Ollie In Between by Jess Callans - ADVISABLE

Ollie In Between by Jess Callans, 256 pages. Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan), 2025. $19. 

Language: PG (4 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (lots of maturation talk, Ollie's period is a big part of the plot, reference to boobs, nipples etc.); Violence: G; 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

12yo Ollie does not want to become a woman. She's not afraid of growing up, she's just certain that she's not a girl. But she also doesn't think she's a boy. Ollie is somewhere in between. But this is the age where everything starts happening to your body. The boys won't let her play hockey with them anymore because she's too much of a girl, and her girl friends are embarrassed by her for acting too much like a boy. But when she's invited to join the LGBTQIA book club, she finds a group of friends who understand what she's going through. 

A well-written coming of age story, it's got all the stuff - Ollie's mother has passed away, and sister moved in with her boyfriend, so no one really expects dad to help her navigate puberty, which, because she is questioning her gender, makes this whole thing terrifying and extra awkward. She's seeing the trouble Stella, a trans girl in her book group, is having with parents objecting to which bathroom she uses and feels both fear for herself and guilt for not standing up better for her new friend. A good window or mirror if your library needs more LGBT titles, particularly with a non-binary main character. Ollie is Persian and White and non-binary 

Lisa Librarian 

Unforgotten by Jessica Brody - OPTIONAL

Unforgotten (Unremembered #2) by Jessica Brody, 399 pages. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014. $18.

Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13 (implied alcohol use, illegal activity, kissing, and nudity); Violence: PG13 (assault, torture, blood and gore, and mentions of suicide and murder)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Having narrowly escaped the clutches of Diotech, Sera (16yo) and Zen (18yo) are living the lives they dreamed of by traveling back in time to 1609. Zen is a natural at fitting in, but Sera sees suspicion in the eyes of those around them who can sense that she’s different. In 2013, Sera was called a miracle; in 1609, she’s called a witch.

The progression of the story was logical without being overly predictable, and it continued to be fast-paced. Brody introduced a host of problems as Sera learned more about the transession gene and Diotech—and the consequences of letting both continue unrestricted. With everything going wrong for Sera at the end of this book, it will be interesting to see what kind of solutions Brody comes up with in the next book. Sera and Zen are implied White.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss - OPTIONAL

The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss, 403 pages. Putnam (Penguin), 2026. $23.

Language: R (98  swears,  8 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (affairs mentioned, light kiss); Violence: PG-13 (cow heart in fridge, body in coffin, fighting with sword, gun shot)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

17yo Carter is excited and is dreading her time on the Escape Game,  popular escape room game show; her online persona is much more confident than the IRL Carter ever has been. Disaster though - one of her team members is Sierra Angelos, the sister of Alicia Angelos who was murdered during the last season - and Sierra is still the prime suspect. Sierra is determined to hunt down the true killer and someone else on the show, calling themselves The Real Gamemaster, also seems determined to expose the killer. But the killer is determined to keep the truth from being revealed.

The descriptions and inner workings of the escape games were more fun than I first thought they might be - the authors did a great job of detailing the rooms and giving clues that the reader could also use to solve the puzzles if desired. They also We kept the mystery tight and interesting - not easy to solve, but also a bit of a surprise for the reader.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Danger Files: Real Life Disasters by Anna Crowley Redding, illustrated by Robbie Cathro - ADVISAB:E

The Danger Files: Real Life Disasters by Anna Crowley Redding, illustrated by Robbie Cathro, 198 pages. NON-FICTION Candlewick, 2025. $18 

BUYING ADVISORY EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Readers can follow five major disasters from the Great Chicago Fire to the Hindenburg. As they do so, they will find eye-witness accounts, clues and facts, and experiments to conduct. 

This is a great way to get five major disasters in a succinct and interesting way. The illustrations make it accessible for young readers, and the experiments look like a lot of fun. The clues and facts are set off in gray tones with graphic art, making the format easy to follow and inviting. This is a quick read that will keep you engaged. 

Michelle in the Middle

Love at Full Tilt by Jenny L. Howe - OPTIONAL

Love at Full Tilt by Jenny L. Howe, 369 pages. Delacorte (Random), 2025. $13 (pb)

Language: R (72 swears, 1 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (kissing, mentions of sex and of lost virginity; stranger grabs her butt); Violence: PG (zombie walkthrough attraction)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

18yo Lia has landed her dream trip to Fableland as a participant in their 50th anniversary scavenger hunt. Her two best friends are along, but they are there for the park, not for the hunt, so rearrangements have to be made. Lia meets Mason, who is pretty dreamy and also in the contest, but has a hard time believing he is into her, as Lia is a plus-sized girl. As the game goes on, their chemistry seems to be getting hotter - can she trust Mason with the game and with her heart?

Howe does a great job of writing Lia as a big girl, but not letting her being big be the only “interesting” thing about her. And Fableland doesn’t feel like a Disney ripoff, either; I wanted to understand Fableland so that I could figure out the clues too. 

Characters cue white; Lia’s best friends are LGBT.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Murray the Pirate (Murray and Bun! #3) by Adam Stower - ADVISABLE

Murray the Pirate (Murray and Bun! #3) by Adam Stower, 192 pages, Random House, 2025. $17 

Language: G (0 "F"); Mature Content: G; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Murray and Bun go through a magical cat flap and find themselves in a band of pirates, thanks to the wizard's magic gone awry. The pirates are sad that no one likes them, and they aren't particularly fond of pirating. In an effort to make things right, they are off on a dangerous quest to find treasure. 

Murray and Bun are fun characters, and the drawings are delightful. I like that the pirates want to be nice. Nice themes of change and redemption. Great book for young readers. Murray is a cat and Bun is a rabbit. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Hail Mariam by Huda Al-Marashi - OPTIONAL

Hail Mariam by Huda Al-Marashi, 188 pages. Kokila (Penguin), 2026. $18. 

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

Mariam is not excited to be starting at a new middle school - a Catholic middle school!  She, a Muslim, is going to a Catholic school!  Full of depictions of Jesus! And her only skill is doing what she thinks the teacher wants her to, so she doesn’t have anything to talk to the other girls about. Slowly she tries to find a place for herself and a couple of friends.  But the Christmas Nativity production is coming up.

Mariam is as judgmental of her family as she thinks other people are of her.  She is sure that she is smarter than every adult around her and her attitude was quite grating. For a sixth grader she is quite self-assured and secretive - about a year ahead of when that behavior really starts happening. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly - ADVISABLE

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly, 303 pages. Scholastic Press (Scholastic Inc), 2020. $13.

Language: PG13 (17 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13 (alcohol use, scary elements, kissing, and innuendo); Violence: PG13 (animal cruelty, assault, corpses, fantasy violence, blood and gore, suicide, and murder)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Princess Sophia (16yo) is not strong enough to be a ruler— she’s too soft, too trusting, too compassionate. If Sophia receives the crown, everything her stepmother, the queen, has built will fall, so the queen tells her huntsman to kill the princess and bring back her heart. And thus begins the princess’s quest to reclaim her heart.

The narrator of the story breaks the fourth wall and switches randomly through first, second, and third person perspectives. Some of the chapters feel only loosely connected to the story, and I can’t tell if the epilogue is meant to lead to a sequel or not. And yet, with all those technical issues, I liked the story itself. Donnelly sometimes gets more caught up in painting pictures of the mood more than in explaining what’s going on, like adding a dash of poetry to the book. I love her spin on Snow White and the connections she makes between fear, love, pain, courage, and heart.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson

Every Reason to Stay by Lane Clarke - OPTIONAL

Every Reason to Stay by Lane Clarke, 305 pages. JULY 2026. $20.

Language: R (78 swears, 7  ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO:SEVERAL

For 16 years, Skylar and her rock star dad have been best friends together - until the day Dad dies. Then, Skylar finds herself not only grieving losing her father, but she has been whisked away from Austin, Texas to Washington, D.C. to live with the mother, Mona, who Sky thought was dead. And with Mona’s wife and their young son. As Sky tries to come to grips with her new life, she finds a diary written by Mona in the months before Sky was born. 

Clarke thankfully did not give as an evil mother/stepmother here - the book is about Sky processing her grief and learning that hearing someone else's story can go a long way to building bridges. While some may feel everything worked out too easily, I did enjoy the soothing story and the bit of romance.  The only thing I did not like was a bit of magical realism - or schizophrenia - you decide which it is when you find the twist. Almost every character is LGBT of some sort.

