The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James by Mike Dawson (Union Square Kids, 256 pages, grades 3-7). 12-year-old Geordie is dealing with a lot of anxiety, especially when he has to interact with kids at school. Being assigned a group project to help him pull up his failing science grade is a complete nightmare for him. One of the boys, Samesh, seems like he could be a friend, and he and Geordie gradually start bonding over Dominion, a world-building game Geordie loves to play. When his dad decides Geordie’s getting too much screen time, he pushes Geordie to go outdoors. Geordie eventually discovers a secret hideaway in the woods, a place where he can mysteriously excel at Dominion (he sneaks his tablet out of the house). He eventually shares his secret with Samesh, and the two spend many happy hours in the woods building their worlds together. When people from town decide to turn the woods into a nature preserve, Geordie’s happy world is destroyed. He attempts to go back to his fort one night, but gets caught in a storm, and a series of flashbacks reveals the reason for his anxieties. In the end, his dad realizes both he and Geordie need some professional help, and Geordie realizes that his project group has become a source of support for him as well.

There’s an amazing amount packed into this graphic novel; my summary didn’t even touch on Geordie’s love of animals, the mysterious runaway pig, and the devastating effect Covid had on this family. Readers will relate to many of Geordie’s struggles at school and at home and will root for him as he slowly comes to terms with all that’s going on in his life and learns to reach out to those around him.

Really Rubie by Maddie Frost (Aladdin, 240 pages, grades 3-7). Rubie’s excited for a month at summer camp with her best friend Riley. The two girls have come up with a TUCE (The Ultimate Camp Experience) Truce: a list of classic camp activities, like eating s’mores, making friendship bracelets, and having a first kiss, that they will do together. When Riley breaks her ankle and has to stay home, she makes Rubie promise she won’t do anything on the TUCE list. Rubie’s sure she’s going to have a miserable time, but she’s forced to participate in all things camp, some of which (art) are easy, and others (horseback riding) that force her way out of her comfort zone. As the weeks go by, Rubie finds herself increasingly torn between her loyalty to Riley and her desire to have the full camp experience with her new friend Eliza. No matter what, Rubie puts her own wacky spin on everything she tries, and by the end of the month she’s grown in ways she never expected and has (more or less) learned how to navigate friendships, both new and old.

Fans of Dork Diaries and Terri Libenson’s books will enjoy Rubie’s camp diary, liberally illustrated with her cartoon-style doodles. She definitely has a style all her own, and her blunders with friends and an unexpected crush will resonate with middle grade and middle school readers. Happily, this is billed as book 1, making it a perfect summer read that can segue into sequels in the upcoming school year.