AHH, the end of year lists continue — this time with my list of best middle-grade books in 2020! As you’ll notice in the post title, these are MY favorites out of the limited selection I read this year. Out of the 87 books I’ve read at this time, 57 were excellent middle-grade books. These 13 picks rose to the top for me. They were the books I could still remember vividly, books whose covers still evoke a warm feeling because the stories are so dear to my heart. Many of these books were stories I’ve never seen told in middle-grade literature, featured underrepresented themes in the genre or strong, unforgettable protagonists.
For each book, I’ll share a snippet of my review along with a link to full review, the book’s publication year, and the ages I would recommend them for. These are my top 13 middle-grade books of 2020 (all but one published this year)!
Afoma’s Best Middle-Grade Books of 2020
Things You Can’t Say
Best Middle-Grade Book About Parental Suicide
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 11 and up
- What to know about this book: Drew’s summer isn’t going great. Years after, he’s still dealing with his father’s suicide, and now the entry of a new man into his mother’s life. On top of that he’s having friendship challenges with his best friend, Felipe — and there’s a new girl in town who seems to be stealing all his shine at the library where he volunteers.
In case you couldn’t tell, I adored this book! It’s one of those books I quickly realized would be a struggle to review because all I want to do is gush and put this book in everyone’s hands. Another book with such a memorable protagonist and also about death and grief is The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise which I also adored. Things You Can’t Say is a thoughtful, realistic, and heartwarming (oh, so heartwarming) book about dealing with a parent’s suicide and changing friendships. If you’re looking for a book that emphasizes vulnerability in boy friendships, highlights cute sibling dynamics or set largely in a library, you’ll love this book!
More Boy Books for Middle Graders
Turning Point
Best Middle-Grade Book About Ballet
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 12 and up
- What to know about this book: This companion title (to So Done and Dough Boys) focuses on Mo and Sheeda’s friendship over the course of a summer. While Mo is at a ballet intensive with Mila, Sheeda tries to figure out how she feels about church and making new friends, while dealing with an incident of sexual harassment.
I adored this book. Turning Point by Paula Chase is a compulsively readable upper middle-grade book (more mature than the average but not quite YA) that explores a horde of important themes. This book handles everything from female friendships, body image, sexual harassment, religion, racial prejudice, to ballet, If you’re looking for a middle-grade book about ballet, I’d highly recommend this one. As at the time of this review, it’s the best I’ve read. Claire Swinarski’s What Happens Next features a ballerina, but she’s not the protagonist and there isn’t much about ballet in the book.
Efren Divided
Best Middle-Grade Book About Immigration
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 11 and up
- What to know about this book: Efren’s mother is an undocumented immigrant. After laying low for a long time, she eventually gets discovered and deported. Efren has to bear the brunt of family responsibilities — caring for his younger siblings while his father works overtime to raise money to bring his mother back.
I enjoyed this fantastic debut — especially because of how it ends. It highlights the challenges facing families of undocumented immigrants who must exist with parts of their hearts on the other side of the border. What a time it will be to see a world without borders. Despite being a heartrending portrayal of the lives of undocumented immigrants, Efrén Divided also emphasizes the power of community.
More Middle-Grade Books About Immigration Struggles
Keep It Together Keiko Carter
Best Middle-Grade Book About Female Friendship
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 12 and up
- What to know about this book: Keiko and her two BFFs Audrey and Jenna are back together after a summer apart, but Keiko is disappointed to see that something’s off between them. Eventually Jenna and Audrey’s friendship becomes too strained for them to hang out, leaving Keiko caught in the middle. Throw in family drama and a budding crush on Audrey’s brother and Keiko can’t seem to keep it all together.
Keep It Together, Keiko Carter is a strong middle-grade debut, perfect for anyone who enjoys middle-grade books about friendships. Parents and teachers who want to encourage their middle schoolers to stand up for themselves in the midst of a toxic friendship would do well to hand this book to them. At the end, it’s so important to learn that some friendships end, and that’s OK. Finally, it’s a breath of fresh air to read a book with a half-Japanese protagonist who deals with racism, but also just lives a normal life. I also loved that although Jenna’s on honor roll, Keiko is just a regular student; not all Asians are “geniuses.”
Ways to Make Sunshine
Best Early Middle-Grade Book
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 7 and up (under 200 pages!)
- What to know about this book: Ryan Hart is a bright girl who loves her friends and family. When her family runs into money issues and they have to move into a less expensive place, Ryan struggles a bit. But in time, she finds new ways to make sunshine, while learning about life, hair, friendships, and family — and cooking up a storm too!
Renee Watson’s Ways to Make Sunshine is an absolutely delightful early middle-grade book with a memorable protagonist. I would recommend this book to any who enjoy strong female leads, books about female friendships, and heartwarming sibling dynamics. This book also excellently handles the issue of a family dealing with financial difficulties, and finally, it reminds Black girls that they are not their hair. Highly recommend, and can’t wait for the next book in the series.
The Queen Bee and Me
Best Middle-Grade Book with STEM Connections
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 10 and up
- What to know about this book: Meg and Beatrix have been friends since kindergarten, with Meg basically doing whatever Beatrix wants the duo to do. Things change when a new girl, Hazel moves into town. Hazel is unapologetically her whimsical, sometimes-eccentric self, which disturbs Beatrix. She can’t handle it when Meg and Hazel begin a tentative friendship, and Meg has to decide what she’s willing to stand for.
If you’re looking for an immersive, complex book about middle-school (and adult) female friendships with a side of science and teaching kindness and empathy, this is for you. The Queen and Bee and Me is an engaging, realistic portrayal of how toxic a friendship can become (much like in Keiko Carter) and how important it is for young girls to recognize and remove themselves from such situations. This one will take you all the way back to middle-school. Love, love, and highly recommend. The audiobook (which I listened to) is fantastic.
The Amelia Six
Best Middle-Grade Mystery
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 9 and up
- What to know about this book: Six clever girls and Amelia Earhart fans get caught up in a mystery when they win a sleepover at Earhart’s home. Full of hijinks, girl power, and an immersive mystery.
The Amelia Six is a clever, girl-powered mystery that is perfect for Amelia Earhart fans (and non fans alike). Featuring a band of six whip-smart, witty girls; a pair of missing aviator goggles; one pet rat; and a cat, among others, this middle-grade story will keep any reader glued to its pages. If you’re looking for a cozy mystery featuring strong female protagonists, a scavenger hunt, and plenty of action, this is the one for you!
We Dream of Space
Best Middle-Grade Historical Fiction
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 10 and up
- What to know about this book: Cash, Bird, and Fitch are siblings dealing with individual challenges in the 1980’s. Bird is sweet, sensitive and space-obsessed. Cash struggles with his self-esteem after having to be held back a grade, and Fitch is dealing with obvious anger issues. Set against the background of the Challenger Shuttle disaster, these three siblings cope with family and school issues, while finding their way back to each other.
We Dream of Space is the first book I’ve read by Erin Entrada Kelly, and I’m ready to read more of her work. This character-driven slice-of-life novel shows how different families can be, addresses the struggles of navigating sibling relationships, and highlights what difference an enthusiastic teacher can make. More importantly, it is an ode to the Challenger Shuttle Disaster of 1986 and middle-grade historical fiction like this can teach not just history, but also a lot of empathy.
City Spies
Best Middle-Grade Adventure
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 9 and up
- What to know about this book: Five kids go on a spy mission in Paris! Plenty of spy action, hacking, friendship, and global adventure from New York to Scotland, to Paris.
James Ponti’s City Spies #1 is an excellent start to an exciting mystery series that both kids and adults can enjoy. Taking readers from New York to Scotland and Paris, this story makes for an engaging experience. Major props for featuring a racially diverse cast of characters who leap off the page and whose realistic, humorous banter will keep readers turning the pages. If you enjoy middle-grade mysteries with a side of adventure and friendship, you’ll love City Spies #1. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.
Stick with Me
Best Middle-Grade Book With Two Narrators
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 9 and up
- What to know about this book: Wren and Izzy form an unlikely friendship when Wren and her family rent Izzy’s house for a week while her sister gets treatment for epilepsy. The girls have to deal with bullying, family issues, and figuring out who they want to be.
