Tween Reads

Discover recent releases for tweens.
Updated April 18, 2025
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Away (Alone)
Megan E. Freeman
Paper Book
A group of children investigate the threat that prompted large-scale evacuations in this powerful and dramatic companion novel to the New York Times bestselling Alone told in multiple POVs. After an imminent yet unnamed danger forces people across Colorado to leave...
Out of My Heart
Sharon M. Draper
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
Lisa Fipps
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...
Pony
R. J. Palacio
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...
How to Draw a Secret
Cindy Chang
For fans of Raina Telgemeier's Sisters and Jen Wang's Stargazing comes the empowering autobiographical story of a young Taiwanese American artist struggling to find her voice to save what matters most. Twelve-year-old Cindy relishes drawing flawless images, but she is stumped...
From the Desk of Zoe Washington
Janae Marks
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...
A Copycat Conundrum (The Misfits)
Lisa Yee
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . When San Francisco is under strange attacks-like earthquakes affecting only two city blocks at a time-who're you gonna call? An elite team of crime-fighting underdogs, that's who! The Misfits are on the case in this hilarious illustrated series!
This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us
Katherine Locke
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...
Halfway to Somewhere: (A Graphic Novel)
Jose Pimienta
Paper Book
New school, new country, but only half a family?! Embark on a coming of age journey with a middle school teen navigating their parent's divorce while moving to a new country in this stunning graphic novel. Ave thought moving to Kansas would be boring and flat after enjoying the...
Paradise on Fire
Jewell Parker Rhodes
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...
One Wrong Step
Jennifer A. Nielsen
Paper Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a brand-new, spine-tingling adventure about two kids and their fight for survival on the unforgiving trails of Mount Everest. Jennifer Nielsen's storytelling climbs to new heights in this epic about loss, letting go, and...
Attack of the Black Rectangles
A. S. King
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...
Rise Up!: How You Can Join the Fight Against White Supremacy
Crystal Marie Fleming
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, and Truth
Wade Hudson
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
Brandy Colbert
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
Emmanuel Acho
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...
Black Star
Kwame Alexander
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book The thrilling second book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Door of No Return trilogy stars Kofi's granddaughter, Charley, who's set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball but who...
Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero
Saadia Faruqi
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...
The Sherlock Society (1)
James Ponti
Paper Book
In the tradition of Nancy Drew, four kids and one grandfather in Miami tackle a decades-old mystery in this first book full of "atmosphere, history, and lively humor" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) in the Sherlock Society middle grade series from New York Times bestselling,...
What Is Black Lives Matter?
Lakita Wilson
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...
The Beautiful Something Else
Ash Van Otterloo
Paper Book
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 the...
Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South
Wade Hudson
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,...
Lola
Karla Arenas Valenti
Paper Book
A simmering tale of magic, adventure, and the extraordinary bond between a brother and sister who'd journey to the ends of the Earth to save each other. From the acclaimed author of Loteria comes a heartfelt story rooted in Mexican magical realism. A PURA BELPR AUTHOR WINNER ....
Monster Locker (Monster Locker, 1)
Jorge Aguirre
Paper Book
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year In this first volume of a thrilling middle grade graphic novel series, a sixth-grader named Pablo discovers his locker is a portal to the realm of monsters! For hundreds of years, something in the basement of Glenfield...
The Night Diary
Veera Hiranandani
Paper Book
A 2019 NEWBERY HONOR BOOK A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the Century "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...
A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall
Jasmine Warga
Paper Book
From the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of A Rover's Story and Other Words for Home comes an extraordinary story about two friends, a ghost, a missing painting, and a turtle named Agatha. The perfect next read for fans of The Swifts, Kate DiCamillo, and Erin...
The Queen of Ocean Parkway
Sarvenaz Tash
Paper Book
An 11-year-old podcaster-turned-sleuth teams up with the new kid in the building to find their missing neighbor! A captivating adventure perfect for fans of When You Reach Me and Only Murders in the Building. Eleven-year-old Roya is the superintendent's kid in...
Library Girl
Polly Horvath
Paper Book
After living in the public library for the last eleven years, Essie must learn to adapt to a world that's not as perfect as the stories she's grown up with in this heartfelt middle grade novel from Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath. Essie has grown up in the public library,...
Freedom Fire: Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek
Kwame Mbalia
Paper Book
"I loved everything about this book."--Rick Riordan, New York Times #1 best-selling author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series 12-year-old Jax Freeman discovers a secret world where a diverse group of students with unique talents wield magic by summoning the power of...
Ain't It Funny
Margaret Gurevich
Paper Book
For fans of Stand Up, Yumi Chung! and The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl comes an honest and heartfelt novel about a girl who's determined not to let her growing anxiety and OCD hold her back from using stand-up comedy to bring her parents back together. ...
Similar Lists

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.