Middle Grade Books with Toxic/Dysfunctional Friendships (11 books)

This list features middle grade books (ages 8-12) about children dealing with toxic friendships. Most of these stories are focused on the character's journey of letting go and moving on from dysfunctional friends.

All too often, kids are told to put on a brave face when dealing with toxic friends or they are gaslit because they were "just joking" but it is important to help kids identify moments when their friends are disrespecting them and when to let go and foster better friendships with new people.

I do not count books where good best friends have a breakup and makeup situation. This list is about letting go of bad friends.

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1	Sleepovers by Jacqueline Wilson 3.70 avg rating — 7,907 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
1	Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows (Goodreads Author) 4.37 avg rating — 1,390 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Vicky Angel by Jacqueline Wilson 3.63 avg rating — 15,616 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Out of My Mind (Out of My Mind, #1) by Sharon M. Draper (Goodreads Author) 4.34 avg rating — 189,157 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Bad Girls by Jacqueline Wilson 3.61 avg rating — 10,083 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Take It from the Top by Claire Swinarski (Goodreads Author) 4.03 avg rating — 541 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Girls Under Pressure (Girls, #2) by Jacqueline Wilson 3.68 avg rating — 10,732 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen (Goodreads Author) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 126,751 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	It Happened to Anna by Tehlor Kay Mejia (Goodreads Author) 3.58 avg rating — 440 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Bras & Broomsticks (Magic in Manhattan, #1) by Sarah Mlynowski (Goodreads Author) 3.73 avg rating — 9,858 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Wonder (Wonder, #1) by R.J. Palacio 4.36 avg rating — 1,198,139 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars