Favorite New(ish) Juvenile Novels
Our children’s librarians have put together a list of their favorite juvenile novels published within the last 10 years for ages 9-13. Check one out today!
The Fearless Travelers’ Guide to Wicked Places by Pete Begler
Twelve-year-old Nell Perkins and her brothers journey deep into the Wicked Places where Nightmares reside to rescue their mother, who was taken by witches and turned into a bird.
Tangerine by Edward Bloor
Twelve-year-old Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.
Mr. Gedrick and Me by Patrick Carman
After his father’s death, Stanley and his family get help from a strange new nanny named Mr. Gedrick.
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm
Ellie’s scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager–which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter.
The Nest by Oppel
For some kids summer is a sun-soaked season of fun. But for Steve, it’s just another season of worries. Worries about his sick newborn baby brother who is fighting to survive, worries about his parents who are struggling to cope, even worries about the wasp’s nest looming ominously from the eaves. So when a mysterious wasp queen invades his dreams, offering to “fix” the baby, Steve thinks his prayers have been answered.
Ghost by Reynolds by Jason Reynolds
Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elite middle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reach his full potential.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1970s television game show, “The $20,000 Pyramid,” a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.
The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
Emotionally crippled by his obsessive-compulsive disorder, teenager Matthew Corbin rarely leaves his room on a cul-de-sac in London, and he passes the day observing and writing down his neighbors doings from his window–but when a toddler staying next door disappears, Matt is the key to solving a mystery and possibly saving a child’s life…if he can manage to expose himself, and his secret guilt to the outside world.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente
Twelve-year-old September’s ordinary life in Omaha turns to adventure when a Green Wind takes her to Fairyland to retrieve a talisman the new and fickle Marquess wants from the enchanted wood.
The Thickety: A Path Begins by J. A. White
When twelve-year-old Kara discovers her mother’s grimoire in the dangerous forest, she must decide if she’ll use it, even though such magic is forbidden.