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Reading Middle Grade

Books for Kids and Grown Ups

  • Book Reviews
    • Picture book
    • Middle-Grade Book Reviews
    • Graphic Novels
    • Young Adult
    • Adult Fiction
    • Adult Non-Fiction
  • Book Lists
    • Picture Books
    • Middle Grade Books
    • Book Lists by Theme
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  • Join My Newsletter!
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Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · April 5, 2022

Review | Shine On, Luz Véliz!

When Luz has to stop playing soccer after tearing her ACL, she feels a bit lost. No longer a soccer superstar, who is she? Worse still, her dad, who used to share her love for the sport, seems on eggshells around her. Soon though, Luz stumbles upon a new passion: coding, assisted by Mr. Mac, their elderly neighbor next door. But just as she’s finding her feet, a new family member, Solana, comes to stay with them. Solana’s visit upends Liz’s identity even more. But it may just bring more light into her life than she’s ever expected.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · February 22, 2022

Review | A Song Called Home

A Song Called Home is YA author Sara Zarr’s middle grade debut. It follows Lou as her mom remarries a man named Steve. Lou and her sister Casey have to move from the city to the suburbs to live with Steve, leaving behind their old schools and Lou’s best friend Beth Tsai. Forming this new family is hard on Lou and Casey for different reasons. Lou feels like she’s leaving their alcoholic father behind and Casey worries that Steve is being too nice and the “real Steve” will show up soon. On the day before their move (which is also Lou’s birthday) Lou finds a guitar right outside their old apartment addressed to her. Convinced it’s from her dad, she starts learning to play guitar to maintain that bond with him. As they all navigate the blending of their families, Lou learns about herself and what family truly means.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · September 21, 2021

Review | Violets Are Blue

12-year-old Wren lives with her mom after her parents’ divorce. Her dad has moved to New York City and married his lover (with whom he was unfaithful to her mother) who is now expecting twins. Wren is also a special effects makeup aficionado. Caught up in a new school, navigating new friendships, and balancing her relationships with her parents — whose relationship with each other is strained — Wren notices her mom has begun behaving strangely.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · June 23, 2021

Review | Every Missing Piece

Maddy Gaines is an anxious girl still coping with the grief of her father’s death — and also adjusting to her new stepfather. Home conditions are good: her mother is patient and reassuring, and she and her stepdad go on regular outings together by themselves. One day, Maddy sees on the news that a boy named Billy Holcomb has gone missing. Then several weeks after, she runs into another boy who looks a lot like Billy, except his hair is different and he’s taller than Billy was, and oh — his name is Eric.

Book Lists, Family, Middle Grade Books · May 4, 2021

Middle-Grade Books About Divorce, Separation, and Blended Families

50 Middle-Grade books about divorce, separation, or/and blended families. This list features novels and graphic novels by a variety of authors.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · May 3, 2021

Review | Glitter Gets Everywhere

Kitty Wentworth is grappling with the grief of losing her mother to lung cancer (even though she never smoked). Her older sister Imogen seems to be coping better and her dad just seems a bit lost. Thankfully, they have their grandmother and a baking enthusiast neighbor Ms. Allison to keep their moods up and care for them. Ms. Allison is also gearing up to start filming The Great British Bake-Off as a contestant. But Kitty’s world shifts when her father gets a work opportunity in New York and wants her and Imogen to move.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · April 29, 2021

Review | Bea Is for Blended

Bea Is for Blended is Lindsay Stoddard’s fourth middle grade novel. Bea’s mother has married her school arch-nemesis’s father. Bryce (her arch-nemesis) is friends with bullies in Bea’s class and they always make fun of her best friend Maximillian who’s on the autism spectrum. Now, as if it wasn’t bad enough that Bea and Bryce share the exact same birth date, now they’ll also share a house and blended family. In the past, it was always just Bea, her mother, and her grandmother — the Embers girls — and her mother’s friend, Aunt Tam. Now Bea has three step-brothers, two dogs, and a cat, and oh a new sibling on the way!

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · January 21, 2021

Review | Stella Diaz Dreams Big

Stella Diaz Dreams Big is the third book in the Stella Diaz series and Stella is finally in fourth grade! Her brother Nick is a high schooler, and both he and Stella are shocked by the volume of HOMEWORK they now have to do compared to what they did in their prior classes. Nick is also working part-time at a pizzeria and Stella’s fourth-grade goals have her signing up for several extracurriculars — and stretching herself thin.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · January 11, 2021

Review | Alone by Megan E. Freeman

Alone is Megan E. Freeman’s debut survival middle-grade novel in verse. It follows 12-year-old Maddie who gets abandoned by some twist of fate when her entire town is mysteriously evacuated. Left alone with no human in sight, she bonds with a Rottweiler named George who is one of many abandoned pets. Soon after, they lose power and then water and Maddie has to fend for herself using a variety of ingenious means and the town resources at her disposal, including an empty library, grocery store, and neighbors’ homes.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · December 28, 2020

Review | The Sea in Winter

The Sea in Winter is the story of 12-year-old ballet dancer Maisie Cannon who is recovering from a torn ACL. Maisie is Native American and part of a blended family; her mom remarried after her father’s death and she has a younger half-brother. With regard to her heritage, her mom is Makah, her father was Piscataway, and her stepfather, Jack, is from the Elwha Klallam Tribe.

