I’m on a book quest. I’ve read nearly 300 middle grade and young adult books in the last 5ish years—mostly titles published in the last decade—and I’ve detected a trend. There are lots of great middle grade titles for 10-12 year olds. And a host of excellent young adult books for 16-18 year olds.

But our 13-15 year olds? There’s a bit of a gap. Because while I believe titles like Other Words for Home or New Kid have a place on all middle school shelves, they’re going to feel a little young for many of our 8th graders (not to mention our 9th to 10th graders). On the other end, titles like I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter or The Lunar Chronicles are often loved by 8th-10th graders, but they still feature older characters dealing with issues more typical for older teenagers.

There’s nothing wrong with reading a book featuring younger or older characters. The problem is when there’s a gap of titles featuring characters who are just your age, going through the same things you are going through in real life. Our 8th and 9th graders need books about starting high school, not about starting college, for example.

This is my quest. To find—and share with you—the best books for our 13-15 year olds. We begin with The Jake Show.

Title: The Jake Show​

Author: Joshua S. Levy

Genre: Realistic fiction

Age range: 10-14

Summary: Ever since his parents’ divorce, Jake has had to flip-flop from being “Yaakov” when he is with his strictly Orthodox Jewish mother and “Jacob” when he is with his more secular father. But neither of those identities feel right to him. When he makes two great friends at his new school, he has a chance to just be Jake—but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

Why “The Jake Show” belongs in your classroom library:

• The story is filled with references to Jewish culture and religious practices, including a smattering of Hebrew phrases. Your Jewish students, however connected to the religion they are, will likely find a welcome representation of their life experiences. With anti-semitism on the rise, it is critical to tell and embrace authentic stories of Jewish life and people.
• While Jake’s Judaism is central to the story, it’s really a story of a kid who feels he has to mold different versions of himself in order to make everyone happy. He doesn’t believe anyone will be happy with his version of himself, so he lies and sneaks around in an attempt to keep the peace. Sound like any young teens you know?
• Caleb and Tehilla, Jake’s friends, are wonderful friends. They are supportive and compassionate but also (kindly) call Jake out on his selfishness. They hold him to high expectations while continuing to be there for him.
• Two other supporting characters I love: Shmuel and Kayla, Jake’s step-parents. They see Jake for who he wants to be and they are his advocates. It’s a lovely message for all the step-parents who are figuring out how to be a parent without taking the primary role of mom or dad.

Final Two Cents: Representation takes many forms and one of them is hearing stories of people navigating the same life stages you are traversing. This is a great choice for helping our 13-14 year olds feel seen.

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