Whether a story is spooky, empowering, or lighthearted, a mysterious plot offers middle-grade readers a fun way to practice close reading and inference skills. This week, we are featuring mysteries from our children’s fiction collection, with a focus on readers ages 8-12. Our Pick of the Week, Bubblegum Shoes: The Big Sleepover by Goldy Moldavsky, takes place at Marlowe Middle School during the school’s annual sleepover. When Maya Mendoza, the leader of the Gumshoes detective group, finds out that the most popular boy in school is being blackmailed, the usual sleepover festivities quickly take a backseat. Dodging school chaperones, questioning popular students they’ve never spoken to before, and causing just enough chaos to keep things interesting, Maya and her crew of detectives are determined to uncover the truth and seek justice for their classmate. But with just one night to freely roam the school, will they be able to find the blackmailer by morning? 

Check out this and other mysterious middle-grade books below:

Bubblegum Shoes: The Big Sleepover
Goldy Moldavsky
Random House Children’s Books/Random House Books for Young Readers
Available now!

The Lost Jewels of Room 713: A Bea Bellrose Mystery Novel
Jo Beckett-King
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Available now!

Fear Files: Hide and Seek
Christopher Edge
Candlewick Press
Available now!

Detective Baby: Dance Team Drama
Meg Cabot
Illustrated by Amelia Allore
HarperCollins Children’s Books/HarperAlley Books
Available now!

Sneaks
Amy Tern
Holiday House
Available now!