Josh and Jordan, twin sons of a professional basketball player, are a couple of phenoms on the court. But as the twelve-year-olds get older, their synergy turns to friction. In The Crossover, the story unfolds in verse, with a patter and pounding and slide that fits young Josh’s voice.In the graphic novel Smile, Raina shares some of her middle school experiences, especially as they related to having (surviving) braces. Dental trauma, fitting in, and finding reasons to smile. In Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere, Armani’s tenth birthday falls on the same day Hurricane Katrina hits Louisiana. Like many other families in the lower nines, they didn’t evacuate. And then the levies broke.

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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil L. Frankweiler is a classic. Sure that she’s unappreciated at home, Claudia makes a carefully detailed plan to run away from home, with her younger brother Jamie for company. They take the train to New York City and “move in” to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In Marco Impossible, Stephen and Marco are best friends and fellow detectives, solving (admittedly silly) cases which they write up in their casebook. As middle school draws to an end, Marco plots one final scheme before they’re all off to different high schools. Addresses homophobia, hate crimes, cyber bullying, physical attacks, and the fear that comes with coming out … and falling out with your best friend. And in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Hugo has always had a knack for clockworks, so after his inventor father passes away and his timekeeper uncle disappears, Hugo maintains the many clocks at the train station. Quietly. Alone. But petty theft gets him into serious trouble. Lavishly illustrated!

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Welcome to Berrybrook Middle School! Peppi, who loves to draw, regrets her first day of school, when she hastily distances herself from Jaime, a nerd from the science club. She was mean. He must hate her. Could anything be more Awkward? After the art club (his only friends at school) overlook Jensen, he begins spending more time with the newspaper club. But doing odd jobs for them isn’t really friendship. In Brave, Jensen’s beginning to realize that most of the stuff he puts up with on a daily basis is … bullying. Finally, Jorge has baseball, his friends, and his route. He patrols the halls between classes, making sure no one’s being picked on. (Love that some of the kids call him Sheriff.) It’s all good … until he’s blindsided by his first Crush.

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In New Kid, Jordan is the new kid at a private school full of rich kids and lacking in diversity. His insights and asides are often the subject of the comics he creates. A graphic novel that blends humor and honesty. In Flush, Noah’s dad is in prison for sinking the Coral Queen, a pleasure ship which has (allegedly) been emptying its holding tanks straight into the ocean. But no one can prove it. So Noah and his sister decide to get the proof they need. And The Empty Grave follows close on the heels of the previous book, bringing Lockwood & Co. to its series finale. All I’m going to say is … perfect.

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