Plot/Idea: Innes integrates the past with the present, and reality with magic, crafting an engaging story with a polished plot that immediately draws readers in.

Prose: The Switchgrass Crown is told from the perspective of young adults, and their personalities and characteristics are well-reflected in the story's dialogue and prose. Detailed descriptions bring the scenes to life, making them vivid and easily imaginable.

Originality: Innes fuses modern time with history in a unique way—a refreshing tactic that gives the story a relatable edge. 

Character/Execution: The young characters are beautifully portrayed, and they mature as the story progresses. Lucas's profound sorrow is authentically depicted and deeply moving. 

Plot/Idea: Pereira's middle grade novel is quick and steadily paced. Skylar's quest to figure out who stole the Gem of Fairy Tales is also filled with surprises, which will keep readers engaged.

Prose: Pereira's writing is detailed and clear, providing readers with the appropriate tools to be immersed in her fairytale spin-off.

Originality:  Stories of children who are descendants of fairy tale characters are familiar, but Pereira's spin on this concept is unique and holds its own.

Character/Execution: The relationships that grow between the young teenagers are all notable and enjoyable. Another thing to note is the shift in the way Skylar feels about both her powers and her mother. However, not all of these things feel fleshed out, perhaps due to the length of the novel.

Plot/Idea: Falco's novel is not just for baseball fans. It is also for readers that enjoy stories about adolescence and the relationships that shape one's youth. Falco creatively pairs the way that the game of baseball changes and becomes more complicated for T.J. with the way his relationship with his best--and only black--friend Jonathan does as well.

Prose: While the pacing of this story is occasionally slowed down by a lack of paragraph breaks, Falco succeeded at writing a very literary novel. At times T.J.'s internal dialogue can be a little uncomfortable, but it proves authentic for a white teenage boy in the 60s. Falco's storytelling transports readers back in time, while remaining relatable and stirring for today's readers. 

Originality: While the work relies on familiar conventions, Falco's novel tells a challenging, yet heartfelt coming-of-age sports story that utilizes the characters' relationships to mirror the broader societal changes unfolding around them. 

Character/Execution: Falco's novel cleverly begins with a snapshot of the end of the story before rewinding and introducing all the characters and their backgrounds. While T.J. at first seems like a teenage boy that only cares about baseball, he turns out to have much more heart and dimension. Jonathan makes a great foil who will likely leave the readers wanting more of him. In light of these two both being so engaging, their resolution feels somewhat too brief.

Plot/Idea: The story unfolds through entertaining snippets—much like cozy diary entries—of the central protagonist, Mickie McKinney, a voluntary sleuth trying to ferret out what’s going on at Maple Ridge Middle School.

Prose: The writing style is informal, straightforward, and perfectly complements the age of the intended audience. Fink combines playfulness, humor, and some serious investigating to deliver a delightful story.

Originality: There are plenty of creative elements here, along with a few familiar tropes. Fink nicely carries off both the unique storytelling details and the more tried-and-true ones. 

Character/Execution: Mickie is as amusing as he is determined to prove the innocence of his peer, Jamie “Burners” Burns. His drive is endearing, as is his unconditional self-confidence, and Burners is a worthy sidekick.

Plot/Idea: Holly's charming adventure story takes places inside the imaginations of the major characters who are tasked with saving the world. On their fantastic journey, characters uncover horrors and secrets related to both humans and demons, forge friendships, and find happiness in unlikely places. 

Prose: Holly writes in balanced, age-appropriate prose that features smooth transitions between scenes and chapters and lively, effective dialogue. 

Originality: The story strives to combine realistic events with the more fantastical elements, and largely succeeds in creating two convincing parallel worlds. 

Character/Execution: Though readers may wish for broader representation within the cast of characters, the protagonists are fun and well-rounded, with enough distinctive traits to set them apart from one another. Villains are creative and well conveyed. 

Plot/Idea: Sinner is an engaging, humor-speckled novel centered around the unfolding events at a school for angels. As the novel progresses the novel broadens to include all of heaven, Earth, and the underworld as the protagonists battle an evil demigod.

Prose: Brown's prose is upbeat, nicely detailed, and highly readable.

Originality: Stories of schools for otherworldly beings are familiar. Brown adds depth and complexity through Demo's conflicts as a half demon tasked with heading up a demon reform project, and forced to confront his origins.

Character/Execution: Brown blends characters from Greek mythology with a larger cast of angels and demons to often delightful effect. Solid worldbuilding rounds out a fun and gently romantic story that integrates themes of belonging, good and evil, and chosen family.

Plot/Idea: In the second of a middle grade fantasy series, Oliver, who is trans and eager for his gender reassignment, is still caring for his alien clown, Dindet. He's also dealing with thoughtless classmates and is confused over his mother's absence. Beneath the outrageous premise, Blume compassionately explores issues of abuse, trauma, and the quest for identity.

Prose: Blume's prose is warm, inviting, and lightly descriptive, but its levity often belies the story's harder truths.

Originality: Readers who weren't first acclimated to the storyline in the first book may initially feel disoriented, as there's little background info on Oliver's circumstances; the presence of an alien clown is pretty inexplicable. Nevertheless, Blume manages to make the novel's oddities mesh with the more realistic undertones.

Character/Execution: Readers will feel for Oliver as he struggles to accept what he can't change in his life–and aspire toward what he can. Readers may wish for a little more ground between the work's realism and its otherworldly elements.

Plot: Code Dog is an adventurous, warm, and age-appropriate story. Due to its many twists, turns, and simultaneous plot lines, there are moments of confusion; readers may struggle to determine which details are important. A number of plot lines are left unresolved as other new ones emerge, while occasional moments may strain believability. 

Prose: The prose is mainly clear and entertaining for the target readership, though there is sometimes a lack of cohesion between chapters.

Originality: Code Dog is about many different things, but the treasure hunt motif and dog who can communicate in Morse Code make for a charming and unique kids book.

Character/Execution: The dynamic between the characters is charming, but readers get more about what they do than what they think or feel. The cast faces immense danger, adventure, and excitement (someone even tries to kill Timmy! and their beloved teacher dies), but their emotional reactions to the events can sometimes come across as blunted. 

Blurb: Three best friends race to find a time capsule that holds an important secret before it falls into the wrong hands while also dealing with a mysterious monster, homework assignments, and band practice.

Plot/Idea: Janya Bharata: The War, an impactful historical story, centers on two primary parallel stories—the battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas that forces Mitrajit to go to war, and his daughter Purna’s maturing at home while her father is away. The author uses some flashbacks to build the story’s background and leaves the ending open for potential expansion.

Prose: The plethora of different tribes and characters to track becomes challenging, but it’s clear the author meticulously researched the topic and setting, as footnotes are added in to explain Hindu words and phrases. Though there are moments where the prose becomes unwieldy, overall it feels authentic to the story’s setting.

Originality: The author weaves deeper messages into the novel’s historical tapestry, making this both meaningful and engaging.

Character/Execution: Mitrajit carries a heavy load, both in his calm leadership and in being one of the few survivors at the end of the battle.

Plot/Idea: Winfield's middle grade novel is perfect for any reader that gets a kick out of potty humor. Winfield's target audience will enjoy AB/Agent Big Butt's dedication to kindness and the wide variety of adventures that he embarks on within his first few months of life. One potential downside, though, is the amount of plot points that are introduced in the novel, including the cliffhanger that sets up book two.

Prose: Winfield's novel is filled with vivid storytelling, making reading feel like watching a dynamic children's cartoon. However, sometimes the tonal shift from funny to serious is a bit like whiplash. 

Originality: Though Winfield's novel integrates a few familiar motifs, Agent Big Butt, a character with the ability to release toxic farts and smash things with his enormous rear end, is undeniably unique. 

Character/Execution: The character arc Winfield creates for AB is very fascinating, given that he knows how to talk and walk, but doesn't know what things mean, nor how to maintain friendships. Thus, the novel is filled with many amusing crash courses. 

Plot/Idea: Though the plot is immense, the author maintains continuity across the different sections of the novel, resulting in a well-ordered, fluid story.

Prose: The story teems with lush worldbuilding, with vampires and werewolves serving as the main characters—and coexisting alongside humans in everyday life. The prose is smooth and nimble.

