Awkward Middle School Reads
Do you remember what it was like to be in middle school? Everything was awkward. Parents? Awkward. Waiting for the school bus? Awkward. Peanut butter and jelly for lunch? Awkward. Braces? Awkward. Your dog ate your homework? Awkward. (HA! Just checking to see if you’re paying attention!)
These middle grade books not only embrace the awkward, they thrive on it! Seeing our own discomfort reflected in stories is both comforting and reminds us to laugh at ourselves. So grab your middle schooler, and please awkwardly drag them to the nearest bookstore!
Sophie Valentine would rather be at home, doing school virtually. Instead, she’s waiting in a crowded middle school building for her best friend, Eve, who’s finally back after an extended absence, which only Sophie knows the truth about.
But when Eve returns, things aren’t the same. First, Eve stops walking to school with her in the morning. Then, she’s ditching Sophie to hang out with the Crash Crew, a group of popular kids notorious for their social media dares. Eve seems to fit right in, but Sophie is devastated: Did she just lose her best friend?
When rumors surface that Eve is hiding a painful secret she didn’t share with Sophie, Sophie is spurred on an investigation to discover what—or who—caused the incident behind Eve’s sudden change…and why all clues lead back to the Crash Crew. Using lessons from her forensics class and the help of a new friend, Sophie will have to uncover the truth before more harm is done.
Twelve-year-old Tahlia Wilkins is ready to kick off the perfect summer, starting with an invitation to a pool party being thrown by the most popular kid in school. But when the Red Goddess of Panties, aka her first period, arrives twenty-four hours before the party, it messes up all her plans. To make matters worse, her mom is out of town, and there’s no way she’s going to ask her awkward dad for help! Tahlia always feared that growing up would be tough, but this is just not fair.
In order to save herself from total embarrassment, it will take all of Tahlia and her best friend Lily’s scheming to keep her reputation—and her favorite jeans—from being ruined. Sneak off to the grocery store only to have the clerk price-check your tampons over the loudspeaker? Check. Trick your mature teenage neighbor into letting you use some of her tampons? Check. Take a dip into a fountain to get quarters for a bathroom period product dispenser? Check, check, check!
Story time: When I was about Newell’s age, I signed up for my overnight camp talent show. And like Newell, I did not in fact have a talent to show. It all worked out in the end for me. I wore a hard hat (why? who knows.) and told jokes collected off the back of Laffy Taffy wrappers. People laughed. Go me! As for what happened to Newell? You’re going to have to read to find out.
Newell is always getting into trouble–whether it’s showing up tardy for most of the year, or mocking his teachers while authoritarian Mr. Todd is standing right behind him. When disaster strikes and Newell finds himself on track to summer school, he’s given one last minute option to get out of it–participating in the upcoming Talent Show. The only problem is that he doesn’t technically have a talent to show. Yikes. 
There are two things Ginny Pierce loves most in the world: geography facts and her father. But when her dad is deployed overseas and Ginny’s family must move to yet another town, not even her facts can keep her afloat. The geography camp she’s been anxiously awaiting gets canceled, and her new neighbors prefer her basketball-star sister. Worst of all, her dad is in a war zone and impossible to get ahold of. Ginny decides that running her own camp for the kids on her street will solve all her problems. But can she convince them (and herself) that there’s more to her than just facts?
With a fierce heart and steadfast determination, Ginny tackles the challenges and rewards of staying true to herself during a season of growth. This thoughtful novel explores the strength that develops through adversity; Ginny must learn to trust her inner compass as she navigates the world around her.
Ever since sixth grade, Ashton Price and their best friend and enduring crush, Ivy Santos, have spent their summers together at theater camp. Now it’s their last year before they part ways for high school, and Ash is determined to end it on a high note!
With Ash as stage manager and Ivy the lead in this year’s musical, this summer’s shaping up to be everything the two could have hoped for. Maybe Ash will even work up the courage to ask Ivy out! But between Ivy rehearsing long hours with her colead and Ash throwing themself into an ambitious stage production, will they end up drifting apart instead?
As summer wanes and September looms, Ash and Ivy’s friendship will change forever, one way or another.
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.
Whether it’s his easily annoyed parents or prickly pedestrians on the street, K gets on everyone’s bad side…and he didn’t even do anything wrong!
Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix. Luckily, he’s got a foolproof plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off: break every rule in his school’s oppressive Code of Conduct. Chewing gum in class–5,000 points! Running in the hallway–10,000 points! But when Rafe’s game starts to catch up with him, he’ll have to decide if winning is all that matters, or if he’s finally ready to face the rules, bullies, and truths he’s been avoiding
Margie Kelly’s perfect skirt was dress-coded on her very first day of middle school. Upset and embarrassed, Margie spends the whole day in oversized gym shorts, setting the tone for the whole day. Everything that could go wrong, certainly does!
But when Margie realizes that the dress code is only applied to the girls and not the boys, she gets mad. Really mad. The dress code is keeping girls from learning. The boys act like they rule the school. And the teachers turn a blind eye. Something has to change! And then Margie comes up with the best idea. She’ll plan a school-wide protest.
As Margie moves forward with her plans, she comes to realize that her own privilege is part of the problem, and not everyone’s voices are being heard. Will Margie make meaningful change for all students?
