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Everyone you meet
is fighting a battle you
know nothing about.

Read Between the Lines by Jo Knowles. Candlewick, 2015, 336 pages.

More than your garden-variety
quirky middle-grade.
Trilobites!

Moonpenny Island by Tricia Springstubb. Balzer + Bray. 2015, 304 pages.

Grief in tangible and
intangible forms: a
deft meditation.

The Question of Miracles by Elana K. Arnold. Harcourt, 2015, 240 pages.

It's Spring! With Batty!
And you will cry and cry and cry.
And then rejoice,

The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall. Knopf, 2015, 352 pages.

Beautiful meditation
on life, death, and friendship.
Worth all the buzz.

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart. Scholastic, 2015, 240 pages.

Ecoterrorism
with benign intent.
Scarily plausible.

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar. Delacorte, 2015 192 pages.

CREEPY AS ALL HELL,
and wonderfully rich and
compelling to boot.

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. McElderry/S&S, 2014, 208 pages.

A different story
of internment, with
complicated characters.

Gaijin: American Prisoner of War by Matt Faulkner. Disney, 2014, 144 pages.

A story of wartime
bravery, tainted by
shameful racism.

The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks. Broadway Books, 2014, 272 pages.

A turtle for our time:

A fair bit of stiff
exposition, but you
can't help liking Stella.

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper. Atheneum, 2015, 336 pages.

Briefly confused by
narration, but I loved these
guys and loved their game.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. HMH, 2014, 240 pages.

ETA: OMG I TOTALLY SCHEDULED THIS ONE PRESCIENTLY, EH?

Add to your list of
Debuts That Knock It Out of
the Park. Powerful.

Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang. Greenwillow, 2014, 304 pages.

Way more fun than a
Victorian setting has
any right to be.

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry. Roaring Brook, 2014, 351 pages.

Clementine's spark for
a younger crew: My First
Magical Realism?

Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon. Dial, 2014, 176 pages.

I wish I could have
any faith that Joey will
be okay. RAAAAGE. Sigh.

The Key That Swallowed Joey Pigza by Jack Gantos. FSG, 2014, 176 pages.

Similarities to
Grasshopper Jungle
do not go unnoticed.

100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith. S&S, 2014, 288 pages.

A infuriating story,
masterfully told.
Justice not served.

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin. Roaring Brook, 2014, 208 pages.

I wanted to love this,
but last-minute twist felt
unsupported, weak.

Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata. Atheneum, 2014, 240 pages.

Sensitively done;
a testament to the power
of great theatre.

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky. Hyperion, 2014, 256 pages.

I love these boys, all
of them. Powerful, hard-hitting,
smart. And funny!

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds. Atheneum, 2014, 240 pages.

Rich, weird, and thoughtful;
takes "unreliable narrator"
to new heights.

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer. Dutton, 2014, 272 pages.

Yes, I totally
picked it up for the title,
AND WHAT OF IT, EH?

Miss Emily by Burleigh Muten. Candlewick, 2014, 144 pages.

Southern-fried cooking
comes to Long Island, packed with
family secrets.

The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yeh. Little Brown, 2015, 352 pages.

You'll catch on before
Maggie does, but you'll love her
for her ignorance.

The Meaning of Maggie by Megan Jean Sovern. Chronicle, 2014, 220 pages.