If you’re looking for middle school First Chapter Friday books, you’re in the right spot! Not only do I have this list of 10 new recommendations, but I also have a few other posts of even more books:
- Middle School First Chapter Friday Book List – Part 1
- Middle School First Chapter Friday Book List – Part 2
Need high school First Chapter Friday recs? Find them here:
- First Chapter Friday: High School Book List – Part 1
- First Chapter Friday: High School Book List – Part 2
If you’re unfamiliar with First Chapter Friday or still trying to wrap your mind around what it looks like, you might want to backtrack to a few of my other blog posts first! First Chapter Friday is as simple as it sounds (read the first chapter of a different book each Friday), but there’s a lot you can do to maximize the impact of this strategy. For more information on facilitating First Chapter Friday, check out the following posts.
- Why You Should Try First Chapter Friday
- First Chapter Friday FAQ
- Tips & Tricks for a Successful First Chapter Friday
Then, head back here for some recs! After all, finding the best books to feature is the most important (and often challenging) part of it all. The following 10 books are First Chapter Friday approved, which means their first chapters are…
- high-interest
- relatively short (or contain a short excerpt)
- appealing to a wide range of readers
- from a variety of genres, authors, and perspectives
FIRST CHAPTER FRIDAY: MIDDLE SCHOOL BOOK LIST
Okay, grab your planner or open up a google doc, and get ready to record some fabulous First Chapter Friday recommendations! For each title, I am including the genre, a brief introduction to the book, an intriguing quote, and the length of each first chapter. Because sometimes you just need a super short excerpt to share for those days when you have a million things on the agenda! 🙂 Some of these books have very quick first chapters, so feel free to share more if you have the time.
I hope these recommendations help you start the new year strong and add some extra joy to your Fridays! Here are 10 great books to feature for First Chapter Friday in your middle school classroom!
Carry Me Home by Janet Fox
- Genre: Realistic fiction
- Length: Super short
With a quick first chapter, this short, accessible, and emotional story is perfect for middle-grade readers. The book opens with Lulu waking up in the car she lives in with her dad and sister, only to realize her dad has disappeared.
When you feature this book, you can also recommend No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen, which is about a young boy who lives in a van with his unpredictable mom.
“The day Lulu’s daddy disappeared was, so far, the coldest day of the year.”
Alone by Megan E. Freeman
- Genre: Dystopian/Survival fiction
- Length: Super short
This dystopian survival story in verse is middle school perfection from the very first page. The opening lines immediately create intrigue as readers learn the main character, Maddie, has been living entirely on her own for over three years. While there is a dystopian element to this book, there’s little world-building and development of that aspect, so fans of realistic fiction will still appreciate it.
When you feature this book, you can also recommend The Canyon’s Edge, another survival story told in part-prose, part-verse.
“This is my reality. Alone in this place where I’ve been surviving on my own for over three years with no one but a big, smelly rottweiler who farts and hogs the covers.”
For Black Girls Like Me by Mariama J. Lockington
- Genre: Realistic fiction
- Length: Short (You can read the first 2-3 chapters)
Featuring super short chapters, letters, and even some poetry, For Black Girls Like Me is a great choice for First Chapter Friday because the conflict is clear from the very first paragraph. Makeda is black and adopted – into a white family. Keda doesn’t know where she fits and what to do about it, when her family moves, she leaves the other friend who understands her behind. Because the chapters are so short, you can totally read the first few so readers can get to know Keda a bit more.
When you feature this book, you can also recommend Genesis Begins Again, New Kid, and Black Brother, Black Brother (for similar conflicts).
“I am a girl but most days I feel like a question mark… People ask where I’m from but I know what they really mean. Who do you belong to?”
What About Will by Ellen Hopkins
- Genre: Realistic fiction; novel in verse
- Length: Short
A great pick for students who just haven’t found the right book yet, What About Will is a high-interest novel in verse about two brothers whose relationship changes after one sustains a traumatic brain injury during a football game. I recommend reading the first few sections (through the scene with the injury).
When you feature this book, you can also recommend Hopkins’ other phenomenal middle-grade novel in verse, Closer to Nowhere. For similar conflicts, you can recommend Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson or Game Changer by Tommy Greenwald.
“Hit from the back. Hit from the front. Will’s helmet smashed into a defensive guy’s helmet. It sounded like a car crash.”
The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman
- Genre: Historical fiction
- Length: Medium
This gripping historical fiction novel will capture readers’ attention from the very first page. Written from three perspectives, The Blackbird Girls is the story of two enemies who are forced to flee their home of Pripyat, Ukraine after the Chernobyl nuclear plant explodes. This moving tale of friendship in the midst of disaster is perfect for fans of historical fiction written from alternating perspectives.
When you feature this book, you can also recommend the dozens of historical fiction books written by Ruta Sepetys and Alan Gratz!
“The sky in the south was red. Smoke churned up toward the scarlet-colored clouds…but she knew what stood under the billowing smoke. The nuclear power station where her father worked.”
