Middle Grade Contemporary
This is a selection of our current Middle Grade Contemporary titles. To find other titles or authors, or just to browse, please use the search box.
The House Swap
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Children's hardcover
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The Parent Trap meets The Holiday in this heartwarming and funny story of two girls, one American and one British, who become friends and confidantes when their families swap houses, from the acclaimed author of Glitter Gets Everywhere.
Allie is British and dreams of being a spy. Sage is an only child from sunny California. They meet when their families swap houses for the summer.
Though they're polar opposites, Allie and Sage quickly realize that they're both dealing with family issues--Sage's parents may be on the brink of divorce, and Allie's struggling to feel heard in her big family. It may take a trip around the world for them to find their place at home.
This sweet and emotional story is told in alternating chapters from each girl's point of view, offering two unique perspectives on family and belonging.
Iceberg
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Children's hardcover
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Reader Reward Price: $21.59
As disaster looms on the horizon, a young stowaway onboard the Titanic will need all her courage and wits to stay alive. A thrilling tale from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen!
Hazel Rothbury is traveling all alone from her home in England aboard the celebrated ship Titanic. Following the untimely death of her father, Hazel's mother is sending her to the US to work in a factory, so that she might send money back home to help her family make ends meet.
But Hazel harbors a secret dream: She wants to be a journalist, and she just knows that if she can write and sell a story about the Titanic's maiden voyage, she could earn enough money to support her family and not have to go to a sweatshop. When Hazel discovers that mother didn't send her with enough money for a ticket, she decides she must stow away onboard the storied ship.
With the help of a porter named Charlie and a sweet first-class passenger named Sylvia, Hazel explores the opulent ship in secret, but a haunting mystery quickly finds her. The danger only intensifies when calamity strikes, and readers will be caught up in the terror and suspense alongside Hazel as she fights to save her friends and herself.
Bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen weaves an extraordinary tapestry of survival and disaster in this magnificent thriller.
It's Boba Time for Pearl Li!
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Children's hardcover
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Reader Reward Price: $22.49
Perfect for fans of Kelly Yang and Jessica Kim, this joyful, moving middle grade contemporary follows a big-hearted Taiwanese American girl as she aims to gain her family's acceptance and save her favorite boba tea shop by selling her handcrafted amigurumi dolls.
Pearl Li is ready to spend the summer before seventh grade hanging out with her two best friends, crocheting the cutest amigurumi dolls, and visiting her favorite tea shop, Boba Time. Its quirky owner, Auntie Cha, is the only adult Pearl can confide in about her art--if only her tech-obsessed family would understand her love of crafts!
After Pearl learns of Boba Time's financial troubles, she decides to sell her amigurumi to raise money for the shop. But as she navigates the ups and downs of running a business, Pearl realizes that monetizing her passion is more complicated than she could've ever imagined. Can Pearl save Boba Time before it's too late?
Featuring fun backmatter--including a delicious boba tea recipe--this is a heartfelt story about advocating for your passions and uncovering big truths about friendship, family, and entrepreneurship along the way.
Leeva at Last
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Hardcover
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Award-winning, bestselling author Sara Pennypacker and illustrator Matthew Cordell come together in this hilarious absurdist tale about a precocious girl who transforms her community in surprising ways.
What are people for?
That's the burning question on the mind of Leeva Spayce Thornblossom.
Fame! says Leeva's mom, the mayor of Nutsmore.
Money! says her dad, the town treasurer.
With the help of an orphaned badger, a risk-averse boy in a hazmat suit, and the town's librarians, Leeva sets off to discover her own answer--setting off a chain of events that will change Nutsmore forever.
New from Here
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Children's paperback
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Reader Reward Price: $10.79
An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!
This "timely and compelling" (Kirkus Reviews) middle grade novel about courage, hope, and resilience follows an Asian American boy fighting to keep his family together and stand up to racism during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus.
When the coronavirus hits Hong Kong, ten-year-old Knox Wei-Evans's mom makes the last-minute decision to move him and his siblings back to California, where they think they will be safe. Suddenly, Knox has two days to prepare for an international move--and for leaving his dad, who has to stay for work.
At his new school in California, Knox struggles with being the new kid. His classmates think that because he's from Asia, he must have brought over the virus. At home, Mom just got fired and is panicking over the loss of health insurance, and Dad doesn't even know when he'll see them again, since the flights have been cancelled. And everyone struggles with Knox's blurting-things-out problem.
As racism skyrockets during COVID-19, Knox tries to stand up to hate, while finding his place in his new country. Can you belong if you're feared; can you protect if you're new? And how do you keep a family together when you're oceans apart? Sometimes when the world is spinning out of control, the best way to get through it is to embrace our own lovable uniqueness.
Odder
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Children's hardcover
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Reader Reward Price: $20.69
Now a #1 New York Times bestseller! A touching and lyrical tale about a remarkable sea otter, from Newbery Medalist Katherine Applegate, author of Wishtree.
