Crossover Reads: Tween Books for Teens

Amina's Voice Amina's Voice / Hena Khan

 A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family's vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school after tragedy strikes her community.

Aru Shah and the End of Time Aru Shah and the End of Time / Roshani Chokshi

 Twelve-year-old Aru stretches the truth to fit in at her private school, but when she is dared to prove an ancient lamp is cursed, she inadvertently frees an ancient demon.

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora / Pablo Cartaya

 When his family's restaurant and Cuban American neighborhood in Miami are threatened by a greedy land developer, thirteen-year-old Arturo, joined by Carmen, a cute poetry enthusiast, fight back, discovering the power of poetry and protest through untold family stories and the work of José Martí.

Furthermore Furthermore / Tahereh Mafi

 Twelve-year-old Alice Queensmeadow, with the help of her friend Oliver, travels through the dangerous, magical land of Furthermore in order to rescue her missing father and prove her own magical abilities.

Ghost Ghost / 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.

Ghosts Ghosts / Raina Telgemeier

 Catrina and her family have moved to the coast of Northern California for the sake of her little sister, Maya, who has cystic fibrosis--and Cat is even less happy about the move when she is told that her new town is inhabited by ghosts, and Maya sets her heart on meeting one.

Listen, Slowly Listen, Slowly / Thanhha Lai

 Assisting her grandmother's investigation of her grandfather's fate during the Vietnam War, Mai struggles to adapt to an unfamiliar culture while redefining her sense of family.

A Night Divided A Night Divided / Jennifer L. Neilsen

 When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz are trapped on the eastern side where they were living, while her father, and her other brother Dominic are in the West--four years later, now twelve, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom.

The Serpent's Secret The Serpent's Secret / Sayantani DasGupta

Up until her twelfth birthday, Kiranmala considered herself an ordinary sixth-grader in Parsippany, New Jersey, but then her parents disappear and a drooling rakkhosh demon shows up in her kitchen, and soon she is swept into another dimension, full of magic, winged horses, talking birds (very annoying), and cute princes--and somehow Kiranmala needs to sort it all out, find her parents, and basically save the world. 

So Done So Done / Paula Chase

 When best friends Metai and Jamila are reunited after a summer apart, their friendship threatens to combust from the pressure of secrets, middle school, and looming auditions for a potentially life-changing new talented-and-gifted program.

The War That Saved My Life The War That Saved My Life / Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

 A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.

York: The Shadow Cipher York: The Shadow Cipher / Laura Ruby

 In an alternate history of New York, three kids try to solve a modern-world puzzle and complete a treasure hunt laid into the streets and buildings of the city.