Great New Children’s Books for Older Readers
Title: Between Two Brothers
By: Allen, Crystal
Published: 2024
Suggested ages and title descriptions are from the publisher or each item's library catalog record.
Realistic Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
Isaiah "Ice" Abernathy has always worshiped his older brother, Seth. For years they've been not just brothers but best friends--and as Seth starts his senior year, Ice is eager to spend as much time with his brother as he can, making memories before Seth goes to college. But when Seth announces he's leaving much earlier than expected, and then he misses an important event--one he'd promised to attend--it causes a major fight.
Title: Keep It Like a Secret
By: Anderson, John David
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
After his sister--and best friend--Claire leaves home after a fight with their mother, Morgan has one chance to convince Claire to come home and put their family back together, but Claire has her own plan for the day she told Morgan she wanted to spend with him--one that will change things between them forever.
Title: Curveball
By: Cartaya, Pablo
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel/Sports
Ages 8 to 12
Elena Rueda loves baseball--and is the best player on her team--but recently has stopped having fun, so during a summer spent with her brother's quirky friends she reflects on who she is and maybe learns love to play again.
Title: K Is in Trouble
By: Clement, Gary
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel (Humor)
Ages 7 to 12
K is nice, polite, and always does as he's told. K is also always, always in trouble. No matter what he does or says, it seems there is someone ready to blame him for everything. K is in trouble for going to school. K is in trouble for staying home. K is in trouble for running an errand, getting sick, or just being thirsty. K gets into trouble with imperious crows, persnickety station agents, bombastic teachers, his own classmates... even one nice fresh carp.
Title: One Big Open Sky
By: Cline-Ransome, Lesa
Published: 2024
Historical Fiction (1870s)
Ages 8 to 12
"In the 1870s, a Black family undertakes a perilous wagon journey westward for a tenuous shot at freedom in Nebraska.
Title: Wires Crossed
By: Fantaskey, Beth
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel (Realistic Fiction)
Ages 8 to 12
Is this what middle school is all about? Being stuck in the middle? Twelve-year-old Mia feels like everything and everyone is changing--and she is caught in the middle. Stuck between old friends and new friends... between feeling like a kid and growing up...
Title: The Partition Project
By: Faruqi, Saadia
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
As Dadi (her father) starts to settle into life in Houston and Maha scrambles for a subject for her documentary, the two of them start talking--about Dadi's childhood in northern India, and about the Partition that forced her to leave her home and relocate to the newly created Pakistan. As details of Dadi's life are revealed, Dadi's personal story feels a lot more like the breaking news that Maha loves so much.
Title: Lion of the Sky
By: Hemnani, Ritu
Published: 2024
Historical Fiction (1940s)
Ages 8 to 12
Twelve-year-old Raj is happiest flying kites with his best friend, Iqbal. As their kites soar, Raj feels free, like his beloved India soon will be, and he can't wait to celebrate their independence. But when a British lawyer draws a line across a map, splitting India in two, Raj is thrust into a fractured world.
Title: Ant Story
By: Hosler, Jay
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel (Humor, Informational)
Ages 8 to 12
Meet Rubi, a tiny ant with a big personality and an even bigger love for stories. Who knew the small world of her colony could be full of unexpected friendships, epic adventures, and death-defying escapes?
Title: The Boo Hag Flex
By: Ireland, Justina
Published: 2024
Monsters
Ages 8 to 12
The Shady Pines trailer park seems like a miserable place to spend a summer, even before an elderly neighbor suddenly passes away. But then Tasha meets a girl named Ellie who says she knows what really killed old Mr. Harold: a terrifying creature that stalks the trailer park at night, sucking the life from its victims.
Title: Benny Ramirez and the Nearly Departed
By: Iriarte, Jose Pablo
Published: 2024
Humor/Ghosts
Ages 8 to 12
After moving cross-country into his late grandfather’s Miami mansion, Benny discovers that the ghost of his famous trumpet-playing abuelo, the great Ignacio Ramírez, is still there… and isn’t too thrilled about it. He’s been barred from the afterlife, and no one can see him except his grandson. But Benny’s got problems of his own.
Title: The Color of Sound
By: Isler, Emily Barth
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 11 to 14
For twelve-year-old Rosie, sight and sound have always been intertwined. Her synesthesia lets her see music in colors, though she's never told anyone this. She already stands out more than enough as a musical 'prodigy' who plays better than most adults. Rosie's mom expects her to become a professional violinist. But this summer, Rosie refuses to play. She wants to have a break. To make friends and discover new hobbies. To find out who she would be if her life didn't revolve around the violin.
Title: The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry
By: Johnson, Anna Rose
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
Lucy, a spirited French-Ojibwe orphan, is sent to the stormy waters of Lake Superior to live with a mysterious family of lighthouse keepers--and, she hopes, to find the legendary necklace her father spent his life seeking.
Title: Lightningborn
By: Kagawa, Julie
Published: 2024
Fantasy
Ages 8 to 12
Remy can't even afford to dream of flying on the back of a majestic dragon. He knows only the rich can own dragons, and he's far too busy worrying about where his next meal will come from ... Remy spends his days trying to survive the mean streets of Cutthroat Wedge--one of the many islands floating in the gravitational pull of the magical Maelstrom raging below. But his life changes forever when a violent storm brings a baby dragon to his doorstep.
Title: Drawing Deena
By: Khan, Hena
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
When aspiring artist Deena's anxiety reaches a breaking point, both she and her mother learn the importance of asking for help, and that, with the right support, she can create something truly beautiful.
Title: Slugfest
By: Korman, Gordon
Published: 2024
Sports/Humor
Ages 8 to 12
Yash is the best athlete at Robinette Middle School--so good, in fact, that he's already playing on the high school's JV sports teams. Imagine his shock when he learns that his JV practices have kept him from earning a state-mandated credit for eighth-grade PE. To graduate, he has to take Physical Education Equivalency--PEE, also known as 'Slugfest'--in summer school. Yash gets to know his fellow 'slugs'.
Title: Wildful
By: Kurimoto, Kerigo
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel (Nature/Grief)
Ages 9 to 12
Discover the magic of the wilderness in this breathtaking graphic novel reminiscent of a modern-day The Secret Garden. Poppy's mother hasn't been the same since Gran passed away. She stays inside and watches TV, unable to leave the couch. So maybe that's why Poppy has started spending more time outside, taking her dog Pepper for walks around the neighborhood. When Pepper leads Poppy through a hole in the fence, she finds a forgotten forest that's been there all along, as well as a new friend named Rob.
Title: Things That Shimmer
By: Lakritz, Deborah
Published: 2024
Historical Realistic Fiction (1970s)
Ages 8 to 12
Set in 1973, Melanie desperately wants to be accepted by the Shimmers, the popular girls in her class, but when she gets to know Dorit, the new girl from Israel, she must choose between popularity and true friendship.
Title: The Monster and the Maze (Monkey King and the World of Myths)
By: Lam, Marie
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel (Humor/Adventure/Mythology)
Ages 8 to 12
Follow along as the legendary Monkey King tries to save the world from a mysterious new threat--and smashes his way through the world of ancient Greek mythology in the process.
Title: Mani Semilla Finds Her Quetzel Voice
By: Lapera, Anna
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 9 and up
Manuela 'Mani' Semilla wants two things: to get her period, and to thwart her mom's plan of taking her to Guatemala on her thirteenth birthday. If her mom's always going on about how dangerous it is in Guatemala, and how much she sacrificed to come to this country, then why should Mani even want to visit?
Title: Sona and the Golden Beasts
By: LaRocca, Rajani
Published: 2024
Fantasy/Adventure
Ages 8 to 12
Sona's world shifts after discovering an orphaned wolf pup. She believes the pup, with its golden ears, might be related to one of the five sacred beasts of Devia, which a Malechian Hunter has been killing one by one. And when someone Sona loves falls ill, she is drawn into a quest with a Devan boy to retrieve the nectar of life.
Title: Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop
By: Levy, Joshua S.
Published: 2024
Humor/Science Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
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.
Title: The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman
By: Lowe, Mari
Published: 2023
Realistic Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
Shaindy is a twelve-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl who struggles in school and has no good friends. She watches with envy as her next-door neighbor, Gayil, excels socially and academically. They have little to do with each other, and it comes as a surprise when Shaindy looks out her window one September evening and sees Gayil staring out at her from her own window with a sign reading "Want to know a secret?" The secret (at first) is that Gayil has a key fob that will allow them to break into their school after hours.
Title: The Secret Library
By: Magoon, Kekla
Published: 2024
Mystery
Ages 8 to 12
Starved for adventure and release, Dally rescues a mysterious envelope from her mother’s clutches, an envelope Grandpa had earmarked for her. The map she finds inside leads straight to an ancient vault, a library of secrets where each book is a portal to a precise moment in time.
Title: Sing It Like Celia
By: Mancillas, Mónica
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 9 to 12
Twelve-year-old Salva Sanchez has always been a fan of Celia Cruz, also known as “the queen of salsa.” Her love of Celia stems from her mother, who leaves Salva without explanation one awful day. Now Salva is stuck with her investigative journalist father in an RV campground.
Title: Medusa
By: Marsh, Katherine
Published: 2024
Mythology/Adventure
Ages 8 to 12
At the Accademia del Forte, a mysterious international boarding school in Venice, Ava and her brother, Jax, discover that the Olympian gods founded the Accademia to teach the descendants of mythological monsters how to control their emotions and their powers and become functioning, well-adjusted members of society. But not everything at the Accademia is as it seems.
Title: Like a Charm
By: McNicoll, Elle
Published: 2023
Magic/Adventure
Ages 8 to 12
Ramya Knox is used to feeling cursed. People only notice her long enough to call her a troublemaker. Except Grandpa. He sees Ramya and her neurodiversity as enchanting. But when Grandpa dies, Ramya's world loses its charm...until she discovers he left behind one big secret: that magic is real and Ramya can see it. Trolls, vampires, kelpies, and more fantastical beings hide in the shadows for Ramya to discover. But the Hidden Folk need protection from the most dangerous creatures of all: the sirens.
Title: My Antarctica
By: Neri, G.
Published: 2024
Non-Fiction
Ages 7 to 10
Join beloved author G. Neri on his long-dreamed-of voyage to the ice, where he taps into his inner child and encounters sea angels, mummified seals, space robots, inquisitive penguins, and so much more. Abundant full-color photographs (many by the author) and annotated comics and illustrations from Corban Wilkin depict an unforgettable stay in a land of baffling mysteries to uncover, epic questions to ponder, and bigger-than-life stories to tell.
Title: The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines
By: Netz, Mo
Published: 2024
Horror/Adventure/Mystery
Ages 8 to 12
Ever since her dad died, eleven-year-old Jerry Blum and her mom have bounced around dead-end towns, staying in rundown motels where her mother picks up housekeeping work and Jerry can get around in her wheelchair. But the Slumbering Giant motel is different. Lights blink on and off in the trees, a mysterious radio station plays only at midnight, and people disappear into the woods, never to been seen again. Not to mention that Jerry's mom keeps vanishing to do 'special work' that she refuses to discuss. When her mother doesn't come home one morning, Jerry springs into action.
Title: Isabel in Bloom
By: Respicio, Mae
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
Making friends in a new city, and new country, is hard for twelve-year-old Filipina-American Isabel, but joining the gardening and cooking club at school helps her find her way.
