9 Middle Grade Books Featuring Neurodiverse Characters & 2 Signed Book GIVEAWAY!

Please welcome my guest author, Sarah Allen, with her list of 9 Middle Grade Books Featuring Neurodiverse Characters.

We are giving away a pair of signed copies of What Stars Are Made Of and The Nightmare House to one winner. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom.

9 Middle Grade Books Featuring Neurodiverse Characters

Get a Grip,Vivy Cohen by Sarah Kapit

Vivy is an aspiring and talented baseball player, and she has autism. The voice in this book absolutely shines, and Vivy’s personality sparkles. This is a heartfelt and delightful read that will have you rooting for the characters the whole time. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

This is a beautiful, lyrical novel-in-verse about a girl with Tourette syndrome. This is an emotional book about accepting yourself for who you are and finding the bravery to make friends who accept you, too. Terry’s gorgeous poetry only adds to the emotion. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds

This is a heartwarming book about a boy with a superhero secret identity and new feelings bubbling up inside him that his mom calls “anxiety.” This is a fantastic book for younger readers and fans of graphic novels. [middle grade, ages 7 and up]

The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller

This is a tender story of a young girl named Natalie who is trying to use what she’s learning in her science class about the scientific process to “save” her mother from depression. It is a compassionate and lyrically written glimpse into mental illness and supporting those we love in the midst of their struggles. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

This book is both humorous and heartfelt. It is a beautiful portrait of both loving a sibling with autism (although there was no official autism diagnosis in the 1930s) and also of life on Alcatraz Island during the imprisonment of Al Capone. The adventures and the developing sibling relationship go hand-in-hand in this book. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

Planet Earth Is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos

This is a historical novel set during the Challenger launch, but from the point of view of an effervescent and endearing girl named Nova, who is nonverbally autistic. She is waiting for her sister to come back so they can watch the Challenger launch together. Panteleakos is incredibly deft at weaving heartache and hope. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty

Lucy Callahan gets struck by lightning…and genius math ability. She’s now at a savant level of intelligence, but struggles socially and with obsessive-compulsive tendencies. This sparkling story is about a bright girl you won’t soon forget. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

What Stars Are Made Of by Sarah Allen

Libby has Turner Syndrome and Non-verbal Learning Disorder, but that doesn’t mean she can’t do whatever it takes to help her family, especially her beloved big sister. In this book, I tried to show the real challenges of NVLD and Turner Syndrome, but without losing the sense of hope and enthusiasm with which Libby approaches the world. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

The Nightmare House by Sarah Allen

Penny Hope has had nightmares for years, but now they’re starting to come out of her dreams and into the real world. She has to confront the Fear Maker once and for all (despite her anxiety) before he steals the souls of all around her. In this book, I wanted to make the battle against anxiety literal and physical, and let Penny go into the forest to literally confront her demons. In this way, I hoped to claim power for myself and those fighting this same battle. [middle grade, ages 8 and up]

Signed Copies of WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF and THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE Giveaway!

We are giving away a pair of signed copies of What Stars Are Made Of and The Nightmare House to one winner. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below. We can only mail to U.S. and A.P.O. addresses.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sarah Allen is an award-winning children’s author whose books are filled with quirky, neurodiverse characters, STEAM elements, and a sense of finding Joy in the weirdest and most unlikely of places. Her books have been selected by the Jr. Library Guild, Whitney Award winners, A Mighty Girl Best Of pick, and state award winners. Sarah regularly teaches at writing conferences and presents at schools across the country. She lives in Orlando, and spends her free time drawing comics, writing songs, snuggling her cats, and exploring the further corners of Walt Disney World. Subscribe to her bimonthly author newsletter for more! Also, check out her website and follow her on Instagram.

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My books:

Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025

Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

Fortune Cookies for Everyone! (Smithsonian): The Surprising Story of the Tasty Treat We Love to Eat

Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me

We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court

ALSC Notable Children’s Book
Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection