My Wicked Stepmother

Written by: Norman Leach and Jane Browne

First line: My name is Tom.

Why you should read this book: A little boy, who was satisfied living alone with his father, recounts how much he despised his new stepmother, who has clearly enchanted his father to believe she's young and beautiful when she's clearly an old and ugly witch. Although the stepmother is unfailingly sweet and loving even though the other people in Tom's life aren't as kind, he rejected her repeatedly until makes her cry, at which point he finally feels bad about his behavior. When Tom hugs and kisses his stepmother, he decides he must be a wizard with the power to transform an evil stepmother into a fairy godmother with a single kiss. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: I don't think kids actually flip their opinions about stepparents simply because they realize that they're being hurtful; most kids are more likely to double down on the meanness at the first sign of tears.

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White Bird

Written by: RJ Palacio

First line: Julian, no more video games.

Why you should read this book: This is a graphic novelization of one of the sections of Palacio's Augie and Me: Three Wonder Stories, which stands alone as a one-off story (with a few additions), and is currently being made into a feature film. Julian's grandmother Sarah recounts the story of how she spent the latter days of World War II as a hidden child, confined to a barn and cared for by the family of an unpopular boy who had been universally bullied when they were in school together. Sarah recounts the terror and the tender moments, ending with an admonition to always stand up to injustice and remember to be kind.

Why you shouldn't read this book: There are plenty of nonfiction hidden child narratives that aren't actually publicity materials for upcoming films. 

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Friends Forever

Written by: Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham

First line: And this year...I was an eighth grader.

Why you should read this book: In a stunning conclusion to the powerhouse trilogy about childhood friendships and growing up as a girl, Shannon must navigate not only the convoluted world of friendship, but also boys, relationships, personal appearance, and what she eventually learns is an anxiety disorder. Often insecure and frequently feeling left out, even when she's in the midst of her companions, she sometimes missteps and pushes herself further from the center in her attempts to belong and reassure herself of her own goodness and self-worth. However, through breakups, depression, confusion, and disappointment, Shannon learns to love and accept herself, to see navigate her most complicated friendships, and even to see her parents in a whole new light.

Why you shouldn't read this book: It stands alone, but it also makes more sense if you've read the first two books.

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Flamer

Written by: Mike Curato

First line: Put that out before you burn the whole camp down!

Why you should read this book: Aiden is just trying to enjoy his summer at scout camp, far from his father's violence, his mother's depression, and his little twin siblings, but as the summer progresses, it's hard for him to hide two very important details from himself any longer: first, many of the guys in his patrol are ragingly homophobic, and second, Aiden is flamingly gay. Even though he's not quite ready to come out to himself, the other guys seem to know his secret no matter how hard he tries to act straight, and even that is increasingly difficult as he develops an intense relationship with the handsome and cool Elias, who seems to like him despite the other kids jokes. Set in the '90s, this book touches on the official anti-queer position of the Boy Scouts at the time, along with self-harm, the symbolism of Catholicism, and, of course, all the pleasure of summer camp including archery, basket weaving, and bears. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're ragingly homophobic.

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Miss Quinces

Written by: Kat Fajardo

First line: "And they never saw him again."

Why you should read this book: Fifteen-year-old Suyapa wants to spend the summer drawing comics and camping with her friends, or at least, keeping up with them on WhatsApp, but unfortunately, she has to spend a month in Honduras with her mother's side of the family, far from civilization with no internet at all. And what's worse, her mother has decided that Suyapa is going to have a princess-pink quinceañera, even though Sue has indicated numerous times that she hates big poofy dresses, has zero interest in high heeled shoes, can't dance, and despises the color pink. But the ritual and celebration she's been refusing for so long turns out to have important cultural implications for her family, and as Suyapa comes to a better understanding of who she is in the context of the people who love her, the idea of a quinceañera takes on new meaning—especially if everyone can make a few little changes here and there in order to help her feel more comfortable with her big day. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're still traumatized by all the times they forced you into dress clothes that didn't suit you at all, and no one ever once appreciated your own personal style.

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Negroland: A Memoir

Written by: Margo Jefferson

First line: I was taught to avoid showing off.

Why you should read this book: In a prose memoir that reads like poetry, Jefferson recounts her own story, steeped in the influence of race, class, and gender, set in the context of her family and community and everything that came before her. Born in Chicago among the Black elite, she is taught from her earliest memories that she must be impeccable in word, deed, and appearance, to uphold the image projected by the privileged, perfected society that molded her: a group intentionally set apart from, and quietly superior to, other Black people along with all of white America. As she grows up through the civil rights movement and finds her own path and her own personality, the weight of inequality and expectations causes her to question and examine the principles of her own upbringing, her own individual identity, and her right to perfect imperfection.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Your parents didn't raise you at all.

