Category Archives: Middle Grades (5-8)

MG – The Serpent Rider

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Dino, Yxavel Magno. The Serpent Rider. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2024. 978-1-547-61513-1. 263 p. $17.74. Grades 5-8.

Tani wants to be a serpent rider, just like her father and the rest of her village. She also wants to protect her sister, Ligaya, as she is responsible for remembering all the village’s stories and history. After a horrible monster attack, Tani is ready for her elemental serpent to hatch, but it just is not happening. She makes a deal with someone who maybe doesn’t have the best of intentions. What follows is an epic adventure that leads Tani to find out what is really important and shows her that maybe saving her family isn’t as impossible as she thinks it is.

THOUGHTS: This is a quick fantasy stand alone that would be great for readers wanting to get into the fantasy genre.

Fantasy

Elem./MG – Lunar Boy

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Winbowo, Jes, and Cin Winbowo. Lunar Boy. HarperAlley, 2024. 978-0-063-05759-3. $15.99. 240 p. Grades 4-8.

Indu is a boy living on the moon. When an astronaut finds and adopts him, they move from the moon to “New Earth” where he is now a part of a blended family. But he feels left out because kids at school think he is odd, and he is trying to fit in both at school and at home which is a lot especially when his mom, the only person he knows and is comfortable with, is so busy at her new job that Indu hasn’t really seen her much. A pen pal assignment from class, helps him feel less lonely when he connects with someone that sees him for who he really is. But he still feels so alone that he calls to the Moon to take him back, and when the time comes for the Moon to take him, he must decide if he wants to stay or go…..

THOUGHTS: I personally do not read a TON of science fiction, but this one was interesting and was a great read! It will be very appealing for upper elementary and middle level readers.

Graphic Novel
Science Fiction

MG – Halfway to Somewhere

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Pimienta, Jose. Halfway to Somewhere. Random House Children’s, 2025. 978-0-593-56945-0. 256 p. $13.99. Grades 6-8.

Ave is feeling stuck. They had to move with their mom and younger brother from their home in Mexico to Kentucky for her new job at the university. But only half of the family is here. Ave’s dad and older sister are staying in Mexico, and Ave keeps asking when they will be joining the rest of them in the US. They find out that this separation is going to be permanent, since their parents are getting a divorce. So now Ave needs to learn a new language, transition to a new middle school, and grapple with the break up of the family. As Ave begins exploring their new home and making other bilingual friends, they slowly begin to reconcile the differences in their new home versus the old and try to find the beauty of both.

THOUGHTS: A great middle grade graphic novel with beautiful illustrations. The setting really comes across with juxtaposition of the Mexican desert to the hills of Kentucky. The amount of background in many of the panels brings this story to life along with the art for each of the characters. I easily could see this becoming one of those animated graphic novels. Ave’s story is also an interesting one to read about. Transitioning to a new home, new language, and even new family structure is hard. Pimienta does a great job discussing hard topics about what it means to assimilate and how that is different for many people. I also liked that although Ave is nonbinary, this is mostly accepted as an everyday thing and doesn’t focus on any outside negative impacts, only an interlude of some family friction. Overall, Halfway to Somewhere is a great addition to any middle grade collection!

Graphic Novel
Realistic Fiction

MG – Turning Twelve

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Ormsbee, Kathryn.  Turning Twelve. Random House Children’s, 2024. 978-0-593-65006-6. 240 p. $14.99. Grades 6-8. 

Sequel to Growing Pangs. Katie is a homeschooled student who has great plans for her seventh grade year: babysitting, pool parties, acting! She’s starting to feel grown up. But when her best friends move away, and her church also institutes a new dress code that she feels is unfair, things seem to have taken a spin for the worst. But her bright spot in all of this is her new friend Grace that she met through the local theater group. As their friendship grows, Katie begins to question if it is friendship or something more that she feels towards Grace. And if it’s a crush what would that mean for her place in her community as she reflects on what adults have said around her.

