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Seasonal Books for Middle Schoolers & Teens December 2025 |
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12 Strays of Christmas: A Wish Novel
by Natalie McKearin
Holly does NOT have Christmas cheer this year. She and her family just moved to Chicago, far from all of her friends and family. And now her brother's annoying (and annoyingly cute) new friend couldn't be more cheerful. And Holly definitely doesn't want to volunteer at the local shelter, with all of the dogs who remind her of the dog she lost last Christmas.
When she's forced to volunteer at the local shelter through her school, she'll just have to push aside her sad feelings and ignore those cute puppy eyes. But she can't put aside her feelings when she sees Drummer, the runt of the litter, who looks exactly like the dog she lost. When Drummer gets loose during the big holiday adoption event, Holly must track him down. Will the magic of Christmas help her to reunite with Drummer?
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Greenglass House
by Kate Milford
At Greenglass House, a smuggler's inn, 12-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his winter holidays relaxing, but soon guests begin arriving with strange stories about the house, sending Milo and Meddy, the cook's daughter, on an adventure.
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Northwind
by Gary Paulsen
When a deadly plague decimates his fishing village, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, navigating from one danger to the next. The deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer he comes to his truest self as he connects to the heartbeat of the ocean, the pulse of the landscape.
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A castle in the clouds
by Kerstin Gier
Young Sophie Stark, an intern at a fancy Swiss hotel, finds herself embroiled in intrigue and romance as the hotel's grand New Year's Eve ball approaches.
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The Winter of the Dollhouse
by Laura Amy Schlitz
On a gloomy November night, eleven-year-old Tiphany Stokes saves an old lady from collapsing in the street. An antique doll named Gretel watches them, longing for Tiph to rescue her from life in a shop window. Though none of these three characters realizes it, their worlds are about to change--Gretel will no longer be a precious prisoner. The old lady--is she a witch?--will discover the secret hidden in her long-neglected dollhouse. And Tiph--whose parents rejoice that she is 'never any trouble'--will become a thief, a dog walker, an actor, and best of all, a friend.
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The ice house
by Monica Sherwood
To escape the grief plaguing their homes after being trapped for months due to a climate disaster, Louisa and Luke build a massive snow fort that unexpectedly sends them on a mission to restore the universe to its rightful order.
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Eight nights of Flirting
by Hannah Reynolds
Determined to have a boyfriend this Hanukkah, Shira Barbanel, an absolute disaster at flirting, makes a deal with her nemesis-slash-former-crush: flirting lessons in exchange for career connections, but when things don't go as planned, she must learn to trust her heart.
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Flopping in a Winter Wonderland
by Jason June
All Aaron wants for Christmas is for his brother, Casey, to get over his ex, Raquel. He'd prefer not to be at Winter Wonderland, the island north of Alaska that's home to a year-round Christmas theme park. But Casey loves Christmas, so here they are. Unfortunately for Aaron, Casey's determined to do anything to win Raquel back. All Kris wants for Christmas is for his uncle to move back to Winter Wonderland to be the first gay Santa. To make that happen Kris needs to win the Race, his grade's annual competition to see who can get a guest to fall in love with them first. Winning means a trip to New York, where Kris would be able to plead his uncle's case to the founder of Winter Wonderland himself. After some slippery ice sends Aaron and Kris literally flopping into each other, Kris agrees to help Aaron with his plan to keep Casey single. But in all their scheming, both can't stop thinking about kissing the other, and it's not just because of the mistletoe around every corner. Too bad true love isn't on either of their Christmas lists...--
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Blame it on the Mistletoe
by Beth Garrod
When Holly switches places with Elle, her favorite social media influencer, for Christmas, she finds the holiday filled with surprises, especially when she meets Elle's handsome twin brother, while Elle gets more followers—and more than she bargained for.
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How to Excavate a Heart
by Jake Maia Arlow
Snowy weather and fish fossils help bring together two Jewish college freshmen spending winter break in Washington, D.C.
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Snowglobe
by Soyoung Park
Given the opportunity to enter Snowglobe, the last place on Earth that's warm, where its residents, in exchange for fame, fortune and safety, broadcast their lives 24/7 to the less fortunate outside, Chobahm discovers reality is a lie--and the truth is out of reach--
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No Rules Tonight: A Graphic Novel
by Kim Hyun Sook
Set in dictatorial South Korea in 1984, this novel follows a group of teens who experience a taste of freedom on a winter retreat with no parental supervision.
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