Fresh Reads, Honest reviews, Educator-approved
Miles Morales is still just your average teenager. He has unexpectedly become totally obsessed with poetry and can never seem to do much more than babble around his crush. Nothing too weird. Oh! Except, just yesterday, he used his spidey superpowers to save the world (no biggie) from an evil mastermind called The Warden.
Aida Salazar’s Ultra Violet is a brave and compassionate story in verse about growing up, finding identity, and redefining masculinity. Elios’s voice is authentic and funny, offering boys permission to feel and be kind. A must-read for middle schoolers finding their place in the world.
Jacqueline Woodson’s Before the Ever After is a powerful novel in verse that explores the unseen costs of sports through the eyes of a young boy watching his father fade from repeated head injuries. Told with honesty and hope, it invites readers to reflect on family, memory, and resilience.
How do you speak up when it feels like no one is listening? One girl takes on seventh grade while facing mental health challenges, and must find her voice to advocate for the help and understanding she deserves.
Featuring a poverty-stricken boy who bravely rides out all the storms life keeps throwing at him. Joe Oak is used to living on unsteady ground. His mom can’t be depended on as she never stays around long once she gets “the itch,” and now he and his beloved grandmother find themselves without a home.