Unfortunately, as kids get older, it seems there are fewer engaging book series for them. For this post, I’ve hunted down almost 20 of the best book series for 13 year olds. If your 13 year old loves to read and is constantly burning a hole through their library card, these series will them booked and busy.
You’ll find everything from a spy-adventure series, to graphic novel series, romance series, friendship series, and even one non-fiction option — all perfect for older kids! If you want more options or have an advanced tween reader, check out these book series for teens.
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15+ Best Book Series for 13 Year Olds
Here are 15+ of the best book series for 13 year olds:
City Spies
5 books in series
Published: March 10, 2020
Twelve-year old Sara Martinez is a hacker bouncing from foster home to foster home in Brooklyn, New York. After getting arrested for hacking into the NYC foster care system to expose her foster parents as criminals, she meets a man named Mother who is not a lawyer but convinces her to take on her case. Mother somehow wins and Sara gets released only to join a team of kid spies operating out of a base in Scotland.
James Ponti’s City Spies is an exciting mystery/adventure series that both kids and adults can enjoy. If you enjoy middle-grade mysteries with a side of adventure and friendship, you’ll love City Spies.
New Kid
3 companion titles
Published: February 5, 2019
This one is actually a set of three companion graphic novel titles about kids in a mostly-white private school. New Kid is the first book (and a Newbery winner). Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.
As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds—and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
Friendship List
4 books in the series
Published: August 6, 2019
It’s the first day of middle school and Kaylan and her effortlessly chill BFF, Arianna, have a fool-proof plan for tackling transitions: a list of eleven things they need to do to totally transform themselves before they both turn twelve in November. I love that this series grows with the girls until they’re almost 14! If your 13-year-old like stories about tween romance, friendships, and crushes, this is the one for them!
Horrible Histories
39 books in the series
Published: January 1, 2003
Horrible Histories’ Secret Diaries are the perfect introduction to important figures from history. Fully illustrated throughout and told from the character’s (sometimes delusional) point of view, each diary reveals the (quite likely) inner workings of their minds during the events that shaped their lives. Each of its diaries is the perfect introduction to a pivotal era in British History, brilliantly immersive and sure to capture the imagination!
Zoe Washington Series
2 books in series
Published: January 14, 2020
Zoe Washington is a moving, true-to-life middle-grade novel series that highlights just how potent perseverance can be — even when you’re just twelve. Twelve-year-old Zoe Washington’s summer is off to a rough start. She’s not speaking to one of her best friends, for one. Her other best friend is away at summer camp and the third one has moved away. But things get more complicated when she finds a letter in the mail from her incarcerated birth father. As she starts to write to Marcus, Zoe realizes that things might not be so black and white — not with her friend Trevor, and certainly not with Marcus. This one has a fun sequel too.
The Hunger Games
3 books in series
Published: September 14, 2008
Luckily, Kaylan and her effortlessly chill BFF, Arianna, have a fool-proof plan for tackling transitions: a list of eleven things they need to do to totally transform themselves before they both turn twelve in November.
But between making guy friends, getting detention (and makeovers!), helping humanity, and having super-candid conversations with their moms about their flaws, the first 100 days of school turn out worse than Kaylan ever imagined. Kaylan and Ari forget to focus on their friendship and soon their loyalty to the list—what was meant to help them keep it together—becomes the very thing tearing their lives apart.
Alex Rider
12 books in series
Published: May 21, 2001
This is a much-loved series perfect for tweens and teens who love a good spy adventure. 14-year-old Alex Rider always thought his uncle died in an accident. But when he finds his uncle’s windshield riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident. What he doesn’t know yet is that his uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission. But he is about to, and once he does, there is no turning back.
Finding himself in the middle of terrorists, Alex must outsmart the people who want him dead. The government has given him the technology, but only he can provide the courage. Should he fail, every child in England will be murdered in cold blood.
Charlie Thorne
3 books in series
Published: September 17, 2019
Decades ago, Albert Einstein devised an equation that could benefit all life on earth—or destroy it. Fearing what would happen if the equation fell into the wrong hands, he hid it.
But now, a diabolical group known as the Furies are closing in on its location. In desperation, a team of CIA agents drags Charlie into the hunt, needing her brilliance to find it first—even though this means placing her life in grave danger.
In a breakneck adventure that spans the globe, Charlie must crack a complex code created by Einstein himself, struggle to survive in a world where no one can be trusted, and fight to keep the last equation safe once and for all.
The Vanderbeekers
7 books in the series
Published: September 17, 2019
This is a fantastic, warm story about a family living in a Harlem brownstone. There are five kids, some pets, and a grouchy neighbor with more beneath his grumpy personality. I LOVED this so much that I preordered the sequel immediately after I finished reading it. Perfect for readers of all ages.
