Good Books for Girls                       

Baskin, Nora Raleigh.

What Every Girl (Except Me) Knows. Twelve-year-old Gabby feels that she needs a mother to help her grow into a woman, so when things between her father and his latest girlfriend do not work out, Gabby sets off for the last place she remembers seeing her own mother.

 

Brockmann, Carolee.

Going For Great. Feeling abandoned by her parents and her best friend, sixth grader Jenna worries that her severe stage fright will spoil her performance at a flute competition--until she gets to know a class misfit who is a good musician and an even better friend.

 

Cabot, Meg.

The Princess Diaries. Fourteen-year-old Mia, who is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in New York City, is shocked to learn that her father is the Prince of Genovia, a small European principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to the throne. The Princess Diaries, Volume I.

 

Princess In Love. In a series of humorous diary entries, a New York City ninth grader agonizes over her love file, final exams, and future role as the princess of Genovia. The Princess Diaries, Volume III.

 

Princess In the Spotlight. Having recently discovered she is the sole heir to the throne of a tiny European principality, fourteen-year-old Manhattan resident Mia writes in her journal about her attempts to cope with this news, as well as with more typical teenage concerns. The Princess Diaries, Volume II.

 

Carbone, Elisa Lynn.

A Royal Pain. A sixteen-year-old in Kansas, who discovers she is really a princess, is taken to a tiny European monarchy to assume her duties and marry a distasteful neighboring prince, and in the ensuing weeks tries to become such a "royal pain" that everyone will want to be rid of her. (Teen)

 

Seven Days to a Brand New Me. A shy girl follows the suggestions in a self-help book to win the attentions of the handsome new boy whose locker is next to hers. (Teen)

 

Cooper, Ilene.

Queen of the Sixth Grade. After helping her supposed best friend Veronica found the sixth-grade's secret club, the Awesome Kennedy Girls, Robin accidentally gets on her wrong side and discovers how bossy and cruel Veronica really is.

 

Cruise, Robin.

Fiona's Private Pages. Eleven-year-old Fiona descibes her triumphs and struggles with friendship in her private journal.

 

Danziger, Paula.

The Pistachio Perscription. A high school "freshperson" attempts to rise above such inconveniences as her older sister, parents, and school.

 

P.S. Longer Letter Later. Twelve-year-old best friends Elizabeth and Tara-Starr continue their friendship through letter-writing after Tara-Starr's family moves to another state.

 

Snail Mail No More. Now that they live in different cities, thirteen-year-old Tara and Elizabeth use e-mail to "talk" about everything that is occuring in their lives and to try to maintain their closeness as they face big changes.

 

United Tates of America. Eleven-year-old aspiring artist Skate experiences many changes when she enters middle school, finds her best friend drifting away from her, and loses her beloved great-uncle.

 

DeClements, Barthe.

The Forth Grade Wizards. After her mother dies, Marianne becomes a daydreamer and begins to fall behind in her schoolwork.

 

Nothing's Fair In the Fifth Grade. A fifth grade class, repelled by the overweight new student who has serious home problems, finally learns to accept her.

 

6th Grade Can Really Kill You. Helen fears that lack of improvement in her reading may leave her stuck in the sixth grade forever, until a good teacher recognizes her reading problem.

 

Delton, Judy.

Angel Bites The Bullet. Angel and her best friend try to find a way to get rid of the well-meaning, but disaster-prone family friend who has moved into Angel's bedroom.

 

Angel Spreads Her Wings. Angel, whose active imagination always causes her to expect the worst, is given many new things to worry about when her stepfather plans to move the family to Greece for the summer.

 

Kitty In the Summer. Kitty's summer in the country is filled with new experiences, from "purchasing" a pagan baby to real poverty.

 

Kitty From the Start. Kitty moves to a new neighborhood and eventually makes a successful transition into her new third grade.

 

Ellerbee, Linda.

Get Real #1: Girl Reporter Blows Lid Off Town! Casey Smith, an intrepid eleven-year-old journalist, revives her middle school's defunct newspaper and investigates what looks like an environmental pollution cover-up at the local paper mill.

 

Get Real #2: Girl Reporter Sinks School! Eleven-year-old Casey Smith decides to do an investigative story for the school paper about a cheating ring operating on campus.

 

Get Real #4: Girl Reporter Snags Crush! Intrepid eleven-year-old journalist Casey Smith protests Crush Cola's corporate sponsorship of her school, a deal that would give the company a monopoly on the soda sold there.

 

Fine, Anne.

Bad Dreams. Despite her preference for books over friends, Melanie gradually becomes involved with a new classmate and determined to find the reason for her strange behavior.

 

Goldschmidt, Judy.

The Secret Blog of Raisin Rodriguez In a weblog she sends to her best friends back in Berkeley, seventh-grader Raisin Rodriguez chronicles her successes and her more frequent humiliating failures as she attempts to make friends at her new Philadelphia school.

 

Hahn, Mary Downing.

Tallahassee Higgins. Tallahassee Higgins enjoys the vagabond lifestyle she lives with her free-spirited mother, but when Liz goes to Los Angeles to try her luck in TV and movies, Tallahassee is placed wilth her uncle and his stern wife, whose conventional suburban lifestyle makes her question her mother's values - and her own.

 

Hale, Shannon.

Princess Academy. While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

 

Hansen, Joyce.

One True Friend. Fourteen-year-old orphan Amir, living in Syracuse, exchanges letters with his friend Doris, still living in their old Bronx neighborhood, in which they share their lives and give each other advice on friendship, family, foster care, and making decisions.

 

Herman, Charlotte.

Millie Cooper, 3B. As she tries to cope with school and other problems, third-grader Millie discovers some special things about herself.

 

The Three of Us. The lives of two fifth-grade girls change markedly when a new girl from New York joins their class.

 

Kallok, Emma.

The Diary of Chickabiddy Baby. Eleven-year-old Prudence keeps a diary of her summer vacation, which is filled with first crushes, squabbles with friends, and a secret admirer.

 

Kimmel, Elizabeth Cody.

Lily B. on the brink of love. Aspiring author and eight-grader Lily Blennerhassett hones her writing skills as her school newspaper's advice columnist while also trying to get her first crush, The Boy, to notice her.

 

Visiting Miss Caples. The elderly shut-in she visits once a week becomes an unexpected source of friendship and strength for thirteen-year-old Jenna, and they help each other face and overcome painful aspects of their lives.

 

Kline, Lisa Williams.

The Princesses of Atlantis. Twelve-year-old best friends Carly and Arlene write about twin princesses during the final, cataclysmic days of Atlantis in a story that parallels the growing tensions the two friends are experiencing in their lives.

 

Komaiko, Leah.

Malibu Carmie. When thirteen-year-old Carmie discovers that her divorced mother, who suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, was once a well-know Malibu surfer, she reevaluates the way she views her mother and herself.

 

Koss, Amy Goldman.

The Girls. Each of the girls in a middle-school clique reveals the strong, manipulative hold one of the group exerts on the others, causing hurt and self-doubt among the girls.

 

L'Engle, Madeline.

Meet the Austins. Vicky's happy family life is disrupted when a troubled and troublesome newly-orphaned girl comes to live with her.

 

Levine, Gail Carson.

The Wish. When granted her wish to be the most popular girl in school, Wilma, an eighth grader, forgets that she will graduate in three weeks and her popularity will vanish.

 

Levy, Elizabeth.

Seventh-Grade Tango. When Rebecca, a seventh-grader, is paired up with her friend Scott for a dance class at school, she learns a lot about who her real friends are.

 

Lowry, Lois.

Anastasia Krupnik. Ten-year-old fourth grader Anastasia has a trying year as she experiences rejection over a long labored poem, fights acceptance of a coming arrival of a baby brother or sister, deliberates about becoming a Catholic (in order to change her name) and has a crush on a boy.

 

Anastasia Again! Twelve-year-old Anastasia is horrified at her family's decision to move from their city apartment to a house in the suburbs.

 

Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst. Anastasia's seventh-grade science project becomes almost more than she can handle, but her brother Sam, age three, and a bust of Freud, aid her nobly.

 

Anastasia At Your Service. Twelve-year-old Anastasia has a series of disastrous experiences when, expecting to get a job as a lady's companion, she is hired instead to be a maid.

 

Anastasia Has the Answers. Anastasia continues the perilous process of growing up as her thirteenth year involves her in conquering the art of rope climbing, playing Cupid for a recently widowed uncle, and surviving a crush on her gym teacher.

 

Anastasia On Her Own. Her family's new organized schedule for easy housekeeping makes thirteen-year-old Anastasia confident that she can run the household while her mother is out of town, until she hits unexpected complications.

