Review: Swimming in a Sea of Stars by Julie Wright

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Swimming in a Sea of Stars by Julie Wright cover shows a whited out/glowing image of a girl who appears to be underwater, reaching for a small star above her. Her legs are kicked out behind and below her.

Swimming in a Sea of Stars
Julie Wright
Shadow Mountain Publishing
Published August 1, 2023

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About Swimming in a Sea of Stars

Journal entry: Heading to school. I know what everyone will say. There goes the girl who tried to kill herself.

Addison is no stranger to feeling stressed, insecure, and sad. Her therapist recommended she keep a journal to help her understand those feelings better, which she really needs today. … Continue reading →

Review: Brick Dust and Bones by M. R. Fournet

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Brick Dust and Bones by M. R. Fournet

Brick Dust and Bones
M. R. Fournet
Feiwel & Friends
Published July 18, 2023

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About Brick Dust and Bones

A twelve-year-old cemetery boy and monster hunter–along with his flesh-eating mermaid friend–has to race against the clock to save the ghost of his dead mother in Brick Dust and Bones, M.R. Fournet’s magical middle grade debut.

Marius Grey hunts Monsters. He’s not supposed to. He’s only twelve and his job as a Cemetery Boy is to look after the ghosts in his family’s graveyard. He should be tending these ghosts and–of course–going to school to learn how to live between worlds without getting into … Continue reading →

Review: A Sky Full of Song by Susan Lynn Meyer

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A Sky Full of Song by Susan Lynn Meyer cover shows a sunset sky over a prairie and a girl in the foreground facing the sunset, her dark hair blowing in the wind. Two geese fly overhead. A black and white cat leaps toward her at her feet.

A Sky Full of Song
Susan Lynn Meyer
Union Square Kids
Published April 11, 2023

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About A Sky Full of Song

This heartwarming, beautifully written middle-grade historical novel about an untold American frontier story is destined to be a cherished classic. 
 
North Dakota, 1905
 
After fleeing persecution in the Russian Empire, eleven-year-old Shoshana and her family, Jewish immigrants, start a new … Continue reading →

The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter

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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 more … Continue reading →

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

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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

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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 →