Fresh Reads, Honest reviews, Educator-approved
What if Wendy first traveled to Neverland with Captain Hook? Liz Braswell’s Straight on Till Morning puts a feminist spin on a classic Disney tale. Shifting the focus to Wendy Darling’s resilience, imagination, and quest for agency away from Edwardian societal constraints, this empowering young adult fantasy is an excellent addition for middle and high school readers who love subversive retellings driven by female independence.
Justice from the shadows vs. truth in the light. While high school sophomore Mafi dishes out anonymous, vigilante justice for bullied classmates as “The Ghost,” her family’s real-world crisis in Afghanistan forces her into a high-stakes public spotlight—prompting a complex look at international media activism and the danger of single-narrative history.
Lost in the stars, found in each other. When three distinct 16-year-olds wake up on a hostile spaceship with zero memories, they must piece together their identities while navigating high-stakes survival. Anchored by a beautiful, identity-affirming queer romance, this bittersweet sci-fi mystery delivers unexpected twists that keep readers hooked.
The invisible war raging on your screen. Tracing the secret global market for “zero-day” software exploits from the destruction of Stuxnet to current infrastructure threats like Volt Typhoon, Perlroth delivers a terrifyingly real narrative about how our digital interconnectedness has left our water, power, and security open to global sabotage.
A rich, flavorful tapestry of survival and hope. Moving between Ethiopia and the United States, Hadero’s vibrant prose follows refugees, immigrants, and displaced souls as they fight to belong. Using the universal language of food, these stories offer an intimate look at the culinary traditions that keep families anchored during hard times.