Game Changer by Tommy Greenwald
- Genre: Realistic fiction
- Length: Short (read as much or as little as you want)
If you’re looking to reach the crowd of students who claim they “don’t like to read,” this book is a game-changer. See what I did there? The book opens with the main character Teddy Youngblood in a coma after an incredibly hard hit during football training. But there just might be more to the story than a “hard hit” at practice. The story is told through mixed media, which is incredibly appealing to reluctant middle school readers. If you feature this book, show students an ebook version of this (via Overdrive) on your smartboard/projector so readers can see the multimedia as you read.
When you feature this book, you can also recommend Greenwald’s companion books, Rivals and Dinged, as well as Before The Ever After and What About Will (mentioned above).
“Light in the darkness, circles without shape, colors I can’t see, memories I can’t feel, voices but no words…”
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
- Genre: Historical fiction
- Length: Medium (Read part of Ch. 2-3 instead of 1)
Whether you read the opening section or an excerpt from the first few chapters, Code Talker tells a story that needs to be shared: the once-classified mission of the Navajo Code Talker marines, who used their native language to form an unbreakable code that was crucial in WWII. If you feature this book, I highly recommend breaking the first chapter rule to hook students and spark more discussion. I usually feature the end of Chapter 2 and the beginning of Chapter 3, in which the Navajo children are sent to a boarding school and stripped of their language, hair, and culture.
When you feature this book, you can also recommend Bruchac’s other books, including his newest novel in verse, Rez Dogs. You can also recommend other historical fiction that highlights lesser-known parts of history, such as Lifeboat 12 by Susan Hood or Sugar Falls by David Robertson.
“It was no good to speak Navajo or be Navajo. Everything about us that was Indian had to be forgotten.”
Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt
- Genre: Realistic fiction
Length: Long (read part of Chapter 1)
You only have to read the first few pages of Orbiting Jupiter to hook readers. From the start, readers learn about Joseph, a young boy who was incarcerated after allegedly trying to kill a teacher. Joseph looks like any other 8th grader, except he has this on his record, and one other thing: He has a young daughter he has never met.
When you feature this book, you can also recommend books Schmidt’s other books, as well as stories about difficult situations/home life, including Hey, Kiddo, House Arrest, and Free Lunch.
“He really could have been any other eighth-grade kid at Eastham Middle School. Except he had a daughter.”
Rolling Warrior by Judith Heumann with Kristen Jones
- Genre: Memoir
- Length: Long (read the prologue and part of Chapter 1 to save time)
First Chapter Friday is the perfect time to expose students to nonfiction texts that they otherwise might not pick up. Rolling Warrior is a young readers’ memoir by disability rights activist Judy Huemann, who was paralyzed after a bout of polio as a young girl. If you use this for First Chapter Friday, you can read just the prologue or that and part of Chapter 1. I recommend the latter because students will be curious and want to know a bit more about Huemann!
When you feature this book, you can also recommend memoirs and biographies about other strong women, including I Am Malala, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, and How Dare the Sun Rise.
“The thing to know about me is this: if I’d been born just ten years earlier and my parents hadn’t left Germany when they did, I would have been killed by Nazis. Hitler considered us ‘life unworthy of life.’”
Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander
- Genre: Biography; novel in verse
- Length: Short
This biographical novel in verse about Muhammad Ali is one of those magical books that manages to hook students who “don’t like to read,” year after year. For that reason, it’s a great one to feature for First Chapter Friday! Written with dual perspectives, verse for Ali and prose for his best friend Lucky, the book tells the story of Cassius Clay growing up in Louisville and working toward his goal of becoming a boxing champion. With action-packed boxing scenes and illustrations scattered throughout, this book is perfect for sports fans and fans of The Crossover.
When you feature this book, you can also recommend Booked and Rebound by Alexander, as well as Knockout by K.A. Holt (a novel in verse about boxing).
“I might have lost but I’m still boss. I lost my stride but not my pride. I’m still here, and yeah, I’m comin’ home. But this dream I got is set in stone: To be the best in the hemisphere. To win the Golden Gloves next year. How do I know? ‘Cause Cassius is courageous, tenacious, and one day he’ll be the greatest.”
That’s all for now…but there’s more where that came from! 🙂
I hope this post helps you add more books to your First Chapter Friday toolbox. If you try using these books in class, let me know how they go in the comments, or tag me on Instagram!
Want more book recs for First Chapter Friday and beyond? If you liked these titles, make sure you’ve read my other First Chapter Friday blog posts, too. Let me know if you’d like any more First Chapter Friday book recs (by genre, topic, or theme) in the comments, and I can round up another post in the future. In the meantime, stay tuned to my Instagram for book recs for First Chapter Friday and more.
Ready to get started with First Chapter Friday? Check out this pack of active listening graphic organizers that will keep First Chapter Friday purposeful, stress-free, and fun!
Tired of waiting until Friday to have all the bookish fun? You’ll love my favorite companion strategy: Book Trailer Tuesday! Click HERE to read more about how you can hook students on books in less than 5 minutes a week or HERE to get free links for Book Trailer Tuesday for the entire year.
