MMGM Review: When You’re Brave Enough by Rebecca Bendheim

When You're Brave Enough by Rebecca Bendheim

When You’re Brave Enough
Rebecca Bendheim
Viking Books for Young Readers
Published April 7, 2026

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About When You’re Brave Enough

A heartfelt, gorgeously written debut middle grade novel about best friends, first crushes, and coming out—perfect for fans of Kyle Lukoff and Jake Maia Arlow.

Before she moved from Austin to Rhode Island, everybody knew Lacey as one half of an inseparable duo: Lacey-and-Grace, best friends since they were toddlers. Grace and her moms were practically family. But at school, being lumped together with overeager, worm-obsessed, crushes-on-everyone Grace meant Lacey never quite fit in—and that’s why at her new middle school, Lacey plans to reinvent herself. … Continue reading

Review: Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Flyboy
Kasey LeBlanc
Balzer + Bray
Published May 14, 2024

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About Flyboy

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the speculative twists of The Night Circus in this standout debut YA novel, about a boy who visits the magic-filled circus of his dreams each night in order to escape his daily reality where his trans identity remains a secret.

After an incident at his school leaves closeted trans teenager Asher Sullivan needing stitches, his mother betrays him in the worst possible way—she sends him to Catholic school for his senior year. Now he has to contend with hideous plaid skirts, … Continue reading

Review: Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

Ode to My First Car
Robin Gow
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published June 20, 2023

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About Ode to My First Car

By the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions , this YA contemporary sapphic romance told in verse is about a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer.

It’s a few months before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she’s known since they were four.

Trying to pay off … Continue reading

Review: Time Out by Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald

Time Out by Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner cover shows two boys, one in a basketball uniform and the other in long pants and a jacket sitting on the bottom row of the bleachers together. Items are scattered around them on the floor of the gym and on the bleachers.

Time Out
Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, and Carlyn Greenwald
Simon & Schuster
Published May 30, 2023

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About Time Out

Heartstopper meets Friday Night Lights in this keenly felt coming-of-age story about a teen hometown hero who must find out who he is outside of basketball when his coming out as gay costs him his popularity and place on the team.

In his … Continue reading

Review: Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Last Seen Leaving
Caleb Roehrig
Feiwel & Friends
October 4, 2016

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About LAST SEEN LEAVING

Flynn’s girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?

Flynn’s girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can’t answer, and her friends are telling stories that don’t add up. All eyes are on Flynn—as January’s boyfriend, he must know something.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. And as he struggles to uncover … Continue reading

Review: Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby

Hurricane Season by Nicole Melleby

Hurricane Season
Nicole Melleby
Algonquin Young Readers
Available May 7, 2019

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About HURRICANE SEASON

Fig, a sixth grader, wants more than anything to see the world as her father does. The once-renowned pianist, who hasn’t composed a song in years and has unpredictable good and bad days, is something of a mystery to Fig. Though she’s a science and math nerd, she tries taking an art class just to be closer to him, to experience life the way an artist does. But then Fig’s dad shows … Continue reading