Ms. Kochel's Book Blog

I've been a middle school librarian for over 27 years and I believe that middle school kids deserve great books! Learn more at youngteenlit.com

Monday, December 22, 2025

Wish I Was a Baller by Amar Shah

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  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 playe...
Wednesday, December 10, 2025

The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder by Kate Emery

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  The Dysfunctional Family's Guide to Murder by Kate Emery is thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery with a quirky, funny 14-year-old Austr...
Sunday, November 30, 2025

The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez

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 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 tradit...
Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Away by Megan Freeman

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  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 m...
Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Confessions from the Group Chat by Jodi Meadows

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  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 fr...
Saturday, August 09, 2025

Top Heavy by Rhonda DeChambeau

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  Esme is a 15-year-old dancer who has worked her whole life to make the elite dance team. When she and her best friend get the coveted spot...

Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

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  Maddie's Dad is a secret service agent, and when a plot to kill the First Lady of the United States goes wrong, he quits the secret se...

I Witnessed: The Lizzie Borden Story: A Graphic Novel by Jeramey Kraatz (Author)and Crystal Jayme (Illustrator)

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  Middle school kids are very interested in murder mysteries, so this graphic novel caught my attention. It features a 14-year-old boy who i...
Thursday, August 07, 2025

The Beat I Drum by Dusti Bowling

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  Dusti Bowling's latest novel is solidly  #youngteenlit  with a 14-year-old protagonist and strong disability representation. Connor ha...
Friday, July 25, 2025

Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Roentgen

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  Lunar Jones was born on Mars. But life outside of planet Earth is no picnic. Mars, which was cursed by its own dying dragon, is running ou...

The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming

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Most kids probably don't know how important secret codes were during World War II. Germans, Japanese, and Allied forces had to send radi...
Thursday, July 24, 2025

The Scott Fenwick Diaries by Kristin Nilsen

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 Anyone who has ever had a crush on a real live person will see themselves in Millie, a 13-year-old girl who has only experienced love throu...

Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson

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This collection of poetry by the multitalented Renée Watson is exquisite. It weaves together stories of Black girls growing up in a neighbor...

Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste

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Coal is a 13-year-old boy who has no idea that he has superpowers. Life isn't easy for him--he's a foster child and artist who has a...

This Book Kills by Ravena Guron

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  Jess Choudhary is a scholarship student at an elite British boarding school. She's one of very few Indian students, and she only has o...
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