Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan

Karina Ahmed, a high school junior, follows all of her parents rules. They expect her to get good grades, go to medical school, and not to ever go on a date. When her high school English teacher asks her to tutor another student, she knows that tutoring notorious bad boy Ace Clyde will not be approved by her father. However, her parents go to Bangladesh for 30 days, leaving Karina with her more understanding grandmother. When Ace tells people that he and Karina are dating, she has 30 days to figure out how to react. This enjoyable romance gives a glimpse into the difficulties faced by first generation American students who find themselves caught between what their parents want and what they want. I loved learning about Bangladeshi culture and especially loved the relationship between Karina and her grandmother. Recommended for grades 8-up. 

A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga

This is a sweet story about a Mars rover named Resilience. Res is created by NASA scientists and develops human-like thoughts and emotions. The story begins at NASA where Res develops strong feelings for the humans who are programming him. One of those humans, Rania, has a young daughter who is fascinated with Res and writes letters to Res that are scattered throughout the book. Res does successfully get to Mars along with a helpful drone, and their challenge there is to find something that will make NASA want to retrieve them and bring them back to Earth. It's an entertaining and insightful story about space and artificial intelligence with some surprisingly poignant moments. Recommended for kids who liked The Wild Robot. At first glance it seems to be an elementary book, but I think middle schoolers will find a lot to enjoy here.