Magoon, Kekla. The Secret Library May 7, 2024 by Candlewick Press ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central Dally (Delilah) Peteharrigan is grieving the death of her beloved grandfather, especially since she has already lost her father, who was Black, and her mother, who is white, is very busy managing the family's company. Her mother is determined that Dally learn a lot, so she is not only enrolled in a private school, but also has lessons in subjects like economics afterwards. Her free time is limited to one hour, so even after Dally makes an impressive plea to join the school Adventure Cl ..read more

Greenwald, Lisa. Fortune Tellers May 7, 2024 by Katherine Tegen Books Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central In fifth grade, Nora, Bea, and Millie were inseparable friends who attended the Shire School, a hippyish sort of school on Manhattan's Upper East Side. They spend a lot of time hanging out together, making fortune tellers with their Write Your Destiny marker set. After a falling out of a birthday party to which not all of them were invited, the school shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic. In the time since then, Nora's parents divorced, and she and her sister Penelope moved with t ..read more

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday  at  Always in the Middle  and #IMWAYR day  at Unleashing Readers Chen, Justina. With Twice the Love, Dessie Mae May 7, 2024 by HarperCollins E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus When Dessie Mae moves with her family to Seattle, she's not thrilled, but knows that it's important for them to be near her grandmother, who has descended into dementia after the grandfather's death. Dessie was adopted from Hunan, China when she was two, and has two older brothers who have not moved with the family. Her father composes music for video games, and ..read more

Isler, Emily Barth. The Color of Sound March 5, 2024 by Carolrhoda E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus Rosie is taking a break from playing the violin; it's been 67 since she started her "strike". In retaliation, her mother has taken away all of her electronics and has decided that if Rosie isn't going to the elite music camp that has accepted her for the summer, she will go with the her to spend six weeks with her grandparents in Connecticut. Grandma Florence is in the end stages of Alzheimers, and Grandpa Jack has a housekeeper, Tamar, and dog, Vienna, to keep him company. Rosie is allowed to ..read more

Fipps, Lisa. And Then Boom May 7, 2024 by Nancy Paulsen Books E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus **Spoiler alert. Don't read if you want to be surprised by the plot developments.* Joe Oak and his grandmother as doing the best they can since his mother ran off. They lost their house when the mother jumped bail, and have spent time living in their GMC Pacer and washing up in store washrooms while the grandmother cleans houses to try to make ends meet. Joe is lucky that he has a supportive 6th grade teacher at school, Mrs. Swan, who keeps snacks available to students and even has the school chan ..read more

McDermott, Siobhan. Paper Dragons: The Fight for the Hidden Realm  March 5, 2024 by Delacorte Press E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus A baby is dropped off with Aapau in Fei Chui, a village of Glassmiths. Aapau names her Zhi Ging, and raises her until she is sent away for her Final Year on a roaming pagoda. Sadly, this happens on the same day that Zhi Ging is supposed to take her test for being chosen as a Silhouette. She would be able to train in Hok Woh, learning the skills to become an immortal Cyo B'Ahon. Instead, the lead Glassmith's daughter, Iridill, is chosen. Zhi Ging begs Reish ..read more

Iriarte, José Pablo. Benny Ramírez and the Nearly Departed April 30, 2024 by Knopf Books for Young Readers E ARC provided by Netgalley The Ramírez family moves from Los Angeles, where the father is a movie producer, to Miami, after Benny's abuelo, the famous Latin Grammy winning trumpet player Ignacio Ramírez, dies of a heart attack. Benny's siblings, dancer Cristina and actor Manny, are glad to be attending the South Miami Performing Arts School, where both parents will be working, but Benny is not artistically inclined, and worried about what he will do there. The family inherits the ..read more

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday  at  Always in the Middle  and #IMWAYR day  at Unleashing Readers Lowry, Lois. Tree. Table. Book. April 23, 2024 by Clarion Books  E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus Sophia Winslow lives on a street of older homes in New Hampshire, and her busy parents operate a real estate company out of their breezeway. Her good friend Ralphie Mariani lives across the street with his five brothers and sisters, his doctor father and mother who is a really good cook, and Oliver Vorhees, who is slightly younger, lives down the street with his hardwo ..read more

Mather, Janice Lynn. Where Was Goodbye? April 30, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central Karmen's family is reeling in the wake of the death by suicide of her older brother, Julian six weeks ago. Julian was living at home, and enrolled in the local college in Nassau, The Bahamas, that their father is also attending. Her father is coping by working extra hard and being away from home, but her mother, who is a therapist, is rarely getting out of bed and isn't consulting with any of her patience. Karmen has to start her senior year of high ..read more

So many graphic novels this month! I'll buy some, but not all. They are super expensive and fall apart easily. For some reason, they are also on the sad side. Is this because of Raina Telgemaier? Here are some to consider some for your school library.  Raymundo, Peter. Lucky Scramble April 23, 2024 by Dial Books E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus Tyler (shown here) does well in the regional speed cubing championships, but can't afford to go to the national ones with cubers like champion Dirk Speedman, twins Izzy and Lizzy, prodigy Eli Newton, and 60-something almost champ Miles Wizzinsk ..read more