Book picks similar to
The Sister Solution by Trudi Trueit


stephanie-s
11-15
children-middle-grade
level-middle-grade

From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess


Meg Cabot - 2015
    Brought up by her aunt's family in New Jersey, book-and-music-loving Olivia feels out of place in their life of high fashion and fancy cars. But she never could have imagined how out of place she really was until Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia, pops into her school and announces that Olivia is her long-lost sister. Olivia is a princess. A dream come true, right? But princesses have problems too.In FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF A MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCESS a new middle grade series, readers will see Genovia, this time through the illustrated diaries of a spunky new heroine, 12 year old Olivia Grace, who happens to be the long lost half-sister of Princess Mia Thermopolis.The original Princess Diaries series sold over 5 million copies in the US (15 million worldwide), spent 82 weeks on the USA Today bestsellers list, and inspired two beloved films.

A Galaxy of Sea Stars


Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo - 2020
    She wants her dad to start acting like he did before he was deployed to Afghanistan, she wants her mom to move back to the marina where they live, but most of all, she wants best friends – Piper and Zelda (dubbed the Sea Star Posse by their kindergarten teacher) – to stay best friends as they begin sixth grade at the regional middle school.Then, Izzy’s father invites his former Army interpreter from Afghanistan and his whole family – including eleven-year-old Sitara — to move into the upstairs apartment at the marina. Izzy doesn’t know what to make of Sitara with her hijab and refusal to eat cafeteria food. She does know that her constant presence has become like a rogue wave disrupting the normally easy flow of the Sea Star Posse. But as Izzy gets to know Sitara, she can’t help but admire her self-confidence and pride in her Muslim faith. Little by little, Izzy begins to realize there exists a world much larger than her safe but insulated harbor in Seaside.When hate messages start showing up at the girls school and at the marina, Izzy and Sitara team up to discover the source of the vandalism. But what Izzy ultimately learns, will force her to make a choice: remain silent and betray Sitara or speak up for what she knows is right – even if it means losing the Sea Star Posse forever.A GALAXY OF SEA STARS is about family, loyalty, and the hard choices we face in the name of friendship.

The Distance To Home


Jenn Bishop - 2016
    They’re headed for the championship, and her loudest supporter at every game was her best friend and older sister, Haley. This summer, everything is different. Haley’s death, at the end of last summer, has left Quinnen and her parents reeling. Without Haley in the stands, Quinnen doesn’t want to play baseball. It seems like nothing can fill the Haley-sized hole in her world. The one glimmer of happiness comes from the Bandits, the local minor-league baseball team. For the first time, Quinnen and her family are hosting one of the players for the season. Without Haley, Quinnen’s not sure it will be any fun, but soon she befriends a few players. With their help, can she make peace with the past and return to the pitcher’s mound?

Mother, Please!: What a Girl Wants / The Road Home / Upstairs, Downstairs


Brenda Novak - 2004
    Original.

Lessons from Ducks


Tammy Robinson - 2015
    Once, she had everything she could ever want, but now she rattles away in her big old house where the silence doesn't just echo, it bounces off the rafters, slides down the window panes, rolls across the bench tops and skids across the floor. With a job she hates and a manager who hates her, Anna divides her time between work, home and the cemetery. It's not much of an existence, even Anna can admit that. But then, she's spent a fair amount of time plotting ways to not exist at all, so it's the least of her worries. Enter some ducks, a handful of eggs, an eight year old boy named after a Sesame Street character and his father who can't seem to keep his shirt on, and things are about to change. Whether Anna likes it or not.

Thick as Thieves: Tales of Friendship


Ruskin Bond - 2013
    Some stories will make you smile, somewill bring tears to your eyes, some may make your heart skip a beat—butall of them will renew your faith in the power of friendship.

My Almost Epic Summer


Adele Griffin - 2006
    where her specialty will be recreating the hairstyles of famous literary heroines. And it's a good thing she has dreams, since reality is harsh. She's just been fired from her mom's beauty salon for her tear-jerking shampooing technique, and is forced to take the only other job she can find: babysitting. Now she's stuck at the beach entertaining kids while everyone else is having a glamorous summer. Will she ever get a life?Then she meets Starla, a mind-bogglingly beautiful lifeguard whose diva attitude, dangerous obsessions, male admirers and cringe-worthy blog supply Irene with enough real-life drama and romance to fill a book. Amidst the complicated friendships, inconvenient crushes and occupational mishaps that seem to define this summer, Irene suddenly and unexpectedly finds that the countdown to real life is over and her fate is in her hands.

The Medusa Plot


Gordon Korman - 2011
    They thought the hunt for 39 Clues leading to the source of that power was over. They even thought they'd won. But Amy and Dan were wrong.One by one, distress calls start coming in from around the globe. Cahills are being kidnapped by a shadowy group known only as the Vespers. Now Amy and Dan have only days to fulfill a bizarre ransom request or their captured friends will start dying. Amy and Dan don't know what the Vespers want or how to stop them. Only one thing is clear. The Vespers are playing to win, and if they get their hands on the Clues . . . the world will be their next hostage.

The Burning Questions of Bingo Brown


Betsy Byars - 1988
    Like how could I fall in love with three girls in three minutes? But not even his teacher, Mr. Mark, has the answers. In fact Mr. Mark has been acting pretty weird lately, and he's getting weirder. Is there more wrong with Mr. Mark than Bingo can handle?

