BOOKS FOR KIDS AGES 12 TO 14

Compelling reads that will appeal to kids in about grade six to grade eight.

Wrecker

Hiaasen, Carl, author
2023

"Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker because his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather salvaged shipwrecks for a living. So is it destiny, irony, or just bad luck when Wrecker comes across a speedboat that has run hard aground on a sand flat? The men in the boat don't want Wrecker to call for help--in fact, they'll pay him to forget he ever saw them. Wrecker would be happy to forget, but he keeps seeing these men all over Key West--at the marina, in the cemetery, even right outside his own door. And now they want more than his silence--they want a lookout. He'll have to dive deep into their shady dealings to figure out a way to escape this tangled net. . . ." -- Publisher's description.

Ain't burned all the bright

Reynolds, Jason, author
2022

Prepare yourself for something unlike anything: A smash-up of art and text for teens that viscerally captures what it is to be Black. In America. Right Now.

Bea Wolf

Weinersmith, Zach, 1982- author
2023

Listen! Hear a tale of mallow-munchers and warriors who answer candy's clarion call! Somewhere in a generic suburb stands Treeheart, a kid-forged sanctuary where generations of tireless tykes have spent their youths making merry, spilling soda, and staving off the shadow of adulthood. One day, these brave warriors find their fun cut short by their nefarious neighbor Grindle, who can no longer tolerate the sounds of mirth seeping into his joyless adult life. As the guardian of gloom lays siege to Treeheart, scores of kids suddenly find themselves transformed into pimply teenagers and sullen adults! The survivors of the onslaught cry out for a savior--a warrior whose will is unbreakable and whose appetite for mischief is unbounded. They call for Bea Wolf.

Finally seen

Yang, Kelly, author
2023

When ten-year-old Lina Gao leaves China to live with her parents and sister, after five years apart, she must reckon with her hurt, anger, and curiosity and find a way to get her bearings in this new country--and the almost-new family that comes along with it

Half Moon summer

Vickers, Elaine, author
2023

Two seventh graders, Drew and Mia, spend their summer in Half Moon Bay, California, training for a half-marathon, and supporting each other as their families struggle with medical and financial problems.

Medusa : the girl behind the myth

Burton, Jessie, 1982-, author
2022

Exiled to a far-flung island, Medusa has little company except for the snakes adorning her head instead of hair until a beautiful boy named Perseus arrives, disrupting her lonely existence and unleashing desire, love, and betrayal.

Northwind

Paulsen, Gary, author
2022

When sickness decimates his fishing village, an orphan named Leif flees north in a cedar canoe, journeying along a brutal but beautiful coastline.

The probability of everything

Everett, Sarah, author
2023

Eleven-year-old Kemi Carter loves scientific facts, specifically probability. It's how she understands the world and her place in it. Kemi knows her odds of being born were 1 in 5.5 trillion, and that the odds of her having the best family ever were even lower. Yet somehow, Kemi lucked out. But everything Kemi thought she knew changes when she sees an asteroid hover in the sky, casting a purple haze over her world. AMPLUS-68 has an 84.7% chance of colliding with Earth in four days, and with that collision, Kemi's life as she knows it will end.

Smaller sister

Willis, Maggie Edkins, author, illustrator
2022

Lucy's always looked up to her big sister, Olivia, even though the two are polar opposites. But then, Lucy notices Olivia start to change. She doesn't want to play with Lucy anymore, she's unhappy with the way she looks, and she's refusing to eat her dinner. Finally, Lucy discovers that her sister is not just growing up: Olivia is struggling with an eating disorder. While her family is focused on her sister's recovery, Lucy is left alone to navigate school and friendships. And just like her big sister, she begins to shrink. But with time, work, and a dose of self-love, both sisters begin to heal and let themselves grow. Soon enough, Olivia and Lucy find their way back to each other--because sisters are the one friend you can never ditch."

Squished

Lloyd, Megan Wagner, author
2023

Eleven-year-old Avery Lee loves living in Hickory Valley, Maryland. She loves her neighborhood and school and the end-of-summer fair she always goes to with her two best friends. But she's tired of feeling squished by her six siblings! They're noisy and chaotic and the younger kids all love her a little too much. Avery hatches a plan to finally get her own room, all while trying to get Max to sleep at night, navigating changes in her friendships, and working on an art entry for the fair. But Avery soon learns there are worse things than not having her own room, when she finds out her family might move across the country.