We’ve gotten some reader requests for YA books that are good for the younger YA set-those fourth or fifth graders who’ve finished Harry Potter, but aren’t ready for the Hunger Games and definitely don’t want to read stuff with too much romance in it. We decided to also focus on books that are part of a series because if you can find one book that you or your kids like, it’s even better if there are six of them and you can keep going with the adventure!

We’ve broken them down into categories from class picks to fantasy to graphic novels because my girls are very picky about what they read. My oldest loves historical fiction and she’s read all of my old books from Anne of Green Gables to the Chronicles of Narnia to Little Women, but my middle daughter will only read stuff that feels more modern. Give her a graphic novel or a book about social groups in middle school and she’s happy as a clam. It used to drive me crazy, but now I take it as challenge to keep her supplied with new reads that I’ve discovered (we finally talked her into reading Harry Potter and she did love it). We also have to give our friend Megan a big thank you for sharing some her boys’ favorites because we were definitely a little girl heavy at first!

Classic Picks

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield

This was one of our favorite series growing up, especially the first two books in the series about trios of siblings in London who attend a famous school for the performing arts and try to discover if they have any talent, and precisely what to do with it. The other books take place in the worlds of figure skating, tennis and the circus are just as delightful!

Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

When Rose’s parents pass away, she’s sent to live with her Uncle Alec on Aunt Hill, the nickname for the part of town where her six aunts live with their seven sons. She’s a sickly and pampered child at first, and Uncle Alex’s old fashioned principles and the company of all of those boy cousins seems like too much for one thirteen year old girl to take on. Can she adjust to all of the changes or will it prove to be too much

Spy Schools

Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter

This series takes place at Gallagher Academy, a prestigious boarding school that doesn’t mind their snooty image because it hides the true purpose - to turn the talented young women that attend into spies! The books are pretty fast paced and be warned that a few people in the books do die - but the romantic elements are very G rated and the suspenseful elements aren’t too scary.

Spy School by Stuart Gibbs

Ben Ripley is a self-described nerd who dreams of being in the CIA one day. When he gets recruited for a magnet middle school with a focus on science that turns out to be a front for a spy training school, he thinks it’s too good to be true, and it turns out he’s right.

Also check out the James Ponti series: Framed! about Florain Bates, a middle schooler who’s on the FBI director’s speed dial and several criminal’s most wanted list! Rebecca Stead’s Liar and Spy is a good one too.

Fantasy

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

This (not classic, but also not new) series can definitely skew a little bit older (the religious themes and some of the experiments involving children are definitely complex), but if your kids loved Harry Potter and are ready for something a little bit more sophisticated, it does an incredible job of world building by combining the familiar with fantasy elements - like talking armored polar bears! The heroine, Lyra is also very relatable and at the start of the series approaches events from a very young and naive perspective.

The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer

Written by Chris Colfer of Glee fame, this is the series that my seventh grader is currently deep into. (She has read more mature books, but this still caught her interest, which is a good recommendation in my book!). When two siblings accidentally fall into the world of fairytales and characters that are very familiar, they have to figure out how to get home and avoiding the witches, trolls and goblins is harder than it looks in the stories!

We also loved The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart about four exceptionally gifted children with very different backgrounds who answer an ad in a paper and are recruited to help solve a dangerous mystery.

Realistic Historic Fiction

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Bradley

Ten year old Ada has a twisted foot, and her mother is deeply ashamed of her and keeps her in their London home. When the war begins and her brother is shipped off to the countryside, Ada sees her chance at freedom and follows him. They’re both taken in by Susan Smith, and their time in the countryside as a forced family may be the best thing that’s ever happened to Ada, but with a war be waged and a cruel mother, she doesn’t know how long it can last.

Allies by Alan Gratz

Welcome to D-Day, where one day can change the world and the stories of Dee, an American soldier, Samira, a French spy, Henry, a medic, and James, a paratrooper are all racing to complete their missions and help to end the war and make the world a better place. It’s all coming down to this one day. Can they make it through this final adventure and help change the world?

Another fun recommendation is Al Capone Does My Shirts (Tales from Alcatraz) by Gennifer Choldenko, about a kid living at Alcatraz with his father, who works at the famous prison.

Graphic Novels

Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova

This is one of my fifth grader’s favorite series, and each book follows a different kid at the same middle school. In the first book, we meet the new girl in school, Peppi, who just wants to blend in. But when an embarrassing run in with Jaime happens on the first day, and she discovers they’re on rival teams, it looks like flying under the radar may be more difficult than it looks.

The Baby-sitters Club

The graphic novel update to the classic series, this is one that all of my girls have enjoyed and the basis for the Netflix series. The stories are the same basic plot as you remember from when we were kids, but they’re updated to appeal to the modern reader. I love how each of my girls has a different favorite character and can see themselves in the stories.