Tween Reads: Home

Charley, who's set on becoming the first female pitcher to play professional ball has to contend with the tensions about to boil over in her segregated town.

Told in alternating voices, soccer teammates and former friends Tory and Mel develop feelings for each other when they unknowingly meet anonymously online.

When biracial seventh-grader Wyatt gets upset, mysterious smoke forms around him, but as his plans to make the baseball team and fit in at school fall apart, he must confront the roots of his unusual stress reaction.

Juni lives in a world without books. The Blight killed off all the trees, and since then, paper is worth more than just about anything else. Juni's parents were killed in an archeological dig when she was young, so now it's just her and her Grandpa Edgar, trying to survive. When she's not in school, Juni and her friends Doler and Quaze turn to plifting--scavenging in abandoned buildings for any scrap of paper they can find--to earn a little money. If Juni can find enough paper, she can pay for the expensive health care Grandpa needs. So when Juni discovers a book--the first one she's ever seen--hidden in a box in her grandpa's closet, she's both surprised and elated at the thought of the money she could get by selling it. Grandpa, however, insists that she read it first. Beyond the experience of opening her imagination, which exceeds her expectations, the book has hidden clues in the text that point to what could be the last library on Earth. If reading one book could change her own life so dramatically, what would access to thousands of books do? While out plifting, Juni meets Kobyn, who's connected to a secret organization eager to find the library and who seems to know something about how Juni's parents actually died. The mystery deepens when Juni meets Ullred O'Donnell, the head of Novexus, a megacorporation that has replaced the government and now controls all the information--and misinformation--the public sees. With an army of robot sentry dogs by his side, Ullred warns Juni to abandon her quest--or else. Juni, Doler, and Kobyn--along with Zeno, an AI holographic guardian of the library--must liberate the information the library contains and share it with the world before Novexus claims it for their own.

Twelve-year-old Sophie attempts to get her best friend back by infiltrating a group of bullies and agreeing to a serious of dangerous social media dares.

Eleven-year-old Kate lives with her grandmother, who runs a junk shop in a big old house on the outskirts of town. It sometimes feels sad to be in the business of collecting other people's leftover stuff, but Kate knows sad. She's a bit lonely, and she doesn't remember her mother, who left long ago. Still, Kate dreams that one day her mother will return, and when she does, she'll need money. So Kate sets out to make some, just in case. At first she wants to offer psychiatric advice, like Lucy in the Peanuts cartoon. Gran squashes that idea: "You are not a psychiatrist. You'll just get sued." But what about a philosopher, who Gran says is just someone who thinks deeply about important things. "I do that all the time," Kate says, and soon she opens up a Philosophy Booth to provide answers to life's big and small questions for $2 a pop. But who can answer Kate's questions? Where does her grandmother go in her truck at night? And why won't she talk about Kate's mother? These are hard questions to answer, and Kate gets help from two kids who come into her life. Myndeelee, who moves into the house behind Gran's, and Brandon, who Gran seems to hate, though Kate can't figure out why.

When troubled twelve-year-old Alex is assigned to spend his summer volunteering at a senior living facility, he forms a unique bond with a Holocaust survivor and learns lessons that change the trajectory of his life.

It's 1942, and the United States is at war. Henry Hamilton is an inquisitive twelve-year-old who dreams of being a reporter. Pursuing a story for his school newspaper, Henry's investigation soon leads to a mysterious room inside his town's famous Biltmore Mansion. The mystery only grows deeper when he uncovers the secret of the room's contents. As Henry pursues the story, hoping for his first real scoop, he encounters spies, dark forests, hidden tunnels, enemy saboteurs, famous artists, and even a long-dead president of the United States.

When Vietnamese American Freddie Lo finds herself in Vietnam for the first time since she was little, she's not quite sure how to feel. The memories of her extended family are more like distant echoes; she has a tough time speaking Vietnamese; and she can't help but feel like she just isn't Vietnamese enough. Still, this is her chance to reconnect with her family, especially her Ong ngoai--or grandfather--who is receiving a big award. That's when Ong ngoai reveals his secret: He knows the location of an ancient legendary crossbow, one with the power to decimate armies--and he's hidden it away from those who intend to use its magic for evil. But when Ong ngoai is kidnapped, it's up to Freddie, her cousin Lien, and a mysterious boy named Duy to get to the crossbow before it ends up in the wrong hands.

Frankie, accustomed to living in her younger brother's shadow, attends a new boarding school where half the students have horns like her brother, but she when begins to experience unsettling dreams she goes on to discover unsettling truths about the school.

Benji Zeb has to balance preparing for his bar mitzvah, his feelings for a school bully, and being a werewolf in this heartfelt, coming-of-age novel for middle-grade readers.

A quartet of thirteen-year-old boys' friendship is tested by ghosts, haunted houses, secret crushes, and a hundred-year-old curse.

Convinced that a big-foot-like creature took her best friend during a scouting trip, eleven-year-old Jenna sets out into the woods to find her.

When a ghost won't leave Maddie Maverick alone, she must solve the mystery of a decades-long train crash to save her twin sister and her hometown.

Melanie "Mel" Roberts and Ray Halfmoon may be from different Indigenous Nations, but the friends have become like siblings since the Robertses moved in with the Halfmoons. And they soon welcome a distinguished guest: Great-grandfather Bat, whose wing is injured, has taken refuge in their old oak tree. A rematch of the legendary Great Ball Game is coming up, with Bat as the star player. Grampa Charlie Halfmoon offers to drive Bat from Chicago down to the traditional playing field outside Macon, Georgia, and Mel and Ray are determined to help out. Together, they all set off on a road trip--facing adventure, danger, and a hair-raising mystery--on the way to the historic game.

