Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: Me: Moth by Amber McBride

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Me Moth by Amber McBride

Me: Moth
Amber McBride
Feiwel & Friends
Published August 17, 2021

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About Me: Moth

Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted.

Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones.

Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. … Continue reading →

Review: A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner

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Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner cover shows a boy walking to the right with a large black scribble cloud behind him.

A Work in Progress
Jarrett Lerner
Aladdin
Published May 2, 2023

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About A Work in Progress

A young boy struggles with body image in this poignant middle grade journey to self-acceptance told through prose, verse, and illustration.

Will is the only round kid in a school full of string beans. So he hides…in baggy jeans and oversized hoodies, in the back row during class, and anywhere but the cafeteria during lunch. But shame isn’t the only feeling that dominates Will’s life. He’s also got a crush on a girl … Continue reading →

Review: Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

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Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

Yes No Maybe So
Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed
Balzer + Bray
Published February 4, 2020

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About Yes No Maybe So

YES
Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.

NO
Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is … Continue reading →

Review: Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

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Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

Flip Turns
Catherine Arguelles
Jolly Fish Press
Published September 13, 2022

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About Flip Turns

Thirteen-year-old Maddie just wants her classmate, Lucas, to leave her alone. He keeps asking her out—as if she hasn’t already said no a thousand times! Focusing on her competitive swim team, the Electric Eels, Maddie tries to ignore him, hoping he’ll go away.

But then, when someone starts sabotaging Maddie’s family-owned pool—glass on the deck, ketchup in the pool, followed by a “code brown”—Maddie worries it’s her “admirer” trying to get even. After Maddie’s parents rule the problems at the pool just harmless pranks, Maddie and her best friend Ez decide to … Continue reading →

Review: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

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The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X
Elizabeth Acevedo
HarperTeen
Published March 6, 2018

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About The Poet X

Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will fall hard for this astonishing New York Times-bestselling novel-in-verse by an award-winning slam poet, about an Afro-Latina heroine who tells her story with blazing words and powerful truth.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, … Continue reading →

Review: Going Dark by Melissa da la Cruz

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Going Dark by Melissa de la Cruz cover shows a girl facing the camera, her face dark. She holds up a photograph of a girl's face partly over hers.

Going Dark
Melissa de la Cruz
Union Square Co.
Published January 31, 2023

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About Going Dark

“An intense rollercoaster of a thriller and a searing indictment of which victims get our attention and sympathy.”
–#1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Marie Lu

In this ripped-from-the-headlines GONE GIRL meets A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz weaves a white-knuckle YA thriller about a beautiful young influencer who vanishes after going on vacation with her boyfriend.

#WhereisAmeliaAshley

The Influencer
Amelia Ashley shares everything … Continue reading →