Thank you for recognizing the gap and offering suggested books for young teens. We welcome younger YA books, especially murder mysteries, horror &humor! sites.prh.com/pyrmiddlesch... @penguinschoollib.bsky.social @penguinteen.bsky.social #youngteenlit #yalit #tlsky @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social

I think a big reason that middle grade is struggling is that it tries, often unsuccessfully, to meet the needs of too wide an age range. Let’s let middle grade be unabashedly for 8-12 year olds and give us #youngteenlit for our 12-15 year olds #tlsky #mglit

While we firmly believe that young teens deserve a publishing category of their own, we noticed @publisherswkly.bsky.social aimed the spotlight on MG publishing. The interviewees echoed what we have been saying ad nauseum since spring 2024 (see our articles and podcasts at www.youngteenlit.com). 🧵

We're excited to announce that our #AASL25 poster session was accepted! Christina will be representing us in St. Louis during the poster presentations on October 16. Stop by to chat about #youngteenlit and learn how to support our movement. #tlsky #skybrarians #schoollibrarian #AASL2025

In terms of our six #youngteenlit criteria, Tommy Greenwald consistently knocks it out of the park: his newest THE RIGHT CALL is no exception. 15 yr old narrator, a compelling story about injuries in youth sports, less than 300 pages, eye-catching cover, multiple formats, and heavy on mass appeal.

This Judy Blume-inspired book about a 7th grader's first crush is both hilarious and wise and will be LOVED by young teens and by Gen X librarians and moms. It's on the younger end of #youngteenlit and recommended for collections serving middle schoolers. Thanks @kristinnilsen.bsky.social #tlsky

We're summer dreaming about what we'd love to have written and published. MSers want to read the books below, but some may not be developmentally ready for the content (since it was written for an older audience). We would love to see #youngteenlit comparable to the following. #tlsky #skybrarians

#youngteenlit #itstimeforyoungteenlit @NealShusterman www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8kBuJNV/

For your mature 14-16 yr olds: PROMISE BOYS and UP IN SMOKE by Nick Brooks. Short chapters, multiple voices. Page-turning whodunits with 16 yr olds trying to prove a friend's innocence in the death of their principal (PB)/a woman at a BLM rally (UiS). CW👇 #youngteenlit @henryholtbooks.bsky.social

Nonfiction roundup: Radar and the Raft by Jeff Lantos is a gripping survival story. It’s also about scientific achievement, but I was there for learning how the Bell family survived a torpedo by a German U-boat. Highly recommended for teens #tlsky #youngteenlit #booksky @charlesbridge.bsky.social

Nonfiction roundup: The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival is a real gem. I’m recommending this book to everyone I know from middle school on up. Don’t miss this unforgettable graphic novel #tlsky #nonfiction #youngteenlit @melaniekoss.bsky.social

Nonfiction roundup: if you haven’t read The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming, go read it now. It’s an incredible World War II story about teenage girls in Britain who helped win the war by cracking codes. It’s a well-told story backed by fastidious research #youngteenlit #nonfiction #tlsky #booksky

Nonfiction roundup: compelling account of the Mt St Helens eruption backed by so much research. Great example of #nonfiction for young teens—fast-paced, death & destruction + survival & scientific advancement (cover=young but text is #youngteenlit) #booksky @rebeccaefbarone.bsky.social #mglit

Entertained myself in the car today listening to this good discussion of the gap in books for 12-15 year olds. #youngteenlit

And if you need more wildfire books...

Learn how we started and where we're going with #youngteenlit on our podcast episode with @slupodcast.bsky.social! Librarians who work with ages 12-15 need to tune in for ideas on how to find and advocate for more Young Teen Lit. #tlsky #edusky #skybrarian #skybrarians #mglit #yalit

Looking forward to this! Jason Reynolds is one of our favorite #youngteenlit authors! #itstimeforyoungteenlit

Don’t miss this important conversation with #itstimeforyoungteenlit founding #librarians of @youngteenlit.bsky.social #youngteenlit

We had a great time chatting with @slupodcast.bsky.social about the origins and the importance of #youngteenlit! Here’s a sneak peek. #edusky #tlsky #skybrarians #mglit #kidlit #yalit #schoollibrarian #teenlibrarian #middleschoollibrarian #itstimeforyoungteenlit

Great question--books you read in your teens can stay with you for a lifetime #youngteenlit

Can’t wait to share a conversation with @youngteenlit.bsky.social founders and #schoollibrarians @medialoguer.bsky.social and @overbooked.bsky.social #episode 330 Friday, July 25!!! #tlsky #tlskchat

Young teens ask for murder mysteries ALL THE TIME. Here's one by @aprilhenry.bsky.social that is perfect for 7th-9th grades. After a plane crash Milan finds out that both her parents were murdered & that she may be next. Bonus—it's also a survival story! #youngteenlit @hachettechildrens.bsky.social

#youngteenlit #itstimeforyoungteenlit #itstimeforyoungteenbooks #middleschool #teacherlibrarians

Read Jennifer’s post about how all the YA books are about 17-20 year olds! Publishers we are desperate for books featuring younger teens. We are super grumpy too. Please please help us out! #youngteenlit

