2023 Lone Star Reading List

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

City of thieves

London, Alex,


Kirkus Review, September2021. Publishers Weekly, September2021. School Library Journal, October2021. To protect his friends and family, Abel must figure out what is worth fighting for when he partners with a stolen dragon, an action that has him riding in kin battles and keeping more secrets than a dragon has scales.
Date Published:2021

The Clackity

Senf, Lora,


"A Blight Harbor novel." Booklist, May2022. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), June2022. Kirkus Review, April2022. Publishers Weekly Annex, July2022. To rescue her aunt from the ghost of a serial killer, twelve-year-old Evie Von Rathe embarks on a journey into a strange world filled with hungry witches, ghosts, and a story thief, all while trying to fulfill her deal with the Clackity.
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

Iveliz explains it all

Arango, Andrea Beatriz


Booklist, September2022. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), September2022. Horn Book, September2022. Kirkus Starred, July2022. Publishers Weekly Annex, October2022. School Library Journal starred, October2022. Twelve-year-old Iveliz is trying to manage her mental health and advocate for the help and understanding she deserves, but in the meantime her new friend calls her crazy and her abuela Mimi dismisses the therapy and medicine Iveliz needs to feel like herself.
Date Published:2022

Booklist, September2022. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), September2022. Horn Book, September2022. Kirkus Starred, July2022. Publishers Weekly Annex, October2022. School Library Journal starred, October2022. Twelve-year-old Iveliz is trying to manage her mental health and advocate for the help and understanding she deserves, but in the meantime her new friend calls her crazy and her abuela Mimi dismisses the therapy and medicine Iveliz needs to feel like herself.

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 language of seabirds

Taylor, Will, (Children's literature author),


Booklist, April2022. Horn Book Starred, September2022. Kirkus Starred, May2022. Pub Weekly, June2022. "Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It's the first summer after his parents' divorce, and he hasn't exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn't have a choice, though, so he goes . . . and on his first day takes a walk on the beach and finds himself intrigued by a boy his age running by. Eventually, he and Runner Boy (Evan) meet--and what starts out as friendship blooms into something neither boy is expecting . . . and also something both boys have been secretly hoping for"--Dust jacket.
Date Published:2022

Booklist, April2022. Horn Book Starred, September2022. Kirkus Starred, May2022. Pub Weekly, June2022. "Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It's the first summer after his parents' divorce, and he hasn't exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn't have a choice, though, so he goes . . . and on his first day takes a walk on the beach and finds himself intrigued by a boy his age running by. Eventually, he and Runner Boy (Evan) meet--and what starts out as friendship blooms into something neither boy is expecting . . . and also something both boys have been secretly hoping for"--Dust jacket.

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

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

Rules for vampires

Foulkes, Alex,


After one hundred years of being a vampire, it's time for Eleonora to have her Birthnight. Since Leo's last rite of passage, her Grimwalk, ended with her losing her right leg and a good deal of her confidence, she's hoping to redeem herself in the eyes of her mother, the fearsome Lady Sieglinde. All Leo has to do is hunt down and kill her first prey, and she already has the perfect plan. After all, who will miss an orphan from the bleak St. Frieda's Home for Unwanted Children?
Date Published:2021

After one hundred years of being a vampire, it's time for Eleonora to have her Birthnight. Since Leo's last rite of passage, her Grimwalk, ended with her losing her right leg and a good deal of her confidence, she's hoping to redeem herself in the eyes of her mother, the fearsome Lady Sieglinde. All Leo has to do is hunt down and kill her first prey, and she already has the perfect plan. After all, who will miss an orphan from the bleak St. Frieda's Home for Unwanted Children?

Date Published:2021

Shinji Takahashi and the mark of the coatl

Kagawa, Julie,


"To free himself from an ancient curse, thirteen-year-old Shinji Takahashi must team up with a secret organization of explorers, find a magical font hidden in the jungles of Mexico, and replace a stolen idol"--OCLC.
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

The swag is in the socks

Baptist, Kelly J.


Horn Book, November2021. Junior Library Guild. Kirkus Review, October2021. Publishers Weekly, October2021. Twelve-year-old Xavier Moon gets the courage to step out of the shadows when his great-uncle gives him some outlandish socks and some even stranger requests.
Date Published:2022

Yusuf Azeem is not a hero

Faruqi, Saadia,


Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), September2021. Kirkus Review, August2021. Library Media Connection, August2021. New York Times, September2021. Publishers Weekly, August2021. School Library Journal starred, September2021. "Yusuf is excited to start middle school in his small Texas town, but with the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks coming up, suddenly it feels like the country's same anger and grief is all focused on his Muslim community"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2021

Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), September2021. Kirkus Review, August2021. Library Media Connection, August2021. New York Times, September2021. Publishers Weekly, August2021. School Library Journal starred, September2021. "Yusuf is excited to start middle school in his small Texas town, but with the twentieth anniversary of the September 11 attacks coming up, suddenly it feels like the country's same anger and grief is all focused on his Muslim community"--Provided by publisher.

Date Published:2021