Editors' Picks

This year has gone above and beyond with its middle grade offerings! From powerful historical fiction to hilarious magical mayhem, this list features our top titles so far.

Neal Shusterman received the 2024 Margaret A. Edwards Award, which honors an author "for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature." The annual award is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association and sponsored by School Library Journal. Here is his acceptance address, delivered June 30 at the ALA Annual conference held in San Diego.

Sidelined from sports because of injuries, the teens in these YA novels find new outlets, from gaming to comedy to cooking.

It's been a great year for YA so far! These starred titles include everything from contemporary coming-of-age stories to high-stakes fantasy to diverse romances, and more.

From early reader to YA titles, these starred graphic novels showcase the very best of the comics medium so far in 2024. Use the downloadable spreadsheet to ensure your collection includes these superb graphic novels.

Suggestions for curation, displays, word study activities, and more. 

A students entertains classmates with a book some may find objectionable; an elementary principal nixes librarian readers' advisory. Pat Scales offers advice. 

From haunted camps to music camps to STEM camps, these 22 stories have a diverse range of characters and experiences, so all tween readers can find something to enjoy. 

From a TEDx Talk to a manga, these transmedia picks will entice young adults to keep their minds engaged this summer.

Communities around the country are feeling the love. Here’s a sampling of contributions to the “Reasons To Love Libraries” campaign, presented by SLJ and Library Journal and sponsored by OverDrive.

Amanda Chacon ensures a relevant, engaging collection and a welcoming library for her predominantly bilingual students and their families.

"It doesn’t really matter what they did out there,” says the teacher librarian, who serves youth from age 10 to their early 20s at El Centro Junior/Sr. High School in the Sacramento County Youth Detention Facility.

From testifying before the state legislature’s education committee to creating a library refuge that helps kids love books, Cox personifies leadership.

Thirty percent of challenges led to a book’s removal in 2023. And while 34 percent of librarians who experienced challenges have considered leaving the profession, 65 percent are motivated to fight censorship.