My obligatory B&N pre-order sale post! Promotion is live through today & tomorrow (code: PREORDER25), and if you haven't already read the first book in the action-packed duology (THE SHADOW ROAD), now would be a great time, as THE RAVENOUS SKY will be out in just three months! #kidlit #youngteenlit

Pinch me! Can’t believe I ran into two of the absolute icons of #youngteenlit at #alaac25 #tlsky Thank you Laurie Halse Anderson and Neal Shusterman for writing some of the finest books ever written for teens

It’s hard to find books that have 14-15 year old protagonists, and here’s one about a 14-year-old—Thanks Dusti Bowling! #youngteenlit #alaac25 @unionsquarekids.bsky.social #itstimeforyoungteenlit

Excited to meet the author and illustrator of Brownstone @samuelteer.bsky.social and @marjulia.bsky.social at #alaac25 Thanks for writing about a 14 year old! #youngteenlit #tlsky

This! Kids are intimidated by a “wall of text” —Erin Becker at #alaac25 talking about how she integrates messaging into her novel to make it more accessible to young teens #youngteenlit #tlsky @erindaydreams.bsky.social

At #alaac25 looking for #youngteenlit Especially looking for books about 14-15 year olds—here’s one that looks great for teens! It’s a graphic novel sports memoir by Amar Shah @amarshah.bsky.social

Books build empathy, and this genre-bender goes deep into the experience of transgender teens as they face off against actual demons bent on destroying them. It's an action-dystopian-horror-fantasy that's steeped in Jewish mythology, and it's totally #youngteenlit @kylelukoff.bsky.social #tlsky

What to hand to the kid who finished the MILES MORALES books? Try BOY 2.0 by @traceybaptiste.bsky.social When 13 yr old Coal moves to a new foster home, a traumatic experience makes him realize...he can turn invisible! His quest for knowledge will keep readers on edge of seat. #youngteenlit

And how much we need stories about preteen / middle school boys written by “own voices” authors! Especially BIPOC male authors!

20-30 years ago, YA was much shorter and had language and situations that were more appropriate for 8-10th graders. Think about Lois Duncan or Joan Lowery Nixon. Books have gotten longer and "grittier".

#youngteenlit presentation today at 11:10 at #glmasi25 12-15 year-olds need books! @overbooked.bsky.social @glma-inc.bsky.social

VERY excited to learn about Bridging the Gap in Teen Lit from the wonderful @michaelleali.bsky.social & an organization that’s new to me, @youngteenlit.bsky.social! #ABAchildrensinstitute

Looking for something to recommend to your young teens after they've inhaled THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY? Hand them KAT'S GREEK SUMMER by Mima Tipper. Kat is forced to spend her summer before 9th grade in Greece with family, but things turn around when she meets Theofilus. #youngteenlit

ICYMI: Really grateful to @youngteenlit.bsky.social for the support for The Tower. Crossing my fingers for a print edition someday...

Sometimes, it feels like we’re shouting in the wind. The wind, in our case, is publishers, who get defensive when we ask about books for younger teens–they tell us about one or two new releases that they think fit our criteria. They try to convince us that the books we need already exist.

In our recent TLT article, we discuss THE TOWER by @davidanaxagoras.com, a spellbinding tale in the vein of MAZE RUNNER and LORD OF THE FLIES. To our chagrin, we found it's only available as audiobook (and a fantastic one, at that). No idea why a publisher hasn't grabbed this one! #youngteenlit

So happy to see THE SHADOW ROAD mentioned as one of five must-read favorites in this wonderful article about the need for more books aimed at younger teen readers! Thank you, @youngteenlit.bsky.social! #kidlit #CanYALit

My audiobook The Tower gets a great mention: "[The Tower] is truly creepy and would be devoured by middle schoolers....We would love to see this one get picked up by a publisher who will release it in print. (It would absolutely be a best-seller at our school book fairs!)" Listening, publishers?

“school libraries who are advocating for a new publishing category that focuses on the forgotten age range of kids that are too old for middle grade books and too young for much of what is being published for young adults… kids in that 12-15 year-old age range.” ^THIS

@youngteenlit.bsky.social Your latest post for SLJ's Teen Librarian Toolbox was right on time. The teachers and librarians in my YA lit class have been asking about bridging the gap for ms / early hs who need a fit that is just right! #YoungTeenLit teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2025/06/09/m...

So many good points in this article and such an important issue to those of us in middle/high school libraries. We need books for young teens to keep them reading!

SO. MUCH. THIS. Young people want them. And writers want to write them. Publishing needs to buy them.

Two middle school librarians talk about the need for Young Teen Lit. (TLT)

A Young Teens section with a wide variety of genres is SO needed in bookshops. When I was in Waterstones yesterday, a clearly frustrated mum waltzed into the age 9-12 section and declared to her daughter, ‘These are all too young for you, you’re nearly 13!’ And marched straight out of the shop.

Add me to the list of folks hunting for murder mysteries that feature a main character who is 13-14 and acts like it.

ANNOUNCING….our 6th criteria for Young Teen Lit! Check out our latest article where we dig deeper into the definition of YTL, and find out what 5 recent books we’re adding to our #youngteenlit list. #itstimeforyoungteenlit #tlsky #skybrarians #edusky #mglit #kidlit