60 Best Middle School Books, as Chosen by Teachers

1. All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue … by Christina Soontornvat

This book is a thrilling and information-packed true story of survival about the 2018 cave rescue in Thailand. Full of interviews and firsthand accounts, the story will keep even the most active students on the edge of their seats.

Buy it: All Thirteen

2. Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Castle Crenshaw, known as Ghost, has been running ever since his father threatened him and his mother with a gun. It’s not until he starts running for the middle school track team that he begins to see what running can do for him.

Buy it: Ghost

3. Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

No middle school book catalog is complete without a few good manga titles. These are teacher-approved, rich with storytelling and character exposition, and ripe for literary analysis. If these titles don’t seem fit for your students, check with them—they know best! First up is the classic Naruto, a story about a young chaotic kid who is determined to become the world’s greatest ninja.

Buy it: Naruto

4. Rez Ball by Byron Graves

This vibrant and unique debut novel follows Tre, a teenager feeling pressured by his Ojibwe community and the memories of his older brother to succeed at his favorite sport.

Buy it: Rez Ball 

5. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

A classic about 9-year-old Cassie Logan, who faces racial discrimination and financial hardship during the Great Depression.

Buy it: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

6. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

If you’re looking for middle school books for sports fans, check out this title. Basketball-loving twins Josh and Jordan find their way through isolation and conflict in this novel in verse by master poet Kwame Alexander.

Buy it: The Crossover

7. A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima

When Shoya meets Shoko six years after he knew her in school, he learns about the consequences of bullying. This is a great story for middle schoolers and is an accessible way into the manga genre.

Buy it: A Silent Voice

8. Bakuman by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

This spin on traditional manga (with the usual high-flying warriors and action sequences) tells the story of two kids who want to become manga artists themselves. The characters are high school kids trying to live their dreams—very relatable to young readers.

Buy it: Bakuman

9. Brock by Anthony McGowan

Quality narratives that appeal to boys and struggling readers aren’t as easy to come by anymore, but we’re excited about this series. In Brock, we meet Nicky, who manages to turn tragedy into something beautiful.

Buy it: Brock

10. Feed by M.T. Anderson

The Feed scrolls constantly through Titus’ brain, providing him with entertainment, advertising, and social networking. On a spring break trip to the moon, he meets a girl who sees life differently.

Buy it: Feed

Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real one. Now a ghost, Jerome watches the devastation unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing. Soon, Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances.

Buy it: Ghost Boys

12. Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky

Grayson is caught between knowing she’s a girl and everyone believing she’s a boy. This is a beautifully written story about self-esteem and empowerment.

Buy it: Gracefully Grayson

13. Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

The recipient of multiple awards and one of our favorite middle school books, this novel is a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it’s trying to break her.

Buy it: Piecing Me Together

14. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

Simply put, this is one of the most well-written books you’ll ever find in YA lit. Protagonist Leigh Chen Sanders’ voice is stunning in this expertly woven tale of love, friendship, tragedy, and imagination.

Buy it: The Astonishing Color of After

15. The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden

Explore the cultural divides around class and the gun debate through the eyes of 7th grader Zoey, who lives on the edges of society and tries to find her way forward.

Buy it: The Benefits of Being an Octopus

16. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Ponyboy and his brothers, Darry and Sodapop, have a tough life. They know they can count on their friends—true friends who will do anything for them. Unfortunately, the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids, make them prove their loyalties after a night of fighting goes too far.

Buy it: The Outsiders

17. Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

Molly has concerns when her family moves into a church with a graveyard next door. But when her already-odd stepsister makes a sinister new friend, things get downright dangerous.

Buy it: Wait Till Helen Comes

18. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Born with extraordinary physical deformities, Auggie finally braves going to an actual school. He is stared at and tormented, but he also finds friendship. Middle schoolers will cheer for him and also cry for him.

Buy it: Wonder

19. Clean Getaway by Nic Stone

Set against the backdrop of historical segregation in the American South, take a trip with an 11-year-old boy who is about to discover that the world hasn’t always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren’t always what they seem—his G’ma included.

Buy it: Clean Getaway

20. Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass

Ellen is a neurodiverse kid with a best friend who helps her navigate through school and sometimes confusing social situations. But when new friends and opportunities come along, Ellen has a chance to learn even more about how she actually fits into the world.

Buy it: Ellen Outside the Lines

21. Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

Khosrou is not like the other kids in his Oklahoma middle school, but he knows how to tell a story. This true story of Khosrou’s family and their escape from Iran in the middle of the night is an immediately gripping account of both middle school chaos and personal strife.

Buy it: Everything Sad Is Untrue

22. Gather by Kenneth Cadow

Another debut title, and a Michael L. Printz Honor book, Gather is a brilliant and heartfelt story about rural America, family, and social change.

Buy it: Gather

23. Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Louise Wolfe is a Muscogee high schooler caught between family obligations and everything that being a teenager involves. Another one for older kids, this is an authentic coming-of-age story with a fresh voice.

Buy it: Hearts Unbroken

24. Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt

Jack Hurd gets a foster brother, Joseph, an 8th grader whose only dream is to be with his daughter.

Buy it: Orbiting Jupiter

25. Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper

Stella and her brother aren’t supposed to leave the house at night, but they run into much bigger problems when they stumble on a Ku Klux Klan rally. She fights racism within her community and learns about compassion in the process.

Buy it: Stella by Starlight

26. The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy

The first of two books by Maulik Pancholy, this story follows Rahul Kapoor, a middle schooler who loves his grandpa and is crushing on a boy at school.

Buy it: The Best at It

27. The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett

Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter has a good handle on math and probability, but the possibility of an apocalypse makes her question more than just her calculations.

Buy it: The Probability of Everything

28. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

With connections to Common Core standards, this book follows Coyote, a young woman who travels the country with her dad in an old school bus. Over the course of thousands of miles, she will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of all.

Buy it: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

29. A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

A tale of two stories, told in alternating sections, about two 11-year-olds in Sudan—a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985.

Buy it: A Long Walk to Water

31. Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Spoiled princess Esperanza moves from her family’s ranch in Mexico to a migrant camp during the Great Depression. She learns to rely on her inner strength and the support of her family.

Buy it: Esperanza Rising

32. Salt the Water by Candice Iloh

What does freedom look like? Are all kids allowed to dream or just the ones that fit society’s mold? Cerulean Gene, a young person with big, independent ambitions, is faced with these questions, and their story, while told from a unique point of view, will resonate with many students.

Buy it: Salt the Water

33. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist: books.

Buy it: The Book Thief

35. Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

When Amanda Gorman read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison in 8th grade, she was inspired  to become a writer. “It was the first time I had seen a dark-skinned girl on the cover of a book and that absolutely enthralled me. Reading Morrison taught me how to write unapologetically with a Black feminist voice that was my own,” she said. Later in life, when she spoke at the presidential inauguration in 2021, Gorman raised the voice of her generation. Her book of poems is expansive and inventive, and it’s one of the top must-read books for today’s middle school kids.

Buy it: Call Us What We Carry

36. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Genius Willow Chance loses both parents in a car crash, but she is nonetheless able to both change her life and impact those around her.

Buy it: Counting by 7s

37. George by Alex Gino

George knows she’s a girl, but everyone else sees her as a boy. Gino does a masterful job of taking us into what social ignorance about gender assignment feels like.

Buy it: George

38. In the Key of Us by Mariama J. Lockington

Another new addition to our list, this is a coming-of-age story about young love between Andi and Zora, two Black girls at a mostly white summer camp.

Buy it: In the Key of Us 

39. Jawbreaker by Christina Wyman

Who can’t relate to dental trauma and bullying? Who can’t relate to public speaking anxiety or the struggle to believe in yourself when your dreams collide with the harsh world of judgment and social pressure? We all can, and so can Max Plink, whose struggles are both hilarious and very, very relatable.

