Growing up, I was especially drawn to stories with interesting female characters figuring out how to move through the world. I looked to those girls to help shape who I was and who I wanted to become. In the end, those influences played a part in the creation of Abbie Wu, the main character in my own book series, Frazzled. Like Abbie, many of the girls in the books on this list are in the process of finding themselves, and as readers, we get to join them on that journey and see who they become.
With her punk rock style, music taste, and attitude, Malú is a kid who likes to live life out loud! As she navigates her time at a new school, she’s faced with big questions about her identity and what it means to be true to yourself. Alongside a (literal) band of misfits, she challenges the status quo and fights for the right of everyone to be who they want to be. The book itself is filled with cool collaged art pages of Malú’s zines, which help bring her world to life!
There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school - you can't fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malu inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School's queen bee, violates the school's dress code with her punk-rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mum in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself. The real Malu loves rock music, skateboarding, zines, and Soyrizo (hold the cilantro, please). And when she assembles…
Yumi Chung may seem like a shy girl at school, but she actually dreams of becoming a comedian! Her parents want her to focus on her studies, but she’d rather work on perfecting her jokes. When an identity mix-up leads to her attending a comedy camp, she struggles to balance the expectations placed on her and the secrets she’s keeping inside. In the end, she finds the guts to stand up for what she wants and proves to everyone that she was meant to be a star!
One lie snowballs into a full-blown double life in this irresistible story about an aspiring stand-up comedian.
On the outside, Yumi Chung suffers from #shygirlproblems, a perm-gone-wrong, and kids calling her "Yu-MEAT" because she smells like her family's Korean barbecue restaurant. On the inside, Yumi is ready for her Netflix stand-up special. Her notebook is filled with mortifying memories that she's reworked into comedy gold. All she needs is a stage and courage.
Instead of spending the summer studying her favorite YouTube comedians, Yumi is enrolled in test-prep tutoring to qualify for a private school scholarship, which will help in…
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
When Zoe Washington stumbles upon a letter from her incarcerated biological father and decides to write him back, it changes everything. As they connect through their letters and a shared love of music and food, Zoe also learns some startling revelations about his story that make her question what she knows to be true. How could an innocent man end up in prison? She plans to find out. Zoe grows into her own over the course of this book, developing a deep sense of determination, empathy, and justice.
#1 Kids Indie Next List * Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year * Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of the Year * SLJ Best Book of the Year * Kirkus Best Book of the Year * Junior Library Guild Selection * Edgar Award Nominee * Four Starred Reviews * Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year * An Indie Bestseller *
From debut author Janae Marks comes a captivating story full of heart, as one courageous girl questions assumptions, searches for the truth, and does what she believes is right—even in the face of great…
I always wanted to be Harriet M. Welsch. She was fearless, honest, and most importantly, a writer. Harriet sees everything, or at least, she thinks she does. But when her notebook falls into the wrong hands and sends her world into chaos, it’s what she learns about herself and the people around her that really stuck with me. This book is a classic—and for good reason. Harriet the Spy shows readers the importance of seeing the world around you, telling the truth, and being unapologetically yourself.
First published in 1974, a title in which Harriet M. Welsch, aspiring author, keeps a secret journal in which she records her thoughts about strangers and friends alike, but when her friends find the notebook with all its revelations, Harriet becomes the victim of a hate campaign.
Twelve-year-old identical twins Ellie and Kat accidentally trigger their physicist mom’s unfinished time machine, launching themselves into a high-stakes adventure in 1970 Chicago. If they learn how to join forces and keep time travel out of the wrong hands, they might be able find a way home. Ellie’s gymnastics and…
Ella Enchanted is a loose retelling of the classic Cinderella story, but Ella is not your typical fairytale damsel. She’s clumsy, stubborn, and very clever—not to mention cursed with the “gift” of obedience and determined to break it. As a young girl, this book introduced me to core ideas of how I wanted to move through the world. It showed me that adventures are not just for boys and that true power comes from believing in yourself rather than fitting into other people’s expectations.
ELLA ENCHANTED is a witty, refreshing take on the popular fairytale, Cinderella which preserves the spirit of the original but adds plenty of humorous twists and a spunky, intelligent female protagonist. "If you've read HARRY POTTER, try ELLA ENCHANTED" Publishers Weekly
Ella is given a blessing at birth by a very stupid fairy: She gets the gift of obedience! but the blessing turns into a horror for Ella who literally has to do what anyone and everyone tells her, from sweeping the floor to giving up a prrecious necklace! She has to battle with ogres and wicked stepsisters, make friends…
Abbie Wu is frazzled… and not just because she’s in middle school or because she’s stuck in a family that doesn’t quite get her or because everyone seems to have a thing except her. Abbie Wu is always frazzled.
Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom is the first in a fun series of heavily illustrated books that take readers into the mind of a hilariously frazzled middle school girl as she figures out who she is, where she belongs, and how to survive the everyday disasters of growing up.
