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.