Skylar and her family are Black.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Cope Field by T.L. Simpson - OPTIONAL

Cope Field by T.L. Simpson, 272 pages. Flux 2025 $15.00 

Language: R (200+ swears 19 'f'); Mature Content: PG (some kissing); Violence: R (physical abuse, murder (described), injuries detailed) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

17yo Crawford is the star pitcher of his high school baseball team in Arkansas. Of course he is! His dad pitched for the Royals! But Craw is in trouble, he has anger management problems - brought on by abuse, and he has hit his dad in the head with a bat. Any other kid would have gone to juvie, but Craw's dad knows lawyers and the sheriff and the judge, so they were lenient. Craw has been sentenced to 300 hours of community service. This is where he meets Hannah, also serving community service. Craw has a lot going on at home, and a lot of secrets he's been keeping his whole life. Hannah likes to talk, she'd love to help Craw by getting him to talk too. 

Right from the beginning, I was into the story and on Craw's side. What would make a kid hit his father in the head with a bat, and why would the judge act like it was no big deal? Good sports action and a sweet love story. Lots of swears, there is violence against children but is mostly off page (the worst of it), except for a cold-blooded murder that is described. Worth addng to the Sports Fiction - baseball boys will love this. The characters default white. 

Lisa Librarian  

The Moss by Lisa Lueddecke - OPTIONAL

The Moss by Lisa Lueddecke, 304 pages. Simon & Schuster, 2025. $21

Language:  PG-13 (26 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG (Grief); Violence: PG-13 (Murder, attempted murder)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

After her mother and sister Eve went missing, Emma moved to California for a year. Now, 17yo Emma returns home where she and her father try to work through their grief. But that is difficult when the town suspects that her father had something to do with the disappearances. Their house is also located right next to the Moss, a bog where they suspect Eve and her mother disappeared. Emma can see ghosts, including The Sedge Man. Before she disappeared, Eve left a note warning Emma to stay away from the Sedge Man and the Moss, but the Moss is where Emma feels she can find answers. And the Moss keeps calling her in. 

I found the pacing slow with some of the horror elements becoming repetitious. Secondary characters including potential love interest Jordan and Emma's father are static characters who don’t see much development. For a gothic horror novel, it doesn’t offer much new in the genre. However,  it could act as an introduction into the genre for students, and it has a good representation of grief and a thoughtful depiction of the relationship between Emma and her father.

Main characters read white. 

Ms. Megan, High School Librarian

Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches by Kayla Cottingham - OPTIONAL

Extraordinary Quests for Amateur Witches by Kayla Cottingham, 416 pages. Random House Children's Books (Penguin Random House), 2025. $20.

Language: R (49 swears, 12 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13 (repeated underage drinking, repeated kissing on page, and a couple of sexual innuendos); Violence: R (repeated bloody, graphic (fantasy & human) violence, with the on-page death of a dozen mercenaries)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

In order to complete his magical training and undo an accidental/illegal curse on his ex, Kieran takes on an impossible quest to find a magical cure-all. In true Hero’s Journey fashion, he encounters three trials, each more dangerous than the last. Along the way, he picks up a familiar and maybe a new love interest. Will Kieran find the cure or be doomed to failure and a life without magic?

In general, I enjoyed reading this book. It is the second in the series, the first being Practical Rules for Cursed Witches, so there I experienced some confusion trying to get into the novel initially, but I eventually got caught up in the story. There were some things that I thought were odd. It couldn’t figure out what kind of fantasy it wanted to be. There were parts that were steampunk, there were parts that were contemporary modern day, and obviously parts were magical. In general, it was a textbook example of the hero’s journey, albeit with some incongruencies that kind of took me out of the story. I think high school students will love the action & adventure, along with the sweet queer romance at the heart of the story.

Diversity note: all the main characters are white and LGBTQIA.

Reviewer: Kiera Beddes, ELA teacher #bookswithbeddes 

White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War then rewrote the History by Ann Bausum - ESSENTIAL

White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War then rewrote the History by Ann Bausum, 352 pages. NON-FICTION Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan), 2025. $25. 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence PG13 (mention of rape, description of violence against enslaved people) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ESSENTIAL 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

After the South lost the civil war, Confederates and their descendants formed organizations like United Confederate Veterans and The United Daughters of the Confederacy. These organizations presented a biased, racist, white-centric story of what happened during that time in the South. They were politically and socially active and managed to get their version of the Civil War into textbooks, movies and popular culture. 

Ann Bausum takes 20 lies told through the Lost Cause narrative, and unwraps them, revealing the truths from the historic record. White Lies was fascinating, but hard to read, as many of the issues addressed had been part of my understanding of the Civil War growing up. It messed with my nostalgia and has made me more aware of the misrepresentations of that time. I'll never see Gone with the Wind the same way again. I hope this somehow makes it into classroom study someday, I know I'm a different person having read White Lies. Well documented and well organized. There are photos of the monuments and the propaganda throughout, as well as a timeline, author's notes, a bibliography and sources. 

Lisa Librarian 

Love, Misha by Askel Aden - ADVISABLE

Love, Misha by Askel Aden, 316 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL First Second (Macmillan), 2025 $18. 

Language: PG (10 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (peril, monsters) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

Misha and their mom are taking a rare trip together - Misha's mom isn't usually around much, and is having trouble accepting Misha as non-binary. Things are contentious right from the start, and when Audrey (mom) gets them lost in the woods, they find themselves in the Realm of Spirits where humans are eaten. Now they are not just lost, they have to work together in order to escape. Misha has tarot cards, and a spirit guide, and still the conflict with their mother seems to color every decision they make. 

 

I really liked this story, the graphics are muted, mostly in shades of orange and brown, with flashbacks in shades of gray. I was reminded of adventures akin to Spirited Away or Over the Garden Wall. Lots of different monsters, helpers who aren't, and a lot of self-reflection on both Misha's and Audrey's part. While I think it's better for a high school, I would still purchase a copy for my middle school - I like the long form graphic novels that have a nice story. Misha defaults white. 

Lisa Librarian 

Super Indian (Volume Three) by Arigon Starr - ADVISABLE

Super Indian (Volume Three) by Arigon Starr. 64 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL, (comic book) Wacky Productions Unlimited, 2024. $25.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (Super Powers violence i.e. fireballs, super kicks etc. Also racist language, more inappropriate than offensive) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

Hubert Logan ate some contaminated commodity cheese, tainted with Rezium. Now he has superpowers, and he can transform into Super Indian. He also has a superpowered dog as a sidekick, and other indigenous friends who help fight against an evil overlord, uninformed tourists, and a former rockstar celebrity set on taking the reservation for himself. 

Super Indian reads like an old fashioned comic. The bad guys are evil; they are up to some bad stuff, poisoning people, stealing things from the wild, and causing mayhem. I love that most of the action revolves around what's going on in the Bingo Hall on the reservation. It's a 3-book series so far, each containing multiple full-color comic books. The stories are great, I bought all three for my library. The characters are indigenous, from a fictional reservation. They speak Choctaw

Lisa Librarian

Girls of Dark Divine by E.V. Woods - ADVISABLE

Girls of Dark Divine by E.V. Woods, 389 pages. Random House Children's Books, 2025. $20

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG (alcohol abuse); Violence: PG-13 (child abuse, alcoholic rages, sick torture, revenge plots of murder)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

New Kora is home base to one of the most extraordinary performing dance companies: Malcom's Marionettes.  People from around the world attend their awe inspiring performances.  How can all the dancers perform so beautifully and with such perfect precision? The secret: each dancer is under a dark curse which literally takes over their bodies every night the curtain raises on the stage.  Emberlyn is the lead dancer.  Her fellow dance mates are more than part of the performance, they are her "sisters".  Emberlyn wants to escape this torturous lifestyle of supposed glitz and glamor, but how can she leave her sisters behind to endure the abuse and alcoholic rages of Malcolm?  The curse prevents her from literally being able to voice the torture and abuse to an anyone outside the Marionettes.  Perhaps the answer is not to escape, but to actually end the reign of "The Puppet Master", Malcom, and finally put an end to this nightmare. 

Although this book contains abuse, torture, alcoholism, etc, the heroine of the book, Emberlyn, teaches us all that selfless love is the highest form of love and in this novel, ultimately conquers evil. I loved the internal struggles Emberlyn finds herself in.  I loved her relationship with the other dancers and especially her romance with her hero, Etienne. The message in the end of the novel helped soften the abuse and violence.  Rising about our worst nightmares takes a lot of courage, a lot of self reflection, and a lot of support and love from others. The girls seem to be about high school aged.

S. Lewis

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder by Kate Emery - ADVISABLE

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder by Kate Emery, 296 pages. Knopf (Random House), 2024. $20 

Language: PG (20 swears, 0 "f"); Mature Content: PG (sexual allusions, inuendo); Violence: PG (murder, threats, attempted homicide, mostly off page) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Ruth is a 14yo on vacation with her dad's side of the family when her step-grandmother turns up dead. As a fan of murder-mystery novels, Ruth is determined to figure out what happened, even though the family tries to keep her and her cousin Dylan out of the way. Solving a murder is a little trickier when the prime suspects are all under the same roof. 

