Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet (Sarah Barley Books/Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 400 pages, grades 7-12). Set in 21st-century Concord, Massachusetts, the story begins with the discovery of Beth March’s body on the morning after an eventful New Year’s Eve party at Sallie Gardiner’s house. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy take turns telling the story, which shifts between the past and present as one friend or family member after another is suspected of the murder. Was it their father whose recent tell-all book about his daughters (entitled Little Women) has caused such a social media storm that he’s been forced to flee to Vancouver? Amy, who had a violent quarrel with Beth at the party? John Brook, who’s voiced some doubts about Beth going to boarding school at Plumfield Academy to pursue her music dreams? One secret after another is uncovered until the final showdown reveals what really happened that fateful night.

Buckle up, Little Women fans, and prepare for a darkly fun roller coaster ride into the March family as you’ve never seen them before! Fans of the original will love all the allusions to various characters and the way Katie Bernet has updated them for a modern audience, while those not as familiar with the story will still enjoy this fast-paced whodunit with new twists in every chapter.

The Mysterious Magic of Lighthouse Lane by Erin Stewart (Aladdin, 336 pages, grades 4-7). After a meltdown on a class trip, Lucy is haunted by the memory of her best friend turning away from her and is sure she is destined to be friendless forever. Her mom, who tends to want to “fix” Lucy, decides that her daughter should spend the summer on Prince Edward Island, where Mom grew up and where Grandpa still lives. Lucy is reluctant, but she finds herself drawn to the island’s tranquility and curious about her late grandmother. When her grandfather gives her Grandma’s old camera, Lucy is thrilled to be able to hone her photography skills. As she learns to develop her own pictures, she starts to notice magical changes appearing that only she can see, changes that reveal the subject’s deepest wish. Her efforts to grant those wishes, with the help of her new friend Poppy, have mixed results, but as the summer goes on, Lucy discovers what her real gift is. Poppy helps her to see that she’s an empath, someone who feels others’ emotions as deeply as they do. It’s a gift her grandmother also possessed, and with the help of her mother, grandfather, friends, and even a message from her grandma, Lucy learns to use her empathy to help others around her as well as herself.

This charming story has a number of nods to Anne of Green Gables: the PEI setting, of course, as well as Lucy’s first name, Poppy’s last name (Montgomery), and Lucy’s highly sensitive nature, a trait she shares with author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Lucy’s journey from believing her emotions are a burden that needs fixing to embracing them as a gift she can use to help others, particularly Poppy and Grandpa, makes for an engaging story that will be especially appreciated by other empaths.