Tween Reads

Discover recent releases for tweens.
Updated April 18, 2026
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The Moon Without Stars
Miller, Chanel
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The Newbery Honor-winning author of Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All explores the way growing up, finding friends, and discovering who you are can be both awkward and empowering in this heartfelt middle school novel. ★ "Genuine and...
Stamped (for kids) : racism, antiracism, and you
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paper Book
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  
Out of my heart
Draper, Sharon M.
Paper Book
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...
Starfish
Fipps, Lisa
Paper Book
A PRINTZ HONOR BOOK . Ellie is tired of being fat-shamed and does something about it in this poignant novel-in-verse. "In her debut novel, Starfish, Lisa Fipps confronts diet culture and fat phobia head-on. . . . The book reads as if Ellie herself is writing these poems, which...
A Scar Like a River
Graff, Lisa
Paper Book
From bestselling author Lisa Graff, this important coming-of-age story follows a thirteen-year-old with a mysterious scar on her face--and a big secret she feels pressured to keep. Fallon Little has a secret--and it's not how she got the enormous scar that divides...
Pony
Palacio, R. J.
Paper Book
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...
A Year Without Home
Bidania, V T
Paper Book
A poignant novel in verse about a Hmong girl losing and finding home in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. For fans of Jasmine Warga and Veera Hiranandani. "As gripping as it is informative and as beautiful as it is heartbreaking, A Year Without Home does what all great books...
The experiment
Stead, Rebecca
Paper Book
"Many twists await in this fast-moving and optimistic story by one of today's most inventive writers for readers ages 8-12." --The Wall Street Journal From the Newbery Medalist and national-bestselling author Rebecca Stead, here is a bold story that will appeal to fans of...
From the desk of Zoe Washington
Marks, Janae
Paper Book
#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...
Recognize! : an anthology honoring and amplifying Black life
Hudson, Wade
Paper Book
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,...
The incredibly human Henson Blayze
Barnes, Derrick
Paper Book
Newbery Honoree Derrick Barnes tackles timely issues of race and prejudice in this powerful, nuanced novel about an accomplished Black boy who strives to be seen as human. CORETTA SCOTT KING BOOK AWARD HONOREE ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly,...
This is our rainbow : 16 stories of her, him, them, and us
Locke, Katherine
Paper Book
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...
A Tale of Plagues and Perfumes
Halpern, Jake
Paper Book
"A stunningly original fantasy world that will blow your mind." --Eoin Colfer, #1 New York Times-bestselling author "A delightful, redolent adventure--I couldn't put it down! . . . I'll never sniff a spice drawer the same way again." --Catherine Gilbert Murdock,...
The Trouble with Heroes
Messner, Kate
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! A USA Today bestseller! Read with Jenna Jr. Summer Reading List Pick! "Genuinely moving." --The New York Times Book Review "Explores the healing power of...
The poisoned king
Rundell, Katherine
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * THE SECOND BOOK IN THE LANDMARK NEW FANTASY SERIES THAT BEGAN WITH IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES "Rundell is back with a sequel . . . which offers magical thrills for young readers and adults alike."--The New York Times
Paradise on fire
Rhodes, Jewell Parker
Paper Book
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...
Finding Lost
Sloan, Holly Goldberg
Paper Book
A stray dog leads to major change for Cordy and her grieving family in this heartwarming novel by the beloved author of Counting by 7s. "It's impossible to read a book by Holly Goldberg Sloan without coming away wiser, kinder, and happier. She is a singular talent indeed."-...
Bye forever, I guess
Meadows, Jodi
Paper Book
Can a guarded gamer girl lower her shield for a new friend... or more-than-friend? "EARNEST AND LAUGH-OUT-LOUD... PITCH PERFECT."--Publishers Weekly, starred review Thirteen-year-old Ingrid's been living a double life. At school, she's her popular...
Attack of the black rectangles
King, A. S.
Paper Book
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...
Rialto
Milford, Kate
Paper Book
A standalone mystery from a New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award-winning author set in a contemporary world tinged with magic, in which two sisters spend summer vacation in a small town in the shadows of abandoned amusement park that is not what it seems. Ivy and...
Rise up! : how you can join the fight against White supremacy
Fleming, Crystal Marie
Paper Book
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...
The talk : conversations about race, love & truth
Hudson, Wade
Paper Book
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...
The only black girls in town
Colbert, Brandy
Paper Book
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...
Uncomfortable conversations with a black boy
Acho, Emmanuel
Paper Book
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...
Pocket Bear
Applegate, Katherine
Paper Book
An instant New York Times Bestseller! Meet Pocket, created as a good luck charm for soldiers going into battle, whose bravery and loyalty lives on long after the war. From Katherine Applegate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Odder and...
Yusuf Azeem is not a hero
Faruqi, Saadia
Paper Book
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 how it still...
Bad Cheerleader
Thayer, Alex
Paper Book
A dyslexic bookworm joins her school's cheerleading squad to investigate her sister's strange behavior in this insightful and sharp middle grade novel about the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood. Seventh grader Bag loves to read. It doesn't come easy to her, thanks to her dyslexia,...
Return of the thief
Turner, Megan Whalen
Paper Book
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...
What is Black Lives Matter?
Wilson, Lakita
Paper Book
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...
Defiant : growing up in the Jim Crow South
Hudson, Wade
Paper Book
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,...
The mystery of the haunted dance hall
Cotter, Charis
Paper Book
Set in the '60s at a summer camp, The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall is a spooky, atmospheric middle-grade story for fans of classic ghost stories, unlikely friendships and intriguing mysteries. Bee's mom has a job in New York City for the summer, so Bee is being sent...
Coach
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
Three starred reviews! In this "beautifully executed victory lap" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) to Jason Reynolds's award-winning and New York Times bestselling Track series, meet Coach as a boy striving to come into...
The night diary
Hiranandani, Veera
Paper Book
NEWBERY HONOR BOOK . A poignant, personal, and hopeful tale of India's partition-and of one girl's journey to find a new home in a divided country. " The Night Diary is a sensitive portrayal of the universal search for identity and the need for a place to call home....
Time Lions and the Chrono-Loop
Sutherland, Krystal
Paper Book
A laugh-out-loud, edge-of-your-seat time-travel adventure perfect for fans of The Last Last-Day-of-Summer and City Spies from New York Times bestseller, Krystal Sutherland. Twins Pearl and Patrick are no ordinary twelve-year-olds. They're geniuses, hiding in...
Schooled
Sumner, Jamie
Paper Book
A Golden Kite Award Winner for Young Readers and Middle Grade Fiction An "insightful and absorbing" (Shelf Awareness, starred review) novel from acclaimed author Jamie Sumner about new schools, unexpected friendships, and overcoming loss. ...
The girl and the ghost
Hanna Alkaf
Paper Book
* 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...
Traitors Among Us
Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Ebook
The Last Ember: The Aerimander Chronicles Book 1
Dodd, Lily Berlin
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller! Impossible Creatures meets The Mysterious Benedict Society in this epic, fast-paced upper-middle grade fantasy full of dragon-like creatures, heroic hijinks, battle-forged friendships, and sharp humor. ★ "Expert...
When Tomorrow Burns
Keller, Tae
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Three middle school students embark on a quest to find a book that may just save their lives in this spectacular novel about fate and friendship--from the Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Trap a Tiger. "Another unforgettable...
We're better than this : my fight for the future of our democracy
Cummings, Elijah
Paper Book
Part memoir, part call to action, this young readers' edition dives into the inspiring life of the late U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings--from childhood through his time as chairman of the House Oversight Committee--and his tireless fight for justice. Elijah's story comes complete with a full...
Rick Riordan Presents: Serwa Boateng's Guide to Saving the World
Roseanne A. Brown
Ebook
Bridge of souls
Schwab, Victoria
Paper Book
Victoria ("V. E.") Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, invites readers to haunted New Orleans in this third installment of her thrillingly spooky City of Ghosts series! Where there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows . . . ...
Return to sender
Brosgol, Vera
Paper Book
*An Instant New York Times Bestseller* Magic, mystery, and a marvelous mailbox take two kids on an incredible journey in this middle grade adventure novel from bestselling comics creator Vera Brosgol. Perfect for fans of Greenwild and The Lost...
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