Best Friends

Thirteen-year-old Orion Casey has stopped singing after social fallout at school leaves her on the outside, and mysterious encouraging texts push her back toward songwriting and self-discovery. DaVeiga — an ASCAP-recognized songwriter — weaves original songs directly into the narrative, which gives the book a dimension most middle-grade fiction cannot offer. Kirkus called it fast-paced and noted the main complaint is that it ends too soon, which is a good problem for a series launch to have. The Mom's Choice Awards Gold adds further validation. The honest caveat is that the novella length means some threads feel underdeveloped, and as a 2026 debut, critical depth is still limited. For middle-grade readers who love music and friendship stories, this is a fresh and appealing series opener.