42+ of the Best Books for a 12-Year-Old

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Berry

This Peter Pan retelling finds Peter aboard a ship of sailors. He and a bunch of other orphans aboard the ship have to protect a treasure locked in a chest hidden on the ship from pirate captain Black Stache.

Think of this as the origin story of Tinkerbell, her fairy dust, and how Peter gained his ability to fly. It’s one of our favorite fairy tale retellings.

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

This middle-grade mystery reminded me of Harry Potter in some ways. A child is trying to uncover the secrets of Greenglass House, a hotel for smugglers and spies before the adults do.

We read this as a family read-aloud and it was wonderful. It’s one of the books for a 12-year-old that younger readers might struggle with.

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

Move over Harry Potter, there is a new Middle-Grade Fantasy series poised to take your throne! After hearing all the kids in our area talking about this book series, I knew I had to listen to it with my kids.

We literally couldn’t stop reading this. I’m telling you, we were all stuck sitting around the speaker anxiously awaiting the next chapter. I’m so excited there are 8 books after this one!

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

This is the first book in the Flavia De Luce series.  This 11-year-old aspiring chemist is a wonderful heroine. 

I love her- she is smart and precocious.  This is a great mystery without violence.  These are perfect books for a 12-year-old who loves a historical fiction mystery.

The Van Gogh Deception by Deron R. Hicks

The first in a 3 book series, this first story captured the attention of my D.C.-obsessed son. After all, it opens in the National Gallery when a boy wakes up with amnesia.

Described as Dan Brown meets Jason Bourne, it lives up to those clever titles. It’s a fast-paced art caper that will keep your tween fully engrossed.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

This is a middle-grade book that all adults should read. It’s about a group of extremely gifted children who are sent to spy on an evil organization.

This is the first book in a series that is geared toward older middle-grade kids. It was funny and interesting and extremely clever.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A group of four friends spends every summer together on a private island.  Money, family, love, and an accident lead to secrets and lies. 

This book was the perfect suspense which I did not expect.  Even though I knew that the narrator was unreliable, I still had no idea where this story was going.

Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary D. Schmidt

⁣My son adored Pay Attention, Carter Jones. He loved the premise of the butler coming over to teach Carter to play cricket. He liked how Carter learned about how to be a gentleman from the butler who is strict, but exactly what the family needs during their troubling time.⁣
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He’s recommended to a few of his friends already and my mom even read it and enjoyed it!⁣ It’s a heart-filled, thought-provoking read in all the best ways.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

This charming story is about a bi-racial family in Harlem with 5 kids who are about to lose their home because their reclusive landlord won’t renew their lease.⁣
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My entire family enjoyed this delightful tale of the siblings trying to win their landlord over so they don’t have to leave home. It was full of all the antics you would expect of a big family. ⁣

Stella and the Starlight by Sharon M Draper

This historical fiction novel for 12-year-olds takes place in the Depression era. Stella lives in Bumblebee, North Carolina- the segregated south where the Klan still exists.

The book touches upon so many important concepts like the depression, voting rights, racism, family, and finding your inner strength. The book has a realistic ending, not a happy one and that left my daughter begging to read more.

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Three tales in one, the book is told in alternating chapters by three narrators.  The stories feature Josef, a Jewish refugee fleeing WWII Germany, Isabel a Cuban girl on her way to Miami in 1994, and Mahmoud a Syrian refugee seeking asylum in Germany in 2015. The chapters rotate between the three characters and their stories do connect at the end in a meaningful and moving way.

The characters are all about 13 years old but shoulder burdens that would be hard for an adult to handle. Gratz accurately portrays each child’s struggle with both grace and clarity – not shying away from difficult emotions and even death. If you love this YA historical fiction book, we have a list of Powerful WWII Books for Kids.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Don’t let the length of this book deter you. Even though it is in our list of long books, there are gorgeous illustrations on every other pages and the writing is only a paragraph at a time.

This middle-grade mystery is an amazing story of Hugo Cabret who is an orphan in the Paris train station where he winds the clocks so that nobody will discover his secrets. Soon he discovers a drawing and a notebook that will lead him to the biggest adventure of his life.

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway

This book is the winner of the National Book Award for good reason.  I adored this book.  I spent half of it crying and the other half smiling.  This is such a wonderful story about Grace who is adopted at birth. 

When she finds herself pregnant, she puts her daughter up for adoption.  This prompts her to look for her biological mother.  What she finds are two siblings that she never knew about. This is an amazing story told from multiple points of view.

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

The Parker Inheritance was such a fun listen! It reminded me of The Westing Game, which it references frequently and was clearly a source of inspiration in the best way.

Two new friends, both overcoming personal struggles, end up on a hunt to find a hidden fortune in the town of Lambert, South Carolina. Along the way, they encounter the racist past of the city and learned how the deep-rooted racism impacted Lambert long-term.

I loved the modern twist and more thought-provoking spin on the classic book trope of The Westing Game. It’s a must-listen!

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

I listened to this book and it was unreal.  I want my son to read this so badly but, I also want him to listen to it as well. It is a story about music.  The audio version plays to music so it is a full sensory experience. 

The story follows a harmonica as it lands in the hands of Freidrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California set during WWII. Part fairy tale and part historical fiction, this is one of the books for 12-year-olds that adults should read too!

Restart by Gordon Korman

My kids all read this book one after another. In fact, they passed it to each other to read so they could all discuss it.

Chase wakes up in the hospital after falling off a roof and doesn’t remember anything- including his name. When he gets back to school, he sees how the kids react to him. Some kids worship him and other kids are terrified of him.

The questions become, who he was and who he wants to be.

Wonder by R.J Palacio

A must-read for kids in middle school, this is an amazing book about embracing differences, kindness and being yourself.  

August Pullman is a boy with an extraordinary facial difference.  He has been homeschooled his entire life and is starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep.  This book is amazing.

Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

This is technically a  middle-grade read. The heroine of this story is a girl whose favorite book was just banned from her school library. She starts her own locker library filled with more banned books from the school’s library.

As she stands up for her right to read, she challenges adults in her community and learns about the power of books to bring everyone together.

Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt

What a fun story about an orphan girl tasked by the U.S. Marshalls to keep a family alive. As she enters into witness protection with them, she puts her street smarts and pick-pocketing abilities to good use.

But can she keep her new family safe? Will she be able to hide from her own past?

City Spies by James Ponti

MI6 has recruited a bunch of kids to be their newest spy group – the City Spies. They attend a boarding school while learning various spy tactics.

Soon they get to go on a mission to Paris to put what they learned into action. Subsequent books take place in San Francisco and Beijing. At this point, this series is on our pre-order series list.

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs

Charlie Thorne is a child genius and the world’s best code breaker. So the CIA has dragged her into the hunt for Albert Einstein’s hidden code. She’s trying to get it before the Furies use it to destroy the world.

Charlie is hunting for something from Charles Darwin and Cleopatra in the subsequent sequels. Each story has her using her wits to outsmart everyone around her.

Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

This is the quintessential book about the Holocaust written by Anne Frank, a Jewish girl in hiding during WWII.  Although she did not live to see freedom, her father survived as did the diary that she kept during her years of hiding. 

This is a powerful book that captures the neverending capacity for hope in the human spirit. After all, Anne said it best when she said “in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart”. This is the only book on this list of WWII books for kids that is non-fiction

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

I read this book in a few hours and immediately ordered the sequel The War I Finally Won.  Ada is a 10-year-old girl who lives in a one-room world gazing at the world from one window.  She was born with a club foot and teaches herself to walk in secret.  When the children who lived in London were evacuated to go to the country at the start of WW2, Ada escapes her abusive mother and leaves London with her little brother.

There is so much depth to this book.  It is a Newbury Honor book and the Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for middle grade. This middle-grade historical fiction is a story of love and survival in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

Do not be fooled that it is written for middle grade. It is emotionally crafted and brilliantly written.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is a book that is narrated by Death. He tells the story of Liesel, a young girl in Nazi Germany in 1939. Liesel is living with her foster parents and learning to read from stolen books.

She also shares these books with the Jewish man who is hiding in her basement. This book is brilliant, powerful, poignant, and unforgettable. while technically a YA book, this book is literary fiction at its finest.

Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson

Another great read in middle-grade books.  This story is about a boy named Matthew who has severe OCD and has trouble leaving his house due to his anxiety.

Matthew is the last person to have seen the toddler next door before the four-year-old disappeared.   I love the fact that this book looks at the world from Matthew’s point of view.  It is very readable as well as eye-opening.

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

This book was a Newberry award winner for a reason. It gave the mom in me a bit of an anxiety attack when one of the characters fell down the well, but all’s well that ends well.

This book is a middle-grade read that I’d recommend for all ages. In particular, I liked how it addressed bullying, being different, and overcoming shyness.

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Wow. This was a story I listened to with my kids and we all just adored it.

It’s a story about a deaf girl who is struggling to connect with her community and a whale named Blue 52 who can’t find his ocean community either. She sets out to connect with Blue 52 and along the way she finds her inner strength in a beautiful way.

Pie by Sarah Weeks

This is another book that every one of my children has read and loved. When Alice’s Aunt Polly dies, she takes her world-famous, secret pie crust recipe with her. In her will, she leaves the pie receipt to her cat, Lardo.

Who does she leave the cat to? Alice. Now, Alice and her friend have to find the recipe for happiness together in this endearing and funny book.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Mother Paula/s Pancakes is the most popular pancake restaurant around and they want to open their new restaurant on the site where endangered owls live.

Can the new kid in school find a way to save the owls? This book is a Newberry Honor Winner and is perfect for animal lovers of every age.

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs

The first book in the FunJungle series shows Gibbs at his best – funny and clever!

After a hippo dies at FunJungle zoo, it’s up to Teddy and his friend Summer to prove that the Hippo was actually murdered.

But investigating Hippo homicide is a dangerous affair. This funny story kept this former zoo employee quite entertained.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan is one of Kirsten’s favorite childhood stories. The magical world of Neverland with its pirates, mermaids, and natives is so engrossing.

The story of Peter Pan and his adventures with the Darling children have inspired countless spin-off books, movies, and theatrical productions for a reason. It’s one of the must-read books for a 12-year-old.

Holes by Louis Sachar

A great middle-grade book about camp (and yet another that was adapted into a movie!) Holes should be on every child’s list. And, if you are looking for bedtime stories for kids, this is a great read-aloud for a younger child that cannot read this themselves.

When a boy under a curse is sent to a detention camp he’s taught to behave by digging holes all day, every day.  It doesn’t take long for him to realize he’s digging for a reason – but what are the camp wardens looking to find?

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Neatly Snyder

This story enchanted me as a young girl. The 6 “Egyptians” play in the back lot of an antique store, dressing up, performing rituals, and speaking with Oracles.

Then, a murder happens in the area and trouble comes to the lot. Don’t worry, there is a happy ending and also a sequel about gypsies!

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Ghost runs and has been running since he was a small child. He started running when his father chased him down to the street with a loaded gun and he has not stopped since.

Now, he has been chosen for an elite track team that could go to the junior Olympics if Ghost can get his act together. He has natural, raw talent that can send him all the way if he can stop his past from catching up to him. This Nationa Book award Finalist for Young People’s Literature is the perfect book for a 12-year-old.

Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang

Gene does not like sports. He doesn’t like to play or watch but, the high school where he teaches is obsessed with their basketball team, the Dragons.

This graphic novel is one part memoir as the author tells about the current students and their quest for the state championship as well one part biography as we see the history of the team- including racism and sexism in the sport.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Kwame Alexander has won many awards for his incredible proses. This book, the first in a series, is no exception having won both the Newberry and The Coretta-Scott King Award.

The Crossover is all about Josh Bell a basketball-loving middle-schooler who also loves to rap. He learns to grow up in this coming-of-ask story about Josh, his twin, and his family.

This is one of the many books for a 12-year-old being adapted soon. Look for the book adaptation starring LeBron James coming to Disney+ soon!

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

This story takes place over the course of a 60-second elevator ride, 15-year-old Will is taking on his way to shoot his brother’s killer.

Visited by spirits at each level as he descends, he needs to decide if he should continue the cycle of street violence or let his brother’s death go unavenged.

A Kind of Paradise by Amy Rebecca Tan

This is one of the best children’s books of 2019 for a reason. I read this as a read-aloud with both of my children (boys 6-8) even though it’s technically a middle grade.

The story revolves around Jaime, who is being punished with community service hours at the library for the summer after she did something wrong in school. Jaime is reluctant to volunteer at first but quickly grows to love the staff and regulars at the library. I adored this charming tale and so did my kids. 

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

After practicing all summer, Jess Aarons is convinced he will be the fastest kid in fifth grade, but then the new girl, Leslie, beats him. The race kicks off a fast friendship between Jess and Leslie. Soon, they are spending most of their free time in the woods behind Leslie’s house in their made-up world of Terabithia.

But when Leslie visits Terabithia alone, something awful occurs. Jess needs to learn how to grieve the loss of his friend using all the strength their friendship has given him.

New Kid by Jerry Craft

This graphic novel has won numerous awards, and for good reason. This is a thought-provoking story of a 7th-grade boy who wants to pursue his dream of becoming an artist.

Instead, his parents send him to a prestigious private school where he is one of the few diverse students. He can’t seem to figure out where he fits in at home or at school. This is a good one for kids who aren’t yet ready for Angie Thomas’s books.

The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

Boys grow up to be shapeshifters and girls become witches.  But, what if you are a boy who loves witchery? Would you show your talents if it meant you would be exiled? 

This Middle grade challenges gender stereotypes and is a perfect witch book for any middle-grade reader. This is one of the books for a 12-year-old that every child should read!

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

This graphic novel is a Newbery Honor Award Winner. Astrid and Nicole have done everything together until now. Astrid wants to go to roller derby camp.

And thus begins a summer of friendship, finding yourself, perseverance, and girl power. after all, Astrid may be strong enough to endure middle school.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

I was enthralled by the heroics of the team. The sheer force of will and strength it takes to get in that boat and win. I thought I would be bored by the minutia of rowing, but I wasn’t.

The mechanical part of it, the precision, just made me appreciate the skill of rowing even more. The Olympic games gave me such a heightened sense of American pride. I was rooting for the team and cheering them on the whole time.

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Woman Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

This true and amazing story of the black mathematicians and their role in the space race reads like a fiction novel.

So many people know this story because of the movie but, the book gives so many more details- as is usually the case with adaptations. This is one of the books for a 12-year-old that adults will love too!

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

This is one of the books for a 12-year-old that is a multi-award winner. It won the 2021 Newbery Honor Winner, the 2021 Kirkus Prize for Young People’s literature, and so many other awards. It is the true story of the Thai cave rescue of the 12 boys and their soccer coach in 2018.

The boys and the coach had gone in to explore the cave and when they went to leave, the floodwaters left them trapped inside. Complete with pictures, this story is told in a style that makes you feel like you were there.