VSBA 2024-2025 -- Middle School Nominees

"Herc Beal knows who he's named after - a mythical hero - but he's no superhero. He's the smallest kid in his class. So when his homeroom teacher at his new middle school gives him the assignment of duplicating the mythical Hercules's amazing feats in real life, he's skeptical. After all, there are no Nemean Lions on Cape Cod, and not a single Hydra in sight. Missing his parents terribly and wishing his older brother wasn't working all the time, Herc...

Laura Rodríguez Colón has a plan: no matter what the grown-ups say, she will live with her parents again. Can you blame her? It's tough to make friends as the new kid at school. And while staying at her aunt's house is okay, it just isn't the same as being in her own space. So when Laura finds a puppy, it seems like fate. If she can train the puppy to become a therapy dog, then maybe she'll be allowed to visit her parents. Maybe the dog will help...

Nothing has gone right for twelve-year-old year old Lawrence since his Pop went away, but after getting expelled from school for fighting he discovers the world of chess and things begin to change.

Oliver and Nathan, determined to get to the bottom of their new homeroom teacher's fishy behavior, discover Mr. Aidact is actually an AI robot from a secret experimental program.

An unforgettable graphic memoir about a Mexican-American boy's family and their adventure-filled road trip to bring their abuelito back from Mexico to live with them that National Book Award Finalist Victoria Jamieson calls "one of those books that kids will pass to their friends as soon as they have finished it." Pedro Martin has grown up hearing stories about his abuelito--his legendary crime-fighting, grandfather who was once a part of the Mexican...

When fifteen-year-old Iranian American Marjan discovers her murdered father was secretly a veterinarian to magical creatures, she realizes she must take up his mantle, despite the many dangers.

"Arrested? For teaching? John Scopes's crime riveted the world, and crowds flocked to the trial of the man who dared to tell students about a forbidden topic--evolution. The year was 1925, and discussing Darwin's theory of evolution was illegal in Tennessee classrooms. Lawyers wanted to challenge the law, and businessmen smelled opportunity. But no one imagined the firestorm the Scopes Trial would ignite--or the media circus that would follow. As...

"Thirteen-year-old new girl Anna Hunt decides to make an investigative podcast about how fellow classmate Rachel Riley went from being the most popular girl in school to the most hated"--

When twelve-year-old River's only friend is kidnapped and dragged to the terrifying spirit world of The Otherwoods, they have no choice but to face the world's monsters and their own fears to become the hero they were destined to be.

After an accident, seventh graders Joya Mia and Kiki help their best friend Greer cope by signing up for a triathlon.