Front Desk
5 books in the series
Published: May 29, 2018
Mia Tang is a ten-year-old Chinese immigrant who lives in a motel with her parents in the 1980s. They run the motel for it’s crooked owner, Mr Yao. Mia runs the front desk and enjoys it. Mia is such a diligent, smart and kind girl. She has a big heart and is not afraid to do hard work. I loved this debut by Kelly Yang. It deals with heavier topics like racism, class prejudice, the value of diligence, and the struggles of immigrants in a dignified way that kids can relate to.
The Mysterious Benedict Society
4 books in the series
Published: March 7, 2007
“Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” Dozens of children respond to this peculiar newspaper ad and are then put through a series of mind-bending tests, which readers take along with them. Only four children—two boys and two girls—succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and inventive children could complete.
To accomplish it, they will have to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules. But what they’ll find in the hidden underground tunnels of the school is more than your average school supplies. So, if you’re gifted, creative, or happen to know Morse Code, they could probably use your help.
Bookish Boyfriends
4 books in the series
Published: May 1, 2018
Merrilee Campbell, 16, thinks boys are better in books, chivalry is dead, and there’d be nothing more romantic than having just one guy woo her like the heroes in classic stories. She’s about to get the chance to test these daydreams when she, her best friend, Eliza, and her younger sister, Rory, transfer into Reginald R. Hero High, where all their fantasies come true–often with surprising consequences.
This is a really cute young YA series with a few kissing scenes, little to no language, and lots of swooning. My favorite is the second book in the series which I reviewed here. All four books are Jane Austen retellings, and the last book in the series is a male-male romance.
Scarlett and Browne Series
2 books in the series
Publish: October 5, 2021
Scarlett McCain is a shoot-first ask-questions-later kind of outlaw. She scrapes by on bank heists, her wits—and never looking back. She’s on the run from her latest crime when she comes across Albert Browne. He is the sole survivor of a horrific accident, and against her better judgement, Scarlett agrees to guide him to safety.
This is a mistake. Soon there are men with dogs and guns and explosives hot on their heels. Scarlett’s used to being chased by the law, but this is extreme. It was only a little bank she’d robbed . . . As they flee together across the wilds, fighting off monstrous beasts, and dodging their pursuers, Scarlett comes to realize that Albert Browne is hiding a terrible secret. And that he may be the most dangerous threat of all.
The Mother-Daughter Book Club
7 books in the series
Published: April 24, 2007
Even if Megan would rather be at the mall, Cassidy is late for hockey practice, Emma’s already read every book in existence, and Jess is missing her mother too much to care, the new book club is scheduled to meet every month.
But what begins as a mom-imposed ritual of reading Little Women soon helps four unlikely friends navigate the drama of middle school. From stolen journals, to secret crushes, to a fashion-fiasco first dance, the girls are up to their Wellie boots in drama. They can’t help but wonder: What would Jo March do?
Tristan Strong
3 books in the series
Published: October 15, 2019
Seventh grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he’s going to spend on his grandparents’ farm in Alabama, where he’s being sent to heal from the tragedy. But on his first night there, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie’s notebook. Tristan chases after it–is that a doll?–and a tug-of-war ensues between them underneath a Bottle Tree.
In a last attempt to wrestle the journal out of the creature’s hands, Tristan punches the tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world. Tristan finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left black American folk heroes John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted. In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price. Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves?
Sal and Gabi
2 books in the series
Published: March 5, 2019
When Sal Vidon meets Gabi Real for the first time, it isn’t under the best of circumstances. Sal is in the principal’s office for the third time in three days, and it’s still the first week of school. Gabi, student council president and editor of the school paper, is there to support her friend Yasmany, who just picked a fight with Sal. She is determined to prove that somehow, Sal planted a raw chicken in Yasmany’s locker, even though nobody saw him do it and the bloody poultry has since mysteriously disappeared.
Sal prides himself on being an excellent magician, but for this sleight of hand, he relied on a talent no one would guess . . . except maybe Gabi, whose sharp eyes never miss a trick. When Gabi learns that he’s capable of conjuring things much bigger than a chicken–including his dead mother–and she takes it all in stride, Sal knows that she is someone he can work with. There’s only one slight problem: their manipulation of time and space could put the entire universe at risk.
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
3 books in the series
Published: February 4, 2020
British teen Pippa Fitz-Amobi who’s decided to do her senior capstone project on a local murder case that was closed 5 years ago. Five years ago, high schooler Andie Bell went missing and her boyfriend Sal Singh sent his father a text admitting to the crime, after which he was found in what seemed like an apparent suicide. But Pip doesn’t buy it.
With the help of Sal’s younger brother, Ravi, she investigates the events surrounding Andie’s disappearance and Sal’s murder. But the culprit won’t let her find the truth so easily. Can Pippa hack the crime? This is a fun series and the audiobook is excellent — feels like a crime podcast. There’s no language and maybe one kissing scene (squeaky clean). There is some mention of a relationship between a teen and her teacher, though and a side character is gay.
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There they are: 15+ of the best book series for 13 year olds! Which of these have you read and loved? What did I miss?
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- The best upper middle grade books for kids ages 11-14
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