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Gilda Joyce: Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison
*YA Fiction
During the summer before ninth grade, intrepid Gilda Joyce invites herself to the San Francisco mansion of distant cousin Lester Splinter and his thirteen-year-old daughter, where she uses her purported psychic abilities and detective skills to solve the mystery of the mansion's boarded-up tower. |
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May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Lonely and shy, ten-year-old May Ellen Bird has no idea what awaits her when she falls into the lake and enters The Ever After, home of ghosts and the Bogeyman.
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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
As the only passenger, and the only female, on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, thirteen-year-old Charlotte finds herself caught between a murderous captain and a mutinous crew.
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The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker
After reluctantly kissing a frog, an awkward, fourteen-year-old princess suddenly finds herself a frog, too, and sets off with the prince to seek the means--and the self-confidence--to become human again.
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Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
When seemingly unrelated and strange events start to happen and a precious Vermeer painting disappears, eleven-year-olds Petra and Calder combine their talents to solve an international art scandal.
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What Every Girl (Except Me) Knows by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Twelve-year-old Gabby feels that she needs a mother to help her grow into a woman, so when things between her father and his latest girlfriend do not work out, Gabby set off for the last place she remembers seeing her own mother.
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The Double Digit Club by Marion Dane Bauer
Nine-year-old Sarah is excited about summer vacation, but she faces unexpected crises when her best friend Paige becomes old enough to join a local girls' clique, and when she makes choices which affect her relationship with an elderly blind neighbor.
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The Penderwicks: a Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
While vacationing with their widowed father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.
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Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary
Follows the adventures of nine-year-old Ramona at home with big sister Beezus and baby sister Roberta and at school in Mrs. Meacham's class.
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Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esmé Raji Codell
Hunky Dory's mother always told her, "You'll be the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow." And why not? She was at the top of her class in charm school. She could make flowers wilt like wet spaghetti and thunder rumble like a whale's bellyache. And she could turn any prince into a frog - but she always changed him back. That's when Hunky knew there'd be a problem. Hunky Dory's interest in wishcraft over witchcraft gets her kicked out of charm school. Now she's determined to follow her heart and become a fairy godmother. But how to go about doing it? She gives a woodsman a new mustache, and grants Wolf his strange wish for a grandmother costume. Yet it all seems so unsatisfying, somehow. Finally, motivated by jealousy over her friend Rumpelstiltskin's crush on the girl in the roomful of straw, she meets the ticket to realizing her career dream -- Cinderella.
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Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
Twelve-year-old Addie tries to cope with her mother's erratic behavior and being separated from her beloved stepfather and half-sisters when she and her mother go to live in a small trailer by the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Schenectady, New York.
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Heartbeat by Sharon Creech
Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and running partner) becomes distant.
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The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman
In 1949, thirteen-year-old Francine goes to Catholic school in Los Angeles where she becomes best friends with a girl who questions authority and is frequently punished by the nuns, causing Francine to question her own values.
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The Curse of Addy McMahon by Katie Davis
After her father's death, aspiring sixth-grade writer Addy McMahon feels like she is cursed with bad luck, and when she temporarily loses her best friend, and is forced to admit that her mother is dating again, she vows she will never write another word.
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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Edward Tulane, a cold-hearted and proud toy rabbit, loves only himself until he is separated from the little girl who adores him and travels across the country, acquiring new owners and listening to their hopes, dreams, and histories. |
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As if Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough: My Mother is Running for President! by Donna Gephart
Preparing for spelling bees, having a secret admirer, and waiting for her chest size to catch up with her enormous feet are pressure enough, but twelve-year-old Vanessa must also deal with loneliness and very real fears as her mother, Florida's Governor, runs for President of the United States. |
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The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever! |
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The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower by Lisa Graff
After her supposed best friend implicates her in a cheating and blackmail scam, twelve-year-old Bernie loses her private school scholarship but, with the help of a new friend, spends the summer using her knowledge of magic and sleight-of-hand both to earn the $9,000 in tuition money and to get revenge. |
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Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland. |
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Ida B...and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan
In Wisconsin, fourth-grader Ida B spends happy hours being home-schooled and playing in her family's apple orchard, until her mother begins treatment for breast cancer and her parents must sell part of the orchard and send her to public school.
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Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth
In 1970s Florida, eleven-year-old Violet's world is upturned by the arrival of a girl from Detroit who seems bent on stealing Violet's best friends.
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My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
Twelve-year-old Jane, who lives at the beach in a run-down old house with her mother, two brothers, and sister, has an eventful summer accompanying her pastor on bible deliveries, meeting former boyfriends of her mother's, and being coerced into babysitting for a family of ill-mannered children. |
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Lily B. on the Brink of Cool by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
"The eventually internationally recognized writer Lily Blennerhassett" spends her thirteenth summer missing her best friend and keeping a journal of her boring life at home and exciting newly-discovered relatives.
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A Corner of the Universe by Ann Martin
The summer that Hattie turns twelve, she meets the childlike uncle she never knew and becomes friends with a girl who works at the carnival that comes to Hattie's small town.
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The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin
A family of porcelain dolls that has lived in the same house for one hundred years is taken aback when a new family of plastic dolls arrives and doesn't follow The Doll Code of Honor. |
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The Sisters Club by Megan McDonald
In Acton, Oregon, sisters Alex, Stevie, and Joey take turns telling about their lives, including their long line of actor ancestors, creative family dinners, toe marshmallows, swearing in Shakespeare, and the Sisters Club.
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Forever Rose by Hilary McKay
As Christmas approaches, eleven-year-old Rose, the youngest member of the eccentric Casson family, discovers that life is filled with both catastrophic problems and wonderful surprises.
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Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.
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Savvy by Ingrid Law
Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.
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Eleven by Lauren Myracle
The year between turning eleven and turning twelve bring many changes for Winnie and her friends.
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Chasing Normal by Lisa Papademetriou
When her mean, grouchy grandmother in Texas has a heart attack and she and father go to help, twelve-year-old Mieka meets her cousins' family and wishes for their "normal" type of life.
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All Alone in the Universe by Lynne Rae Perkins
Debbie is dismayed when her best friend Maureen starts spending time with ordinary, boring Glenna. |
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Becoming Naomi León by Pam Muñoz Ryan
When Naomi's absent mother resurfaces to claim her, Naomi runs away to Mexico with her great-grandmother and younger brother in search of her father.
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Blister by Susan Shreve
When a family tragedy occurs, ten-year-old Alyssa "Blister" Reed changes schools, moves to an apartment with her depressed mother while her father gets his own place, and tries to believe her grandmother, who tells her she is "elastic" and can handle it all. |
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The Summer Sherman Loved Me by Jane St. Anthony
In addition to coping with her changing relationship with her mother, twelve-year-old Margaret spends her summer trying to sort out her feelings for the boy next door who claims to love her.
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Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles
When her quirky grandmother goes to Hawaii for the summer, nine-year-old Ruby learns to survive on her own in Mississippi by writing letters, befriending chickens as well as the new girl in town, and finally coping with her grandfather's death. |
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Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
When a new, white student nicknamed "The Jesus Boy" joins her sixth grade class in the winter of 1971, Frannie's growing friendship with him makes her start to see some things in a new light.
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Millicent Min: Girl Genius by Lisa Yee
In a series of journal entries, eleven-year-old child prodigy Millicent Min records her struggles to learn to play volleyball, tutor her enemy, deal with her grandmother's departure, and make friends over the course of a tumultuous summer.
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