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Start a new series in the new year. This bookshelf features the first books in some of our favorite series. +Click a book cover for more information on the series+
Gregor The Overlander
Collins, Suzanne.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Underland Chronicles
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.
The Penderwicks
Birdsall, Jeanne.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Penderwicks
While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.
The Case Of The Missing Marquess
Springer, Nancy.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Enola Holmes
Enola Holmes, much younger sister of detective Sherlock Holmes, must travel to London in disguise to unravel the disappearance of her missing mother.
The Recruit
Muchamore, Robert.
Audience: High School
Series: CHERUB, a division of M15
James is recruited into CHERUB, a secret division of MI5 which consists of teenage spies. He successfully completes his training and goes on his first mission.
The Evolution Of Calpurnia Tate
Kelly, Jacqueline.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Calpurnia Tate
In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world with her grandfather, the latter of which leads to an important discovery.
NERDS
Buckley, Michael.
Audience: Middle School
Series: NERDS
While running a spy network from their elementary school, five unpopular misfits combine their talents and use cutting-edge gadgetry to fight evil around the world.
The Mysterious Howling
Wood, Maryrose.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
Fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope Lumley, a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, is hired as governess to three young children who have been raised by wolves and must teach them to behave in a civilized manner quickly, in preparation for a Christmas ball.
One Crazy Summer
Williams-Garcia, Rita.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Gaither Sisters
In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Daughter Of Smoke And Bone
Taylor, Laini.
Audience: High School
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Seventeen-year-old Karou, a lovely, enigmatic art student in a Prague boarding school, carries a sketchbook of hideous, frightening monsters–the chimaerae who form the only family she has ever known.
My Life As A Book
Tashjian, Janet.
Audience: Middle School
Series: My Life
Dubbed a “reluctant reader” by his teacher, twelve-year-old Derek spends summer vacation learning important lessons even though he does not complete his summer reading list.
The Raven Boys
Stiefvater, Maggie
Audience: High School
Series: Raven Cycle
Though she is from a family of clairvoyants, Blue Sargent’s only gift seems to be that she makes other people’s talents stronger, and when she meets Gansey, one of the Raven Boys from the expensive Aglionby Academy, she discovers that he has talents of his own–and that together their talents are a dangerous mix.
Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus
O’Hearn, Kate.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Pegasus
Thirteen-year-old Emily’s life is transformed when Pegasus, the mythological winged horse, crashes onto the roof of her building during a New York City blackout and takes her to Olympus where she faces monsters, a corrupt governmental agency, and the quest to keep the Olympic flame burning.
The Screaming Staircase
Stroud, Jonathan.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Lockwood & Co.
Follows three young operatives of a Psychic Detection Agency as they battle an epidemic of ghosts in London.
The False Prince
Nielsen, Jennifer A.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Ascendance
In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king’s long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.
The Iron Trial (Magisterium, Book 1)
Black, Holly
Audience: Middle & High School
Series: Magisterium
Warned away from magic all of his life, Callum endeavors to fail the trials that would admit him to the Magisterium only to be drawn into its ranks against his will and forced to confront dark elements from his past.
An Ember In The Ashes
Tahir, Sabaa.
Audience: High School
Series: Ember in the Ashes
Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution”–
A Court Of Thorns And Roses
Maas, Sarah J.
Audience: High School
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from stories, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin, a High Lord of the faeries. As her feelings toward him transform from hostility to a firey passion, the threats against the faerie lands grow. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose Tamlin forever”–
Illuminae
Kaufman, Amie
Audience: High School
Series: The Illuminae Files
The planet Kerenza is attacked, and Kady and Ezra find themselves on a space fleet fleeing the enemy, while their ship’s artificial intelligence system and a deadly plague may be the end of them all”–
Framed!
Ponti, James
Audience: Middle School
Series: T.O.A.S.T. Mysteries
In Washington, D.C., twelve-year-old Florian Bates, a consulting detective for the FBI, and his best friend Margaret help thwart the biggest art heist in United States history.
Ghost
Reynolds, Jason
Audience: Middle School
Series: Track
Aspiring to be the fastest sprinter on his elite middle school’s track team, gifted runner Ghost finds his goal challenged by a tragic past with a violent father.
