6 Middle Grade Tales of Finding Friendship in Unexpected Places

Nowhere Boy, by Katherine Marsh
From the first chapter, the reader is swept into this amazing story about two teenagers whose lives intersect during a time when both are learning more about the world and themselves. Ahmed is a fourteen-year-old refugee fleeing Syria with his father. And Max is a thirteen-year-old American living in Belgium with his family who is trying to navigate an all-French school where he literally doesn’t speak the language. What will Max do when he finds Ahmed hiding out in an old cellar in his house? Perfect for middle school, this is an engrossing book about the refugee crisis, courage, and the impact of choices; in short, Nowhere Boy is unputdownable.

Wish Upon a Sleepover, by Suzanne Selfors
Breakfast Club meets sixth grade in this fun yet touching read all about unlikely friendships. Wish Upon a Sleepover features a group of kids without very much in common who are basically forced to hang out when Leilani’s great-grandmother takes the invite list (and the DO NOT invite list) for Leilani’s sleepover into her own hands. The resulting overnight provides an entertaining yet thought-provoking look at middle school friendships and hardships, fitting in, and how simply being kind can change someone’s life. 

Worth a Thousand Words, by Brigit Young
Twelve-year-old Matilda Green, AKA Tillie, is a force behind her camera. So much so that kids at school have taken to calling her Lost and Found because she takes so many pictures, she can often locate lost items. But now, fellow classmate Jake Hausmann has asked her to help find his missing dad—which is clearly a little bit harder than finding a lost necklace or misplaced book. And to make matters worse, Jake is one of the kids who made fun of how she walks after her car accident. So should Tillie even help him? And why is her own dad sad all the time? This book for upper middle grade readers provides insight into parent and child relationships and shifting family dynamics.

Harbor Me, by Jacqueline Woodson
From the National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming comes Harbor Me, a middle grade book that celebrates the beauty that can come from telling our stories. Six kids in fifth and sixth grade are placed together in a class once a week to talk. To each other. Without teachers around. The kids aren’t even sure about this at first! But what happens slowly are meaningful conversations about hard things, including racism, parents who have passed away, and deportation. As the kids share their stories with each other throughout the school year, they forge a bond that helps sustain them.

Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish, by Pablo Cartaya
Marcus Vega is an imposing six-foot-tall eighth grader who other kids pay to walk them home so they won’t get bullied. He also has a younger brother named Charlie who is the first student with down syndrome to enroll at their public middle school. Readers will love Marcus and Charlie’s sibling bond and cheer on this small family of three (their mother is a single mom working late hours who has a family motto of “Go Team Go”). Readers follow the journey of this family as they travel to Puerto Rico to reconnect with relatives—and find more along the way, including Marcus’s meeting his dad after ten long years.  

Wonderland, by Barbara O’Connor
Two lonely fifth grade girls in Alabama become best friends in this sweet novel by Barbara O’Connor. Mavis Jeeter and her mother can’t seem to stay put in one town long enough for her to make friends, and Rose Tully is considered a baby and no fun by the girls in her neighborhood. But when Mavis’ mom comes to work as a housekeeper for Rose’s mom, the girls find the friendship they’ve been looking for. Their bond is solidified when they decide to help sad Mr. Duffy, whose dog has died, and Henry, a runaway racing dog they find hiding in the woods. Readers will root for Rose as she finds her voice and Mavis as she finds a friend who appreciates her.