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Discover recent releases for tweens.
Updated December 4, 2023
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A First Time for Everything
Dan Santat
*Winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Young People's Literature* A middle grade graphic memoir based on bestselling author and Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's awkward middle school years and the trip to Europe that changed his life. Dan's always been...
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School Trip
Jerry Craft
New York Times bestselling author Jerry Craft is back with the newest adventures of Jordan, Drew, Liam, and all the characters that fans first met in New Kid, winner of the Newbery Award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award! In this full-color contemporary graphic novel, the gang...
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Starfish
Lisa Fipps
A Printz Honor winner! Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant debut novel-in-verse. Cover may vary. Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she's been bullied...
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Out of My Heart
Sharon M. Draper
A New York Times bestseller! Melody faces her fears to follow her passion in this stunning sequel to the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling middle grade novel Out of My Mind. Melody, the huge-hearted heroine of Out of My Mind, is...
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Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You
Jason Reynolds
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER This chapter book edition of the groundbreaking #1 bestseller by luminaries Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds is an essential introduction to the history of racism and antiracism in America
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The Marvellers
Dhonielle Clayton
Dhonielle Clayton makes her middle-grade debut with a fantasy adventure set in a global magic school in the sky --an instant New York Times and #1 Indie Bestseller! "The Marvellers deserves the highest compliment I can give a book: I want to live...
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Four Eyes: A Graphic Novel (Four Eyes #1)
Rex Ogle
A humorous and heartwarming middle-grade graphic memoir about fitting in, facing bullies, and finding the right pair of glasses. Sixth grade isn't as great as Rex thought it would be. He's the only kid who hasn't had a growth spurt, and the bullies won't let him forget it. His...
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The Lost Library
Rebecca Stead
Now a New York Times bestseller, a #1 Indie Bestseller, and the Amazon #1 Best Kids' Book of 2023, readers won't want to miss this story of a little free library guarded by a cat and a boy who takes on the mystery it keeps. When a mysterious little free library (guarded...
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Pony
R. J. Palacio
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WALL STREET JOURNAL "Perfection." -The Wall Street Journal The bestselling author of Wonder returns with an enthralling adventure about a boy...
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Parachute Kids: A Graphic Novel
Betty C. Tang
**A National Book Award Longlist Title in the Young People's Literature Category** This funny, fast-paced, and heartrending story about three siblings living on their own as undocumented new immigrants is perfect for fans of New Kid and Front Desk. ...
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From the Desk of Zoe Washington
Janae Marks
#1 Kids Indie Next List * Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of the Year * SLJ Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * Junior Library Guild Selection * Edgar Award Nominee * Four Starred Reviews * Bank Street Best...
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Recognize!: An Anthology Honoring and Amplifying Black Life
Wade Hudson
In the stunning follow-up to The Talk- Conversations About Race, Love & Truth, award-winning Black authors and artists come together to create a moving anthology collection celebrating Black love, Black creativity, Black resistance, and Black life. "A multifaceted,...
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Don't Trust the Cat
Kristen Tracy
WHAT IF YOU SWITCHED PLACES WITH YOUR CAT? Mean Girls meets Freaky Friday in this laugh-out-loud story about self-acceptance, learning who your friends are, and coming of age . . . as a cat. Fifth-grader Poppy McBean likes...
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This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us
Katherine Locke
The first LGBTQA+ anthology for middle-graders featuring stories for every letter of the acronym, including realistic, fantasy, and sci-fi stories by authors like Justina Ireland, Marieke Nijkamp, Alex Gino, and more! A boyband fandom becomes a conduit to coming out. A former...
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Totally Psychic
Brigid Martin
This debut middle grade series stars a Cuban-American tween medium navigating friends, family and ghosts! Paloma Ferrer is psychic. In fact, everyone in her family line has "the gift." Now that Paloma has come into her powers, she dreams of becoming a famous medium...
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Paradise on Fire
Jewell Parker Rhodes
From award-winning and bestselling author Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age survival tale exploring issues of race, class, and climate change. Addy is haunted by the tragic fire that killed her parents, leaving her to be raised by her...
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Attack of the Black Rectangles
A. S. King
Award-winning author Amy Sarig King takes on censorship and intolerance in a novel she was born to write. When Mac first opens his classroom copy of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic and finds some words blacked out, he thinks it must be a mistake. But then when he and his friends...
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Rise Up!: How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy
Crystal Marie Fleming
This urgent book explores the roots of racism and its legacy in modern day, all while empowering young people with actionable ways they can help foster a better world and become antiracists. Why are white supremacists still openly marching in the United States? Why are...
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Simon Sort of Says
Erin Bow
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature "Funny, poignant and--most important--hopeful." --New York Times For fans of Kate DiCamillo and Jack Gantos, a hilarious, wrenching, hopeful novel about finding your friends, healing your heart,...
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The Moth Keeper
K. O'Neill
Being a Moth Keeper is a huge responsibility and a great honor, but what happens when the new Moth Keeper decides to take a break from the moon and see the sun for the first time? From the author of the beloved Tea Dragon Society comes a must-read for fans of the rich fantasies of Hayao...
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The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love, and Truth
Wade Hudson
Thirty diverse, award-winning authors and illustrators invite you intotheir homes to witnesstheconversationsthey have withtheir children about race in America today in this powerful call-to-action that invites all families to be anti-racists and advocates for change. "Project s love...
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The Only Black Girls in Town
Brandy Colbert
A Bank Street Best Book of 2021! From award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert comes a debut middle-grade novel about the only two Black girls in town who discover a collection of hidden journals revealing shocking secrets of the past. Beach...
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Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy
Emmanuel Acho
Adapted from Emmanuel Acho's New York Times bestseller Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, comes an essential young readers edition aimed at opening a dialogue about systemic racism with our youngest generation. Young people have the power to affect...
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Lo and behold
Wendy Mass
Can a virtual reality headset help change the way twelve-year-old Addie looks at things? Introducing an unforgettable graphic novel about connection, friendship, and the wonder all around us from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Mass and debut illustrator Gabi Mendez.<...
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Ellie Engle Saves Herself
Leah Johnson
From award-winning YA author Leah Johnson comes her magical middle grade debut: a laugh-until-you-cry, cry-until-you-laugh story about an ordinary girl whose life is turned upside down by some extraordinary powers. Ellie Engle doesn't stand out. Not at home, where she's alone...
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Good Different
Meg Eden Kuyatt
"The next Wonder. Good Different should be required reading." -- Good Morning America An extraordinary novel-in-verse for fans of Starfish and A Kind of Spark about a neurodivergent girl who comes to understand and celebrate her difference. Selah...
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Yusuf Azeem is Not a Hero
Saadia Faruqi
At a time when we are all asking questions about identity, grief, and how to stand up for what is right, this book by the author of A Thousand Questions will hit home with young readers who love Hena Khan and Varian Johnson--or anyone struggling to understand recent U.S. history and...
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Doodles from the Boogie Down
Stephanie Rodriguez
A young Dominican girl navigates middle school, her strict mother, shifting friendships, and her dream of being an artist in this debut coming-of-age graphic novel inspired by the author's tween years. Eighth grade in New York City means one thing- It's time to start applying to...
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What Is Black Lives Matter?
Lakita Wilson
From the #1 New York Times bestselling series comes the latest title in the Who HQ Now format for trending topics. It tells the history of a political and social movement that advocates for non-violent civil disobedience and protests against incidents of police brutality--and all racially...
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Return of the Thief
Megan Whalen Turner
The thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion to the New York Times-bestselling Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. The epic novels set in the world of the Queen's Thief can be read in any order. This beloved and award-winning series began with the acclaimed novel...
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Come See the Fair
Gavriel Savit
An unforgettable story of magic, mediums, and séances set during the Chicago World's Fair from the author of the National Book Award finalist The Way Back. Twelve-year-old orphan Eva Root travels the country pretending to channel spirits at séances. Her audiences swear...
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The Beautiful Something Else
Ash Van Otterloo
Full of humor and heartbreak, this story about a nonbinary character navigating a binary world is perfect for fans of Alex Gino and Kyle Lukoff. It's exhausting trying to be the perfect daughter. Still, getting good grades without making any waves may be the only way to distract from...
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Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South
Wade Hudson
As the fight for equal rights continues, Defiant takes a critical look at the strides and struggles of the past in this revelatory and moving memoir about a young Black man growing up in the South during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. For fans of It's Trevor Noah- Born a Crime,...
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Finally Seen
Kelly Yang
From the New York Times bestselling author of Front Desk comes a "involving, realistic" (Booklist, starred review) middle grade novel about a young girl who leaves China to live with her parents and sister, after five years apart, and learns about family, friendship, and the...
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How to Stay Invisible
Maggie C. Rudd
My Side of the Mountain meets How to Steal a Dog in this high-stakes and heartfelt middle-grade story of a young boy and his dog surviving on their own in the woods. Being alone is something Raymond is used to. Twelve-year-old Raymond Hurley...
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The Rhythm of Time
Questlove
An Instant New York Times Bestseller From the Academy Award-winning, Grammy-winning, and New York Times bestselling author Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and the New York Times bestselling author S. A. Cosby comes this thrill-a-minute novel-the first in a rollicking...
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The Sun and Star
Rick Riordan
Demigods Nico di Angelo and Will Solace must endure the terrors of Tartarus to rescue an old friend in this thrilling adventure co-written by New York Times #1 best-selling author Rick Riordan and award-winning author Mark Oshiro. Percy Jackson fans, rejoice! Nico and Will...
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The One and Only Ruby
Katherine Applegate
An instant #1 New York Times bestseller! From beloved powerhouse author Katherine Applegate comes The One and Only Ruby, starring the adorable baby elephant from the Newbery Medal-winning modern classic The One and Only Ivan and its bestselling sequel, The One and Only Bob. Ruby's...
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The Night Diary
Veera Hiranandani
A 2019 NEWBERY HONOR BOOK "A gripping, nuanced story of the human cost of conflict appropriate for both children and adults." -Kirkus, starred review In the vein of Inside Out and Back Again and The War That Saved My Life comes a...
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The Ojja-Wojja
Magdalene Visaggio
The first in a new graphic novel series from indie comic stars Magdalene Visaggio and Jenn St-Onge is a coming-of-age story about the transformative power of friendship. And an immortal demon with the power to take over the world. But mostly the friendship thing. Welcome to...
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The First Magnificent Summer
R. L. Toalson
Judy Blume meets Barbara Dee in this tender and empowering middle grade novel told in journal entries and poetry about a young writer on the verge of becoming a woman whose summer with her estranged father doesn't turn out the way she'd hoped. Twelve-year-old Victoria Reeves is...
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A Mighty Long Way (Adapted for Young Readers): My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School
Lanier Walls, Carlotta
Follow the story of Carlotta Walls LaNier, who in 1957 at the age of fourteen was one of nine black students who integrated the all-white Little Rock Central High School and became known as the Little Rock Nine. At fourteen years old, Carlotta Walls was the youngest member of the...
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Charmed Life
Marti Dumas
After a summer of being the worst witch at a fancy witch school, Hasani can't wait to get back to the peace and normalcy of Riverbend Middle where she knows all the rules and is destined to be captain of the Mathletes. There are a few little hiccups to work out--like how she's going to tell her best...
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What Happened to Rachel Riley?
Claire Swinarski
*NOW A REGIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER* *Named a New York Public Library Best Book of the Year* In this engrossing and inventive contemporary middle grade novel that's Where'd You Go Bernadette? with a #MeToo message, an eighth grader uses social media posts, passed notes, and other clues...
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The Girl and the Ghost
Hanna Alkaf
* Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! * A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies. I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly....
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Traitors Among Us
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
World War II may be over. But two sisters are far from safe. Inspired by true events, this is the latest gripping and powerful novel from the acclaimed author of Making Bombs for Hitler. Sisters Krystia and Maria have been through the worst -- or so they...
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Rick Riordan Presents Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies
Stacey Lee
Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents best-selling author Stacey Lee's modern reimagining of a classic Chinese folktale--replete with magic, boba, and lots of trash talking. Twelve-year-old Winston Chu is supposed to learn impulse control at the cooking academy his mom...
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