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October 2022 Reading List
Chester Keene Cracks the Code, by Kekla Magoon (Grades 4-7) (Adventure)
Eleven-year-old Chester and his classmate Skye, tasked with a complex puzzle-solving mission, discover the key to their spy assignment is to stop a heist, but cracking the code could mean finding out things are not always what they seem.
Brand New Boy, by David Almond (Grades 4-7) (Science Fiction)
After becoming friends with the odd new boy in class named George, his classmates learn George is actually a robot part of an ambitious experiment, and set out to try to recover him and set him free from the lab that created him.
The Midnighters, by Hana Tooke (Grades 4-7) (Historical Mysteries/Supernatural Mysteries)
Following the one clue her friend Sylvie left behind before she went missing, Ema seeks to infiltrate the mysterious Midnight Guild to rescue Sylvie, despite a peculiar fear of shadows and the ability to predict events before they happen.
Spineless, by Samantha San Miguel (Grades 4-7) (Historical/Adventure)
Staying at a health resort in the wilds of Gilded Age South Florida due to his asthma, 12-year-old budding naturalist Algie stumbles upon a brand-new species that he must protect from a famous collector of exotic animals in a place where evil is lurking.
Three Strike Summer, by Skyler Schrempp (Grades 4-7) (Historical)
Dust Bowl refugee Gloria Mae Willard finds herself uprooted and working on a California peach orchard, where she tries to join the secret, all-boys baseball team that she’s desperate to play on.
Smaller Sister, by Maggie Edkins Willis (Grades 4-7) (Graphic Novel)
Lucy’s always looked up to her big sister, Olivia, even though the two are polar opposites, but Lucy notices Olivia start to change as Olivia begins to struggle with an eating disorder.
The Science of Being Angry, by Nicole Melleby (Grades 4-8) (Realistic)
When a meltdown at her apartment building leads to her family’s eviction, 11-year-old Joey, who is angry all the time but doesn’t know why, is desperate for answers and finds them in the most unexpected place.
Hunters of the Lost City, by Kali Wallace (Grades 5-8) (Fantasy)
Twelve-year-old Octavia, who grew up believing her town was the only one left after a magical war, meets a girl from outside her town and tries to uncover the truth about her world.
Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods, by Catherynne M. Valente (Grades 5-8) (Fantasy)
When his mother accidentally kills a Quidnunk, firstborn son Osmo embarks on a quest to find the Eightpenny Woods–a mysterious kingdom where all wild forest creatures go when they die–to make amends.
The Civil War of Amos Abernathy, by Michael Leali (Grades 5-8) (Realistic)
Through letters he writes in his journal, thirteen-year-old Amos finds a confidante in a queer historical figure from the Civil War.
In the Key of Us, by Mariama Lockington (Grades 5-8) (Realistic)
Brought together during summer music camp where they are the only two Black girls, Andi and Zora slowly begin to connect and soon come to realize what has been missing from their lives–each other.
Lia and Beckett’s Abracadabra, by Amy Noelle Parks (Grades 7-12) (Romance)
Seventeen-year-old Lia Sawyer teams up with Beckett–one of the charming Blackwell boys, the latest generation of a rival magic family–to win a stage magic contest and out-con the bad guys.
Echoes of Grace, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Grades 8-12) (Magical Realism)
On the Texas-Mexico border, eighteen-year-old Grace’s relationship with her older sister Mercy is fractured when Mercy’s two-year-old son dies in an accident, bringing to the surface old family traumas and literal ghosts as the family struggles to heal.
This Place is Still Beautiful, by Xixi Tian (Grades 7-12) (Realistic)
Victims of a hate crime, the estranged Flanagan sisters reunite in their small Midwestern town, where tensions are running high, and navigate an unexpected summer during which an explosive secret threatens to tear them apart forever.
Into the Sublime, by Kate A. Boorman (Grades 9-12) (Thrillers/Suspense)
With her cousin Sasha in a coma, guilt-stricken 17-year-old Amelie Desmarais, who is part of a meet-up for thrill seekers, searches an underground cave system for a lake rumored to reveal your deepest fears and discovers the truth about Sasha’s accident.
Four for the Road, by K. J. Reilly (Grades 9-12) (Realisitc)
When seventeen-year-old Asher embarks on a road trip from New Jersey to Graceland to get revenge on the drunk driver who killed his mom, he brings along three new friends from his bereavement groups
Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe, by Lindsay S. Zrull (Grades 9-12) (Realistic)
In a scheme to reunite with her estranged biological mother, foster kid Jess joins a cosplay team working toward a competition in New York, but along the way she learns the value of the family you choose for yourself.
The Weight of Blood, by Tiffany D. Jackson (Grades 9-12) (Horror)
While at Springville Highs first integrated prom, Maddie, a constantly bullied biracial teenager, is tormented by her classmates until her secret is revealed–one that will cost them their lives.
The Arc, by Ben Oliver (Grades 9-12) (Science Fiction)
In the electrifying conclusion to the critically acclaimed Loop trilogy, Chester breaks into the lab on the 65th floor where he finds three subjects being tortured and, orchestrating a bold escape plan, races against time to halt the apocalypse and save humanity.
Nothing More to Tell, by Karen M. McManus (Grades 9-12) (Thriller/Suspense)
Starting her dream internship at a true-crime show, Brynn becomes determined to solve the murder of her favorite teacher four years earlier and begins to uncover secrets that change everything–and place her in the crosshairs of a killer.
Boys I Know, by Anna Gracia (Grades 10-12) (Realistic)
High-school senior June Chu navigates messy boys, messier relationships, and the struggle of never quite living up to her Taiwanese mother’s expectations.
Wake the Bones, by Elizabeth Kilcoyne (Grades 10-12) (Horror)
When a devil from her past returns to court her, as he did her mother years earlier, tobacco hand and taxidermist Laurel Early must unravel her mother’s terrifying legacy and tap into her own magic to save everyone she loves.