Books for Middle Schoolers
In that sweet spot between elementary school and high school, here are some of the best new titles for middle school readers.
GN= graphic novel (Updated May 2025)
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Simon Sort of Says
After his family moves to a town with massive telescopes and no internet, Simon makes new friends and begins to heal from tragedy.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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The Night War
In 1942, Miriam must hide her Jewish identity and live among nuns, but she finds real purpose in helping other Jews escape through an ancient chateau.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Westfallen
Three tweens in 2023 communicate by radio with three tweens in the same house, but in 1944. When the 2023 kids reveal the outcome of World War II to the 1944 kids, they wake up to find they live in Nazi America.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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Plain Jane and the Mermaid
Determined not to wed her nasty cousin and to live independently, Jane proposes marriage to handsome Peter, who is promptly kidnapped by a mermaid. Can Jane save him? GN
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: Available
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The Mystery of Locked Rooms
Best friends Sarah, Hannah, and West love puzzles and escape rooms, so when they learn of an escape room no one has solved with a huge prize that would help Sarah save her house, how can they resist?
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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The Shape of Lost Things
Four years after their dad kidnapped her brother Finn, Skye’s world is turned upside down when he returns to live with her and her mom. But Skye is not so sure he is really her brother.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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And Then, Boom!
Joseph and his grandma face poverty and life’s hardships together, but when she gets sick, he finds he needs more help than he realizes.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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Lifeboat 5
Before they set sail to Canada to escape World War II in Britain, Bess and Beth had never met. After the Nazis sank their ship, they saved each other’s life hanging on to a lifeboat.
Format: Book
Availability: All copies in use
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How It All Ends
Tara was looking forward to eighth grade, but when she’s enrolled in ninth grade, she faces a new and terrifying reality she doesn’t think she can adapt to – until she does, with the help of her new friend Libby. GN
Format: Graphic Novel
Availability: Available
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Dinner at the Brake Fast
Tacoma Jones and her parents run the Brake Fast Truck Stop, where she longs to cook something other than breakfast. To help her dad deal with his depression, she and her new friend Denver trek around the state to find ingredients for the perfect meal.
Format: Book
Availability: Available
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