Fall 2022 Recommended Fiction

Updated May 14, 2024
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
The accidental apprentice
Foody, Amanda
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! A boy who accidentally bonds with a magical Beast must set off on an adventure in the mysterious Woods in this "wholesome, delightful" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), and cheeky middle grade fantasy debut--perfect for fans of...
Perfect for Grades 6-8
Alice Austen lived here
Gino, Alex,
Paper Book
From the award-winning author of Melissa, a phenomenal novel about queerness past, present, and future. Sam is very in touch with their own queer identity. They're nonbinary, and their best friend, TJ, is nonbinary as well. Sam's family is very cool with it... as long as Sam...
Perfect for Grades 6-8
And I darken
White, Kiersten
Paper Book
No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwyla likes it that way. Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan's courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother...
Attack of the black rectangles
King, A. S.
Paper Book
Award-winning author Amy Sarig King takes on censorship and intolerance in a novel she was born to write. When Mac first opens his classroom copy of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic and finds some words blacked out, he thinks it must be a mistake. But then when he and his friends...
Ballad & dagger
Older, Daniel José
Paper Book
Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents Daniel Jose Older's extraordinary YA urban fantasy about two teens who discover each other while fighting for their diaspora community. Almost sixteen years ago, Mateo Matisse's island homeland disappeared into the sea. Weary and hopeless...
Bitter
Emezi, Akwaeke
Paper Book
From the critically acclaimed author of Pet and The Death of Vivek Oji, Bitter, a companion novel to Pet, takes a timely and provocative look at the power of youth, protest and art.
Book Lovers
Henry, Emily,
Paper Book
"One of my favorite authors."--Colleen Hoover An insightful, delightful, instant #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Oprah Daily ∙ Today ∙...
Concerning My Daughter
Hye-jin, Kim.
Paper Book
THE PRIZE-WINNING INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Told in a brutally honest voice that at times simmers with impotent rage, author Kim Hye-jin taps into both the complexities of mother-daughter dynamics and the systemic issues and obstacles that LGBTQ+ communities face in heteronormative...
Cyber mage : a novel
Hossain, Saad Z.,
Paper Book
"Hossain's giddy new novel, another inventive blend of mythology and cyberpunk gizmology... puts a clever spin on both high fantasy and hard science tropes as ancient djinns wield futuristic technology to go head-to-head with humans empowered with their own technowizardry. Fans of both genres...
Dream, Annie, dream
Brown, Waka T.,
Paper Book
In this empowering deconstruction of the so-called American Dream, a twelve-year-old Japanese American girl grapples with, and ultimately rises above, the racism and trials of middle school she experiences while chasing her dreams. As the daughter of immigrants who came to...
Perfect for grades 6-8
Exactly where you need to be
Coombs, Amelia Diane
Paper Book
Turtles All the Way Down meets Love and Luck in this "lively" (Publishers Weekly), romantic road trip story about a teen girl's last chance to have an epic summer with her best friend before everything changes. Florie's OCD and her mother's worrying have kept...
Flying solo : a novel
Holmes, Linda (Radio talk show host)
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A woman returns to her small Maine hometown, uncovering family secrets that take her on a journey of self-discovery and new love, in this warm and charming novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over. "A...
House of Hollow
Sutherland, Krystal
Paper Book
Jennifer Chan is not alone
Keller, Tae,
Paper Book
In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal for When You Trap a Tiger, Tae Keller offers a gripping and emotional story about friendship, bullying, and the possiblity that there's more in the universe than just us. Sometimes middle school can make you feel like...
Perfect for Grades 6-8
The Marvellers
Clayton, Dhonielle,
Paper Book
Dhonielle Clayton makes her middle-grade debut with a fantasy adventure set in a global magic school in the sky --an instant New York Times and #1 Indie Bestseller! "The Marvellers deserves the highest compliment I can give a book: I want to live...

Perfect for Grades 6-8

The ogress and the orphans
Barnhill, Kelly Regan
Paper Book
A new fantasy classic from the Newbery Medal winning and New York Times bestselling author of THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON.
Perfect for Grades 6-8
Our crooked hearts
Albert, Melissa
Paper Book
IN OUR FAMILY, MAGIC RUNS DEEP, BUT SECRETS RUN DEEPER.Ivy's summer starts with a series of disturbing events - unnatural offerings appear on her doorstep and she's haunted by fragmented memories from her childhood. Soon she grapples with a dark secret that she's...
A place at the table
Faruqi, Saadia
Paper Book
A timely, accessible, and beautifully written story exploring themes of food, friendship, family and what it means to belong, featuring sixth graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a white, Jewish girl taking a South Asian cooking class taught by Sara's mom. Sixth graders Sara...
Perfect for Grades 6-8
The recovery agent : a Gabriela Rose novel
Evanovich, Janet
Paper Book
The latest Gabriela Rose novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich.
The school between Winter and Fairyland
Fawcett, Heather
Paper Book
A spell-binding tale of magic, monsters and mystery, set in an enchanted boarding school. Full of suspense and exquisitely written, this is middle-grade fantasy at its best - and most original - for fans of Nevermoor.
Perfect for Grades 6-8
The shining girls
Beukes, Lauren,
Paper Book
Now an Apple TV+ series starring Elisabeth Moss: the girl who wouldn't die hunts the killer who shouldn't exist in this "expertly chilling" twist on the serial killer novel from the award-winning author Lauren Beukes (San Francisco Chronicle). ...
Shrines of gaiety : a novel
Atkinson, Kate
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The award-winning author of Life after Life transports us to a restless London in the wake of the Great War--a city bursting with money, glamour, and corruption--in this spellbinding tale of seduction and betrayal. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR:...
A song below water
Morrow, Bethany C.
Paper Book
Bethany C. Morrow's A Song Below Water is the story for today's readers -- a captivating modern fantasy about Black sirens, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today's racism and sexism. In a society determined to keep her under lock and...
The truth about Ben and June : a novel
Kiester, Alex,
Paper Book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Kiester, a heartfelt debut that explores the complexity of a modern-day marriage when a new mother vanishes one morning. "This powerful novel takes an honest, unflinching look at the challenges of modern parenthood...
Violets are blue
Dee, Barbara
Paper Book
From the author of the acclaimed My Life in the Fish Tank and Maybe He Just Likes You comes a moving and relatable middle grade novel about secrets, family, and the power of forgiveness. Twelve-year-old Wren loves makeup--special effect makeup, to be exact. When she...
Perfect for Grades 6-8
Yusuf Azeem is not a hero
Faruqi, Saadia,
Paper Book
At a time when we are all asking questions about identity, grief, and how to stand up for what is right, this book by the author of A Thousand Questions will hit home with young readers who love Hena Khan and Varian Johnson--or anyone struggling to understand recent U.S. history and...
Perfect for Grades 6-8
Zoe Rosenthal is not Lawful Good
Werlin, Nancy,
Paper Book
A buttoned-up overachiever works overtime to keep her inner nerd at bay--failing spectacularly--in Nancy Werlin's hilarious and heartfelt return to contemporary realistic fiction. Planning is Zoe Rosenthal's superpower. She has faith in a properly organized to-do list and avoids...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.