Alender, Katie. The Companion
Everyone says Margot is lucky, lucky to have survived the accident that killed her family, and lucky to be taken in by a wealthy family. The Suttons chose her to serve as a companion to their strangely silent daughter Agatha who used to be fun and popular until her mysterious illness struck. But living in isolation in a big old house starts to play tricks on her mind, and soon Margot isn’t sure what’s real or if she’s even safe anymore.
Bajpai, Nandini. A Match Made in Mehendi
Simi comes from a long line of matchmakers, but she has no interest in the business until her best friend Noah suggests they use her skills to make their mark at school. Using an app her older brother created and the student directory, they are soon making matches all over campus. Simi even has a few potential love interests for herself! But when a member of the social elite discovers her newly made ex has a match, she decides to exact revenge on Simi and Noah.
Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. The Inheritance Games
Avery Grambs has a plan. She may be an orphan with only an older half-sister for family, but that’s not going to stop her. She’s going to get a scholarship, go to college, and make a life for herself. That’s why it’s a complete shock when she learns some Texas billionaire she’s never heard of has left all his money to her. All of it. And she has no idea why. If she wants this chance at a more stable future, she must spend the next year in a mansion with Nathaniel Hawthorne’s three handsome and clever grandsons along with a cast of scheming relatives as they race to solve puzzles and uncover the truth about the billionaire’s motives.
Bowling, Dusti. The Canyon’s Edge
One year after her mother died in a random shooting, Nora and her father go hiking again for the first time. It’s something they used to do as a family, but it’s hard to feel like a family without mom. As they explore a slot canyon, a sudden downpour creates a rushing river that separates Nora and her father. She doesn’t even know if he’s still alive, but she knows she has to find him. It will take all her skills to survive alone in the desert as she battles the elements and her PTSD from the day of her mother’s shooting.
Callender, Kacen. King and the Dragonflies
After King’s older brother dies unexpectedly, King becomes convinced Khalid has become a dragonfly. He spends hours down by the bayou looking for the right dragonfly. If only King could talk to his best friend, Sandy, things might be better, but just days before his death Khalid told King to end the friendship after overhearing Sandy tell King he might be gay. “You don’t want people to think you’re gay, too,” he said. It’s too hard to be black and gay in Louisiana. Then Sandy goes missing, and King might be the only person who can find him.
Chase, Paula. Turning Point
Sheeda and Mo have been best friends for years, but this summer they will be on different paths. Mo has been accepted to a prestigious ballet boarding school where most of the students are white. She struggles to fit in and figure out the difference between personality conflicts and racially motivated slights. Sheeda will be spending the summer at home with her very religious, very strict aunt. Mo’s older brother is also showing interest in her, and she’s not sure if she should take him seriously. Both girls struggle with staying connected and staying true to themselves over this summer of change.
Faruqi, Saadia and Laura Shovan A Place at the Table
Elizabeth is struggling with the new school year. Her best friend has dumped her for the popular crowd, even in the after-school cooking class they decided to take together. Sara hates her new school. She’s always attended a small Muslim school, and now she doesn’t know how she fits into a big public school. Her mother’s cooking club just makes everything worse. When Elizabeth and Sara are thrown together as cooking partners, an unlikely friendship begins to develop.
Firestone, Carrie. Dress Coded
The dress code seems like the only thing the administration at Molly’s middle school cares about. Girls are always getting “pulled over” for dress code issues leaving them embarrassed and missing class. When things go too far, Molly decides to start a podcast. Soon lots of girls are coming forward with stories of harassment and humiliation, and they aren’t going to take it anymore!
Fukuda, Andrew. This Light Between Us
Alex Maki has been writing letters to his French pen pal, Charlie, for years. Things are getting tense for Charlie as the German invasion of France begins in earnest. She tries to hide the true danger from him, but as a Jew, her life is always at risk. When Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Alex’s own situation suddenly becomes more volatile. As a Japanese American, he finds himself in an internment camp. When Charlie’s letters stop, he decides to do the only thing he can, join the army to try and find her.
Gervais, Alison. The Silence Between Us
There are plenty of things to hate about moving to a new school at the beginning of your senior year, but Maya has the added distinction of attending a hearing school for the first time in years. She’s frustrated to need a translator for all her classes, and she questions the motives of students who talk behind her back. She just wants to graduate, go to college, and become a doctor to help kids like her little brother. She is surprised when class president Beau starts learning ASL to communicate with her. She reluctantly befriends him, but her feelings quickly turn into something more. Can she ever have a real relationship with someone who can’t understand what it’s like to be deaf?
Harrell, Rob. Wink
Ross wants 7th grade to be normal. Too bad he has cancer. In his eye. The surgery over the summer means he's starting with one squinty tear ductless eye, and a scar on his forehead from the pellets they will use to direct the radiation. The treatments? A metal cage fitted over his head to keep him still while he's bombarded with radiation. Plus, he has to stare at an X the whole time or his eye might explode or something. Yeah...not normal. At all. Thank goodness he has his best friend Abby, his Batpig comics, and guitar lessons.
Keller, Tae. When You Trap a Tiger
Lily is happy to spend more time with her grandmother when they move from California to rainy Washington, but she’s also nervous about making friends. She’s so quiet she often feels invisible. As soon as they arrive, it’s clear Halmoni’s health is worse than they thought. When Lily starts seeing a magical tiger from one of Halmoni’s stories, she makes a deal. She’ll return what her grandmother stole from the tiger in exchange for her grandmother’s health.
