The crossover
by Kwame Alexander

A middle-grade novel in verse follows the experiences of twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan, who struggle with challenges on and off the court while their father ignores his declining health. 20,000 first printing.

So done
by Paula Chase

Reunited after a summer apart, best friends Tai and Mila find their bond tested by secrets, middle-school dynamics and upcoming dance auditions for a new talented-and-gifted program. 25,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook.

Blended
by Sharon M. Draper

Piano-prodigy Isabella, eleven, whose black father and white mother struggle to share custody, never feels whole, especially as racial tensions affect her school, her parents both become engaged, and she and her stepbrother are stopped by police

The buried bones mystery
by Sharon M. Draper

When the Black Dinosaurs, a club made up of four African American friends, discover what's hidden in an old trunk buried near their clubhouse, they set out to solve the mystery

Dragons in a bag
by Zetta Elliott

A witch neighbor enlists young Jaxon and his friends to help deliver a clutch of baby dragons to the safe magical world where they belong, a quest that is thrown into chaos by the trio's inability to follow strict dragon-care rules. By the award-winning author of Bird. Simultaneous eBook

Planet Middle School
by Nikki Grimes

Having enjoyed an uncomplicated life of friendship and basketball throughout her first 12 years, Joylin Johnson finds everything changing when her friends begin to form crushes and romantic relationships, in a story told through a series of short poems. By the Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author of Jazmin's Notebook.

The other half of my heart
by Sundee Tucker Frazier

Inheriting genes from multi-racial parents that render one sister white and the other black, twins Minerva and Keira find their close relationship tested by a visit to their biased grandmother's house in the south, where they compete against each other in a pre-teen pageant.

The Parker inheritance
by Varian Johnson

Twelve-year-old Candice Miller is spending the summer in Lambert, South Carolina, in the old house that belonged to her grandmother, who died after being dismissed as city manager for having the city tennis courts dug up looking for buried treasure--but when she finds the letter that sent her grandmother on the treasure hunt, she finds herself caught up in the mystery and, with the help of her new friend and fellow book-worm, Brandon, she sets out to find the inheritance, exonerate her grandmother, and expose an injustice once committed against an African American family in Lambert

For black girls like me
by Mariama Lockington

A lyrical story inspired by the author’s own life finds an African American adoptee into a white family exploring the complexities of family, race, sisterhood and belonging. A first novel by the author of The Lucky Daughter. Simultaneous eBook.

Rock star
by Kelly Starling Lyons

Feeling bereft when her best friend moves away, a science-loving little girl struggles to make a new friend while exploring her love of rock collecting during a school project that is met by a team member's stubborn resistance. Simultaneous and eBook.

How high the moon
by Karyn Parsons

A 12-year-old girl living in Jim Crow South Carolina is bullied for her light skin tone before an invitation to spend Christmas with her jazz-singer mother in Boston reveals her family's unlikely history. A first novel. 25,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook.

A good kind of trouble
by Lisa Moore Ramée

Strictly following the rules to pursue her junior-high ambitions, 12-year-old Shayla is forced to choose between her education and her identity when her sister joins the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of a powerful protest. A first novel. 60,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook.

As brave as you
by Jason Reynolds

Leaving Brooklyn for the first time to visit their grandparents in the Virginia countryside, Genie and his big brother, Ernie, discover that their grandfather is blind and ask countless questions about how he copes before realizing that he never leaves the house. By the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award-winning author of When I Was the Greatest. Simultaneous eBook.

Sunny
by Jason Reynolds

Sunny, the Defenders' best runner, only runs for his father, who blames Sunny for his mother's death, but with his coach's help Sunny finds a way to combine track and field with his true passion, dancing

Ghost boys
by Jewell Parker Rhodes

After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till

Ways to make sunshine
by Renée Watson

The Hart family of Portland, Oregon, faces many setbacks after Ryan's father loses his job, but no matter what, Ryan tries to bring sunshine to her loved ones

Genesis begins again
by Alicia Williams

A 13-year-old girl who is so oppressed by low self-esteem that she keeps a list of the things she hates about herself must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to learn to love herself. A first novel. 25,000 first printing.

P.S. Be eleven
by Rita Williams-Garcia

A sequel to One Crazy Summer finds the Gaither sisters returning to Brooklyn, where they adapt to new feelings of independence while managing changes large and small, from Pa's new girlfriend to a very different Uncle Darnell's return from Vietnam. 50,000 first printing.

Harbor me
by Jacqueline Woodson

The National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and author of the National Book Award-winning Brown Girl Dreaming traces the experiences of a group of kids who meet weekly to support each other through their struggles with racism, a parent's imprisonment, financial setbacks and other challenges. Simultaneous eBook