Armchair BEA: Talking Tweens

I’m so excited for today’s Armchair BEA topic - children's lit!

As stated on their blog, this genre includes everything from children’s books to YA novels. For me, I am going to use this post to share with you ten of my favorite tween reads.

Now, the ones I'm sharing today are aimed at tween girls. These would be great reads for ages nine to twelve, and they all have made me smile, laugh, get a little teary-eyed, but at the end made me feel good about life.

I hope you enjoy!

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (J. Blume)

          Summary from Goodreads:

Margaret Simon, almost twelve, has just moved from New York City to the suburbs, and she's anxious to fit in with her new friends. When she's asked to join a secret club she jumps at the chance. But when the girls start talking about boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret starts to wonder if she's normal. There are some things about growing up that are hard for her to talk about, even with her friends. Lucky for Margaret, she's got someone else to confide in... someone who always listens.

No Cream Puffs (K. Day)

Summary from Goodreads:

MADISON IS NOT your average 12-year-old girl from Michigan in 1980. She doesn’t use lipgloss, but she loves to play sports, and joins baseball for the summer—the first girl in Southern Michigan to play on a boys’ team. The press call her a star and a trailblazer, but Madison just wants to play ball. Who knew it would be so much pressure? Crowds flock to the games. Her team will win the championship—if she can keep up her pitching streak. Meanwhile, she’s got a crush on a fellow player, her best friend abandons her for the popular girls, the “O” on her Hinton’s uniform forms a bulls-eye over her left breast, and the boy she punched on the last day of school plans to bean her in the championship game.

Mean Ghouls (S. Deutsch)

          Summary from Goodreads:

If Megan thought life at her new boarding school was going to be easy, she was dead wrong. All the students have the same mysterious virus--one that's slowly turning them all into zombies. The teachers at Zombie Academy are lifeless and the food stinks. Literally. And worst of all, the clique of popular mean girls who rule the school have already decided that Megan's dead to them.

All Megan wants is to get back to her old school and her old friends. But until a cure is found, she'll have to figure out how to survive middle school.

Ten (The Winnie Years) (L. Myracle)

          Summary from Goodreads:

Winnie Perry is turning ten and ten is BIG: it means double digits, more responsibility, and being an almost-middle-schooler. Ten means that Winnie can handle anything, even a three-year-old baby brother and a practically teenage (and acting like it) older sister. And with her best friend, Amanda, by her side, Winnie plans on enjoying every last second of their last year in elementary school.

This prequel to the New York Times bestselling Winnie Years series will thrill the tweens who grew up with Winnie and introduce a whole new generation of readers to a heroine they can grow up with.

The Agony of Alice (P.R.Naylor)

          Summary from Goodreads:

Alice McKinley is about to become a teenager, but she doesn't know how. Her mother has been dead for years, and what do her father and her nineteen-year-old brother, Lester, know about being a teenage girl? If only she had a role model, like the beautiful sixth-grade teacher Miss Cole. But instead Alice gets assigned to plain, pear-shaped Mrs. Plotkin's class. Is Alice doomed to a life of one embarrassment after another?

Agnes Parker, Girl in Progress (K. O’Dell)

          Summary from Goodreads:

Agnes Parker isn't the class outcast or its queen bee-which is okay except that sometimes the middle just seems . . . really . . . ordinary. So Agnes sets out to be a different version of the girl she's always been. Someone who won't always get clobbered by bullies, who can some-times be cool and confident-and maybe catch the eye of that new boy in class?

New author Kathleen O'Dell offers a wise and funny story for all immersed in the thrilling and treacherous process of becoming. Kids will find a new friend, and plenty of reflections of their own thoughts and feelings, within the pages of this refreshing and insightful tale.

Accidentally Fabulous (L. Papademetriou)

          Summary from Goodreads:

Meet Amy Flowers: She’s a seventh grader who marches to her own beat. Being the new girl at super-exclusive Allington Academy doesn’t break her stride!

Meet the League: They rule the school, and their queen is oh-so-mean Fiona, who doesn’t exactly appreciate Amy’s individuality.

Amy is doing her best to fit in at her new school, but Fiona and the rest of the League aren’t making it easy for her. If she can pass their tests, she’ll be part of the in crowd—but what will she have to give up to fit in?

The Teashop Girls (L. Schaefer)

          Summary from Goodreads:

Annie, Genna, and Zoe have been hanging out at the Steeping Leaf since elementary school. The Teashop Girls do everything together -- at least they used to. With the end of eighth grade approaching, Genna's too busy with theater, Zoe's always at tennis, and Annie feels totally left out. What happened to tea every week, no matter what?

When Annie convinces her grandmother to give her a job as a barista at the Leaf, things begin to look up. In between whipping up chai lattes for customers, and attempting to catch the attention of her Barista Boy crush, Annie is finally beginning to feel as grown-up as her best friends. But an eviction notice spells trouble for the Leaf and unless they can turn the business around, the teashop will have to close its doors forever.

Fresh, honest, and sweet, Laura Schaefer's debut novel is sure to resonate with readers everywhere.

Miss Popularity (F. Sedita)

          Summary from Goodreads:

Meet Cassie Knight. Bubbly, stylish, and super-friendly, she's the fashion queen at her Texas school. But when her father's job moves the family to cold, snowy Maine, Cassie's in for a huge culture shock. At her new prep school, the students are prim and proper, and worst of all, they don't find Cassie as fabulous as she knows she is! Then Cassie comes up with a brilliant idea for the school fundraiser. If she can pull it off, she may just become Miss Popularity again . . . but if not, is she doomed to remain friendless forever?

Katie and the Cupcake Cure (C. Simon)

          Summary from Goodreads:

This first book in The Cupcake Diaries is told through the perspective of Katie Brown. We find Katie miserable on the first day of middle school. Her best friend Callie came back from camp boy-crazy and part of a whole new group of friends. When it's made clear that Callie is in the PGC (Popular Girls Club) and Katie is not invited to join, Katie suddenly feels incredibly alone. Katie realizes if she’s going to survive middle school she needs to seriously regroup and find some new friends. But how? She bites into the cupcake her mother packed her for lunch and for a second closes her eyes. The sweet treat makes her happy—finally something goes right! Looking around her table, Katie notices the other students seeming a bit lost, as well. Which gives her an idea…With three new friends Katie forms a club as a way to spread the cupcake love and earn some cupcake cash.

That’s my list – what’s on yours today? Any tween suggestions from you?

Comment below and let’s talk about books.

Happy Reading!

-      The Hodgenator