Middle School Literature

Meet Kylie Carson. She’s a fourth grader with a big problem. How will she make friends at her new school? Should she tell her classmates she loves monster movies? Forget it. Play the part of a turnip in the school play? Disaster! Then Kylie comes up with a delicious idea: What if she starts a cupcake club?

All Margie Majors ever wanted was the mythical American dream she was taught to want: a hard-working husband, a house in a place that had neighborhood BBQs, a white picket fence, two kids, and a dog. Instead, she got “destiny.” Hers was to be a plus-sized, day-drinking, foul-mouthed, bisexual, retired vampire slayer with crushing debt and no idea what to do with the rest of her life.

Noah Parker, a good-hearted, fun, and likable kid, is both nervous and excited for his first day of middle school. As the school year begins, Noah and his friends experience the highs and lows and sometimes funny and awkward situations that are part of growing up.

Meet Phillip. His mom relocates him to a new school in the middle of the school year. Things do not go well. Phillip lands himself a trip to the dean of student's office when he tries to forge his mother's signature. Maybe if he spelled her name correctly it would have gone better. Phillip also finds himself having more and more anxiety. And the song some bullies are singing is certainly not helping: Phillip Willip, Puddin, and Pie. Got a bad grade and made him cry.

Here are 33 stories about bullies and the ups and downs of friendship for younger teens, including "True Friends and New Friends", "Mean Girls... and Boys", "Embarrassing Moments" and "Bully Payback".

As Violet Sidhu and her friends prepare to sell hats at the Halloway Hills Middle School Christmas fair, they discover their hats have gone missing! In book two of the Halloway Hills Middle School Mysteries, after a box of crocheted hats goes missing, Violet and her friends must come up with an alternative plan to raise money at the annual Christmas fair. When Violet discovers what’s happened to her hats, thanks to the new guy at school, getting them back turns out to be harder than she thought. Will Violet get her hats back in time for the school’s Christmas fair?

Jonathan Franzen arrived late, and last, in a family of boys in Webster Groves, Missouri. The Discomfort Zone is his intimate memoir of his development from a "small and fundamentally ridiculous person", through an adolescence both excruciating and strangely happy, into an adult with embarrassing and unexpected passions.

In this Halloway Hills Middle School Mysteries series premiere, Avery is the first person to borrow the Super Ultimate Minecraft Hacks book from the school library, much to the dismay of the school bully Becky. When Avery accidentally splashes Becky with an invisibility potion he learned from the book, she not only disappears from Minecraft, but from the real world too. Trying to ease his guilt about Becky’s disappearance, with the help of his friend Jordan and a black cat who appears to be stalking him, Avery sets out to find Becky.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and Jordan Cartwright is about to learn the meaning of true love...from her cat! In book three of the Halloway Hills Middle School Mysteries, after feeling rejected by her best friend Avery because of Valentine’s Day, Jordan wonders if she can still be friends with him. As she tries to avoid Avery, Jordan witnesses some strange behavior from her cat Blizzard. When Blizzard goes missing during a snowstorm, Jordan enlists Avery’s help to find him. Will Jordan and Avery find Blizzard, or will his strange behavior remain a secret forever?

Clair's world has been destroyed - again. The only remaining hope of saving her friends is for her and Q to enter the Yard, the digital world of Ant Wallace's creation. The rules there are the same as those of the real world: Water is real; fire is real; death is real. But in the Yard there are two Clair Hills, and their very existence causes cracks that steadily widen.

Emily is the ringleader for her school podcast, Cedarview Speaks—Sponsored by CoastFresh! But her plans for middle-school fame and social media influence are derailed when Amelie joins her eighth-grade class. The new arrival has a seemingly endless supply of confidence and a gift for leading people. Or leading them astray, as far as Emily's concerned. Emily puts her old-fashioned sense of etiquette into practice. Rather than confronting Amelie, she focuses her energy on creating a podcast story about an upcoming climate march. But her story is censored by the school principal.

Here are 33 Stories of first love, finding your passion and self-esteem for younger teens. Topics include "Finding Your Passion", "In Like, In Love, and Just Not Into You", and "Being Happy with Yourself".

Here are 35 stories of life’s ups and downs, and family, mentors and doing what’s right for younger teens. Topics include "Tough Times", "That's My Family", "The People Who Are There for Us" and "Doing What's Right".

No one knows hard work and dedication like Valentina Camacho. And Vale’s thing is fencing. She’s the top athlete at her fencing gym. Or she was...until the accident. After months away, Vale is finally cleared to fence again, but it’s much harder than before. Her body doesn’t move the way it used to, and worst of all is the new number one: Myrka.

After defeating the necromancers and bringing alchemy back to the Alexandria Academy, Shad Hadid is ready for an exciting second term at school. It doesn’t hurt that he’s being called a hero, but the new lessons are harder than he expected and his mentor, Kahem, is nowhere to be found. When Shad intercepts a letter from an informant with a possible clue for thwarting the necromancers’ evil plans once and for all, he's determined to help. Joined by his friends, Shad embarks on a perilous journey across Lebanon to track down this secretive stranger.

When Natty’s mom kind of takes a break from her dad and sort of the whole family, Natty and her dad move to his childhood hometown of Miller Creek. Now she’s starting middle school for the second time, this time in Miller Creek—without her mom—or her BFF. But Natty’s doing great! Really. Anything is possible. And what’s the point of dwelling on the stuff that stinks when there’s so much good stuff to think about? Natty is absolutely, positively sure that she can turn it all around. Like 1,000 percent sure. As long as she stays absolutely positive!

In this first volume of the series, Felix (together with his good friends Max and Alex) suddenly finds himself in a summer camp, sent there by his parents. What he's doing here is what he knows best: He's making a fool of himself by getting into the craziest situations, he's playing pranks (pretty nasty ones) on other fellow campers, or he's simply annoying everyone. Anyway, it's the kind of tricks you definitely haven't heard of before!

Grayson Sender has been holding onto a secret for what seems like forever: "He" is a girl on the inside, stuck in the wrong gender's body. The weight of this secret is crushing, but sharing it would mean facing ridicule, scorn, rejection, or worse. Despite the risks, Grayson's true self itches to break free. Will new strength from an unexpected friendship and a caring teacher's wisdom be enough to help Grayson step into the spotlight she was born to inhabit?

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, and those words bubble up and itch. And then there are words like "interesting", which she's not really sure how to feel about. Now, at age 12, 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.

Lenny has no idea of the adventure he’s in for when his parents decide to take an extended research trip and sign him up for a boarding school in an old German castle. But even before leaving for the school, it seems like something is trying to prevent Lenny from going… Once he arrives at Shadowsnout Castle Academy, a couple more things become clear: (1) this is not your average school, and (2) Lenny is probably in some serious danger. Lenny needs an escape plan—and fast.