Welcome to another brand-new month (and a brand-new calendar year)! December was a bit of a dead month for publishing, so I didn’t bother sharing any releases to look forward to. For this list of January 2024 new middle grade books, we have a whopping 13 titles to discuss, dissect, and anticipate. I’m proud to have read all but two on this list, and I’m eager to share my thoughts with you. I’d also love to know if there’s any specific information you’d like about each book when I make these lists. If I can include them, I’d be happy to help! I’ve organized the books in order of their release date for your convenience and starred my favorites this month.
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13 New Middle Grade Books Out in January 2024
Here are 13 new middle grade books to look out for in January 2024:
Chasing Stars
Published: January 1, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 160 pp | Age 8+
In this slim new release, Libby’s family tries to adjust to quickly changing circumstances after her granddad with dementia comes to live with them. Libby’s father becomes his caretaker, leaving her mom to become the family’s breadwinner. Soon, her parents announce that Libby’s sister Erica will have to go to boarding school to make room in their house. The news and constant changes, as well as Erica growing up, create a divide between the sisters, leaving Libby feeling lonely. I loved the storytelling in this book, the warm family scenes, and the relatable strife between the sisters. I just wish the resolution was more satisfying. Younger readers ages 8-10 who love sibling stories, books about astronomy, and stories about financial challenges may like this one.
The Misfits #1: A Royal Conundrum
Published: January 2, 2024 | Adventure | 288 pp | Age 8+
Olive Cobin Zang seems to keep running into trouble despite trying hard to be invisible. Her parents are always traveling, so after her grandmother dies, her mom drops her off at a school for reforming arts. At first, Olive is despondent, wondering whether she’ll ever find her place, but soon she finds a tribe of kids she clicks with, and they learn that they’re being recruited as secret agents (not spies!) to help fight crime. But just when Olive is getting comfortable, she learns that the school is going to be shut down, and she and her friends must band together to save the day. On the surface, this sounds like City Spies, but it’s not as fast-paced and features more quirky characters. I think the illustrations are a nice touch for younger readers (ages 8-10) and kids who like eccentric spy stories may enjoy this one.
Light and Air ⭐️
Published: January 2, 2024 | Historical Fiction | 208 pp | Age 8+
As a non-fan of historical fiction, I was pleasantly surprised by this debut middle grade novel. Set in 1930s New York, where a tuberculosis epidemic is raging, it follows Halle, whose mother is diagnosed with the disease and sent off to JN Adams Sanatarium in Perrysburg. There, everyone, including people of all races, is welcome, and patients are treated with exposure to light and air. Soon, Halle ends up there to treat pneumonia. This book is accessible, plain-spoken, and truly written for kids without dumbing down or info dumping. The characters are richly drawn, and the subject matter is intriguing and rarely explored in books for kids. It’s impressive that the author has created a book all about tuberculosis with a rich, moving, adventurous, and tender plot balancing friendship, family, mystery, and history all at once.
The Unbeatable Lily Hong
Published: January 2, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 304 pp | Age 8+
Lily Hong is an exuberant middle schooler with dreams of becoming a filmmaker and the top student in her class. The only person in her way? Fellow student, Max, whose ideas teachers seem to prefer over hers. On top of that, the community center where her parents run Chinese classes is at risk of getting closed, a fundraiser seems to be the only way to save it. Lily has to juggle making her film with practicing for a Lion Dance performance for the fundraising gala. Imagine her discontent when Max shows up and wants to be a part of the performance. This was a fun read, although Lily was a tad too dramatic a character for me. I think kids who like stories about Chinese culture and community activism will enjoy this.
Break
Published: January 2, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 224 pp | Age 8+
This one, I haven’t read yet, but having enjoyed all the books in the Click series, I’m looking forward to this installment. It’s all about Olive and her brother spending time with their dad after their parents’ divorce and navigating her feelings about his previous abandonment while trying to restore their relationship.
Shark Teeth ⭐️
Published: January 16, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 304 pp | Age 9+
Winston’s newest novel is about Sharkita, whose alcoholic mom is on her last chance to mother Kita, Lamar, and Lily. Kita is anxious a lot about whether her mother’s well-being streak will end and when they’ll be shipped off again to foster homes, separated from each other. After having been teased for years about her hyperdontia, the arrival of a new assistant school principal brings light into Kita’s life until her mother goes off the rails again. This felt like Lasagna Means I Love You but more intense at times, with plenty going on for Kita, including a crush, baton twirling, writing poetry, and dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. It does have a slower start, and I only got into it about 30% of the way, but when I did was invested. A superb new release about sibling bonds, mother wounds, body image issues, and breaking generational trauma, this is Winston’s best work yet.
K Is in Trouble
Published: January 16, 2024 | Dystopian Fiction | 224 pp | Age 10+
This is such an eccentric collection of stories in graphic format, all about a boy named K. K tries to do everything right (almost to a fault), but keeps getting into trouble and having these strange experiences, like a bird attack. It feels a bit like Matilda or Leeva at Last but with less cheer and delight. It’s not my cup of tea, and I think it will have polarizing responses. I appreciate the inventiveness, and if you’re an adult reader who likes Kafka or dark humor, you might enjoy this, too. I’m curious to see if any kids actually like it!