Jennifer Blecher’s Stick with Me is a heartwarming middle-grade book about finding friendship in unexpected places. This sophomore novel explores female friendships, bullying in middle school, life with a sick sibling, and pursuing artistic passions and a love for ice skating. Readers who enjoy family-centered novels and books featuring strong female protagonists will enjoy this one.
The Thing About Leftovers
Best Backlist Title Read in 2020
- Publication year: 2016
- Recommended for ages: 9 and up
- What to know about this book: Fizzy is caught in two blended families where she feels like the leftover kid. Her dad is newly remarried and expecting his first baby in the new marriage. Fizzy is wary of her mom’s neat-freak boyfriend, and her only solace is cooking. She is grateful when she enters the Southern Living cook-off and starts to make new friends who show her that family comes in different shapes and sizes.
Divorce is never fun, especially for kids who either feel abandoned or caught in the middle. Thankfully, books like this one exist to make such children feel somewhat less alone. The Thing About Leftovers is a sweet, moving, and scrumptious delight of a book! I’m delighted to have discovered C.C. Payne’s enrapturing storytelling style, and I’m eager to read more of her writing. If you’re on the hunt for a book that examines the adjustment period for children of divorce or those adjusting to a blended family, this is a fantastic choice. I would also highly recommend it to lovers of books about food.
Twins
Best Middle-Grade Book About Sisters
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 8 and up
- What to know about this book: This graphic novel follows identical twins Maureen and Francine as they navigate sixth grade and school politics while trying to find their individual identities.
Varian Johnson’s new graphic novel is simply a delight! I loved following Maureen and Francine — and am really hoping we get a few more books about them. I would love to follow them all the way to high school! Twins is a sensitive look at the search for identity especially common for identical twins who want to be their own person while still preserving their unbreakable bond with their closest relative and friend. This book also highlights common middle school struggles, crushes, and navigating life in a blended family, but the main theme is the joy of sisterhood. I would highly recommend it to graphic novel lovers and rookies alike — it reads beautifully on an iPad too!
More Graphic Novels for Tweens
Measuring Up
Best Middle-Grade Book About Food
- Publication year: 2020
- Recommended for ages: 8 and up
- What to know about this book: Cici and her family move from Taiwan to the US, but they have to leave her A-ma (grandma) behind. Because it’s too expensive to bring A-ma over, Cici enters a cooking contest to raise some money. Throughout the process, she learns a lot about food, family, and friendships.
Measuring Up is an excellent feel-good, coming-of-age story which pays homage to the love between a granddaughter and her grandmother. This book also tackles themes like Asian culture, immigration, healthy female friendships, and of course, food. It will certainly appeal to Julia Child fans who enjoy middle-grade books about food or those who enjoy watching cooking contests. I loved this heartwarming debut, and would highly recommend.
If you’d like to find even more middle-grade book recommendations, I’d recommend checking out the middle-grade category on this blog. I review every middle-grade book I read, unless I did not enjoy it enough to leave a mostly positive review. No one needs more negative reviews unless I think their book was deeply problematic.
What about you? Which were your best middle-grade books of 2020? I’d love to hear your recommendations whether they were released in 2020 or they’re backlist titles.
Great suggestions! I’m adding a lot to my TBR list! Thanks 🙂
Great list! I think my fav was Isaiah Dunn is My Hero …..but I haven’t read any of these. I think Isaiah would fit brilliantly on this list!
I’ve heard so many good things about that one! I hope to get to it soon. SO MANY BOOKS!
Right?! So little time to read them all! I still have Ghost on my radar!
I read a LOT of MG, and I have only read one of these. I see I have some work to do. I think you should add The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise to this list. It’s terrific. Thanks for the post.
Ahh I loved COYOTE, it was on my list last year when I read it. Thanks for reading!
Great list! Love reading your thoughts on why each of these are stand out titles. I don’t read nearly as much contemporary MG as you, but I was also impressed by the one title on this list I have read (Efren Divided). My favourite 2020 MG release is The Girl and the Ghost by Hanna Alkaf. Very much so speculative fiction, but a powerful story about how a friendship can be affected by jealousy.
Love your list and award names! I loved Efren, too, especially the ending.
Hi Janice! Thank you and thanks for reading! And yes, that ending!