Hoops Academy: On the Line by J.B. Duncan - ADVISABLE

Hoops Academy: On the Line by J.B. Duncan, 104 pages. Darby Creek (Lerner), 2025. $12

Language: G (0 swears) Mature Content: G Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Nadia has made the JV basketball team as a freshman and is totally jazzed about that. She would be even more excited if she were doing better in algebra. Hoops Academy demands excellence on and off the court and if her grade drops below a B she can't play. Nadia doesn't seem to be the only one struggling with grades and someone on the team may be cheating, which could also keep Nadia from playing. 

Nice that the books aren't just about basketball. Nadia's situation is relatable and you find yourself rooting for her. Super quick read. Though it becomes fairly predictable, it's satisfying and you won't be sorry you picked it up. Race is not specified. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Hoops Academy: Numbers Game by J.B. Duncan - ADVISABLE

Hoops Academy: Numbers Game by J.B. Duncan, 104 pages. Darby Creek (Lerner), 2025 $12 

Language: G (0 swears) Mature Content: G Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Kaita is in her senior year at Hoops Academy and everything seems to be going her way. She is varsity team captain and finally gets to wear her lucky number on her jersey. Except that her jersey keeps disappearing, and soon, her team mates begin finding things missing from the locker room as well. Mistrust eats at the team, making it difficult to play. Kaita has to find out what's happening before their team implodes. 

Short and to the point. Books in this series alternate between male and female protagonists, and don't have to be read in consecutive order, though it may help a little. The story is quickly paced and has some positive vibes about getting along, teamwork, and seeing others' points of view. No race is specified. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Hoops Academy: Boxed Out by J.B. Duncan - ADVISABLE

Hoops Academy: Boxed Out by J.B. Duncan, 104 pages. Darby Creek (Lerner), 2025. $12

Language: G (0 swears) Mature Content: G Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Murph and Mike are twins who have played basketball together all their lives. Mike makes the varsity team, while Murph is on the JV team. Murph is completely bugged by this and doesn't take his coach's guidance seriously. When Murph gets an unexpected opportunity to move up to varsity, he has to decide if he really has what it takes to make it. 

Short and sweet and high interest. This is a great hook for reluctant readers who like basketball. Murph is relatable, with his faults and dreams of glory, and the underlying messages of having to work and be a team player are a happy bonus. Race and culture are not specified. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia, illustrated by Brittney Williams and Tyler Smith - ESSENTIAL

Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia, illustrated by Brittney Williams and Tyler Smith. 193  pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. First Second (Macmillan), 2025. $23. 9781250142337

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

Stella is excited to start fifth grade with her two best friends. They have a great teacher and their favorite TV show just got a new online game. Stella loves math and art, but is very slow at reading. When fifth grade turns out to be harder than ever and Stella falls behind in her classwork, she can't keep up with her friends or the online game. It turns out that Stella has dyslexia.

Students will be able to see themselves in the characters--from friendship struggles to learning differences. The font is even dyslexia accessible.  This is one of the best books I have read this year! Dan Santat's endorsement on the front cover sums it up well: ""Handles living with dyslexia beautifully, with empathy and compassion. This is a must-read book."" I wish I could get a few select educators to read this book. In the meantime, I will be recommending it to every middle-grade reader and teacher I can! "

The main character is Latina and other characters are ethnically diverse.

Rachel, elementary library specialist

Weirdo by Tony Weaver, Jr., illustrated by Jes & Cin Wibowo - ESSENTIAL

Weirdo by Tony Weaver, Jr., illustrated by Jes & Cin Wibowo, 318 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL, First Second (Macmillan), 2024. $23 

Language: G (0 swears) Mature Content: PG (mention of suicide attempt, no specifics) Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Tony Weaver is in the 7th grade. His parents moved him to a new school to challenge him. Instead, his teacher thinks he is cheating with his writing and he is bullied by other students because of his love of comic book heroes. Tony wants desperately to fit in but begins to feel like everyone would be better off if he was gone. A traumatic event forces him to find out who he is and that he can become the hero of his story. 

This is an essential read for anyone who feels like they are not accepted for who they are and strive to conform to fit in, but are still the target of bullying. This is a positive story of healing and self-love and a journey to finding that he can fit in and make a difference. This is the author's story and he tells it well without getting into detail about self-harm. The focus is really about recovery and finding inner strength. Tony is black. 

Michelle in the Middle 

A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga - ADVISABLE

A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga, 320 pages. HarperCollins, 2024. $10 (paperback) 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Resilience is a Mars rover created in a NASA lab. Although definitely a robot, Res (as one of the scientists nicknamed him) recognizes human emotions and sometimes sees them in his own responses, and hopes to always be rational. He is launched to Mars, and with the help of Fly - an embedded Drone and Guardian, a satellite, Res' primary mission is to find another rover, Courage, who was lost in a dust storm and has gone offline, but Res has a personal mission - to find something so important, they bring him back to Earth. 

What a sweet story! Warga's first science fiction novel was great. I really liked Resilient's voice, and the relationship between Fly the drone and Guardian the satellite. Another character, Sophie, is the child of one of the scientists, who writes letters to Res - more like journal entries, which helps the reader see the passage of time and helps connect with Earth. Perfectly appropriate for upper elementary, with a growing Sophie so there's some friend drama and family problems mentioned as well. 

Lisa Librarian 

Uprooted by Ruth Chan - ADVISABLE

Uprooted by Ruth Chan, 288 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL, Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan), 2024. $15 Language: G (0 swears) Mature Content: G Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

13yo Ruth is moving to Hong Kong from Canada. Her dad got a job in China and she is reluctantly leaving everything she is familiar with. Her mother is excited to be with family, but Ruth feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere. She is not comfortable speaking Cantonese and feels completely uprooted. Her dad tells her his birth story and she learns that both of her parents have felt uprooted as well. 

This is a memoir, so Ruth's voice will resonate with others who don't feel like they fit in. I really like how Ruth ties in the story of her father's birth during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The book is a great message of how courage, perseverance, and patience can help us do hard things. Ruth is Chinese Canadian. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Summer Girls by Jennifer Dugan - OPTIONAL

Summer Girls by Jennifer Dugan, 310 pages. Putnam (Penguin), 2025. $20. 

Language: R (104 swears 21 'f's); Mature Content: PG13 (mention of nipples, passionate kissing); Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

After crashing her boyfriend's expensive car while live streaming, 17yo Birdie is getting a wake-up call from her father. In order to bring her down to earth, he has hired his friend's daughter Cass, a lifeguard at the beach to "babysit" Birdie for the summer. Birdie has to work a menial labor job - she's now a parking attendant - and has been cut off from her own car, and all her social media. Birdie and Cass were friends when they were children, but are so far apart socially that they basic hate each other now - or do they? 

A sweet slow burn romance, I was afraid it was going to be more like "52 Reasons to Hate my Father" but I really liked that Birdie didn't turn out to be an incompetent rich girl. Cass has some great friends, and supportive parents. Birdie's friends and mother are a hot mess, which kept the story alive. I really enjoyed Summer Girls. The characters default white. 

Lisa Librarian 

Ice on Fire (Rosie Frost #2) by Geri Halliwell-Horner - OPTIONAL

Ice on Fire (Rosie Frost #2) by Geri Halliwell-Horner,  464 pages. Penguin, 2025. $19. 

Language: PG13 (100+ swears, primarily deity, 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG (kissing); Violence: PG13 (peril, murders, animal violence) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

13yo Rosie is determined to find out how her mother died. When her lawyer receives the autopsy information from the police, he agrees to meet her at school to talk to her, but when she arrives at the meeting, he's dead on the floor, Rosie is attacked and locked in Miss Churchill's private bathroom. No one will believe her, Collins body is missing and there's no evidence he was ever there. Science on the island has gone crazy, mutant animals are attacking Rosie and her friends, and a billionaire's experiment in the harbor threatens to destroy the world. 

Rosie is desperate and acting that way, she's easily manipulated, out for revenge, impulsive and making some terrible decisions. No one believes her, and her only witness Ed can't be found either. I loved the action of book 1, the games were fun and exciting, but I felt stuck in Ice on Fire. This school is a hot mess, the headmaster is out to get Rosie because he has some vendetta against her mother, and the rich entitlement of many of the students and their parents is getting old. I'm also not a fan of the premise that if you carry your ancestors' name (like Cromwell for example) you are predisposed to act like them.  Rosie is white. 

Lisa Librarian 

The Great Influenza by John M. Barry - ADVISABLE

The Great Influenza: The True Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, Young Readers Edition by John M. Barry, 230 pages. NON-FICTION Viking (Penguin), 2024. $18 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS, ADULT - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

World War 1 involved a huge loss of life, but was compounded when history's deadliest outbreak of the influenza virus spread worldwide through troop transports. The virus exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. 

The Great Influenza looks at the virus, the military camps, and the race to find a cure. It took me awhile to get into this book. I wish there would have been pictures to make it more accessible. The writing is good and the subject matter is compelling, especially since the outbreak of Covid. I found the information about the camps and how the politics of patriotism interfered with getting the truth of the virus out to people and may even have contributed to WWII. It's a cautionary tale that is applicable to today. 

Michelle in the Middle

Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman - ESSENTIAL

Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman, 400 pages. Random House, 2025. $21.

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG13 (death by fire, plague, dragon attacks, bully violence ) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

13yo Charl had arranged to meet his bully in the ruins of the old abby on the hill. Arriving there, he witnesses a terrible accident, where 2 boys from the village are killed. Charl realizes it could have been him! Years ago Charl and his mother escaped their abusive father, the Earl of Ucht. Now, 7 years later, he his found them, and has sent bounty hunters to return them to him, including a dragon set on destroying the whole village, and beetles which start a plague. Protected by a former knight, a nun, a doctor friend (who also happens to be a dragon) and an old prioress, Mother Truce, Charl wants to save his mother, but she has taught him to turn away from violence. But Charl thinks he may be more like his father that he wishes to be. 

A slow build to the ghostly content. It takes about 1/2 way through before the ghosts show up but I was not disappointed. Hartman sets up the story so well, and once she brings in the ghosts, this reader was also investing in the boy's story. The setting of Among Ghosts is Goredd, the same world as Hartman's other fantasy novels Serafina, Tess of the Road and others. Among Ghosts can be read on it's own and the novels don't overlap, rather they contain dragons which can take human form.  

Lisa Librarian 

Beetle and the Chimera Carnival by Aliza Layne - ADVISABLE

Beetle and the Chimera Carnival by Aliza Layne, 384 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Atheneum (Simon and Schuster), 2025. $26 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG (the two main characters are lesbian); Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

In book two, Beetle, Penny, and Kat are getting ready to celebrated the Chimera Festival, a magical night that only happens once every 10 years. There are costumes and magic and most of all, dragons, who come in just for the festival. The trio discovers that there is something sinister going on as the dragons fail to show up. Beetle's body is threatening to transform at an inopportune time and Gran is gone, But Beetle and her friends have to figure out what is going on before it is too late. 

Amidst the danger they face, Beetle and Kat are trying to find out when to come out and let their families know they are lesbian, so there are issues of coming out, as well as insecurities about identity and if someone will still like you if you are different. The end of the book addresses things you can do if you feel like self-harming, which is nice. The art is stunning and it is painted instead of the flat colors usually associated with graphic novels. The characters, while non-human, are wildly diverse, interact together well. A fast read with some nice plot twists. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Maelstrom A Prince of Evil by Lorian Merriman - OPTIONAL

Maelstrom A Prince of Evil by Lorian Merriman, 240 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Henry Holt (Macmillan), 2024. $18 

Language: PG (3 swears, 0 F); Mature Content: PG (gender fluidity); Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Half-demon prince, Maelstrom, is bored. His all-powerful, and super evil mother, is ruling the kingdom with a cruelly iron fist. Maelstrom decides to befriend Twigs, the prophesied Hero of Virtue, planning on double-crossing Twigs and the rebellion, and building his own legend in the process. 

The art is bright and colorful. Maelstrom is both an immature, scrawny youth and a misunderstood being trying to discover how to fit in. Themes of family, friendship, and trust, give it more depth, even if it is a bit predictable. It's a fast read. There are multiple races, cultures, and beings portrayed. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen by Geri Halliwell-Horner - ADVISABLE

Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen by Geri Halliwell-Horner, 464 pages. Penguin, 2023. $19. 

Language: PG13 (69 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (peril, wild animals) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

13yo Rosie Frost finds herself enrolled in the exclusive boarding school located on Bloodstone Island. Originally built as a tribute to her mother Anne Boleyn by Elizabeth I, now the school boasts an endangered animal reserve. The ghost of Queen Anne is haunting Rosie, encouraging her. She arrives the day before and immediately enters the annual school games, is trying to navigate a pretty horrible bully who seems to have it out for Rosie because she's there on scholarship, and the headmaster, Mr. Hemlock is certainly up to something. Thank heavens she makes a couple of friends in the first few days. 

Oh! I was pulled in right away. I love that it takes place in a non-magical world and involves an environmental concern. The historical connections were fun - I learned a lot about Anne Boleyn and loved that there are Aragons and Cromwells at the school too - so much intrigue. Rosie is trying to deal with the sudden death of her mother, but isn't given tools or counseling to help her - which I felt was pretty irresponsible for a modern day school even if it's in a 400 year old castle of sorts. There's a sequel which I'm excited to read, but this book 1 stands on its own. Rosie is white, some of the other characters are described as brown. 

Lisa Librarian 

An Unexpected Journey (Ticket to Ride #1) by Adrienne Kress and David Miles - OPTIONAL

An Unexpected Journey (Ticket to Ride #1) by Adrienne Kress and David Miles, 208 pages. Andrew McMeel Publishing. 2025. $13. (paperback) 

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

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

12yo Teddy is easily distracted and has a hard time keeping his train of thought. But an electric model train received as a birthday gift changes everything. Soon Teddy can focus, as long as it's about trains. When he enters an essay contest he wins a cross country train ride from Toronto to Los Angeles. Along the route, he meets Olivia, and together they try to figure out why a set of blueprints of the special train are so very important to a grumpy old man and a strange woman. 

I was super uncomfortable that 12yo Teddy (who seems like he's actually 9) would be offered a 1 way ticket, with no accompanying adult on a train that shifts routes along the way. The fact that his grandparents live in LA did not make this journey any less crazy. Also, the narrator talks directly to the reader which I hate. I love the game "Ticket to Ride" and while some of the illustrations, like his ticket, mirror the game, it wasn't really connected. Also, this is book 1 and it doesn't end, you've got to read book 2 to find out if Teddy gets home. I'm just barely this side of not recommending, as the action does pick up at the end. Teddy is white. 

Lisa Librarian 

Take a Chance on Me by Elizabeth Eulbergh - ADVISABLE

Take a Chance on Me by Elizabeth Eulbergh, 304 pages. Scholastic, 2024. $13 (Paperback) 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG (Kissing, teen drinking - legal because they are in England); Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

17yo Evie left Chicago on the last day of school, blocked her friends and stopped using social media. What happened at lunch felt like a betrayal and she was done. She started her annual summer vacation in London immediately. But there's issues with her dad, who abandoned her and her mom years ago and the London trip is really just a custody agreement thing. He's controlling and food obsessed - Evie sneaks crisps into the apartment, and he's judgemental if he catches her. But on her first day in the city, she meets a handsome busker about her age named Aiden. Maybe her promise to give up boys can be set aside, after all, she's only in London for the summer. 

