Beetle and the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne

Goblins, ghosts, undead, and other magical creatures inhabit the town of 'Allows. For the most part, though, life is pretty normal. 12-year-old goblin-witch Beetle hangs out at the mall (straight out of Stranger Things for folks who are too young to remember malls), watches romantic adventure shows on her laptop, and texts her friends. She's homeschooled by her grandmother, the town witch, and her best friend Blob Ghost is cursed to haunt the mall forever. Occasionally she checks out social media to see what her childhood friend, Kat, is up to at a fancy boarding school for sorcery. Kat is an undead, and based on her social media, she has become glamorous and popular. So when Kat comes back, Beetle is shy and intimidated. But Kat has a secret and is being used by her evil aunt to generate enough power to destroy the mall and regain power over the town of 'Allows. Is goblin magic powerful enough to fight back against undead sorcery and save the town, the mall, Blob Ghost, and possibly Kat and Beetle's friendship? This beautiful graphic novel that weaves together elements of shoujo manga, Tumblr fan fic, and the video game Haunt the House earned a 2021 Stonewall Honor award for positive portrayal of LGBTQ+ themes.

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

On the inside, the boy is named Khosrou, from a prominent Iranian family with a tradition of poetry, on the outside, the hairy, dark skinned boy standing in the front of the class named Daniel tells weird stories that often involve poop and eats funny smelling food for lunch. Like Scherazade who tells the king stories to save her life, Daniel tales about his family's Persian traditions, his escape from Iran, life as a refugee in Italy, and coming to Oklahoma in order to preserve his own sense of himself. While telling the story of his own life, the author draws on truths that all good storytellers know about the relationship between "facts" and "truth." Even the heroic tales from Persian tradition seem tragic, but take on a humorous edge in the telling. Like all good storytellers, I suspect Nayeri had no specific audience in mind when composing these tales. The passages on middle school life can easily be enjoyed by pre-teen readers. The harrowing tales of escape and mistreatment of refugees will be appreciated by teens. But the mixture of the two is there for the appreciation of readers of all ages on multiple readings. There are many stand alone passages begging to be read aloud. The 2021 Printz Award Winner for outstanding Young Adult Literature.

All He Knew by Helen Frost

The novel in verse format is perfect for capturing the intelligence and humor of a boy who becomes deaf in the 1930s when many were confined to cruel institutions that housed children with a variety of learning disabilities. In spite of petty cruelties from ignorant staff and the bullying of other children, Henry makes two good friends, and is blessed to meet Victor, a conscientious objector who is sent to work at Riverview as an alternative to prison. With the support of Victor and his older sister Molly, Henry discovers his talent for drawing which gives him a way to communicate and eventually go home after uncovering the cruelties at Riverview that led to the death of one of his friends.

Loretta Little Looks Back by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Three members of a black sharecropper family in Mississippi tell their stories. Loretta's life could have been different if she'd been able to stay in school, but her hands had a knack for cotton picking that her family needed to survive. Her younger brother Roly describes the humiliation of being a black man and the joy of falling in love. His daughter, Aggie B. and her aunt Loretta work together for the right to vote, learning everything they can about the law in Mississippi so Loretta and other black neighbors can pass the outrageous poll tests and earn the right to vote. They accompany civil rights legend Fannie Lou Hammer to the Democratic National Convention in 1964 where they find that racial prejudice isn't limited to the south. With a mix of fictional first-person narratives, spoken-word poems, traditional storytelling, church preaching, and drawings, the Pinkneys present a kind of living history tableau for young people to experience life in the rural 20th century south. 

It felt fitting that I finished this the night of the Georgia Senate elections.

Bad Best Friend by Rachel Vail

 Niki and Ava have the perfect friendship and both are eager to start eighth grade. Then the gym teacher asks the class to pair up--pick your best friend-- and Ava turns to one of "the cool kids," Britanny, and Nikki is devastated. Nikki has to decide who her real friends are. Meanwhile, life at home is complicated. Niki's nine-year-old brother Danny continues to act out more and more publicly. Their mother refuses to admit that Danny is somewhere on the autism spectrum, but it's clear he needs help. Niki doesn't want to be like her brother, to be labeled as different. She just wants to be popular! Is she a bad sister and a bad best friend?