Middle school reading recommendations

Bestselling author Laura Wood brings the adventures of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy to even more readers in this beautiful retelling of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age classic.

Two brothers-One Good. One Evil. In exchange for power and immortality, they watch over the Endless Woods and rule the School for Good and Evil. Yet all School Masters must face a test. Theirs is loyalty. But what happens when loyalty is corrupted? When the bonds of blood are broken? Who will survive? Who will die? And what will become of the school and its students?

A graphic novel featuring a sweet tale about two kids navigating the precarious and awkward waters of adolescence and middle school.

This novel is a window into the heart and mind of Alberta, the sole African American girl in her small beach town’s seventh grade until another Black family moves in across the street. Although she and her new neighbor could not be any more superficially different—Alberta is a California surfer and Edie is a goth girl from Brooklyn—they bond over their racial “otherness” in a realistic way. Being two of the few Black students in their school (a true-to-life representation of the microaggressions they experience is highlighted by a teacher calling Edie by Alberta’s name, although they look nothing alike) brings the girls closer together, while navigating their middle-school dramas and changing family dynamics seems to drive them apart.

Ever since she was a baby, the words people use to describe Elyse have instantly appeared on her arms and legs. At first it was just 'cute' and 'adorable,' but as she's gotten older and kids have gotten meaner, words like 'loser' and 'pathetic' appear . . . Now, at age twelve, she's starting middle school, and just when her friends who used to accept and protect her are drifting away, she receives an anonymous note saying 'I know who you are, and I know what you're dealing with. I want to help.' As Elyse works to solve the mystery of who is sending her these notes, she also finds new ways to accept who she is and to become her best self.

Twelve-year-old Hazel Woods has always had an unusual knack for sleuthing. Some may call it snooping, but all she really wants is to solve mysteries around town. So, when she not-so-accidentally overhears her brother Den planning to sneak into the cemetery at night for an epic game of hide-and-seek, she decides to secretly tag along. This seems like the perfect opportunity to investigate the claims that the cemetery is haunted.

In this breathtaking adventure, Zlie and Jules face a deadly race to solve a family mystery and a vicious crime that stretches from the jungles of Calcutta to the sewers of Paris. Zlie is often accused of being a witch, but she doesn't believe in magic.

A hilarious and achingly real love story about a girl, a ghost, a grandmother, and growing up. It's the summer before fifth grade, and for Ferris Wilkey, it is a summer of sheer pandemonium: Her little sister, Pinky, has vowed to become an outlaw. Uncle Ted has left Aunt Shirley and, to Ferris's mother's chagrin, is holed up in the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. And Charisse, Ferris's grandmother, has started seeing a ghost at the threshold of her room, which seems like an alarming omen given that she is also feeling unwell. The ghost has other plans, wild, impractical, illuminating plans.

When fifteen-year-old Valdez Jones VIII, a.k.a. Wrecker, unwittingly becomes entangled with a group of smugglers and grave robbers, he must deep dive into their shady dealings in order to escape their twisted net.

Hiding himself in baggy jeans and oversized hoodies, Will resorts to increasingly drastic measures to transform his appearance in an effort to win over his crush, until he meets someone who helps him see his body and all it contains as an ever-evolving work in progress. Themes of bullying and body image from a boy's perspective.

Eleven-year-old Sophia endeavors to prevent her increasingly forgetful eighty-eight-year-old neighbor and best friend Sophie from entering assisted living, and in the process, uncovers unexpected stories of war, loss, and hope.

Piaf can remember everything since the day she was born, but can she catch the Memory Thief? When she discovers that everyone in Paris has forgotten an entire year, including the disappearance of several gifted children, Piaf and her brother Luc embark on a perilous journey through Paris above and below ground. What is lurking deep down among the dead bones of the catacombs.

Jake and the other finalists in a writing competition have been invited to a stately house for a tour like no other. As their guide leads them through grand rooms, hidden nooks and magnificent grounds, they hear the stories of seven ghosts who haunt the halls. But strange shapes and shadows follow Jake as he journeys through the house and with each tale that Jake hears he begins to feel more uneasy. All is not as it seems and soon Jake will discover that something is very wrong.

Cursed by an old carnival game, sixth-grader Rex Dexter uses his new ability to communicate with dead animals to investigate the mysterious deaths of endangered zoo animals.

Percy Jackson's hope for a normal senior year is shattered as the gods present him with three quests, beginning with the retrieval of Zeus's goblet, in order to get the necessary three letters of recommendation for college.

Chinese American Mia Tang returns in this entertaining, well-paced third installment in the beloved Front Desk series. Mia and her best friends, Lupe and Jason, are now in seventh grade and are each dealing with how to find their own path. Lupe is now taking advanced classes at the high school while Jason pursues his culinary passion. Mia, meanwhile, is trying to find her way as a writer.

After her dad abruptly abandons her family and her mom moves them a million miles from their Chicago home, Noor Khan is forced to start the last quarter of her senior year at a new school, away from everything and everyone she knows and loves. Reeling from being uprooted and deserted, Noor is certain the key to survival is to keep her head down and make it to graduation. But things aren't so simple. At school, Noor discovers hundreds of books have been labeled "obscene" or "pornographic" and are being removed from the library in accordance with a new school board policy.

Genius Cammie Morgan begins the spring semester of her sophomore year with many questions about her ex-boyfriend, mother, and the last term, and intends to use her spying abilities to have them answered.

Beloved detective Hercule Poirot embarks on a journey to Egypt in one of Agatha Christie's most famous mysteries. The tranquility of a luxury cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish, and beautiful. A girl who had everything until she lost her life.

Alice Ogilvie's disappearance last summer is the biggest scandal at Castle Cove High School until her ex-boyfriend is accused of murdering his new girlfriend, and Alice must pair up with her tutor Iris Adams to clear his name by relying on the wisdom of Agatha Christie.

An illustrated collection of twenty-five myths from various parts of the world explaining the creation of the world. Each of the 25 stories is told in spare, dignified language appropriate to its source and is followed by a brief discussion of its origin and type. Stories come from the Americas, Australia, Africa, Europe and Asia. The concluding piece is from Genesis.

Lara Jean didn't expect to really fall for Peter. She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren't. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever. When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean's feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

Ori has no choice but to go on a road trip with her estranged grandad Claude to his home in the French countryside. Talk about life giving you lemons! However, while Ori scoffs at her mum’s suggestion to “make lemonade”, her sour situation is about to turn significantly sweeter than she could ever have imagined… The Thing About Lemons is the perfect summer read for fans of Jenny Han.

Five years ago, Andie Bell disappeared. She was believed to be murdered and her body hidden by her boyfriend Sal Singh died. Pippa (Pip) Fitz-Amobi believes Sal is innocent and that he was murdered, and sets out to prove it.

Marcus is the best player on his soccer team and rumors have it that he is being scouted by the best team ever. Marcus is troubled by a developing loss of hearing, and finds himself unable to concentrate on the game and increasingly isolated from his friends and family. Is that isolation real, or is it the result of his own behavior? As he confronts not only his hearing loss, but the problems with his family, friends, and girlfriend Marcus grows to understand that in life as in soccer, accepting the help of others is essential.

Told in two voices, two outcasts in an Iron Age village befriend each other, as disabled, orphaned Varick helps Estrild achieve her dream of becoming the first female warrior. Inspired by the Windeby bog body, the true story of an ancient body dug up from a north German peat bog in 1952. Estrild is a feisty girl who would prefer to be a warrior than do domestic chores. Her friend Varick is a disabled orphan scraping by in a community that ostracizes him. Which of these two unlikely friends was ultimately forgotten in the German swamp?

Moving story about being a minority facing prejudice, racism and Islamophobia. Hanan has always been encouraged to be a good girl, a quiet girl, never making trouble. When her classmates treat her as a target for their racist bullying, and her teachers use her as their perfect Muslim poster girl, she keeps smiling and keeps her mouth shut. They don't see past her headscarf, but she knows she is so much more than that. Then a local man is murdered, tensions run high and Muslims become targets for even worse abuse. After a terrifying attack, Hanan decides that it's time to make her voice heard. It's time to shake the world.

Mara's village needs more rain. Without it, the crops and animals will suffer. In a world where clouds are bought and sold, the only way Mara can get one is to steal it. When is it right to do something wrong? Is she brave enough to take on the cloud makers and their greedy trade? A dystopian novel.

When her ex-boyfriend, a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, is rocked by scandal, K-pop idol Sori offers him a hideaway with her until she must decide if her future is worth sacrificing for a second chance at love.

In the book ‘Wonder’ we meet Julian. ‘White Bird’ tells the story of Julian's grandma's childhood as she, a Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II and how the boy she once shunned became her savior and best friend.

It's a powerful and thoughtful read set in a dystopian future version of London where the Empire still rules supreme and a brutal segregated society has formed. There are some dark themes (slavery, racism, capital punishment, animal cruelty, etc. , but this is ultimately a book of hope. We meet Adam (a muslim from the ghetto) who discovers a Tyger (a mysterious creature thought to be extinct) in a rubbish dump and sets out to save the Tyger with his friend Zadie.

Thirteen-year-old Elio is struggling with coming of age, first love, first heartbreak, first real fight (which lands him in the hospital), and what it means to be a "man", a true friend, and an ally, as well as how to overcome a culture of toxic masculinity. Novel in verse coming of age story.

Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren't free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He's left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves--or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.