Move Over, Middle Grade: It’s Time for Young Teen Lit, a guest post by Christina Chatel and Marcia Kochel

This story begins with two middle school librarians, miles and miles apart, who both feel passionately that what publishers call middle grade literature is not what their students need or want. Unbeknownst to each other, they penned their thoughts and submitted them to School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox, and their articles were published a month apart in the summer of 2024. Little did they know that their calls for action would ignite social media or that they would eventually end up on the same podcast and meet to start a movement based on the premise that 12- to 15- year-olds need books written specifically for them.

You can read our Manifesto and Open Letter for a detailed rationale for our discontent, but we will summarize here. What the industry dubs middle grade is almost exclusively reviewed for grades 3 or 4 and up, while titles labeled young adult tend to be recommended for grades 9 or 10 and up. Where, we ask, are the books for our middle school and junior high students who range from 12-15 years old? In a sea of books with 11- and 12-year old protagonists, where are the books with eighth or ninth grade characters? Middle grade books feel too elementary because of the main character’s age or the cartoonish drawings on the cover, and the YA titles that 13- and 14-year olds gravitate to are just too mature for them.

When we had our first conversation, we immediately clicked. Here were two librarians ready to take on an issue that means so much to both of us. We believe in the power of reading, and we want children of all ages to be nurtured and challenged by books that will shape their lives and lead them to become better humans. We established from the get-go that we are asking for something new. We do not believe that 12- to 15- year old readers just need a few more books aimed at their interests and developmental level. We submit that young teens need their own publishing category and we propose to call this category Young Teen Lit.

 Here are the criteria that we want to see in this new publishing category:

• Young Teen Lit should be developmentally appropriate for ages 12 to 15. Themes can be complex and edgy, and the books can and should deal with hard topics. Main characters should be eighth to tenth grade. Books recommended for grades 3, 4, and 5 should not be considered as Young Teen Lit.
• Young teens need to see themselves and diverse characters in books that span genres. We especially need (and kids are clamoring for) murder mysteries, horror, romance, action, adventure, sports, and humorous books.
• Young teen books can vary in length, but a substantial portion of the books should fall in the 180-300 page range without sacrificing complexity and depth.
• Young teen book covers must be appealing to their age group; no cartoon or childish images on the cover.
• Young teen books should be written in a variety of formats, including verse and graphic novels, and should reflect how teens communicate with each other through messaging and social media.

It’s a great list, right? We know these books would sell both to libraries and in bookstores around the country. We’ve actually heard from booksellers that they get asked for books for the forgotten kids in the middle all the time. Cynthia Compton, owner of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Zionsville, Indiana explained that 12- to 14-year olds “need a place to go” in a bookstore. “They’ve been co-opted into Young Adult, but it’s not their section. There’s a void in books for these ages.” Holly Weinkauf, owner of Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul agreed about the need for a Young Teen Lit category in bookstores, but mentioned the struggle of knowing what to put on the shelf. “Our challenge,” she said, “is how we define what to put in the middle section. It’s been hard to explain what’s different about it. If there was a general consensus on a name and definition for this category, that would be very helpful.” Diane Capriola of Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia is frequently asked for books that are challenging as well as appropriate for young teens. She says one barrier to bookstores having separate areas for young teens is not knowing what books would fit there, but if publisher catalogs had a Young Teen Lit designation that would be a great starting point.

So how do two school librarians make Young Teen Lit happen? That’s what we are trying to figure out. We know that librarians support our cause. And we know that children’s booksellers are equally excited about Young Teen Lit. Our next steps include talking to publishers, authors, and organizations such as the American Booksellers Association and the Book Industry Study Group. And we’re hoping to get our message out in Publisher’s Weekly and other industry publications. Our plan is to talk to a lot of people, identify solutions, and push for the birth of a new category. If you’re someone in the industry who wants to talk to us, we would love to connect with you.

And if you’re a librarian or bookseller who would like to join our movement for Young Teen Lit, follow us on our social media accounts on Bluesky and Instagram and use the hashtags #youngteenlit and #itstimeforyoungteenlit when reviewing books or discussing this topic. You can find our Young Teen Lit criteria, our latest recommended books, and our contact information on youngteenlit.com.

Although we said it up front, this is not really a story about two librarians starting a movement. At its heart, it is the story of a generation of young teens who lived through a pandemic and who are glued to their devices. They are kids who likely were taught to read using scientifically unsupported methods (see Sold a Story for more on that). They are kids who don’t have the reading stamina of previous generations (see the staggering pie chart midway through this article). They are kids who report reading for pleasure far less than their predecessors (see Federal Data on Reading for Pleasure: All Signs Show a Slump). With these disadvantages and so many things competing for their attention, young teens need books that captivate them; unfortunately, the landscape of books published for 12- to 15- year olds remains uninspiring. Publishers, authors, booksellers, librarians, and teachers–let’s work together to change the end of this story and give young teens the literature they deserve.

Meet the authors

Christina Chatel is in her 12th year as a School Library Media Specialist at Boulan Park and Smith Middle Schools in Troy, Michigan and serves as the Vice President of Continuing Education for the Michigan Association for School Librarians. She received the MASL Roger Ashley Freedom to Read Award in 2022 and the MASL School Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award in 2024. Prior to being a school librarian, Christina taught high school English for ten years. You can find her on Bluesky @medialoguer.bsky.social and on Instagram @troymsmedia.

Marcia Kochel has been a school librarian for 26 years in grades K-12, including 24 years working with middle schoolers. Druid Hills Middle School in Decatur, Georgia is her current school, and her claim to fame is hosting an Indigo Girls concert to raise funds for their library renovation. She was the Georgia Library Media Specialist of the Year in 2021 and was awarded the ALA I Love My Librarian Award in 2017. She just finished serving on the 2025 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book award committee. 

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Middle School Book Blog: https://omsbookblog.blogspot.com/

Filed under: Guest Post