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Scout Is Not a Band Kid

Written by: Jade Armstrong

First line: No longer am I that girl from before

Why you should read this book: Scout wants nothing more in life than to cosplay at AlmonteFest where her favorite author, Pristine Wong, will be doing meet and greets, but her father refuses to drive that far, and all seems hopeless until she realizes that her middle school band will be playing the festival. All she has to do to get that ride is spend the rest of the school year pretending to play the trombone, but Merrin, the band's first trombonist is onto her, and Scout ends up spending the entire year actually learning to play trombone under Merrin's intense and critical tutelage. In the process, Scout learns more about friendship and music than she ever cared to learn, and becomes a better version of herself with a different future than she could have imagine on her own.

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you don't start woodshedding, you're going to get kicked out of the band.

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Cursed Objects: Strange but True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items

Written by: J.W. Ocker

First line: I hate to be the one to tell you this, but many seemingly innocuous objects will make your life suck.

Why you should read this book: It's a lightweight and easily consumable catalog of famously cursed items, from the fabulous Hope Diamond to freaky Annabelle doll, along with an assortment of interesting items from around the world. The writing is tongue-in-cheek but the stories are faithfully reported in all their unprovable details, backed up by an extensive bibliography, so you know the author didn't just make this all up. With cartoonish illustrations and healthy skepticism, this book is less creepy and more informative, even if some of the stories are easily tweaked for campfire retellings.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Well, the book itself is also cursed, by the author, but the curse only applies if you steal it.

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Pumpkinheads

Written by: Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

First line: Happy Hallooweeeeen!

Why you should read this book: If you enjoy unlikely romantic comedies for young adult audiences, this is a stellar example of the genre. Deja and Josiah are high school seniors who have worked together at DeKnock's World Famous Pumpkin Patch and Autumn Jamboree for three seasons, but they're seniors now, and tonight is the last night of the last season they'll ever spend together before college tears them apart. Josiah has been pining for the girl at the fudge stand that entire time, and Deja's determined that he'll finally talk to that girl before the night is through, but when it comes down to the wire, Josiah learns the difference between love and infatuation, and has to decide which one offers the greatest reward. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: If you don't like romantic comedies...you don't like romantic comedies.

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Nubia Real One

Written by: LL McKinney and Robyn Smith

First line: Nubia, you tellin' me you actually wanna work all summer?

Why you should read this book: Throughout her childhood, every time Nubia accidentally revealed her powers of super strength and super speed, her moms packed up house and moved her to another city to keep her safe, but now that she's in high school and has some real friends and a crush who could possibly like her back, she's not so sure why she has to hide her abilities. When she foils a convenience store robbery to protect her crush (by throwing an ATM at the thieves) she sets into motion a series of events that stir up all the unspoken racism, sexism, and classism of her community, and when she learns who she really is and where her power comes from, she has to decide for herself whether to remain hidden or to show the world what she's really capable of. A timely and relevant reimagining of an underdeveloped DC character (the original Nubia was the first Black female hero in the pantheon) with great potential for the genre. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Some of the details (racial violence, sexual harassment, school shootings) may be triggering for sensitive readers.

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A Wish in the Dark

Written by: Christina Soontornvat

First line: A monster of a mango tree grew in the courtyard of Namwon Prison.

Why you should read this book: This is exactly the kind of story that modern readers of children's fantasy love: it's got magic mixed with realism, determined and admirable but flawed characters whose faults can be redeemed, a powerful message of social justice and equality, along with a compelling story set in a detailed and wonderful world. Pong is an orphan, born in Namwon Prison to a mother who died before he knew her, and it seems terribly unfair that the law requires him to stay in prison until he turns thirteen, and to be always branded with a mark that indicates he's been incarcerated. But the world outside Namwon Prison isn't any more fair, with the divide between rich and poor starkly delineated by their access to light, and when Pong finally finds his way out of prison, he must decide whether to protect himself from those who want to see him back in prison or use his talents to help others overcome impossible odds.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're still trying to prove your worth to your parents, or you just found out you're adopted.

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Zao Dao Cuisine Chinosie Tales of Food and Life

Translated by: Brandon Kander and Diana Schutz

First line: What? Is something the matter?

Why you should read this book: We are introduced to the numinous and mildly unsettling aesthetic of Chinese wunderkind Zao Dao through six standalone comics that blend the grotesque and the desirable in a world where the line between spirits and humans is thin, malleable, and surprising, and the lines of the brushwork vary in size but are also surprising. As a work translated from Chinese to French to English, there are likely a lot of cultural details that will go over many English readers heads, even with the notes on each story, but with a little thoughtfulness and perhaps a bit more research, many of the ideas become clear. Humanity is revealed in its relationship to other beings, and readers may learn something about their own humanity in their reaction.

Why you shouldn't read this book: There is a lot of consumption of creepy-crawly stuff that may not sit well if you have a nervous stomach.

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