THOUGHTS: Turning Twelve is a well-illustrated, coming of age graphic novel set in the 2000s where Katie is beginning to take on more responsibilities and coming into her own. Katie also is questioning the why of things she is being told by adults in her life, especially as things become more strict at church. She has a lot of introspection, and the story touches on many aspects of growing up, like how a girl’s body changes, periods, and crushes. Great for fans of Raina Telgemeier.

Graphic Novel
Realistic Fiction

Mr. Muffins – Defender of the Stars

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Kahn, Ben. Mr. Muffins – Defender of the Stars. Oni Press, 2025. 978-1-620-10832-1. 168 p. $14.99. Grades 3-8.

Eleven-year-old Reuben Mahmud is just trying to take his corgi Mr. Muffins for a walk. He definitely is not trying to skip out on homework or chores. But when a spaceship crash lands next to him in the middle of the park, and Cassara, an intergalactic soldier, tells him that Mr. Muffins has the missing cosmic power that will help save the universe from the evil Hakar empire, of course Reuben has to go with his four legged best friend to save the universe. As Mr. Muffins learns to control his powers, and Reuben and Cassara learn to work together and see past their differences, they have to take down the Hakar in hilarious ways.

THOUGHTS: Absolutely adorable, explosive middle grade graphic novel! Add this to your middle grade shelf because it will be constantly checked out.  It has space battles, lasers, humor, friendship, skipping homework, and of course, an adorable corgi. The story is action packed and fast paced as Reuben and Mr. Muffins save the world. The author says they were inspired by Dragonball meets Star Wars which makes for a truly fun and silly mashup.

Adventure
Graphic Novel
Science Fiction

MG – Shark Teeth

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Winston, Sherri. Shark Teeth. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2024, 978-1-547-60850-1. $17.99. 304 p. Grades 4-8.

Sharkita also known as “Kita” is constantly in fear of the other shoe dropping. She has assumed the role of “mom” too many times to trust that it won’t happen again. She’s been separated from her siblings and put in foster care by social services too many times to believe now that Mama is home and seems to have stopped drinking and going out with her friends that everything will be okay and that things have changed. When Kita’s new Assistant Principal and dance coach asks some questions about Kita’s homelife she is determined to keep her and her siblings together, so she lies to keep up appearances when the truth is Mama has been going out again and leaving the kids at home alone. With the fear of being separated from her siblings constantly looming, Kita feels more and more anxious and questions if being together and neglected by Mama is really what is best for her and her siblings.

THOUGHTS: Oof. This one hit hard. It touches on so many different topics in such a genuine and realistic manner that it is at times hard to read. You want what’s best for Kita and her siblings, but the reality of leaving/being separated from her mother and siblings is hard to grasp. 

Realistic Fiction

Elem./MG – Chickenpox

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Lai, Remy. Chickenpox. Henry Holt and Company, 2025. 978-1-250-86330-0. 240 p. $22.99. Gr. 3-7.

Remy Lai returns with a graphic novel featuring five kids and one highly contagious virus!  It’s Indonesia in 1994 – just before the widespread introduction of the chickenpox vaccine – and 12-year-old Abby Lai’s rambunctious younger siblings have turned their house into a wild zoo! Time at school and with her two best friends is a welcome respite from her chaotic and often embarrassing brothers and sisters. When the younger kids are diagnosed with chickenpox, Abby gets the girls’ bedroom all to herself for one glorious day … until she, too, discovers some telltale red bumps. For the crime of having chickenpox, Abby is sentenced to one week of quarantine in the “maximum security zoo.” As the siblings increasingly grate on each others’ nerves, Abby is torn between needing her own space and wanting to be a helpful big sister and daughter, wrangling the younger kids to  ease their mom’s workload. Friend drama also snowballs, exacerbated by misunderstandings and hurt feelings. But, as Abby learns, “relationships grow and change because people grow and change,” and a little communication can go a long way. Chickenpox’s chapters are divided into the stages of the viral rash, and readers will itch just observing its progression through the Lai household! The graphic novel’s energetic panels effectively convey both action and emotion; it’s an all-around crowd pleaser! 

