How old are upper middle grade protagonists? A running list of published titles

• Siobhan O'Brien Holmes
• 2 comments

One of the most common mistakes I see in clients’ manuscripts is a main character who is too young or old for the intended audience – middle-aged protagonists in YA, preschoolers in middle grade – and it’s one of the questions I’m asked the most when I give talks to writing groups: ‘How old is too old?’ ‘How young is too young?’ I’ve talked a lot on the blog about publishing conventions and reader expectations associated with middle grade and YA fiction and the advice always comes down to this: readers want to read about characters roughly their own age.

But this can be tricky when the age range you’re writing for spans several years!

So, let’s narrow it down. Are you writing lower middle grade or upper middle grade? Lower MG is generally aimed at children at the younger end of the middle grade spectrum, even crossing over slightly with the chapter book audience, so they’ll typically be between 7 and 10. That means lower middle grade protagonists will be about the same age, most often around 9 or 10.

Upper middle grade targets the older readers from about 10-12 (but of course there’s crossover and older children will sometimes read lower MG and younger children will sometimes read upper MG) and the main characters are most often about 12.

Let’s illustrate those average numbers with real world examples.

The below list features titles I would categorise as upper middle grade and I’ll keep it updated with new books I read. I hope this will eventually become a valuable resource that can give you a rough idea of the middle grade market when it comes to character ages if you’re unsure about your own protagonist and need a helpful nudge. Always remember when researching conventions and trends in kidlit to look at recently published novels as this will give you a far clearer picture of the current market and reader expectations.

Please note: this isn’t a rule set in stone! Just because most upper middle grade characters are 12, it doesn’t mean yours has to be. Don’t think you need to rewrite your entire manuscript because your protagonist is a year old or younger than the norm. Just use this as a guide.

Upper middle grade novels and the age of their main characters:

10 years old

• Wonder by R. J. Palacio
• Front Desk by Kelly Yang

11 years old

• In the Beautiful Country by Jane Kuo
• Five Things About Ava Andrews by Margaret Dilloway
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
• Starfish by Lisa Fipps
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
• Demelza and the Spectre Detectors by Holly Rivers
• The Weather Weaver by Tamsin Mori
• Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
• The Magic in Changing Your Stars by Leah Henderson
• Take Back the Block by Chrystal D. Giles
• The Ash House by Angharad Walker
• Jungledrop by Abi Elphinstone

12 years old

• Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
• Wildspark by Vashti Hardy
• Emmy in the Key of Code by Aimee Lucido
• The Haunting of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes
• The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller
• Roll With It by Jamie Sumner
• Payback on Poplar Lane by Margaret Mincks
• The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
• New Kid by Jerry Craft
• Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon
• Brighstorm by Vashti Hardy
• What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie
• The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
• Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh
• The First State Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
• Sing it Like Celia by Mónica Mancillas
• Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
• The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
• The Line Tender by Kate Allen
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• Pax by Sara Pennypacker
• The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga
• Starlet Rivals by Puneet Bhandal
• Just Keep Walking by Erin Soderberg Downing
• Chasing Stars by Meg Gaertner
• Lost Kites and Other Treasures by Cathy Carr
• Dancing in the Storm by Amie Darnell Specht and Shannon Hitchcock
• Averill Offline by Amy Noelle Parks
• Finding Normal by Stephanie Faris
• Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus
• South of Somewhere by Kalena Miller
• The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler
• Soul Lanterns by Shaw Kuzki

13 years old

• Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi
• Agatha Oddly by Lena Jones
• Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens
• Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca