10 New Coming-of-Age Middle-Grade Books for March

Tito the Bonecrusher, by Melissa Thomson
Fifth-grader Oliver “Spaghetti-O” Jones is facing an uncertain future when he learns that his father is going to prison for two years for a crime Oliver believes his dad didn’t commit. But Oliver and his best friend Brianna, aka Brain, think they have the solution—enlisting the help of their hero and favorite luchador-turned–movie star Tito the Bonecrusher to help get Oliver’s dad out of a Florida penitentiary and to Oliver’s sister’s high school graduation in Virginia. This funny and honest book about family, friendship, and justice shows young readers that someone swooping in to save the day isn’t always possible, but that doesn’t mean someone isn’t a hero.

The True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins, by Gail Shepherd
Likable narrator Lyndie B. Hawkins loves research, history, and searching for the truth, which makes it hard for her to reconcile the lesson her Grandma Lady is trying to teach her: Family means loyalty, and that loyalty means keeping family secrets to yourself. And so 11-year-old Lyndie is left with myriad unanswered questions about her family, particularly her Vietnam War–veteran father who disappears for days at a time and her mother who has become increasingly withdrawn. But when a boy from the juvenile detention center shows up to stay with Lyndie’s friend Dawn in an attempt to straighten out his life, his optimism proves infectious—and much-needed—for Lyndie in this powerful coming-of-age tale.

The Size of the Truth, by Andrew Smith
Eleven-year-old Sam Abernathy feels trapped, having just skipped from sixth to eighth grade due to his parents’ quest to get him into MIT. But his stuck feelings are nothing compared to when he was actually stuck in a well for three days when he was just 4 years old. While trying to overcome his PTSD and claustrophobia from the incident, Sam also has to maneuver being in the same class as the boy he blames for pushing him into the well seven years earlier and secretly pursue his dream of being a chef so as not to disappoint his parents in this quirky and entertaining read.

The Afterwards, by A.F. Harrold and Emily Gravett
Fans of Neil Gaiman and Roald Dahl will appreciate this endearing and artful story about a difficult subject from the creators of The Imaginary. In it, Ember has had a difficult life, having lost her mother when she was very young. Having her best friend, Ness, is a bright ray of sunshine, but when Ness suddenly dies after falling from a swing, Ember’s world goes dark. She knows she must travel from her world filled with Emily Gravett’s full-color illustrations into the black-and-white afterworld where the recently dead reside. Ember desperately wants to find a way to bring Ness back to the world of the living, but as she travels back and forth between the two worlds she may soon see that bonds can’t be broken by death.

Friendroid, by M. M. Vaughan
M.M. Vaughan’s middle-grade book about friendship and robots begins at the ending of one character’s story—12-year-old narrator Danny Lazio introduces his friend Eric Young’s (aka Slick’s) tale by telling us that Eric has been murdered and that he was an android. Chapters alternate between Danny’s narration and Slick’s journal entries, which Danny is publishing because he wants everyone to know the truth. Slick had no idea he was a robot when he moved to Ashland from New York City and bonded with loner Danny over their shared love of video games. But as the pair uncover the truth about Slick’s identity, they realize that their differences aren’t enough to keep them apart.

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, by Ashley Herring Blake
This sweet and endearing new middle-grade book introduces readers to 12-year-old Sunny St. James, who, after having received a heart transplant, decides to embark on a new life for herself by doing awesome things her cardiomyopathy didn’t allow her to do before, finding a new best friend, and kissing a boy for the first time. But once she does the first two items on her list by swimming in the ocean and meeting Quinn Ríos Rivera, she realizes she doesn’t even want to kiss a boy—she wants to kiss her new best friend, Quinn. Adding to her confusion is the fact that Sunny’s mother, a recovering alcoholic who gave Sunny to a friend to raise when she was 4, has returned and wants a relationship with the preteen.

The Astonishing Maybe, by Shaunta Grimes
Middle-schooler Gideon Quinton doesn’t want to move from the East Coast with his family, but when his dad gets a job in Loganville, Nevada, off Gideon, his parents, and his little sister go to a sweltering new neighborhood in the desert. The only kid his age lives nearby—a peculiar girl named Roona, who wears roller skates and a baby blanket as a cape. But traveling next door to meet Roona will take him much farther outside his sheltered existence than he could ever imagine as she enlists him to help ease her mother’s depression by finding the father Roona hasn’t seen since she was a baby.

The Great Jeff, by Tony Abbott
This companion to Tony Abbott’s Firegirl follows Jeff Hicks, the eighth-grade bullying best friend from Abbott’s 2008 book. Jeff is forced to leave his private school for public school after his father, who left the family when Jeff was 9, stops paying child support. And to make matters worse, his mother has just lost her job as a nurse because of her alcoholism. Now Jeff is forced to face issues that no child should have to deal with as he and his mother are plunged into poverty, living first in a cheap motel, then their car, and ultimately a shelter. Jeff doesn’t want anyone to know what a bad situation he’s in, but as he soon learns, there’s a tremendous difference between compassion and pity in this powerful new story.

The Breakaways, by Cathy G. Johnson
Fifth-grader Faith isn’t sure how she’ll fit in in middle school, but after being tricked on the first day to try out for the school’s soccer team, she finds her spot among a ragtag group of diverse teammates on the C team. This is a not a sports story about the underdogs coming out on top—they still lose every game—but with good reason: The players are dealing with myriad issues beyond just being bad at soccer, including sexuality, gender identity, mental health, cultural issues, and more. The graphic novel does an excellent job of portraying a variety of characters learning to navigate their lives.

Nikki on the Line, by Barbara Carroll Roberts
For fans of both Judy Blume and Mike Lupica comes a new middle-grade read about 13-year-old Nikki Doyle who is shooting to become a basketball star as a new part of an elite team. But between trouble with her best friend, a nearly impossible science project, and having to babysit her annoying little brother to help her family save money, Nikki’s basketball dreams may be over before they even begin. Kids will love this uplifting and realistic book about navigating the different pieces of your identity in middle school.