Recommended realistic middle fiction
We love realistic middle fiction for its ability to hook kids in a single, relatable thought. Reflective of their own experiences, offering a new lens on familiar situations, or exposing them to experiences completely different from their own, these stories have the power to build empathy and understanding in engaging ways. Below are some excellent realistic middle fiction stories that we recommend exploring.
Moonwalking by Zetta Elliott & Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Punk rock-loving JJ Pankowski can’t seem to fit in at his new school in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, as one of the only white kids. Pie Velez, a math and history geek by day and graffiti artist by night is eager to follow in his idol, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s, footsteps. The boys stumble into an unlikely friendship, swapping notes on their love of music and art, which sees them through a difficult semester at school and at home. But a run-in with the cops threatens to unravel it all.
This middle-grade novel-in-verse follows two boys in 1980s Brooklyn as they become friends for a season. It's a stunning exploration of class, cross-racial friendships, and two boys’ search for belonging in a city as tumultuous and beautiful as their hearts.
Something Like Home by Andrea Beatriz Arango
Who wants a temporary place to act like a forever one? Especially when the social services people keep telling you over and over and over that place is 'safer' than your parents is a 'good' solution is someone you're 'extremely lucky' to have offered you a home.
Laura Rodriguez has a plan: No matter what the grown-ups say, she will live with her parents again. Can you blame her? It's tough to make friends as the new kid at school. And while staying at her aunt's house is okay, it just isn't the same. But that's all going to change. Because when Laura finds a puppy, it seems like fate. If she can train the puppy to become a therapy dog, then maybe she'll be allowed to visit her parents. Maybe the dog will help them get better, and things will finally go back to the way they should.
Air by Monica Roe
Twelve-year-old Emmie is working to raise money for a tricked-out wheelchair to get serious about WCMX, when a mishap on a poorly designed ramp at school throws her plans into a tailspin. Instead of replacing the ramp, her school provides her with a kind but unwelcome aid and, seeing a golden media opportunity, launches a public fundraiser for her new wheels.
Emmie loves her close-knit rural town, but she can’t shake the feeling that her goals – and her choices – suddenly aren’t hers anymore. With the help of her best friends, Emmie makes a plan to get her dreams off the ground and show her community what she wants, what she has to give, and how ready she is to do it on her own terms.
Sunshine on Vinegar Street by Karen Comer
Freya's world is turned upside down when she and her mum move to inner-city Melbourne. Now she's...
Stuck in a new apartment on the eleventh floor and Freya is afraid of lifts.
Stuck in a new basketball team where not everyone likes a new star player.
Stuck in a classroom of kids who don't know Freya is a donor-conceived baby.
Stuck, just like Little Audrey in the Skipping Girl sign suspended over the suburb of Abbotsford.
Being the new girl makes Freya feel like a dark cloud on a summer's day. Can she figure out how to belong on Vinegar Street?
City of Horses by Frances Moloney
New home. New friendships. New rules.
Thirteen-year-old Misty's life is about to be turned upside down. When her dad loses his job, they both have to move to Redbridge – far away from her home and her friends. This new town brings plenty of surprises – Misty wasn't expecting to live on an estate where ponies run free, and she certainly wasn't expecting to meet Dylan, a mysterious local boy who loves horses.
Misty is determined to keep up appearances and hide her new life from her friends at all costs. But when the horses she has grown to love come under threat, will she have the courage to help save the place she now calls home?
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee
Maizy has never been to Last Chance, Minnesota … until now. Her mom’s plan is just to stay for a couple weeks, until her grandfather gets better. But plans change, and as Maizy spends more time in Last Chance and at the Golden Palace – the restaurant that’s been in her family for generations – she makes some discoveries. For instance: You can tell a LOT about someone by the way they order food. People can surprise you. Sometimes in good ways, sometimes in disappointing ways. And the Golden Palace has secrets.
But the more Maizy discovers, the more questions she has. Like, why are her mom and her grandmother always fighting? Who are the people in the photographs on the office wall? And when she discovers that a beloved family treasure has gone missing – and someone has left a racist note – Maizy decides it’s time to find the answers.
One Wrong Turn by Chenee Marrapodi
If I wanted the lead role, Valentina had to go.
Amelia is a ballerina on the rise – she's talented, dedicated and set to star in the lead role of the annual production. But when Valentina arrives from Italy and joins the ballet academy, the competition gets fierce. Can Amelia outshine Valentina and keep her place in the spotlight?
Set in an elite dance academy, this compelling coming-of-age novel is all about overcoming pressure, standing up for yourself and the joy of ballet! The perfect gift for all young dancers.
Be Brave, Maple Mehta-Cohen! by Kate McGovern
Maple Mehta-Cohen has a secret: she can’t read very well. Words on the page just don’t make sense. Despite all her clever tricks to hide her troubles with reading, her teacher is on to her, and now she has to repeat a whole year of school. But on her first day back, Maple tells a lie about why she’s there – a lie that soon spirals out of control.
Will Maple find the courage to tell the truth before someone gets hurt? And can she find a way to love herself and her brain, just the way she is?
