6 Awesome Middle Grade Friendship Novels

The First Rule of Punk, by Celia C. Perez
Twelve year old punk rocker Malú has to move to Chicago for two years for her college professor mom’s job. Even though it may not seem like a long time to her parents, two years of middle school can feel like a lifetime. Starting over and making new friends is never easy, particularly when you make enemies with the most popular kid at Posada Middle School. Malú is most comfortable in Doc Martin boots and Ramones t-shirts, which don’t quite fit the school’s dress code, or her mother’s desire to turn her into her “ideal Mexican American señorita.” But when Malú starts to be herself (aka the first rule of punk) she meets an awesome group of friends who share her interests and they start a band! Illustrations of Malú’s zines make this book even more fun to read, and would be great activity for real life friends to do together once they put down the book.

Let’s Pretend We Never Met, by Melissa Walker
This book is great particularly if you’ve ever had to pick up and move in the middle of the school year, like Walker’s protagonist, eleven-year old Mattie Markham. Mattie’s family moves from North Carolina to Pennsylvania in the middle of sixth grade, and Mattie is worried about starting a new school with no friends. Luckily she immediately connects with her neighbor Agnes, who is smart and fun. But when Mattie realizes that the rest of the school doesn’t appreciate Agnes’s quirks as much as she does, she has to decide whether to stand up for her new friend or just try and fit in.

Babysitter’s Club Collection, by Ann M. Martin
This is a throwback to my childhood, as my friends and I would devour these books as fast as Ann M. Martin could write them. Four friends decide to start a babysitters’ club, watching the neighborhood kids while earning money. This series may have your young readers thinking like entrepreneurs and starting their own businesses, too! There’s a modern reboot in the form of a graphic novel that’s fun as well!

Liar and Spy, by Rebecca Stead
Twelve-year old Georges had no idea what moving into his new Brooklyn apartment would bring. But when he meets his neighbor Safer, he recruits him into his spy world. Their case involves another neighbor, Mr. X, and it’s not long before Georges’s whole reality is called into question. This mysterious book is perfect for any aspiring secret agent!

The Someday Suitcase, by Corey Ann Haydu
This beautiful new novel by Corey Ann Haydu tells the story of best friends Clover and Danny. In the first chapter, we learn about symbiosis in science class (when two living things depend on each other for survival) and this is a touching theme for the book and their friendship. Then Danny becomes sick.  His magical bond with Clover is the one thing that seems to make him better, and their friendship is tested in a whole new way.

Bridge To Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson, Donna Diamond (Illustrator)
Another one from my own childhood summers, this classic has stuck to me over the decades. I remember being shocked that a book could make me feel so deeply, and I know that this story of friendship between fifth graders Jess and Leslie and Terabithia, the magical world they create, is one that every generation will fall in love with.