Fresh Reads, Honest reviews, Educator-approved
Welcome to the Grandest Game, a high stakes competition designed to give anyone a chance at fortune. Seven golden ticket holders enter with different motives, secrets, and ambitions. As challenges grow more dangerous, tensions rise and alliances shift. Each puzzle pushes the players mentally and physically, revealing who is willing to bend the rules to win.
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. Her Gran taught her simple rules to navigate a complicated world. After Gran passes away, Molly throws herself into her work as a hotel maid. Her routines and love of order comfort her until she enters a guest’s suite and finds him dead. Suddenly Molly is swept into a mystery filled with secrets, misunderstandings, and suspects. She must rely on her instincts and unexpected friends to uncover the truth.
This graphic novel follows Christine, a Mexican American teen spending the summer with family in Mexico. Through vivid art and heartfelt storytelling, the book explores identity, bilingualism, family bonds, and the experience of living between cultures. Christine struggles to understand family traditions and connect across language gaps, while also discovering comfort, belonging, and parts of herself she did not know were missing.
In War Games, Alan Gratz delivers another masterful blend of history and heart. Set against the 1936 Berlin Olympics, this story of courage and conviction reminds readers that doing what is right often requires great personal sacrifice. A fast-paced and powerful read that connects history’s lessons to the challenges of today.
In Evil-ish, Kennedy Tarrell blends humor, fantasy, and heart to tell the story of Hawthorne, a nonbinary teen who dreams of villainy but finds something much greater: belonging. When Hawthorne accidentally becomes the leader of a band of misfits, they discover that evil and good are not as simple as they seem. A fast-paced, funny, and affirming graphic novel that celebrates self-discovery and friendship.