Scythe
Shusterman, Neal
Audience: High School
Series: Arc of a Scythe
In a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed (‘gleaned’) by professional reapers (‘scythes’). Two teens must compete with each other to become a scythe–a position neither of them wants. The one who becomesa scythe must kill the one who doesn’t”–
The Trials Of Morrigan Crow
Townsend, Jessica
Audience: Middle School
Series: Nevermoor
A cursed child destined to die on her eleventh birthday is rescued and whisked away to a secret realm called Nevermoor and given the chance to compete for a place in a prestigious organization called the Wundrous Society”–
Truly Devious
Johnson, Maureen
Audience: High School
Series: Truly Devious
When Stevie Bell, an amateur detective, begins her first year at a famous private school in Vermont, she sets a plan to solve the cold case involving the kidnapping of the founder’s wife and daughter shortly after the school opened.
Dread Nation
Ireland, Justina
Audience: High School
Series: Dread Nation
When families go missing in Baltimore County, Jane McKeene, who is studying to become an Attendant, finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy that has her fighting for her life against powerful enemies.
Front Desk
Yang, Kelly
Audience: Middle School
Series: Front Desk
Recent immigrants from China and desperate for work and money, ten-year-old Mia Tang’s parents take a job managing a rundown motel in Southern California, even though the owner, Mr. Yao is a nasty skinflint who exploits them; while her mother (who was an engineer in China) does the cleaning, Mia works the front desk and tries to cope with demanding customers and other recent immigrants–not to mention being only one of two Chinese in her fifth grade class, the other being Mr. Yao’s son, Jason.
Cape
Hannigan, Kate
Audience: Middle School
Series: The League of Secret Heroes
Soon after being recruited by the mysterious Mrs. Boudica to join a secret military intelligence operation, Josie, Mae, and Akiko discover their superhero abilities and use them to thwart a Nazi plot to steal the ENIAC computer.
Curse Of The Night Witch
Aster, Alex
Audience: Middle School
Series: Emblem Island
After changing the fate he has known since birth, twelve-year-old Tor Luna, accompanied by his friends Engle and Melda, must visit the notorious Night Witch to break the curse he now faces.
Where The Mountain Meets The Moon
Lin, Grace.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Starry River of the Sky
Minli, an adventurous girl from a poor village, buys a magical goldfish, and then joins a dragon who cannot fly on a quest to find the Old Man of the Moon in hopes of bringing life to Fruitless Mountain and freshness to Jade River.
Nyxia
Reintgen, Scott
Audience: Middle & High School
Series: The Nyxia Triad
Emmett accepts an interstellar space contract but learns en route that to win the promised fortune he and nine other recruits face a brutal competition, putting their very humanity at risk.
The Belles
Clayton, Dhonielle.
Audience: Middle & High School
Series: Belles
In a world where Beauty is a commodity only a few control, one Belle will learn the dark secrets behind her powers, and rise up to change the world”–
The Serpent’s Secret
DasGupta, Sayantani
Audience: Middle School
Series: Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond
Up until her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala considered herself an ordinary sixth-grader in Parsippany, New Jersey, but then her parents disappear and a drooling rakkhosh demon shows up in her kitchen, and soon she is swept into another dimension, full of magic, winged horses, talking birds (very annoying), and cute princes–and somehow Kiranmala needs to sort it all out, find her parents, and basically save the world.
Aru Shah And The End Of Time
Chokshi, Roshani
Audience: Middle School
Series: Pandava
Twelve-year-old Aru stretches the truth to fit in at her private school, but when she is dared to prove an ancient lamp is cursed, she inadvertently frees an ancient demon.
Charlie Hernández & The League Of Shadows
Calejo, Ryan
Audience: Middle School
Series: Charlie Hernandez
Steeped in Hispanic folklore since childhood, middle schooler Charlie Hernández learns the stories are true when, shortly after his parents disappearance, he grows horns and feathers and finds himself at the heart of a battle to save the world.
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Han, Jenny.
Audience: High School
Series: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
Lara Jean writes love letters to all the boys she has loved and then hides them in a hatbox until one day those letters are accidentally sent”–
A Silent Voice
Oima,Yoshitoki.
Audience: Middle and High School
Series: A Silent Voice
Shoya is a bully. When Shoko, a girl who can’t hear, enters his elementary school class, she becomes their favorite target, and Shoya and his friends goad each other into devising new tortures for her. But the children’s cruelty goes too far. Shoko is forced to leave the school, and Shoya ends up shouldering all the blame. Six years later, the two meet again. Can Shoya make up for his past mistakes, or is it too late?”–provided from Amazon.com.
