Lena Hach Cleo, Chaos, and Confetti Lena Hach’s distinctive tone, somewhere between humour and depth “Hi, I’m Cleo. And this mindfulness journal here? Let’s just say: it wasn’t my idea. Actually, I wanted to get rid of this thing straight away. But now I’m writing in it after all. And it turns out: there’s quite…
Middle Grade Fiction
Lupe Ruiz-Flores Paloma Joins the Circus A story of following your dreams and growing into new ones, of finding home in the people around you, and of creating something beautiful through hard work and perseverance. Twelve-year-old Paloma comes from “circus people”―a family of performers traveling around Texas with la carpa, a Mexican American tent show….
Julia Willmann & Jens Rassmus Summer at the Edge of the World On the outskirts of a seaside resort, where chic hotels line the seafront, ‘Beach Hotel Pia’ lies hidden behind a grove of pine trees. Its glory days are long gone, and this rainy summer it hasn’t had a single booking. Of the staff,…
Ulrich Fasshauer Behind the Fence Lies Dad’s Land Heinrich and Jonathan are friends and will soon even be brothers, as Jonathan’s mum and Heinrich’s dad are a couple and plan to move in together. When Jonathan’s mum has to have knee surgery during the holidays and Heinrich’s dad has to travel to Nigeria for work,…
Marie Miranda Cruz A Boy Called Hero Twelve-year-old Hero Del Rosario isn’t happy about staying with his grandfather in the Philippines while the rest of his family takes a trip back to the States. He’s always been the overlooked one, the one who gets left behind, the one who—despite his name—is nothing special. But when…
Birge Tetzner & Karl Uhlenbrock Fred in Ancient Rome In the shadow of the Colosseum Off to Rome on the night train! As soon as they arrive, Fred and Grandad Alfred set off to follow in the footsteps of the ancient Romans. The tour begins at the Roman Forum. For centuries, the Roman Forum was…
Ashley Granillo Choir Grrrl Thirteen-year-old Alondra was born into a musical family. Her dad, the former frontman of a famous alt-rock band, expects her and her sisters to follow in his footsteps. The girls have formed their own band, which will open for their dad during his comeback tour. Despite secretly liking quieter music, Alondra…
Florence Migga The Summer Scrap Book Ava, Becca, and Cat have always been inseparable. But the summer after eighth grade, they’re forced to spend two months apart. Outgoing Ava is dragged to London by her family. Anxious Becca is sent to summer camp. Quiet Cat is left at home. Phones aren’t allowed at Becca’s camp,…
Camila Monasterio & Ignasi Blanch Mrs. Chatarra In Mrs. Chatarra’s world, nothing is thrown away: everything can be transformed. Lili’s favourite toy is an old, battered crocodile. One day, while playing in the park, an older boy snatches it from her, and the poor reptile ends up even more battered than before. At that moment,…
Sibel Susann Teoman & Timo Grubing The Secret School of the Temple Agents – Between Flying Carpets and Glowing Swords Timur Taygan – lovable hero caught between teenage chaos and magic Timur, almost 13 years old and known as Tim (vegetarian and reptile expert), had imagined his summer holidays would be very different: instead of…
Birgit Schössow Zoë. A Summer Full of Lies/Life The parents of 12-year-old Zoë are currently having bad luck with their jobs, so they don’t hesitate when they inherit the Silver Lake Campsite from their late great-uncle Karl: they move from Hamburg to the countryside, renovate the old site with enthusiasm and discover whole new skills…
Shannon Hitchcock Wild Mountain Ivy Twelve-year-old Ivy is still sick months after catching a common virus. Hoping for a reset, Ivy and her mom spend the summer in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where Ivy’s uncle has converted an old house into a bed and breakfast. Ivy starts dreaming about a girl named Jessie Pearl, who…
Lupe Ruiz-Flores The Pecan Sheller In 1930s San Antonio, thirteen-year-old Petra dreams of going to college and becoming a writer. But with her beloved father dead, two younger siblings to care for, and with a stepmother struggling to make ends meet, Petra has to drop out of school to shell pecans at a factory. Hoping…
Jona Manow Spy No. 9 and the Art of Not Being Noticed The adventure of being different Estrick is different. He counts things in steps of nine, often doesn’t understand his fellow human beings and has countless questions: Why are there zebra crossings but no zebra stripes on the road? Why are some people nice…
Iris Genenz & Corinna Böckmann My Secret Life as a Monster Hunter – Why You Should Never Wake a Giant Moth The fate of two worlds lies in my hands once again – seriously?! Actually, the monster hunter exam in the magical parallel world of Anderlande is going quite well for me – after all,…
Anastasia Braun & Sophia Moog Fay Melody – The Magical Music Academy In this magical school, music is more than just sound—it’s the language of magic! Thirteen-year-old Fay suffers from “music intolerance”: as soon as she hears music, she faints. As a result, she never leaves the house without earplugs, which makes her the target…
Shafaq Khan Zeyna Lost and Found In 1970, twelve-year-old Zeyna has grown up in London but has never quite felt like she fits in. Her monotonous life is suddenly interrupted when Zeyna’s parents decide to visit their native Pakistan―where Zeyna feels she doesn’t fit in either. But then her parents disappear, leaving behind a string…
Anna Keller Keith & Jutta Wetzel Lila Flax – Colours are Fun! A turbulent story about school and friendship, diversity and creativity Lila had imagined the change to the comprehensive school differently! She and her best friend Benno are not in the same class, because Benno has to skip a year. And why has he…
Will Gmehling & Jens Rassmus The Star Lake When the four friends looked at the lake from the 11th floor of their tower block, they could see that it had jagged edges like a star. The ‘Star Lake’ made them proud of their neighbourhood, which was otherwise rather bleak. In January, the lake froze over…
Iris Genenz & Corinna Böckmann My Secret Life as a Monster Hunter – Why You Should Never Jump into a Monster Lake A wild ride through the Otherlands – super fun and fast-paced fantasy Charly and Martin are finally in the Otherworld – the magical parallel world that was founded thousands of years ago to…