Realistic Fiction For Kids

Zeke Stahls is not the best kid in the world. Some days he struggles just to be good. He'd rather be pulling pranks than doing extra credit, and he's too busy performing experiments on his little brother, Nate, or tormenting his older sister, Jackie, to volunteer for charity. Which is why Zeke and his entire family are shocked when they receive word that he has been selected as a contestant in an online competition to find the World's Greatest Kid.

It’s eighteen-year-old Gita Desai’s first year at Stanford, and the fact that she’s here and not already married off by her traditional Gujarati parents is a miracle. She’s determined to death-grip her good-girl, model student rep all the way to med school. Should be easy: If there’s one thing she’s learned from her family, it’s how to chup-re—to “shut up,” fade into the background. But when childhood memories of her aunt’s desertion and her then-uncle’s best friend resurface, Gita ends up ditching the books night after night in favor of partying and hooking up with strangers.

Award-winning author Justina Chen delivers a powerful and heartfelt novel about a young girl who accidentally discovers she has an identical twin sister. This uplifting novel about reunited adoptee sisters experiencing new family traditions, foods, and customs together is perfect for fans of Janae Marks, Kelly Yang, and Meg Medina. Dive into a nuanced portrayal of the transracial, transnational adoptee experience, including the joys and the sorrows within the wide spectrum of experiences as an adoptee.

From the beloved author of the Mr. Terupt and Perfect Score series comes this stand-alone middle-grade novel about a girl who is dealing with the tragic loss of her best friend, and the dog that helps her forge new friendships and find happiness once again.

Spanning over 500 years, Pura Belpré Award winner Ruth Behar's epic novel tells the stories of four girls from different generations of a Jewish family, many of them forced to leave their country and start a new life.

When her grandmother comes off the airplane in Houston from Pakistan, Mahnoor knows that having Dadi move in is going to disrupt everything about her life. She doesn’t have time to be Dadi’s unofficial babysitter—her journalism teacher has announced that their big assignment will be to film a documentary, which feels more like storytelling than what Maha would call “journalism.”

Payal Mehta has had a crush on popular, athletic, all-around perfect Jonathan Slate ever since he smiled at her in freshman-year Spanish class. At a party during spring break of her junior year, Payal finally works up the courage to ask Jon to hang out. However, her romantic plans are derailed when he vomits on her Keds. Twice. But when Jon offers to take her out to lunch as an apology, Payal is convinced this is the start of their love story.

Clover O'Reilly is super psyched to run for class president. As the second oldest of five sisters, she struggles to be heard in her ginormous family. But when you are president of the seventh grade, everyone has listen to you! Comedy magician Mike the Unusual feels confident onstage. Offstage, life can be tricky. It's okay that his classmates don't understand him, but it bugs him when his dad suggests he needs more friends. Is he willing to give up his passion to win friends...and votes? Clover and Mike compete to rule their school in this uproariously funny sequel.

Soccer season is underway, and though Zach and Zoe play on different travel teams, they're on the same team when it comes to solving mysteries. So when a package arrives in the mail addressed to Zach, the twins are surprised to find a soccer jersey identical to the one Zach wears for his team. But Zach's jersey is in his closet - so who does this jersey belong to and why did they send it? It's a soccer secret - and Zach and Zoe are on the case!

Most 12-year-olds would be excited to fly to Austria to see their dad for the summer, but Becca is not most 12-year-olds. Suffering from severe anxiety, she fears that the metal detectors at the airport will give her cancer and the long international flight will leave her with blood clots. Luckily, she's packed her Doomsday Journal, the one thing that always seems to help. By writing down her fears and what to do if the worst happens, Becca can get by without (many) panic attacks.

This deeply felt children's book from Congresswoman Madeleine Dean and her son Harry - authors of the memoir Under Our Roof - reassures children that, even when the grown-ups in their life are absent, they are loved and enough as they are.

There are only three things that matter to Noelle Lee: her family, school, and the cello. She doesn't care if people see her as selfish or mean because she knows she has her priorities in order. That's why when her dad loses his job, Noelle doesn't hesitate to work more hours at her grandparents' restaurant. Seeing her girls and dealing with her ex-boyfriend have to take a backseat so she can help her family and prepare for her school's fall showcase. But things get more complicated when Noelle realizes she can't stop thinking about Tobyn, one of the other Flyy Girls.

The gym is where Claire shines and she’s on her way to qualifying for the state championships. But at school, she’s known as a troublemaker—which is fine with her since it helps her hide her reading problem. Claire has never been able to make sense of the wobbling jumble of letters on a page. When a sympathetic principal wonders if she’s acting out because she may have dyslexia, she’s stunned. Claire has always assumed she’s dumb, so she’s eager to get evaluated. But her mother balks.

Bea and her mom have always been a two-person team. But now her mom is marrying Wendell, and their team is growing by three boys, two dogs, and a cat. Finding her place in her new blended family may be tough, but when Bea finds out her school might not get the all-girls soccer team they'd been promised, she learns that the bigger the team, the stronger the fight—and that for the girls to get what they deserve, they're going to need a squad behind them.

When Charlie hears that special buzz in his head, he knows it means one thing: An idea for a new invention. But Charlie's ideas tend to backfire - such as the flying feet that don't really fly. If only Charlie could make his inventions work, people might think he's as special as his older brother, Larry. Then the Zigzag afternoon center organizes a Come as a Character Day, and Charlie gets his chance to shine.

Meet Jules and Josh, the new twins in town! While Josh adapts quickly to Ambler, Jules accidentally makes an enemy of Maggie. Hoping a pet will help her feel better, Jules adopts the class rabbit, Chewie, but things go downhill when there are complications with Chewie's spay surgery. With Dr. Mac out on a call, it's up to Jules to work with Maggie to help the rabbit—and maybe even prove that she and Josh are worthy of becoming Vet Volunteers.

Zoe is back in Ambler after living with her mom in Los Angeles, and she doesn't know what to feel about it. It's fun to be back with the Vet Volunteers, but Zoe misses her mom, who is filming a movie in Canada. Meanwhile, there seems to be a rash of animals being poisoned by antifreeze across the town, and Zoe fears that David's new adopted cat, Rover, might be one of them. So the gang works to raise awareness about antifreeze poisoning, and Zoe's mom has a special surprise in store for everyone.

Eight hundred seventy-eight dollars. That’s how much Ronny needs to make by January 4 to keep his family’s only car from getting repossessed. Since a workplace injury disabled his dad and forced the family to move from their home into the apartment complex across the street, Ronny’s been learning all sorts of things—like what letters marked with "Final Notice" means and that banks can take cars away for being behind on payments.