Fresh Reads, Honest reviews, Educator-approved
Swim Team is a sensational, heart-filled graphic novel that beautifully balances middle-school friendship with critical historical context. Exploring the generational impacts of pool segregation alongside a powerful story of perseverance, this book is an absolute must-have!
Flight of the Puffin is an incredibly stirring, multi-perspective masterpiece showing how a single, artful act of kindness can spark a lifesaving chain reaction of hope. Tackling tough topics like bullying, grief, and homelessness with absolute compassion.
Free Lunch is an unsparingly realistic, emotionally vital memoir that illuminates the lived experience of childhood poverty and domestic instability. Handled with incredible grace, wit, and hope, Rex’s voice represents countless students navigating invisible hardships.
Almost American Girl is an incredibly honest, deeply moving graphic novel memoir exploring immigration, extreme culture shock, and a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship. Through creative color choices and brilliant visual storytelling, Ha beautifully depicts the pain of isolation and the power of finding oneself through art.
Claribel Ortega’s Witchlings is an absolute triumph of middle-grade fantasy, packed with girl-power vibes, magical world-building, and a heartwarming story of friendship. Following three “Spare” witchlings on an impossible quest, this modern classic brilliantly tackles themes of empathy, classism, and belonging.