Back to School - Tween

For Merci Sur̀ez, eighth grade means a new haircut, nighttime football games, and an out-of-town overnight field trip. At home, it means more chores and keeping an eye on Lolo as his health worsens. It's a year filled with more responsibility and independence, but also with opportunities to reinvent herself. Merci has always been fine with not being one of the popular kids like Avery Sanders, who will probably be the soccer captain and is always...

"Veronica Lodge has always been the most fabulous and popular kid in her class. But ever since she started middle school, she's become a small fish in a much bigger pond. Now, Veronica is terrified her classmates will find out her wealthy dad is out of work. Worse, she has a birthday coming up, and her parties are always huge, grand events. If she can't have a party this year, then everyone will know the truth about her father, and she just can't...

"Harvey Hill's first day at Strangeville Middle School doesn't go quite as expected when he discovers it's full of various creatures and odd happenings, including a particularly nefarious supply clososet"--

"From the boundless imagination of David Almond comes a thought-provoking question, packaged in a lively illustrated chapter book: what if a robot went to school? When a new boy joins their class, everyone thinks he's . . . odd. George doesn't behave like other kids. He doesn't think like other kids. But he's great at football and snacking, and that's what matters to Dan and Maxie and friends, who resolve to make George feel welcome. Over time, they...

Scout joins her middle school's band in order to go on the band's annual trip and meet her favorite author, but she's forced to face the music when the trombone section leader realizes Scout doesn't know how to play.

"Two brothers--one good, one evil--choose the students for the School for Good and Evil where they train, teach and prepare them for their fate until something unexpected and powerful happens that changes everything"--

"Bree can't wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees--until she's stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she's forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help"--

"Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, a magic school in the clouds where Marvellers from around the world practice their cultural arts. Despite her excitement, Ella discovers that being the first isn't easy--some Marvellers mistrust her magic. Eventually, she finds friends in elixirs teacher, Masterji Thakur, and fellow misfits Brigit and Jason. When a dangerous criminal escapes prison, supposedly...

Eleven-year-old Aurora Petrequin's best friend has never spoken a word to her. In fact, Frenchie Livernois doesn't talk. Aurora is bouncy, loud and impulsive. Making friends has never come easily. When Frenchie, who is autistic, silently chose Aurora as his person back in third grade, she chose him back. They make a good team, sharing their love of the natural world in coastal Maine. In the woods, Aurora and Frenchie encounter a piebald deer, a rare...

Jessie Alden likes her new role at the student newspaper, but when a new boy at school comes to her with information about strange things taking place at his parent's business, she realizes her story is much bigger than she thought.