Whether you call them "upper middle grade" titles, "tween reads," or just "great books for preteens," the following selections are perfect for those looking for a middle school setting, a bit of YA-esque action, but none of the more sophisticated content that typically accompanies novels for true teens.

Angleberger, Tom & Paul Dellinger. Fuzzy. 272p. Abrams/Amulet. Aug. 2016. Tr $14.95. ISBN 9781419721229. POP

Gr 5-8 –Max is looking forward to starting sixth grade because this year her school is launching a new program, Robot Integration, and Max is excited about meeting the first ever robot student. When she meets Fuzzy, Max quickly befriends him and is assigned to show him the ropes. Not everyone at school is excited about the new student. The assistant principal, an AI computer named Barbara, seems determined to get rid of both Fuzzy and Max. When Fuzzy winds up in a showdown with Barbara, somebot’s bound to be reprogrammed. In some ways, this is a typical school story—smart kids, clueless adults, overly tough school administrators, and some bad guys (cyberspies) thrown in for good measure. It’s also a futuristic sci-fi novel with a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the evils of standardized testing gone awry. VERDICT An absorbing, fast-paced read and an excellent choice for middle schoolers.–Kathy Kirchoefer, Henderson County Public Library, NC

Davies, Jacqueline. Nothing but Trouble. 320p. (Nothing but Trouble: Bk. 1). HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Bks. Nov. 2016. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780062369888.

Gr 5-8 –Maggie’s friendship with Allie and Emily is not the only thing coming to an end. This is the last year Odawahoka Middle School will be in existence, and this year’s sixth grade is the final class. Classrooms have been shuttered, programs have been suspended, and labs have been locked up tight. As Maggie’s old friends are finding different interests, new girl Lena appears. Lena is a self-possessed artist, into photography and the Dada movement. She is very un-Odawahoka, and she has decided that she is going to be Maggie’s best friend. The problem is that Maggie is harboring some secrets and she needs to decide how much she is going to let Lena know; she’s often the one left taking care of her cranky grandfather, her mom disappears into her room at night with a bottle in hand, Maggie is maintaining a secret website selling vintage autoparts, and there is her late father’s Hacker Bible. Before he died, her father was a brilliant engineer who pulled off epic hacks with aplomb, and Maggie is determined to follow in his footsteps and make this last year at Odawahoka Middle School memorable for her classmates. As controlled chaos seems to reign beneath the crumbling roof of their middle school, both girls discover more about friendship, family, school spirit, and themselves than they imagined. VERDICT This pitch-perfect start to a new series captures the power dynamics between adults and children and allows for the realization that everyone has a story worth hearing.–Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City

Mills, Claudia. Write This Down. 256p. Farrar. Sept. 2016. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9780374301644.

Gr 5-8 –Twelve-year-old Autumn Granger lives in a world of words. An aspiring author, she always has a pen in hand, waiting for inspiration to strike. Her current muse is the long-haired, free-spirited Cameron, who is back from a year abroad. She fills the pages of her journal with odes dedicated to him. If only Autumn could control people in her life as easily as she manipulates her characters. Since the start of 10th grade, Autumn’s older brother, Hunter, has been increasingly mean-spirited and spends all his time with his new bandmates. Autumn would have been content to enjoy posthumous success like her idol Emily Dickinson, but after Hunter mocks her private love poems in front of Cameron’s brother, she’s determined to prove her worth. Getting published will validate her writing and show the world that she has a unique voice and is not just another lovestruck tween. With the first middle school dance rapidly approaching, Autumn submits her work to The New Yorker and the Denver Post, hoping to impress Cameron. Mills does a good job of showing the turbulence of being a preteen. The central focus of the novel is the sibling relationship. Classic helicopter parents, Autumn’s mom and dad praise her good grades and chastise Hunter’s poor ones, which builds resentment. Autumn often describes feeling uncomfortable at being treated like Gallant to her brother’s Goofus. The girl’s pain and confusion over being pushed away by an older sibling are honest and relatable. VERDICT Realistic situations and a nuanced protagonist make this a recommended purchase.–Jocelyn Charpentier, Brooklyn Public Library

Tougas, Shelley. A Patron Saint for Junior Bridesmaids. 272p. Roaring Brook. Oct. 2016. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781626724037.

Gr 4-8 –In addition to moving from Minnesota to North Dakota over the summer, middle schooler Mary has the distinctly important responsibility of serving as her cousin Eden’s junior bridesmaid/maid of honor. While her parents prepare the new house in North Dakota, Mary and her younger brother are sent to stay with their grandmother in St. Paul to help prepare for the wedding. A model student and well-behaved daughter, Mary knows that she can help her cousin, who suffers from severe social anxiety, by corralling her very spirited, very overbearing grandmother while keeping a big secret of her mother’s. Mary also has a big indiscretion hanging over her head—before she left her school in Minnesota, she punched Brent Helzinski in the face and doesn’t want to talk about it. Oh, and then there’s the cute boy next door who keeps distracting her from her very important wedding duties. It’s a lot to handle. While the explanation of why Mary punched Brent in the face, which is hinted at throughout the story, fails to pay off, this would be a serviceable choice for libraries searching for faith-based novels to add to their collections. Catholic traditions and references feature heavily here. VERDICT An additional purchase. Hand this to tween readers who crave sweet and innocent realistic tales.–Carli Worthman, Carmel Middle School, Carmel, IN

Young, Karen Romano. Hundred Percent. 256p. Chronicle. Aug. 2016. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781452138909.

Gr 5-7 –Sixth grader Christine Gouda’s last year of elementary school is full of transitions as she begins the early stages of puberty and her friendship with her best friend, Jackie, changes. Christine’s mother has often called her Tink (short for Tinker Bell), and her classmates call her Hundred Percent, but Jackie suggests that she adopt a more grown-up nickname, Chris. As her school year begins, Tink contends with having protective parents and three younger siblings, skirting the edges of the popular crowd, and being friends with the weird kids. She finds herself having awkward experiences on Halloween, when she isn’t invited to parties, and later in the year receives attention that is more sexual in nature than she wants. Meanwhile, Tink’s parents judge Jackie’s single but dating mother, and Jackie chooses to befriend the popular crowd because she thinks it will make school easier, not because she likes them. The novel ends with Tink feeling like 100 percent herself as she successfully directs a group lip-syncing performance, pursues the boy she likes, and decides that she wants to be called Christine. Written in third person and filled with the eccentric antics of sixth graders and astute observations about maturity and remaining true to oneself, this title is full of expertly developed characters and a plot that will have readers laughing on one page and empathizing with Tink on the next. Young perfectly captures the emotions of middle schoolers and their evolving friendships and familial relationships. VERDICT A humorous, heartfelt portrayal of a sixth grader learning to stay true to herself; a first purchase for all collections serving tweens.–Liz Anderson, DC Public Library

These reviews were published in School Library Journal’s August 2016 issue.