The Unusuals by Gail Carson Levine - NO

The Unusuals by Gail Carson Levine, 336 pages. HarperCollins, SEPTEMBER 2026. $20 

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: G (deaths mentioned, some danger) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - NOT RECOMMENDED 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

11yo Chera and her two best friends enjoy a lot of freedom in 1277 England, going as far to venture into the nearby woods, where outlaws roam and they befriend a thief. When Chera’s grandmother, a Jewish moneylender, is murdered along with her maid, who is Joan’s mother, the trio are caught up in more intrigue than they may be able to handle. Betrayal and double-crossing await them as they investigate the murders. 

Considering the adults in Chera’s life have their name, their relationship moniker, and job titles (and some of these are the same), I found it impossible to keep track of the characters without taking notes. Plus the grandmother and the maid appear as ghosts (no one can see them), adding more confusion. I do’;t think my readers will endure the confusion, especially as the murders are not the main plot of the book. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS 

Royal Summer by Kass Morgan - NO

Royal Summer by Kass Morgan, 288 pages. HarperCollins, 2026. $16

Language: R (54 swears, 6  ‘f’); Mature Content: R (described sex); Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: NOT RECOMMENDED

Hannah has landed her dream internship for a famous writer in the heart of Edinburgh - but the writer flakes on Hannah as soon as she arrives, leaving her in a lurch.  Drowning her sorrows at a local bar, Hannah encounters a group of young locals who take her under their wing - one of them, the handsome, but irritating one, knows he can get Hannah a job in the guest shop of the local castle - but Hannah will have to live full time on the grounds. Little does she know that my savior has several secrets he is keeping from her.  Like he might be related to the Queen?

Such a cute book that I am not recommending to anyone under 21. At one, they are in NYC in the summer, mind you, and they are ice skating at Rockefeller Square. HUH? Not possible, even if you are royalty and rich.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Stolen Midnights by Katherine Quinn - NO

Stolen Midnights by Katherine Quinn, 447 pages. Delacorte Press (Random), 2026. $22

Language:  R (50 swears,  43 ‘f'); Mature Content: R (sex on the page); Violence: PG (blood, gore, beatings, corpses)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - NOT RECOMMENDED

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

18yo Wren, who believes she was not given a magical gift by the Fates, attempts to visit the Fate called Day, but ends up being escorted into Dusk’s room. When she enters her throne room, she finds chaos with a trail of blood. She finds a note Dusk has written to her as she escapes. Wren is acquainted with a thief by the name of Damien. He is the thief who has stolen her gift. The Fate's  note seems to guide Wren to Damien.  Wren convinces him to help her find her lost gift but in the process they will also try to solve the mystery of the missing Dusk, why so many of the poor  are going missing, and who is the instigator. 

Quinn engages the reader from the beginning. Quinn builds a believable world with likeable characters. The plot is catchy and fast paced. And, the story ends with a twist on a cliff hanger so there will be another book. But swears abounded and the sex scene is quite graphic for a teenage reader. There were also some events that seemed too contrived. 

Most in the story are white, high class people, but Damien's sidekick is a black female who is poor. 

MOMMAC, Post-educator

Sibylline by Melissa De La Cruz - NO

Sibylline by Melissa De La Cruz, 290 pages. Putnam (Penguin), 2026. $21

Language: R (25+ swears, 4 ‘f'); Mature Content: NC-17 (Sexually explict content); Violence: PG-13 murder mentioned, body discovered and described. Dark, magical being slashes/kills. Dead bodies, blood, and peril involving blood and nearly-dead/tortured bodies.

BUYING ADVISORY: NOT RECOMMENDED

18yo Raven, Atticus, and Dorian (best friends for years) have just graduated from high school and are meeting to open their acceptance letters from “Sibylline,” a university for magic users.  None of them are accepted, so they decide to get jobs on campus and learn magic secretly.  Relationship tensions develop as the three friends’ love triangle is established: Raven has a crush on Atticus, Atticus has deep feelings for Dorian, and Dorian loves Raven.  Successful in obtaining jobs at Sibylline, each works in a different department on campus.  They quickly prove themselves useful to  their professors, find themselves actively engaged in the university’s politics, mysteries, and conspiracies, learning and practicing magic, and eventually work together to save Sibylline and their “love.”

