General
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A Mermaid in Middle Grade: Book 1: The Talisman of Lostland
A young mermaid. A sea witch out for revenge. Can Brynn Finley become a sea guardian and help humans in danger when she just barely started the sixth grade?
Brynn is the only mermaid in school who hasn’t been able to learn magic. Until she can unlock the secret to magic spells, she can’t become a sea guardian like her parents and friends. On her quest to solve this mystery, Brynn and her best friend encounter a loveable sea turtle, a pair of selkie sisters, and Phaedra, the great and terrible sea witch. But soon Brynn is over her head in trouble. She must learn to ask for help, do her best, and follow the merfolk oath if she wants to become a guardian of the sea!
For Readers 8-12 from author A.M. Luzzader.
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A First Time for Everything
This middle grade graphic memoir is based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat’s awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life.
Dan’s always been a good kid. The kind of kid who listens to his teachers, helps his mom with grocery shopping, and stays out of trouble. But being a good kid doesn’t stop him from being bullied and feeling like he’s invisible, which is why Dan has low expectations when his parents send him on a class trip to Europe.
At first, he’s right. He’s stuck with the same girls from his middle school who love to make fun of him, and he doesn’t know why his teacher insisted he come on this trip. But as he travels through France, Germany, Switzerland, and England, a series of first experiences begin to change him―first Fanta, first fondue, first time stealing a bike from German punk rockers… and first love.
Funny, heartwarming, and poignant, A First Time for Everything is a feel-good coming-of-age memoir based on New York Times bestselling author and Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat’s awkward middle school years. It celebrates a time that is universally challenging for many of us, but also life changing as well.
This wonderful book from award-winning author-illustrator Dan Santat is the winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and is for Readers 10-14.
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The Traitor’s Son: (Path of the Ranger Book 1)
A kingdom in danger, a great betrayal, a boy seeking to redeem his father’s honor. Will he succeed in exonerating him and saving the realm from an enemy in the shadows before it is too late for the whole North?
By the age of fifteen, Lasgol has endured a hard childhood and lives, cornered and hated, in a small village in the North. He is the son of the traitor, the man who betrayed the kingdom and tried to kill the King. His only companions are the mountains and the snow, ever-present in the region. Yet he refuses to believe that his father is guilty, even though the King himself was a witness to the betrayal.
Lasgol is determined to clear his father’s name and has only one option to do so: the School of Rangers, a secret place where they train the respected and feared defenders of the kingdom’s lands for four years. Going there is insane. Hate and death await him. But as the son of a Ranger, he is entitled to attend.
At the Camp he will find himself involved in political intrigues, disloyalties and fights. He will encounter hatred and fearsome enemies, but also a handful of friends, novices as much out of place as he is himself, determined to do whatever is necessary to pass the first year… without dying in the attempt.
Will Lasgol survive the first year of instruction at the Rangers’ Camp? Will he find out what happened to his father? Will he be able to clear his name?
For Readers 10+ from author Pedro Urvi.
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The Gem Keeper: The Illusia Chronicles
Murphy Tulley knows he’s no hero. However, when someone steals the magical Gem of Nashel from his mining town, they lose its protection, which leads to illness and potential death for everyone in Airinton. While still grieving the loss of his father, the town’s last Gem Keeper, it’s up to Murphy to retrieve the missing gem.
He sets off alone to find it, guided only by a mysterious internal connection. When an unlikely group of friends and creatures join him, they learn to work together in a race against time.
As Murphy pushes past his own doubts and fears, he realizes heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Can he summon the courage to save the day?
For Readers 8-14 from author Diane Martin.
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Restart
The amazing story is about what you can do when life gives you a second chance.
Chase’s memory just went out the window. Chase doesn’t remember falling off the roof. He doesn’t remember hitting his head. He doesn’t, in fact, remember anything. He wakes up in a hospital room and suddenly has to learn his whole life all over again . . . starting with his own name. He knows he’s Chase. But who is Chase? When he gets back to school, he sees that different kids have very different reactions to his return. Some kids treat him like a hero. Some kids are clearly afraid of him. One girl in particular is so angry with him that she pours her frozen yogurt on his head the first chance she gets. Pretty soon, it’s not only a question of who Chase is–it’s a question of who he was . . . and who he’s going to be. Restart is the spectacular story of a kid with a messy past who has to figure out what it means to get a clean start.
