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With her writing and illustrating for the graphic novel The Deep Dark, Molly Knox Ostertag takes readers on a journey into the psychology of dark thoughts and their potential to suck the life from us. Trying to survive senior year, Magdalena Herrera (aka Mags) is stuck in a small Southern California town under a mountain of responsibilities that include coursework, a part-time job, caring for her mostly bed-ridden abuela, and struggling with her gender and sexual identities. When her transgender childhood friend Nessa returns from college, Mags has a kindred spirit to help support her, and together they must make the choice to thrive orRead More →

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With his writing of Breaking into Sunlight, John Cochran pens a story that gives hope and inspiration to anyone who has watched another human being struggle with drug and other addictions. Dealing with an addict is Reese Buck’s reality, and when his dad, Sam, overdoses on pain medication, Reese loses himself in drawing or basketball. These distractions enable him to push to the back of his brain the painful truth that his life is a huge mess. Instead of having to think about his dad, Reese dreams of making a name for himself in the Guinness World Records as the first thirteen-year-old to sink theRead More →

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Set in 1955 in Levittown, Pennsylvania, The Color of a Lie by Kim Johnson explores a tumultuous period in our country’s history. During this time when school integration was new and Jim Crow Laws were still in effect, Levitt and Sons were mass-producing homes under the guise that they were helping to create affordable housing, especially for veterans. That housing, however, was for white families only, creating a deeply discriminatory practice. After serving as a soldier in World War II, Williams Greene is determined to provide access to the American Dream for his family. He is tired of the race riots in the big city,Read More →

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Readers of Carl Hiassen or other books that focus on youth activism related to animals will likely enjoy Olive Blackwood Takes Action by Sonja Thomas. Behind the camera is Olive Blackwood’s happy place, a space where her anxiety eases and her nervous stomach relaxes some. An aspiring story writer and film director, Olive will turn thirteen in April, making her eligible to attend the Rose City Summer Film Camp. During the prestigious summer program, ten lucky students will get to produce a short film, from developing the screenplay to final editing. Olive’s mission is to choose the perfect story to film for her Rose CityRead More →

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Set in 1994 in the United Kingdom, Boy Like Me by Simon James Green tells the story of high school junior Jamie Hampton who grew up in a time when thoughts of cuddling a same sex partner were considered a perversion. In fact, from 1988 to 2000 in Scotland and from 1988 to 2003 in England and Wales, Section 28 made homosexuality a crime. At sixteen years old, Jamie is dealing with issues of identity and self-discovery. Although he wants to be unique, Jamie is a straight-A student, a writer, an organizer, and somewhat of a book nerd. Better to fly under the radar andRead More →

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Fans of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit will likely enjoy Blackberry Fox by Kathrin Tordasi. This fantasy adventure will take readers on a journey into the Otherworld, a place where Welsh myths and legends come to life for twelve-year-old Portia Beale and Ben Rees. Driven by curiosity, Portia steals Aunt Bramble’s key, follows a trickster fox, and opens the door to the Borderlands. The fox turns out to be a shape-shifter named Robin Goodfellow, and Portia has no idea what she had done until her previous reality begins to unravel. Despite knowing that humans always end up losing when they make deals withRead More →

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Everything We Never Said by Sloan Harlow tells a poignant story about domestic violence and the impacts of unmanaged anger. Harlow’s novel features Ella Graham, a senior at North Davis High School in Georgia. She is a living ghost girl after losing her best friend, Hayley Miller, in a car accident. Because Ella had been driving and had consumed a single beer, she blames herself for the accident and the loss of her friend. As Ella struggles to go on with her life, she finds solace in Hayley’s former boyfriend, Sawyer Hawkins, who is similarly suffering. Having also loved Hayley, Sawyer knows Ella’s pain. AsRead More →

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Middle grade readers will likely relate to Jen Wilde’s recent novel, Paige Not Found. Wilde’s book features eleven-year-old neuroatypical Paige Wells whose insecurities provide obstacles but whose courage is commendable. Paige dreams of being just like her favorite teacher Ms. Penny: “Happy, funny, wearing kooky glasses, and doing a job she loves” (38). When Paige discovers that she has a mechanical device in her brain to monitor her moods and serotonin levels, she is angry. Feeling like a lab rat because her parents signed on to a research trial with Nucleus, owned by tech giant, Elliot Preston, who is about to sell the failing companyRead More →

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A blend of horror, mystery, and thriller with a sprinkling of romance, Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Set in New York, the novel features Olivia D’Angeli and Reagan Karl. Both sixteen-year-olds have an origin story anchored at Camp Lost Lake, a youth camp owned by the D’Angeli family. Tired of running, Reagan is determined to solve the murder that has her mother in hiding. She and her best friend, Jack, are determined to exonerate Reagan’s mother Lori Knight, aka Lauren Karl, so that Reagan can live a normal life free from the accusations thatRead More →