Eulbergh is so great at writing clean romance, lots of smoldering and "just friends" with a satisfying ending. The body image, exercise and eating issues were well handled with a trigger warning at the beginning. I loved Evie and was on her team from the beginning. I like that she's honest with herself, I love that she's a lot and embraces it. Evie is white, so is Aiden - their friends are multi cultural, Dev seem to be culturally Indian, not sure about Fiona.

Lisa Librarian 

Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson by Ann E. Burg and Sophie Blackall - ADVISABLE

Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson by Ann E. Burg, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, 304 page. BIOGRAPHY, Scholastic, 2024. $20.  

Language: G (0 swears 0'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

Rachel Carson was always interested in nature. She loved the forest outside her home near Pittsburgh and worried about the effects of the pollution the coal mines were causing on the ecology. She also loved writing, as a young girl, she sold several stories to St. Nick magazine, and helped support her family in the 1920s. Attending college, she planned to be a writer, but being introduced to the study of biology, Rachel realized she could make a difference, but many factors including the fact that she was a woman would come into play as she tried to follow a career in science. 

Ann E. Burg's novel in verse is wonderful. I was immediately immersed in Rachel's story. I loved that she spent a lot of time with Rachel as a child - this will certainly invest the middle school readers in both her causes and her life. Sophie Blackall's illustrations are great - like they were carefully drawn in a scientific notebook. I loved the - were you paying attention and can you identify these things - at the end of the book. While not exactly non-fiction as Burg has combined characters, changed some names and there aren't the typical end materials like a bibliography or links to other sources, I think Force of Nature will be a great historical fiction about a real person and readers will want to find out more. Rachel is white. 

Lisa Librarian 

The Misfits: A Copycat Conundrum by Lisa Yee and Dan Santat - ADVISABLE

The Misfits: A Copycat Conundrum (Misfits #2) by Lisa Yee, illustrated by Dan Santat, 280 pages. Random House, 2025. $15. 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

The Misfits, undercover agents for NOCK (No One Can Know), find themselves working on a bank robbery job. While in San Francisco, isolated earthquakes are causing disruptions to the power grid, and someone is using the anomaly to empty bank tellers cash drawers. Also, Olive's friend Zeke is receiving threatening letters - he has recently become quite interested in the history of his great-great-uncle Ezekiel, and his research is making someone nervous. Is this a job for the the Misfits? 

Another fun adventure/mystery. The kids don't seem as young as in the last book - and I liked that. The Old West/ Gold Mining / Chinese Art arc was fun. I love their gadgets. This is building into a really fun series. I'll be recommending The Misfits. The group is a mix of races and cultures. 

Lisa Librarian 

Turning Twelve (Growing Pangs Companion) by Kathryn Ormsee and Molly Brooks - ADVISABLE

Turning Twelve (Growing Pangs Companion) by Kathryn Ormsee and Molly Brooks, 236 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Random House, 2024. $22. 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

For 12yo Katie, things are changing a lot. She's starting 7th grade, her best friends have just moved away and she's anticipating the things that happen as she grows up, like maturing, and crushes and stuff. She's been cast as an orphan in the community production of Annie. While she wanted the lead, being a supporting part is fun, too, and she makes a new friend: Grace. But this friendship feels different, could Katie have a crush on a girl? 

I really like this series. Coming on the heels of Growing Pangs, it's billed as "from the universe of". It can totally stand on it's own. I liked the nods to Baby Sitters Club and hope it can reach that same audience. Besides Katie's struggle liking a girl, there's some church issues going on, a youth group with a mean clique, modesty expectations and the church's stand on same sex attraction. All in all, Ormsbee and Brooks tell a story about being true to oneself. Katie is white, the friends are multi cultural. 

