We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez (May 10 release): This global pandemic we are struggling through may limit our concerns to survival and our fears, and I know you want lighter reads right now to get you through it, but it is also an opportunity to take the time to understand, really understand, the injustices in our world, and to work toward change. Pulca, Chico, and Pequena will take you on the journey so many have followed, from a small town in Guatemala rife with violence and brutality to the heart-wrenching decision to flee rather than succumb, through Mexico on La Bestia with its trail of bodies, to the United States border where their very humanity is questioned. Sanchez exquisitely, painfully shows the price these children pay, emotionally, physically and spiritually, for the hope of living without fear and intimidation. Read this with your teens, discuss the immigration stories of your families, and fight for a world in which children aren't faced with these horrors.

- Linda

Things in Jars by Jess Kid: I went in expecting a blend of mystery and some fantasy and ended up having more fun than I’d bargained for. Bridie Devine is a detective in 1860s London. She’s every bit the independent and unflappable heroine, barging into rooms where she’s forbidden, too old for marriage at thirty, and she takes absolutely no guff from anyone, including the ghost of an ex-boxer which follows her around while she solves the puzzle of a missing child. Not only does she have this case to tackle, she also has to decipher the riddle of who her new ghost companion was to her when he was living, and why he is haunting her now that he is dead. In the midst of all this, we start to question what it means to really be human. If you’re looking for a fun Victorian mystery with a badass detective, unbridled wit, a dash of creature horror, ghosts, and mermaids — even if you’re not looking for all of these things — pick this one up!

- Karen

The Degenerates by J. Albert Mann: Part historical fiction, part girl empowerment, this is the utterly engaging story of four girls living in a "school for the feeble-minded" in 1920's Massachusetts. London has been in and out of the foster care system since she was discovered wandering in the streets as a toddler, but she's found shelter with a tough old woman, Thelma, until the cops take her away to the home, deem her an imbecile, and condemn her to life within the school. Maxine's mother placed both she and her sister Rose into the school because of something Maxine did, but Maxine's purpose now is to protect Rose at all costs and hope that her mother comes to get them. Alice has a club foot, and her brother could not afford to keep her. Prepare to enter the wards of this school, with all of its prejudices and completely incorrect diagnosis, through the eyes of four girls who, like everyone else, wish for purpose, love, and freedom. Incredible, empowering and enlightening! - Linda

Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn, narrated by Jolene Kim, et al.: Night Marchers, gods, goddesses, and the dead all walk Hawaii with the Flores family. At seven years old, Nainoa falls into the Pacific only to be brought back to his mother in the mouth of a shark, unharmed and now burdened with the rumor of legend. Noa struggles to understand his gift, and each of his family members grapples with their role as well. Every character is imbued with the truths of family and the magic of legend, and you will not close this book unchanged. The narrators grant entrance to this world with an authenticity difficult to obtain otherwise! - Linda