The Legend of James Grey


Jennifer Moorman - 2016
    Plagued with an everyday existence of past tragedies and regrets, Emma has relinquished her future to her job of sorting books in the library.Her only friend, as it seems, is head librarian, Mordecai Wallach, the sturdy father-figure who tries to right her floundering ship. One night after the library has closed, Emma hears voices coming from the archives section. She finds peculiar visitors who seem all too familiar, and she unexpectedly entangles herself in the long-held secrets of the library’s magic. When Emma must take control of the library in Morty’s absence, she realizes he hasn’t been entirely honest with her. While trying to discover the truth, she comes face-to-face with James Grey, a handsome military man with a history of his own and an irresistible charm. While working to keep the library’s magic from being discovered by the town, Emma struggles not to fall in love with James—the only one who can change the course of her life but whose time is running out. Just how far will the magic take her?

Sunny Chandler's Return


Sandra Brown - 1987
    Never. Sunny Chandler always said she'd never go back to the tiny town where she grew up. It was just three years ago that she was at the center of a notorious scandal--and the good folks of Latham Green, Louisiana, made it clear they'd never let her forget it. So Sunny packed up and headed for New Orleans, and now she wouldn't give up city life for the world. But when she's invited to her best friend's wedding, Sunny has no choice but to go home. And with her return come the whispers...the looks...the rumors she tried to escape. It doesn't take Sunny long to see that Latham Green has nothing new to offer. Except maybe Ty Beaumont. The moment Ty and Sunny first meet at a party, he can see she's no ordinary woman. With her dazzling hair, and eyes the color of gold, she's a flesh-and-blood fantasy--and Ty vows he'll have her in his bed before the week is out. Yet even when he turns on his southern charm, Sunny makes it clear she's not interested. Sure, a night with Ty would be wilder than BourbonStreet at Mardi Gras. But Sunny's not in town to become some good ol' boy's latest conquest, no matter how sexy he is. Little does she know that Ty isn't used to taking no for an answer--and he isn't about to start now. Soon what began as an innocent flirtation becomes a tantalizingly slow, skillfully deliberate, and overwhelmingly seductive pursuit that even Sunny finds hard to resist. But resist him she will. For Sunny is harboring an agonizing secret--the painful truth of why she left Latham Green the way she did. What she really needs now is a friend--and that's when she discovers there may be more to Ty Beaumont than meets the eye. Despite his roguish facade, Sunny comes to see he has a heart of gold. Still, she doesn't know if she can trust another person with her secret heartbreak--not even the one man who may be able to heal it.

Rules for Ghosting


A.J. Paquette - 2013
    When Oliver Day and his family show up as house-sitters the day Mrs. Tibbs, a Liberator sent by the Spectral Investigative Council, arrives to teach Dahlia the proper rules for ghosting, Dahlia can't wait to make new friends. But the unscrupulous ghost hunter, Rank Wiley, and the crooked town councilman, Jock Rutabartle, plan to rid Silverton Manor of its ghosts and sell it to the highest bidder. With her home and friendships at stake Dahlia may have to break the rules of ghosting as quickly as she learns them to solve the mystery of her death and save the manor. Equal parts charming and eerie, this ghostly caper hits all the right notes for the middle-grade audience.

The Songbird Cottage


Sylvia Price - 2020
    Emma Copeland and her daughters, Claire and Isabelle, spend their summers at Songbird Cottage in Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia. While there, Emma enjoys the company of her ruggedly handsome neighbor, Sam MacAuley, but when something happens between them, she vows never to return to Songbird Cottage.When Emma turns fifty, she rushes into a marriage with smooth-talking Andrew Schönfeld, but when he suddenly dies, Emma loses everything.With her life in shambles, and with nowhere else to stay, Emma returns to Songbird Cottage. Despite leaving without an explanation eighteen years ago, Sam is quick to Emma’s aid when she arrives on Cape Breton.As the beauty and peacefulness of Pleasant Bay begin to heal Emma, she gets some shocking news, and she discovers that she’s unwelcomed at Songbird Cottage. Will she be able to piece her life back together and get another chance at happiness?Join Emma as she begins a new life on Cape Breton Island and get to know her family and the friendly locals.This is the first book in the Pleasant Bay series.

The Chateau of Happily-Ever-Afters


Jaimie Admans - 2017
    Instead, she has a ‘nice’ life. Nice job. Nice flat. Absolutely no men. Until her life is turned upside-down when her elderly neighbour, Eulalie, passes away and leaves her the Château of Happily Ever Afters!But there’s a catch: she must share the sprawling French castle with Eulalie’s long-lost nephew, Julian. And no matter how gorgeous he is, or how easily she finds herself falling head over heels, Wendy needs to find a way to get rid of him… Because surely happily ever afters don’t happen in real life?

How to Break a Heart


Kiera Stewart - 2015
    Nick Wainwright is definitely the love of thirteen-year-old Mabry Collins's life, and when he dumps her in the most mortifying way possible, her heart is shattered. So, maybe they'd never kissed, but they had shared something special. They'd shared LOVE. True love. She's sure of it. And Mabry would know. She's watched countless episodes of her favorite telenovela with her best friend, Sirina, and the characters have taught her everything about romance. But when Sirina's usual methods for comforting Mabry fail, she has an idea: it's time for Mabry to break a heart of her own. And who better than Thad Bell to teach Mabry how to do it? He was the source of her very first heartbreak, and he seems to have his own reasons for wanting to see Nick suffer.Mabry decides to give it a shot, but she's pretty sure Thad's advice will lead to disaster. After all, his sole passion is a burrito with extra hot sauce. Anyone with any sense knows that true love doesn't come in a foil wrapper! But if Thad can help her win back-um, that is, break-Nick's heart, then it might just be worth it.