If You Want to Read Something with Memorable Characters...
It’s the brilliantly realized characters and relationships that make these books sing.
The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
The One and Only Ivan’s best friend, Chihuahua mutt Bob, tells his own story in this sequel to the Newbery classic. Middle grades
The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss
12-year-old orphan Bicycle is supposed to go to sleep-away camp at the Friendship Factory; instead, she decides that she’s going to ride her bike to California so she can meet her hero, Polish cycling racer Zbig. Middle grades
Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
Ryan Hart has a lot on her mind: all the things she wants to invent, her family’s new (old) house, financial problems, an infuriating brother, and recipes that don’t always go right. But she’s determined to see the best in everything that happens. Middle grades
The List of Things that Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
Bea keeps a list to remind her of the constants in her life since her parents’ divorce: No matter what, her mom and dad will love her and each other. Still, she’s excited and nervous about the big change when her dad tells her he’s going to marry his boyfriend Jesse, who has a daughter of his own. Middle grades
We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly
This family story about the destructive and healing potential of words follows three siblings in the weeks leading up the Challenger’s 1986 launch. Middle grades
Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley
Illustrator/memoirist extraordinaire Knisley charms in her first middle grades graphic novel about a girl who unwillingly moves to the country with her mom after her parents get divorced. Middle grades
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
The author of American Born Chinese delights readers again with this story of a comic book-loving boy who discovers an unexpected interest in the superhero-esque arc of his high school’s basketball team. High school
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
This twisty whodunnit is a standout for its diverse cast and lovable protagonist: a Black trans artist who must learn what it really means to love who he is when an anonymous fellow student harasses him with transphobic messages. High school
Camp by L.C. Rosen
Camp Outland is Randy’s happy place: a camp for LGBTQ+ kids and the place where he met his Super Crush Hudson Aaronson-Lim. But Hudson doesn’t like boys who don’t act straight, so Randy reinvents himself as Del, a manly man who doesn’t wear nail polish or put unicorn sheets on his bed. Of course, you can only pretend to be someone you aren’t for so long before you start wondering whether it’s worth it to give up your identity for love. High school
August Folly by Angela Thirkell
Think of this 1936 novel as classic Brit lit charmer, in which a bunch of rural English folk put on fetes and amateur theatricals, pour tea, fall in love, and otherwise wander through their bucolic lives where nothing really terrible ever happens. High school
This list was originally published in our summer 2020 reading guide.
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