10 Thoughtful Novels That Deal with Divorce for Tweens
by Devon A. Corneal
Divorce is never easy — and kids caught in the middle can often feel confused, lonely, and unheard. Stories that include families going through divorce and separation can help kids connect to characters experiencing situations similar to theirs, giving them a path to better understand things they may be dealing with like changing family dynamics, navigating new schools, making new friends, and coming to terms with new living situations and relationships. If you know a middle grade reader who is struggling to understand their parents’ separation or divorce, we hope the characters in these books — who come from all walks of life and face their parents’ divorces or separations with grit, imagination, bravery, humor, and sensitivity — will help them feel a little less alone.
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The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones
Available from:Anyone who has ever escaped into stories when real life seems too hard will understand sixth-grader Lincoln Jones. His family life has just fallen apart and Lincoln uses his imagination to cope. Told with more than its fair share of humor, The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones is a lovely coming-of-age story set in the chaos of a broken family and the healing that comes from our connections with others.
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The Island of Dr. Libris
Available from:Billy’s parents have separated, and he isn’t happy about it. He’s also not happy to be spending the summer without the basic electronics necessary for a kid’s survival — namely television, an iPhone, and video games. Instead, Billy has to read. But when Billy opens the books in his summer cabin’s library, he gets more than he bargained for. Is it possible that the stories are coming to life?
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Bigger than a Bread Box
Available from:When Rebecca’s mom suddenly moves her and her little brother to Atlanta, leaving her dad behind, Rebecca struggles to fit in at her new school. Things get a little easier after she finds the magic bread box in the attic — suddenly, she can get everything she wants, so long as it fits in the box. But Rebecca soon learns that her wishes have unexpected consequences and that getting everything we want might not be such a good thing after all.
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Big & Little Questions (According to Wren Jo Byrd)
Available from:It’s hard being nine, and even harder when your dad moves out and your family isn’t what it used to be anymore. Wren Jo Byrd doesn’t want anyone at school to know what’s going on at home, which means keeping her new life a secret — even from her best friend Amber. Soon though, Wren learns that secrets separate us from our friends just when we need them most.
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The Great Treehouse War
Custody arrangements can be challenging for kids, but perhaps never more so than for Winnie. She spends three days a week with her mom, three days a week with her dad, and one day a week in a treehouse between her parents’ houses. After a year, Winnie is fed up and takes matters into her own hands — along with nine of her closest friends. What happens next is surprising, charming, and utterly unique.
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The First Rule of Punk
Available from:Maria Luisa, known as Malú, is starting a new school, and even though her dad lives far away, he’s left her with one important mantra — be yourself. Malú’s new creed also happens to be the first rule of punk, which comes in handy when Malú starts a band and discovers she’ll have to fight for what she wants and who she wants to become.
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The Divorce Express
Phoebe isn’t happy to be living in the country with her dad and riding the bus into the city on the weekends to see her mom. Still, she was managing just fine, with a new friend and a cause to fight for at school, but then Phoebe’s mom announces that she’s going to get remarried and everything changes again.
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The DH
Available from:Alex Myers is a triple threat — a star basketball, football, and baseball player — but his life after baseball practice is far from perfect. Alex’s dad is gone and the new kid on the team is trying to steal his girlfriend. Can Alex find a way to succeed both on and off the field?
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The Dancing Pancake
Available from:Told entirely in verse, The Dancing Pancake is a sweet, funny, and touching exploration of how one young girl’s life changes in the wake of her parents’ separation and how she learns to make the most of the new life she has.
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Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures
This Newberry Medal-winning story about 10-year-old Flora Belle Buckman and superhero squirrel Ulysses tackles the confusion of a recent divorce, but balances it with plenty of humor and joy.
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If you’re looking for more practical advice for helping middle grade readers deal with the effects of a separation or divorce, A Smart Girl’s Guide to Her Parents’ Divorce, written by Nancy Holyoke and illustrated by Scott Nash, and Divorce Is Not the End of the World: Zoe and Evan’s Coping Guide for Kids, by Zoe Stern and Evan Stern, might help.