Blue Stars: The Vice Principal Problem by Kekla Magoon and Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Molly Murakami (Candlewick, 176 pages, grades 3-7). Cousins Maya and Riley are almost polar opposites, but they’re forced to share a room at their grandmother’s house when Maya’s military parents are stationed in Japan and Maya’s family moves away from the Muscogee reservations for opportunities in Urbanopolis. At the start of sixth grade, outgoing Riley gravitates towards gymnastics and a big group of friends, while Maya prefers her own company and working on robotics. They unite against the vill ..read more

Table Titans Club by Scott Kurtz (Holiday House, 224 pages, grades 3-7). Valeria “Val” Winters is new at school, and her mom’s reminder of a fresh start tips readers off that she may have struggled before. Val’s first day is rough, but she catches the attention of the Table Titans Club, a group of Dungeons and Dragons players. After much debate among the members, one of them invites Val to join their school club. Val’s thrilled, although she’s never played D&D. Turns out she’s a natural, and all seems to be going well until their teacher sponsor announces that his wife is having a baby, a ..read more

Art Club by Rashad Doucet (Little, Brown Ink, 240 pages, grades 4-7). When Vice Principal Ruffin assigns kids to research a career that will give them stability and a good income, Dale is stumped. He wants those things, but he also wants to do something he enjoys. A report on an art career lands him in the principal’s office, where the more lenient Principal Johnson lends a sympathetic ear and agrees to let Dale start an art club…if he can find three other members and figure out a way to generate revenue. The art teacher agrees to sponsor them, recalling her own art club days that were cut sh ..read more

Alterations by Ray Xu (Union Square Kids, 240 pages, grades 4-7). 10-year-old Kevin Lee has more than his share of difficulties at home, with a recently divorced mom who works long hours at her alterations shop, a feisty Chinese grandmother who doesn’t stand for anything resembling nonsense, and a teenage sister who blames much of her unhappiness on Kevin. At school, Kevin tries to stay under the radar, but a lunchtime incident earns him the nickname Egg Boy that he can’t seem to shake. A field trip to an amusement park results in a near-disaster, but also gives Kevin the chance for a transfo ..read more

Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (First Second, 352 pages, grades 6 and up). In my quest to mix things up a bit more this year, I’m hoping to expand my horizons, occasionally anyway, to young adult literature.  When I saw the three starred reviews for this graphic novel by an award-winning team, I decided it was a good place to start. I was right.  Valentina used to love Valentine’s Day until her freshman year in high school, when she learned that her mother, gone her whole live and presumed (by Valentina) to be dead, is still alive and estranged from he ..read more

Grace Needs Space by Benjamin A. Wilgus and Rii Abrego Published by Random House Graphic A Sky of Paper Stars by Susie Yi Published by Roaring Brook Press Summary: These graphic novels tell the stories of two very different girls who are both grappling with family issues. Grace lives on a space station with her divorced mom; her other mom, Ba, is a cargo ship captain traveling from one space settlement to the next. Grace is excited to be going on a trip to Titan (Saturn’s moon) with Ba, but she ends up bored and disappointed when Ba is busy with work most of the time. Desperate to see Tita ..read more

Published by Clarion Books Summary:  Elliott and Liza are orphaned twins who survive by selling the trash they find at the dump.  When they see a friend trap a raven with magic, they’re intrigued.  They learn that the ravens will give their captors a quest, rewarding them with money if they fulfill it.  The twins start participating, gradually getting bigger and more dangerous quests until Liza gets attacked by a giant serpent during one of them.  A magician’s apprentice, Seb, rescues them, taking them to a mysterious old woman who is rumored to be a healer.  Sh ..read more

Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers Summary:  Sixth-grader Lucy is dreading being in middle school with her older sister GiGi. When GiGi trips Lucy in the cafeteria on the first day of school, Lucy challenges GiGi to a duel.  The two girls were trained in fencing by their late father, and GiGi is the star of the middle school fencing team.  As they prepare for the bout, each girl is plagued with insecurities, both of them dealing with the grief of having recently lost their father.  Their mother, barely holding it together as she processes her own grie ..read more

Published by Little, Brown Ink Summary:  Charlie’s lived all over the world as a military kid, but now that her dad’s retired, the family’s settled down in her parents’ old hometown.  It’s tough starting middle school three weeks late, but Charlie’s determined to fit in by studying fashion websites and magazines to perfect her clothes and hair.  A catastrophe the first day of school ruins her hairdo but gets her a new group of friends who call themselves Curlfriends after the curly hair they all have.  Although she likes the girls, Charlie’s afraid that they won’t like he ..read more

Published by Graphix Summary:  JJ and Althea are both trying to navigate middle school, JJ by trying to fit in even if it means hiding who he really is, and Althea by pretending not to care that she’s lost her closest friends.  To make matters worse, the kids are expected to help out with the family food truck on weekends and school vacations.  Their mother uses Filipino folklore to teach them lessons about hard work and discipline.  But when strange things start happening to both kids, they realize that their family has magical powers and that the folktales are based on ..read more