It’s been several years since Guinevere “Nev” Tallow’s mother disappeared, and their life has since been dominated by their father’s destructive habits—trying numerous get-rich-quick schemes and imploring Nev to pay off the loan sharks that storm into their apartment and fill the air with anger and threats.

By the start of bestselling graphic novelist Ethan M. Aldridge’s first prose novel Deephaven, Nev has decided they’ll no longer be dragged down by a selfish and uninterested parent. Instead, they’ll plunge into the unknown, thanks to a full scholarship offered by the prestigious Deephaven Academy. For Nev, their first day going to Deephaven provides a deeply meaningful opportunity to “be the person they needed to be . . . to finally feel comfortable in their own skin, a chance to start over.”

That’s no small feat: Nev tends to be shy, more an observer than a joiner (“They really, really, weren’t good at conversations”). But they’re determined to find a home in this gothic manse.

As befits an eerie dark academia tale, the academy is rife with dark hallways, rooftop gargoyles and a sense of foreboding that overlays the hustle and bustle of a new school year. The principal and prefects are polite but seem to be hiding something. For example, Nev wonders, why is the east wing closed for repairs when there’s no structural damage to be seen? And if the wing is indeed empty, why is a scratching sound coming from behind its walls?

Nev likes to wear a big green coat, its many pockets filled with components they use to make intricate mechanical toys. Solving puzzles is second nature, and they resolve to use their “mechanical mind and magpie instincts” to figure out—with the help of new friend Danny—what’s really going on at the school. It’s a scary proposition, and Aldridge’s twisty narrative and spine-chilling illustrations heighten the suspense of Nev’s daring mission in this engaging page-turner of a series kickoff. Spooky yet heartfelt, Deephaven is sure to delight fans of Netflix’s “Wednesday” and anyone who likes a cleverly conceived gothic tale featuring creepy creatures and found family.

English author Lucy Strange (The Secret of Nightingale Wood) transports readers to a thrilling and mysterious world in Sisters of the Lost Marsh, a gothic fairy tale fueled by female empowerment. 

Twelve-year-old Willa and her five sisters barely scrape by on their farm at the edge of a marsh with their mean-spirited father. Everyone assumes that the sisters are doomed because of a folk rhyme called “The Curse of the Six Daughters,” which purports to predict the fate of any family with six daughters. Despite such dismal conditions, Willa and her sisters find small joys with help from their Grammy, who taught them to read the books hidden away in her secret cupboard, many of which she and the girls’ late mother wrote, even though reading and writing are strictly forbidden for women in their village. 

The delicate balance of the sisters’ existence crumples, however, when their father trades his oldest daughter, Grace, to an older man, Silas Kirby, in exchange for a horse. Silas intends to marry Grace, but before the deal can be finalized, Grace disappears. 

Willa often feels “like the ugly duckling,” caught between her “taller, fairer” older sisters and her younger sisters, who are triplets. But Willa was named for her strong will, so she steals her father’s fine new steed and sets off across the marsh to find Grace. The marsh is full of mesmerizing magic and atmospheric suspense, and readers will be swept along on Willa’s epic adventure, made all the more urgent when she discovers that her father and Silas are in hot pursuit and that Grace may have fallen prey to a mythical figure from their mother’s stories.

Strange is a gifted storyteller who masterfully balances good and evil, dreariness and hope. She incorporates a few perfectly timed doses of horror that will entertain middle grade readers without overwhelming them. Honest and riveting, Sisters of the Lost Marsh is a tale of girls boldly taking charge of their own fates, flying fearlessly in the face of a community trying to scare them into submission and ignorance. These six sisters, “side by side like a row of paper dolls,” turn out to be as strong as steel.

Last year, Rachel Riley was the most popular girl at East Middle School in Madison, Wisconsin. This year, she’s persona non grata with the entire eighth grade class—except for Anna Hunt. 

Anna, the new kid in town, is an aspiring journalist who loves listening to podcasts, reading and emailing her grandmother, Babcia, who lives in Poland. Anna dreams of being accepted to the summer podcasting camp at Northwestern University, but she needs to create an outstanding podcasting sample for her application. In the meantime, she’s also trying her best to make friends at her new school.

When Anna’s Social Issues teacher assigns a semester-long “un-essay” project about any social question of personal interest, Anna decides that investigating Rachel’s precipitous fall from grace is the perfect way to achieve all her goals. She’ll interview Rachel and their classmates about what happened and get to know people along the way. Sure, she might ruffle some feathers, but that’s part of being a journalist.

