Growing up has never been easy. Adolescence is a whirlwind of changing bodies, attitudes, and appearances. For middle schoolers, the path from elementary school only complicates things further.
Navigating classes, friendships, and decisions in a new environment can be a tough adjustment, and students may face additional challenges depending on their background and identity. We’ve arranged a list of children’s books featuring incoming middle schoolers that showcase their journey through these obstacles and more. Let’s dive in!
All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
While exploring themes of family and friendships, this is a unique story of one’s girl passage to middle school. After growing up with parents who work at a Renaissance Fair, Imogene (Impy) wants to start training to be a squire. To prove her courage, Impy elects to start at a public middle school, a major change from being homeschooled previously. Her path to a knight-in-training is complicated when Impy joins a group of friends who aren’t as nice as they seem to be.
New Kid by Jerry Craft
For Jordan Banks, being one of the only Black kids in his grade has obvious downsides. With a passion for drawing cartoons about his life, Jordan yearns to enroll in the art school of his dreams. However, his parents have other plans. They send Jordan to a prestigious private school, which feels worlds away from his apartment. Struggling to fit into both environments, Jordan needs to decide how to balance school and neighborhood expectations without sacrificing his identity.
Don’t Judge Me by Lisa Schroeder
Hazel prefers to stay in her own lane. Navigating the difficulties of middle school is tiresome enough, and she is more than content with hanging out with her best friend, secretly writing haiku poems, and caring for a rescue tortoise. But that all changes after Hazel makes a discovery that is bound to change everything. When she finds out that her bestie’s older brother created a list rating middle school girls based on their looks, Hazel must learn to speak up and make waves to do what’s right.
Barakah Beats by Maleeha Siddiqui
After spending her entire life in Islamic school, Nimra Sharif is headed to a “real school.” The twelve-year-old is beyond nervous, and despite hoping her best friend, Jenna, will help her adjust, the opposite is true. After Jenna distances herself from Nimra, she joins the eighth-grade boy band to earn back Jenna’s friendship, vowing to drop out before her parents find out. When Nimra’s lies start to fall apart weeks before a talent show, she is faced with a difficult decision and hopes to not let anyone down, including herself.
Say It Out Loud by Allison Varnes
Being quiet has never been a problem for Charlotte Andrews, especially since she’ll do anything to avoid being teased for her stutter. But her silence creates a rift between her and her best friend after Charlotte is a bystander to bullying on the bus. Simultaneously, Charlotte just started to find her voice through theater when the arts program was unexpectedly discontinued. As a result, she turns to writing to save the program and her friendship, and it just might work if she can believe in and trust her voice.
Not the Worst Friend in the World by Anne Rellihan
Eleven-year-old Lou’s time in sixth grade is off to a rocky start. Early on, Lou fought with her best friend Francie and said terrible things she wishes she could take back. When the new girl in school, Cece, passes Lou a note telling her that she’s been kidnapped, Lou takes this as an opportunity to prove she’s a good friend by saving Cece. Grounded in the powerful tales of middle school friendship, Not the Worst Friend in the World employs an authentic voice and an approachable mystery for young readers.
When kids go to middle school, the changes they experience can be as confusing and overwhelming as they are interesting and exciting. Reading about diverse characters that embody and overcome these struggles can be empowering and helpful as preteens progress through this difficult period.
Looking for more children’s books about starting middle school? Click here.
Check out these and more on our Back-to-School Recommendations for All Ages booklist on Bookshop.org!
