Skip to content

Lists and Suggestions for Teens

Home » Services » Teen Services » Lists and Suggestions for Teens

http://mppl.org/services/teen-services/good-reads/?category=teens&list=6th%20Grade%20Reads

List: 6th Grade Reads


A photo of Frankie & Bug

Frankie & Bug

In the summer of 1987 in Venice, California, ten-year-old Bug and her new friend Frankie learn important lessons about life, family, being your true self, and how to navigate in a world that is not always just or fair.

Checking status…

A photo of Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl

"In 2001, Eoin Colfer published Artemis Fowl, a hilarious and rip-roaring science-fiction/fantasy adventure about a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind who kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. But these aren't the fairies of bedtime stories; these fairies are armed and dangerous. Artemis thinks he has them right where he wants them... until they stop playing by the rules. The novel was an instant sensation and became the start of an eight-book, internationally best-selling series. Now, with Kenneth Branagh directing, and an all-star cast that includes Dame Judi Dench, Nonso Anozie, and Josh Gad, Disney is taking the story to the silver screen, bringing the world of Artemis Fowl to life for a new generation." --

More

Checking status…

A photo of Amari and the Night Brothers

Amari and the Night Brothers

Thirteen-year-old Amari, a poor African American girl from the projects, gets an invitation from her missing brother to join the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and join in the fight against an evil magician.

Checking status…

A photo of Heat

Heat

Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.

Checking status…

A photo of Be Prepared

Be Prepared

A misfit girl and her brother attend summer camp, where they struggle with primitive plumbing, snobby tentmates, and boys-versus-girls competitions.

Checking status…

A photo of Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America

Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America

The 1929 Air Derby was the first women's air race across the U.S. Meet the trailblazers: Amelia Earhart, who has captivated generations; Marvel Crosson, who built a plane before she even learned how to fly; Louise Thaden, who shattered jaw-dropping altitude records; and Elinor Smith, who at age seventeen made headlines when she flew under the Brooklyn Bridge. The Derby was a suspenseful, nail-biting race across the country, and Sheinkin brings to life the glory and grit of the dangerous and thrilling early days of flying.

More

Checking status…

A photo of City of Ghosts

City of Ghosts

Ever since her near-fatal drowning, Cassidy has been able to pull back the "Veil" that separates the living from the dead and see ghosts, not that she wants to, and she was really looking forward to a ghost-free summer at the beach; however her parents are going to start filming a TV series about the world's most haunted places, starting with Edinburgh with its graveyards, castles, and restless phantoms--and Cass and her personal ghost companion, Jacob, are about to find out that a city of old ghosts can be a very dangerous place indeed.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Dead End in Norvelt

Dead End in Norvelt

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Refugee

Refugee

Although separated by continents and decades, Josef, a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany; Isabel, a Cuban girl trying to escape the riots and unrest plaguing her country in 1994; and Mahmoud, a Syrian boy in 2015 whose homeland is torn apart by violence and destruction, embark on harrowing journeys in search of refuge, discovering shocking connections that tie their stories together.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Starfish

Starfish

Bullied and shamed her whole life for being fat, twelve-year-old Ellie finally gains the confidence to stand up for herself, with the help of some wonderful new allies.--

Checking status…

A photo of Dress Coded

Dress Coded

An eighth grader starts a podcast to protest the unfair dress code enforcement at her middle school and sparks a rebellion.

Checking status…

A photo of Everything Sad is Untrue: (A True Story)

Everything Sad is Untrue: (A True Story)

At the front of a middle school classroom in Oklahoma, a boy named Khosrou (whom everyone calls "Daniel") stands, trying to tell a story. His story. But no one believes a word he says. To them he is a dark-skinned, hairy-armed boy with a big butt whose lunch smells funny; who makes things up and talks about poop too much. But Khosrou's stories, stretching back years, and decades, and centuries, are beautiful, and terrifying, from the moment his family fled Iran in the middle of the night with the secret police moments behind them, back to the sad, cement refugee camps of Italy, and further back to the fields near the river Aras, where rain-soaked flowers bled red like the yolk of sunset burst over everything, and further back still to the Jasmine-scented city of Isfahan.

