Middle Grade & Teen Reads: Periods and Menstruation

Books for middle graders and teens dealing with first periods and menstruation.

Updated July 16, 2026
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Go with the flow
Williams, Lily
Paper Book
High school students embark on a crash course of friendship, female empowerment, and women's health issues in Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann's graphic novel Go With the Flow. Good friends help you go with the flow. Best friends help you start a...
Calling the Moon : 16 period stories from BIPOC authors
Salazar, Aida
Paper Book
An essential, highly relatable collection of short fiction and poems around the topic of menstruation, written exclusively by authors who are Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color For Angela, it came on the basketball court--while playing on the boys' team. For Penny, it came...
The places we sleep
DuBois, Caroline Brooks
Paper Book
A family divided, a country going to war, and a girl desperate to feel at home converge in this stunning novel in verse. Selected for Kids Indies Introduce List AND Kids Indie Next List It's early September 2001, and twelve-year-old Abbey is the new kid...
The moon within
Salazar, Aida
Paper Book
The dazzling story of a girl navigating friendship, family, and growing up, an Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? for the modern day, from debut author Aida Salazar. The Moon Within joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels....
The care & keeping of you. 2, The body book for older girls
Natterson, Cara
Paper Book
The bestselling body book for girls ages 10 and up, now updated! Book 2 in our best-selling body book series for girls just got even better! With all-new illustrations and updated content, this title features tips, how-tos, and facts from the experts. This thoughtful advice book...
The New Girl: First Crush: A Graphic Novel (the New Girl #2)
Calin, Cassandra
Paper Book
Cassandra Calin returns with this charming and comical follow-up to The New Girl, her long-form graphic novel debut that became a New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Indie bestseller! This middle-grade graphic novel about crushing and being crushed is the perfect next read for fans...
The unforgettable Leta "Lightning" Laurel
Toalson, R. L.
Paper Book
A determined girl athlete deals with food insecurity and a new rivalry challenging her feminist ideals in this "resonant" (School Library Journal, starred review) upper middle grade coming-of-age story from author of The First Magnificent Summer, R.L. Toalson. ...
To Night Owl from Dogfish
Sloan, Holly Goldberg
Paper Book
From two extraordinary authors comes a moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters. Avery Bloom, who's bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who's...
All That Chandni Knows
Patel, Khushboo
Paper Book
A powerful novel in verse set in India that follows a 12-year-old girl as she navigates new beginnings, difficult truths and a crush. "A story that soars from quite literally the very first page. A book brimming with both humor and heart, Patel's debut is a remarkable tale of finding...
Rayana Johnson's giant leap
Tew, Jill
Paper Book
A hilarious and heartfelt middle-grade novel about a STEM loving Black girl finding her place in the universe again after her first period knocks her out of orbit. Rayana Johnson always thought that turning thirteen would mean being old enough to stay home alone, go on her first...

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