Appropriate for ages 9+
What if your pencil had all the answers? Would you ace every test? Would you know what your teachers were thinking? When Ava Anderson finds a scratched up pencil, she doodles like she would with any other pencil. But when she writes a question in the margin of her math quiz, she hears a clear answer in a voice no one else seems to hear.
Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja (Series) by Marcus Emerson
Appropriate for ages 9+
My name is Chase Cooper, and I'm a 6th grade ninja. It's my first day at a different school and the only person I know is my cousin, Zoe (but she might be a little too cool for me). I was just another scrawny kid until a group of ninjas recruited me into their clan. It was a world of trouble I wasn't prepared for, which is why I kept this diary - to warn other kids about the danger of becoming a ninja.
How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart
Appropriate for ages 9+
Eleven-year-old David Greenberg dreams of becoming a YouTube sensation and spends all of his time making hilarious Top 6 1/2 lists and Talk Time videos. But before he can get famous, he has to figure out a way to deal with middle school.
Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennifer Holm
Appropriate for ages 10+
Ginny has ten items on her big to-do list for seventh grade. None of them, however, include accidentally turning her hair pink. Or getting sent to detention for throwing frogs in class. Or losing the lead role in the ballet recital to her ex-best friend. Or the thousand other things that can go wrong between September and June. But it looks like it's shaping up to be that kind of year!
The Misfits (Series) by James Howe
Appropriate for ages 10+
Kids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other. That's how it was with us. Skeezie Tookis, Addie Carle, Joe Bunch, and me. We call ourselves the Gang of Five but there are only four of us. We do it to keep people on their toes. Make 'em wonder. Or maybe we do it because we figure there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be a part of. A misfit, like us.
Spy Factory: My School is a Spy Factory (Series) by Steven Stickler
Appropriate for ages 10+
Sixth-grader Nate Fischer never wanted to be a spy. But when a mysterious phone call lands him at a new school, he realizes that he doesn't have a choice: his new school is a spy factory. He barely has time to learn his locker combination before his first mission plunges him into danger. A sinister organization is trying to destroy his school and take over the world, and Nate has only a few hours to stop the evil plot.
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Appropriate for ages 11+
I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.
August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid -- but his new classmates can't get past Auggie's extraordinary face.
