Readers of Tracy Wolff and Ava Reid will likely appreciate Jennifer Donnelly’s fascinating twist on a fairy tale, Beastly Beauty.  In her version, Donnelly flips the script by creating a handsome man and a beast of a woman. Thrust together by fate or magic, these two young people have complicated pasts, so they carry heavy emotional pain. In a foreword, Donnelly tells readers that her story “isn’t for the heroes, shining knights, and princesses but for the screw-ups, for those who never get it right. The ones who say too much, or not enough. . . . It’s a story of hardship. And heart. And ..read more

Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine by Nicole Melleby tells the story of twelve-year-old Winnie who lives in Sea Bright, New Jersey. Although many young people might savor summertime at the beach with a grandmother, Winnie is not taking her eviction from the family home with a smile. In fact, she is afraid that any smile she takes is one less her mother will have. Winnie’s parents have decided that for the final trimester of this pregnancy, Winnie would not be around for any potential fall-out if another miscarriage occurs. After all, Winnie has been there “for every other time her mom said she w ..read more

A novel in verse, Wild Dreamers by Margarita Engle is dedicated to scientists and future scientists. It features two Cuban American youth: Leandro and Ana Tanamá, who take inspiration from Jane Goodall and other conservationists to protect the planet by rewilding. Rewilding efforts attempt to restore biodiversity. Seventeen-year-old Leandro fled Cuba at the age of seven with his family. His father drowned saving his son, so Leandro blames himself and has suffered from  uncontrollable attacks of dizzy panic ever since. His service animal, Cielo is a blue merle dog who shares her perspectiv ..read more

Candace Fleming puts her research skill and storytelling talent to use to write a remarkable nonfiction account of ten teenage girls who broke ciphers, kept secrets, and helped win World War II. Because everyone employed at Bletchley Park—code name Station X—signed the Official Secrets Act, their vital, top secret toil was unknown for more than thirty years. Writing The Enigma Girls and filling it with rich photographs to capture this historic time, Fleming memorializes the heroic contributions of these young women who dedicated themselves to hard work and secrecy. Although names like Alan Tur ..read more

Readers of Carl Hiaasen and Katherine Applegate will likely enjoy The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelly. Set in Houston, Texas, Kelly’s novel for middle grade readers features thirteen-year-old Nina whose parents are investment bankers. Nina spends her time immersed in her birding apps, but flounders when it comes to making friends, believing she was absent on the day any instruction manuals were handed out. For example, although she tries to befriend Iris, a hearing impaired classmate, she fails in that attempt. When Nina’s older sister Sage encounters the concept of zugunruhe and its i ..read more

When they encounter big feelings, young people often feel confused. What do they do with their anger, resentment, jealousy, or love? To help tweens better understand these overwhelming emotions that are capable of causing damage if not handled with care, Aida Salazar pens Ultraviolet. In particular, this novel in verse examines puberty, gender, first crushes, and rites of passage for young boys of color. It encourages a society that provides space to explore emotions, vulnerability, and hormonal confusion rather than burying them behind attitudes of being “macho” or “manning up.” Afraid of bee ..read more

In her debut novel, Paper Dragons, the first in what sets itself up for a sequel or series, Siobhan McDermott has created a fantasy adventure story about twelve-year-old Yeung Zhi Ging. Although Zhi Ging has grown up in the village of Fei Chui, she wants to be its next Silhouette. When she catches the eye of a Silhouette Scout named Reishi, Zhi Ging fights hard to secure his recommendation. Even though she doesn’t finish her exam, somehow—whether by magic or by fate—she gets named Fei Chui’s Second Silhouette and gains access to the training in Hok Woh, which is the underwater home of the immo ..read more

Set in Paris, 1942, The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley tells the story of twelve-year-old Miriam Erika Schrieber (Miri). In the face of danger, Miri’s parents have always told her “Verne heldishe (be brave)” and “We don’t choose how we feel, but we choose how we act. Choose courage” (16).   These words become Miri’s mantra when she is forced to flee the Pletzl, a Jewish neighborhood in Paris during a roundup of Jewish people. In a moment, with two-year-old Nora Rosenbaum in her arms, thrust there by a mother wanting to save her child from the Nazis, Miriam becomes Marie when a Cat ..read more

Because Where Was Goodbye? is a story about navigating grief, loss, and the search for answers about suicide, Janice Lynn Mather provides a trigger warning at the beginning of her novel. Although suicide is central to Mather’s writing, Where Was Goodbye? also indicates the importance of support systems, coping mechanisms, friendship, and unconditional love. Having an eye for color and creation, Karmen Wallace is a maker of soft things. Despite her ability to knit, her family is broken, and Karmen is struggling to make sense of the tragic loss of her brother Julian who takes his life by suicide ..read more

Thirteen-year-old Autumn Bird loves running, so when Connor Herlihy, an athletic, smart, and popular seventh grade boy, brags that he can beat anyone in a foot race but Autumn beats him, she quits the track team. Trading her shorts and sweats for high-rise jeans and heels and makeup, Autumn is welcomed into the popular crowd. On her way to a weekend party, Autumn encounters Cody Stouffer crouched under a hedge near her home, hiding and in pain. A victim of both physical and emotional violence, Cody has run-away from one of the poorest neighborhoods where “people just like him crammed their who ..read more