Maisie is miserable because her two closest (and only) friends Eva and Hattie are also ballerinas and now that she isn’t dancing, it’s too difficult to maintain her friendships with them. She’s also struggling with how slowly she’s recovering and is a bit depressed in general because of how much she loves ballet how tightly woven into her identity it was.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · May 16, 2019

Review | Forever, or a Long, Long Time

Flora and Julian are siblings who’ve been in foster care for as long they both can remember. Now they’ve been adopted by Emily, who Flora refers to as [her] “Person” in her head. Emily’s new husband who has a daughter, Elena, from a previous marriage also adopts Flora and Julian. However, both kids carry obvious trauma from years of bouncing between different parents. They’re convinced that they weren’t born, and have different theories as to how they came to be. Flora struggles with verbalizing emotions, becoming non-verbal in periods of stress while Julian hoards food in his wardrobe, because of an ingrained fear of hunger.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade Book Reviews · May 6, 2019

Review | Emily Out of Focus

Emily’s parents travel to China to adopt her little sister, they learn about Chinese culture and trans-racial/continental adoption. Emily also meets Katherine, a girl her age who was adopted from China and is — unbeknownst to anyone but Emily — looking for her birth mother.

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🕵️‍♀️ a new mystery for spelling bee fa 🕵️‍♀️ a new mystery for spelling bee fans

If you’ve been looking for more high-stakes mysteries for tweens, let me introduce you to THE WINTERTON DECEPTION! Meet 13-year-old twins Hope and Gordon. They’ve just found out that their dad was Brandon Winterton (of the wealthy dictionary magnate family). Unfortunately, Hope can’t stand rich people, especially since the twins and their mom are barely making ends meet and living in a motel. But their fortune is about to change.

When Gordon enters the family into the Winterton Bee, they’re thrust into into the midst of family’s secrets, with a deadly enemy, and a scavenger hunt set up by the family’s dead matriarch. 

This is a fast-paced mystery with plenty to gnaw on between the twin relationship, family drama, character development, and flashbacks that help readers learn more about the Winterton family.

So happy that more and more mysteries are coming out for readers in the 6th-8th grades. This one does touch a bit on addiction and there’s a scene where the kids’ lives are in danger but all ends well!

It’s out at the end of October! 🤩

#mysteriesforkids #middlegradebooks #bookstagram
👯‍♀️ TWINS in middle grade literature 💕 

I love seeing more twins in middle grade books. For a long time, the only twins I knew in middle grade lit were the Sweet Valley High girlies. Then, I got a glimpse of twin life with Issa and Jessie in @karinaisreadingandwriting’s THE VANDERBEEKERS. 

Since then, we’ve seen more depictions of twins, including Varian Johnson’s TWINS (a graphic novel about twin sisters Francine and Maureen entering 6th grade), MIRROR TO MIRROR by Rajani LaRocca, and Hope and Gordon in THE WINTERTON DECEPTION (review to come)!

And of course, these two books, TWIN CITIES and SAVING SUNSHINE (which I just started and am loving)! While these stories will appeal to twins, I think everyone who’s ever been curious about twins will love getting a glimpse into what life feels like as one half of a whole. 

Which middle grade twin stories have you read and loved? 😍 

#middlegrade #twinbooks #mglit #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks
📰 a beautiful graphic novel about speaking the 📰 a beautiful graphic novel about speaking the truth 

This stunning graphic novel follows Cinzia, Avvisi writer’s apprentice living in sunny Sianerra. Cinzia and her mestra write news stories/pamphlets to the city, but not everyone likes when they tell the truth. 

After an edition exposing the ruling family for extortion, cinzia and her mestra are arrested at night and she has to join forces with the princess to fight back against censorship. 

Besides the wonderfully imaginative and powerful storyline, loved the visuals and the diversity representation in this graphic novel. The main character has a bad leg and gets around with a walking stick, which is something rarely depicted in graphic novels (and it’s barely even discussed—it just is!).

Although, this book is closer to fantasy (but without magical elements), it’s set in a Renaissance-style Italian village, so it could work for lovers of realistic fiction too.

Look out for it in November! Have you read this graphic novel? Thoughts? Is it on your radar already?

#graphicnovels #mglit #booksforkids
🩰throwback Thursday - meet one of my favorites 🩰throwback Thursday - meet one of my favorites

Looking for an upper middle grade book about ballet, friendships, and body image? Meet TURNING POINT. 

This book focuses on Monique (Mo) and Rasheeda (Sheeda)’s friendship and how it changes over a summer when both girls are drawn into different pursuits. Mo is off at a ballet intensive with Mila, while Sheeda is stuck at church (with her church “friends”) feeling like she has no life.