Although the book’s premise is strong–three friends stick together to overcome personal & academic obstacles - the near-instant focus on the three’s unrequited love interrupts the plot.  Like someone with a bad case of loud hiccups in a library, the angst quickly becomes annoying, then–realizing that she’s written herself into a hackneyed bed of bad romance, the author descends into explicit language and sexual content in an effort to show that the characters really, really “love” each other.  This distracts from an engaging story line that leads the characters through peril as they navigate the mystery of Sibylline.  Additionally, as one character is written with a “potty-mouth,” the profanity is unnecessary and undermines the author’s credibility to tell a story with vivid and descriptive language, and paints the character with a bleak thuggishness.

Clarissa “Raven” Chen: Female, Asian-American; Atticus “Finch” Garcia: Gay, Male, African-American/Latino; Dorian Winthrop: Male, Caucasian American

James Hirst, Herriman High School, 10th ELA & CE English

The Peach Thief by Linda Joan Smith - NO

The Peach Thief by Linda Joan Smith, 356 pages. Candlewick, 2025. $20

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: NOT RECOMMENDED

13yo Scilla wants one of the peaches she can smell behind the earl’s impressive stone fence.  Instead, mistaken for a boy, she is caught and made to work off the cost of her damages by scrubbing massive amounts of clay pots for the head gardener.  After her penance, Scilla, or Seth as she is known, is taken on as a lowly gardener’s apprentice and finds that she really enjoys the work.  She also enjoys the friendship of Phin, another apprentice.

Unfortunately a perfectly pleasant tale is marred by Scilla’s constant mooning over Phin. I got sick and tired of it very quickly but still had to endure more. While I might have recommended this as an optional choice for those that enjoy historical fiction, it is best just to pass on this one. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Tidespeaker by Sadie Turne - NO

Tidespeaker by Sadie Turner, 372 pages. Delacorte (Random House), 2026. $20

Language: G (5 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: G (mild danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: NOT RECOMMENDED

A month ago 18yo Corith’s best friend, Zennia, was given a prestigious position on the coast as the Floodmouth to a wealthy family.  Now Zennia is dead and Corith is headed to take her pace, having barely passed her own examination.  Intrigue abounds on the remote island and Corith’s lfe may hang in the balance.

I am 222 pages into this book and I am absolutely bored! Corith is wishy-washy and weak, having leaned on Zennia her whole life. The supposed intrigues of the book are not interesting and the family members are not either. The only positive thing I can say is - great cover.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Sundown Girls by L.S. Stratton - NO

Sundown Girls by L.S. Stratton, 293 pages. Nancy Paulsen (Penguin), 2026. $20

Language: R (100+ swears,  10  ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (passionate kissing, over clothes touching); Violence: R (hangings, fire deaths, lynchings, drownings all mentioned)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NOT RECOMMENDED

Kidnapped as a toddler, 16yo Camryn (or Naomi, as she thinks of herself) has been restored to her birth family for 18 months.  She still, however, yearns for the life and the woman that she calls Mom - the woman who kidnapped and raised her. In an effort of family bonding, the Stoakes family heads to a winter cabin vacation outside a small Virginia town. THe town, however, has a recent history of being a “sundown” town - where black people like Naomi and her family were not allowed to stay after dark - found within the town limits and you will get what is coming to you. Naomi has started seeing a ghost and she is sure it is of a girl who was killed by a townsman.  Plus, two other girls have disappeared recently. Naomi has already been kidnapped once.

I was unimpressed for many reasons. Camryn is an unsympathetic character. She has had 18 months to realize that her kidnapper is not the benevolent mom that they posed as, but she refuses to work with her therapist to sort this all out.  Camryn even writes in her journal to her absent Mom. Plus she insists on throwing herself into increasingly dangerous confrontations, even willfully involving a boy she met on the trip without his consent. I sympathize more with Camryn’s  birth family, who have been nothing but kind to her. It shouldn’t take a near death experience for anyone to realize when they are being shown love. There are other problems that I won’t continue to detail.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Grady Jones and the Great Detective Game by Kerry Duglas Dye - NO

Grady Jones and the Great Detective Game by Kerry Duglas Dye, 320 pages. Aladdin (Simon), 2025. $18

BUYING ADVISORY: NOT RECOMMENDED

12yo Grady is desperate to be great at something, even though he doesn’t take the time to build the skills to be great at anything.  However, Detective-ing is his latest greatness of choice and a murder mystery lands in his lap - he will inherit a large sum of money if Grady Jones can solve the mystery. hen another Grady Jones shows up to also try to solve the murder, Grady #1 will have to really step up.

The only way Grady can get anyone to help him is because the author wrote the other characters that way.  Grady’s personality is so grating, I was excited to see a second Grady show up - because I wanted Grady #1 to lose.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Time Lions and the Chrono-Loop by Martin Seneviratne and Krystal Sutherland - NO

Time Lions and the Chrono-Loop by Martin Seneviratne and Krystal Sutherland, 261 pages. Nancy Paulsen (Penguin), 2025. $19

Content: G (mild danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: NOT RECOMMENDED

12yo twin Pearl is so proud of having built a time machine, even though she and her brother Patrick risked their lives to break into the British Museum to retrieve the final piece she needed for her machine.  Imagine her surprise when both children are arrested by TIME (The Interdimensional Misconduct Enquiry) for their crimes against history. AS Pearl fights against her new time restrictions she only continues to make things, including the timeline, worse.

Pearl is absolutely annoying and only gets more annoying as the book continues. Instead of being confident and helpful, she comes off as self-righteous and obnoxious. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Tournament by Rebecca Barrow - NO

The Tournament by Rebecca Barrow, 416 pages. Simon & Schuster, 2025. $22

Language: R (100+ swears, 100+ ‘f'); Mature Content: R (Underage drinking, described sex); Violence: PG-13 (violence, butchering animals)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NOT RECOMMENDED

Max, Nora, and Teddy are finally seniors at Gardner School for Girls, a private school whose mission is to prepare students for college, while also teaching them survival skills. Now, they can compete for the prized Tierney Cup. The three students enter for their own reasons. Max, a scholarship student, is competitive and confident that she will prove she is the best. Nora is Max’s ex-best friend who was rejected by Max after she admitted her romantic feelings to her. Nora enters to prove that she can succeed now that she is out of Max’s shadow. Teddy, a legacy transfer student kicked out of her last three schools, wants to prove that she can overcome her dark thoughts and be a “good” student. Plus winning the affection of Nora and the ire of Max wouldn’t hurt either.

I liked the concept of a private girls’ school that teaches the regular subjects alongside wilderness survival. However, readers interested in the advertised tournament will be disappointed as the book focuses more on the girls’ relationships than the actual competition. The characters themselves are static, flawed “mean girls." It may appeal to some readers, but the misleading summary and frequent swearing makes it a book that I don't recommend to most.

Max, Nora, and Teddy are LGBT+ and are cued Black.

Megan, HS Librarian

The Trespassers by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez - NO

The Trespassers by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez, 337 pages. Delacorte (RandomHouse), 2025. $13 (pb)

Language: R (100+  swears,  20+ ‘f’); Mature Content: R (drinking, drugs in use; briefly described on page sex); Violence: PG-13 (blood and death, other deaths mentioned)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NOT RECOMMENDED

After four years in LA, 18yo Finley and her mom are back in Alaska. After doing well in LA, Fin falls back in with her old friend group - the group that shares a trauma, and someone among them harbors even more dangerous secrets. Fin’s world swiftly falls apart.

I read 95 pages and I couldn’t take any more.  I don’t feel Alvarez invents anything new here - nothing that inspires me to see this as something new and different.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

A Field Guide to Broken Promises by Leah Stecher - NO

 

A Field Guide to Broken Promises by Leah Stecher, 288 pages. Bloomsbury, 2025. $19

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: NOT RECOMMENDED

12yo Evie is used to moving around - following her mother’s climb up the ladder to a network news reporting job.  But this time is different - this should be their last move ever!  Evie is ready to shine on her last first day at a new school.  And she walks into her first class - there is her BFF from summer camp! What’s this? Dara disses Evie in front of the whole class and calls Evie her stalker.  Now everyone is suspicious of Evie - and Evie is sure something more dire is at play.  Dara must have been replaced with a golem - and Evie is a great Cryptid hunter - just ask her dad. She finds two other students who are willing to help her investigate the golem and help Evie get her friend back.

When Evie declared that Dara must be a mythical creature I lost it. And when two other students believed her and helped her investigate - more weirdness. While the ending is quite strong, I can’t forgive Evie’s bonkers behavior in the rest of the book. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Happy & Sad & Everything True by Alex Thayer - NO

Happy & Sad & Everything True by Alex Thayer, 255 pages. Aladdin (Simon), 2024. $18.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: NO

APPEALS TO: FEW

6th grader Dee is having  a hard year because she and her best friend Juniper are no longer in the same classroom and Juniper has been drawing away from her. Also, her mother came to parents day and accidentally, but without shame, exposes her underwear to the entire 6th grade. Dee has taken to hiding in the bathroom during snack time and one time a voice from the boys’ bathroom talks back to her and Dee doles out a bit of friendly advice. Then a couple of other kids ask for advice the same way. And then a couple more kids ask for advice in different places. But someone is out to sabotage Dee - in school and personally.  

I found so many of the premises of this book to be unbelievable - starting with communicating through the vents between the bathrooms - this means anyone could hear anything said in either bathroom. Then there is Dee absenting herself every snack period - without any questions from her teacher. Then there is the fact that Dee doesn’t seem to notice whether someone is absent or not from her own classroom, or whether that person has proceeded her to the bathroom. Please don’t waste your time or your students’ time.  The only thing redeeming about this book is the final confrontation in the principal’s office, which is handled very well.  But just start reading from chapter 29 to the end and call it good. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Last Bookstore On Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold - NOT RECOMMENDED

The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold, 320 pgs. Delacorte Press, 2025. $20

Language: R (60 swears, 3 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (romantic kissing); Violence: R (on page: detailed bloody injury, stabbing, threat with a gun, detailed description of people being melted by acid rain, bloody knife fight, murder by acid rain, stabbing death).

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS-NO

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SOME

Elizabeth survived The Storm and has taken refuge in her former workplace, a bookstore in suburban New Jersey. Every day is a fight for survival as she trades books for supplies and relies on her infrequent visitors for news of the outside world. One day, a visitor brings the unwelcome news that another Storm is on its way. As Liz panics about how to prepare for the incoming disaster, Maeve shows up with knowledge of how to fix the desperately needed repairs for the shop if Liz will just let her stay. As feelings develop between them, questions remain. Who is this surly stranger? Can she be trusted to help Liz? What secrets are both holding back that could threaten their fragile alliance and ultimate survival?

Intriguing premise that was executed poorly. In a post-apocalyptic world, characters react in ways that defy logic and create unnecessary conflict and tragedy. Non-existent world building leads to reader confusion that distracts from the narrative and creates a frustratingly absurd story.

Reviewer: AEB

Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos by Alex Evanovich - NO

Keeper Chance and the Conundrum of Chaos by Alex Evanovich, 336 pages. Simon and Schuster, 2024. $19.

Language: G (0 swears, 0  “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: 

BUYING ADVISORY: NO

APPEALS TO: SOME

Keeper Chance has perfected the art of lying low - until he comes to the attention of the local chapter of EVIL (Evil Villains International League). The new recruits first mission is to steal cookies, but the whole thing rapidly becomes much more complicated. 

Super weird that Keeper and the other recruits can drive, but I feel as if mentally they are 12 years old. I would suggest your students read Mark Walden’s HIVE, with Otto and his friends instead.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Boys I Know by Anna Gracia - NO

Boys I Know by Anna Gracia, 352 pages. Candlewick, 2023. $18

Language: R (100+ swears, 1  “f”); Mature Content: R (on page descriptive sex, drinking, drug use); Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: NO

APPEALS TO: SOME

High school senior June Chu has nothing figured out.  Her life has been decided by her over-bearing Asian mom.  Every boy she seems to want and every sexual experience she has ends badly. June can’t even seems to keep her relationships with her best girlfriends. As senior year swiftly moves a close, June will have to break out and make choices, real choices, for herself, or let the rest of her life be someone else’s choice.

