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A Seal Upon the Heart by Arian Hatefi

Lyrical, emotional, and gripping. In Hatefi’s heartfelt middle-grade adventure, two siblings risk everything to save the person they love most. Eleven-year-old Leonardo and eight-year-old Leili’s lives change forever when they learn their father has a terminal illness. Rumors of a…
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The Mighty Worrier by Hunter Lloyd

Refreshingly sharp and emotionally layered… In Lloyd’s fun middle-grade novel, a socially isolated seventh grader obsessed with being right begins to unravel when his intelligence fails to shield him from failure, vulnerability, and unexpected friendship. Twelve-year-old Daniel Diamond is the…
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Summer Solstice by Kelly Williams

Thoughtful, compassionate, and quietly profound… A lonely boy and a broken bird find their way forward in Williams’s graceful, moving middle-grade novel. After a car crash kills his father, twelve-year-old Elliot Blake retreats into silence, burdened by guilt he can’t…
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Stjarna’s Stars by Patricia Squire

Whimsical and enchanting; a heartfelt journey of courage, family, and new beginnings. Squire’s compelling novel transports readers to 19th-century Iceland, where a young girl faces the upheaval of her life as her family sets out on a journey from their…
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Animals Divided: General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms #3 by David Bush

A riveting tale of loyalty, division, and redemption… Bush’s latest installment in the General Jack and the Battle of the Five Kingdoms series plunges readers into a divided world where anthropomorphic animals wrestle with war, loyalty, and loss. Amid the…
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Call of the Desert: Crossing by A. A. Vogel

A raw, evocative, and atmospheric coming-of-age story. Vogel delves into the complexities of self-discovery through a young girl’s journey in a new culture in her compelling novel. In a new country and school, Claire sees the chance to reinvent herself.…
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Izzy Strikes Gold by Larry Sommers

A Whimsical Adventure with Heartfelt Lessons… Set in the 1950s, Sommers’ latest novel takes readers on a young boy’s journey to personal growth. Twelve-year-old Izzy’s life is in turmoil. He wants to fit in with his peers and dreams of…
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Marvelous Jackson by Laura Anne Bird

Tender, captivating, and thought-provoking… Bird masterfully blends themes of family, loss, self-discovery, and fortitude in the quaint backdrop of a Midwestern town in her latest middle grade novel, taking readers on a troubled boy’s journey to self-discovery. Following the loss…