Text messages, passed notes, emails, flyers and interview transcripts enable readers to join Anna as she gains insight into East Middle School, deftly illustrating how even casual conversations can layer upon one another and grow into a rising tide of peer pressure. When Anna realizes that Rachel’s ostracization is tied to a sexual harassment “game” that the boys have been playing at the girls’ expense, she’s understandably uncertain about what to do next. Through Rachel’s experiences, Anna has seen how dangerous it can be to reveal secrets, to make a fuss and stand out from the crowd. But could it be worth doing anyway, if it leads to real change?

Claire Swinarski has created a strikingly realistic depiction of what it’s like to navigate the minefields of middle school while trying to figure out what you stand for—and what you’re willing to stand up for. What Happened to Rachel Riley? is both timely and, unfortunately, timeless in its depiction of systemic sexual harassment and and frustratingly inappropriate reactions from authority figures and peers. This compelling novel urges readers to consider what they might do in similar situations and reminds them that “sometimes, fairness has to be demanded instead of waited for.”

When Henrietta Weldon’s parents decide that she should switch from private to public school for seventh grade, Henri is excited—and determined to hide her nerves. Between her messy bedroom and her struggles with math, Henri’s family of competitive overachievers treat her like “a problem to be solved.” Her older sister, Kat, refuses to answer Henri’s questions about Alterra Junior/Senior High School, instead insisting that Henri needs to “figure things out for herself,” which makes Henri eager to prove her whole family wrong.

With help from a kind teacher and the right tutor, Henri’s trouble with math turns out to be manageable, no matter how many times her brain tries to flip numbers around. It’s the rest of seventh grade that proves to be the real challenge. Between forgetting important deadlines, trying to convince her parents to let her join the soccer team and making new friends Kat instantly dislikes, Henri must solve the seemingly impossible problem of balancing everything she wants to do while keeping everyone else happy.

Coretta Scott King Honor author Tanita S. Davis’ two previous middle grade novels, Serena Says and Partly Cloudy, depict young people carving out identities and creating supportive spaces for themselves, and Davis explores similar themes in Figure It Out, Henri Weldon. As Henri confronts situations that range from remembering to read a friend’s short story to caring for her sick pet, Wil Snakespeare, she stays motivated to persevere, whether out of love for her friends or sheer spiteful desire to defy her family’s expectations. As Henri gets to know her friends’ close-knit foster family, their supportive bonds contrast starkly with Henri’s own family, enabling her to recognize how harshly they often behave toward one another. Eventually, Henri realizes there isn’t necessarily a wrong way to love, as long as you’re trying. 

The novel’s large cast of characters, along with Davis’ honest depiction of the sometimes antagonistic relationships between siblings, is relatable and authentic. Short excerpts from Henri’s journal open each chapter, grounding the book in a realistic sense of optimism that makes it easy to cheer her on. Figure It Out, Henri Weldon will encourage young readers to take a breath and keep trying, even when the odds—or their families—don’t always seem in their favor.

Marlene dreads Sundays, when she and her mom, Paola, spend most of the day at the salon undergoing the excruciating (and excruciatingly boring) ritual of getting their hair straightened. Marlene, who is Dominican American, has an imagination as vivid and untameable as her naturally curly hair, so she survives each week’s torture session by imagining herself as the star of her favorite show, “Super Amigas,” with her stylist as a supervillain. 

But Marlene’s creativity is no match for the hurtful comments that her relatives make about her cousin Diana’s “good hair,” which is showcased in all its glossy glory at Diana’s quinceañera. And unlike on “Super Amigas,” there’s no way for Marlene to win this battle. After encouragement from her best friend, Camilla, and a little help from a YouTube tutorial, Marlene decides to wear her natural hair to school, but she gets ruthlessly bullied by her classmates and punished by her mom. How can Marlene be proud of who she is if everyone around her constantly makes her feel imperfect?

For her first graphic novel, Claribel A. Ortega, the bestselling author of Ghost Squad and the Witchlings series, is joined by debut artist Rose Bousamra. The result is a spirited story of a girl’s quest to embrace who she is. Bousamra’s artwork skillfully portrays lively city scenes and cozy interiors alike. They use a palette of roses, plums and soft teals to play perfectly off the warm brown and russet tones of Marlene’s skin and hair. Scenes pulled from Marlene’s imagination break through panel outlines, reinforcing her exuberance and growing frustrations.

Frizzy is an intimate mother-daughter drama that sensitively explores the concept of so-called “good hair,” a manifestation of racist beauty standards, as well as how such internalized anti-Blackness gets passed down through generations. Eager to value her unique identity, Marlene eventually learns how to advocate for herself, and her journey to proud self-acceptance is nothing short of joyful. In the end, readers are left to imagine what new weekly adventures Marlene and her mom might discover together, outside the stifling walls of the salon.