The first 75% of the book is a boy-centric mess.  I wasn’t invested in June as a person until the last 25%, which is not a great recommendation.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett - OPTIONAL

A Drop of Corruption (Shadow of the Leviathan #2) by Robert Jackson Bennett, 480 pages. Del Rey (Penguin Random House), 2025. $30.

Language: R (155 swears, 67 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: R

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NO; ADULT - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

Dinios likes the work he does with Ana as her assistant investigator, but he longs to transfer to be a Legionnaire—like the lover he left behind. Those desires get pushed aside in favor of their newest case, though, a victim who disappeared from a tower room and ended up dead in the canals. Din and Ana are constantly five steps behind this murderer, and it could become the first case they leave unsolved.

The world building still fascinates me in this second installment of the series where readers not only get to see another part of the Empire—or soon-to-be-part of the Empire—but also the place where their augmentations are created. Din and Ana, and the other characters they work with, feel complicated and real, even as they do their work with greater-than-human abilities. They somehow straddle the line between relatable and enigmatic. While I remember Ana being crass in the first book, she becomes more so in this one, partially because of the choices Din makes to cope with his personal life.

Race is discussed, but they are not the same races as the ones in our world. The mature content rating is for drug and alcohol use, crude language, innuendo, nudity, and sex. The violence rating is for corpses, assault, blood and gore, mentions of suicide, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

The Doomsday Vault by Thomas Wheeler - NO

The Doomsday Vault (Everwhen school of time travel) by Thomas Wheeler, 291 pages. Simon, 2025. $19

Content: G (mild danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - NO

APPEALS TO: FEW

Bertie Wells opens a black hole in his bedroom and then is whisked away to join the Ever School of Time Travel to learn more about time traveling and guarding historical events. He meets a fantastical crew of students from all over time, with friends to make, problems to solve, and people to save.

I had a hard time buying into this book from the first chapter - where Leonardo DaVinci appeared in a parade to his genius and someone runs up with the Last Supper for him to autograph. WTH? ANd it really didn’t get much better from there.  Wheeler seems to think that he could do anything he wanted with people and places from all over time and no one would notice what a chaotic mess he was creating. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Dare by Natasha Preston - NO

The Dare by Natasha Preston, 335 pages. Delacorte Press (Random), 2024. $13

Language: PG-13 (46 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (implied drug use); Violence: NC-17 (persistent bloody violence)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - NOT RECOMMENDED

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

17yo Marley and her friends live in a small town where everyone knows each other. Rhett, wealthy boy at the high school, continues his brother's traditions on doling out end-of-senior-year dares. If a student does not go along with his dare, Rhett will retaliate in very detrimental ways. Rhett dares Marley and her friends to drive down a back alley blindfolded. Sadly, the group takes the dare and an old man who lives in the area is hit and killed by their recklessness. They decide on a pact to cover up the murder. All their lives begin to unravel at this point.

Preston writes a suspenseful story which is hard to put down. She keeps the swearing under control. But, the gut wrenching conclusion will leave the reader sick over the poor moral ending. 

Although the characters are not identified by ethnicity, it is fairly apparent that Luce, her girlfriend, is Hispanic and her boyfriend, Atlas is described as having "dark skin".

MOMMAC

 

It Happened to Anna by Tehlor Kay Mejia, - NO

It Happened to Anna by Tehlor Kay Mejia, 223 pages. Delacorte (Random), 2024. $18

Content: PG (tension)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - NOT RECOMMENDED

APPEALS TO: SOME

For some reason (unexplained), 7th grader Sadie has always been haunted. Whenever she gets close to anyone, the ghost causes bad things to happen - Sadie is sure the ghost caused the loss of her only best friend, Anna. While she is trying to lay low at her new school, she does meet Charlotte, who seems so kind and so happy to befriend Sadie.  Then also along comes Mal - also very cool and mysterious.

I swear - parents should just teach their children from an early age to avoid anyone whose name is “Mal”.  Could you be more obvious?  Nope, because Sadie is oblivious to the danger Mal poses - even though the clues are blindingly clear. I love a good ghost story - “good” being the operative word.

The characters default white.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS