The thing about jellyfish by Ali Benjamin - Twelve-year-old Suzy Swanson wades through her intense grief over the loss of her best friend by investigating the rare jellyfish she is convinced was responsible for her friend's death

The outsiders by S.E. Hinton - The struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parent's death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of their adolescent society

You go first by Erin Entrada Kelly - Charlotte, twelve, and Ben, eleven, are highly-skilled competitors at online Scrabble and that connection helps both as they face family issues and the turmoil of middle school

I'm Ok by Patti Kim - Ok, a Korean American boy, tries a get rich quick scheme of starting a hair braiding business and winning the school talent competition to hide the fact that he is struggling with the loss of his father and the financial hardships

Apartment 1986 by Lisa Papademetriou - Callie befriends a boy who is doing research throughout the city's museums while they try to reveal why her grandmother wants to travel back to 1986

The first rule of punk by Celia C. Pérez - After María Luisa O'Neill-Morales moves with her Mexican-American mother to Chicago, she violates her school's dress code with her punk rock aesthetic and starts a band with a group of like-minded friends

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick - At the beginning of eighth grade, learning disabled Max and his new friend Freak, whose birth defect has affected his body but not his brilliant mind, find that when they combine forces they make a powerful team

Ghost by Jason Reynolds - Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elite middle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reach his full potential

Okay for now by Gary D. Schmidt - While Doug struggles to be more than the thug that his teachers and the police think him to be, he finds and unlikely ally in Lil Spicer, as they explore Audubon's art

Drums, girls, & dangerous pie by Jordan Sonnenblick - When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli - In this story about the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity, and the thrill of first love, an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever

Genesis begins again by Alicia D. Williams - This deeply sensitive and powerful debut novel tells the story of a thirteen-year-old who must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself

The next great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin - Led by new student Caitlyn, seventh-graders at a tiny rural school in Vermont create a reality-show inspired competition to determine who will replace the school's legendary class clown, Paulie Fink

No more dead dogs by Gordon Korman - Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is sentenced to detention attending rehearsals of the school play where, in spite of himself, he becomes wrapped up in the production

True to your selfie by Megan McCafferty - Twelve-year-old Ella has not even started seventh grade yet, but she has already been drawn into the fire of social media

Well, that was awkward by Rachel Vail - There are unexpected consequences when thirteen-year-old Gracie sends texts pretending to be her bashful best friend, Sienna, and their friend Emmett starts texting back pretending to be shy A.J.

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen - In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years