Texas Tween Reads

Whether fantastical or realistic, all of these middle grade novels are set in Texas!

Updated August 5, 2024
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1

Once upon a camel
Appelt, Kathi
Paper Book
"A delight to the senses." --Kirkus Reviews Perfect for fans of The One and Only Ivan, this exquisite middle grade novel from Newbery Honoree and National Book Award finalist Kathi Appelt follows a creaky old camel out to save two baby kestrel chicks...

2

Shine on, Luz Ve?liz!
Balca?rcel, Rebecca
Paper Book
A beautiful coming-of-age story for fans of Front Desk and Merci Suárez Changes Gears, this book celebrates identity, language, heritage, family, and the determination to follow one's own inner light. Have you ever been the best at something . . . only to lose it...

3

Hope Springs
Berry, Jaime
Paper Book
Eleven-year-old Jubilee Johnson is an expert at three things: crafting, moving, and avoiding goodbyes. On the search for the "perfect place," she and her Nan live by their Number One Relocation Rule -- just the two of them is all they need. But Jubilee's starting to feel like just two is a...

4

Far out!
Bustard, Anne
Paper Book
From the author of Blue Skies comes a lively middle grade novel about a young, alien-loving girl trying to clear her grandmother's name in this mystery that has humor, hijinks, and heart in equal measure. It's 1964, the Space Race is well underway, and eleven-year-old...

5

Bridge to bat city : a mostly true tall tale about the weirdest town in Texas
Cline, Ernest
Paper Book
A National Bestseller! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ernest Cline comes a mostly true tall tale about an unexpected friendship between a young girl and a music-loving colony of bats. Includes a beautiful map of Austin...

6

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...

7

Wishing upon the same stars
Feldman, Jacquetta Nammar
Paper Book
This powerful and poignant coming-of-age middle grade debut novel follows an Arab American girl named Yasmeen as she moves to San Antonio with her family and navigates finding friendship--and herself. Perfect for fans of Other Words for Home, Front Desk, and American as Paneer...

8

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,...

9

Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel
Holt, Kimberly Willis
Paper Book
With unwavering emotion and masterful storytelling, National Book Award-winning author Kimberly Willis Holt explores themes of loss, family, love, and the importance of finding a place to call home. Stevie's life seems safe and full of love until the day tragedy strikes....

10

One true wish
Kate, Lauren
Paper Book
A dash of fairy magic brightens this heartfelt and bittersweet middle grade novel about three friends confronting their deepest wishes from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Kate. Phoebe is a wish-granting fairy who doesn't believe in children. Birdie, Gem, and...

11

The secret language of birds
Kelly, Lynne
Paper Book
An instant USA Today bestseller! From the award-winning author of Song for a Whale comes a poignant and heartwarming tale about a girl who discovers a pair of endangered birds about to lay eggs in the marshes of her summer camp...and the secret plan she hatches to help them.

12

Felice and the wailing woman
López, Diana
Paper Book
The twelve-year-old daughter of La Llorona vows to free her mother and reverse the curses that have plagued the magical town of Tres Leches in this delightfully sweet and spellbinding adventure by beloved author Diana L pez. When Felice learns that she's the daughter of La...

13

A dash of trouble
Meriano, Anna
Paper Book
"A charming and delectably sweet debut. Mischief, friendship, and a whole lot of heart--Love Sugar Magic has it all." --Zoraida Córdova, award-winning author of the Brooklyn Brujas series Leonora Logroño's family owns the most beloved bakery in Rose Hill, Texas, spending their...

14

Midnight on Strange Street
Ormsbee, K. E.
Paper Book
AVERY MILLER is looking for a fresh start, away from all the bomb sirens and talk of war in Los Angeles. She expects to find a haven in Callaway, Texas, where the cool new substance "glow" was first discovered. What she doesn't count on is making friends with glowboard skaters Dani, Bastian, and...

15

The great Texas dragon race
Ritter, Kacy
Paper Book
Wings of Fire meets The Hunger Games in this debut contemporary middle grade fantasy stand-alone about thirteen-year-old Cassidy Drake, who enters the dangerous Great Texas Dragon Race to save her family's dragon sanctuary. Thirteen-year-old Cassidy Drake wants nothing more...

16

Joy, to the world
Shappley, Kai
Paper Book
A young Dumplin' meets Melissa in this joyful and energetic middle grade novel about a twelve-year-old girl living her life to the fullest, celebrating her love for sports and fighting for her right to cheer. Joy, a twelve-year-old trans girl, just moved to Texas with her...

17

I survived the Galveston hurricane, 1900
Tarshis, Lauren
Paper Book
More than a century later, the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 is still America's deadliest disaster. Lauren Tarshis's story of one child surviving the horrible event churns with page-turning action and bold hope. The city of Galveston, Texas, was booming. Perched on an island off the southern...

18

Luna howls at the moon
Tubb, Kristin O'Donnell
Paper Book
The award-winning author of A Dog Like Daisy returns with a moving middle grade novel from the point of view of Luna, a Labrador therapy dog who accompanies her group therapy kids when they set off on an adventure across Austin, Texas. Luna has always wanted to be a therapy dog...

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