2026 Lone Star Reading List

The beat I drum

Bowling, Dusti,


Series information taken from publisher's website. Connor, best friend of Aven Green from Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, tells his story in this poignant novel about overcoming the challenges of starting over. Finding the beat of the drums helps teenage Connor navigate his Tourette's Syndrome, friendships, and family problems.
Date Published:2025

The experiment

Stead, Rebecca,


School Library Journal starred, September 2025. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, September 2025. Publishers Weekly, June 2025. Booklist, August 2025. New York Times, November 2025. Kirkus Review, July 2025. "Eleven-year-old Nathan and his parents have a mission to blend in with humans on Earth, but when Nathan starts growing a tail, he begins to question the true purpose of their alien experiment"--OCLC.
Date Published:2025

School Library Journal starred, September 2025. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starre, September 2025. Publishers Weekly, June 2025. Booklist, August 2025. New York Times, November 2025. Kirkus Review, July 2025. "Eleven-year-old Nathan and his parents have a mission to blend in with humans on Earth, but when Nathan starts growing a tail, he begins to question the true purpose of their alien experiment"--OCLC.

Date Published:2025

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

The girl who kept the castle

Graudin, Ryan,


School Library Journal, June 2024. Booklist, May 2024. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), June 2024. Publishers Weekly Annex, May 2024. "Wizard West was dead for nearly an entire day before he noticed. And Faye, the daughter of West's groundskeeper, is charged with the unfortunate task of informing the wizard that he is now a ghost who has lost all magical powers. (But not before West tries turning her into a cat!) To make matters worse, the enchanted castle of Celurdur, the only home that Fay has ever known, will fall apart at the next new moon if its foundation spells can't be renewed. After (sort of) accepting his demise, West decides to host a competition to choose his successor. And Faye now finds herself fighting behind the scenes to keep the tournament running smoothly: putting out kitchen fires, feeding the compost dragon, and making sure competitors stay away from the cockatrice pen. But killer roosters soon become the least of her worries. A servant of the evil Shadow Queen has sabataged the contest, and is set on destroying not only Celurdur, but the entire kingdom of Solum. Faye must find a way to stop him, but she'll need more than a mop and some magic to save everything she loves from utter destruction"--Dust jacket.
Date Published:2024

School Library Journal, June 2024. Booklist, May 2024. Bulletin (Center for Children's Books), June 2024. Publishers Weekly Annex, May 2024. "Wizard West was dead for nearly an entire day before he noticed. And Faye, the daughter of West's groundskeeper, is charged with the unfortunate task of informing the wizard that he is now a ghost who has lost all magical powers. (But not before West tries turning her into a cat!) To make matters worse, the enchanted castle of Celurdur, the only home that Fay has ever known, will fall apart at the next new moon if its foundation spells can't be renewed. After (sort of) accepting his demise, West decides to host a competition to choose his successor. And Faye now finds herself fighting behind the scenes to keep the tournament running smoothly: putting out kitchen fires, feeding the compost dragon, and making sure competitors stay away from the cockatrice pen. But killer roosters soon become the least of her worries. A servant of the evil Shadow Queen has sabataged the contest, and is set on destroying not only Celurdur, but the entire kingdom of Solum. Faye must find a way to stop him, but she'll need more than a mop and some magic to save everything she loves from utter destruction"--Dust jacket.

Date Published:2024

A hero's guide to summer vacation

Cartaya, Pablo,


Gonzalo Alberto García has never considered himself the hero of his own story. He’s an observer, quietly snapshotting landscapes and drawing the creatures he imagines emerging from them. Forced to spend the summer with his estranged grandfather, Alberto William García—the very famous reclusive author—Gonzalo didn’t expect to learn that heroes and monsters are not only the stuff of fantasy. But that’s precisely what happens when Gonzalo’s CEO mother, Veronica, sends Alberto on tour to promote the final book in his fantasy series for children and Gonzalo must tag along, even though he feels no connection to his grandfather or the books. Together, they embark on a cross-country road trip from Mendocino to Miami in a classic 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass S Convertible named Mathilde. Over the course of ten epic days on the highway, they will slay demons, real and imagined; confront old stories to write new ones; and learn what it truly means to show up for your family.
Date Published:2025

