Family Ties (Part 3): 10 2022 MG Debuts On Family

We shared some adult #22Debuts about family, and we also shared our many YA titles. We're rounding out this list with MG debuts. In some of these, families come front and center, and in others, family is the important backdrop for the characters. After all, who didn't have family on the mind at age 12? Whether it's a guardian refusing to let you go out to the movies with your friends or a sibling who is driving you up the wall, we all remember what it's like to struggle with our families at this formative age.

Air by Monica Roe on March 15, 2022 from FSG
Twelve-year-old Emmie is working to raise money for a tricked-out wheelchair to get serious about WCMX, when a mishap on a poorly designed ramp at school throws her plans into a tailspin. Instead of replacing the ramp, her school provides her with a kind but unwelcome aide--and, seeing a golden media opportunity, launches a public fundraiser for her new wheels. Emmie loves her close-knit rural town, but she can't shake the feeling that her goals--and her choices--suddenly aren't hers anymore. With the help of her best friends, Emmie makes a plan to get her dreams off the ground--and show her community what she wants, what she has to give, and how ready she is to do it on her own terms. (I LOVE the idea of a wheelchair smarty not willing to take no for an answer! I bet she’ll have some difficult conversations with family about her choices.) 

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Wei to Go! by Lee Y. Miao on April 5, 2022 from Clear Fork Publishing
WEI TO GO! is a contemporary mystery about a twelve-year-old California girl who wants to help her dad’s threatened company. It features sibling rivalry, travel to Hong Kong, sports, and multicultural family dynamics. (I’m always so happy to see BIPOC getting their books out there, and a story about a girl trying to save her family business will absolutely resonate with kids whose parents are a staple in their communities. Plus, who doesn’t love a good sibling rivalry??)  

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Hana Hsu and the Ghost Crab Nation by Sylvia Liu on June 21, 2022, from Razorbill
Hana Hsu can’t wait to be meshed. If she can beat out half her classmates at Start-Up, a tech school for the city’s most talented twelve-year-olds, she’ll be meshed to the multiweb through a neural implant like her mom and sister. But the competition is fierce, and when her passion for tinkering with bots gets her mixed up with dangerous junkyard rebels, she knows her future in the program is at risk. Even scarier, she starts to notice that something’s not right at Start-Up—some of her friends are getting sick, and no matter what she does, her tech never seems to work right. With an ominous warning from her grandmother about being meshed, Hana begins to wonder if getting the implant early is really a good idea. Desperate to figure out what’s going on, Hana and her friends find themselves spying on one of the most powerful corporations in the country—and the answers about the mystery at Start-Up could be closer to home than Hana’s willing to accept. Will she be able to save her friends—and herself— from a conspiracy that threatens everything she knows? (Honestly, you had me at “ghost crab,” but throw in mom/sister feelings, bad corporations, and a conspiracy, and I’m running to the bookstore.)  

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Lia Park and the Missing Jewel by Jenna Yoon on June 28, 2022, from Aladdin
Twelve-year old Lia Park just wants to fit in. Her parents work with a mysterious organization that makes them ridiculously overprotective. Lia’s every move has been scrutinized since she was born, and she’d love to have the option of doing something exciting for once. So when she gets invited to the biggest birthday party of the year—and her parents say she can’t go—Lia sneaks out. But her first act of rebellion not only breaks her parents’ rules, but also an ancient protection spell, allowing an evil diviner spirit to kidnap and ransom her parents for a powerful jewel that her family has guarded for years. With just the clothes on her back and some very rusty magical skills, Lia finds herself chasing mysterious clues that take her to her grandmother’s home in Korea. (Parents working at a mysterious organization?? Kids breaking rules?? New magic and an undersea kingdom, fighting to save her parents??? Sign me up for Korean Spy Kids ASAP!!!) 

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Nura and the Immortal Palace by M.T. Khan on July 5, 2022, from LBFYR
Pakistani 12-year-old Nura works as a mica miner to help her sweatshop worker mother. But when the mines collapse and her best friend is ruled dead, Nura digs deeper to find a portal world of jinn, and that the kids aren’t dead—they’ve been stolen. Set in a rural industrial town in Pakistan, this middle grade fantasy debut explores Pakistani culture, the cycle of child labor, and a glance into Islam. (I’ve been psyched for this one since it was announced. It’s been comped to Spirited Away, so you know that means some kids-saving-their-parents goodness!) 