It took me a minute to get into the book, but when I did, I really enjoyed the humor. Ruth's banter with her family is witty, and her family puts the fun in dysfunction. The characters and the house are all quirky in the best sense. There are references to Agatha Christie that younger readers might not get, and there are a lot of characters. That said, this was an enjoyable read that had interesting twists, and I enjoyed the writing style. Ruth and her family are Australian. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Dawn of the Axolotl (The Last Immortals #1) by Kit Brooks, illustrated by Brandon Dorman - ADVISABLE

Dawn of the Axolotl (The Last Immortals #1) by Kit Brooks, illustrated by Brandon Dorman, 194 pages. Christy Ottaviano Books, 2026. $9

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (One axolotl bites the tail off of another axolotl and eats it.)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE; MS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: EL - MANY; MS - SOME

Ace, a fearful axolotl, has just hatched out of his egg with his twin brother, Jasper.  Jasper turns on Ace, bites off his tail and eats it.  Hurt and alone, Ace struggles to survive.  He finds two other axolotls that help Ace understand that axolotls need to work together because they are becoming extinct.  Will Ace have to face his brother again?

Dawn of the Axolotl was an interesting combination of fantasy and axolotl facts.  Fans of Warrior Cats would probably like this book.  I was troubled by the fact that several characters lose limbs or tails in this story.  Because axolotls can regenerate, losing a part of their body is seen as a way to become stronger or "immortal" by the characters in this book.  Axolotls are a very popular animal with elementary students, and they would probably enjoy learning more about them in this fantasy story. The characters in this book are mostly axolotls.

Tracie, Elementary School Librarian

The House No One Sees by Adina King - OPTIONAL

The House No One Sees by Adina King, 304 pages. Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan), 2025. $20. 

Language: R (36 swears 21 'f'); Mature Content: PG13 (adult substance abuse, opioid addiction, child endangerment and neglect) Violence: PG13 (verbal abuse, disturbing images described) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

16yo Penny has lived in her mother's fairy tale her whole life. The house she lives in seems to talk to her, and her mother is more often "asleep" than parenting. Her mother has an opioid addiction, so Penny takes care of herself, avoids the boyfriends and checks on her mom. She dreams about calling 911 but doesn't know what to say. Her teachers, DCFS, and even her grandparents try to help, but somehow she keeps ending up back with her mother. On the night of her 17th birthday, as she waits for a call or a text from her, she remembers being in the house that is hiding and all the terrible things associated with her troubled life. 

A novel in verse, The House No One Sees was a hard read - full of emotional content - I felt so bad for Penny and wished for better outcomes for her all along the way. While I don't think it would be good to teach, this would certainly be a book to talk about in a book club or among friends reading it together. Neither Penny's race nor culture is described, but she doesn't default white, either. Penny is a mirror of the young adult reading the book. 

Lisa Librarian  

Lovely Recipe written and illustrated by Myra Rose Nino - ADVISABLE

Lovely Recipe written and illustrated by Myra Rose Nino, 240 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Random House Children's Books (Penguin Random House), 2026. $25.

Language: G (2 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (some kissing on page); Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Sofia is in her last year of high school and she doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life post-graduation. What she does know is that her workaholic mother has been emotionally absent since her beloved grandmother’s death. If Sofia can learn to recreate some of her grandmother’s cherished recipes, maybe she can reconnect with her mother, and figure out her life plan. So Sofia enlists the help of her serious & studious classmate, Anna Marie, to teach her how to cook better. As the weeks fly by, Sofia and Anna Marie get closer together, but will the looming life changes tear them apart before they have a chance to even get started?

This is a very sweet, relatable YA graphic novel, perfect for anyone who has ever felt 'left behind' while the rest of the world moves on. I thought Sofia's desire to learn how to cook to recapture fond memories of her deceased grandmother helped give the story some necessary emotional depth. I also liked seeing their relationship develop authentically over the months cooking together in Anna Marie's family restaurant. Most readers are going to love the opposites-attract trope, but overall, this is a darling, slow burn sapphic romance, perfect for high school readers. While ethnicity is never explicitly addressed in the book, Sofia looks biracial in the illustrations.

Reviewer: Kiera Beddes, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes