Skip to Main Content
We are big fans of fun, fast-paced books. With the longest book on this list clocking in at 272 pages, check out these short reads for your middle schooler.
Happy & Sad & Everything True

With charm and sincerity reminiscent of Judy Blume and Rebecca Stead, this debut middle grade novel is a heartfelt, hopeful story about a girl finding herself through secretly giving out advice to classmates.

Hardcover

LIST PRICE $17.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

How to Steal a Dragon
Illustrated by Ryan Hammond

In the second book of this illustrated middle grade series that’s The Bad Guys meets Amelia Fang, Bram and his merry gang of almost-villains must protect a forest of dragons before someone else gets to them first.

Hardcover

LIST PRICE $18.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

Dork Diaries 16

Tales from a Not-So-Bratty Little Sister

Nikki Maxwell’s diary enters her bratty little sister’s clutches in this sixteenth installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series!

Paper Over Board

LIST PRICE $14.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

Rolling On

In this heartfelt companion to Jamie Sumner’s acclaimed and beloved novels Roll with It and Time to Roll, Ellie finds herself faced with first love and learning to let go.

Hardcover

LIST PRICE $17.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

Rise of the Spider

Witness the chilling rise of Hitler’s Germany through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy in this first book in the action-packed middle grade series Web of the Spider for fans of I Survived and A Night Divided.

Hardcover

LIST PRICE $17.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

Rosa by Starlight
Illustrated by Matt Rockefeller

From award-winning author Hilary McKay comes an enchanting illustrated middle grade novel in the spirit of Matilda about a lonely orphan who dreams of escaping her ghastly aunt and uncle.

Hardcover

LIST PRICE $16.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

Sparrow Spreads Her Wings
Illustrated by Elysia Case

In this sequel to the “uplifting” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) Sparrow Being Sparrow, Sparrow rescues an injured animal but soon wonders if she’s taken on more than she can handle alone.

Hardcover

LIST PRICE $16.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

The Great Catnapping
Illustrated by David Mottram

In this hilarious, high-stakes companion to The Great Pet Heist, The Great Ghost Hoax, and The Great Vandal Scandal, the pet friends take matters into their own paws—and tentacles—to rescue Walt and the white cat when they get catnapped.

Hardcover

LIST PRICE $17.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

Finch House

Encanto meets Coraline in this “supremely successful, atmospheric” (Kirkus Reviews) middle grade story that deals with family ties, fear of change, and generational trauma as it follows a girl who must convince an old, haunted house to release its hold on her and her family.

Trade Paperback

LIST PRICE $7.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

Villains Academy
Illustrated by Ryan Hammond

In the spirit of The Bad Guys and Amelia Fang, this first adventurous romp in the illustrated middle grade Villains Academy series follows a young werewolf who realizes he’s a nice guy at heart while attending a villainous school for monsters.

Trade Paperback

LIST PRICE $7.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

Time to Roll

In the eagerly anticipated sequel to Jamie Sumner’s acclaimed and beloved middle grade novel Roll with It, Ellie finds her own way to shine.

Trade Paperback

LIST PRICE $7.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers

The Day I Fell into a Fairy Tale

From actor, author, and comedian Ben Miller comes an illustrated middle grade fantasy adventure that’s “entertaining fairy-tale fun” (Kirkus Reviews) following a brother and sister who stumble into a magical new world—perfect for fans of Half Upon a Time and Land of Stories!

Hardcover

LIST PRICE $17.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Get 25% off with code NY2025, plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. (Discount on physical product only, terms apply.)

Buy from Other Retailers