The New Kid Code

Maya Reyes knows exactly how to be the new kid. What she has no idea how to do is stay.

Four schools. Three bases. More first days than she can count. Maya has turned surviving them into a science - a worn notebook full of rules for cafeteria maps, unfamiliar hallways, and the kind of friendships that come with a built-in expiration date. Don't get too close. Don't unpack all the way. You're always leaving eventually.

Then the move she spent all summer bracing for falls through.

Her family is staying at JBSA-Lackland. Sixth grade is starting. Priya is still here. Jordan is still Jordan. And for the first time, Maya has to face the one thing the New Kid Code never wrote a rule for: staying.

Then Nadia Torres arrives - seven schools deep and fearless about going all in, even when leaving still hurts. While Maya keeps managing friendship from a safe distance, Nadia shows her another way to be a military kid. And a personal essay that keeps landing back on her desk with the same two words from her teacher - Try again - pushes Maya toward a harder question: maybe the bravest thing isn't leaving cleanly. Maybe it's showing up fully, while she's still here.

Funny, honest, and quietly brave, The New Kid Code: Still Here is a heartfelt middle grade novel about military families, friendship, and the courage it takes to put down roots - a story for anyone who has ever wondered where, exactly, they belong.

Perfect for readers ages 9-12 who love realistic middle grade fiction, military family stories, and emotional novels about moving, making new friends, fitting in, and finding where you belong.

The New Kid Code: Still Here is Book 2 in The New Kid Code series - and a complete, satisfying story on its own.