A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff

Books build empathy, and this genre-bender goes deep into the experiences of transgender teens as they face off against actual demons bent on destroying them. The main character, who goes by the name A, is 14 years old and is forced to go to a therapy group called SOSAD (Saving Our Sons and Daughters) by parents who have no desire to understand or learn about A's identity. Students from SOSAD occasionally disappear, and A ends up running away from home with the help of a monster made of trash to try to save one of those friends. A is helped by a Rabbi and her husband, who explain elements of Jewish mythology, including how golems have intervened to help people throughout history. It's an action-dystopian-horror-fantasy that's steeped in Jewish mythology, so there is a lot of plot to keep readers going, but at it's heart it's about acceptance of trans kids in a world bent on destroying them. This book, written about and for kids who are 14-16 years old, is a fine example of #youngteenlit

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

This action-packed space adventure features a shape-shifting family of fox spirits who live on a dusty, dried up planet called Jinju. Min, the thirteen-year-old daughter, takes off on a quest to find her older brother Jun who is accused of deserting the Space Forces to go in search of the powerful Dragon Pearl. Min has spent her life hiding her fox powers, but must use Charm and shapeshifting as she roams the thousand worlds in search of Jun and the Dragon Pearl. The combination of science fiction and Korean mythology makes this a unique and exciting book. My book club students were hooked and had a lot to talk about when discussing how the Korean mythology compared to other cultures mythologies in Rick Riordan's universe. I would have preferred fewer well-developed characters and more depth to the references to Korean mythology, but sci fi space operas are not written for me. I did appreciate the presence of a gender non-conforming character who uses they/them pronouns. This book got a solid 8 out of 10 stars from 6th and 7th graders who love fantasy and sci fi books.

The Lovely War by Julie Berry

Aphrodite is in a fancy New York City hotel room having an argument with some of the other Greek Gods. Using her wealth of experience, she tells two love stories, both set during World War I, to prove a point about the power of human love. One is the story of a young British couple, a pianist and an architect, who fall in love just before both head to France, one as a soldier and the other as a volunteer. The other story is of an African American musician/soldier and the traumatized Belgian woman that he falls in love with. Both relationships face major struggles and life-threatening situations. Readers who enjoy romance and historical fiction will absolutely love these stories and will be drawn into scenes of World War I France. I recommend this book for middle school students willing to take on a challenging book (probably best for grade 8-up) all the way up through adults who love historical fiction and romance. 

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater

I will confess that I really didn't want to read this book and that it took me a long time to get into it. But after finishing it I have to admit it was extremely well-written and original, with a compelling (if slowly-paced) plot. The heart of this story is the island of Thisby, a rugged place where life is hard and children grow up and leave as soon as they can. What makes Thisby unique are the bloodthirsty water horses that rise up out of the water each year and are tamed and ridden by the men of the island. The fierce water horses (or  capaill uisce—pronounced cappel ishka—as they are called) eat human flesh and drown their riders. The islanders race the horses each November in a dangerous and deadly race that brings the island brief fame and an economic burst. That's the background, and the island and the horses are central to the story. But the book is really about two teenagers who enter the races as strangers but slowly come together in spite of their rivalry. The book alternates between the viewpoints of Sean Kenndrick (an orphaned young man who has won the Scorpio Races four times and loves his water horse Corr more than life itself) and Kate "Puck" Connelly (also orphaned and racing to earn money to save her family's home and to keep her oldest brother from leaving for the mainland). Steifvater makes Thisby, with it's foggy, cold beach and crusty inhabitants seem like a real place. She also brings Puck and Sean to life slowly and deliberately until by the last chapters you know your heart will break because there is no way they both can achieve what they wish for. This is definitely a notable book—the starred reviews show that. For a reader with the persistence and patience to stay with it and live in Thisby for a while it will be a rewarding read.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

I think I am officially the last person to read this book. I heard years ago from a 7th grade boy that this book was great, and he was right. The author manages to take Greek mythology and tie it into a modern day action book that is also hilarious. Percy Jackson is our hero, but he's just a 6th grader with ADD who keeps failing out of school. (He finds out later that most of the children of Greek Gods have ADD--it's what helps them in their quests and fights with supernatural beings.) After a minotaur chases him to Camp Halfblood and vaporizes his mother, Percy starts to learn the truth about himself and the identity of his father. Eventually he makes Zeus pretty mad and is given 10 days to find Zeus's stolen lightning bolt and return it to Mount Olympus. He takes along his Satyr friend Grover and one of Athena's daughters, Annabeth. Together they have an action-packed quest involving an incredible amount of Greek Mythology. As I said before, the best part of this book is all the humor. This is the perfect series for middle schoolers, especially guys.