We are not quite half way through the year, and already 2016 is offering a feast of exceptional middle grade fiction. Here are a few NYPL staff favorites:

It Ain’t So Awful Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas

An Iranian immigration story set in the 70s -80s during the hostage crisis. Iranian history is woven throughout, but at its heart is a young girl, with an authentic voice, trying to navigate the social structures of middle school in a new country. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan 

Emerson Elementary is scheduled to be bulldozed to make way for a shopping mall. The 5th graders assignment is to keep a poetry novel that will be placed in a time capsule. A novel in verse, told from multiple perspectives. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RaymieNightingale by Kate DiCamillo

Raymie attempts to win back her estranged father by entering beauty contest, but she needs to find a talent. A very special novel for lovers of Flora & Ulysses.  

 

 

 

 

 

My Life With the Liars by Caela Carter

Zylynn grows up in a cult and she is quite satisfied with her life there. Just before she turns 13 she is taken away from the cult by a man who claims to be her father. Now, she is faced with deciding if she wants to stay and adjust to life on the outside or return to the cult. 

 

 

 

 

 

Far From Fair by Elana K. Arnold 

Not fair! Odette is on a roadtrip with her family in an RV, driving cross country to visit Grandma Sissy. NOTE: Deals with terminal illness and the right to die. 

 

 

 

 

 

Pilfer Academy: A School So Bad It's Criminal by Lauren Magaziner

For fans of Roald Dahl. Naughty George gets kidnapped by the Pilfer Academy and learns he is not so naughty after all. A fun romp of a novel. 

 

 

 

 

 

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!