Here are 82 books that The Magical Imperfect fans have personally recommended if you like
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I have written three verse novels; two YA, Skyscraping and The Way the Light Bends, and one half-verse, half-prose MG Every Shiny Thing (co-authored with Laurie Morrison.) I teach verse novel specific classes for The Highlights Foundation and The Writing Barn, on topics like plotting verse novels, creating an image system in verse novels, revising verse novels. I also edit verse novel manuscripts, working with one private student per month. Along with this, Iâve taught a Writing for Children class at Bryn Mawr College. Presently, I teach kids and teens through the Kelly Yang Project and run a local, kidsâ literary journal here in Philadelphia called the Mt. Airy Musers.
Unsettled by Reem Faruqi, loosely based on the authorâs own story, chronicles the experience of Nurah, a thirteen-year-old girl who moves from Pakistan to Georgia. She experiences racism and prejudice in a variety of forms, she makes new friends, discovers new passions, undergoes loss, and learns to adjust to a vastly different place. Many verse novels tell stories of immigration, but this one stands for its consistent lyricism and its honest, moving portrayal of a coming-of-age experience that is at once specific and universal.Â
A Bank Street Best Childrenâs Book of the Year ¡ Kid's Indie Next List ¡ Featured in Today Showâs AAPI Heritage Month list ¡ A Kirkus Children's Best Book of 2021 ¡ A National Council of Teachers of English Notable Verse Novel ¡ Jane Addams 2022 Childrenâs Book Award Finalist ¡ 2021 Nerdy Award Winner ¡ Muslim Bookstagram Award Winner for Best Middle School Book
For fans of Other Words for Home and Front Desk, this powerful, charming immigration story follows a girl who moves from Karachi, Pakistan, to Peachtree City, Georgia, and must find her footing in a newâŚ
Selected by Deesha Philyaw as winner of the AWP Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction, Lake Song is set in the fictional town of Kinder Falls in New Yorkâs Finger Lakes region. This novel in stories spans decades to plumb the complexities, violence, and compassion of small-town life as theâŚ
As a former middle school teacher and librarian, I know first-hand the power of story to motivate and teach. Over the years, I have also been lucky enough to facilitate several mother-daughter book groups and have found that books that show characters wrestling with decisions about doing the right thing, and recovering from bad choices, help to show children that there is always hope. Middle school is a time of such challenge and change, and stories that show authentically drawn characters navigating this tough terrain can act as guideposts. Becoming independent, finding your voice, growing empathy, and cherishing family and friends are necessary steps to becoming confident and healthy humans.
Twelve-year-old Maddie makes one bad decision with terrible repercussions that sets this story in motion as she finds herself utterly and truly alone.
This is a story that the girls in my mother-daughter book group had much to say about. Her quest to survive in a world that has been transformed seemingly overnight forces Maddie to trust her instincts in order to survive on her own.
The story reads like a metaphor for the transition from child to adult. The themes of honesty, resilience, and optimism in the face of challenging circumstances are at the heart of this riveting story.
Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel-in-verse from a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her small Colorado town.
When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She's alone-left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned.
With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to surviveâŚ
When I worked as a middle school teacher, I surveyed more than 200 students how they felt about books that included sadness and grief. The overwhelming answer from the students was that while adults too often minimize their feelings and dismiss the validity of their heartache, books do not. Many young readers want books that are honest and raw enough not to shield them from the world, but to pay enough attention to its pain to light a path, knowing that they can keep moving forward in the dark when they feel less alone and less afraid.
Another novel in verse, I loved Rajani LaRoccaâs Red, White, and Whole for its emotional complexity.
Though a work of fiction, LaRocca has said that many of the aspects of the book are based on her own experience growing up as an Indian American in the 1980s. In the story, thirteen-year-old Reha straddles two worlds: expected to honor Indian traditions and expectations at home, while fitting into the life of an American teenager at school.
But when Rehaâs mother is diagnosed with cancer, Reha must confront more than just her fear of blood. I love this book for the mirrors and windows it provides readers of all ages.
Newbery Honor Book! A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia.
* Walter Award Winner * New England Book Award Winner * An NCTE Notable Verse Novel * Golden Kite Award Winner * Goodreads Choice Nominee * A Washington Post Best Children's Book of the Year * An SLJ Best Book of the Year * A BookPage Best Book of the Year * An NYPL Best Book of the Year * A Mighty Girl's Best Book of the Year * An ILA Notable BookâŚ
Selected by Deesha Philyaw as winner of the AWP Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction, Lake Song is set in the fictional town of Kinder Falls in New Yorkâs Finger Lakes region. This novel in stories spans decades to plumb the complexities, violence, and compassion of small-town life as theâŚ
Donât Mess with Coleman Stoops is a semi-autobiographical account of my own experiences in middle school. As an adult, I am still dealing with the echoes of trauma I felt when I was eleven and twelve years old. Now that Iâm also a father, I believe that it is up to the adults in a childâs life to contradict much of the âkids can be so cruelâ aspects of growing up in America. Coleman isnât just me; he is every kid at one time or another. Even the bullies of the world get bullied themselves. Kindness and compassion are two lessons that never cease to be important.
I used to be husky. I had weight problems when I was in middle school and jr. high. To be able to read stories like this as an adult gives me hope for the children of newer generations. Kids who get to meet Ellie and travel through her traumatic experiences will understand that they are not alone.
Bullying and shaming (for whatever reason) are traditions that need to be thrown out. As writers, educators, and parents work hard to protect their kids and teach them right from wrong, it is critical to have examples in books and shows that help kids walk a mile in someone elseâs shoes. Both Ellie (from Starfish) and Coleman (from Donât Mess with Coleman Stoops) achieve this.Â
Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she's been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules - like "no making waves," "avoid eating in public," and "don't move so fast that your body jiggles." And she's found her safe space - her swimming pool - where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It's also where she can get away from her pushyâŚ
A couple of years ago, in my late 50s, I learned I had ADHD. It was a huge discovery to finally understand why I daydreamed while being lectured and had so many thoughts racing through my mind. When I was younger, I assumed that there was a level playing field between my classmates and me when it came to basic brain function. So, I always felt extra frustrated and sad when I didnât learn the same way as others. Only recently have I come to the new understanding about what was going on thenâthat my brain has always worked a little differently.
I love this book so much! With his beautiful child-like drawings, Guridi masterfully helps the reader see life from the perspective of a neurodiverse child struggling with day-to-day life. Guridi does this by juxtaposing limited palette drawings with off-white backgrounds with full-page black background pages showing the text of the childâs inner dialogue.Â
This book would be amazing for both a neurodiverse child managing his or her own life and a parent trying to envision this childâs inner struggles.
A school day can be so overwhelming: so many people, so many noises, so many things to remember. Grown-ups say itâll get easier with time, but even saying hello is incredibly hard. Thank goodness for comforts like math, for anything that can relax a restless mind. Maybe this time a few words will come out at lastâŚ
An empathetic look at anxiety and overstimulation, Itâs So Difficult follows a child throughout the challenging routines of a single day. Even the smallest step forward can be an enormous triumph.Â
I love books that entertain and uplift when characters learn and overcome. As a teenager, things happened that threw me into a painful tailspin, ending in a wilderness program for troubled kids. It taught me that I can do hard things and face challenges in life. Iâve lost loved ones, have a special needs child, divorced, been broke, earned my black belt, returned to school as a single mom for a degree, and co-founded a nonprofit to support literacy for kids. None of that was easy, but it increased my compassion and hope. Stories can be powerful reminders of human resilience, and that battle scars make someone more beautiful than before.
I understood this story on a deep, metaphoric level.
Judith is a traumatized teen who disappeared for years and is unable to speak and explain whyâwhich is often the plight of those who have suffered. Silence is a barrier to understanding and healing.
This book reads like poetry and transports you back in time. Life must have been difficult for early Puritan settlersâespecially for anyone who was âdifferentâ or âafflicted.â The frustration and injustice! The mystery/thriller aspect had me on the edge of my seat! I really wanted things to get better for the main character, who remained graceful in the face of trauma and sadness. This story confirmed my hope that the truth is always eventually revealed and that it does set you free. It was a satisfying read!
Speak meets The Scarlet Letter in this literary masterpiece, the recipient of five starred reviews and nominated for the 2014 Edgar Award
Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family.  Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who's owned her heart as long as she can remember--even if he doesn't know it--her childhood friend, Lucas.  But when Roswell StationâŚ
Writing a protagonist who can't talk out loud is quite a challenge. I talk constantly as I'm both an extrovert and a public speaker for my day job, but I have had several bouts of severe laryngitis and have been under severe no speaking orders from the doctor. People react differently when you can't talk. Nowadays, we all have a convenient mobile device on hand to help, but that isn't always the case in the fantasy books we read.
In Speechless in Achten Tan my main character Mila can't talk because magic took her voice. Her magic power is connected to her ability to speak, so she's pretty desperate to regain her ability to speak.
This character is another fantasy character in a pre-technology world. Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation.
I read this quite a while back, but as far as I understand, the MC is selectively mute because of trauma after losing her home and becoming a fugitive. She communicates with sign language.
Praise for the instant New York Times bestseller Skyhunter âRiveting.â âPOPSUGAR âAction-packed.â âBuzzFeed âFresh.â âLos Angeles Times âExhilaratingâŚa rollercoaster of a reading experience.â âThe Nerd Daily
A Quiet Place meets Attack on Titan in this unputdownable, adrenaline-laced novel.
Strikers are loyal. With unparalleled, deadly fighting skills. With a willingness to do anythingâincluding sacrifice their own livesâto defend Mara, the worldâs last free nation. But to the very people she protects, Talin is seen as an outcast first and a Striker second.
No matter what others think, Talin lets nothing distract her from keeping the evil Federation and its army ofâŚ
I was a late reader. I was, in fact, forcefully against reading. Youâd have had to drag me by my ear to get me anywhere near a book. I was dyslexic, suffered with Irlen syndrome, and detested the embarrassing fact that I found reading too difficult. I thought my mother had invented some kind of cruel torture when she insisted I read to her every day. It never worked. And then⌠it did. I read my first book at the age of 12, and it was written in the form of letters. It was Animorphs Book 1 by KA Applegate, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Thornhill tells the story of two girlsâElla, recently moved into a new house, which has a perfect view of the abandoned Thornhill Institute next door, and Mary, the mysteriously evasive girl who seems to live in the dilapidated building. Ellaâs narrative is told in a graphic novel style with blackwork drawings, heavy and bold, while Maryâs narrative is told via diary entries. Each narrative informs the other until they eventually meet to reveal the truth on both sides. Thornhill was one of those rare gems that pull me firmly into the story by use of the unusual formatâand keeps me there until the end.Â
Parallel stories set in different times, one told in prose and one in pictures, converge as a girl unravels the mystery of the abandoned Thornhill Institute next door.
1982: Mary is a lonely orphan at the Thornhill Institute For Children at the very moment that it's shutting its doors. When her few friends are all adopted or re-homed and sheâs left to face a volatile bully alone, her revenge will have a lasting effect on the bully, on Mary, and on Thornhill itself.
2017: Ella has just moved to a new town where she knows no one. From her roomâŚ
Iâve struggled with anxiety since childhood, but it wasnât until I was an adult that I even realized that I could do something about my anxiety. Then, when my seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed and began therapy for her anxiety, I knew other kids deserved to learn these tools, too. No child should have to suffer with anxiety like I did for years. Instead, itâs my hope that through fiction books like these, kids can identify with these characters suffering from anxiety, see themselves in their stories, and be equipped to manage their anxiety so that they can flourish in their livesâstarting right now.
Ellie endeared herself to me as I read the ridiculous lengths to which she would go to avoidâno, sabotageâher own bat mitzvah simply to escape her extreme anxiety (and selective mutism).
But while the food fight and faking her own death were entertaining, what was most compelling was how the author pulled back the curtain not only on her Jewish faith and heritage but also on her panic attacks. As well as the coping techniques that she learned throughout the story to tame them in a way that made the little girl in meâalso horrified at the thought of speaking, let alone singing, in front of a crowdâfeel empowered not only to recognize my own anxiety but to also realize that I can do something about it.Â
The world is an amazing, diverse place that needs stories that represent everyone. I identify as gender fluid and am part of my cityâs LGBTQIA+ community. For kids, there arenât enough stories that feature non-straight cis protagonists where that identity isnât the focus. LGBTQIA+ kids exist. They are normal. Let a gay kid go into space. Let a teenage lesbian solve a mystery. Let a trans girl defeat a dragon. Let an ace teen be a witch. Everybody deserves their adventure.
The City of Lucille has gotten rid of all its monsters.
Thatâs what Jam, a teenage trans girl, believed until the demonic-looking Pet emerged from one of her motherâs paintings. But despite their monstrous appearance, Pet isnât the monster, but came forth to hunt a monster already living among the people of Lucille undetected.Â
Pet contains vivid imagery, powerful themes, and a sensitive and brave protagonist. Be bold. Be vigilant. Monsters never entirely go away because we are the monsters.
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This book is for kids age
12,
13,
14, and
15.
What is this book about?
How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?
She stumbled backwards, her eyes wide, as the figure started coming out of the canvas ... She tried to be brave. Well, she said, her hands only a little shaky, at least tell me what I should call you. ... Well, little girl, it replied, I suppose you can call me Pet.
There are no more monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. With doting parents and a best friend named Redemption, Jam has grown up with this lessonâŚ
