Pride Chapter Books 2023
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By Ami Polonsky (J Polo)
Iris tries to act normal at school, going through the motions and joking around with her friends. But nothing is normal, and sometimes it feels like she'll never laugh again. How can she, when her dad is dying of a virus that's off-limits to talk about?
By Jamar J. Perry (J Perr)
When Cameron and his best friends are magically transported through the pages of an ancestral book to the fabled West African country Chidani, they find a kingdom in extreme danger and have to find a way to save the Igbo people.
By Nina Varela (J Vare)
Eleven-year-old Juniper Harvey is having trouble coping in her new Florida town, but when the girl from her recurring fantasy dream appears in her room they have to figure out how to save Galatea's world from a war of rival gods--and deal with their mutual attraction.
By Lin Thompson (J Thom)
Simon, an eleven-year-old coming to terms with his gender identity, is convinced that his grandmother's house is haunted.
By Madeline McGrane (J McGr)
Cursed by a witch centuries before, Dragoslava must complete every task the witch assigns to him, challenges that send him off to a sleepy Midwestern town to obtain a spellbook, in what becomes a life-changing mission that brings about friendship and a sense of belonging.
By K.A. Reynolds (J Reyn)
An autistic girl faced with disaster, Izzy Wilder and her dog Akka set out to discover the truth behind humanity's disappearance, facing life's greatest mysteries as they uncover the true endurance of the human spirit to save the world.
By Auriane Desombre (J Deso)
To stop their parents from getting married, soon-to-be stepsisters Autumn and Linnea join forces to secretly sabotage everything, from date nights to wedding planning, until they both realize that having a sister is not the worst thing after all.
By Nicole Melleby (J Mell)
After a bit of a rocky start at Camp QUILTBAG, an inclusive retreat for queer and trans kids, Abigail and Kai make a pact to help each other find their footing, all while navigating crushes, their queer identities, and a competition pitting cabin against cabin.
By Kay O'Neill (J Onei)
Kit is excited to prove her worth as a Moth-Keeper, a protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year, but she quickly finds that life as a Moth-Keeper is not what she imagined it would be.
By Benjamin A. Wilgus (J Wilg)
Grace's excitement to accompany her "fun" mom on delivery to Titan quickly turns to frustration when her mom is too preoccupied with her mission to spend time with Grace, yet when their ship stops working on their return home it is up to Grace to save the day.
By Maulik Pancholy (J Panc)
Thirteen-year-old Nikhil Shah is the beloved voice actor for Raj Reddy on the hit animated series Raj Reddy in Outer Space. But when his mom temporarily moves them to the small town in Ohio where she grew up to take care of Nikhil's sick grandfather, Nikhil feels as out of orbit as his character.
By Michelle Mohrweis (J Mohr)
Eighth-graders Evelyn and Allie are in trouble. Evelyn's constant need for perfection has blown some fuses among her robotics teammates, and she's worried nobody's taking the upcoming competition seriously. Allie is new to school, and she's had a history of short-circuiting on teachers and other kids. So when Allie is assigned to the robotics team as a last resort, all Evelyn can see is just another wrench in the works!
By Mark Oshiro (J Oshi)
After eleven-year-old David Bravo wishes for a do-over of a disastrous day of middle school, he and a shapeshifting spirit guide try to right a wrong in his past.
By Natalie C. Parker (J Park)
To find out why twelve-year-old Riley and the rest of the sapling pack did not transform into werewolves on the first full moon of the summer, they must unearth their community's deepest secrets and face a terrifying legendary creature.
By Alex London (J Lond)
To protect his friends and family, Abel must figure out what is worth fighting for when he partners with a stolen dragon, an action that has him riding in kin battles and keeping more secrets than a dragon has scales.
By Michael Leali (J Leal)
Amos Abernathy lives for history. Literally. He's been a historical reenactor nearly all his life. But when a cute new volunteer arrives at his Living History Park, Amos finds himself wondering if there's something missing from history: someone like the two of them.
By Phil Stamper (J Stam)
Jake is just starting to enjoy life as his school's first openly gay kid. While his family and friends are accepting and supportive, the same can't be said about everyone in their small town. When Jake's dad hangs a comically large pride flag in their front yard in an overblown show of love, the mayor begins to receive complaints. A few people are even concerned the flag will lead to something truly outlandish: a pride parade. Except Jake doesn't think that's a ridiculous idea. Why can't they hold a pride festival in Barton Springs?
By David Levithan (J Levi)
When Donovan left his copy of The Adventurers on the kitchen counter, he didn't think his mom would read it--much less have a problem with it. It's just an adventure novel about two characters trying to stop an evil genius. But soon the entire town is freaking out about whether the book's main characters are gay, Donovan's mom is trying to get the book removed from the school curriculum, and Donovan is caught in the middle.
By Melissa Holmes (J612.661 Holm)
For curious kids and parents looking to talk about puberty in an inclusive way, You-ology offers fact-based, age-appropriate, and body positive information about the physical, social, and emotional changes ahead for all kids. Colorful illustrations keep the tone upbeat and engaging, while short stories featuring a cast of diverse characters add relatability and humor. Helping kids understand what EVERY body goes through in puberty grows greater compassion and empathy for all.
By Esme Symes-Smith (J Syme)
Trapped in a rigid hierarchy where girls learn magic and boys train as knights, twelve-year-old nonbinary Callie, who dreams of becoming a knight, and their new friends find themselves embedded in an ancient war, but in order to defeat the threats outside the kingdom they must first defeat the bigotry within.
By Xiran Jay Zhao (J Zhao)
After his augmented reality gaming headset is possessed by the spirit of the First Emperor of China, twelve-year-old Chinese American Zack Ying is compelled to travel across China to steal an ancient artifact, fight figures from Chinese history and myth, and seal a portal to prevent malicious spirits from destroying the human realm.
By Kacen Callender (J Call)
Moon is convinced that she does not belong to this world: that most of the time she is invisible (unless she stays still too long), that she belongs to the stars, and wants to go back to them--she lives entirely in her imagination with an imaginary spirit guide who can appear in any shape and refuses to speak to anyone, lest her words tie her to a world she rejects.
By Medina (J Medi)
Searching for their place in this world, 12-year-old Gabriela, who is dealing with depression and identity, finds the new year bringing them trans and queer friends and a YouTube channel that helps them find purpose in their journey.
By Nicole Melleby (J Mell)
Eleven-year-old Joey is angry. All the time. And she doesn't understand why. She has two loving moms, a supportive older half-brother, and, as a triplet, she's never without company. Her life is good. But sometimes she loses her temper and lashes out, like the time she threw a soccer ball--hard--at a boy in gym class and bruised his collarbone. Or when jealousy made her push her (former) best friend (and crush), Layla, a little bit too roughly.
By Will Taylor (J Tayl)
Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It's the first summer after his parents' divorce, and he hasn't exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn't have a choice, though, so he goes... and on his first day takes a walk on the beach and finds himself intrigued by a boy his age running by. Eventually, he and Runner Boy (Evan) meet -- and what starts out as friendship blooms into something neither boy is expecting... and also something both boys have been secretly hoping for.
By Janet Key (J Key)
Twelve-year-old Maren is sure theater camp isn't for her. Theater camp is for loud, confident, artsy people: people like her older sister, Hadley--the last person Maren wants to think about--and her cinema-obsessed, nonbinary bunkmate, Theo. But when a prank goes wrong, Maren is drawn into the hunt for a diamond ring that, legend has it, is linked to the camp's namesake, Charlotte "Charlie" Goodman, a promising director in Blacklist Era Hollywood.
By Jules Machias (J Mach)
Two girls find friendship--and more--when they bond over a traumatic event that took place in their middle school.
By Darcy Marks (J Mark)
Mal and his friends break out of Hell and find themselves in Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween night, and in order to return to their dimension, they must capture the escaped soul of one of the architects of the Witch Trials before he permanently upsets the balance of power on Earth.
By Akemi Dawn Bowman (J Bowm)
Eliot is grieving Babung, her paternal grandmother who just passed away, and she feels like she’s the only one. She’s less than excited to move to her new house, which smells like lemons and deception, and is searching for a sign, any sign, that ghosts are real. Because if ghosts are real, it means she can find a way back to Babung.
By Katherine Locke (J This)
Featuring contributions from Eric Bell, Katherine Locke and A.J. Sass, this first LGBTQA+ anthology for middle-grade readers presents stories of queer fantasy, historical and contemporary stories for every letter of the acronym.
By Ivy Noelle Weir (J Weir)
In this modern retelling, Anne is fostered into the West Philly home of siblings Marilla and Matthew, and while she initially has a hard time at school, she ends up joining the robotics team and competes for a spot in an elite STEM program.
By Kalynn Bayron (J Bayr)
In an alternate San Antonio, there have been no known cases of vampirism since a group of masked vampire hunters called the Vanquishers wiped out the last horde of the undead twenty years ago, but twelve-year-old Malika "Boog" Wilson's parents are not taking any chances, especially when Boog's new classmate Aaron goes missing.
By Reimena Yee (J Yee)
Safia thought that being blind meant she would only get to go on adventures through her audiobooks. This all changes when she goes to live with a distant and mysterious aunt, Lady Whimsy, who takes Safia on the journey of a lifetime!
By Rick Riordan (J Rior)
Nico, the son of Hades, and his boyfriend Will, the son of Apollo, travel to Tartarus, the deepest, darkest part of the Underworld, as they attempt to rescue an old friend.
By Aden Polydoros (J Poly)
The little beachside town of San Pancras is not known for anything exciting, but when Zach Darlington buys a mysterious ring at the local flea market, his quiet little hometown is turned topsy-turvy by monsters straight from Jewish folklore and a nefarious secret society focused on upholding an apocalyptic prophecy.
By Kai Shappley (J Shap)
Joy, a twelve-year-old trans girl, just moved to Texas with her mother and older brother. Her family has accepted Joy as the girl she is early in her transition, with little fuss, leaving Joy to explore her love of sports, competition, teamwork, school spirit, and worship.
By Magdalene Visaggio (J Visa)
While working on a school project about Bolingbroke's supernatural history, best-friend eighth graders Val and Laurie accidentally unleash a demonic presence connected to a series of mysterious tragedies throughout their town's sordid history and must find a way to return things to normal.
By Robin Gow (J Gow)
After the death of his best friend and the only other trans boy at school, Noah starts writing letters expressing his feelings to the humanoid creature Mothman and risks everything when he treks into the woods to prove Mothman's existence.
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