Lisa Librarian 

Mindful Nature- Connecting with our Great Green World by Paige Towler and Chris Gaugler - ESSENTIAL

Mindful Nature- Connecting with our Great Green World by Paige Towler, illusterated by Chris Gaugler. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Magination Press, 2025. $32 9781433845185

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3), HS - ESSENTIAL 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Imagine what an animal is doing and feeling. Act like you think they would. Ask yourself questions about their experience and yours. Spending time in nature can improve our health in many ways. 

Children can learn to be mindful in nature as we teach them how to do so. Children will engage with this photo story. This book is a great resource for preschool activity time, thus I included the level of High School in this review. Gaugler formatted the photography and words creatively. The first 2 pages uses personification to grab the child's attention. Then, Towler moves the prose to simile and third person form.  

MOMMAC 

On Guard! by Cassidy Wasserman - ESSENTIAL

On Guard! by Cassidy Wasserman, 252 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL RH Graphic Random House, 2025. $22 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Grace is going in to 7th grade alone. Her best friend dropped her at the end of the last school year. Grace is unsure of herself and wants to hide from her old friend. Plus, her parents have gotten a divorce and her relationship with her mother is difficult. Grace signs up for the fencing club, hoping to gain a friend and perhaps a more sure footing. 

This book brings up a lot of issues: losing a friend in middle school when friends go different direction, mother-daughter relations, divorce, trying something new, and trying not to look foolish in front of peers. This is a great book that addresses all of that. The biggest focus may be on imperfect family relations and how to work on them and that it's ok to advocate for yourself. The fencing is only a side bar, really. Great way to spark discussion and realize you're not alone. The art is bright and well done. Grace appears white, but has friends from multiple backgrounds. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet - MANY

Beth is Dead by Katie Bernet, 400 pages. Simon and Schuster, JANUARY 2026. $20 

Language: R (47 swears, 6 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (steamy makeout mentioned, off-page sex, drinking, drunkenness mentioned); Violence: PG-13 (death, blood mentioned) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Beth March is dead. Who killed her? The police aren’t letting anyone off the hook - including her three sisters. Meg, Jo, or Amy might have motives - but sisters can argue without wanting each other dead, right? Jo is sure this is somehow related to the best-selling book their author father wrote based on the girls’ lives. But they haven’t heard from him in six months now. The surviving sisters will have to figure out who Beth's murderer is before someone they love is irrevocably charged.

I had to separate what I know from reading Little Women many times from the characters in Bernet’s modern murder mystery reweaving. I don’t think many of my students have read the original nor seen any of the movies - so how will they enjoy this? I think they will like it alot. Bernet gives us plenty of suspects with motive and added sisterly and high school drama. The addition of their own father being the author of the book that compels them to insta-fame was great. So don’t hesitate to buy this because it is “just another rewrite”. And recommend it to your adult friends who love the original - I had a great time seeing how Bernet used the characters - both main, secondary, and tertiary - in familiar ways and how she deviated from their origins and storylines. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS 

When Sally O'Malley Discovered the Sea by Karen Cushman - ADVISABLE

When Sally O'Malley Discovered the Sea by Karen Cushman, 230 pages. Knopf (Random House), 2025 $18. 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (peril, attempted hold-up) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

13yo Sally was raised in an orphanage in the late 1800s, and things have never worked out for her. So, when she loses her latest job at a hotel in Oregon, she decides to leave on her own and head west. She's heard the sea is something to see. She has some tips from her job at the hotel, and buys a pair a dungarees so she can rip off the torn hem of her dress. When a delivery wagon comes by, and a woman named Major offers Sally a ride, she takes it, despite her promise to herself to trust nobody. But when Major gets an unusual shipment - a spoiled 7yo boy named Lafayette, Sally wonders if walking would have been a better plan. 