Lee, Lyla. I’ll Be the One
Katherine Skye Shin is sick of listening to all the people, including her mother, who say fat girls shouldn’t dance, wear cute clothes, or draw attention to themselves. That’s why she entered a K-pop reality competition. She loves dance, and she wants to win. Now she’s getting lots of attention, and it’s not all positive, especially when she starts hanging out with Henry Cho, a fellow contestant, model, and son of a wealthy Korean family.
Lloyd-Jones, Emily. The Bone Houses
The dead don’t always stay buried in Ryn’s world. For years, bone houses have roamed the forests, but now they are coming into town, and few have the courage and strength to stop them. Ellis is an orphan with an injured shoulder and a mysterious past. He’s also a mapmaker who is nearly killed by a bone house as he wanders the roads outside Ryn’s village. Lucky for him, she was there with her ax to save him. The two team up to try to save the people of the mountain from the bone houses and to discover truth about these undead creatures.
Maberry, Jonathan, ed. Don’t Turn Out the Lights
This collection of short stories contains plenty of chills like the carving that comes to life to torment a thief, the forest playmate who isn’t what he appears, the dangers of a simple wish, and a slumber party game gone wrong.
Marshall, Kate Alice. Thirteens
Eleanor moved in with her aunt and uncle in Eden Eld after her mother died in a fire. Now she’s started seeing strange things, like the giant black dogs with glowing red eyes. No one else can see the “wrong things” except Pip and Otto. All three kids have a thirteenth birthday on Halloween. This isn’t just a coincidence. They are slated to be the latest victims of a pact made centuries ago unless they can stop the evil Mr. January in time. Their only hope is a book of creepy fairy tales and a talking cat who may or may not be on their side.
Mejia, Tehlor Kay. Paola Santiago and the River of Tears
Paola has always been embarrassed by her mother’s superstitious beliefs. Her mom really believes La Llorona is lurking in the local river. Pao believes in science, but then her friend Emma disappears, and Paola discovers the truth. All those ridiculous stories actually are true, and Pao and her friend Dante will have to travel into the world of dreams to battle monsters and save Emma before it’s too late. You might also like: Storm Runner, by Jennifer Cervantes Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, by Kwame Mbalia The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, by Adrianna Cuevas
Oppel, Kenneth. Bloom
The morning after a surprise rainstorm, strange black plants begin to grow everywhere, choking out all other plant life including food. As the plants begin to bloom, they release toxins into the air. Some plants are large enough to swallow a human being. No one has found a way to stop them, and they are taking over the world. Anaya, Petra, and Seth are the only ones who are immune to the plants, and they all had severe allergies before the plant invasion. Could they somehow hold the key to saving the world?
Patrick, Cat. Tornado Brain
Frankie’s twin sister Tess is so much better at school and making friends. Everything is a struggle for Frankie who has difficulty picking up on social cues and is easily distracted by loud noises. Frankie thought she and Collette were good friends, until they weren’t. Then Collette disappears, and Frankie is convinced she left clues only Frankie can decipher even if no one else will listen.
Ponti, James. City Spies
Sara only hacked the New York state foster system to prove her awful foster parents are crooks. Instead, she’s facing years in juvenile detention until a mysterious man called Mother offers her the opportunity to become a spy for British spy agency MI6. Now she’s part of an elite team whose first mission is to stop an internet terrorist.
Rhodes, Jewell Parker. Black Brother, Black Brother
Trey and Donte may be brothers, but they look nothing alike. Trey is pale like their white European father, and Donte is dark like their Black mother. Everyone at their new prep school treats athletic Trey like a star while Donte gets stares and accusations as one of the few Black students on campus. When misplaced blame leads to an arrest and suspension, Donte decides to beat his biggest bully at his own game.
Robertson, David A. The Barren Grounds
Morgan and Eli are Cree children living in foster care, but Morgan is plagued by an almost uncontrollable anger that threatens to ruin everything until she decides to take Eli under her wing. When one of Eli’s drawings becomes a portal to another world, the two cross over and begin a quest with Ocheck and Arik, their animal friends, to save the people of Misewa from an evil man who has left them in permanent winter and on the verge of destruction.
Rutherford, Mara. Crown of Coral and Pearl
For generations the people of Varenia have given their most beautiful daughters to marry the princes of Ilara. Nor has never left her village on the sea where the days are spent diving for pearls under the warm sun. Now she has been sent to marry a stranger whose home is buried in the cold recesses of a mountain stronghold. No one welcomes her to court, especially not her forbidding fiancé, Prince Ceren. The court is full of deception and plots, and Nor will have to stay on her guard if she wants to survive.
Stevens, Court. The June Boys
Every June, the Gemini Thief takes three boys, keeps them underground for thirteen months, and then returns them. The kidnapper has never killed anyone until now. This became personal when Thea’s cousin Aulus was taken last year. She’s been obsessed with uncovering the truth ever since even if it leads back to her own father.
Walsh, Bee. Manning Up
From the outside, Jack has a perfect life. He’s a star athlete with good grades, but in reality, he’s plagued with anxiety and an obsession with his body. Are his muscles strong enough? Is there too much fat around his waist? Does that slice of pizza have too many calories? When he starts using steroids, he feels invincible, but his more aggressive behavior is frightening to his family and may put an end to his budding romantic relationship.