Wendelin Van Draanen Books in Order

Carolyn is a stubborn tomboy who would rather spy on neighbors and play in the mud than fit anyone's idea of a proper girl. As her family changes and sixth grade approaches, she starts rethinking what girlhood can mean.

Sammy spots a hotel burglary through binoculars, but no one believes her. To prove she's telling the truth, she digs into the case while juggling middle school drama and life with her grandmother at the Heavenly Hotel.

A Halloween outing turns creepy when Sammy and her friends stumble into a real crime. Rumors, disguises, and a haunted house push her toward a mystery that is darker than it first looks.

A Christmas parade, a missing girl, and a dognapped Pomeranian drop Sammy into a messy holiday case. Blackmail, grudges, and neighborhood secrets make this one personal fast.

While helping at a soup kitchen, Sammy learns that a girl her age is living on the streets. Between that mystery and a dirty softball rivalry, she starts seeing how much trouble can hide in plain sight.

A spooky trip outside town lands Sammy and her friends in the middle of an old feud, a suspicious fire, and rumors of hidden gold. The deeper she digs, the stranger Moustache Mary's world gets.

Juli Baker falls hard for Bryce Loski the moment he moves in across the street. Told from both perspectives, this warm, funny story tracks how first impressions, family, and growing up can turn a crush upside down.

Sammy heads to Hollywood hoping to learn the truth about her mother. Instead she walks into a murder investigation where ambition, old lies, and family pain are tangled together.

When a terrified teen thrusts a bag at Sammy, she discovers there is a baby inside. Soon she is dodging gang trouble and trying to protect both mother and child before Snake Eyes finds them.

A stolen painting turns Sammy's latest case into a collision of art scams, danger, and school drama. She has to sort real talent from fraud while facing Heather and a growing crush.

Rusty and Joey spend one unforgettable summer pulling pranks, dodging trouble, and testing how strong a friendship can be. It starts funny, then digs into the kind of choices that leave a mark.

Now that Shredderman is a local hero, Nolan takes on a spray-paint vandal who is tagging the whole town. The trouble is, someone wants to frame Shredderman and expose Nolan's secret.

Cats keep disappearing, Sammy's mother brings bad news, and a mysterious wrestler-in-training seems to know more than he says. Personal upheaval and a strange animal case crash together in classic Sammy style.

Fifth grader Nolan Byrd is tired of being bullied by Bubba Bixby. Using brains, courage, and a secret website, he invents Shredderman and fights back in a way that finally makes people pay attention.

Shredderman has gone national, and Nolan loves it until reporters start hunting for the kid behind the mask. When he stumbles onto what looks like a spy ring, he has to decide whether being a hero is worth losing his secret.

Nolan finally meets the star of his favorite superhero show, but celebrity life looks a lot uglier up close. To help the boy actor dodge a slimy reporter, Shredderman dives into another truth-and-justice mission.

After a prank goes wrong, everyone blames Heather for something Sammy secretly caused. While wrestling with whether to confess, Sammy uncovers a bigger mystery involving an older woman and land everyone wants.

After fleeing abusive foster care, twelve-year-old Holly heads for Los Angeles on her own. Her journal-like story follows the danger, loneliness, and fierce determination it takes to survive on the street.

A camping trip turns dangerous when Sammy and her friends get lost in rough country. Snakes, scorpions, and a condor poacher make survival and sleuthing happen at the same time.

After her father's affair blows up her family, Evangeline decides the perfect kiss might fix everything. Her search is funny and messy, but it slowly turns into a deeper story about music, heartbreak, and figuring out who she is.

Sammy scares a stranger to death by accident, then ends up with a stash of cash people are willing to chase her for. Summer fun vanishes fast when free money turns deadly.

When Dave's science teacher disappears, the replacement teacher looks suspicious from the start. To save the real teacher, Dave and Sticky have to sneak past disguises, lies, and Damien Black's mansion again.

Trying to stop a bank heist, Dave and Sticky wind up beneath Damien Black's mansion. Sewers, traps, and a very bad red door make this a goofy superhero adventure with real stakes.

Damien Black wants his magic wristband back, and this time he is after super strength. Dave and Sticky race to intercept a dangerous potion before their worst enemy becomes even harder to stop.

Dave Sanchez learns that the gecko behind his bookcase can talk, and that a magic wristband can make him invisible, strong, or able to fly. Then Sticky drags him into a dangerous mission against Damien Black.

Threats against the school's most hated teacher pull Sammy into a suspect-filled mystery just as wedding chaos takes over her life. Between bridesmaid duties and boy trouble, she still has to catch who means real harm.

A zombie costume outing leads Sammy into graveyards, skulls, and people who are hiding something around Halloween. Spooky fun gives way to a smart mystery about death, culture, and what gets buried.

Jessica lives to run until an accident takes her lower leg and seems to end her future on the track. Friendship, rehab, and hard-earned hope help her imagine a new kind of finish line.

A self-styled superhero on a dirt bike wants Sammy as his sidekick, but crime seems worse since he arrived. Sammy investigates whether Justice Jack is helping the town or making everything messier.

Sammy and her newly found father board a cruise that turns into a locked-room style mystery at sea. Codes, suspects, and greed make it hard to tell who on board can be trusted.

A trip to Las Vegas forces long-buried family questions into the open. With Elvis impersonators, casinos, and nonstop chaos around her, Sammy chases answers and a new mystery at the same time.

In the final Sammy Keyes mystery, Sammy is suddenly the one in real danger. As familiar faces return, she has to put everything she has learned to work for one last case.

Lincoln keeps his home life secret, especially the fact that he spends time at the memory-care facility where his mother works. Through stories in his notebook and new friendships, he begins to let people see the real him.

Wren's parents send her to a wilderness therapy camp after her choices spin out of control. Stripped of distractions and excuses, she has to survive the desert and face the parts of herself she has been trying to outrun.

Part memoir and part writing guide, this book mixes Van Draanen's own path to publication with practical advice for young writers. It is full of honest encouragement, from building characters to sticking with the work.

Set in California after World War II, this historical novel brings together three young women from very different backgrounds. Their friendships, family struggles, and stand for fairness turn into a story about courage and equality.

Leda blames gravity for every tumble, spill, and classroom disaster in her day. A funny science lesson, and a visit to a museum, help her see that the force pulling her down is also what holds the world together.

Fourteen-year-old chess whiz Ruby Vossen thinks her stepfamily is scheming for the family fortune, and the strange accidents around the estate make it hard to shrug off. This is a twisty YA mystery about money, loyalty, and survival.