Top 10 Books Every Tween Girl Should Read
The school year is finally over and the summer is in motion! Now that you’ve got some free time, you can pull out your summer reading list and get started on your next favourite book! I know what you might be thinking, girl I’ve just spent the entire school year reading!!! Well, that is why we’ve gathered our favourite books from our Girl Gang Strong subscription boxes, plus some other great summer reads to help make it easy for ya! These books are so good you won’t want to put them down! Whether you’re dreaming of going on an adventure or you're eager to learn something new, here are ten great books that every tween girl should read.
1. Dare to Be You: Inspirational Advice for Girls on Finding Your Voice, Leading Fearlessly, and Making a Difference - Marianne Schnall
Dare To Be You is a collection of empowering, motivational, and inspirational quotes gathered from interviews conducted by journalist Marianne Schnall. The book features some of the world's most influential women you might have heard of such as Gloria Steinem, Maya Angelou, Amy Poehler, Kerry Washington, Sheryl Sandberg, Luvvie Ajayi, and Arianna Huffington to name a few! Each chapter helps you to discover quotes based on specific themes or areas of your life that you may need some encouragement in, such as believing in yourself, loving yourself, using your voice, leadership, overcoming hard times, and many more. Dare to Be You is the book that every young girl needs to help them find their voice and recognize their value in the world!
2. A Good Kind of Trouble - Lisa Moore Ramée
Now, this is such a great read! A Good Kind of Trouble is a story about twelve-year-old Shayla, who is learning to navigate the reality of growing up as a young black girl in America. Shayla is all about following all the rules and trying her best to avoid trouble. But when a police officer is acquitted from a case of police brutality, Shayla attends her first Black Lives Matter protest and realizes that sometimes you have to make trouble to stand up for what is right. The book touches on several themes you might be familiar with such as interracial friendships and crushes. But it also tackles important themes such as cultural appropriation, race, social justice, activism, police brutality, and even harassment. This book was hard to put down! Not only was it insightful but also very relatable and super funny!
3. The Girl Guide: 50 Ways to Learn to Love Your Changing Body - Marawa Ibrahim
Marawa Ibrahim’s The Girl Guide is THE favourite and ultimate Girl Guide among our Girl Gang Strong Subscribers! If you don’t want to have that uncomfortable conversation about your changing body with a parent, this book is a great alternative! The Girl Guide is for girls between the ages of 8 - 12 and it covers a range of topics from puberty to the life of a teenage girl. Throughout the book, Ibrahim is like our older sister telling us all the changes that will happen to our bodies, especially the ones we don't want to discuss out loud! Ibrahim shares the stories of her journey through puberty with vibrant illustrations and photographs that many young girls can relate to! The Girl Guide is a friendly introduction to puberty that will answer all the questions any tween girl has about her changing body. Get your copy from our online store here!
4. Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World - Reshma Saujani
Have you ever wondered how the software on your iPhone was created? How emojis are programmed onto our phones? How our favourite social media apps were designed and created? Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code introduces us to the world of coding! She explains what coding is and breaks down the basic concepts needed to write code by comparing it to real-life tasks like making a bracelet. If you didn’t already know, throughout history women have changed the world thanks to their accomplishments and innovations in computer science. Saujani also takes the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the impact these women have made in computer science. Talk about girl power!
5. Make Your Mark: A Journal for Capturing Big Dreams - Amy Richards
Are you passionate about making your mark in the world? If you have a lot of ideas waiting to spill out of you, Make Your Mark is a great journal to reflect on your thoughts and plan how you will make a difference in the world. Every page features a MAKER, who is an influential woman that has either made an impact in the world or has achieved great things. Each MAKER has a story or achievement that serves as journal prompts and inspiration for how the reader will make her mark in the world. The right side of the journal is where you have the opportunity to write or doodle your ideas, hopes, and dreams! Don't be afraid to get creative and dream BIG with this one!
6. The Baby Sitters Club Series - Ann M. Martin
If you haven’t already started the Baby-Sitters Club series, girl what are you waiting for?! The Baby-Sitters Club is written by Ann M. Martin and follows the lives of Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacy, who come together to offer their babysitting services to parents. It all started one evening, Kristy’s mom was dialing number after number and couldn’t find a babysitter for her younger brother. Kristy wanted to make it easier for parents to call one number and access multiple babysitters. The series includes 131 books and each book explores a different journey told from the perspective of one of the girls. Some of the books show how the girls deal with situations you might relate to, such as challenges with friends, being in middle school, parents getting a divorce, the loss of a parent, illness, and moving. You can also enjoy the recent Netflix series that was released and based on these bestselling books!
7. The Moonlight Dreamers - Siobhan Curham
Are you a dreamer who doesn't feel like you always fit in with the crowd? Well, this book is for you! The Moonlight Dreamers follows four girls Amber, Maali, Sky, and Rose, who all live very different lives and come from diverse backgrounds. The girls are all trying to find their place in a world where everyone would rather be the same. (I know, who wants to be the same when you can be yourself right?!) The girls unite to create their own secret society called the Moonlight Dreamers. In the first meeting, each girl takes an oath to pursue their dreams. The Moonlight Dreamers is a story of friendship, family, and identity. But it also talks about things you might deal with today like your self-image and social media.
8. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
If you have a sister or more than one sister, you're going to love this one! Little Women is a popular tale by Louisa May Alcott that tells the story of the March sisters, Jo, Beth, Meg, and Amy. Jo is an aspiring writer and is constantly challenging the limits placed on women. Meg is the oldest and takes care of her sisters when her mother isn't there. Beth usually stays out of the spotlight, adores music, and loves playing the piano. Amy is the youngest March sister, she is artistic, creative, and often finds herself in trouble. Little Women is a story of sisterhood and the March Sisters’ journey from childhood to adulthood. Also, if you loved the book, you're going to love the movie. Emma Watson plays the role of Meg!
9. Roll With It - Jamie Sumner
Roll With It is a story about 12-year-old Ellie who has cerebral palsy and dreams of becoming a professional baker. But when Ellie isn’t baking she writes letters to her favourite celebrity chefs. When Ellie and her mom must move to a new town in Oklahoma to help take care of her grandfather who has dementia, Ellie has to start from scratch at a new middle school. Ellie becomes not only the new kid in town but the new kid in the wheelchair who is also one of the trailer park kids. To her surprise, Ellie makes two new friends, the first real friends she’s ever had. Now, Ellie must convince her mom to stay in this new town. You have to check this one out to see if Ellie and her friends succeed and stay in Oklahoma!
10. The Confidence Code for Girls - Katty Kay & Claire Shipman
Do you remember how confident you used to feel when you were younger? It felt like you were on top of the world? You could do anything you want and be whoever you wanted to be? Then you got older and you suddenly don’t feel that way anymore? That’s actually something called the confidence gap and girls start to experience this gap from the age of eight. After conducting a survey, the authors concluded that between the ages of 8 - 14 girls’ confidence dropped by 30%. So how can you build that confidence back? The Confidence Code teaches young girls to take chances, tackle challenges that come their way and helps develop confidence-building skills. The book covers topics such as trying out for a new sport, school tests, friendships, social media, perfectionism, and more. The Confidence Code is something that you can use every day to build your confidence and develop tips and strategies to eliminate doubt.
Happy reading Girl Gang!