I was so excited to see another book by Karen Cushman! Sally is funny and smart and independent. Lafayette was perfectly irritating, and Major the kindest. Cushman's character development was spot on. Because they are traveling, there are a lot of side characters, but even they are fleshed out a bit - the Saloon girl who brings Sally and Lafayette sandwiches to the drunk robber on the road - tiny pieces of the stock characters of the west. Marvelous. It was hard to pinpoint the time period - Sally mentions once having to wait for something until 1899, so we know it takes place before then. I adored When Sally O'Malley Discovered the Sea and am so happy to add it to my Karen Cushman collection. Sally and her companions are white. 

Lisa Librarian 

Survive This Safari by Natalie D. Richards - ESSENTIAL

Survive This Safari by Natalie D. Richards, 384 pages. Random House, 2025. $18 

Content: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ESSENTIAL; MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

12yo Lucy has earned a place on a team to try out a new escape room style game set in her favorite safari park - Wildlands - where her older sister works. Paired with three others, she is spending the night and solving puzzles - and one of their team has the chance to become a student ambassador for the park. Lucy is anxious to prove her worth; she loves animals, but on her previous tryout, she froze on the viewing platform and had to be rescued. She is hoping that she can overcome her anxiety issues and win the spot. 

Richards creates great tension between the group members without resorting to melodrama. The addition of a real crisis in the park ups the stakes in a way that works well. While I am not a fan of anxiety as a plot point, I did enjoy how Lucy receives encouragement and sound advice from her teammates along the way. Fans of Stuart Gibbs’s funjungle books will also enjoy Lucy’s story. 

 Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS 

Penny Draws a Team Sport by Sara Shepard - ADVISABLE

Penny Draws a Team Sport by Sara Shepard, 218 pages DOODLE FICTION Putnam (Penguin), 2025. $15 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Penny Lowry is a fifth-grader who is an artist, not an athlete. Her PE teacher has proposed a pickleball tournament to raise money for an animal shelter. Penny reluctantly signs up with the rest of her class and her buddy Rocco. They make a pact not to take the game too seriously, which works out fine until Rocco discovers he's really good at pickleball. Now Penny is worried she'll let down Rocco and the whole school with her playing. 

There is some nice humor and Shepard captures elementary school angst well. I wish the art and the captions were bigger so I could read them easier. That said, this is along the lines of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" format but with more text, making it a deeper read. Students should be able to relate to Penny's anxiety and nervousness about not being good at something as well as studying for end of year testing. Race isn't mentioned, and it's difficult to tell what anyone's ethnicity is from the line drawings. 

Michelle in the Middle 

Murder Between Friends by Liz Lawson - SEVERAL

Murder Between Friends by Liz Lawson, 384 pages. Random House, 2025. $20 

Language: R (73 swears, 11 ‘f’); Mature Content:PG-13 (smoking weed mentioned, pantless mentioned, romantic entanglements mentioned) ; Violence:PG (murder and dead body mentioned) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Henry’s brother Jake was incarcerated for murder based on the testimony of Grace - not only one of his BFFs, but also the girl he had secretly started dating. Now Jake has been released on a technicality, but a new trial will be coming soon. Ally, the other member of the BFFs, is determined to prove Jake’s innocence before it is too late. And Grace is beginning to question her own memories of that night. But the murderer is out there and they do not want their secrets to be exposed. 

