Set in England's Downs, a once idyllic rural landscape, this stirring tale of adventure, courage and survival follows a band of very special creatures on their flight from the intrusion of man and the certain destruction of their home. Led by a stouthearted pair of friends, they journey forth from their native Sandleford Warren through the harrowing trials posed by predators and adversaries, to a mysterious promised land and a more perfect society.

Carnegie Medal
Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize

Much like Lois Lowry’s The Giver, the children of Serenity have never been exposed to homelessness, poverty, or crime. Their small, isolated town is idyllic … but when Eli and his best friend bike to the edge of town to check out a cool old car, something bizarre happens that causes Eli to question everything he’s always believed.

Silver Birch Award

It finally happens – we are invaded by aliens. But they fail to meet our expectations – this is not ET, or any other kind of alien we’ve imagined. The first wave knocks out the electricity and planes fall from the sky. The second wave causes tsunamis that wipe out all coastal populations – Boston, Tokyo, California … The third wave arrives in the form of a plague, the fourth as aliens disguised as humans. Who can you trust? Cassie and her brother have managed to survive the first three waves, but is surviving the fourth to see the fifth worth it?

Carnegie Medal Nominee

Red House Children’s Book Award

Hazel wants to be a surgeon in an age when girls were not allowed to study medicine. In order to learn anatomy at this time, medical students had to use bodies stolen from graves.  She makes acquaintance with a resurrection man who does this illegal digging for a living even though it is increasingly dangerous. Mystery and romance blend for an intriguing story.

New York Times Bestseller

Michael is stuck at home during Covid, and his Mom is worried about his screen time.  His great grandmother is now living with them, and when he helps her go through old boxes, he discovers the intertwined but dramatically different lives his great grandmother and her cousins lived due to the famine (Holodomor) in Ukraine under the Soviet control of Stalin in the 1930s. 

Finalist for the 2023 National Book Award.

Fantasy/realistic/mystery. Jeremy Johnson Johnson is a teenaged boy living on the fringe in a small town where everyone seems to be broken in some way. Jeremy’s mom abandoned him and his dad, whereupon his father stopped getting out of bed or living any kind of life. Jeremy’s grandfather left him his bookstore, which sells only one book: his grandfather’s biography. Jeremy struggles to keep going with the help of the ghost of Jacob Grimm, whom he can hear. The woman who runs the laundromat walks the streets at night searching for her little boy who disappeared years ago, while the sheriff’s deputy spies on everyone and lurks in alleys. Everyone has buried issues except for the town baker, a transplanted Swede who seems perfect. 

National Book award finalist

Pay close attention and you might solve this: On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention: Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule; Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess; Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing; Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher, and Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom alive. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. He died on a Monday. But that Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates. Now, all four of them are suspects in his murder. Are they guilty? Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? They all have a motive. They all have something to hide. They all have a history with Simon. And one of them is definitely lying.

Goodreads Awards, Best Young Adult Fiction
New York Public Library’s Best Book for Teens selection

Starting middle school is stressful for every student, but it is particularly difficult for Rex Ogle because he is dealing with problems that his wealthier classmates can’t even imagine.  Rex’s family is poor, his mother frequently fights with her boyfriend, and Rex has to help take care of his younger brother and protect him from neglect, abuse, and domestic violence.  While he loves his family, Rex feels embarrassed that he has to wear second hand clothes and get his lunch through the school’s free lunch program.  Follow Rex as he navigates complex social situations in school and at home.

Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award

Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award

The story of the spying that went on at Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II is told in the style of a thriller. This work of non-fiction includes primary source documents and is a real page turner.

Newbery Honor Award
Sibert Medal

Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again.

Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.

Junior Library Guild Selection
Library of Congress’s 52 Great Reads List

Cybils Award Finalist

A seventh grader has to figure out how to fulfill an assignment to perform the Twelve Labors of Hercules in real life—and makes discoveries about friendship, community, and himself along the way.

Newberry Honor
National Book Award Finalist

Lila has a best friend, a boyfriend, and a plan for her future until she suddenly loses all three.  Concerned for her mental health, but against her wishes, Lila’s family sends her to England to spend some time with relatives.  Miserable at first, she finds her way to the kitchen where she bakes and cooks her way to friends and romance.

New York Times Bestseller

Laz is the star pitcher at North Central high school, an underprivileged school in Seattle, Washington.  While he has many challenges in life, Laz uses baseball as his chance to escape the drugs, violence, and misery common in his community.  When his school cuts the baseball program Laz’s senior year, he thinks that his dream of being a professional baseball player is over.  Suddenly, he receives an unexpected opportunity: move into the home of the top baseball prospect in the state and compete for the championship at wealthy Laurelhurst High.  Laz must choose between following his dream to become a major leaguer or helping to protect his brother from falling into trouble.

Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection
10+ state-based awards for Young Readers

Eva and her identical twin sister, Miriam, had a mostly happy childhood. They were the only Jewish family in a small village in the Transylvanian mountains, but they didn't think much of it until antisemitism reared its ugly head in their school. In 1944, ten-year-old Eva and her family were deported to Auschwitz. At its gates, Eva and Miriam were separated from their parents and other siblings, selected as subjects for Dr. Mengele's infamous medical experiments.

During the course of the war, Mengele would experiment on 3,000 twins. Only 160 would survive--including Eva and Miriam. Writing with her friend Danica Davidson, Eva reveals how two young girls were able to survive the unimaginable cruelty of the Nazi regime, while also eventually healing and the capacity to forgive.

Children’s Book Council – Student and Teacher Awards

In 1945, four-year-old Michael Bornstein was filmed by Soviet soldiers being led out of Auschwitz in his grandmother’s arms. This is an unforgettable story of a father’s courage, a mother’s love, and a perfectly timed illness saves Michael’s life. Working from his own recollections as well as extensive interviews with other family members and survivors who knew the family, Michael relates his inspirational story with the help of his daughter, Debbie Bornstein Holinstat. Shocking, heartbreaking, and uplifting, this is what happened in one Polish village in the wake of the German invasion in 1939.

Mr. Bornstein and his daughter, Ms. Holinstat, have spoken at MVMS in the past.

Neurodivergent Maudie is ready to spend an amazing summer with her dad, but will she find the courage to tell him a terrible secret about life with her mom and new stepdad?

Winner, 2024 Schneider Family Book Award

A mysterious circus open only at night appears without warning at the edge of a town. Its colors are black and white, and its exhibits stretch the boundaries of possibility. In the midst of the circus, a competition between two young magicians, each raised by a neglectful mentor, unfolds across continents and decades. Will a blossoming love between the young magicians defeat the plans their mentors have set in motion?

Alex Award Winner