THOUGHTS: Fortunately, today’s middle grade readers don’t need to experience chickenpox as a rite of passage. However, there are ample moments that they will relate to in this humorous and heartfelt graphic novel (inspired by the author’s own childhood). 

Graphic Novel

Elem./MG – Shelter

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Matheson, Christie. Shelter. Random House Books for Young Readers/ Tantor Audio, 2024. 978-0-593-37638-6. $11.99. 192 p. Grades 4-8

Note: This physical book was released in 2021; however, the audio was released in 2024. Maya’s fifth grade year is not going well. She is constantly bullied by some of the other fifth grade students, and she is keeping a really big secret: she and her family are homeless and living in a shelter. This makes things like pop-quizzes and homework even more difficult.

THOUGHTS: IF you have read books like, The Benefits of Being and Octopus by Ann Braden, then you will absolutely LOVE this book. It is really touching and equally heartbreaking to put yourself in the shoes of a young girl facing really difficult life circumstances. I highly recommend this novel for upper elementary and middle level libraries! 

Realistic Fiction

MG – Away

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Freeman, Megan E. Away. Aladdin, 2025. 978-1-665-95972-8. $18.99. 480 p. Grades 5-8.

This eagerly awaited follow-up to Freeman’s 2021 debut novel Alone delivers just as strongly as the first book. In Alone, Maddie, Emma, and Ashanti create a complex lie to their families as they organize a no-adult sleepover. The covert plan is thwarted at the last minute when Ashanti comes down with the flu. In a stunning turn of fate, their small Colorado town is evacuated overnight. Maddie’s story is brilliantly depicted in Alone. With Away, Freeman shares Ashanti’s experience of being evacuated and relocated to a detention camp. Here Ashanti meets a small group of kids her age. Aspiring to become a doctor, Ashanti, age 12, is practical, caring, and nurturing. Her mother runs the detention camp clinic. Also at the camp is Grandin Stone, age 14, a naturalist who plans on following in his father’s military footsteps after high school. When Grandin’s family is evacuated from their cattle ranch, his father escapes, leaving Grandin and his mother to cope with detention alone. Harmony Addam-Paul, age 12, is an aspiring young journalist who chronicles her experience through letters to her mentor/aunt. Harmony hopes to write an expose for her middle school newspaper when she returns home. Teddy, age 11, has lived with his grandmother ever since his parents died in a car accident. A budding film-maker, Teddy is  more socially-comfortable when he has a camera through which to view the world. As the four young teen/tweens become friends they discover a conspiracy with far reaching political and environmental implications, and together they reveal the truth behind their evacuation and detention. Told in alternating viewpoints using verse, letters, official notices, and Teddy’s documentary screenplay. This book is scheduled to be released on February 11, 2025.

THOUGHTS: I am a huge fan of Alone and was excited to see this companion novel explain some of the dystopian plot lines that remained unexplained in Freeman’s first book. This novel cleverly intertwines common middle grade subjects with a thrilling mystery that is remarkably timely. This series appeals to a wide variety of students and is a middle-grade must-have.

Adventure
Science Fiction (Dystopian)

Elem./MG – Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back

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Chan, Ruth. Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back. Roaring Brook Press, 2024. 978-1-250-85533-6. 285 p. $22.99. Grades 4-8.  

Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back introduces the reader to Ruth Chan who is living in Toronto, Canada at the beginning of the book. Her parents are originally from Hong Kong, and they will be moving back there to be reunited with her mom’s family. Ruth is not super happy or excited about this because it means leaving everything she has ever known, leaving her friends behind, plus she doesn’t speak great Cantonese. At night, Ruth’s dad comes into her room and tells her about his family, what is was like growing up, and how hard everything was. As Ruth embarks on this journey in her new home, she learns more about herself, her family, and finds out that she is capable of a lot more than she gave herself credit for.

THOUGHTS: This is an amazing graphic novel that really showcases how hard it was for Ruth to move her entire life to a new country. It also shows how beautifully she was able to navigate through that experience, with actual pictures at the end of the book.

Memoir
Graphic Novel