Grin by D. W. Gillespie

 

Danny is a seventh grader who loves video games, and he is understandably thrilled to spend a week with his Uncle Bill, the owner of PixelWorks, a huge video game arcade. Danny has heard of a rare game called Grin from his favorite video game streamer, and he is shocked to find his Uncle Bill unboxing the game in his warehouse. Rumor has it that everyone who has ever played the game has died tragically, but that doesn't stop Danny and his uncle from trying it out. When the game takes over Uncle Bill, Danny risks his own life to save his uncle and himself. Middle schoolers are always asking for horror books, and this is a rare title that will not disappoint (while also being completely appropriate for young teens). Highly recommended for middle school libraries. 

The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel (Author), Sammy Savos (Author), and Bethany Strout (Author)

 

Estelle Nadel was seven years old when Nazis invaded Poland and her life was upended. She spent the next years in hiding, facing devastating losses and relying on the mercy of neighbors and strangers. She miraculously survives the war along with two of her brothers. It's a miraculous story, made even better by the fact that it doesn't end with the defeat of Hitler. This book follows Estelle's journey through refugee camps and eventually to America, where three young people without parents struggle to make lives for themselves. Sammy Savos, the illustrator and co-author, masterfully illustrates and tells Estelle's story in a way that draws readers in, never hiding the sadness, fear and desperation of the Jews in hiding. The Girl Who Sang is a gem, and should be read by adults as well as young people 6th grade-up. 

The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur: A Graphic Novel Based on a True Story by Allan Wolf (Author) and Jose Pimienta (Illustrator)

This gripping nonfiction graphic novel tells a little-known story about science, survival, and environmentalism, all from the first-person point of view of Lake Peigneur, which literally did vanish one day in 1980. Lake Peigneur, located in Louisiana, had an oil well and a salt mine on its shores, both of which contributed to the bizarre disaster that occurred on November 20, 1980. The lake had numerous people on its waters and shores, including fishermen, oilmen, and miners, all going about their normal work on an ordinary day. The author tells the tale of the 51 men deep in a salt mine, the father and son fishing on the lake, and the passengers on a boat rescuing some of the oil rig workers. It's a compelling survival story, with science and history thrown in. Curious middle schoolers will definitely be caught up in this story, and the back matter gives context and documentation to the remarkable tale. Highly recommended for middle school libraries. 

Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer

 

Ezra Cloud is a Native kid living in the city. He hates it there but his dad is a professor of Ojibwe language with a job in Minneapolis. Ezra would rather be in Canada with his grandparents learning their skills in nature. When Ezra has a run-in with Matt Shroeder, a notoriously troubled bully, Ezra becomes a suspect in a fire that destroys Matt's house and kills his family members. Ezra's family sends him north to work a trapline with his grandfather while the investigation plays out, knowing that an Indian teenager may not get fair treatment from the law. This book grabs your attention from the first page, makes you fall in love with Ezra and his grandparents, then catapults you into an outdoor survival story, then brings you back to the original murder mystery. It's a great story with so much to learn along the way. The audiobook read by the author is excellent, and it will help readers to hear the Ojibwe words spoken. It's a true coming of age story about a young teen finding his culture, learning about his mother, seeing his grandparents as full people, finding first love, facing mortal danger, and reconciling with his father. Beautifully written and insightful and a really great story. Highly recommended for 7th graders on up and also for adults.  

Westfallen by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

 

Imagine if your actions today could change absolutely everything about the society you live in. Henry, Frances, and Lukas are three modern kids who find an old radio that allows them to communicate with kids 80 years in the past. They realize they are in the same shed in the very same back yard, and that there are ways they can send items back and forth. The kids in the past want to save their local candy store, but they also want to know the outcome of World War II, which is still very much uncertain. Even the most careful conversation can lead to dramatic changes in the future, and when the outcome of the war changes, Henry, Frances, and Lukas have just a few days to reverse the changes and restore the United States of America. This book keeps you guessing up to the end, teaches lots of history lessons, and makes you want to immediately pick up the sequel. Highly recommended for 5th-7th grades. 

Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson

Kaylani is spending a few weeks on Martha's Vineyard with family friends when a local teenager goes missing. When it is determined that his death was not accidental, Kaylani realizes that she may have some knowledge of the events leading up to the murder. Kaylani is living with a snooty and not very welcoming family that is part of the Black community on Martha's Vineyard, and it becomes clear that they are hiding some secrets. Kaylani is most interested in communicating with her father who is in prison for financial crimes he may or may not have committed, and her father's status affects how people perceive her on the island. Readers will relate to Kaylani and her outsider status. Murder mysteries are in high demand in middle schools, and this is a fine selection for 6th and 7th graders (or even younger students). It does not have the edginess of a YA murder mystery but the ending will likely surprise readers and its shorter page count and beautiful cover will draw students in.  

Slugfest by Gordon Norman

 

Yash is a JV football star looking forward to a summer of football practices before his freshman year of high school begins. When he gets the bad news that he needs one more PE credit in order to graduate from 8th grade, it means his whole summer is going to be spent with the "slugs" in summer school. An older home economics teacher shows up as the PE teacher, and not a lot of physical edcation is happening. This upsets Yash, but not the other slugs, who aren't very physically fit. In the meantime, a new kid joins the JV football team, and it looks like he's better than Yash. In classic Gordon Korman style, he takes an unlikely group of kids, brings them together with a cause (in this case, it involves competing in a flag football tournament), and we have a humorous, heartwarming, fun book that will be enjoyed by middle schoolers, especially football fans. Thanks, Gordon Korman!

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Kids are clamoring for this series from the author of The Inheritance Games series. The Naturals was first published in 2014 but has had a social media resurgence in 2025. It's the story of 17-year-old Cassie, recruited by the FBI because of her natural ability to read people. She's brought together with a small group of teens who are also "naturals" at some aspect of crime solving. The teens aren't supposed to get directly involved with murder cases, but Cassie is motivated by her mother's murder many years ago, and one of the other teens has a criminal father. So the crime solving is personal, and the naturals get access to some evidence they can't put down. As in many YA books, there's also a love triangle. It's a gritty murder mystery, one that I would say is most appropriate for 8th-up (but younger kids are asking for it). It's smart and feels like watching a crime TV show. CW: mention of sexual abuse, mutilation, and use of the word "whore"

Dropping Beats by Nathanael Lessore

 

Dropping Beats is the rare book for teens that had me laughing out loud multiple times. Growls, a highly confident 13-year-old rapper from South London, is unintentionally hilarious even as things crumble around him. The story opens with a humiliating social media post that leaves him a laughingstock and causes his best friend to disappear from school. Growls feels very much alone until he develops a great friendship with a mysterious neighbor named Siobhan. The story may sound trite (yes, it culminates in a rap battle that has the potential to save the family home), but it's so sweet and clever and funny that I was hanging on every word. Trust me, this is a real gem and I can't wait to get some student feedback on it. Recommended for all middle school libraries. 

Outsider Kids by Betty C. Tang

 

I wasn't expecting to love this book even more than Parachute Kids, but the continuing story of the Lin siblings is even more compelling in Outsider Kids. A snooty cousin moves in with the siblings and upends their lives in ways they couldn't anticipate. Big sister is trying to get into college, older brother is grappling with his identity, and Feng-Li discovers that one impulsive act could upend their whole lives. I was totally engaged in the story and shocked at more than one plot twist. I cannot help but put myself in these kids' shoes, and I know that my middle schoolers do the same. We relate to these characters and we sympathize with the precarious situation they are in as parachute kids in the United States. Recommended for all middle school collections. 

Wish I Was a Baller by Amar Shah

 

In 1995 when author Amar Shah was a ninth grade sports journalist, he had the opportunity to meet and report on some of the greatest players of all time. This graphic novel chronicles his encounters with Shaq, Michael Jordan, and the coaches and players that he rather miraculously got to know. At the same time, Amar deals with jealous friends, awkward situations with girls, and he learns some lessons in how to behave in the grown-up world of sports reporting. Adults will likely be even more amazed than kids by Amar's high school experiences, but kids who love basketball will be thrilled to have a graphic novel for them. 

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder by Kate Emery

 

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder by Kate Emery is thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery with a quirky, funny 14-year-old Australian narrator. Ruth's extended family is visiting the rural home of GG, their wealthy step grandmother, when GG is murdered by a blow to the head with a typewriter. Ruth and her cousin Dylan go into full detective mode against the wishes of their parents and they discover that multiple family members had either a reason or an opportunity to kill GG, or at least to want her dead. Our snarky, smart narrator, Ruth, breaks the fourth wall by talking right to the reader, telling us that a second body is going to turn up dead, admitting that she is crushing on her handsome cousin, and letting us know when she's about to do something dangerous that her father wouldn't approve of. There's no blood and gore, but it's a legit mystery with references to Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and Murder She Wrote. Ruth is an outstanding storyteller. A top choice for middle school mystery fans. 

The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez

 Yulieta Lopez should have gotten the lead in the school play. But the role goes to a white girl whose looks fit the character in the traditional play that the theatre teacher chose. Yuli longs to leave her Texas town and have a career in theatre, and she knows that brown skinned Latina girls like her don't get a lot of chances, so she hesitates to speak up about the racism she is experiencing. But she finds that she has to speak up when all of the books are removed from her favorite teacher's classroom, and this is the one classroom in the whole school where books by Black, brown, and LGBTQ authors are represented. Yuli takes her love of acting and her anger over book banning and realizes that she has the power to create her own kind of theatre to raise awareness about the racism she sees in her school. This novel in verse shows a teen's awakening to her own power, and her stumbling toward finding ways to make her point without hurting other people in the process. The protagonist is a junior in high school, and the story feels right for 8th-10th graders, but younger students could also get inspiration from this empowering story. It does not have the complexity and poetic brilliance of Elizabeth Acevedo's novels, but could definitely be recommended for readers who love her work.  

Away by Megan Freeman

 

I am a big fan of Alone by Megan Freeman, the story of a 12-year-old girl who lives on her own for 3 years after being left behind in a mass evacuation of the state of Colorado. Alone has been a big hit with middle schoolers, especially 6th graders who like the novel in verse format and the survival aspect of the story. Away is the companion book--it tells the story of what happens to four other young teenagers who are caught up in the evacuation. Alone leaves readers with a lot of big questions about the evacuation, including how and why it happened. I had high hopes that Away would both answer the questions and be a compelling story in its own right. Unfortunately, the explanation for the evacuation did not ring true, from the logistics of transporting and housing people to the fact that no one comes to the aid of the presumably thousands of people held for years in government custody. Attempts were made to explain how people are banned from using technology and why the federal government isn't involved, but it's all so unbelievable. Putting the logistics of a mass evacuation based on a nefarious disinformation campaign aside, the story of the four young teens in the camp didn't engage me nearly as much as Maddie's original survival story in Alone. Our four protagonists are unnecessarily precocious (a screenwriter, a poet, a journalist, and a lover of mythology), and the story takes a long time to get going. Kids are absolutely reading this book and wanting the answers it provides, but it is not going to be as well-received as the original book in the series. 

Confessions from the Group Chat by Jodi Meadows

 

Virginia is a popular girl with an enviable friend group, but she hides her love of the library and her crush on social-outcast Greyson from her influential clique. When an argument threatens her friendships, the Queen Bee gets revenge on Virginia by posting their group chats for the whole school to see. Nothing that is posted is untrue, but  Virginia never wanted other people to see her mean comments. Virginia is now a total outcast, with one anonymous texting buddy. How will she manage her crush on Greyson, her unknown online friend, and the hatred of the entire eighth grade? This relatable story, full of text messages, will be an easy sell to middle school readers.