Middle School Literature

When Alex finds out he is Unwanted, he expects to die. That is the way of the people of Quill: Each year all the 13-year-olds are labeled as Wanted, Necessary, or Unwanted. Wanteds get more schooling and train to join the army. Necessaries keep the farms running. Unwanteds are set for elimination. It’s hard for Alex to leave behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted, but he makes peace with his fate - until he discovers that instead of a “death farm”, what awaits him is a magical place called Artime.

The stakes have never been higher than in the final installment of Magisterium from the best-selling powerhouse authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.

Making the transition from grade school to middle school can be a very scary experience, but girls don't have to navigate it alone! Here's a book by five savvy and extremely smart girls - written when they were in middle school for girls just like them. With straight-from-the-heart advice on everything from dealing with being popular (or not!) and staying true to yourself, to handling more responsibility at home and at school, this is a girl's ultimate guide to surviving and succeeding in middle school on her own terms.

When a new student comes to Broomsfield Academy, Mrs. Kettledrum informs the students she is an extra-talented witch-in-training. At first Heidi is intrigued and wants to be friends, but when Jodi tells Heidi she intends to be the best witch ever, a competition brews between them and bubbles over while on a field trip to a museum—which becomes more dangerous than either could have imagined!

After discovering a near-lifeless Eli at the base of the Great Tree, Morgan knows she doesn't have much time to save him. And it will mean asking for help—from friends old and new. Racing against the clock, and with Arik and Emily at her side, Morgan sets off to follow the trail away from the Great Tree to find Eli's soul before it's too late. As they journey deep into the northern woods, a place they've been warned never to enter, they face new challenges and life-threatening attacks from strange and horrifying creatures.

Jamie Grimm has finally accomplished his dream of proving himself the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic, and the sky's the limit from there. Enter a couple of TV executives with a huge plan for Jamie: a new show about Jamie and his oddball friends! But when Jamie struggles to learn the acting ropes, will it be an early curtain call for the biggest show of the decade?

Best friends Tamanna and Yasmine cannot believe their good fortune when a school is set up in their Afghan village; however, their dreams for the future are shattered when the Taliban burn down the school and threaten the teacher and students with death. As Tamanna faces an arranged marriage to an older man, and the Taliban target Yasmine’s Western-educated family, the girls realize they must flee.

Jake and Taylor Wilder have been taking care of themselves for a long time. Their father abandoned the family years ago, and their mother is too busy working and running interference between the boys and her boyfriend, Bull, to spend a lot of time with them. Thirteen-year-old Jake spends most of his time reading. He pores over his father's journal, which is full of wilderness facts and survival tips. Eleven-year-old Taylor likes to be outside playing with their dog, Cody, or joking around with the other kids in the neighborhood. But one night everything changes.

When ten-year-old Lina Gao steps off the plane in Los Angeles, it’s her first time in America and the first time seeing her parents and her little sister in five years! She’s been waiting for this moment every day while she lived with her grandmother in Beijing, getting teased by kids at school who called her “left behind girl.” Finally, her parents are ready for her to join their fabulous life in America! Except, it’s not exactly like in the postcards.

Are you ready for a festive adventure? Join me, Junior, on the most PAWSOME, most BARKTASTIC journey through the HOWLIDAY SEASON.

A timely, accessible, and beautifully written story exploring themes of food, friendship, family and what it means to belong, featuring sixth graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a White, Jewish girl taking a South Asian cooking class taught by Sara’s mom.

As if being stuffed into last year's dress pants at his cousin's wake weren't uncomfortable enough, 13-year-old Jimmy has just learned from his mother that he has to say a few words at the funeral the next day. As Jimmy attempts to navigate the odd social norms of the wake, he draws on humor, heartfelt concern, and angst while racking his brain and his memory for a decent and meaningful memory to share. But it's not until faced with a microphone that the realization finally hits him: It's not the words that are spoken that matter the most, but those that are truly heard.

Middle school supervillain Penny Akk has defeated every challenge thrown against her. She has bested heroes, villains, weirdos who can't make up their minds, robots, aliens, friends, rivals, enemies, natural disasters, secret admirers, and her own shyness. Now she has only one opponent left. Her own super power... and the other Penny who stole it.

It's your faith, why not own it. The Middle School Survival Series will help you answer all the new questions that you have as you journey through middle school.

For seventh-grader Mila, it starts with some boys giving her an unwanted hug on the school blacktop. A few days later, at recess, one of the boys (and fellow trumpet player), Callum, tells Mila it's his birthday, and asks her for a "birthday hug." He's just being friendly, isn't he? And how can she say no? But Callum's hug lasts a few seconds too long, and feels...weird. According to her friend, Zara, Mila is being immature and overreacting. Doesn't she know what flirting looks like? But the boys don't leave Mila alone.

It all started with a peanut butter cup...which leads Ben Braver to a secret school for kids with super abilities. Ben has never had any special powers - and maybe never will. But could this be his chance to become the superhero he's always dreamed of? The Super Life of Ben Braver is the first book in a hilarious adventure series about the greatness that lies within any middle schooler who dreams big from Marcus Emerson, the author of the smash hit Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja series.

Greg had started looking around the cafeteria, and everywhere he looked, he saw quarters. He saw kids trading quarters for ice-cream sandwiches and cupcakes and cookies at the dessert table. There were quarters all over the place, buckets of them. At that moment, Greg’s view of school changed completely and forever. School had suddenly become the most interesting place on the planet. Because young Greg Kenton had decided that school would be an excellent place to make his fortune.

Grab your sunglasses and slather on the sunscreen! In this laugh-out-loud adventure for kids and animal lovers everywhere, summer is here and Junior is getting his very own doggy vacation. It's me, Junior, back again with another tail-wagging tale of mischief-making! I'll tell you all about the fur-raising time I had when my pet humans went on a trip without me, and the horrible place they left me.

Lavinia “Vin” Lucas is out of control and out of options. Stranded by parents who would rather use their average magical abilities to study dung beetles than raise her, Vin's been on her own for years. But she’s never been able to corral her own powerful, unpredictable magic. After years of detention, suspension, and expulsion from magic schools far and wide, she’s now being sent to the Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents. If she gets expelled, it’s the end of the line. Now, Vin is determined to behave. Except no one at Last Hope seems to want her to.

After a botched escape plan from her boarding school, Abigail is stunned to discover the school is actually a cover for an elite spy ring called The Center, along with being training grounds for future spies. Even more shocking? Abigail's mother is a top agent for The Center and she has gone MIA, with valuable information that many people would like to have - at any cost. Along with a former nemesis and charming boy from her grade, Abigail goes through a crash course in Spy Training 101, often with hilarious - and sometimes painful - results.