Mrs. Malecha Reads!

 by Donna Barba Higuera Genre:  Science Fiction, Dystopian Petra Pena's whole goal in life is to be a storyteller.  She has a close relationship with her grandmother who has shared her many stories with her.  But the world as Petra has known it, is ending.  Her parents and brother have been selected to escape Earth as it is about to be destroyed by a comet.  Her parents have assured her that all will be well...after she is asleep for the over 300 year journey, she and her family will awaken and begin life on the new planet, Sagan.  Petra's parents tell her that she must trust the Collective's plans and that all will be well when she awakes.  Petra's only choice is to trust that they are telling her the truth.

 by Josh Allen Genre:  Scary Stories You might think that you are safe from monsters.  You might think you're not afraid of spiders.  You might think that snowman and board games are harmless.  But once you read these 13 stories, you might never think the same way about monsters, spiders, or snowman.  And what about laughing clowns? If you choose to read this collection of stories, you might very well be up all night...

 by Kwame Mbalia Genre:  Short Story Collection This is a collection of short stories, poems, and comics that celebrate Black Boy joy written by a variety  of Black and nonbinary authors who are eager to share stories that celebrate Black Boyhood.  Celebrating the first day of school with a new outfit...flying through on the neighborhood on your skateboard...saving the world in an intergalactic race...the wide variety of genres will surely find something that appeals to each reader.

 by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel It's 8th grade so after two whole years of middle school, Shannon figures she should have everything all figured out.  She's got friends in lots of different groups, she's joined the drama club and her grades are just about perfect.  Until suddenly, everything seems to get overwhelming.  Shannon wants 8th grade to be perfect...but she's not perfect so that makes everything hard.  Sometimes her friends don't seem to like her and sometimes her grades aren't what they should be.  Shannon is struggling to feel good about herself and might need some help, but she is confused about who she can turn to. Is 8th grade going to be the hardest year of her life?

 by Gayle Forman Genre: Historical Fiction Bug's summer is going to be the worst one ever.  Her mom has just told her that her brother will not be watching her and she will have to stay in their apartment building as Hedvig and Phillip will be responsible for her.  This means that Bug will not be able to spend her summer at the beach like she has in previous years.  When Bug learns that Philip's nephew, Frankie, will be coming to stay with him, things start to look up.  Frankie is willing to go on some adventures, but isn't a fan of the beach.  Frankie's most interested in figuring out mysteries so the case of the Midnight Marauder is super interesting to him.  Bug is willing to go along with that, but when Philip is attacked, Frankie and Bug have a new case to solve.

 by Kayla Miller and Jeffrey Canino Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Beth and Chanda want to show their parents that they are responsible kids and deserve to be treated more like the teenagers they will soon be.  Beth wants to purchase a special present for her mom's birthday and Chanda wants to convince her parents she is mature enough to adopt a cat from the animal shelter.  The girls try to earn some money by hosting a pop up lemonade stand, but that doesn't earn them much.  Luck comes their way when they land a dog/house sitting gig for a neighbor, but things get out of hand when they decide to stage a fashion show with the owner's belongings and their friends ask to be invited over.  Beth and Chana are about to learn that being a responsible teenager can be hard work!

 by Kayla Miller Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Olive is excited to be picked to show Natasha, the new girl, around her middle school.  Natasha seems okay at first, until it becomes clear that Natasha has no intention of wanting to be friends with Olive, but instead, wants to hangout with all of Olive's friends without her.  Olive starts to worry that she is going to be replaced by Natasha and that her friends will no longer want to hang out with her because she is not as cool and exciting as the new girl.  Navigating friendships in middle school can be hard and Olive is about to learn who her true friends are.

 by Kayla Miller Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Olive is excited for her first year of middle school.  There will be new teachers, new experiences and a chance to get involved with how her school is run.  When Olive learns that there are some school policies that leave some students out and others that make students uncomfortable, she decides to run for student representative.  She might not be able to make a lot of changes, but if she wins the election, she might help to be the voice for students who aren't being heard.

 by Kayla Miller Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novel Olive is sure that she is gong to have fun at summer camp.  Her best friend, Willow, is going too and they plan to enjoy living in a cabin, doing crafts, and campfires.  Olive is also excited about meeting new people.  But when the camp begins, Willow gets homesick and only wants to spend time with Olive.  Can Olive help Willow find her own interests at camp without ruining their friendship?

 by Anne Blankman Genre:  Historical Fiction Valentina and Oksana are not friends.  They are classmates and their fathers both work at the Chernobyl plant, but they do whatever they can to stay away from each other.  But when there is an accident at the plant and their fathers are killed, they have no choice but to get along because their lives are going to depend on it.  Their mothers decide that the safest place for the girls will be with Valentina's grandmother so the girls must travel there on their own.  Oksana wants nothing to do with Valentina, who feels the same as Oksana, so the two set off on an incredible journey that will ultimately lead to an unexpected, life long friendship.