Must-Read New and Semi-New Middle Grade Fiction
Discover the best must-read new and semi-new middle grade fiction books! Explore our curated list of captivating stories perfect for young readers eager for adventure and imagination.
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Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli
In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever.
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Boston Jane: An Adventure
by Jennifer L. Holm
Sixteen-year-old Jane Peck has ventured to the unknown wilds of the Northwest to wed her childhood idol, William Baldt. But her impeccable training at Miss Hepplewhite's Young Ladies Academy in Philadelphia is hardly preparation for the colorful characters and crude life that await her in Washington Territory. Thrown upon her wits in the wild, Jane must determine for herself whether she is truly proper Miss Jane Peck of Philadelphia, faultless young lady and fiancée, or Boston Jane, as the Chinook dub her, fearless and loyal woman of the frontier. An exciting new novel from Jennifer L. Holm, author of the Newbery Honor Book Our Only May Amelia.
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Heaven Eyes
by David Almond
Having escaped from their orphanage on a raft, Erin, January, and Mouse float down into another world of abandoned warehouses and factories, meeting a strange old man and an even stranger girl with webbed fingers and little memory of her past.
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Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
Upon receiving a special dog from her father, Opal's life greatly changes as the magic of his presence causes old pains to heal and new friendships to form.
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Flipped
by Wendelin Van Draanen
The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. She says: “My Bryce. Still walking around with my first kiss.” He says: “It’s been six years of strategic avoidance and social discomfort.” But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down. And just as he’s thinking there’s more to her than meets the eye, she’ s thinking that he’s not quite all he seemed. This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny voices. Wendelin Van Draanen is at her best here with a knockout cast of quirky characters and a hilarious series of misunderstandings and missed opportunities. But underlying the humor are two teens in transition. They are each learning to look beyond the surface of people, both figuring out who they are, who they want to be, and who they want to be with.
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Pure Dead Magic
by Debi Gliori
All is not well at the home of Titus and Pandora. And it has nothing to do with the snot in their yeti's coat. Or their cryogenically preserved ancestor, who's beginning to thaw. But their irritatingly cheerful new nanny may be of more help than they could imagine in this over the top, seriously funny cyber-gothic-gangster fantasy.
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Following Fake Man
by Barbara Ware Holmes
During his summer in Maine, twelve-year-old Homer, together with his new friend Roger, is determined to find the truth about himself, his long-dead father, and a mysterious costumed man.
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Shades of Simon Gray
by Joyce McDonald
Simon Gray is the ideal teenager — smart, reliable, hardworking, trustworthy. Or is he? After Simon crashes his car into The Liberty Tree, another portrait starts to emerge. Soon an investigation has begun into computer hacking at Simon’s high school, for it seems tests are being printed out before they are given. Could Simon be involved? Simon, meanwhile, is in a coma — but is this another appearance that may be deceiving? For inside his own head, Simon can walk around and talk to some people. He even seems to be having a curious conversation with a man who was hung for murder 200 years ago, in the branches of the same tree Simon crashed into. What can a 200-year-old murder have to do with Simon’s accident? And how do we know who is really innocent and who is really guilty? From the Hardcover edition.
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Nory Ryan's Song
by Patricia Reilly Giff
When a terrible blight attacks Ireland's potato crop in 1845, twelve-year-old Nory Ryan's courage and ingenuity help her family and neighbors survive.
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The Autobiography of Meatball Finkelstein
by Ross Venokur
Watch out, Superman–here comes Meatball Finkelstein and his most unusual superpower! Meatball Finkelstein was born big. He’s always been and always will be a big guy, and he’s cool with that. But he seems to have more than his share of problems: his large size coupled with his parents’ unfortunate choice of name–yes, it says Meatball on his birth certificate!–make him the prime candidate for the attention of Rufus Delaney, the most horrible bully at school. Meatball’s pretty used to the way his life works, and he usually goes along–it’s easier than fighting back. But one Monday morning, events conspire to make Meatball really mad and he discovers that he’s not just an ordinary kid–he’s an ordinary kid with a superpower! And wouldn’t you know it, he stumbles onto an evil plot that requires his very special power to save the day. But can one boy really protect all the students of the world from a dastardly group of school principals?
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Memory Boy
by Will Weaver
Worldwide disaster strikes early in the new millennium. A chain of cataclysmic volcanic explosions sends a cloud of ash into the atmosphere--three years later, the ash is still falling. Sunlight is scarce. Food is rationed. Cities are becoming wastlands of looting and murder. And sixteen-year-old Miles Newell is sure his family is in increasing danger. Escaping Minneapolis on the Ali Princess-- Miles's startling invention--the Newells hope to find comparative safety int he country. But as the family travel deeper into rural Minnesota, they find that people everywhere have changed. No one can be trusted. In this gripping adventure, a family leave behind all they've ever known to journey into the wilderness and an uncertain future.
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Nim's Island
by Wendy Orr
Nim can chop down bananas, climb tall palm trees, and start a fire. So she's not afraid to be alone when her dad sails off. Besides, she's got a sea lion and an iguana for friends.
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Matilda Bone
by Karen Cushman
Fourteen-year-old Matilda, an apprentice bonesetter and practitioner of medicine in a village in medieval England, tries to reconcile the various aspects of her life, both spiritual and practical.
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Kit's Wilderness
by David Almond
Thirteen-year-old Kit goes to live with his grandfather in the decaying coal mining town of Stoneygate, England, and finds both the old man and the town haunted by ghosts of the past. National review attention.
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GUY TIME PB
by Sarah Weeks
A humorous account of thirteen-year-old Guy's dealing with the separation, and possible divorce, of his eccentric parents and with his own new-found interest in girls.
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Flying Solo
by Ralph J. Fletcher
Friday, April 28, 9:00 a.m. Opportunity is knocking at the door of Mr. "Fab" Fabiano's sixth-grade class. Mr. Fab is absent and a substitute never arrives. The class wants to prove that KIDS RULE, so they decide to run the class on their own. Super smart Karen leads the way in the class routines and most of the kids join in. But for Rachel White, this isn't just any other day. Rachel's been silent for six months and communicates by writing notes. Rachel knows today is exactly six months since their classmate Tommy Feathers died. In her own way, Rachel reminds the class about this--and for the first time, Mr. Fab's students reveal their true and sometimes hurtful thoughts. Where is Mr. Fab's class headed now? The school day isn't over yet. Will they keep flying solo or crash?
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Secret Letters from 0 to 10
by Susie Hoch Morgenstern
Ten-year-old Ernest lives a boring life in Paris with his grandmother until a lively girl named Victoria joins his class at school.
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The Shakespeare Stealer
by Gary Blackwood
A delightful adveture full of humor and heart set in Elizabethan England! Widge is an orphan with a rare talent for shorthand. His fearsome master has just one demand: steal Shakespeare's play "Hamlet"--or else. Widge has no choice but to follow orders, so he works his way into the heart of the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's players perform. As full of twists and turns as a London alleyway, this entertaining novel is rich in period details, colorful characters, villainy, and drama. * "A fast-moving historical novel that introduces an important era with casual familiarity." --School Library Journal, starred review "Readers will find much to like in Widge, and plenty to enjoy in this gleeful romp through olde England" --Kirkus Reviews "Excels in the lively depictions of Elizabethan stagecraft and street life." --Publishers Weekly An ALA Notable Book
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Strays Like Us
by Richard Peck
Molly Moberly knows she doesn't belong in this small Missouri town with her great-aunt Fay. It's just a temporary arrangement--until her mother gets out of the hospital. But then Molly meets Will, a fellow stray, and begins to realize she's not the only one on the outside. In fact, it seems like the town's full of strays--only some end up where they belong sooner than others. Richard Peck has created a rich, compassionate story that will go straight to the heart of every kid who's ever felt like an outsider."This sensitive heroine is one readers will want to take under their wing." --Publishers Weekly, starred review
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Pig and the Shrink
by Pamela Todd
Todd's first book for young readers takes a comic look at the foibles of kids and adults with this story of a student who decides to feature a fat classmate known as "Pig" as his science-fair project. Tucker figures he'll win if Pig loses weight during the experiment, but his subject won't cooperate.
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Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
by Jack Gantos
Joey Pigza can't sit still. He can't pay attention, he can't follow the rules, and he can't help it -- especially when his meds aren't working. Joey's had problems ever since he was born, problems just like his dad and grandma have. And whether he's wreaking havoc on a class trip or swallowing his house key, Joey's problems are getting worse. In fact, his behavior is so off the wall that his teachers are threatening to send him to the special-ed center downtown. Joey knows he's really a good kid, but no matter how hard he tries to do the right thing, something always seems to go wrong. Will he ever get anything right?
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No Pretty Pictures
by Anita Lobel
The beloved Caldecott Honor artist now recounts a tale of vastly different kind -- her own achingly potent memoir of a childhood of flight, imprisonment, and uncommon bravery in Nazi-occupied Poland. Anita Lobel was barely five when the war began and sixteen by the time she came to America from Sweden, where she had been sent to recover at the end of the war. This haunting book, illustrated with the author's archival photographs, is the remarkable account of her life during those years. Poised, forthright, and always ready to embrace life, Anita Lobel is the main character in the most personal story she will ever tell.Anita Lobel was barely five years old when World War II began and the Nazis burst into her home in Krakow, Poland, changing her life forever. She spent the days of her childhood in hiding with her brother--who was disguised as a girl--and their Catholic nanny in the countryside, the ghetto, and finally in a convent where the Nazis caught up with her. She was imprisoned in a succession of concentration camps until the end of the war. Sent by the Red Cross to recuperate in Sweden, she slowly blossomed as she discovered books and language and art. Since coming to the United States as a teenager, Anita Lobel has spent her life making pictures. She has never gone back. She has never looked back. Until now. 00-01 Tayshas High School Reading List Anita Lobel was barely five years old when World War II began and the Nazis burst into her home in Krakow, Poland, changing her life forever. She spent the days of her childhood in hiding with her brother--who was disguised as a girl--and their Catholic nanny in the countryside, the ghetto, and finally in a convent where the Nazis caught up with her. She was imprisoned in a succession of concentration camps until the end of the war. Sent by the Red Cross to recuperate in Sweden, she slowly blossomed as she discovered books and language and art. Since coming to the United States as a teenager, Anita Lobel has spent her life making pictures. She has never gone back. She has never looked back. Until now.