Gonzalo Alberto García has never considered himself the hero of his own story. He’s an observer, quietly snapshotting landscapes and drawing the creatures he imagines emerging from them. Forced to spend the summer with his estranged grandfather, Alberto William García—the very famous reclusive author—Gonzalo didn’t expect to learn that heroes and monsters are not only the stuff of fantasy. But that’s precisely what happens when Gonzalo’s CEO mother, Veronica, sends Alberto on tour to promote the final book in his fantasy series for children and Gonzalo must tag along, even though he feels no connection to his grandfather or the books. Together, they embark on a cross-country road trip from Mendocino to Miami in a classic 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass S Convertible named Mathilde. Over the course of ten epic days on the highway, they will slay demons, real and imagined; confront old stories to write new ones; and learn what it truly means to show up for your family.

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

Keeping pace

Morrison, Laurie,


Grace Eller has spent most of middle school working toward one goal: beating her former friend Jonah Perkins's GPA so she can be the best student in her class. But when Jonah beats her for eighth grade top scholar and then announces he's switching schools for ninth grade, it feels like none of Grace's academic accomplishments have really mattered. She starts to expand her ideas of what--and who--really matters.
Date Published:2024

Grace Eller has spent most of middle school working toward one goal: beating her former friend Jonah Perkins's GPA so she can be the best student in her class. But when Jonah beats her for eighth grade top scholar and then announces he's switching schools for ninth grade, it feels like none of Grace's academic accomplishments have really mattered. She starts to expand her ideas of what--and who--really matters.

Date Published:2024

Kyra, just for today

Zarr, Sara,


School Library Journal, March 2024. Booklist, February 2024. Kirkus Starred, January 2024. "At the start of seventh grade, Kyra believes her alcoholic mother, who has been sober for five years, has relapsed and with no one to count on, not even her best friend, she starts to question whether being just enough is not enough at all"--Provided by publisher.
Date Published:2024

On again, awkward again

Kelly, Erin Entrada,


ALA Booklist. Horn Book. Kirkus Reviews. High school freshmen, Pacy and Cecil, share a look of love at first sight that sparks a series of mistakes and awkward interactions that become part of their love story.
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

The trouble with heroes

Messner, Kate,


Kirkus starred, March 01, 2025. Publishers Weekly starred, January 20, 2025. Booklist starred, December 01, 2025. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2025. Horn Book, March 2025. School Library Journal starred, July 25, 2025. Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady's headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: she'll drop all the charges if he agrees to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. And there's just one more thing -- he has to bring along the dead woman's dog. In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don't care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn's final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.
Date Published:2025

Kirkus starred, March 01, 2025. Publishers Weekly starred, January 20, 2025. Booklist starred, December 01, 2025. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2025. Horn Book, March 2025. School Library Journal starred, July 25, 2025. Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn is about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now. Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he's in big trouble for knocking down some dead old lady's headstone. Turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer: she'll drop all the charges if he agrees to climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks in a single summer. And there's just one more thing -- he has to bring along the dead woman's dog. In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don't care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn's final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.

Date Published:2025

Westfallen

Brashares, Ann,


Told in alternating voices and timelines, twelve-year-old Henry and his two friends unknowingly alter the outcome of World War II when they communicate over radio with three kids from 1944 and must now work together to change it back.
Date Published:2024

The wrong way home

O'Shaughnessy, Kate,


Newbery Medal/Honor. Publishers Weekly. School Library Journal. When twelve-year-old Fern and her mother abruptly leave their isolated, off-the-grid community, Fern wants nothing more than to return, but things get murky as she slowly adjusts to her new life and discovers unsettling truths about her old one.
Date Published:2024