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The Prince of Steel Pier by Stacy Nockowitz on August 1, 2022, from Lerner
The Atlantic City Boardwalk in the summer of 1975 is no place for a kid like 13-year-old Joey Goodman: anxious, fearful, prone to puking at any moment. His close-knit Jewish family babies him, even though he has a younger brother. All Joey wants is to prove his mettle, to his family, to himself, and maybe, to the world. On his way to a Boardwalk arcade, Joey confronts a group of unsavory men who have stolen his bag of prize tickets, demanding that they return his belongings. With this bold act, Joey impresses the so-called King of Steel Pier, kingpin Artie Bishop. As Joey enters Artie’s world on the Boardwalk, he finds a place to belong, to feel important. Artie even hires Joey to chaperone his daughter for a couple of weeks. But running with Artie and his crew means questioning everything he sees and deceiving the people he loves most. And when Artie asks Joey for a very dangerous favor that puts his family’s lives at risk, Joey must learn where strength really comes from before it’s too late. (Anxious Jewish boys working for 1970s GANGSTERS?? I don’t even need to read the rest. Families on all sides of this debut!!)  

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Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson on August 30, 2022, from Delacorte
Thirteen-year-old Annabella Ballinkay has never been normal, even by her psychic family’s standards. Every generation uses their abilities to help run the Ravenfall Inn, a sprawling, magical B&B at the crossroads of the human world and the Otherworld. But it’s hard to contribute when your only power is foreseeing death. So when fourteen-year-old Colin Pierce arrives at Ravenfall searching for his missing older brother and the supernatural creature who killed their parents, Anna jumps at the chance to help. But the mysteries tied to Colin go much deeper than either of them expects. . . . (Siblings are my thing, so a missing sibling is definitely up my alley. Plus, this is pitched as Halloweentown meets Supernatural, which sounds amazing!)  

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The Trouble With Robots by Michelle Mohrweis on September 6, 2022, from Peachtree
Sparks fly when perfectionist Evelyn and "couldn't care less" Allie are thrust together in a metal screeching robotics competition. Together, the girls must find common ground while battling grief and feelings of otherness. (This book is full of queer and disability (autism/anxiety) rep, so I am immediately interested. Plus, the author teaches robotics and engineering for middle schoolers, which means this debut is going to be chock-full of STEM-y goodness. This all sounds like a ripe environment to get some good family scenes in!) 

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The Last Hope in Hopetown by Maria Tureaud on October 4, 2022, from LBFYR
Twelve-year-old human, Sophie Dawes, lives a good life in Hopetown. There, vampires and humans live in harmony and Sophie and her adoptive vampire moms are living (or unliving) proof. But then, normal, law-abiding vampires begin to go rogue, putting the humans they love in danger. After Sophie’s own mother— the sweetest person she knows— goes rogue, Sophie decides it’s up to her and her vampire best friend, Delphine, to find a cure. But taking matters into their own hands might be way more than they bargained for if it means braving a secret council of vampires, executing epic heists, and facing the true bad guys head on. With her best friend by her side, Sophie will fight for hope, freedom and a family bonded by a love that’s thicker than blood in this deliciously charming debut novel. (Vampire/human hybrid families? A human taking vampires head on? Sophie sounds like a dream protagonist, and her fight to save her family makes it a MUST on this list!)  

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Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria by George Jreije on October 4, 2022, from HarperCollins
Twelve-year-old Shad Hadid is an aspiring baker who’s life is uprooted when he discovers he’s descended from a long line of alchemists and sent to the mysterious Alexandria Academy. Only, his arrival at the school awakens a nefarious force long lurking in the shadows, and he’ll soon learn he holds the key to either stopping—or unleashing—their evil plot. (This is one of my most anticipated reads this year. West Asian mythos? Family secrets? Fart jokes??? SIGN ME UP!)  

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