Middle Grade Fiction

Middle schooler Reha is the American-born daughter of parents from India; a beloved only child who often feels caught between her parents–especially her mother’s–more traditional expectations and her own American identity.

Sixth grader Wes Henderson lives in the predominantly Black neighborhood of Kensington Oaks.

A bustling anthology of 16 short stories framed by opening and closing poems all connect to the annual intertribal powwow in Ann Arbor.

On Wadmalaw, an island 20 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, many in the Gullah Geechee community rely on rootworkers for healing.

Cooper is angry. His dad left the family three years ago; since then, he has emotionally isolated himself from his mom and younger sister, Jess (who holds out hope that their dad will contact them).

Enjoying a quiet, solitary life in the brownstone owned by Aunt Lula, a pine marten whospeaksveryfast, Badger is dismayed by the Skunk’s arrival, battered suitcase in paw, with an invitation from Aunt Lula to stay there, too.

Immy and her parents have moved from Sydney, Australia, to a small town just outside Cambridge, England. They rent Lavender Cottage despite warnings that the gnarled, centuries-old mulberry tree in the backyard was responsible for the disappearance of two girls—one in the 18th century, one in 1945—on the eve of their 11th birthdays. 

Pakistani American Sara is in her first year at public middle school after previously attending a private Mosque school her family can no longer afford. Elizabeth, Jewish and white, is in the after-school cooking club Mrs. Hameed (Sara’s mom) is running.

A sudden change in summer plans sees Little Eddie, 11, traveling to Cartagena, Colombia, where his late dad was from, to visit his half-brother.

Things are looking up for Mia Tang and her Chinese immigrant family, who recently purchased the Calivista Motel in Anaheim, until Mia learns about Proposition 187.