Sweet, Tart By Kara Thorn Somerville: MA: Candlewick Press, 2026. 336 p. Eleven-year-old Halle and her family watched a racehorse get fatally injured on a racetrack. Halle who has a soft-spot for animals has especially had a hard time with the chance event. Additionally, Halle is struggling due to Halle’s older sister being in high school and her changing priorities (aka not Halle) and the new school year starts with Halle being put in a school class without her best friends. Needless to say, Halle is struggling. But when Halle realizes that the deceased racehorse lived just a few miles away, Halle decides to visit the stables and to start volunteering with the other horses. As Halle gains new friends, skills, and confidence she is able to overcome her lingering distress as well as come into her own. This is a great book for those who love horse stories with a lot of heart. Halle is such a kindhearted character who wants to belong and make the world a better pla...
Confessions from the Group Chat By Jodi Meadows New York: Holiday House, 2025. Fiction. 264 pages. Written by the author of Bye Forever, I Guess , Meadows tells the story of Virginia: a relatable girl who has a good heart, but maybe not the best friends. Virginia loves that's she's a part of a popular friend group. However, their popularity means that Virginia hides parts of herself: how much she loves the library and her crush on the super unpopular Grayson. Worse than that, she actively participates in their group chat which tends to center around making fun of people at their school, including Grayson. When Virginia gets in a public fight with the Queen Bee of the group, Virginia finds herself ostracized from the group and the terrible things she's said published on the internet...complete with her name attached to the insults. Virginia becomes a social pariah at school, only talking to fellow social-outcast, Grayson, and an online friend "Knight Errant." I lo...