At the ballet intensive, Mo comes face to face with her competitive attitude which is fueled by feelings of not “fitting in” with the mostly white, skinny ballet dancers. Even though she makes a couple of friends (who basically lovingly force her to befriend them), she’s insecure at times, afraid to be vulnerable because everything feels so different. On the other hand, Sheeda is desperate for something new. Unfortunately, she falls into a risky situation with Mo’s brother whom she happens to have a crush on.

Paula Chase is one of my favorite writers for this audience and this may be my favorite of hers so far. It’s in the same universe as two of her previous books, DOUGH BOYS and SO DONE but you don’t need to read them in order. 

I’d say her books are great for kids ages 12+
Have you read any books by this author? Which ones are your favorites?

#booksbooksbooks #mglit #bookstagram
🇲🇽Twins on opposite sides I’d seen this b 🇲🇽Twins on opposite sides

I’d seen this book floating around for ages but was never drawn to it (the cover maybe?) until I saw a review somewhere I can’t remember 🤪 I was pleasantly surprised!

Twins Luisa and Fernando find their paths diverging as they’re entering sixth grade. Luisa will be attending middle school in the US just across the border from Fernando’s school in Mexico. There, they come to face to face with different, but equally pressing challenges that threaten to tear them apart.

I really enjoyed this book. The side by side depictions of both kids parallel lives, the way the illustrations celebrate Mexican culture, living, and traditions, and the heartwarming way the twins find their way back to each other. 

I’d recommend this one to 6th graders and up (heads up for content warning: text mentions and depicts illicit drug use by a minor, although portrayed in a negative light) as a fascinating look into Mexican culture, life as a twin, and finding your own identity.

#kidlit #graphicnovels #mglit #booksforkids
♠️ on spades and what it means to be a man An ♠️ on spades and what it means to be a man

Ant isn’t your average 10 year old. He loves a good game of spades and he and his best friend are planning to revamp their reputation after losing badly at the last spades tournament. But things are changing in Ant’s life. His dad is acting weird, asking him to hide things from his mom. There’s a new girl in class who Ant maybe likes and who plays spades better than many boys he knows. 

When his best friend is grounded, Ant teams up with Shirley, hoping to impress his father and finally be tough like Joplin men should be. But instead, he learns what it really means to be a man—and it’s not about never crying.

There’s SO MUCH going on in this story, but the author does a stunning job of keeping all the threads in place. I was very surprised by all the protagonist has to manage at his age and the fact that it all remains believable. The story is told by Ant’s ancestor, lending a touch of magic realism. There are also many details about playing a game of spades and I loved, loved the audiobook narrator.

If you’re looking for a meatier middle grade book perfect for kids ages 9-12 (and older, really—love the cover!) looking for books that balance levity and relatability with real issues like toxic masculinity, parental addiction, friendship issues, and crushes.

#mglit #middlegrade #middlegradebookies #kidlit #booksforkids
❤️ a protagonist for the times Willow (Lolo) ❤️ a protagonist for the times

Willow (Lolo) Weaver’s summer is not going well. Her grandfather has recently died, her grandma isn’t herself and she’s given away her grandfather’s foster dog, Hank. Lolo’s mother is heavily pregnant and Lolo is in summer school because she didn’t do too well in her last exams. On top of that their lake town isn’t a lake town anymore because the lake’s been drained and smells awful now. 

Lolo wants to help her grandmother feel better and she’s convinced that getting back her grandfather’s dog will do the trick. The only problem is that the dog now belongs to someone else. So Lolo gets on Pop’s boat to steal Hank back—only to run into her summer school classmate, Noah (who’s the new dog owner).

I really enjoyed Lolo’s story. It’s strongly reminiscent of classics like Ramona and Lolo’s voice leaps off the pages. The setting is also an unmistakable part of this story and the story feels drenched in summer. My heart went out to Lolo who always feels like she’s the reason why everything’s gone awry. I also laughed plenty at her way of seeing the world. 

This book is perfect for family readalouds especially for kids in grades 3-5. Dog lovers and kids who like a good adventure with a sprinkle of mischief will love it too.

#mglit #summerbooks #booksforelementaryschoolkids #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram
🎸 believe the hype I was very nervous about re 🎸 believe the hype

I was very nervous about reading a book about a kid with cancer, but there’s no better author than Rob Harrell to do this. 

When Ross is diagnosed with a rare lacrimal gland cancer (in his eye), it’s like a new trial for his seventh grade existence. Add to that the fact that his mom died from cancer years before, he’s going blind in one eye, his best friend is moving away soon, and mean kids at school are making terrible memes about his illness and you have a dumpster fire of a year waiting to happen. Or is it?

As heavy as everything I’ve mentioned above sounds, this book is more hopeful than anything else. We follow Ross through radiotherapy and the painful, sad side effects of cancer medications, but also through learning to play the guitar, an unlikely friendship with a school bully, and a closer relationship with his dad.

I especially loved the audiobook version which has fun interdissions featuring Will’s comic alter-ego BatPig (with a different narrator, background jingles and everything). 

I would recommend this book to 6th graders and up looking for funny books with male protagonists. It’s also a great one to hand to kids coping with cancer or chronic illnesses. 

If you’re in the WINK fan club, you just got a new member 😉

#mglit #books #bookstagram
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