The angst of figuring out who you are in middle school is central to stories like Tim Federle’s (Better Nate Than Ever) “Secret Samantha” in which a girl named Sam sees in the cool new California girl a potential friend who also kicks back against social norms of gender. In “Main Street,” by Jacqueline Woodson […]
Robert Beatty’s Serafina and the Twisted Staff pits a most unusual girl against a horrible and powerful magic in the sequel to the enchanting Serafina and the Black Cloak.