Lawson tells the story from the alternating POVs of the BFFs. Lawson has them vacillating between a variety of suspects. The tension between the former best friends is nicely handled - Lawson avoids the mean girl trope trope and also avoids having everything be drugs and alcohol related. The relationships that are implied to be sex related are between adults. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS 

The House Next Door by Ellen Oh - ADVISABLE

The House Next Door by Ellen Oh, 192 pages. HarperCollins, September 2025. $19. 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (the children are clawed, and there is talk of eating the youngest, the monster battle is intense, and the kids do have to kill things.) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

12yo Rory lives next door to a haunted house. Years ago his best friend Joey was seriously injured when he fell down the stairs in the house and his family eventually moved. Now Rory sees ghosts walking around inside, and sinister eyes watching him. His grandfather came for a visit from Japan and showed Rory how to spray holy water around the house to protect himself. Now, a new boy, Jack, and his sister Mira have moved in. Jack doesn't believe in ghosts, but Rory knows someone needs to protect Mira, and he knows just what to do 

First of all, Ellen Oh must be a connoisseur of fine Japanese and Korean food because all the dishes sound fantastic and now I'm craving Korean Fried Chicken. With more adults than kids in the story, I had a lot of names to keep track of, and the main job of the adults seemed to be to cook all the food. Jack is smart, and had some great ideas on defeating what was in the house. Good build as well to the final battle. Keeping some salt near me for the next few nights just in case. Jack and his family are Korean, Rory is Japanese. 

Lisa Librarian 

Spirit Service by Sarena and Sasha Nanua - OPTIONAL

Spirit Service by Sarena and Sasha Nanua, 320 pages. Simon & Schuster, 2025. $18 

Content: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

7th grader Raveena wants to save her school’s art program, but she and her three BFFs are having a hard time coming up with a service project to help them win a school-wide contest, which would restore funding to a couple of programs. At a local antiques store, Raveena is literally shocked by a pink rotary phone, which then rings, and the voice on the other end turns out to be an actual ghost. The girls may have the edge they need - help spirits pass on, make money, and win the contest. 

 The four girls on the cover look multi-cultural, but that’s about the extent of their culture. The town they live in is founded by and embraces spiritualism, so that isn’t a big leap for them. I like the reviewers that compare the book to Babysitters Club meets Ghostbusters. Nothing earth-shattering here to read, but reasonably enjoyable. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS 

Speak Up, Santiago by Julio Ata, illustrated by Gabi Mendez - ESSENTIAL

Speak Up, Santiago by Julio Ata, illustrated by Gabi Mendez, 220 pages GRAPHIC NOVEL RH Graphic Random House, 2025. $22 

Language: G (0 swears) Mature Content: G Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Santiago is going to visit his grandmother in Hillside Valley to improve his Spanish the summer before he starts 7th grade. His dad is Columbian and speaks Spanish, but his mother is of European descent and only speaks English. Santiago is really self conscious about his accent and ability to keep up with the language. Perhaps the universal language of soccer will help him, but as he prepares for a soccer tournament, his self doubts might be his own worst enemy. 

I loved that a lot of the text is in Spanish. Most of it is translated, but not all. I also liked that some words were inked out, because Santiago couldn't understand them when people talked too fast. This is a great book for Spanish speakers trying to learn English, or English speakers trying to learn Spanish. It is a real empathy builder for second generation kids who are trying to learn their heritage through language and have lost either language or culture. As an English speaker, the book was totally accessible. As someone who wants to learn Spanish, I found it insightful. Positive relationships and message-loved it! 

Michelle in the Middle 

Meet Me at Sunset by Lee Heart - ADVISABLE

Meet Me at Sunset by Lee Heart, 160 pages. Simon Spotlight, 2025. $8 (pb)

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Julie is looking forward to a summer at the family beach house, but is not excited when her parents invite an acquaintance, Sophia, to come along. Julie had plans to catch the eye of her summer crush, James, and she drags Sophia into them. Cue a bit of relationship drama, changes of plans, and mild hijinks.

Very much a first crush book. Heart does a good job of keeping all of the relationships light - Julie and Sophia have misunderstandings, which do not become drag-out wars; the girls have crushes which do not become major make-out sessions. I applaud showing early relationships which do not need to become soap opera episodes. Plus it is such a great length for a middle grade book. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS