Middle School Reads

Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist!

The true story of how a massive catastrophic eruption plunged the world into darkness, altering the global climate and inspiring the likes of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein—from the award-winning author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes and featuring black-and-white illustrations throughout.

Welcome to the summer of the apocalypse. One 12-year-old boy leads the charge against the forces of evil as he tries to stop the Four Horsemen from taking over the world in the start to a wildly funny and addictive fantasy series about accepting yourself and finding your inner hero.

Featured in the upcoming National Geographic documentary, Expedition Amelia! This is a critically acclaimed look at the life, disappearance, and search for the legendary aviatrix, Amelia Earhart.

Anna-Jane couldn’t wait for camp. But when the outside world goes dark, she and her friends soon realize they’re in for the adventure of their lives this summer—and maybe even beyond.

After years as the only Chinese student at her private middle school, Emily transfers to Chinatown’s I.S. 23 for 8th Grade and ends up feeling more disconnected than ever. In this coming-of-age novel-in-verse, now in paperback, will Emily be able to find her way or will she lose herself completely?

★ “[A] groundbreaking autobiography. This timeless narrative is a must-have for any library collection.”—School Library Journal, starred review

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Michelle Obama’s worldwide bestselling memoir, Becoming, has been adapted for young readers.

Amid magic and monsters, a queer seventh-grader discovers a world where he can be himself but has to decide if he will fight for it…even if it means becoming the villain.

“Clementine’s story is part Peter Pan, part Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, part Coraline, and at the same time wholly unique.”
—Kirkus Reviews

An eleven-year-old boy copes with the challenges of his city life by weaving his reality into a magical realm of dragons, foxes, and trolls—until he must use the power of his creativity to save both of his worlds from destructive forces. This stunning debut is a profound exploration of imagination, community, and how the stories we tell both comfort us and challenge us to grow.

How did Jim Jones, the leader of Peoples Temple, convince more than 900 of his followers to commit “revolutionary suicide” by drinking cyanide-laced punch? From a master of narrative nonfiction comes a chilling chronicle of one of the most notorious cults in American history.

EIGHT STARRED REVIEWS • A YALSA EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION WINNER • A SCBWI GOLDEN KITE AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly, BookPage, Horn Book, Booklist, The Bulletin of The Center for Children’s Books, School Library Journal

In this “superb history” (The Wall Street Journal), award-winning author Candace Fleming tells the extraordinary true story of Russia’s last royal family—and transports readers back to a time when both a bloodline and an empire came tumbling down.

WINNER: Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature and Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Nonfiction • A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book • A YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist • A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Century

Step into Fern’s School for Wayward Fae—where students are part human and part magical. A girl with peculiar abilities discovers nothing is what it seems when sinister forces causes one of her classmates to go missing. Perfect for fans of Wednesday.

What if you were twelve for all of eternity? From the award-winning author of The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl comes a magical mystery about a group of kids who have been alive for hundreds of years.

The modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an “All-Time Greatest Novel” and Newsweek hailed as a “Top 100 Book of All Time.” Philip Pullman takes readers to a world where humans have animal familiars and where parallel universes are within reach.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven and Beyonders series comes an epic new fantasy set in a world where children bond with a spiritual guide—some promising greatness and glory, while others, destruction and death.

Here is the dramatic coming-of-age graphic novel memoir of 12-year-old Carlos (who would grow up to become the author’s father), his life during the Cuban Revolution, and his family’s harrowing escape to America.

A Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) Outstanding Comics Award Honor for Best Children’s Nonfiction

SIX STARRED REVIEWS!

The first book of a landmark new fantasy series, in which two kids race to save the world’s last magical place and the impossible creatures who live there.

A poignant novel in verse in which, after a life-changing accident, one girl finds her way back to her life’s passion. From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Iveliz Explains It All.

The host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, shares his personal story and the injustices he faced while growing up half black, half white in South Africa under and after apartheid in this New York Times bestselling young readers’ adaptation of his adult memoir.

