(3) 4-6 Days after the end of book one, Ken and the EngiNerds are tracking down the final robot from the horde that menaced their town. A girl named Mikaela, who claims she's seen an alien, is a distraction, but Ken refuses to be thrown off his mission. Ample humor, short chapters, and the introduction of a smart, independent girl character make this a worthy successor to EngiNerds.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(2) YA When Astrid's brain tumor comes back, she doesn't want to go through chemo and hospitals again. Instead she investigates cryopreservation as a possibility and road-trips from Massachusetts to Arizona to tour the cryopreservation facility, posting vlog updates along the way. Astrid's matter-of-fact voice contains a good amount of gallows humor, and the existential questions she raises are thought-provoking and ripe for discussion. Her eventual decision, while it feels inevitable, is devastating.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(4) PS Illustrated by Brady Smith. One day at the park, a dad is fixated on his phone; "You're missing it!" his young son, surrounded by park excitement, yells more than once. What's it going to take to snap Dad out of it? Although the book's ending is lackluster, the put-down-your-phone message is solid. Fittingly, the cartoony, spring-toned art was created without digital interference.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Robot Blip "liked being plugged into her computer." One day there's a blackout, and Blip finds herself outside, where the book's industrial palette yields to a pastel-colored world of greenery and animals. This is a "lesson" story that doesn't feel like one thanks to Antony's canny art, which shows Blip and friends happily doing what she'd only been watching on-screen characters do.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) YA How will genetic modification integrate itself into society going forward? This collection of six interconnected stories, each one set slightly further into the future than the last, imagines teenagers facing different stages of technological advancement and the subsequent questions it raises regarding what it means to love, fear, learn, and be human. The stories cohere into a thoughtful dystopian novel examining technology and the human experience.

Reviewer: Ariel Baker-Gibbs

(3) YA Painted Wolf, Tunde, and Rex (The Game; The Con) return, still on the run and now with only six days to stop tycoon Kiran's apocalypse. To save the world and earn back their freedom, the LODGE geniuses must trust new allies and maybe some old enemies. Background illustrations and page decorations complement this fast-paced conclusion to the globetrotting trilogy about tech-genius teens.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 TBH series. Ari and Kaylan (11 Before 12) return for seventh grade with twelve new goals before their thirteenth birthdays. But Ari struggles to balance her new summer-camp friends and BFF Kaylan, and Ari's parents are having financial trouble. This installment isn't the freshest, but Ari's bat mitzvah preparations allow for authentic reflection on her place in her Jewish community and in the larger world.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 4-6 TBH series. Sixth graders Cecily, Gabby, and Prianka are BFFAE (best friends forever and ever). A new girl forces her way into their group texts, causing damage to their IRL friendship (Awkward); the trio is tested again during spring-fair planning (TMI). Told entirely through emoji-heavy texts, emails, etc., these accessible and appealing (if gimmicky) stories lightly broach social pressure and bullying in tweens' tech-dominated lives. Text-speak glossary appended. Review covers these TBH titles: TBH, This Is SO Awkward and TBH, This May Be TMI.

Reviewer: Lana Barnes

(3) 4-6 The sequel to Ethan Marcus Stands Up finds seventh-grade siblings Ethan and Erin attending an elite technology camp during a school break. Perfectionist Erin and laidback Ethan clash repeatedly as they work on dueling projects until they finally realize that their respective talents complement each other. Strong characterization and multiple narrators heighten the suspense, and the lesson about avoiding snap judgments is both subtle and effective.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler

(3) YA After being kidnapped by human terrorist group Sapience, Donovan (Exo) is back among his fellow exos, humans grafted with impenetrable armor by the extraterrestrial zhree. Now, after one hundred–plus years of peaceful colonization, the zhree are leaving Earth; they'll take select Hardened humans along, and the rest will fend for themselves on the now-vulnerable planet. This sequel continues a nuanced exploration of colonial relations and equality.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) K-3 STEAM Stories series. Illustrated by Magalí Mansilla. In this STEAM-endorsing series of picture books, Suzy and Max use problem-solving skills to build playground equipment, race go-karts, and rebuild a robot. Using trial and error, they explore science and technology to achieve their goals, occasionally helped by an adult. Additional STEAM information is provided on the last two pages. The stories are pretty basic, but the kids' can-do attitudes will inspire the youngest scientists and engineers. Websites. Review covers these STEAM Stories titles: The Backyard Build, The Great Go-Kart Race, and Robot Repairs.

Reviewer: Janet Dawson

(2) YA Emika Chen (Warcross) isn't over Hideo Tanaka, inventor of the virtual reality–enabling NeuroLink, which was redesigned to subvert people's free will. While preparing for the Warcross championship rematch game, Emika is courted by Hideo's nemesis (and long-ago-kidnapped younger brother), Zero. This edge-of-your-seat sequel propels readers through action sequences and intrigue in the shadowy Tokyo underground, even as they may ponder the ethical implications of biotechnology, virtual realities, and artificial intelligence.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(3) K-3 Charlotte's parents appreciate her ever-useful tech-savviness but worry about screen time, so they give their daughter a doll to encourage imaginative play. Nonplussed, Charlotte updates the "human-shaped pillow" into "Doll-E 1.0." McCloskey's appealing illustrations, in pencil and watercolor and edited in Photoshop, fuse old and new technologies, echoing the story line of bringing classic play into the gadget-focused present day.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) 4-6 Max Einstein series. Illustrated by Beverly Johnson. A homeless, orphaned tinkerer, Maxine Einstein lives a Dickensian life in modern-day NYC until the Change Makers Institute recruits her to compete with other international child prodigies. Rewarded for her critical thinking and humanitarian instincts, Max shifts the contest's terms, and the children join together to fight global crises and evade an evil corporation. Playful illustrations complement the goodhearted madcap adventure.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) YA Glitter series. To escape her ruthless husband King Justin and free her love, Saber, Dani (Glitter) must wield her considerable power as queen, a corporate shareholder, and the palace's drug dealer. But the capacity for manipulation she discovers in herself disturbs Dani. Perfect for fans of The Belles, this series combines guilty-pleasure, page-turning court intrigue and romance with high-stakes ethical questions and an original sci-fi setting.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) 4-6 Savvy: Girlology series. A series of infographics creates a snapshot of current social-media use, leveraging its prevalence among tweens to discuss pitfalls such as hacking, cyberbullying, and phone addiction. A final discussion of positive uses provides a counterbalance to the overall cautionary tone. The tables, graphs, timelines, trivia bits, and photographs of a diverse set of tween girls create a visually engaging, magazine-style volume.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) 4-6 Rogan Webber, twelve, spends most of his life in Virtual City, gaming his way to the top five in Laser Viper. Invited to compete in an exclusive, high-stakes gaming competition at the creator's cushy headquarters, Rogan eagerly agrees, but the young competitors soon realize the game feels alarmingly real. Video gamers especially will love this thrilling, high-tech adventure.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(2) YA Arc of a Scythe series. In this sequel to Scythe, Citra (revived as Scythe Anastasia) and her mentor, Scythe Curie, are the target of assassination attempts. Rowan has gone rogue, fleeing underground and taking the moniker Scythe Lucifer to glean unethical and unworthy scythes. Through excellent storytelling, Shusterman deepens the world-building and raises ethical questions about this society's foundations. He expertly weaves narrative strands together, culminating with the requisite cliffhanger.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(4) YA Mirador series. Seventeen-year-old Marisa (Bluescreen; Ones and Zeroes) pursues a dangerous mystery, hoping to finally understand the accident in which she lost her arm years ago. Facing mob scions, genetically enhanced agents, and her own father, Marisa must hack to survive in virtual reality–influenced dystopian Los Angeles in 2050. Intrigue and multifaceted characters keep readers hooked, despite a sometimes unevenly paced narrative.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 On spaceship Laika, four dogs with the mission of colonizing a distant planet awake to find their human companions gone and their ship irreparably damaged. In this poignant story, mutt Lopside and his fellow Barkonauts work together to continue their mission and search for survivors. Centered on future technology allowing humans and dogs deeper communication, the suspenseful plot feels surprisingly plausible.

Reviewer: Renée Wheeler