logan’s highly logical mind can save them.
Graphic novels
Gale Galligan
Freestyle
2022
While preparing for the last major dance competition before they graduate from eighth grade and go to separate high schools in NYC, Cory must balance the expectations of his parents, school, crew and his new friend as pressure mounts from all sides.
Lexile level
320
Tracey Baptiste
Rosa Parks & Claudette Colvin
2023
J 323.0922 BAP
Readers will meet two brave Black women who stood up against segregation, setting in motion the Montgomery Bus Boycott and showing the nation how positive change can start with a single defiant act.
Dan Santat
A First Time for Everything
2023
JB SANTAT DAN
This graphic memoir is based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life.
Nonfiction
Jeremy Dronfield
The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz
2023
T 940.5318 DRO
A tale of the bond between Jewish upholsterer Gustav Kleinmann and his son Fritz that proved stronger than the Nazi concentration camps that sought to break them both, drawn from the entries of Gustav's diary and other eyewitness testimony.
P. O'Connell Pearson
We Are Your Children Too
2023
T 279.263 PEA
Taking readers back in time to a deeply troubling chapter in American history, this book shows how many Black students stood up and became young activists after their school system denied them a public education.
Katie Van Heidrich
The In-Between
2023
J 362.5 VAN
After being evicted from their home, 13-year-old Katie Wingate and her family move into an Extended Stay America Motel where she tries to lead a normal life, all the while wondering if things would be easier living with her father.
Recommended for
Tara S
I'm a youth services librarian who loves rainy days spent curled up with a good book. I enjoy reading all genres, but my favorites are historical fiction and fantasy. I also love reading fan fiction! When I am not reading, I can be found binging TV shows, going for nature walks and brewing lots and lots of coffee.
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