Must-Read Lesser-Known Books for Kids Ages 9-12

Ten-year-old Bonnie Montgomery may look like a regular kid, but really, she’s Montgomery Bonbon, the world’s greatest (albeit short) detective. Even though she’s a national star, Bonnie keeps her identity under wraps from everyone except Grampa Banks, her loyal, camera-carrying assistant. Responsible for solving many international crimes, Bonnie must now solve a murder at the Hornville Museum. Little does she know that a loose fake mustache, another interfering detective, and Inspector Sands of the Widdlington Police Station all threaten to botch the case before she’s even started. With a splendid array of groan-worthy puns and a chance to practice your most outlandish French accent, Montgomery Bonbon is ideal for young mystery-lovers.

Addie Barrow is an autistic girl living in Edinburgh, Scotland. When Addie’s teacher, Mrs. Murphy, finishes a history lesson on the Salem Witch Trials, Addie can’t help but feel a personal connection with them. The women accused of witchcraft were different, just like her, and unfairly persecuted for it. As Addie learns more about the witches, she feels a strong need to represent them and make sure they aren’t forgotten. Addie advocates for a Salem Witches memorial, but is belittled by the town council, multiple bullies, and her teacher. With the help of her sister, Keedie, and her best friend, Audrey, Addie works tirelessly and builds a memorial for the witches. This moving story portrays how to stand up for oneself despite the odds.

Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in a tiny apartment in the remains of a bombed-out building in Afghanistan. They live under Taliban rule, where girls are not allowed to go to school or permitted to be outside without a man’s permission. When the Taliban forcibly remove Parvana’s father from his home, her mother becomes despondent. With the help of a female neighbor, the family starts to get back on their feet. Disguised as a boy, Parvana is free to grocery shop and sell goods at the local market. When she discovers a former classmate also disguised as a boy, they rekindle their friendship and scheme up money-making ventures to help their destitute families. Meanwhile, Parvana wonders if her father will ever return home and is surprised when her mother decides to travel north to marry off her oldest sister. The first in a three-part series, this slim novel tackles extreme courage in the face of unrelenting war.

Note: Some depictions of graphic war violence make this book best for ages 11+.

Aru Shah has lived in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture all her life. If you ask any of her classmates, she is spending autumn break in Paris, eating croissants outside the Louvre. When three classmates catch Aru in the lie, they dare her to light the cursed Lamp of Bharata, accidentally awakening the Sleeper, who will, in turn, awaken the God of Destruction and bring about the end of time. To stop the Sleeper, Aru must find the reincarnated Pandava brothers, find three legendary artifacts, and journey to the Kingdom of Death. With her spiritual sister Mini, Aru Shah embarks on an entertaining journey of hope and heritage. This story offers many beautiful examples of Indian culture and is rich with elements of magical realism.

When seventh grader Mya’s best friend Cleo gets a cell phone, Mya launches a campaign to get one, too. With her mom out of town, she tries a multi-pronged approach to getting what she wants: (a) she will prove extra responsible by taking care of her younger sister and doing household chores, (b) she will earn her own money to contribute to the phone, and (c) she will research the positive effects of texting, which may even earn her a Nobel Peace Prize. Told over the course of nine weeks, Mya’s smart dialogue and go-getter approach to life make this quick read (complete with Southeast Asian recipes) inspiring.

Olive Cobin Zang isn’t exactly brimming with confidence, so when she’s unexpectedly plucked from public school and sent to Foggy Manor to attend the boarding school RASCH, her worries grow. She can’t swim, she doesn’t excel academically, and she desperately misses her grandmother (Mimi). However, Olive finds her footing when she’s paired with James, Phil, Theo, and Iggy, a group of kids who call themselves The Misfits. Through rigorous training to work as undercover operatives (not spies!), the kids embark on a mission to halt a jewel thief’s rampant crime spree. If they catch the thief, they might save their school, and that’s the motivation Olive needs. Reminiscent of The Mysterious Benedict Society, this fast-paced action series is hard to put down.

On her thirteenth birthday, Graciela falls from a cliff and plummets to her death at the bottom of the ocean. She awakens 100 years later to find Amina, her underwater guide, ready to assist her through the afterlife transformation each sea spirit must undergo. On land, Jorge Leon, the blacksmith’s boy, hears cries from the cove one evening, unaware that he too will soon become part of Graciela’s world. Meanwhile, Fernando Gonzalo, a greedy fisherman who knows about sea ghosts and their pearl teeth, has the blacksmith fashion a lance for him that will enable him to spear a sea spirit and ensure his wealth. Rich in descriptive language, Medina entrances readers with this underwater story of loyalty and grief. After finishing this, I immediately gave it to my tween to enjoy.

What do ham radios and rhesus monkeys have in common? A connection to studying one of the most universal human conditions: loneliness. Part memoir, part scientific research, this nonfiction graphic novel condenses extensive research into a compelling look at what it means to be lonely in an ever-connected world. While readers won’t necessarily find solutions in the pages, they will feel empathy through the lens of a shared (if often under-discussed) human experience. Two powerful quotes from this book are, “Loneliness is designed to alert its host to a need, just like sensations of hunger or thirst or exhaustion,” and “The brain’s reaction to social rejection is almost identical to how it experiences physical pain.” This book is one of the most compelling graphic novels of the last decade. Best for ages 12+.

Miriam and her neighbor’s toddler, Nora, escape the roundup of her Jewish neighborhood in 1942, France. They travel south but get separated before nuns hide Miriam (now Miri) in a Catholic boarding school. Plagued with worry about her parents’ survival and concealing her identity, Miri helps evacuees across the Vichy border (France’s wartime demarcation line) and befriends a strange woman (spoiler: Catherine de’ Medici’s ghost) who roams the castle grounds. When the opportunity arises, will Miri reunite with Nora and escape to Switzerland for freedom? This gripping historical fiction is a page-turner from start to finish, and I wish more tweens knew about it.

When Ebony-Grace is sent from Alabama to live with her father in Harlem for the summer, she soon discovers that her mission to rescue Captain Fleet (a character in her elaborate, imagined space-centric story) must be put on hold indefinitely. When mixing with neighborhood kids proves problematic, Ebony-Grace settles deeper into her imaginary world. Phone calls home feel like a lifeline and a chance to talk with her co-conspirator and the one person who understands her — her NASA engineer grandfather — until legal troubles bring their conversations to an end. Readers may wonder whether Ebony-Grace is on the spectrum, given her unique perspective during the 1980s.