Buy it: Jawbreaker

40. Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Another one of our fave middle school books! Follow 11-year-old Melody, who is not like most people. She can’t walk, she can’t talk, and she can’t write, all because she has cerebral palsy. But she also has a photographic memory—she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school, but no one knows it.

Buy it: Out of My Mind

41. Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow

This brilliantly composed story follows Simon as he wrestles with the aftermath of an event at school that literally changes everything. Students will appreciate this perspective on current events, and they can learn a lot about tone and style.

Buy it: Simon Sort of Says

42. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Acevedo brings her slam poet sensibility to this emotionally vivid story about Xiomara Batista, a first-generation Dominican American teen in a religious family who “feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood.”

Buy it: The Poet X

43. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

The second in a series, this novel made waves in 2023 and stands alone as a compelling read for students. Perry Firekeeper-Birch is a self-assured kid who finds purpose in reclaiming what belongs to her family and her tribe.

Buy it: Warrior Girl Unearthed 

44. We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist

YouTuber Josh Sundquist tells the true story—with graphs!—of his failures in dating.

Buy it: We Should Hang Out Sometime

45. Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker

Zenobia July is a trans girl in Arizona who is trying to adjust to a new school.

Buy it: Zenobia July

46. Monster by Walter Dean Myers

The recipient of multiple awards, this novel follows Steve, an amateur filmmaker. As a way of coping with the horrific events that entangle him, he decides to transcribe his trial into a script, just like in the movies.

Buy it: Monster

47. Nikhil Out Loud by Maulik Pancholy

Nikhil is a 13-year-old gay Indian American boy who depends on his voice for his joy—he’s a voice actor for a popular cartoon. Then he ends up in a small Ohio town trying to put on a school musical. This is a relevant and touching story kids will love.

Buy it: Nikhil Out Loud

48. Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

A timely story for middle schoolers. After Tyler’s father is injured in a tractor accident, his family is forced to hire migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’t sure what to make of them.

Buy it: Return to Sender

49. Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestine

Ling Chang must find a way to survive after her father is taken away during China’s Cultural Revolution.

Buy it: Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party

50. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This is the story of 16-year-old Starr Carter as she wrestles with her emotions after seeing her unarmed childhood friend killed by police, which has become a generational touchstone. Definitely for older kids—and definitely worth the conversations that follow.

Buy it: The Hate U Give

51. The March Series by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

The three-part graphic novel series details how John Lewis made his way from his family farm to the Edmund Pettus Bridge alongside Martin Luther King Jr. for the historic Selma-to-Montgomery March. Beautifully rendered and powerfully told, this trilogy lends itself to all kinds of classroom readings and activities.

Buy it: The March Series

This remix of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award–winning Stamped From the Beginning is an urgent exploration of how the history of race affects us in the here and now, created for young people. There’s even a teachers guide.

Buy it: Stamped

54. Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

Libraries and book reviews loved this story as soon as it came out, and students will adore the fast-paced story about students at a prep school trying to defend their innocence after something terrible happens on campus.

Buy it: Promise Boys

55. The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Taken from the national news headlines, this book follows two teenagers and a heinous hate crime that crosses gender and racial lines.

Buy it: The 57 Bus

56. Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan

Jameela lives with her mother and father in Afghanistan. Despite the fact that there is no school in their poor, war-torn village, and Jameela lives with a birth defect that has left her with a cleft lip, she feels relatively secure, sustained by her faith and the strength of her beloved mother, Mor. And then Mor passes away. …

Buy it: Wanting Mor

57. When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

A graphic novel about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee.

Buy it: When Stars Are Scattered

58. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Melinda Sordino can’t tell anybody why she called the police to break up a party the summer before 9th grade. In fact, after the trauma she suffered, she can’t speak at all.

Buy it: Speak

59. The Breadwinner series by Deborah Ellis

Parvana is 11 when the Taliban comes to power in Afghanistan. Her father is arrested, and women are not allowed to leave the house without a male escort. Parvana must disguise herself and find work to save her family.

Buy it: The Breadwinner series