Ibarra V. Gomez

Sam will never forget the day she found the body in the swamp near her home. She was only nine years old. Years later, she and her new friend Chip finally begin to crack the case of the murders in the swamp. A suspenseful tale of conservation vs. tradition!

The thriller is strong with this one, and the twists and turns are charmingly of their time as the crimes of the time are revealed to be the real villain of the piece.

A timeloop bonanza! Charlson captured a great snapshot of an elementary school kid's worst nightmare: never graduating from fifth grade!

The four members of Club Loser weren't trying to spend their Saturday fighting a squad of giant arachnids, but when the eight-legged freaks take out their teacher it's up to them to stop the assault before a whole legion of spooky spiders overruns the town. Whether or not this horrifies you may depend on how you feel about spiders. 🕷️

Secrets are funny things. Sometimes we keep them for good reasons. Sometimes they're harmful. In this book, Shelley Moore Thomas examines how a big secret in the Sullivan family leads to mistrust and perhaps even to a world the young Sullivan sisters were destined to find.

This tale of accepting differences and rejecting fear strikes at the heart of an era of divisive ideologies--for kids!

It's a fun beginning to this series about a cat who's been put through the mad science ringer!

Pike's language and humor per minute is exceptional. It makes for a real fun journey through the shadowy underworld of a quiet town.

Celeste and her cousins were looking forward to staying at the lake house with their grandparents. Rest, relaxation, and learning to swim. A perfect vacation! Until the doors start to slam out of nowhere, and the attic lights come on when there are no lights up there. Until a voice begins to whisper in Celeste's ear... This loving ghost story reminds us of the real horrors of racism in America and how harmful stereotypes can develop from sad and tragic realities.

Another existential dread tale for kids by A.D. Aro!

The invaders are cruel and eager to take over the planet so they can enslave humanity as hosts for their true slug forms. When Jake and his friends are given the power to morph into any animal they wish, the alien invaders must contend with more of a fight than they expected. Applegate's introductory chapter in the long-running series has excellent worldbuilding and some memorable scifi body horror.

The poetry of this book is an astonishing literary achievement. I'll be thinking about it for some time to come.

The burial ground in the cave is the find of the decade. But Will Marc, Hermie, and Eddie escape the caves to report what they've discovered? And are they... alone?

Don't mess with Samantha! She's the meanest kid in middle school, and she's meanest of all to her ex-friend Rachel. She even bullies Rachel when she finds her alone at the lake. But then Rachel falls into the lake. Then Rachel doesn't come back up. Then Rachel does come back, only she comes back... different.

The exceptional writing and heartfelt journey lends a lot of pathos to this tale of kids responding to the trials of growing up.

Ollie hasn't wanted to do much after a terrible loss. All she needs is her latest book to read. It's a story about the Smiling Man who makes deals in exchange for granting wishes. But the details in the book are a little too weird… a little too close to home.

This spooky mystery reminds us all that there's intrigue in the shadows of every simple burg.