1. The Indigo Notebook, by Laura Resau

Zeeta and her mother move to their new home in Ecuador, where she meets Wendell, an American searching for his birth parents. She agrees to help him, and begins her own search for answers, too. Explore cultures, friendships, and family in this suspenseful novel for upper middle-schoolers.

2. Touch Blue, by Cynthia Lord

A family in a tiny island community welcomes a 13-year-old foster child into their home. But Aaron is tired of being shuffled around, and wishes he could live with his birth mom. This fast-paced, redeeming story deals with differences, and probes what really makes a family.

3. Truth with a Capital T, by Bethany Hegedus

In the summer before she enters middle school, Maebelle stays with her grandparents and (surprise!) her newly adopted cousin, Isaac. When Maebelle uncovers a family secret, she decides to dig up the truth—even if what she finds is ugly with a capital U.

4. Jazzy’s Quest: Adopted and Amazing by Carrie Goldman and Juliet C. Bond, LCSW

Ten-year-old Jazzy is trying to figure out what makes her stand out from the crowd for a school talent show. In the process, she asks questions like, “What talents do I share with my parents and siblings?” “What qualities do I share with my birth family?” “How am I unique?” It’s a story of the search for identity that many preteen adoptees face.

5. The Pinballs, by Betsy Byars

Carlie, Harvey, and Thomas J. meet, and eventually become friends, in a foster home. Carlie feels like she is a pinball, being bounced from place to place with no say in her own fate. As the story goes on, she learns to take charge of her own future.