Need a reading list for your middle school students? Read this article for a great middle school novels list that you and your students will love!
Today’s teenagers have a lot more on their minds than the earlier generations. Going to school has become a competition of fashion and popularity rather than studies. This leads to a lot of unnecessary stress among teenagers. Studies have shown that in such situations, reading can be therapeutic. Hence, it is a good idea to inculcate the habit of good and meaningful reading among teenagers. The experience of reading should be exciting, intriguing, as well as satisfying. It should leave the reader wanting more. Here is a list of some that middle school kids might like.
Novels for Middle School Students
A list of good novels will be never ending, and it surely cannot fit into a single article. Given below is a list of popular middle school novels that you can assign as homework to encourage your children/students to read. They have been listed in no preferential sequence.
| Book | Author | Description |
| Belle Teal | Ann M Martin | This book is set in 1962 against a background of the period when the desegregation of schools was introduced in America. Belle is the protagonist and the book revolves around the life of her as a little girl throughout the desegregation crisis. |
| The Prince and the Pauper | Mark Twain | A very popular book, written by the famous American author Mark Twain, The Prince and The Pauper is a story about two boys who look identical but are on the two different sides of the economic ladder. Tom Canty is a poor boy living with his father in London and Edward VI is the son of Henry VII of England. |
| Oliver Twist | Charles Dickens | Written by Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist has been on reading lists since ages. It is one of the classic books everyone should read. It is a story about Oliver, a young boy who runs away from his workhouse and ends up befriending a gang of pickpockets. The book gives us a glimpse into the lives of criminals and orphans. |
| Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie | Jordan Sonnenblick | This book is about an 8th grader, Steven, whose ‘normal’ life turns upside down when his kid brother is diagnosed with leukemia. It highlights the trials and tribulations faced by Steven and his family to get through the physical and emotional crisis. |
| Because of Winn-Dixie | Kate DiCamillo | This book revolves around India Opal Buloni, a ten year old girl, and her determination to cope with a move from her hometown to Naomi, Florida. She finds a dog and names him Winn Dixie and together they make new friends wherever they go. |
| The Boy in the Striped Pajamas | John Boyne | Irish writer John Boyne writes about the Holocaust as seen by a young boy. When his father, a military official working for Adolf Hitler is sent to head a concentration camp, Bruno begins to explore the place and makes friends with a Jewish boy. The story is about innocence and friendship but at the same time gives a peek into the world of concentration camps during Hitler’s regime. This book has been a bestseller in New York, Australia, Ireland and many other countries. |
| The Breadwinner | Deborah Ellis | This book is about 11 year old, Afghan girl Parvana, who is forced into becoming the breadwinner of her family after tragedies in war-afflicted Kabul take away her brother and father, the only two members of her family who are allowed to work. It is about how she dresses up like a boy, in her dead brother’s clothes, so that she can earn money to feed her remaining family – mother and two sisters. |
| Hoot | Carl Hiaasen | This book is about Roy Eberheart who has just moved into Coconut Cove, Florida from Montana. It is about how he and two of his friends put an end to a construction which would have resulted in the displacement of an owl colony. The book was made into a movie of the same name in 2006. |
| The First Part Last | Angela Johnson | This book touches upon teenage pregnancy. It is about Bobby, a typical 15 year old boy, who gets to know that his girlfriend is pregnant. His life, needless to say, changes forever. His priorities move from parties and sports to visiting doctors and social workers. He is forced to make another decision, giving up his baby for adoption, as it seems like the right thing to do, given that he’s only a teenager. |
| Fade | Robert Cormier | This story is about Paul Moreaux who lives near Boston. It is about the ability to ‘fade’ that Paul’s family has had since generations. Paul begins to explore his gift and realizes, with time, that the gift makes him do and see things which he would never have normally done. It also gives him an insight into the harsh realities of the world to which he becomes an invisible spectator. |
These books touch upon different areas that teenagers would not normally think about in their day-to-day lives. With this list, you can invoke a sense of realization and awareness among teenagers about various issues that actually make a difference.