Meet Odder, the Queen of Play:
Nobody has her moves.
She doesn't just swim to the bottom,
she dive-bombs.
She doesn't just somersault,
she triple-doughnuts.
She doesn't just ride the waves,
she makes them.
Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she's known. She's a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself--and about the humans who hope to save her.
Inspired by the true story of a Monterey Bay Aquarium program that pairs orphaned otter pups with surrogate mothers, this poignant and humorous tale told in free verse examines bravery and healing through the eyes of one of nature's most beloved and charming animals.
On Air with Zoe Washington
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Children's hardcover
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Reader Reward Price: $22.49
* An instant New York Times bestseller *
An empowering and big-hearted sequel to the bestselling and critically acclaimed From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks!
Two years ago, Zoe Washington helped clear Marcus' name for a crime he didn't commit. Now her birth father has finally been released from prison and to an outpouring of community support, so everything should be perfect.
When Marcus reveals his dream of opening his own restaurant, Zoe becomes determined to help him achieve it--with her as his pastry chef of course. However, starting a new place is much more difficult than it looks, and Marcus is having a harder time re-entering society than anyone expected.
Set on finding a solution, Zoe starts a podcast to bring light to the exonerees' experiences and fundraise for their restaurant. After all, Zoe knows full well the power of using her voice. But with waning public interest in their story, will anyone still be listening?
P.S. Tell No One
- Vikki VanSickle 
Children's paperback
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Reader Reward Price: $11.69
A funny, frank contemporary story about navigating the physical and emotional realities of growing up.When four friends have their phones confiscated in class, Sunny (not her real name) comes up with the idea of a secret shared journal, where they can communicate, share thoughts and pass them on. The pages of the book they jokingly refer to as the P.A.D. (pass-around diary) become filled with sweet, funny, sharp and important insights that speak to navigating middle grade life--friendships, crushes, consent, bodies, parents, siblings, periods, sports and student life.
What began as a lighthearted way of passing notes becomes a poignant and heartfelt way to explore and share big and small feelings and events--a safe way for Sunny, Twix, Hoops and MP to find themselves, and support one another, through all the transitions of a grade seven year.
In the tradition of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, this novel is a fearless exploration of the lives of tween girls, and how they find answers to questions that continue to feel impossible to ask.
Rez Dogs
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Children's paperback
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Reader Reward Price: $9.89
Renowned author Joseph Bruchac tells a powerful story of a girl who learns more about her Penacook heritage while sheltering in place with her grandparents during the coronavirus pandemic.
Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation--she's there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There's a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration.
Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family safe: She protects her grandparents, and they protect her. She doesn't go out to play with friends, she helps her grandparents use video chat, and she listens to and learns from their stories. And when Malsum, one of the dogs living on the rez, shows up at their door, Malian's family knows that he'll protect them too.
Told in verse inspired by oral storytelling, this novel about the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ways in which Indigenous nations and communities cared for one another through plagues of the past, and how they keep caring for one another today.
**Four starred reviews!**
Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction & Poetry Honor
NPR Books We Love
Kirkus Reviews Best Books
School Library Journal Best Books
Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger Readers
Jane Addams Children's Book Award Finalist
Nerdy Book Club Award--Best Poetry and Novels in Verse
A Rover's Story
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Children's hardcover
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Reader Reward Price: $22.49
New York Times bestseller * Best Book of the Year from The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library
The One and Only Ivan meets The Wild Robot in this unique and deeply moving middle grade novel about the journey of a fictional Mars rover, from the Newbery Honor-winning author of Other Words for Home.
Meet Resilience, a Mars rover determined to live up to his name.
Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop humanlike feelings. Maybe there's a problem with his programming....
Human emotions or not, launch day comes, and Res blasts off to Mars, accompanied by a friendly drone helicopter named Fly. But Res quickly discovers that Mars is a dangerous place filled with dust storms and giant cliffs. As he navigates Mars's difficult landscape, Res is tested in ways that go beyond space exploration.
As millions of people back on Earth follow his progress, will Res have the determination, courage, and resilience to succeed... and survive?
Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen
- Marthe Jocelyn
Children's hardcover
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Reader Reward Price: $20.69
For young detective Aggie Morton and her friend Hector, an opportunity to dig up fossils becomes even more thrilling when a corpse washes ashore in this fourth book in the Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series, inspired by the life of Agatha Christie as a child and her most popular creation, Hercule Poirot. For fans of Enola Holmes.
After an invigorating but not exactly restful trip to a Yorkshire spa during which she survived a near brush with death and foiled a murderer, aspiring writer Aggie Morton and her friend Hector are thrilled to have the opportunity to stay at a camp by the sea and watch real paleontologists at work. The famed husband and wife team of the Blenningham-Crewes are about to become even more famous with the recovery of the fossilized bones of an ichthyosaur from the sea by Lyme Regis. This news has already caught the attention of an American millionaire, a British museum and a travelling circus owner, who each want the bones for their own collections. Tensions are running high throughout the camp, from the cook, to the collectors, to the Blenningham-Crewes themselves, and become downright dangerous after Aggie and Hector make a discovery of their own: a body on the beach. Not a fossil, but a human body.
She Holds Up the Stars
- Sandra Laronde
Young adult softcover
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Reader Reward Price: $10.76
"This compelling novel will introduce young readers to the complexities of modern indigeneity and resilience."--Eden Robinson, author of Monkey Beach and Son of Trickster.
A young Indigenous girl searching for a sense of home finds strength and courage in her gifts, her deepening connection to the land, and her own cultural awakening in this moving coming-of-age story.
The last thing that twelve-year old Misko wants to do is to move away from the city to spend time on the rez with her grandmother. And yet she feels strangely compelled to go, drawn by a pull that she feels in her dreams. Maybe she can finally find out what happened to her mother, who mysteriously disappeared when Misko was four years old.
Misko's relationship to the rez shifts when she encounters a spirited horse named Mishtadim. But Mishtadim is being violently broken by the rancher next door and his son Thomas. Misko and Thomas clash at first, only to find themselves drawn together by the wild horse. As Misko slowly discovers her unique bond with Mishtadim, she feels a sense of belonging and comes to understand the beauty of the world all around her.
She Holds Up the Stars is a powerful story of reconciliation and the interwoven threads that tie us to family, to the land, and to our own sense of self.
Simon Sort of Says
- Erin Bow
Children's paperback
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Reader Reward Price: $19.79
A powerful new novel by Erin Bow, winner of the Governor General's and TD Children's Literature Awards.Ask Simon O'Keeffe why his family moved to tiny Grin And Bear It, Nebraska, and he'll tell you they were driven out of Omaha by alpacas.
In Simon's version of the story, a blessing of the animals went sideways, his dad got fired from his church job, and the whole family moved to the National Quiet Zone, where the internet and cell phones are banned so astronomers can scan the sky for signs of alien life.
But there's another story too -- a story about a locked classroom, an active shooter, and a media cycle that refuses to let Simon go, even years later.
To everyone who knows what happened, Simon is either a miracle or a sob story. But Simon just wants to be Simon: a twelve-year-old in high tops and a Minecraft hoodie. Moving to the last town in America where no one can Google you is a chance for Simon to start fresh. To rewrite the narrative. And with the help of two new friends, a puppy, and a giant radio telescope, he's determined to say something new.
The Superteacher Project
- Gordon Korman
Children's hardcover
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Reader Reward Price: $20.69
It's The Unteachables meets I, Robot in another funny middle school tale from Gordon Korman!It's the start of a new school year and Oliver is looking forward to a seventh-grade year full of spitballs, jokes and pranks with his friend Nathan. And their new homeroom teacher, Mr. Aidact, looks like a prime target. He's an odd duck with a weird, stilted vocabulary, an unusual way of looking at things, and a strangely old student teacher constantly in tow. He also has a seemingly superhuman ability to detect and defuse almost every one of Oliver's schemes.
But that's not all of it. Mr. Aidact seems to be teaching pretty much every subject. He's willing to take over jobs no other teacher will, like supervising detention and coaching the field hockey team. Oliver and Nathan are determined to find out what is up with this guy.
What they uncover is out of this world!
Mr. Aidact is, in fact, superhuman -- he's an android, a secret project of the Department of Education. And when the secret leaks out, the school and the PTA are in an uproar, and calls for his "deactivation" are loud and clear.
Can Oliver and his friends turn this plan around and save the teacher they've grown to love and appreciate?
The Swifts
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Children's hardcover
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Reader Reward Price: $22.04
Instant New York Times Bestseller!
"Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket...This archly told, never muddled debut whodunit reveals a roster of distinct characters, a labyrinthine setting and plot, and a mystery that is as clever as its heroine." - Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The suspenseful denouement is positively writhing with twists." --Booklist, starred review
On the day they are born, every Swift child is brought before the sacred Family Dictionary. They are given a name, and a definition. A definition it is assumed they will grow up to match.
Meet Shenanigan Swift: Little sister. Risk-taker. Mischief-maker.
Shenanigan is getting ready for the big Swift Family Reunion and plotting her next great scheme: hunting for Grand-Uncle Vile's long-lost treasure. She's excited to finally meet her arriving relatives--until one of them gives Arch-Aunt Schadenfreude a deadly shove down the stairs.
So what if everyone thinks she'll never be more than a troublemaker, just because of her name? Shenanigan knows she can become whatever she wants, even a detective. And she's determined to follow the twisty clues and catch the killer.
Deliciously suspenseful and delightfully clever, The Swifts is a remarkable debut that is both brilliantly contemporary and instantly classic. A celebration of words and individuality, it's packed with games, wordplay, and lots and lots of mischief as Shenanigan sets out to save her family and define herself in a world where definitions are so important.
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