In today’s world, there are less readers than there used to be. We have more distractions at home or better things to do than read. Why read when you can play on your Playstation or watch your favorite show? Unlike watching television, reading provides many mental benefits such as improved concentration, bigger vocabulary, and overall improved general knowledge. I believe a love or hatred of reading first stems from your school environment. Sure, later in life you can learn to enjoy reading, but it’s easier to learn to enjoy it at a younger age.
Schools often require kids to read from their list of books. Some of those books can be wonderful reads, like The Giver, however they aren’t for everyone. We at Umbra Ex Libris truly believe when someone says they hate reading they haven’t read the right books. Finding books middle schoolers will love to read can help them begin their bookworm journey. Here are seven popular series, ranked from easiest to hardest, we loved in middle school and perhaps your middle schoolers might enjoy as well.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
I devoured Diary of a Wimpy Kid books when I was in middle school. These books are full of humor and relatable events for middle schoolers to enjoy. They are easy to read because it includes drawings, short chapters, and easy vocabulary. Some common themes these books discuss include acceptance, family, responsibility and friendship. All themes that are perfect for those middle schoolers. While these books are more aimed at middle school boys, I believe girls too can enjoy it.
As the main character, Greg Heffley, prepares for his first day in middle school his mom gives him a journal to write in. Greg decides to use the journal because he believes he will be famous and by writing in the journal he doesn’t have to answer journalists’ questions he can just give him his book. In the first book, Greg wants to become popular and hatches schemes to make him popular in school. This coupled with Greg’s crazy family and weird best friend Rowley lead to some humorous events.
I have personally read 6 of these books but there are soon to be 18 of them! You can jump into any of the books and not feel like you missed something from the previous books. I highly recommend these books because they are full of humor, easy to read and discuss important themes.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
This is one of my all time favorite series, if you didn’t know. In the Percy Jackson series, Riordan teaches mythology while telling a compelling story that any middle schooler could love. This books introduced me to the low fantasy book genre where magic and the real world interact with one another. The book’s themes discuss friendship, perseverance, friendship, and cooperation.
In the first book, Percy, a middle schooler with ADHD and dyslexia, feels like he never fits in anywhere. One day he discovers his father is Poseidon, god of the sea. He learns there is a camp for people like him, children of the Greek gods. Percy must embark on a quest with his new friends to recover a stolen lightning bolt to prevent a war while also trying to save his mother. The series naturally progresses to Percy and his friends saving Olympus from the titans.
Riordan wrote a book series about the Egyptian gods as well, if your middle schooler is more interested in that. Also, he wrote more than one series set in the same world to keep those young readers invested. I loved every one of his books. You can check out some of our book reviews on this series here and here.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games sparked my love for science fiction dystopian books. During my middle school days these books gained popularity and so I picked them up for myself. I remember struggling to wait for the third book to be written because I needed to know the ending of Katniss’s story. These books talk about more mature themes yet equally important. The themes include freedom versus oppression, government control, friendship and family, and survival.
Katniss ends up volunteering for the Hunger Games so her sister doesn’t have to compete. The Hunger Games pull two children from each district to compete in a competition of survival for the entertainment of the capital city. During the games, the children must find food, shelter, and weapons to defend themselves from creatures and each other, all for the entertainment of the capital. The series progresses across three books to open rebellion against the capital where Katniss fights for freedom from the Hunger Games.
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
I read the entirety of A Series of Unfortunate Events in fourth grade. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could read the next book in the series. This was the series that sparked my love for reading at a young age. While this series is daunting because it is 13 books long, it’s one that is hard to put down. With the unique narrator, and the tragic story the Baudelaire siblings go through, your middle schooler will be invested start to finish.
The parents of the Baudelaire siblings die tragically in a fire. They are adopted by a distant relative, Count Olaf. Olaf seeks to inherit the Baudelair fortune and plots methods to obtain their riches. The story follows the siblings as they circumvent his plots while trying to discover the real cause of their parents death.