When disaster strikes at Majestica, a magical creature park, thirteen-year-old maid Hattie and Evelyn, the park owner's spoiled niece, must overcome their differences to save the day.

As Sel navigates his newfound celebrity and copes with the absence of his best friend, a new danger emerges in Tremorglade and Sel joins Ingrid and Mika in a race against time to protect their home and friends.

A mysterious new enemy is after all the Spellbinder's books, and it is up to Ben and his mystical friends to protect them and their owners.

Twelve-year-old nonbinary B forms a connection with an anxious stray dog, Gooseberry, prompting them to pursue their dream of becoming a dog trainer while navigating the complexities of trust and building a family in their newest foster home.

When a seventh grader's favorite tree gets toilet-papered, it's the catalyst for either her worst or best summer ever. Sammy's school year was terrible. Not only did her former best friend, Kiera, dump her, but she even became Sammy's bully. But the last day of school seems to set the tone for a summer that Sammy dreads. The beautiful maple in front of her house that she loves to sit in and read is T.P.'d, upsetting the whole family, especially Imran, her autistic 7-year-old brother. After Sammy mentions prejudice as a possible motive, Imran becomes fixated on the idea that they've been targeted because they're Indian American and Muslim. Making things worse, Sammy's parents and older sister, Zaara, will be visiting India, while Sammy will stay behind with Imran and Umma, their grandmother. But things start looking up when a new girl moves in nearby. Alice and Sammy become fast friends until Kiera tries to split them apart. What Sammy doesn't anticipate is how the power of Umma's quiet strength and compassion will transform not only Sammy herself, but the whole community.

While on a journey across the sea to track the migration of an arctic fox, twelve-year-old Leila rediscovers herself and the mother she thought she had lost.

The Civil War is over. Aurelia, the daughter of a destitute plantation owner, reels from the aftermath of a war that has torn her life apart. Halle, a newly freed slave, looks for a family she fears is lost forever. When fate brings the two girls together, they head north in a joint quest for freedom: one from human shackles, the other from pride. Differences and judgment soon give way to an unexpected friendship between two girls who have more in common than meets the eye, as do we all.

A hot-headed cynic befriends the new kid--a shy trans boy--when she takes on a bet to get him elected student body president.

While helping her father empty her beloved grandmother's house, 13-year-old Liv finds an old chest that reveals Oma's involvement in the Dutch resistance during WWII and learns what it means to be brave and go above and beyond to offer someone else a life of dignity, happiness and freedom.

Discovering they're both trapped in a bar mitzvah time loop, reliving their celebrations in the same New Jersey hotel over and over again, Finn and Ezra team up to break the loop, and as their schemes become desperate, they must figure out how to move forward.

Tacoma Jones loves working at her family's roadside diner, the Brake Fast, pouring coffee and serving eggs and muffins to truckers all day long. But tonight, she is finally going to break out her collection of cookbooks and prepare the best dinner the state of Washington has ever seen. But her excitement is dampened when she learns that today is one of Dad's bad days, when his depression makes it hard for him to get out of bed. Tacoma knows she can't fix her dad's depression. But what she can do is steal back his prized photograph of his second-best day from her nemesis, the nasty Crocodile Kyle--while also planning a dinner that is sure to brighten up his bad day. She just might need an accomplice or two to pull off the heist.

Best friends Eve and Andrew go to their first eight grade dance together, and suddenly everybody assumes they are dating, so they each try and arrange a break-up--except they are both beginning to feel a different kind of attraction.

Twelve-year-old Ainy is looking forward to working at her mother's clothing store for the summer--and someday soon wearing a hijab--but when certain boys harass her, and the boy she has a crush on does not step in, she turns to her older sister for help.

J.P. Green has always felt out of step. She doesn't wear the right clothes, she doesn't say the right things, and her body…well, she'd rather not talk about it. And seventh grade is shaping up to be the worst year yet. So when J.P. discovers a mysterious door in her neighbor's tree house, she doesn't hesitate before walking through. The door sends her three days forward in time. Suddenly, J.P. can skip all the worst parts of seventh grade: Fitness tests in P.E., oral book reports, awkward conversations with her mom…she can avoid them all and no one even knows she was gone. But can you live a life without any of the bad parts? Are there experiences out there that you can't miss? This moving middle grade novel about mental health, body acceptance, and self-confidence asks what it truly means to show up for the people you love-and for yourself.

When her video about protecting their beloved state animal goes viral, 12-year-old anxiety-ridden aspiring filmmaker Olive Blackwood bands together with unexpected new friends to create a documentary that will raise awareness - and hopefully get her into Rose City Film Camp.

Thirteen-year-old aspiring writer Victoria Reeves remains dedicated to writing in her diary as her reading tastes evolve from Virginia Woolf to Sylvia Plath. She's growing up-getting the hang of her monthly "visitor," coming to terms with her relationship with her estranged father, and grappling with her ever-evolving views of womanhood. But the summer brings unexpected bumps along the way when Victoria develops complicated feelings about the cute boy next door and decidedly uncomplicated ones about her mom's new boyfriend. To protect her mom-and the family dynamic she's used to-from this unwanted interloper, Victoria will do what it takes to send him packing. But when she goes too far, Victoria realizes all she's done is ruin a good thing for her mom. Is it too late to set things right?

Sena thinks he is helping his poverty-stricken family when a man calling himself Jack of Diamonds promises him a job and a better life, but he ends up in the clutches of human traffickers and must use all his resolve to escape and survive.