March 2020 list by K. Pearson
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The Alchemist's Shadow
by Gregory Funaro
Having defeated the Garr, a vicious tree monster who lived within the enchanted woods of Watch Hollow, Lucy and Oliver Tinker now have the home they’ve always dreamed of: Blackford House. Powered by a magical clock and full of curious rooms and improbable knickknacks, Blackford House brims with the promise of new adventures.
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The Boy Who Grew Dragons
by Andy Shepherd
Discovering a strange old tree at the bottom of his grandfather’s garden, young Tomas is astonished when a baby dragon hatches from one of the tree’s fruits, challenging him to manage the responsibilities of caring for all the tiny, fire-breathing pets that hatch from the dragon fruit tree.
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Cats in the Crater
by Mo O'Hara
In Cats in the Crater: My FANGtastically Evil Vampire Pet, the third in the spin-off series to Mo O'Hara's New York Times bestselling My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish chapter books, an aspiring evil scientist and his mostly evil (and totally forbidden) vampire kitten must face a trap-filled Volcanic Lair at Evil Scientist Summer Camp.
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Fairy Unicorn Wishes
by Sophie Kinsella
Longing to grow up to be a fairy just like her mother, Ella experiments with technologically magical fairy apps before discovering that the world she idealizes is not all rainbows and butterflies.
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Fire in the Star
by Kamilla Benko
When Claire discovers that 'only a queen can defeat a queen,' she knows she must steal and reforge the ancient Crown of Arden to stand a chance against the darkness that threatens the world and her family.
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Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!
by Sarah Kapit
In this perfectly pitched novel-in-letters, autistic eleven-year-old Vivy Cohen won't let anything stop her from playing baseball--not when she has a major-league star as her pen pal. Vivy Cohen is determined. She's had enough of playing catch in the park. She's ready to pitch for a real baseball team.
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Gloom Town
by Ronald L. Smith
Taking a job in a gloomy seaside manor to help his struggling family, 12-year-old Rory discovers that his new employer, who is not even human, is trying to steal the townspeople’s shadows on behalf of ancient otherworldly accomplices.
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The Haunting
by Lindsey Duga
The only life 12-year-old Emily has ever known is the cold, unloved existence of being an orphan. But everything changes when the Thorntons, a young couple from London, adopt Emily, whisking her away to a new life at their grand estate.
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Itch
by Polly Farquhar
Beginning the sixth grade in the wake of a tornado and his mother’s extended business trip, Itch navigates painful disadvantages through school friendships that are tested by a scary incident involving a swapped lunch.
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King and the Dragonflies
by Kacen Callender
A 12-year-old boy spends days in the mystical Louisiana bayou to come to terms with a sibling’s sudden death, his grief-stricken family and the disappearance of his former best friend amid whispers about the latter’s sexual orientation.
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Middle School Bites
by Steven Banks
Tom is desperate to fit in at school, but he's hungry and howling, not to mention half dead. Blame it on the vampire - and the werewolf - and the zombie - in this monstrously funny new series from SpongeBob SquarePants head writer Steven Banks.
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Miss Impossible
by Caroline Cala
Accepting their highest-paying job yet only to discover that they are being asked to chaperone one of their own troublesome classmates, Malia, Dot and Bree navigate their charge on her own turf while wondering if she is simply misunderstood.
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A Mixture of Mischief
by Anna Meriano
When culinary heirlooms go missing at the same time a rival bakery opens in town, Leo teams up with two friends to recover the stolen items and save her family’s bakery.
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Mulan
by Elizabeth Rudnick
Publishing just in time for the release of the live-action version of Disney’s Mulan in March 2020, stories based on the movie follow Mulan and her friends Mushu, Cri-Kee and others as they set out to save Mulan’s father and the Chinese empire from an enemy invasion.
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The Oddyssey
by David Slavin
Overshadowed by his literally perfect twin, Adonis, Oddonis accidentally transforms their father, Zeus, into a giant baby before assembling a team of fellow misfits to embark on a wacky quest to reverse the spell.
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Parked
by Danielle Svetcov
Living in an old orange van when her mother is unable to find work, 12-year-old Jeanne Ann befriends the son of a successful restaurant owner and a remarkable group of homeless fellow misfits whose perspectives shape her hardscrabble existence.
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Rory Branagan, Detective
by Andrew Clover
Rory Branagan teams up with his neighbor, Cassidy Corrigan, and canine sidekick, Wilkins Welkin, to investigate his father's disappearance seven years before, but first gets caught up in neighborhood mysteries.
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Slamdown Town
by Maxwell Nicoll
A birthday wish and vintage chewing gum transform eleven-year-old Ollie into wrestler Big Chew, which might win back his older brother's respect but destroy his friendship with best friend Tamiko.
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Taylor Before and After
by Jennie Englund
Before, Taylor Harper is finally popular, sitting with the cool kids at lunch, and maybe, just maybe, getting invited to the biggest, most exclusive party of the year. After, no one talks to her. Before, she’s friends with Brielle Branson, the coolest girl in school. After, Brielle has become a bully, and Taylor’s her favorite target. Before, home isn’t perfect, but at least her family is together. After, Mom won’t get out of bed, Dad won’t stop yelling, and Eli...Eli’s gone.
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That's What Friends Do
by Cathleen Barnhart
Told in two voices, middle-schoolers Sammie and David's long-term friendship is endangered when new student Luke begins flirting with Sammie just when David decides to confess his crush on her.
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Twist
by Sarah Cannon
Three gifted kids, including an aspiring horror writer, a fantasy illustrator and a girl who has a gift for managing trouble, accidentally create a doorway between one of their stories and the real world, unleashing violent, once-imaginary creatures on their town.
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Wanda Seasongood and the Mostly True Secret
by Susan Lurie
Fed up with her terror of a little brother and her parents’ inclination to blame her for his behavior, Wanda begins to suspect that she has a real family elsewhere, before a talking bluebird confirms that someone has been meddling in her life.
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We Could Be Heroes
by Margaret Finnegan
Suspended after an incident involving an assigned book that was painfully sad, Hank bonds with a tough local girl who wants to save a sick dog from a neighbor that keeps it tied to a tree all day.
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The Wish and the Peacock
by Wendy S. Swore
Unable to prevent the sale of her beloved family farm after the death of her father, Paige consoles herself by caring for a stray peacock, before the discovery of the bird’s journalist owner leads to a possible solution.
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