 

Anastasia's Chosen Career. Thirteen-year-old Anastasia acquires poise and self-confidence, a new friend, and advice on becoming a bookstore owner when she commutes to Boston to take a modeling course.

 

McGuigan, Mary Ann.

Where You Belong. In 1963, when thirteen-year-old Fiona runs away from home and ends up reunited with her former classmate Yolanda in an all-black neighborhood of the Bronx, their interracial friendship gives rise to both comfort and controversy.

 

McHugh, Elisabeth.

Karen and Vicki. When Karen's mother marries, Karen must learn to adapt to living with a complete family, and in particular with her older stepsister, Vicki.

 

Karen's Sister. Karen's mother adopts a second Korean child and finds a husband with three children of his own.

 

Raising a Mother Isn't Easy. An 11-year-old Korean orphan adopted by a single woman decides that her mother should have a husband.

 

Mills, Claudia.

Lizzie At Last. Lizzie, who has always been considered a nerd by the other kids, begins the seventh grade determined to change her image so that she can blend in better with the popular crowd.

 

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds.

The Agony of Alice. Eleven-year-old, motherless Alice decides she needs a gorgeous role model who does everything right; and when placed in homely Mrs. Plotkins's class she is greatly disappointed until she discovers it's what people are inside that counts.

 

Alice In April. While trying to survive seventh grade, Alice discovers that turning thirteen will make her the Woman of the House at home, so she starts a campaign to get more appreciated for taking care of her father and older brother.

 

Alice In-Between. When motherless Alice turns thirteen she feels in-between, no longer a child but not yet a woman, and discovers that growing up can be both frustrating and wonderful.

 

Alice In Lace. While planning a wedding as part of an assignment for her eighth-grade health class, Alice thinks about her father's and older brother's love lives and learns that you cannot prepare for all of life's decisions.

 

Alice In Rapture, Sort Of. The summer before she enters the seventh grade becomes the summer of Alice's first boyfriend, and she discovers that love is about the most mixed-up thing that can possibly happen to you, especially since she has no mother to go to for advice.

 

Alice the Brave. The summer before eighth grade, Alice tries to confront her fears, not the least of which is a fear of deep water.

 

All But Alice. Seventh grader Alice decides that the only way to stave off personal and social disasters is to be part of the crowd, especially the "in" crowd, no matter how boring and, potentially, difficult.

 

Outrageously Alice. Alice is in the eighth grade, and while she wants her life to be exciting and outrageous, she alsowants to feel protected and safe.

 

Reluctantly Alice. Alice experiences the joys and embarrassments of seventh grade while advising her father and older brother on their love lives.

 

O'Dell, Kathleen.

Agnes Parker...Happy Camper? In this sequel to "Agnes Parker . . . Girl in Progress," Agnes and her best friend Prejean are at science camp, but they won't be sharing the same cabin. Being apart gives Agnes a different perspective, and a few worries, about what others think of her longtime friend.

 

Perkins, Lynne Rae.

All alone in the Universe. Debbie is dismayed when her best friend, Maureen, starts spending time with ordinary, boring Glenna.

 

Perl, Lila.

The Secret Diary of Katie Dinkerhoff. Fourteen-year-old Katie lies to her secret diary, writing what she wishes would happen, rather than what did happen, and in so doing, she learns how to make wishful thinking a reality. (Teen)

 

Peters, Julie Anne.

Define Normal. When she agrees to meet with Jasmine as a peer counselor at their middle school, Antonia never dreams that this girl with the black lipstick and pierced eyebrow will end up helping her deal with the serious problems she faces at home and become a good friend.

 

Revenge of the Snob Squad. An overweight sixth-grader joins forces with three other gym class outcasts to plot revenge against the spoiled popular girl who has been tormenting them.

 

Romance of the Snob Squad. Sixth-grade misfits Jenny, Max, Prairie, and Lydia plot to ignite a romance between Prairie and the object of her affection, Hugh Torkerson, otherwise known as Tork the Dork.

 

A Snitch in the Snob. Twelve-year-old Jenny and the other members of the Snob Squad suspect that one of them, or someone close to them, is behind the thefts at their school.

 

Pevsner, Stella.

Is Everyone Moonburned But Me? Thirteen-year-old Hannah feels plain and drab compared to her older and younger sisters, but when both of her divorced parents seem on the verge of remarriage and a series of crises face the family, she is the only one who manages to keep her sanity.

 

A Smart Kid Like You. Just as Nina begins to accept her parents' divorce, she discovers her father's new wife is to be her 7th grade math teacher.