More

Checking status…

A photo of From the Desk of Zoe Washington

From the Desk of Zoe Washington

Dear Marcus...Zoe Washington isn't sure what to write next. What does a girl say to the father she's never met, she hadn't heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who's been in prison for a terrible crime? A crime he says he never committed. Could Marcus really be innocent? The truth is somewhere out there, and Zoe is determined to uncover it. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from her mom and stepdad. Everyone else thinks Zoe's worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that she's worthy of auditioning for Food Network's Kids Bake Challenge! It's been Zoe's dream to become a star baker, and she can't afford to mess anything up. Her neighbor and best friend, Trevor, would've been her confidante through all this, but Zoe's not speaking to him anymore. She'll have to figure this out alone. With bakery confections on one part of her mind and Marcus's conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesn't know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: everyone lies. This captivating novel by debut author Janae Marks follows one courageous girl as she questions assumptions, searches for the truth, and does what she believes is right, even in the face of great opposition. --

More

Checking status…

A photo of Before the Ever After

Before the Ever After

ZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career.

Checking status…

A photo of Ophie's Ghosts

Ophie's Ghosts

The New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation makes her middle grade debut with a sweeping tale of the ghosts of our past that won't stay buried, starring an unforgettable girl named Ophie. Ophelia Harrison used to live in a small house in the Georgia countryside. But that was before the night in November 1922, and the cruel act that took her home and her father from her. Which was the same night that Ophie learned she can see ghosts. Now Ophie and her mother are living in Pittsburgh with relatives they barely know. In the hopes of earning enough money to get their own place, Mama has gotten Ophie a job as a maid in the same old manor house where she works. Daffodil Manor, like the wealthy Caruthers family who owns it, is haunted by memories and prejudices of the past--and, as Ophie discovers, ghosts as well. Ghosts who have their own loves and hatreds and desires, ghosts who have wronged others and ghosts who have themselves been wronged. And as Ophie forms a friendship with one spirit whose life ended suddenly and unjustly, she wonders if she might be able to help--even as she comes to realize that Daffodil Manor may hold more secrets than she bargained for.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Genesis Begins Again

Genesis Begins Again

Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family's troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is.

Checking status…

A photo of Hatchet

Hatchet

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

Checking status…

A photo of Stormbreaker

Stormbreaker

After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.

Checking status…

A photo of City Spies

City Spies

Sara Martinez is a hacker. She recently broke into the New York City juvenile justice system to expose her foster parents as cheats and lawbreakers. However, instead of being hailed as a hero, she finds herself facing years in a juvenile detention facility and banned from using computers. Enter Mother, a British spy who not only gets Sara released from jail but also offers her a chance to make a home for herself within a secret MI6 agency. Operating out of a centuries-old manor house on the coast of Scotland, the City Spies are five kids from around the world. When they're not attending an elite boarding school, they're training for their roles as the biggest secret in British Secret Intelligence Service. Before she knows what she's doing, Sara is heading to Paris for an international youth summit, hacking into a rival school's computer to prevent them from winning a million euros, dangling thirty feet off the side of a building, and trying to stop a notorious villain... all while navigating the complex dynamics of her new team. No one said saving the world was easy...

More

Checking status…

A photo of The False Prince

The False Prince

In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king's long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.

Checking status…

A photo of I Can Make This Promise

I Can Make This Promise

"When twelve-year-old Edie finds letters and photographs in her attic that change everything she thought she knew about her Native American mother's adoption, she realizes she has a lot to learn about her family's history and her own identity"--

Checking status…

A photo of The Rithmatist

The Rithmatist

As Wild Chalklings threaten the American Isles and Rithmatists are humanity's only defense, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice.

Checking status…

A photo of A Good Kind of Trouble

A Good Kind of Trouble

After attending a powerful protest, Shayla starts wearing an armband to school to support the Black Lives Matter movement, but when the school gives her an ultimatum, she is forced to choose between her education and her identity.

Checking status…

A photo of The Prisoner of Cell 25

The Prisoner of Cell 25

To everyone at Meridian High School, fourteen-year-old Michael Vey is nothing special, just the kid who has Tourette's syndrome. But in truth, Michael is extremely special--he has electric powers. Michael thinks he is unique until he discovers that a cheerleader named Taylor has the same mysterious powers. With the help of Michael's friend, Ostin, the three of them set out to discover how Michael and Taylor ended up with their abilities, and their investigation soon brings them to the attention of a powerful group who wants to control the electric teens--and through them, the world.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year

Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year

Ahmed Aziz is having an epic year--epically bad. After his dad gets sick, the family moves from Hawaii to Minnesota for his dad's treatment. Even though his dad grew up there, Ahmed can't imagine a worse place to live. He's one of the only brown kids in his school. And as a proud slacker, Ahmed doesn't want to deal with expectations from his new teachers. Ahmed surprises himself by actually reading the assigned books for his English class: Holes, Bridge to Terabithia, and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Shockingly, he doesn't hate them. Ahmed also starts learning about his uncle, who died before Ahmed was born. Getting bits and pieces of his family's history might be the one upside of the move, as his dad's health hangs in the balance and the school bully refuses to leave him alone. Will Ahmed ever warm to Minnesota?

More

Checking status…

A photo of Lincoln's Grave Robbers

Lincoln's Grave Robbers

Describes how a counterfeiting ring plotted to ransom Lincoln's body to secure the release of their imprisoned ringleader, and how a fledging Secret Service and an undercover agent conducted a daring election-night sting operation.

Checking status…

A photo of Ungifted

Ungifted

Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students, after pulling a major prank at middle school.

Checking status…

A photo of Turtle Boy

Turtle Boy

Seventh grade is not going well for Will Levine. Kids at school bully him because of his funny-looking chin. His science teacher finds out about the turtles he spent his summer collecting from the marsh behind school and orders him to release them back into the wild. And for his Bar Mitzvah community service project, he has to go to the hospital to visit RJ, an older boy struggling with an incurable disease. Unfortunately, Will hates hospitals. At first, the boys don't get along, but then RJ shares his bucket list with Will. Among the things he wants to do: ride a roller coaster, go to a concert and a school dance, swim in the ocean. To Will, happiness is hanging out in his room, alone, preferably with his turtles. But as RJ's disease worsens, Will realizes he needs to tackle the bucket list on his new friend's behalf before it's too late. It seems like an impossible mission, way outside Will's comfort zone. But as he completes each task with RJ's guidance, Will learns that life is too short to live in a shell.

More

Checking status…

A photo of Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks

Jason Reynolds conjures ten tales (one per block) about what happens after the dismissal bell rings, and weaves them into one funny, poignant look at the detours we face on the walk home, and in life.

Checking status…

A photo of My Life in the Fish Tank

My Life in the Fish Tank

When twelve-year-old Zinnia Manning's older brother Gabriel is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it turns her family's world upside-down, especially since they are keeping the information private.

Checking status…

A photo of Other Words for Home

Other Words for Home

Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when her Syrian hometown is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the family members who were left behind as she adjusts to a new life with unexpected surprises.

Checking status…

A photo of Piecing Me Together

Piecing Me Together

Tired of being singled out at her mostly-white private school as someone who needs support, high school junior Jade would rather participate in the school's amazing Study Abroad program than join Women to Women, a mentorship program for at-risk girls.

Checking status…

A photo of The Awakening Storm

The Awakening Storm

When Grace moves to Hong Kong with her mom and new stepdad, her biggest concern is making friends at her fancy new boarding school. But when a mysterious old woman gifts her a dragon egg during a field trip, Grace discovers that the wonderful stories of dragons she heard when she was a young girl might actually be real--especially when the egg hatches overnight.

More

Checking status…

A photo of The Crossover

The Crossover

Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.

Checking status…

A photo of The Last Cuentista

The Last Cuentista

A girl named Petra Pena, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children -- among them Petra and her family -- have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet -- and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard -- or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?

More

Checking status…

A photo of While I Was Away

While I Was Away

When twelve-year-old Waka's parents suspect she can't understand basic Japanese they speak to her, they make the drastic decision to send her to Tokyo to live for several months with her strict grandmother. Forced to say goodbye to her friends and what would have been her summer vacation, Waka is plucked from her straight-A-student life in rural Kansas and flown across the globe, where she faces the culture shock of a lifetime. In Japan, Waka struggles with reading and writing in kanji, doesn't quite mesh with her complicated and distant Obaasama, and gets made fun of by the students in her Japanese public-school classes. Even though this is the country her parents came from, Waka has never felt more like an outsider. If she's always been the "smart Japanese girl" in America but is now the "dumb foreigner" in Japan, where is home? And who will Waka be when she finds it?

More

Checking status…

A photo of The Screaming Staircase

The Screaming Staircase

Follows three young operatives of a Psychic Detection Agency as they battle an epidemic of ghosts in London.

Checking status…

A photo of The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid

After their father's research experiment at the British Museum unleashes the Egyptian god Set, Carter and Sadie Kane embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest which brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

More

Checking status…

A photo of The Unforgettable Logan Foster

The Unforgettable Logan Foster

Logan, an undersized twelve-year-old orphan with a photographic memory and no filter, discovers that his foster parents are superheroes in grave danger and only Logan's highly logical mind can save them.

Checking status…

© Copyright 2024 Mount Prospect Public Library,
All RIghts Reserved

Mount Prospect Public Library

Install Mount Prospect Public Library

Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.

Just tap then “Add to Home Screen”