Blume, Judy. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1970. ISBN 0689841582. Ages 10-12.

A lot is changing for Margaret—a new town, new school, new friends. Lucky for her she can always talk to God about what is going on. But when her new friends start asking her about her faith, how can she explain to them that she doesn’t go to church or belong to any one religion? Soon Margaret finds herself searching for the perfect religion for her—visiting a synagogue, attending church services, and participating in confession—all the while dealing with a changing body and new feelings she feels only God can understand. This timeless coming of age story is a must-read for all preteen girls.

Beil, Michael D. The Red Blazer Girls: The Ring of Rocamadour. Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. ISBN 978-0375848148. Ages 9-12.

After Sophie sees the ghostly face in the church window next to their private school, she and her friends Margaret and Rebecca are quickly swept up in a mystery involving an eccentric old lady who has found a mysterious birthday card addressed to her estranged daughter containing the first of several clues in an elaborate scavenger hunt. With the help of some good friends and a pretty cool teacher, the girls work together to solve puzzles involving everything from religion to literature (and even math!), in the hopes of finding the treasure at the end before several other suspicious characters get their hands on it first. But will it be enough to bring a broken family together again? And can the girls do it without getting expelled—or even arrested?

Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life As We Knew It. Harcourt, Inc., 2006. ISBN 0152058265. Ages 12-14.

Through journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. This is a harrowing account of a catastrophic event through the eyes of a teenager. Throughout the story the reader sees glimpses of Miranda trying to be a normal teenager despite having to watch her world crumble around her. Older tween readers will find the idea of an asteroid doing such damage both fascinating and sobering. They will also relate to Miranda's questions of whether a God exists, feelings of responsibility for her family, and dealing with the repercussions of her parents' divorce.

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House in the Big Woods. HarperCollins, 1932. ISBN 978-0060581800. Ages 9-12.

The first book in the chronicles of the Ingalls family, Little House in the Big Woods tells of the family’s first home in a log cabin in the wild woods of Wisconsin. In a simple life surrounded by nature and not another house or town for miles, Laura and her family must rely on nature, their faith, and each other in order to survive and thrive. Younger tweens will delight in this timeless series as the reader is drawn into the simple life of the Ingalls family. Though the length and few illustrations throughout can be intimidating for reluctant readers and those new to chapter books, taken in steps the story can be enjoyed in small parts, especially the stories that Pa tells the girls about growing up and other adventures.

Shankman, Adam. (Director). (2002). A Walk to Remember [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros. Pictures. Ages 10-14.

Love brings together what peer pressure and lifestyles seek to keep apart. Jamie is a straight-laced preacher's daughter and Landon is an unmotivated delinquent. When events thrust him into her world, he begins an unexpected journey he'll never forget. While the book this film was based on was originally written for adults, the story speaks to older tweens as well and the film does a wonderful job of conveying the beautiful romance between good girl Jamie and bad boy Landon. Tweens will relate to issues of love, relationships, and religion found in the movie, and identify with aspects of both characters as they fight peer pressure and discover who they are meant to be.

Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass. Alfred A. Knopf, 1996. ISBN 978-0679879244. Ages 10-14.

Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North. As Lyra is forced to grow up at a young age without a father or mother present, she takes on a motherly role when her best friend Roger is kidnapped. Selflessly attempting to save him and traveling to the ends of the world to bring him back safely, Lyra demonstrates that even in the most horrible of situations, sometimes love, compassion, and determination are all you need to find your place in the world.

Lasky, Kathryn. Chasing Orion. Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0763639822. Ages 10-14.

In the summer of 1952, polio has spread throughout Indiana, causing a widespread panic. With pools closed and camps cancelled, Georgie is stuck at home all summer in a new neighborhood with nothing to do. That is, until she discovers that her next-door neighbor is a beautiful young teenage girl stuck in an iron lung. Fascinated by Phyllis’s eighty-seven cubic centimeters of air, Georgie vows to help Phyllis and works to bring her and her brother Emmett together. But Georgie realizes that Phyllis has other plans in store for Emmett, and soon Georgie must save Emmett from Phyllis's deception before it is too late.

In this coming-of-age story, Georgie is facing life in a new part of town, having to go to a new school and make all new friends. In addition, most of the things she loves to do that enable her to make friends are forbidden now due to the polio outbreak. Her only human contacts besides her family are Evelyn (the quirky girl she meets at the library) and Phyllis. Georgie first becomes entranced by the romanticism of Phyllis’s life in the iron lung, but her childlike innocence eventually enables her to see through all the lies and deception. There she finds a family who is determined to hang on to what little of their daughter they have left, and a daughter who wants so desperately to be freed from her iron prison, even if it means death. While Georgie’s situation is unique, the feelings she experiences are ones that tweens can relate to—trying to fit in, finding a purpose, living vicariously through older siblings, and wanting what she cannot have.

Bloor, Edward. London Calling. Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. ISBN 978-0375836350. Ages 10-14.

If anyone has something to be depressed about, it’s Martin Conway. His father is a drunk and a disgrace to the family. His family worships his late grandfather, whom he was named after. And his mother insists on making him attend All Souls Preparatory in order to live up to that namesake. But all Martin really wants to do is sleep. So when he receives his grandmother’s old radio and through it a young boy reaches out to him from the past, Martin is sure he’s going crazy. But fact by fact, every “dream” he experiences checks out. And as the story unfolds, he is asked the all-important question—What did you do to help?

This powerful and moving book not only chronicles a heartbreaking story set in WWII London, but also the story of a young boy who is battling his own demons on several fronts. Besides suffering through the everyday battles of being in middle school, he is dealing with real issues of alcoholism and depression in his family, and surviving a war in his dreams. Martin is a dynamic character, struggling to make sense of the world around him. Bloor does so by illustrating his struggles through vivid flashbacks, where you can almost feel the bombs dropping and smell the fires burning. Together with Martin, tweens will struggle to figure out his purpose, and perhaps walk away from the book wondering what they can do to help as well.

Sonnenblick, Jordan. Zen and the Art of Faking It. Scholastic, 2007. ISBN 978-0439837071. Ages 12-14.

When San Lee arrives in his new town, he decides he needs to invent a new identity in order to seem cooler than he really is. And to attract the attention of Woody, who might just be the girl of his dreams. Quite by accident, he decides to fool everyone into thinking he is a reincarnated mystic of Zen Buddhism. And for quite some time, it actually works! But lies have a funny way of turning on you when you least expect it, and when his whole persona blows up in his face, it is up to San to pick up the pieces and make things right with the ones he cares about.

Like most middle schoolers, San is just trying to fit in and find his identity. As an Asian kid in a small Pennsylvania town, he also wants to both fit in and stand out (in a good way, of course). Ironically, in his quest to fool others into believing that he is a Zen mystic, he actually learns quite a bit about himself and the person he wants to be. We also get a glimpse into San’s rocky home life; one that tweens will appreciate and identify with on many levels. Full of ancient wisdom and powerful life lessons, this book has much to offer to the tween population.