2026 Lone Star Reading List

Blood in the water

Jackson, Tiffany D.,


Kirkus Reviews. Brooklyn girl Kaylani McKinnon is thrust into an intricate web of lies when a shocking murder on Martha's Vineyard threatens to expose dangerous secrets.
Date Published:2025

Bye forever, I guess

Meadows, Jodi,


Booklist starred, October 2024. Publishers Weekly, July 2024. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), September 2024. Kirkus Review, September 2024. Eighth-grader Ingrid runs a popular blog anonymously and has online personal more popular than she is, but when a wrong-number text message offers her a chance at connection, Ingrid opens herself to the opportunity to make a real live friend.
Date Published:2024

Chronically Dolores

Van Wagenen, Maya.,


Nothing has been the same for fourteen-year-old Dolores Mendoza since everything started changing at the end of middle school. Newly diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, Dolores had a humiliating accident in class that earned her the nickname "whiz kid." Even worse, she's losing her lifelong BFF, Shae, who's suddenly ignoring Dolores to hang out with the cool girls. Dolores is alone, and confused. What did she do wrong?
Date Published:2024

Nothing has been the same for fourteen-year-old Dolores Mendoza since everything started changing at the end of middle school. Newly diagnosed with interstitial cystitis, Dolores had a humiliating accident in class that earned her the nickname "whiz kid." Even worse, she's losing her lifelong BFF, Shae, who's suddenly ignoring Dolores to hang out with the cool girls. Dolores is alone, and confused. What did she do wrong?

Date Published:2024

The extraordinary orbit of Alex Ramirez

Paulino, Jasminne,


School Library Journal starred, May 2025. Publishers Weekly, March 2025. Kirkus Review, April 2025. Alex, a neurodiverse seventh grader, works to convince his teachers and parents that he is ready to leave his self-contained classroom and join his grade's mainstream science class.
Date Published:2025

Gloam

Mackay, Jack.


"Age range: 8-12"--Dust jacket. School Library Journal starred, September 2025. Booklist, June 2025. Horn Book, September 2025. Kirkus Review, June 2025. After moving into their late grandmother's eerie house on a small island, thirteen-year-old Gwen must protect her family from their monstrous babysitter, Esme, which forces her to confront her deepest fears as she fights back against terrifying creatures.
Date Published:2025

"Age range: 8-12"--Dust jacket. School Library Journal starred, September 2025. Booklist, June 2025. Horn Book, September 2025. Kirkus Review, June 2025. After moving into their late grandmother's eerie house on a small island, thirteen-year-old Gwen must protect her family from their monstrous babysitter, Esme, which forces her to confront her deepest fears as she fights back against terrifying creatures.

Date Published:2025

It's watching

Currie, Lindsay,


School Library Journal starred, January 2025. Publishers Weekly, November 2024. Booklist, January 2025. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), December 2024. Kirkus Review, December 2024. After attempting to prove the existence of a famous ghost for their school newspaper, Josie, Jackson, and Alison begin to receive sinister memes on their phones and must uncover the truth behind the terrifying messages before time runs out.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal starred, January 2025. Publishers Weekly, November 2024. Booklist, January 2025. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), December 2024. Kirkus Review, December 2024. After attempting to prove the existence of a famous ghost for their school newspaper, Josie, Jackson, and Alison begin to receive sinister memes on their phones and must uncover the truth behind the terrifying messages before time runs out.

Date Published:2025

Shadowed

Deuker, Carl,


School Library Journal, November 2024. Kirkus Review, September 2024. Nate plays soccer, but he doesn't love it. He plays because it's what his family expects. Then Lucas Cawley moves in across the street. Lucas isn't like any of Nate's sports friends--he's poor, his parents are mostly absent, and he's devoted to his sister, Megan, who has a learning disability. Lucas may be an outcast at school, but he and Nate find common ground in their fierce games of one-on-one basketball. It's not long before Nate realizes that basketball is his sport. But Nate has an ax to grind with star players Colin and Bo, who have disrespected him for years. Nate believes that outplaying those two is the most important thing until he learns that life is about more than getting ready for the next game.
Date Published:2024

School Library Journal, November 2024. Kirkus Review, September 2024. Nate plays soccer, but he doesn't love it. He plays because it's what his family expects. Then Lucas Cawley moves in across the street. Lucas isn't like any of Nate's sports friends--he's poor, his parents are mostly absent, and he's devoted to his sister, Megan, who has a learning disability. Lucas may be an outcast at school, but he and Nate find common ground in their fierce games of one-on-one basketball. It's not long before Nate realizes that basketball is his sport. But Nate has an ax to grind with star players Colin and Bo, who have disrespected him for years. Nate believes that outplaying those two is the most important thing until he learns that life is about more than getting ready for the next game.

Date Published:2024

Spark

Baron, Chris (Christopher Leigh),


Horn Book. Kirkus Reviews. Finn and his friend Rabbit, live in a rural area that's been hit hard by wildfires. Families were displaced and school was interrupted. Moreover, their beloved forest is suffering -- animals and plants haven't been able to come back, and the two friends wonder if there's anything they can do to help. Rabbit's uncle, a science teacher, is part of a study that may help bring the forest back to life, but Finn and Rabbit wonder if the forest can wait. And what if another fire comes in the meantime? They believe a small part of the forest -- the forest heart -- that survived the wildfire may hold the key to regrowth, but first, they have to find it and then convince the adults around them to listen.
Date Published:2025

Horn Book. Kirkus Reviews. Finn and his friend Rabbit, live in a rural area that's been hit hard by wildfires. Families were displaced and school was interrupted. Moreover, their beloved forest is suffering -- animals and plants haven't been able to come back, and the two friends wonder if there's anything they can do to help. Rabbit's uncle, a science teacher, is part of a study that may help bring the forest back to life, but Finn and Rabbit wonder if the forest can wait. And what if another fire comes in the meantime? They believe a small part of the forest -- the forest heart -- that survived the wildfire may hold the key to regrowth, but first, they have to find it and then convince the adults around them to listen.

Date Published:2025