Every school year, about 15 titles are chosen by Illinois educators, teachers and librarians as nominees in 3 different elections: the Caudill Award, voted on by children in grades 5-8, the Bluestem Award by 3-5th graders, and the Monarch Award by K-3 graders.  The library keeps extra copies of all these books.  A few of the standouts this year are When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed,  Losers Club by Andrew Clements, and Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho. But, hey, that's just my opinion.  Students have the final say!  For a complete annotated list of the nominated titles, try Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/172351.2023_Rebecca_Caudill_Nominees

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/173540.2023_Bluestem_Award_Nominees

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/173538.2023_Monarch_Award_Nominees