HAPPY LABOR DAY! I had a title scheduled for today until the publisher delayed its release until early 2024. They asked that I do the same with my review. I could have shuffled the lineup for this month, but decided instead to take a breather to reflect on this summer gone by and take a look at the three new MG titles I’m most looking forward to reading this school year.

I had a great summer although way too fast. I’m still going through the many pictures I took along the way and each one reminds me of a book cover. But what would the story be about? I have some ideas…

1. This painted mural is on a bike/walking trail that goes underneath a busy highway. Artists Jay and Jerry Jaramillo call it “Spring Pollination.” I see something else…

A book loving boy discovers a Little Free Library in his neighborhood, but when he opens a book the story characters suddenly appear. Frantic, he returns the books and is confronted by the owner of the library. What he is told could change his life forever and not in a good way.

2. This second image has to be a picture book…

Henry the Hydrant and his best friend Juliet the Firewoman save a house and much more.

3. When a small town is sucked up into a giant cloud, the residents find a peaceful life with no politics, hate, or class structure. But now the cloud is breaking up and they must find a way to keep in intact. A young girl’s voice brings them hope that the future does not have to be like the past.

Time will tell if I ever develop these plots further, but for now let me present plots that are already complete. Here are the three books I’m most looking forward to reading this school year in no particular order:

It’s been almost a year since Coyote and her dad left the road behind and settled down in a small Oregon town. . . time spent grieving the loss of her mom and sisters and trying to fit in at school. But just as life is becoming a new version of normal, Coyote discovers a box containing her mom’s ashes. And she thinks she might finally be ready to say goodbye.

So Coyote and her dad gear up for an epic cross-country road trip to scatter the ashes at her mom’s chosen resting place. The only problem? Coyote has no idea where that resting place is—and the secret’s hidden in a book that Coyote mistakenly sold last year, somewhere in the country. Now, it’s up to Coyote to track down the treasured book . . . without her dad ever finding out that it’s lost.

It’s time to fire up their trusty bus, Yager, pick up some old friends, discover some new ones, and hit the road on another unforgettable adventure.

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Lily, Maddie, and Sasha have always been the perfect friendship sandwich—they tell one another everything and each one is vital to making the whole. But this year everything is changing. Everyone seems to be keeping secrets from the others. And Maddie and Sasha made the elite soccer team and Lily didn’t. Now they’re carpooling and practicing and competing all the time, and Lily’s always left behind. They even can’t go to the first big middle school dance—the one that Lily’s been excited about for weeks—because of a tournament. Will she have to go alone? Or miss it entirely? Or . . . is she forming an unexpected brand-new friendship of her own, thanks to popular girl Sienna?

Will tends to keep to himself. After all, his life is already out there for anyone to hear about, thanks to his dad’s super-popular parenting podcast, Dr. Dad. He doesn’t really want to have to talk more about that time he wet the bed when he was small, or any of the other embarrassing stories his dad likes sharing with the whole world. He’d rather focus on becoming a better climber, after school at Philly Rocks. But his path keeps crossing with Lily’s, and his nosy former best friend, Sienna, takes notice. And then Will’s dad finally crosses a line that Will’s not sure he can forgive.

Between disastrous sleepovers, vicious rumors, secret crushes, old and new friends, and parents who just don’t get it, how does anyone make it through the tumult of seventh grade? Told from dual perspectives, Listen to This captures two weeks that just might change everything for Lily and Will, with Jennifer Blecher’s signature pitch-perfect dialogue and nuanced understanding of the emotional rollercoaster that is being a tween. 

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Everyone knows the two Sophies are best friends. One is in elementary school, and one is . . . well . . . in a little trouble of late. She’s elderly, sure, but she’s always been on her game, the best friend any girl struggling to fit in could ever have. The Sophies drink tea, have strong opinions about pretty much everything, and love each other dearly. Now it seems the elder Sophie is having memory problems, burning teakettles, and forgetting just about everything. It looks like her son is going to come and get her and steal her away forever. Young Sophie isn’t having that. Not one bit. So she sets out to help elder Sophie’s memory, with the aid of her neighborhood friends Ralphie and Oliver. But when she opens the floodgates of elder Sophie’s memories, she winds up listening to stories that will illustrate just how much there is to know about her dear friend, stories of war, hunger, cruelty, and ultimately love.

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That’s all for now. I’ll be back later this week with an actual review!