Maybe It’s a Sign ⭐️
Published: January 23, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 240 pp | Age 9+
I really liked this one. Freya’s doting dad was really into Chinese superstitions until he died suddenly several months ago. Now a 7th grader, Freya lives by the same superstitions her dad did as a way to keep him close. But when they start to impact her ability to live a full life, she has to reconsider how much control she’s giving them and in what other ways she’s holding onto old hobbies and interests to stay close to him. Freya has a great group of friends, and this story also features a budding rivals-to-romance subplot, lots of cooking scenes, and a realistic look at sibling relationships in a family reeling from grief. Although this isn’t the most fast-paced story, it’s engaging, and I think young readers who like family and friends stories with a touch of romance will like it.
Amil and the After
Published: January 23, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 272 pp | Age 8+
This highly anticipated sequel to The Night Diary has a totally different feel from the first novel. It’s told from Nisha’s brother Amil’s perspective as the family tries to settle down in India. Amil isn’t much of a writer and prefers drawing as his storytelling medium. This slice-of-life book felt much slower to me and seems better for a younger middle grade audience (ages 8-10) as Amil’s voice skews younger, and the illustrations will encourage younger readers. While not as much a hit for me, I hope it finds its set of readers.
Between Two Brothers ⭐️
Published: January 23, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 352 pp | Age 10+
Brothers Seth and Isaiah (aka Ice Pic) love each other and live on a farm where Ice does most of the farm work. He loves photography and wants to be a veterinarian. His brother, Seth, runs track and has won a scholarship to college, so Ice feels pressure to make their last year at home together memorable. This year, Ice also wants to kick his shyness to the curb, especially now that he’s a member of the Yearbook team and has been befriended by an expressive girl named Zurie. But when a tragic accident results in brain damage for Seth, Ice turns all his focus to helping him recover despite a bleak prognosis. This is a truly heartrending, fast-paced story about a Christian family in crisis (inspired by the author’s experience). There’s lots of great dialogue, warm male relationships, and plenty of information about recovering from a brain injury. While it could have been shorter, I think this is great for sensitive kids (especially boys) who are looking for more male representation, farm kid representation, or small community stories with a cute romance side plot.
The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival
Published: January 23, 2024 | Graphic Memoir | 272 pp | Age 10+
A free, full life becomes full of fear and challenges when the Nazis invade Enia’s (Estelle’s) home in Borek, Poland. Enia’s sister Sonjia and her dad are separated from the family soon after, and their mother, Shia, and Mel, along with Enia, have to hide under a Gentile’s roof for over a year until her mother dies. Eventually, Enia and one of her brothers flee Poland to Hungary and, from there, get the chance to move to New York, where Estelle is adopted by an American family, relocating to California. I really liked the cute graphics in this one and the candid, warm storytelling that I think will appeal to kids. This moving, fast-paced graphic memoir also sheds some light on the history of some Jews and their choice to relocate to then-British Occupied Palestine, which makes for interesting, relevant history.
The Songbird and the Rambutan Tree
Published: January 23, 2024 | Historical Fiction | 320 pp | Age 10+
I’ve heard only good things about this new historical fiction set in 1940s Indonesia (a part of the world not often represented in kid lit) during the Japanese invasion. Emmy’s father plans to ship her off to England for her safety during the war, but a mistake sabotages her escape, leading her instead to become a prisoner-of-war, where she’ll need to fight to keep her will to survive.
Alterations
Published: January 30, 2024 | Realistic Fiction | 240 pp | Age 8+
It’s June 1994, and Kevin Lee is having a rough go at life. His parents are recently divorced and his dad is essentially absent from their lives. They live with their mom in the apartment above her alterations shop. His mom is always busy and rarely present for the kids because she’s trying to keep up with work as a single parent. Kevin’s Popo is fresh off the boat from mainland China and is now sharing their cramped apartment along with his sister Betty, with whom he shares a room. Kevin’s main escape is his imagination and his comics which he loves to read and draw. After a stinky incident with a centuries-old egg, his Popo makes him for lunch, and everyone at school starts teasing him and calling him egg boy, much to his dismay. Determined to change his image at their school field trip to Thrill Planet, he sneaks onto the most dangerous ride in the park with surprising results. This one was a mixed bag for me. Parts of it felt repetitive and slow, but sometimes Kevin and especially his Popo were really funny, and I loved their interactions. There were also a lot of interesting musings about what it was like to be Chinese Canadian in the 90s and lots of wacky imaginative scenes that some boys might love.
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There they are: my picks of the new middle grade books releasing in Janury 2024! Which of these sound fun to you? Which ones have you already read and enjoyed? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Crystal L Allen says
Afoma, Happy New Year, and thank you for reviewing, BETWEEN TWO BROTHERS! Your review was on point, and I hope more readers have an opportunity to enjoy it. Much love. Crystal
afomaumesi says
Oh, thank you, Crystal! Such a beautiful book 🙂 You’re welcome
ilovebooks1464 says
Thank you for making this list, Afoma!! I’m a big fan of your website, which helps me know about good books and the reading age (very very helpful this can be hard to find sometimes)! This list let me know about the new Sherri Winston book, which I will definitely be checking out (I’m a fan of hers, especially after she wrote Lotus Bloom), and The Songbird and the Rambutan Tree looks amazing! Thank you for putting so much work and dedication into this website!
afomaumesi says
Hi! This comment makes me so happy. Thank you 🙂 And yes, I do love Winston’s writing. Have you read THE BRAID GIRLS? It’s good too. And yes, I can’t wait to read RAMBUTAN! 🙂
ilovebooks1464 says
I love The Braid Girls!