Title: Fake Chinese Sounds
By: Tsong, Jing Jing
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel/Realistic
Ages 9 to 12
Between homework, studying, and Chinese school, Měi Yīng's summer is shaping up to be a boring one. Her only bright spots are practice with her soccer team, the Divas, and the time spent with her năi nai, who is visiting from Taiwan. Although Měi Yīng's Mandarin isn't the best and Năi Nai doesn't speak English, they find other ways to connect.
Title: Not Quite a Ghost
By: Ursu, Anne
Published: 2024
Ghost Stories/Paranormal
Ages 8 to 12
Violet tells herself, change is okay. That is, until Violet sees her new room. The attic bedroom in their new house is shadowy, creaky, and wrapped in old yellow wallpaper covered with a faded tangle of twisting vines and sickly flowers. And then, after moving in, Violet falls ill--and does not get better. As days turn into weeks without any improvement, her family growing more confused and her friends wondering if she's really sick at all, she finds herself spending more time alone in the room with the yellow wallpaper, the shadows moving in the corners, wrapping themselves around her at night.
Title: Summer at Squee
By: Wang, Andrea
Published: 2024
Phoenny Fang plans to have the best summer ever. She’s returning to Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness, and Enrichment Experience (SCCWEE for short and “Squee” to campers in the know), and this year she’s a senior camper.
Title: Born Naughty: My Childhood in China
By: Wang, Jin
Published: 2024
Memoir
Ages 7 to 10
Share in the joyful, adventure-filled shenanigans of a child growing up in a small mud hut in Inner Mongolia in this charming, illustrated memoir for young middle grade readers.
Title: Lunar Boy
By: Wibowo, Jes and Cin
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel/Science Fiction
Ages 8 to 12
"Indu, a boy from the moon, feels like he doesn't belong. He hasn't since he and his adoptive mom disembarked from their spaceship--their home--to live on Earth with their new blended family. The kids at school think he's weird; he has a crush on his pen pal, who might not like him back; and his stepfamily doesn't seem to know what to do with him.
Title: Mid-Air
By: Williams, Alicia
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 10 and up
Thirteen-year-old Isaiah grapples with the loss of his best friend as he strives to fit into a world that expects him to toughen up, which leads him on a exploration of identity and vulnerability.
Title: The Supernatural Files of CJ Delaney
By: Williams, Carol
Published: 2024
Paranormal/Detective Stories
Ages 8 to 12
Kid-reporter CJ Delaney stumbles on the scoop of a lifetime when strange, spooky things start happening around her small town.
Title: Shark Teeth
By: Winston, Sherri
Published: 2024
Realistic Fiction
Ages 9 to 12
Seventh-grader Sharkita "Kita" embarks on a tumultuous journey to keep her family together while handling the consequences of her mother's alcoholism.
Title: Alterations
By: Xu, Ray
Published: 2024
Graphic Novel (Humor/Self-Realization)
Ages 8 to 12
Kevin Lee is having a really bad week. Although he lives in a crowded Toronto apartment above the family's alterations and dry-cleaning store, he mostly goes unnoticed. School isn't exactly an oasis either--being one of the few Asian kids makes for some unwelcome attention. But when Kevin's class plans a trip to Thrill Planet, a spectacular theme park, will he finally have a chance to turn his life around, or will it just be another day for Kevin Lee?
Title: A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits)
By: Yee, Lisa
Published: 2024
Humor/Friendship
Ages 8 to 12
Olive Cobin Zang has… issues. And they mostly aren’t her fault. (No, really!) Though she often slips under the radar, problems have a knack for finding her. So, imagine her doubts when she’s suddenly dropped off at the strangest boarding school ever: a former castle turned prison that's now a “reforming arts school!” But nothing could’ve prepared Olive for RASCH (not “rash”). There, she’s lumped with a team of other kids who never quite fit in, and discovers that the academy isn’t what it seems-and neither is she.