Book picks similar to
A Whole New Ball Game by Belle Payton


twins
realistic-fiction
it-takes-two
fiction

Hello From Renn Lake


Michele Weber Hurwitz - 2020
    Annalise's happiest times are working alongside her adoptive parents at the cabins along the lake their family has owned and run for generations. But the summer Annalise turns 12, a small patch of algae quickly becomes a harmful bloom and Renn Lake is closed. Even worse, Annalise's connection with Renn is gone. Frustrated with the authorities' inaction, she teams up with her friends and vows to find a way to save her beloved lake. Hello From Renn Lake is a heartfelt story about community, activism, and fighting for the things you love.

The Mouse Rap


Walter Dean Myers - 1990
    His father, who checked out from the family eight years ago, is now trying to make a comeback as a dad. Beverly, a new girl from California, seems to like locking lips with the Mouse--but she seems to like other guys, as well. Sheri is trying to persuade the gang to join a dance contest. And there's a rumor that a lot of money--the loot from a '30's bank heist, to be exact--is hidden somewhere in an abandoned Harlem building, and you know the Mouse is determined to get a piece of that action.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend


Matthew Dicks - 2012
    . . real or otherwise.Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age, and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear.Max is different from other children. Some people say that he has Asperger's Syndrome, but most just say he's "on the spectrum." None of this matters to Budo, who loves Max and is charged with protecting him from the class bully, from awkward situations in the cafeteria, and even in the bathroom stalls. But he can't protect Max from Mrs. Patterson, the woman who works with Max in the Learning Center and who believes that she alone is qualified to care for this young boy.

Surf's Up!


Chrissie Perry - 2005
    Kowabunga!  Lucy can’t wait to go on vacation with her BFF, Bonnie, and her family.  They’re going to stay by the beach, take surf lessons, and eat tons of junk food!  But the trip takes a nosedive as soon as they hit the waves.  Bonnie is a natural, while Lucy keeps wiping out.  Lucy doesn’t want to feel jealous, but she can’t help wondering…will they still be friends when this vacation is over?

A Girl Called Al


Constance C. Greene - 1969
    A seventh-grade girl, her slightly fat girl friend, Al, and the assistant superintendent of their apartment building form a mutually needed friendship with the usual--and a few unusual--joys and sorrows.

The Battle of Darcy Lane


Tara Altebrando - 2014
    Everyone on Darcy Lane seems to be holding their breath waiting for the cicadas to emerge, but what Julia and her best friend, Taylor, want is some real excitement. Which arrives in the form of a new neighbor named Alyssa, who introduces a ball game called Russia . . . and an unwelcome level of BFF rivalry.Suddenly nothing stands unchallenged—not Julia's friendships, her crush, or her independence. But while Julia realizes that she cannot control all the changes in her life, she hangs onto the hope that everything will go in her favor if she can just win one magnificent showdown.Acclaimed author Tara Altebrando's middle-grade debut features a voice that is true to the adolescent experience, where everything is felt acutely in a whirlwind of all-or-nothing emotion.

Moo


Sharon Creech - 2016
    This uplifting tale reminds us that if we’re open to new experiences, life is full of surprises. Following one family’s momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives.

Summer of Sloane


Erin L. Schneider - 2016
    Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle.These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer she’d be spending at her mom’s home in Hawaii with her twin brother, Penn. Instead, after learning an unthinkable secret about her boyfriend, Tyler, and best friend, Mick, all she has is a fractured hand and a completely shattered heart. Once she arrives in Honolulu, though, Sloane hopes that Hawaii might just be the escape she needs. With beach bonfires, old friends, exotic food, and the wonders of a waterproof cast, there’s no reason Sloane shouldn’t enjoy her summer. And when she meets Finn McAllister, the handsome son of a hotel magnate who doesn’t always play by the rules, she knows he’s the perfect distraction from everything that’s so wrong back home. But it turns out a measly ocean isn’t nearly enough to stop all the emails, texts, and voicemails from her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, desperate to explain away their betrayal. And as her casual connection with Finn grows deeper, Sloane’s carefree summer might not be as easy to find as she’d hoped. Weighing years of history with Mick and Tyler against their deception, and the delicate possibility of new love, Sloane must decide when to forgive, and when to live for herself.

Criss Cross


Lynne Rae Perkins - 2005
    Something good. To her. Looking at the bright, fuzzy picture in the magazine, she thought, Something like that. Checking her wish for loopholes, she found one. Hoping it wasn't too late, she thought the word soon.

Hamilton and Peggy!: A Revolutionary Friendship


L.M. Elliott - 2018
    Her eldest sister Angelica, the “thief of hearts,” is known for her passion and intelligence, while kind, sweet Eliza has a beauty so great, it only outshone by her enormous heart. Though often in the shadows of her beloved sisters, Peggy is talented in her own right—fluent in French, artistically talented, and brave beyond compare. When a flirtatious aide-de-camp to General Washington named Alexander Hamilton writes an eloquent letter to Peggy asking for her help in wooing the earnest Eliza, Peggy is skeptical but finds herself unable to deny such an impassioned plea. Thus begins her own journey into the Revolution! Inspired by the cultural phenomenon of the Broadway musical, “Hamilton.”

The Wild Girls


Pat Murphy - 2007
    Twelve-year-old Joan is sure that she is going to be miserable when her family moves from Connecticut to California. Then she meets a most unusual girl. Sarah prefers to be called "Fox" and lives with her author dad in a rundown house in the middle of the woods. The two girls start writing their own stories together, and when one wins first place in a student contest, they find themselves recruited for a summer writing class taught by the equally unusual Verla Volante. The Wild Girls is about friendship, the power of story, and how coming of age means finding your own answers, rather than simply taking adults on faith.

Flying Lessons & Other Stories


Ellen OhMatt de la Pena - 2017
    In a partnership with We Need Diverse Books, industry giants Kwame Alexander, Soman Chainani, Matt de la Peña, Tim Federle, Grace Lin, Meg Medina, Walter Dean Myers, Tim Tingle, and Jacqueline Woodson join newcomer Kelly J. Baptist in a story collection that is as humorous as it is heartfelt. This impressive group of authors has earned among them every major award in children’s publishing and popularity as New York Times bestsellers. From these distinguished authors come ten distinct and vibrant stories.

Homecoming


Cynthia Voigt - 1981
    It's still true that their mother has abandoned the four Tillerman children somewhere in the middle of Connecticut. It's still true they have to find their way, somehow, to Great-aunt Cilla's house in Bridgeport, which may be their only hope of staying together as a family.But when they get to Bridgeport, they learn that Great-aunt Cilla has died, and the home they find with her daughter, Eunice, isn't the permanent haven they've been searching for. So their journey continues to its unexpected conclusion -- and some surprising discoveries about their history, and their future.