2023 Lone Star Reading List

Across the desert

Bowling, Dusti,


Booklist starred, December2021. Library Media Connection, August2021. Publishers Weekly Annex, September2021. School Library Journal starred, October2021. While using a public library computer to find help for her mother who is addicted to pain medicine, twelve-year-old Jolene witnesses a friend's livestreamed crash-landing in the Arizona desert and embarks on a journey to rescue her.
Date Published:2023

Black bird, blue road

Pasternack, Sofiya,


Booklist, August2022. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, October2022. Horn Book Starred, September2022. Kirkus Starred, July2022. Pub Weekly, July2022. "Ziva will do anything to save her twin brother Pesah from his illness--even facing the Angel of Death himself. Pesah has lived with leprosy for years, and the twins have spent most of that time working on a cure. Then Pesah has a vision: The Angel of Death will come for him on Rosh Hashanah, just one month away. So Ziva takes her brother and runs away to find doctors who can cure him. But when they meet and accidentally free a half-demon boy, he suggests paying his debt by leading them to the fabled city of Luz, where no one ever dies--the one place Pesah will be safe. They just need to run faster than The Angel of Death can fly"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2022

Booklist, August2022. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, October2022. Horn Book Starred, September2022. Kirkus Starred, July2022. Pub Weekly, July2022. "Ziva will do anything to save her twin brother Pesah from his illness--even facing the Angel of Death himself. Pesah has lived with leprosy for years, and the twins have spent most of that time working on a cure. Then Pesah has a vision: The Angel of Death will come for him on Rosh Hashanah, just one month away. So Ziva takes her brother and runs away to find doctors who can cure him. But when they meet and accidentally free a half-demon boy, he suggests paying his debt by leading them to the fabled city of Luz, where no one ever dies--the one place Pesah will be safe. They just need to run faster than The Angel of Death can fly"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2022

Children of the fox

Sands, Kevin,


Booklist, October 2021. Junior Library Guild. Kirkus Review, September 2021. Pub Weekly, September 2021. School Library Journal, November 2021. "Callan and four other young criminals are recruited to pull off a difficult heist from the city's most powerful sorcerer"--Provided by the publisher.
Date Published:2022

Dust & Grim

Wendig, Chuck,


Booklist starred, August2021. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, November2021. Kirkus Starred, August2021. Publishers Weekly Annex, October2021. School Library Journal, October2021. Soon after meeting her eighteen-year-old brother, Dustin, for the first time, thirteen-year-old Molly learns their shared inheritance, a mortuary business, serves monsters.
Date Published:2022

Falling short

Cisneros, Ernesto,


Junior Library Guild. "Isaac and Marco already know sixth grade is going to change their lives. But it won't change things at home--not without each other's help. This year, star basketball player Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac's parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-A Marco vows on finally winning his father's approval by earning a spot on the school's basketball team. But will their friendship and support for each other be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?"--From the publisher's web site.
Date Published:2022

Junior Library Guild. "Isaac and Marco already know sixth grade is going to change their lives. But it won't change things at home--not without each other's help. This year, star basketball player Isaac plans on finally keeping up with his schoolwork. Better grades will surely stop Isaac's parents from arguing all the time. Meanwhile, straight-A Marco vows on finally winning his father's approval by earning a spot on the school's basketball team. But will their friendship and support for each other be enough to keep the two boys from falling short?"--From the publisher's web site.

Date Published:2022

The girl in the lake

Brown, India Hill, 1991-,


"Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she's not. Bugs, bad cell reception, and the dark waters of the lake... no thanks. On top of that, she just failed her swim test and hates being in the water-it's terrifying. But her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation at public pools. And soon strange things start happening-the sound of footsteps overhead late at night. A flickering light in the attic window. And Celete's cousins start accusing her of pranking them when she's been no where near them!"--Amazon.
Date Published:2022

"Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she's not. Bugs, bad cell reception, and the dark waters of the lake... no thanks. On top of that, she just failed her swim test and hates being in the water-it's terrifying. But her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation at public pools. And soon strange things start happening-the sound of footsteps overhead late at night. A flickering light in the attic window. And Celete's cousins start accusing her of pranking them when she's been no where near them!"--Amazon.

