The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter

The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter

The Great Texas Dragon Race
Kacy Ritter
Clarion Books
Published August 1, 2023

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About The Great Texas Dragon Race

Wings of Fire meets The Hunger Games in this debut contemporary middle grade fantasy stand-alone about thirteen-year-old Cassidy Drake, who enters the dangerous Great Texas Dragon Race to save her family’s dragon sanctuary.

Thirteen-year-old Cassidy Drake wants nothing more than to race with her best dragon, Ranga, in the annual Great Texas Dragon Race. Her mother was a racing legacy, and growing up on her family’s dragon sanctuary ranch, Cassidy lives and breathes dragons. She knows she could win against the exploitative FireCorp team that cares … Continue reading

Review: Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat

Rana Joon and the One and Only Now by Shideh Etaat cover shows a girl in jeans and high tops sitting on the ground, holding a discman and listening to headphones.

Rana Joon and the One and Only Now
Shideh Etaat
Atheneum Books
Published July 25, 2023

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About Rana Joon and the One and Only Now

This lyrical coming-of-age novel for fans of Darius the Great Is Not Okay and On the Come Up, set in southern California in 1996, follows a teen who wants to honor her deceased friend’s legacy by entering a rap contest.

Perfect Iranian girls are straight-A students, always polite, and grow up to marry respectable Iranian … Continue reading

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

Their Vicious Games
Joelle Wellington
Simon & Schuster
Published July 25, 2023

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About Their Vicious Games

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this searing thriller that’s Ace of Spades meets Squid Game with a sprinkling of The Bachelor .

You must work twice as hard to get half as much.

Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to … Continue reading

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu by Erika Lewis

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu by Erika Lewis

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu (Academy for the Unbreakable Arts #2)
Erika Lewis
Starscape
Published July 25, 2023

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About Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu

Kelcie Murphy is back in another action-packed middle grade adventure, Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu, the second book in Erika Lewis’s magical series infused with Celtic mythology, The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts.

It’s hard having a father who’s an infamous traitor. It’s even harder having a mother who’s an omen of doom.

After a summer away, Kelcie Murphy is excited … Continue reading

All Alone With You by Amelia Diane Coombs

All Alone with You by Amelia Diane Coombs

All Alone with You
Amelia Diane Coombs
Simon & Schuster
Published July 25, 2023

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About All Alone with You

HBO Max’s Hacks gets a romantic twist in the vein of Jenn Bennett in this swoon-worthy novel about a standoffish teen girl whose loner status gets challenged by a dynamic elderly woman and a perpetually cheerful boy.

Eloise Deane is the worst and doesn’t care who knows it. She’s grumpy, prefers to be alone, and is just slogging through senior year with one goal: get accepted to USC and move to California. So when her guidance counselor drops the bombshell that to score a scholarship she’ll … Continue reading

Review: All That’s Left to Say by Emery Lord

All That's Left to Say by Emory Lord

All That’s Left to Say
Emery Lord
Bloomsbury YA
Published July 18, 2023

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About All That’s Left to Say

A poignant and powerful story of a grieving girl willing to risk everything, perfect for fans of Robin Benway and Jandy Nelson.

On prom night, Hannah MacLaren sits in the headmaster’s office in her fanciest dress, soaked to the bone. She is in huge trouble after pulling the fire alarm right as the prom queen was about to be crowned. But Hannah had her reasons . . .

One year ago, her cousin Sophie, who was … Continue reading