The Freedom Seeker by Ruchira Gupta (Scholastic Press, 320 pages, grades 4-8). This story of Simi and her family, who are forced to leave India after her Sikh father and Muslim mother are targeted by a new right-wing government, puts a face on illegal immigration and shows the difficult decisions and dangerous journeys so many people are forced to make.

Troubling Tonsils! (Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Tales) by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 88 pages, grade 1-4). Okay, this may not be the finest literature on this list, but it will be the easiest book to sell to readers. Jasper Rabbit of Creepy Carrots fame tells the story of Charlie Marmot, whose adventures with tonsillitis start innocently enough but quickly devolve into a bizarre tale worthy of The Twilight Zone.

The Burning Season by Caroline Starr Rose (Nancy Paulsen Books, 256 pages, grades 4-7). In this riveting novel in verse, three generations of women serve as fire lookouts deep in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest. When a forest fire leaves Opal trapped with her injured grandmother, she has to face her secret fear of fire and call on her training to keep them both safe.

A Day at the Beach by Gary Schmidt and Ron Koertge (Clarion Books, 224 pages, grades 3-7). 28 interconnected short stories take place over a single summer day at the New Jersey shore. The writing perfectly captures the fleeting interactions that can happen on a crowded beach and shows how to create characters and settings in just a few pages.

The Best Worst Summer of Esme Sun by Wendy Wan-Long Shang (Scholastic Press, 224 pages, grades 3-7). 12-year-old Esme feels like she can never succeed in her mother’s eyes, particularly when she has to live up to her three successful older sisters. When summer starts, she’s surprised to find her swimming has improved enough to make her a real contender on the swim team, but her mother’s pressure to be the best forces her to make some difficult choices between personal success and being a good teammate.