We won’t keep you … there are a lot of fascinating, I-want-to-read-that books on the list. Including a novel in verse!!
One thing we will also want to point out is that several reviewers recommended listening to the audio editions … and not just fiction!
Summaries excerpted from Goodreads. Click the book cover to go to see more details.
Middle-Grade Fiction
Twelve-year-old Amelia Gray has changed schools 39 times because of her dad’s job. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for making friends, but that’s okay. Amelia's been in enough middle schools to know that friendships are messy, and who needs that?
But when her dad announces that he wants to stay in their new town for the whole summer—maybe even forever—Amelia realizes she’s going to have to do the one thing she’s never had to do: fit in. So she gives herself 3 total makeovers, to try out a few personalities and hopefully find her “thing.” Juggling 3 identities is hard, and Amelia soon finds herself caught in the kind of friendship drama she has always managed to avoid. Yet despite her best efforts, she still can’t answer the most important question of all: Who is the real Amelia Gray?
Susan @ Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books (via Goodreads) – Amelia Gray is Almost Okay is a fun, upbeat, heartfelt novel about a girl who’s desperate to figure out who she is. Our heroine is utterly likable. She’s kind, thoughtful, brave, and just all-around endearing. (Which isn’t to say she’s perfect or doesn’t make mistakes. She isn’t and she does.) Although there are plenty of morals to be found in the story, it’s not preachy or heavy-handed in the least. It teaches important lessons about honesty, friendship, forgiveness, working together as a community, fixing your mistakes, finding your passion, and lots more. With so many heavy middle-grade novels out there, this one is refreshingly light and heartwarming, while still tackling important issues. I enjoyed it immensely.
A note on the audio: Amelia Gray is Almost Okay is especially good in this medium. The narrator, Suzy Jackson, creates the perfect voice for 12-year-old Amelia. It feels very authentic. The other characters’ voices are distinct and natural, making for a smooth, easy-on-the-ears listen. It would make a great choice for a family road trip as it’s engaging, entertaining, and empowering. There’s nothing in the book that is controversial or sensitive, but there are issues that could lead to interesting family discussions.
Jessica @ Cracking the Cover – It’s clear from the start of Amelia Gray is Almost Okay that author Jessica Brody knows her audience. Her prose is bright and energetic with a conversational tone that immediately makes you want to read more. Moreover, at more than 400 pages, you don’t feel like you’re reading a long novel — though some reluctant readers may be discouraged by the length before even trying to read it.
It’s a story of growth and connections and being happy with who you truly are. Amelia Gray is Almost Okay is an engaging, heartfelt novel that will strongly resonate with tweens as they transition into middle school and/or junior high.
Middle-Grade Nonfiction
Contents of this book are cooler than they appear. For Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, the founders of the massively popular podcast Stuff You Should Know, the everyday world can be extraordinary when you dig a little deeper into the “whys” and the “hows”. With plenty of clever insights, silly illustrations, and an array of topics, this book digs deeper into stuff we all wish we knew more about.
Tiffany @ Goodreads – Ok this book was so much fun! I learned so many things I had no clue about before and I could see so much potential for this being a fun read aloud/learning experience at school or at home! I really hope they wrote more on more topics!!!
Rachael @ Goodreads – This is my absolute favorite type of nonfiction!! Short essays on the (often strange) histories of a variety of objects/people/places/phenomena. I can’t wait to get this on the shelves for my students! It also reminded me that I need to catch up on this podcast, and now go checkout the adult version of this title!
The NextGen Librarian @ Goodreads – Interesting nonfiction book for tweens and teens. I liked the audio and feel like kids will too.
Middle-Grade Graphic Novel
Sixteen-year-old Christine takes their first solo trip to Mexico to spend a few weeks with their grandparents and tía. At first, Christine struggles to connect with family they don’t yet share a language with.
Soon Christine settles into life in Mexico and growing more comfortable with Spanish. But when Mom joins their trip, Christine’s two worlds collide. They feel homesick for Texas, struggle against traditions, and miss being able to speak to their mom without translating. Eventually, through exploring the impacts of colonialism in both Mexico and themselves, they find their place in their family and start to feel comfortable with their mixed identity.
Readersaurus @ Instagram – I can hear my grandmother’s voice when I read this title. I took it off the shelf and just felt so seen. My grandparents live in Texas and every summer I would visit them. I always felt so lost when they spoke to close friends or went shopping.
I constantly wondered when it would be my turn to speak this language.
It was a disconnect from my world and theirs but I longed to be apart of it so badly. I remember when I finally made the connection. I felt so at home surrounded by the language and what felt like the sense of belonging I had never experienced. THAT is when I told myself, one day I will visit Mexico. One day… And this graphic novel, ¡Ay, Mija ! My Bilingual Summer in Mexico is just what I needed.
Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction
All Momo wants for her twelfth birthday is a normal life--a life like everyone else's. At home, she has to take care of her absentminded widowed mother. At school, kids ridicule her for mixing up reality with the magical stories her mother used to tell her.
But then Momo's mother falls gravely ill, and a death hag straight out of those childhood stories attacks Momo at the mall, where she's rescued by a talking fox . . . and "normal" goes out the window. It turns out that Momo's mother is a banished Shinto goddess who used to protect a long-forgotten passageway to Yomi--a.k.a. the land of the dead. That passageway is now under attack, and countless evil spirits threaten to escape and wreak havoc across the earth.
Katy @ A Library Mama – This is clearly a Percy Jackson-style book, so we learn very quickly that Momo’s mother’s pretend stories were never pretend – Momo just convinced herself that she couldn’t see the mythical creatures because teachers and classmates told her she had an overactive imagination. There is a lot of focus on the action, but also time for Momo to reflect on who she really is and for she and Danny to try to resolve some of their issues. This is a solid choice for people looking either for Percy Jackson read-alikes or fantasy celebrating Japanese heritage.
Poetry – Novel in Verse
Aniana del Mar (12) belongs in the water like a dolphin belongs to the sea. But she and Papi keep her swim practices and meets hidden from Mami, who has never recovered from losing someone she loves to the water years ago. That is, until the day Ani's stiffness and swollen joints mean she can no longer get out of bed, and Ani is forced to reveal just how important swimming is to her. Mami forbids her from returning to the water but Ani and her doctor believe that swimming along with medication will help Ani manage her disease. What follows is the journey of a girl who must grieve who she once was in order to rise like the tide and become the young woman she is meant to be.
Jessica @ Cracking the Cover – This is a beautiful exploration of family dynamics, intergenerational trauma and bodily autonomy. Jasminne Mendez’s verse has a gentleness to it while still hitting a punch. Her pauses, phrasing and use of different poetic forms — concrete/shape, Haiku, Tanka — echo the ebb and flow of the water Ani so desperately wants to swim in. The current that runs through them is accessible and electric. And young readers will especially be drawn to the words that quite literally take shape on the page.