From the first morning with their odd new teacher fifth grade is full of shocking surprises for best friends Rip and Red.

A weird web site provides Kilgore Junior High students and best friends Matt and Craz the opportunity to make their cartoons become real, which has some unexpected and dire consequences.

When his school counselor insists that he needs better socialization skills after being stuffed into a locker by a bully, middle-schooler Nick finds himself, along with two other misfits, joining the school's lamest club: Safety Patrol.

In love with the girl he sneezed on the first day of school and best pals with Marshall, the "One-Eyed Jack" of friends, seventh-grader Milo Cruikshank misses his mother whose death has changed everything at home.

Waylon, a boy with the mind of a scientific genius and the vulnerable heart of an eight year old, is trying to understand his older sister and deal with changes among the kids at school.

Questioning his resolve to attend public school after being homeschooled when he is targeted by a bully, Max aspires to become like his favorite comic book heroes and finds an unexpected opportunity to be the hero his middle school needs.

"Barry said, a third time, "I wish I had better parents!" And then suddenly the entire room started to shake ... Barry Bennett hates being called Barry. In fact it's number 2 on the list of things he blames his parents for, along with 1) 'being boring' and 3) 'always being tired'. But there is a world, not far from this one, where parents don't have children. That's far too random for something so big and important. In this world, children are allowed to choose their parents. For Barry Bennett, this world seems like a dream come true. Only things turn out to be not quite that simple..."

Fifth-grader Kate faces a challenge when her mother asks her to be especially nice to Nora, a classmate and fellow flute player who is sometimes mean.

Jake and his family have moved to a new state and now Jake must start at the bottom of the social ladder, but he is determined to make friends and get back on top with his box of "kid cards."

Two best friends embark on a project to study the behavior and taste of the popular girls at their elementary school so that by the time they get to middle school they too will be in the right crowd. Novel appears in the form of a scrapbook.