The narrator makes this series memorable. Snicket provides humor to a dreadful tale with interesting and thought provoking quotes. Take for example this one from The Grim Grotto, “People aren’t either wicked or noble. They’re like chef’s salads, with good things and bad things chopped and mixed together in a vinaigrette of confusion and conflict.” These books will teach your middle schools new vocabulary and new outlooks on life.
Harry Potter by J.K Rowling
Harry Potter gained a huge following, but for good reason. Like Percy Jackson this book is also a low fantasy book, where witches and wizards live in the real world. If you’ve seen the movies, just know the books are that much better. With themes on confronting fears, corruption, death, and friendship makes this series one everyone should read.
Harry Potter, an eleven year old boy, ends up with his aunt and uncle because his parents died when he was a baby. His aunt and uncle treat him differently than their own spoiled child. One day Harry finds out he is a wizard just like his parents and learns that’s why his aunt and uncle treat him differently. Harry gets sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn the ways of a wizard. Harry learns his parents died at the hand of an evil wizard who Harry must confront to stop him from taking over the wizarding world.
These books are another hard to put down book series. The world J.K Rowling created is incredible and deep. The characters are lovable and the books will make you feel feelings you didn’t know you had. The later books in the series are a little harder vocabulary wise but challenging reads are good for the brain.
Pendragon by D.J. MacHale
One of my best friends introduced me to the Pendragon book series. Each week I would check one out from my middle school’s library and finish it before it was due and check out the next one. This series is another daunting one because it is a 10 book series. This series introduced me to differing points of view. The main story takes place in first person in a series of letters sent to his best friend. His best friend’s story takes place in third person making it an interesting read due to the perspective shifts.
Bobby Pendragon learns from his Uncle Press he is a traveler. He can travel between various planets in a flume. Bobby must use the flume to stop the antagonist from destroying the planets during critical events. If the antagonist, Saint Dane, wins the universe as we know it will cease to exist. Each book is a new unique planet with an overarching story about saving the universe.
When we first started our massive book collection, I knew I needed all 10 in this series because of how important they were to me when I was younger. One day soon, I hope to revisit this series. It was the first book series or books in general to bring tears to my eyes when it ended.
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
This is the hardest book series on the list. I recommend it to upper middle schoolers. The Inheritance Cycle contain more complicated sentence structure and bigger vocabulary along with very long books. The themes are also a little more mature such as war and death, corruption, love, and inheritance that younger middle schoolers might struggle with. These books introduced me into the complicated world of high fantasy. High fantasy includes mystical creatures, new worlds, and magic. This series also includes dragons.
While out hunting, Eragon, a farmer boy, discovers a strange sapphire colored rock. He picks it up and brings it home thinking it might be worth some money. The rock happens to actually be a dragon’s egg and it hatches for Eragon. Eragon and the dragon form a mental bond where they become linked. The evil king sends out scouts looking for the dragon egg or the possible dragon rider so he can force him to work for him. Eragon runs to the rebels where he feels he can help them overthrow the tyrannical king.
I have probably read these books 4 or 5 times, always picking up something new in them. The Elven language Paolini created for his magic system along with dragons makes an exciting read. The character arcs and stories are relatable to readers. This is a good series to get into more complicated ones such as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings because Paolini’s story is easier to follow while using some of the same concepts about elves and dwarves Tolkien created.
In Conclusion
Longer books and book series may seem scary at first, especially to younger readers, but there are ways to make it easier. Breaking the book down by chapter makes the reading easier. Instead of reading a physical book where you can see the thickness of it, you can always try reading on a tablet instead. If you start with the easier ones first to develop good reading habits and an interest in reading the harder and longer books become less scary.
Children should be encouraged to read outside their assigned reading level because that’s how you challenge them to grow and improve their reading ability. Before you discourage them from reading something challenging, let them take a shot at it and see if they decide to put it down. Maybe they won’t like these books on this list but there is something out there for every kind of person. We just have to discover the kinds of books we like for ourselves.
Do you have any series you loved as a middle schooler? Have you read any of these? Do you think I missed an important one? Let us know down below in the comments. We love to hear from you!
And as always, happy reading!