Readers who have faced their own trials with school and friendships will enjoy this heartwarming story and its bright, creative heroine.
Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim
My study buddy, Henry, has made it his mission to get me to an A in maths the way I’m trying to get him to an A in English.
Wen Zhou is the daughter and only child of Chinese immigrants whose move to the lucky country has proven to be not so lucky. Wen and her friend, Henry Xiao – whose mum and dad are also poor immigrants – both dream of escape from their unhappy circumstances, and they form a plan to sit an entrance exam to a selective high school far from home. But when tragedy strikes, it will take all of Wen’s resilience and resourcefulness to get herself and Henry through the storm that follows.
The Jammer by Nova Weetman
Fred has moved around her whole life, one small town after another. She never minded starting over because she always had her mum, her dad and her love of roller derby. On the track she was Fred or Dead, the star jammer, a gun at smashing through a line of bodies and scoring for her team. But now Fred’s life has fallen apart, and she can’t imagine putting her skates on again.
After road tripping to Melbourne with her dad, Fred meets a bunch of people who think they know what’s best for her. And although she tries to avoid it, roller derby has a way of barging back into her life. A true jammer could push through anything, but Fred doesn’t know who she is anymore. What do you do when the thing that could save you is what hurts the most?
Jamie by L.D. Lapinski
Jamie Rambeau is a happy 11-year-old non-binary kid who likes nothing better than hanging out with their two best friends Daisy and Ash. But when the trio find out that in Year Seven they will be separated into one school for boys and another for girls, their friendship suddenly seems at risk. And when Jamie realises no one has thought about where they are going to go, they decide to take matters into their own hands, and sort it all out once and for all.
As the friends’ efforts to raise awareness eventually become a rooftop protest against the binary rules for the local schools, Jamie realises that if they don’t figure out a way forwards, they might be at risk of losing both their friends forever.
Uncle Xbox by Jared Thomas
Dusty spends a lot of time playing games online, and usually with his stepdad, Marcus. One Saturday morning, Marcus loads his things into his car and leaves, taking his Xbox with him. Dusty is determined to buy an Xbox of his own and tries odd jobs that don’t quite work out. That is until cool Uncle Rick turns up. Uncle Rick introduces Dusty to surfing and teaches him about his culture and connection to Country. Dusty swiftly discovers that there is more to life than gaming.
A coming-of-age story for young gamers, that offers gentle insights into growing up, family and finding your place not only in a digital world, but in the messy soup of life.
The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart by Samera Kamaleddine
Evie Hart likes rules. A lot. But as she embarks on her very last year of primary school, it feels like all the rules around her are being broken.
When Evie's class starts learning about the Earth's place in the universe, it makes Evie think about her own place in the world and where she belongs. Which has her more worried than ever. When your mum writes a horoscope page for a living, it's hard not to think about what the future holds. Especially when she and the only dad Evie has ever known are acting like they're on different planets. But the more Evie learns about the sky and the stars, the more she learns that changes in the world can't always be controlled. And maybe that's not a bad thing.
High-Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson
Summer in London is hot, the hottest on record, and there’s been a murder in THE TRI: the high-rise home to resident know-it-alls, Nik and Norva. Who better to solve the case? They're armed with curiosity, home-turf knowledge and unlimited time – until the end of the summer holidays anyway.
This is the first whodunnit in a new mystery series by Sharna Jackson.
Huda and Me by H. Hayek
Huda’s sitting in the airport lounge, fiddling with our tickets. I can tell she’s excited because she has a little smile on her face and she keeps glancing at her pink digital watch. I can’t believe we’re doing this. I can’t believe we’re running away from home. Well, we’re not really running away...
When their parents have to travel to Beirut unexpectedly, twelve-year-old Akeal and his six siblings are horrified to be left behind in Melbourne with the dreaded Aunt Amel as their babysitter. Things do not go well, and Akeal’s naughty little sister, Huda, hatches a bold plan to escape. After stealing Aunt Amel’s credit card to buy plane tickets to Lebanon, Huda persuades her reluctant favourite brother to come with her. So begins Huda and Akeal’s hair-raising and action-packed journey to reunite with their parents.
Ellen Outside the Lines by A.J. Sass
Thirteen-year-old Ellen Katz feels most comfortable when her life is well planned out and people fit neatly into her predefined categories. She attends temple with Abba and Mom every Friday and Saturday. Ellen only gets crushes on girls, never boys, and she knows she can always rely on her best-and-only friend, Laurel, to help navigate social situations at their private Georgia middle school. Laurel has always made Ellen feel like being autistic is no big deal.
But lately, Laurel has started making more friends, and cancelling more weekend plans with Ellen than she keeps. A school trip to Barcelona seems like the perfect place for Ellen to get their friendship back on track. Except it doesn't. Toss in a new nonbinary classmate whose identity has Ellen questioning her very binary way of seeing the world, homesickness, a scavenger hunt-style team project that takes the students through Barcelona to learn about Spanish culture and this trip is anything but what Ellen planned.