NEWBERY HONOR BOOK!

How do you speak up when it feels like no one is listening? In this moving novel in verse, one girl takes on seventh grade while facing mental health challenges, and must find her voice to advocate for the help and understanding she deserves.

A young reader edition of the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist about one of history’s most ruthless and shocking crimes, the Reign of Terror against the Osage people.

When Calla finds out her favorite teacher has been accused of inappropriate conduct, she decides to take action in this powerful story about growing up and speaking up, about listening to others and learning to listen to yourself. Because the more Calla listens . . . the more she realizes that maybe she has something to say too.

A luminous fantasy debut about a young girl who must choose between staying immersed in a magical past with her deceased mother, or saving those she loves most in the complicated, yet real present.

The true story of how Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece became the most famous painting in the world after being stolen from the Louvre, written as a “witty thriller” (The New York Times) and featuring black-and-white illustrations throughout.

SIBERT MEDAL WINNER • BOSTON GLOBE—HORN BOOK AWARD WINNER • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, NPR, The New York Public Library, The Chicago Public Library, The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

How did two teenagers brutally murder an innocent child…and why? And how did their brilliant lawyer save them from the death penalty in 1920s Chicago? Written by a prolific master of narrative nonfiction, this is a compulsively readable true-crime story based on an event dubbed the “crime of the century.”

Until now, you’ve only heard one side of the story: how Abraham Lincoln defeated the Confederacy to end slavery, but the truth involves a vast network of abolitionists who would keep fighting for freedom long after the end of the war. Here’s the true story of the Civil War and Reconstruction, from the African American perspective.

A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In a magical medieval world filled with dragons, shape-shifters, and witches, a twelve-year-old nonbinary hopeful knight battles for the heart of their kingdom. This USA Today bestselling series explores identity and gender amid sword fights and magic, and proves anyone can be a hero.

The Pura Belpré Honor winning novel in verse, in which a lost dog helps a lonely girl find a way home to her family . . . only for them to find family in each other along the way. From the Newbery Honor winning author of Iveliz Explains It All.

An adaptation for young readers of the outstanding adult bestseller by Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Jon Meacham and Grammy Award–winning artist Tim McGraw celebrating America and the music that shaped it.

A boy tries to steer a safe path through the projects in Harlem in the wake of his brother’s death in this outstanding debut novel that celebrates community and creativity.

WINNER OF THE CORETTA SCOTT KING–JOHN STEPTOE AWARD FOR NEW TALENT!

SIX STARRED REVIEWS!

Everyone will be rooting for a happy ending for Hank, a boy struggling to hold his family together when his mom doesn’t come home, in this gripping story from Newbery Honor winner Gennifer Choldenko.

Turning twelve means big changes–first bra, first time babysitting, and a first crush not everyone will approve of . . . a pitch-perfect coming-of-age graphic novel from the creators of Growing Pangs.

A BOOKPAGE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Three middle school students embark on a quest to find a book that may just save their lives in this spectacular novel about fate and friendship–from the Newbery Award-winning author of When You Trap a Tiger.

This Newbery Medal winner that has been called “smart and mesmerizing,” (The New York Times) and “superb” (The Wall Street Journal) will appeal to readers of all types, especially those who are looking for a thought-provoking mystery with a mind-blowing twist.

Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Fiction
A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book
Five Starred Reviews
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A PARADE Best Kids Book of All Time
A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the Century

Wrecker needs to deal with smugglers, grave robbers, and pooping iguanas—just as soon as he finishes Zoom school. Another wild adventure in Carl Hiaasen’s Florida, now in paperback!

Twelve-year-old Fern believes she’s living a noble life–but what if everything she’s been told is a lie? This is a huge-hearted story about a girl learning to question everything—and to trust in herself.

A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK • A CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD FINALIST • A KIRKUS REVIEWS AND BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR