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Reading levels and needs

20 books for middle schoolers who say they hate reading

Kids who say they hate reading often mean they have not found the right book. These are short, fast, funny, or graphic, and many can be read in a sitting or two.

Chosen from award lists, school and library reading lists, and reviews, and each title and author checked against Open Library, Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.

  1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney · Ages 8-12

    Greg Heffley's illustrated journal of middle school. The big gateway book for reluctant readers.

    Watch for: Mild crude humor.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  2. Holes

    Louis Sachar · Ages 9-13

    Stanley Yelnats is sent to dig holes at a juvenile camp in the desert, and three timelines click together. Short chapters, dry humor, a real mystery.

    Watch for: Some bullying and a death in a backstory.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  3. Hatchet

    Gary Paulsen · Ages 10-14

    After a plane crash, 13-year-old Brian survives alone in the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet. Short chapters and constant action.

    Watch for: The pilot dies of a heart attack; some survival violence with animals.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  4. The Outsiders

    S.E. Hinton · Ages 12-16

    Greasers and Socs in 1960s Oklahoma, told by 14-year-old Ponyboy. Written by a teenager and still the book that hooks reluctant readers.

    Watch for: Gang violence, deaths, underage smoking and drinking.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  5. The Crossover

    Kwame Alexander · Ages 10-14

    Twin basketball stars, a father with heart trouble, and a verse style like a rap. Newbery Medal winner.

    Watch for: A parent's death.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  6. New Kid

    Jerry Craft · Ages 8-12

    Jordan, a Black seventh grader, is sent to a mostly white private school and keeps a sketchbook of what he sees. First graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal.

    Watch for: Microaggressions and racism, shown with humor.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  7. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier · Ages 8-12

    A graphic memoir of the author's dental disaster and middle school years. The book that made graphic novels a mainstay.

    Watch for: Mild bullying.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  8. Ghost

    Jason Reynolds · Ages 10-14

    Castle runs fast, has a painful secret, and joins a track team. First of the Track series, with a voice that sounds like a real kid.

    Watch for: A father who shot a gun at him and his mother; mentions of shoplifting.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  9. Long Way Down

    Jason Reynolds · Ages 12-16

    Will rides an elevator down seven floors with a gun, deciding whether to avenge his brother. A novel in verse that takes under an hour to read.

    Watch for: Gun violence and death; stronger than most middle school books.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  10. Restart

    Gordon Korman · Ages 10-14

    Chase falls off a roof, loses his memory, and must find out what kind of kid he was. Quick, and a lesson on bullying.

    Watch for: Bullying from the old self.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  11. Ungifted

    Gordon Korman · Ages 10-13

    Donovan lands in a gifted school by accident, and then has to stay a while. Funny.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  12. Hoot

    Carl Hiaasen · Ages 10-14

    Roy, new in Florida, and two friends try to stop a pancake-house chain from bulldozing a burrowing owl nest. Funny and light on its feet.

    Watch for: Mild language and bullying.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  13. Bud, Not Buddy

    Christopher Paul Curtis · Ages 9-13

    A ten-year-old orphan rides the rails in 1930s Michigan to find a jazz musician he thinks is his father. Funny, with a fine voice.

    Watch for: Orphaned boy; racism.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  14. A Wrinkle in Time

    Madeleine L'Engle · Ages 9-13

    Meg Murry and her brother travel across space to rescue their father from an evil force. A classic that mixes science, faith, and family.

    Watch for: Some readers find the good-versus-evil framing religious.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  15. Coraline

    Neil Gaiman · Ages 9-13

    Coraline finds a door to a world with a second, button-eyed mother. Short and truly creepy.

    Watch for: Scary imagery.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  16. Monster

    Walter Dean Myers · Ages 12-16

    Sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon is on trial for murder, and writes it as a film script. Printz and Coretta Scott King honor winner and a quick read.

    Watch for: Felony murder trial, prison, and violence.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  17. Inside Out and Back Again

    Thanhha Lai · Ages 9-13

    A ten-year-old girl flees Saigon in 1975 and starts over in Alabama in free verse. Newbery Honor and National Book Award.

    Watch for: War and loss; some bullying.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  18. Hey, Kiddo

    Jarrett J. Krosoczka · Ages 12-16

    A graphic memoir of growing up with a mother addicted to heroin and loving grandparents.

    Watch for: Drug addiction and neglect.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  19. Orbiting Jupiter

    Gary D. Schmidt · Ages 12-15

    A foster boy, a teen father at 13, comes to live on a Maine farm. Short, plain, and moving.

    Watch for: Child abuse, teen parenthood, and a death.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

  20. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

    Tom Angleberger · Ages 8-12

    A paper Yoda on a boy's finger gives advice. A funny look at middle school.

    Buy: Bookshop.org · Amazon

More lists

All 348 lists →