Groovy for Girls

Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls by Meg Cabot.

In The New Girl, nine-year-old Allie works to get past being just the new girl at school, eagerly awaits the arrival of her kitten, and faces turmoil when her grandmother visits while the family is still settling into their new home (series, 222 pages, RL 5.2).

A Summer of Sundays by Lindsay Eland.

Always lost in the shuffle of her large family, an eleven-year-old girl decides that this summer she'll make sure she stands out—and a discovery in the library basement may help (328 pages, RL 4.5).

Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman.

A love-struck mermaid named Aquamarine supplies adventure and insights to two twelve-year-old girls, life-long friends who are spending their last summer together before one of them moves away (105 pages, RL 5.9).

Goddess Girls by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams.

In Athena the Brain, Athena discovers that her intelligence has immortal value. Athena always knew she was smart and special, but she didn't realize that she was a goddess! When she's whisked away to Mount Olympus Academy, she worries about fitting in and dealing with Zeus, her dad.  Luckily, she meets the Goddess Girls and finds the best friends she's ever had (series, 160 pages, RL 4.3).

Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler.

In The Tale of Emily Windsnap, twelve-year-old Emily finally convinces her mother that she should take swimming lessons.  She discovers a terrible and wonderful secret about herself that opens up a whole new world of possibilities (series, 208 pages, RL 3.8).

Ten Good and Bad Things about My Life So Far by Ann M. Martin.

After some negative experiences over the past summer, fifth-grader Pearl Littlefield struggles to complete her essay assignment about her break (259 pages, RL 5.5).

13 Gifts by Wendy Mass.

Self-proclaimed shrinking violet,Tara tries to break out of her shell by stealing the school mascot, a goat, but she gets caught and is shipped off for the summer to stay with relatives in the quirky town of Willow Falls, which she decides is as good a place as any to reinvent herself (341 pages, RL 4.4).

Daphne’s Diaries of Daily Disasters by Marissa Moss.

In The Name Game, Daphne Davis doodles, draws, and documents in her diary a series of disasters on her first two days of fourth grade, most of which result from her new teacher accidentally calling her Daffy (series, unpaged, RL 3.0).

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker.

While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building (series, 133 pages, RL 4.5).

Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell.

In Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life, fourteen-year-old Nikki Maxwell writes and sketches in her diary about her struggle to be popular at her exclusive new private school and about giving up on being part of the elite group... before figuring out a way to simply be herself (series, 282 pages, RL 5.8).

Cupcake Diaries by Coco Simon.

In Katie and the Cupcake Cure, Katie Brown learns how difficult middle school can be when her best friend ditches her for the Popular Girls Club.  She manages, however, to find a great new group of friends and together they form their own cupcake club (series, 146 pages, RL 3.8).

Smile by Raina Telgemeier.

In graphic novel form, the author relates her experiences after injuring her two front teeth, undergoing surgeries, and wearing embarrassing braces and headgear-- all while dealing with the trials and tribulations of middle school (213 pages, RL 3.0).

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier.
In this graphic novel companion to Smile, Raina Telgemeier shares the story of her relationship with her younger sister (197 pages, RL 2.8).