Published by Scholastic

Summary:  Caprice has just finished a summer program at the prestigious Ainsley International School and has done well enough there to be offered a full scholarship for eighth grade through high school.  Returning home to her friends and family in Newark for the last few days of summer, she’s torn between taking this amazing opportunity or finishing middle school with the people she loves.  Complicating her decision are flashbacks of memories from when she was four years old that are increasingly difficult to ignore.  When Caprice’s grandmother in Baltimore gets sick, her family returns to the house where she spent her first few years, and she is forced to confront the trauma that happened there.  As the week draws to a close, Caprice is finally able to admit to her parents that she was molested by her uncle and can begin the healing process that will allow her to make the right decisions about her future.  Includes a note about resources for survivors of abuse.  256 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  This compelling story drew me in right from the beginning.  The main narrative takes place over the course of a week, with the author skillfully weaving in Caprice’s poetry and flashbacks of memory to lead to a satisfying ending.  The topic of sexual abuse is handled in a way that’s appropriate for middle grade readers.

Cons:  The end note about resources was pretty short.

Published by Dial Books

Summary:  Annabelle’s not super excited about starting sixth grade.  It’s her last year at the Lab School, where she knows her other classmates a little too well after six years in school together.  But this year begins to look different when a new student named Bailey walks into the classroom.  Bailey is nonbinary, and Annabelle is fascinated by them.  The two become friends, and Annabelle finds herself hoping it will turn into something more.  When Annabelle brings Bailey home, she’s dismayed by her parents’ cool reaction to them.  Later, her parents reveal that her dad is a trans man, and Annabelle’s world turns upside down.  With the help of Bailey and their parents, Annabelle and her family start to become part of the LGBTQ+ community, allowing them to learn more about themselves and to live more genuine lives.  320 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Newbery honoree Kyle Lukoff has created another heartwarming story that explores the lives of LGBTQ+ kids and their families and friends.  Bailey and Annabelle have to deal with a classmate (aptly named Dixon), his mother, and a wishy-washy principal who work to keep any LGBTQ+ discussion out of the classroom, and readers will get some insights on how to deal with that issue.

Cons:  Bailey and their parents seemed a little too good to be true, and sometimes seemed to exist just to educate Annabelle and her family.

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Summary:  Andi and Zora are two of the only Black girls at the prestigious Harmony Music Camp, and they get off to a bad start as bunkmates.  Andi has recently lost her mother in a car accident and carries a guilty secret around her death.  Zora is trying to live up to her parents’ expectations but is starting to think that dance may be her passion more than music.  Andi loves playing the trumpet, but her method of playing mostly by ear doesn’t work very well for the classical style of the camp orchestra, and Zora is assigned to be her mentor.  A friendship slowly grows, and Zora starts to wonder if they might be more than friends.  A climactic scene in which both girls get lost in the woods reveals Andi’s secret about her mom and allows the girls to reveal their feelings for each other.  There are still some issues to be worked out, but both girls head for home feeling a little more confident about who they are.  Includes an author’s note about growing up queer and Black.  354 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  A lovely summer romance (with a single kiss and some hand holding) that will resonate with any kid who has ever felt like they don’t belong.  The story is told in alternating voices of the girls, so readers get to gradually see what is going on with each character, both from her own point of view and from others’ perspectives.  Each section ends with a moving poem written in the voice of the camp itself.

Cons:  Death, self-harm, coming to terms with sexuality, bullying, racism: there are a lot of heavy topics dealt with in this book.  To me, though, the author handled them with a deft enough touch to make this an enjoyable summer read.

Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Donovan is a fifth-grade student whose mother challenges the book his teacher assigns, The Adventurers, because she sees the two main characters as being gay.  Gideon and Roberto are two fifth-grade boys whose friendship turns into something more romantic.  Rick and Oliver are the two main characters in The Adventurers, who, along with their friend Melody, are trying to stop an evil genius from stealing the Doomsday Code.  Each story unfolds in alternating chapters until they come together at an important meeting of the school board to decide the fate of the book.  Includes a three-page author’s note acknowledging the work of other authors who write books about LGBTQIA+ characters (many of whom have characters named for them in the story) as well as the work of those defending challenged books.  176 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  This book could hardly be more timely, and I appreciate David Levithan’s nuanced writing about this issue. I liked how Donovan’s mother was able to change her position after an honest conversation with her son.  I totally did not see how the stories were coming together at the end and was delighted by that twist.

Cons:  I was reading this book kind of quickly, and it took me a while to figure out the structure with the three alternating stories.

Published by Greenwillow Books

Summary:  The kids in the tiny town of Fawn Creek, Louisiana have known each other for most of their lives.  So it’s a big deal that Renni moved away last year, and an even bigger deal when new girl Orchid shows up in their sixth grade class.  Not only does Orchid have beautiful hair (rumor has it that she’s had it insured), but she tells enchanting stories about her life in New York City and Paris.  Everyone expects her to become part of Janie’s popular crowd, but instead she gravitates toward outcasts Grayson and Dorothy.  The story takes place in the days leading up to a much-anticipated dance in the neighboring town where Renni now lives, and many of the kids find themselves reevaluating their personalities and roles as a result of their interactions with Orchid.  This culminates the night of the dance, when Grayson finally shows his true self, and a bullying incident leads both Dorothy and Janie to see who they really are.  336 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Erin Entrada Kelly has created a memorable cast or characters who are all brought to life through a series of what seem to be small, everyday experiences.  With four starred reviews, this book is likely to be considered for another Newbery Medal or honor to put alongside the two Kelly already has.

Cons:  For the first half of the book, I struggled to keep all the characters straight and was grateful for the list of characters (grouped by clique) on the inside jacket flap.