Originality: The storyline borrows heavily from well-known tropes, though the intriguing worldbuilding gives it an edge.

Character/Execution: Camille is a tortured soul, knee-deep in the trauma aftereffects of her troubled past, but her romance with Beckett is a sweet antidote to her guilt and shame. The author introduces a wide, varied cast—many of whom are werewolves and vampires—and supporting characters are given adequate backstories to track their roles throughout the novel.

Plot/Idea: A teenage party is interrupted by a world-ending meteor storm—and its devastating aftereffects—in this fast-paced novel by Alexander. The plot takes off with a bang, and Alexander throws in rapid-fire surprises that will keep readers riveted until the end.

Prose: The prose struggles to keep up with the story’s intensity, and moments of suspense are sometimes interrupted by unwieldy writing, but Alexander crafts a solid, edge-of-your-seat novel with plenty of horror features to entertain readers.

Originality: Though end-of-the-world themes are common, Alexander integrates terrifying elements that make this novel stand out from others.

Character/Execution: The characters grapple with familiar teen issues while navigating a life-changing event together, and none of them come out the same. Ryan feels superficial in the beginning, but as the story’s events ratchet up, his character deepens. 

Plot/Idea: Pagora's hard-hitting novel enters on college freshman Tina, as she learns the value of protecting herself while accepting help for her past trauma.

Prose: The prose is concise and straightforward, though events unfold with minimal buildup; dialogue has stretches that feel too mature and stiff for the book’s characters.

Originality: The novel spotlights the courage and support needed for abuse victims to take a stand, and the author dedicates much space to giving those victims a powerful voice.

Character/Execution: Tina’s obvious trauma from being abused as a child haunts her every move, making her an intriguing character with a great deal of depth. Her friendship with Rory is grounding, and the relationships she develops with new characters over the course of the novel help her conquer the past.

Plot/Idea: The complexity of Knightly's created world gives the novel serious depth while forcing readers to pay close attention in order to track the story's colorful variety of characters and settings.

Prose: The prose is fluent and spirited, and Knightly adds a pleasant sense of humor that elevates the story.

Originality: Exostar handles challenging but important themes, including the main character's treatment as inferior due to her prosthetic leg. Sociopolitical undertones in the story hint at broader messages, but they are not clarified in a way that reveals the author's true intent.

Character/Execution: Twelve-year-old Trinket is an appealing character, and the ostracism she experiences due to her prosthetic leg (aptly named Champ) is deftly portrayed—and drives her determination to survive. 

Plot/Idea:  High schooler Ginny is head-over-heels for her boyfriend Malcolm - but so is her best friend, Alden. By the time Ginny realizes that Malcolm is reciprocating Alden's feelings, it's too late, and their relationship is doomed. After Malcolm breaks up with her, Ginny tries to make the best of the summer-including a brief rebound relationship with a neighbor boy-but when Malcolm inexplicably disappears, and an unexpected tragedy strikes, Ginny's world is turned upside down. The pace is quick, and the story is as twisty as it is entertaining.

Prose: The author's style is effortless, uncomplicated, and straightforward, with concise prose that effectively lands every scene.

Originality: Despite a somewhat clichéd ending, the story is engaging, and the author strikes a nice balance between romance and suspense. 

Character/Execution: The characters are believable and likable; Ginny is the most fully developed, treated with an intimacy that allows readers an increasing understanding of her obsessive behavior as the story progresses.

Plot/Idea: Magic, Mystery and the Multiverse hits the ground running as two siblings with mysterious origins are catapulted into the multiverse via an app.

Prose: Winter writes in polished, even, and humor-sprinkled prose that has a grounding impact on the sometimes unwieldy fantastical circumstances.

Originality: Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse has a number of familiar influences (several of which are referenced in the text), but the app that transports Ana and Zackary into the multiverse and the novel's integration of physics provide a degree of freshness.

Character/Execution: In some respects, Magic, Mystery, and the Multiverse bites off more than it can chew, and the unfolding events can be dizzying. Quieter moments exchanged between Ana and Zackary (including his grim thoughts about his own mortality) ultimately provide the most character development.