Six Of Crows
Bardugo, Leigh
Audience: High School
Series: Six of Crows
Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction–if they don’t kill each other first”–
Wolf By Wolf
Graudin, Ryan.
Audience: High School
Series: Wolf by Wolf
The first book in a duology about an alternate version of 1956 where the Axis powers won WWII, and hold an annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents to commemorate their victory”–
Ashes
Anderson, Laurie Halse
Audience: Middle and High School
Series: The Seeds of America
As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel’s little sister Ruth, who isenslaved in a Southern state”–
When Dimple Met Rishi
Menon, Sandhya
Audience: High School
Series: Dimple and Rishi
When Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel meet at a Stanford University summer program, Dimple is avoiding her parents’ obsession with “marriage prospects” but Rishi hopes to woo her into accepting an arranged marriage with him.
The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue
Lee, Mackenzi
Audience: High School
Series: Montague Siblings
Vowing to make his yearlong escapade across Europe his last hurrah before taking over the family estate, Henry “Monty” Montague and his best friend Percy find themselves in the middle of a dangerous manhunt involving pirates and highwaymen.–
The Ancient Magus’ Bride
Yamazaki, Kore
Audience: Middle and High School
Series: Ancient Magus’ Bride
Enter the Magician’s Apprentice Her name is Chise Hatori, a penniless orphan troubled by visions. Sold as a slave to an inhuman mage, she is about to begin a strange new life, filled with magic, fairies, and other beings of a fantastical nature.
The Girl From The Other Side
Nagabe
Audience: High School
Series: Girl from the other side: siuil, a run
In a land far away, there were two kingdoms: the Outside, where twisted beasts roamed that could curse with a touch, and the Inside, where humans lived in safety and peace. The girl and the beast should never have met, but when they do, a quiet fairytale begins”–Provided by publisher
The Promised Neverland
Shirai, Kaiu
Audience: Middle and High School
Series: Promised Neverland
Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as ‘Mom,’ all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn– what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing”–Page [4] of cover.
Space Boy
McCranie, Stephen
Audience: Middle and High School
Series: Space Boy
Amy lives on a colony in deep space, but when her father loses his job the family moves back to Earth, where she has to adapt to heavier gravity, a new school, and a strange boy with no flavor.
Heartstopper
Oseman, Alice:
Audience: High School
Series: Heartstopper
Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. An LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between – for fans of The Art of Being Normal, Holly Bourne and Love, Simon.
Our Dreams At Dusk
Kamatani, Yuhki
Audience: High School
Series: Our dreams at dusk: shimanami tasogare
Not only is high schooler Tasuku Kaname the new kid in town, he is also terrified that he had been outed as gay. Just as he’s contemplating doing the unthinkable, Tasuku meets a mysterious woman who leads him to a group of people dealing with problems not so different from his own. In this realistic, heartfelt depiction of LGBT+ characters from different backgrounds finding their place in the world, a search for inner peace proves to be the most universal experience of all.”–
Waiting For Spring
Anashin
Audience: Middle and High School
Series: Waiting For Spring
Mitzuki is a shy girl who longs to experience true friendship, but struggles to open her heart to others. When the four stars of the boys’ basketball team drop by the café where she works, Mitsuki is pleasantly surprised by their unique personalities. With this new group of friends, an exciting high school life may be waiting for this former wallflower
Maker Comics : Draw A Comic!
Coovert, J. P.
Audience: Middle School
Series: Maker Comics
The International Comics Library is in a lot of trouble! If Maggie can’t come up with $500,000 in a week, Dr. Carl is going to bulldoze her grandfather’s library and turn it into a parking lot! To save the day, she’ll need all her comic drawing skills, the loyal library watchdog, and her new assistant (that’s you!). With Maker Comics: Draw a Comic! you’ll learn to create and print your own comics books! Follow these simple steps to sketch out your story ideas and ink a comic page. Learn which art supplies are best for drawing comics–you can use a pen, a brush, or even a computer! With the help of photocopy machine, you can even self-publish your own comics and share them with your friends!”–
New Kid
Craft, Jerry
Audience: Middle School
Series: New Kid
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds–and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