For Readers 10-12 from the New York Times and #1 bestselling author of Swindle and Slacker, author Gordon Korman.
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Posted
In middle school, words aren’t just words. They can be weapons. They can be gifts. The right words can win you friends or make you enemies. They can come back to haunt you. Sometimes they can change things forever.
When Branton Middle School bans cell phones, Frost and his friends Deedee, Wolf, and Bench devise a new way to communicate. They leave sticky notes for each other all around the school. It catches on, and soon all the kids in school are leaving notes—though for every kind and friendly one, there is a cutting and cruel one as well.
In the middle of this, a new girl named Rose arrives at school and sits at Frost’s lunch table. Rose is not like anyone else at Branton Middle School, and it’s clear that the close circle of friends Frost has made for himself won’t easily hold another. As the sticky-note war escalates, and the pressure to choose sides mounts, Frost soon realizes that after this year, nothing will ever be the same.
For Readers 10-12 from author John David Anderson.
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Eleven
Alex Douglas always wanted to be a hero. But nothing heroic ever happened to Alex. Nothing, that is, until his eleventh birthday. When Alex rescues a stray dog as a birthday gift to himself, he doesn’t think his life can get much better. Radar, his new dog, pretty much feels the same way. But this day has bigger things in store for both of them. This is a story about bullies and heroes. About tragedy and hope. About enemies with two legs and friends with four, and pesky little sisters and cranky old men, and an unexpected lesson in kindness delivered with a slice of pizza. This is Eleven: the journey of a boy turning eleven on 9/11.
For Readers 10-12 from author Tom Rogers.
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The Vork Chronicles Welcome to Superhero School
Welcome to Superhero School! Join Oliver, Jess, and all their friends on a mission to destroy the power-hungry, evil villains of Vork. From subterranean sewers to lush jungle, from dinosaurs to dragons, our heroes will be pushed to their limits in ways they’d never imagined. Will their collective Powers—Flight, Morphing, Invisibility, Mind Reading, and more—be enough for them to overcome the malevolence of Vork? Or will they stumble over their own doubts and painful histories? This action-packed journey of friendship, hardship, and humor will take our heroes to thrilling new heights and a deeper understanding of their own place in the world. But will that be enough—or will Vork always be one step ahead?
For Readers 8-12 from author Gracie Dix.
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The Stars Beneath Our Feet
It’s Christmas Eve in Harlem, but twelve-year-old Lolly Rachpaul and his mom aren’t celebrating. They’re still reeling from his older brother’s death in a gang-related shooting just a few months earlier. Then Lolly’s mother’s girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos. Lolly’s always loved Legos, and he prides himself on following the kit instructions exactly. Now, faced with a pile of building blocks and no instructions, Lolly must find his own way forward.
His path isn’t clear—and the pressure to join a “crew,” as his brother did, is always there. When Lolly and his friend are beaten up and robbed, joining a crew almost seems like the safe choice. But building a fantastical Lego city at the community center provides Lolly with an escape—and an unexpected bridge back to the world.
For Readers 10-12 from The Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe Award winning author David Barclay.
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The Proto Project: A Sci-Fi Adventure
When Jason meets his mom’s billion-dollar invention, an artificial intelligence device named Proto, he accidentally gets caught up in a mysterious adventure. Proto goes missing, and then people go missing. Now Jason and his coolest-neighbor-ever Maya must risk their lives to prevent global mayhem. But who is behind this devious plot? Is it another AI? The FBI? Or any other abbreviation with an I? What exactly is there to learn about artificial and human intelligence while fighting for your life against a legion of furry puppies or a battalion of drones? A lot—if you live to tell about it.
Jason and Maya set out on an adventure of a lifetime.
For Readers 8-10 from author Bryan R. Johnson.