Date Published:2022

Hummingbird

Lloyd, Natalie,


Kirkus Review. Kirkus Review, June2022. "When twelve-year-old Olive, who suffers from brittle bone disease and has been homeschooled all her life, finally attends school in person she soon discovers fitting in is not that easy, but if she can find the magical wish-granting hummingbird that supposedly lives nearby, and prove herself worthy, maybe her deepest wish will be granted"--OCLC.
Date Published:2022

Jennifer Chan is not alone

Keller, Tae,


Junior Library Guild. "When her new neighbor and alien-enthusiast Jennifer Chan goes missing, Mallory Moss must follow the clues to find her, and think about her own part in why Jennifer might have run away"--Provided by the publisher.
Date Published:2022

The last cuentista

Higuera, Donna Barba,


Horn Book, September 2021. Kirkus Starred, July 2021. Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.), January 2022. Pub Weekly, June 2021. School Library Journal starred, September 2021. "A girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? " -- Jacket flap.
Date Published:2021

Horn Book, September 2021. Kirkus Starred, July 2021. Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.), January 2022. Pub Weekly, June 2021. School Library Journal starred, September 2021. "A girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again? " -- Jacket flap.

Date Published:2021

Linked

Korman, Gordon,


Booklist starred, April 15, 2021. Booklist starred, April 2021. Kirkus Review, June 2021. Kirkus, June 01, 2021. Library Media Connection starred, January 2022. School library journal, July 2021. School Library Journal, July 2021. Link, Michael, and Dana live in a quiet town. But it's woken up very quickly when someone sneaks into school and vandalizes it with a swastika. Nobody can believe it. How could such a symbol of hate end up in the middle of their school? The mystery deepens as more swastikas begin to appear. Some students decide to fight back and start a project to bring people together instead of dividing them further.
Date Published:2023

Booklist starred, April 15, 2021. Booklist starred, April 2021. Kirkus Review, June 2021. Kirkus, June 01, 2021. Library Media Connection starred, January 2022. School library journal, July 2021. School Library Journal, July 2021. Link, Michael, and Dana live in a quiet town. But it's woken up very quickly when someone sneaks into school and vandalizes it with a swastika. Nobody can believe it. How could such a symbol of hate end up in the middle of their school? The mystery deepens as more swastikas begin to appear. Some students decide to fight back and start a project to bring people together instead of dividing them further.

Date Published:2023

The Marvellers

Clayton, Dhonielle,


Eleven-year-old Ella is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts. When a dangerous criminal known as the Ace of Anarchy escapes prison, supposedly with a Conjurors's aid, Ella becomes the target of suspicion.
Date Published:2022

Skandar and the unicorn thief

Steadman, A. F.,


Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), May2022. Kirkus Review, March2022. New York Times, May2022. Publishers Weekly, April2022. "Thirteen-year-old Skandar Smith has always wanted to be a Unicorn rider, but when the mysterious Weaver steals the most powerful unicorn in the world, Skandar must face sky battles, ancient secrets, and bloodthirsty unicorns in order to save his island"--OCLC.
Date Published:2022

Tumble

Pérez, Celia C., 1972-,


Twelve-year-old Adela "Addie" Ramirez has a big decision to make when her stepfather proposes adoption. Addie loves Alex, the only father figure she's ever known, but with a new half brother due in a few months and a big school theater performance on her mind, everything suddenly feels like it's moving too fast. She has a million questions, and the first is about the young man in the photo she found hidden away in her mother's things.
Date Published:2023

Twelve-year-old Adela "Addie" Ramirez has a big decision to make when her stepfather proposes adoption. Addie loves Alex, the only father figure she's ever known, but with a new half brother due in a few months and a big school theater performance on her mind, everything suddenly feels like it's moving too fast. She has a million questions, and the first is about the young man in the photo she found hidden away in her mother's things.

Date Published:2023