Middle School Friendship

In this life-affirming novel of trauma and recovery, a girl searches for a path forward after being forced to confront the reality of gun violence, for fans of Dusti Bowling and Jasmine Warga. Stevie Jane Cohen-Kaplan’s sheltered suburban life is shattered by a mass shooting at a festival...

In this hair-raising and hilarious novel by New York Times bestselling author Chuck Wendig, a boy must face his many fears to save his town from a cursed videotape—before “The Scariest Movie Ever Made” devours his friends and family. Ethan Pitowski is afraid of everything. Luckily, his...

Fish in a Tree meets Fighting Words in J. S. Lemon’s middle grade debut, a fiercely original story about friendship, healing, and the beauty of transformation. “What new classics should look like. A strange and beautiful tale . . . This story will spark important discussions.” —Newbery...

A heartfelt middle grade story about changing friendships, peer pressure, and the courage to speak up when lines are crossed, perfect for fans of Starfish and Finally Heard. Sophie Valentine would rather be at home, doing school virtually. Instead, she’s waiting in a crowded middle school...

A meteorite comes crashing down on the lives of three middle schoolers changing everything they know about family, friendships, and community in this charming and heartfelt novel with a light STEM touch. The space rock is just the latest thing to land, uninvited, in Vega Lucero’s...

This powerful and compassionate book follows a family’s journey through the turbulence of parental addiction—and the moments of connection and healing that break through the dark days. Reese is a seventh-grader in rural North Carolina who loves drawing, basketball, his hardworking mom, and...

How far would you go to have the best day of your life? This funny and thrilling time travel adventure tackles questions of fate and free will. Noah Nicholson has plenty to be grateful for. He has solid grades and great friends, he’s finally becoming closer with Lucy Martinez—his...

After the tragic loss of their sister, Zack and his siblings band together to investigate a Morse Code-inspired mystery in this stunning novel about grief and resilience. When Zack’s younger sister dies in a tragic accident, his family moves to a small town in the Northwest to try and heal...

From the author of the highly acclaimed How High the Moon comes a moving and heartfelt novel about how a girl's family and friendships are turned upside down—just as the world is changing in 1970s Los Angeles. Stevie’s life is fluctuating rapidly. She's starting over in a brand new middle...

A coming-of-age middle grade novel about three best friends born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina who must confront storms of their own 12 years later, from a National Book Award winning author. Born in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Greer, Joya Mia, and Kiki are seventh graders and the best of...

Magic and mayhem collide in beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter’s hilarious children's book debut, perfect for fans of Sarah Mlynowski and Wendy Mass. Emma Rockford knows it will take bonafide magic to make middle school everything she wants it to be. Luckily, before...

Thirteen-year-old Annabelle struggles in school, no matter how hard she tries. But as soon as she dives into the pool, she's unstoppable. She's the fastest girl on the middle school swim team, and when she's asked to join the high school team over the summer, everything changes. Suddenly, she's got new friends, and a high school boy starts treating her like she's somebody special - and Annabelle thinks she'll finally stand out in a good way.

From Vanessa Harbour comes Flight, a middle-grade historical fiction novel about a Jewish boy and a Roma girl leading a group of horses across mountains to escape Nazis during WWII. Everyone deserves to be free and feel safe, even horses. The year is 1945 in Austria, where an SS officer and some...

Super Mario Bros meets Captain Underpants in this action-packed comedy sure to make a splash! James Patterson presents: The Titans of the Toilet! The Wonders from Down Under! Nitro City's very own sewer superheroes: The Plumbers! Thirteen-year-old Sully Stringfellow has always admired the great...

Emma's pug, Cupid, has a hidden talent: He is a master at matchmaking! Her pet seems to have a nose for spotting which two people belong together. With the big school dance coming up, Emma decides to use Cupid's powers to find her best friend, Hallie, a date. But as Emma tries to navigate crushes and secrets, she finds that things are a lot more complicated than they seem. And what if Cupid also has a surprising match in mind...for Emma herself?

When a lifelong friendship just isn't long enough, two friends connect from beyond the grave in this heartwarming ghost story from a New York Times bestselling author. One minute, Finn was biking home from school, and the next, he was run off the road by a maniac in a big van. Now, he's a...

Charlotte Andrews is perfectly fine being quiet - in fact, she prefers it. When she doesn't speak, people can't make fun of her stutter. But when she witnesses bullying on the school bus and doesn't say anything, her silence comes between her and her best friend. As if that wasn't bad enough, her parents signed her up for musical theater. Charlotte doesn't want to speak onstage, but at least she doesn't stutter when she sings. Then, just as she starts to find her voice, the arts program is cut. Charlotte can't stay silent anymore.

The source has been destroyed. Food is scarce. Tensions are rising. Then the earthquake strikes. Esther and Caleb hit the road, leading a ragtag caravan. Their destination? A mythical city where they hope to find food and shelter - not to mention a way to make it past age 19. On the way, alliances and romances blossom and fracture as the group faces vicious gangs, violent weather, and more variants. Esther must rally to take charge, accepting the help of a blind wilderness guide, Aras.

Rylee Swanson is beginning eighth grade with zero friends. A humiliating moment at the end-of-seventh-grade pool party involving a cannonball, a waterlogged updo, and some disappearing clothes has Rylee halfway convinced she’s better off without any friends—at least friends like those. The one question Rylee can’t shake is . . . why? When a group assignment in journalism pairs Rylee with science geek DeNia Alonso, DeNia’s annoyingly know-it-all, nerdy personality is both frustration and fuel to Rylee’s search for answers.

Born skeptic Lilac Black knows ghosts aren’t real – until she is thrust into the secret world of seers and spirits at the Spindlewood School. Perfect for fans of The Clackity and The Swifts. Lilac Black does not believe in ghosts. She knows the séances her uncle conducts aren’t real. So...