 

Porter, Tracey.

A Dance of Sisters. Although almost totally consumed by her ballet training and her obsession with controlling her weight, thirteen-year-old Delia finds time to worry about her strange and rebellious older sister Pearl, who has been sent away to a private school.

 

Ransom, Candice F.

My Sister, the Meanie Seeking to become more sophisticated and a seventh-grade Somebody, Jackie goes too far in observing and copying her older sister and precipitates war between them. (Paperback)

 

Shreve, Susan.

Goodbye, Amanda the Good. After three months as a nobody in junior high, Amanda finds her world changing when members of the popular and exclusive clique The Club set their sights on her for membership.

 

Springer, Nancy.

Separate Sisters. Thirteen-year-old Donnie is so upset over her parents' divorce that she gets into increasingly serouis trouble at school and does not recognize how much her older sister is hurting as well.

 

Voigt, Cynthia.

Bad, Badder, Baddest. When fifth graders Mikey and Margalo devise a plan to prevent Mikey's parents from getting a divorce, the two friends find their scheme foiled by a new girl at school.

 

Bad Girls. After meeting on the first day in Mrs. Chemsky's fifth-grade class, Margalo and Mikey help each other in and out of trouble, as they try to maintain a friendship while each asserts her independence.

 

It's not Easy being Bad. Two unpopular girls try to break into the seventh grade clique systems, even though they're not really sure they want to be popular at all.

 

Ware, Cheryl.

Catty-cornered. Writing in her diary, twelve-year-old Venola Mae Cutright describes her trials and tribulations as she is forced to go live with her grandmother while she starts the seventh grade.

 

Warner, Sally.

Bad Girl Blues. At the beginning of the sixth grade, twelve-year-old Quinney starts volunteering at a shelter for stray animals and tackles some tough issues about loyalty and friendship when her former best friend Marguerite appears to be turning into a "bad girl." Sequel to: Totally confidential.

 

Totally Confidential. After dispensing good advice to her clients, professional listener Quinney finds herself in need of advice for dealing with her weird family and changing relationships with her best friends.

 

Weston, Carol.

Melanie Martin Goes Dutch: the Private Diary of My Almost Bummer Summer. In her diary, ten-year-old Melanie describes how she and her family, accompanied by her best friend, Cecily, travel to the Netherlands, where they have a good time despite Cecily's concern for her mother's health and Melanie's struggles with her little brother and her own attitude.

 

Williams, Carol Lynch.

Christmas in Heaven. When a self-centered famous movie star builds a mansion near her family's diner in an isolated part of Florida, twelve-year-old Honey develops a friendship with the younger daughter that helps Honey realize how special her own family is.

 

Wilson, Jacqueline.

The Lottie Project. Starting a new school year, everything is "easy-peasy, simple-pimple" for Charlie until her strict teacher assigns a tough school project and Charlie's mother loses her job.

 

Withrow, Sarah.

Box Girl. Although it has been five years since her mother left, Gwen is determined that they will be reunited in the near future and so doesn't make any effort to bond with others; yet an unexpected friendship with a new girl at school had Gwen feeling differently.

 

Wolff, Virginia Euwer.

Bat 6. In small town, post-World War Oregon, twenty-one 6th grade girls recount the story of an annual softball game, during which one girl's bigotry comes to the surface.

 

Make Lemonade. In order to earn money for college, fourteen-year-old LaVaughn babysits for a teenage mother.

 

The Mozart Season. Allegra spends her twelfth summer practicing a Mozart concerto for a violin competition and finding many significant connections in her world.

 

True Believer. Living in the inner city amidst guns and poverty, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn learns from old and new friends, and inspiring mentors, that life is what you make it--an occasion to rise to. A novel in the Make lemonade triology.

 

Woodson, Jacqueline.

Between Madison and Palmetto. When Margaret's best friend Maizon returns from boarding school and joins her in the eighth grade, they try to resume their friendship while dealing with personal problems and watching their Brooklyn neighborhood undergo changes.

 

Maizon at Blue Hill. After winning a scholarship to an academically challenging boarding school, Maizon finds herself one of only five blacks there and wonders if she will ever fit in.

 

Yang, Dori Jones.

The Secret Voice of Gina Zhang. When her extreme shyness makes her unable to speak at her new American school, twelve-year-old Jinna, newly arrived from China, retreats into her own fairy tale world.

 

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