Category: MG Novels

middle grade novels (for 8-12 yo)

cover of Elsetime
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Elsetime

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Elsetime (Everything with Words, 2020) by Eve McDonnell is a fascinating historical set in two time periods (1864 and 1928) with time travel, and was inspired by the 1928 Great Flood of London.

First we meet orphaned Glory, an eleven-year-old looking for a job, who is dressing up to look older. She’s been expelled from school because of her wooden hand–it would be a waste to educate her. But not only is she determined to get a job, she plans to own an emporium someday. Meanwhile, she and her older sister must earn enough to keep the landlord at bay.

Then the story switches to Needle, also eleven, whose father is missing. A mudlark who digs up lost treasures at the river’s edge, Needle senses the story behind each piece. He takes his found bits and pieces and makes beautiful things to sell so he and his mother can survive.

What connects them? A crow named Magpie and a list of who will die in the flood.

The novel has won awards: Winner Children’s Book Award (pre-publication) Wells Festival of Literature 2017,  Book of the Year 2020: Halfway Up Books, and  Children’s Book of the Year 2020: Bridge Street Books.

Read about this Irish author here and check out her other books here. Eve is also an artist!

cover of The Trouble with Heroes
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Trouble with Heroes

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Trouble with Heroes (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025) by Kate Messner is a compelling read.

Finn Connelly is about to fail seventh grade. He’s not a hero like his dad was. He’s never been in the news like Dad, until now. For vandalizing a cemetery. The daughter of the dead woman will drop the charges, if he will climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks this summer. And he has to bring along the dead woman’s dog!

I love the first two lines: “If I were a better kid, this story would start with my seventh-grade diploma. Instead, is starts with this.” What follows is a news clipping with the headline “Local Cemetery Vandalized.” How could you not read on after that?

See this prolific author’s books here and also sign up for her newsletter on the same page. And, yes, Kate has climbed all those mountains that her character Finn climbs!!!

cover of Tornado Brain
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Tornado Brain

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Tornado Brain (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2020) by Cat Patrick was an insightful story of neurodivergency with themes of friendship, hurt, and forgiveness. It’s a really good read full of voice.

Frankie is 13 and fascinated by tornadoes, tornado facts, and tornado shows. In fact that’s how she met her best friend Colette back in kindergarten–during an actual tornado. Colette, Frankie’s former friend, is now missing.

Because Frankie has several neurological conditions (attention deficit disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, and sensory processing disorder–labels the psychologist gave her), she doesn’t react the “right way” or say the “right things” about Colette’s disappearance. Yet, she believes she has the clues to figure out where Colette is. With the help of her older twin sister, Frankie uses her mixed up tornado brain to solve the mystery.

Each chapter has a tornado myth or fact at the beginning. Also, her family has an unusual living situation, which is fine with Frankie as long as you don’t change her routine. I especially recommend this story to anyone trying to understand someone on the “spectrum.”

The book was a 2022-2023 Truman Readers Book Award Nominee, 2021 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, 2021 Texas Lone Star Reading List Pick, 2021 Washington State Book Award for Young Readers Finalist, and a Junior Library Guild Pick.

Paper Heart is a companion book with Frankie’s twin, Tess, as the main character. Chronologically it follows Tornado Brain. See all of the author’s middle grade books here.

You can check out Cat’s young adult books here and learn more about her here.

cover of Chirp
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Chirp

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

I probably missed Chirp (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2020) by Kate Messner due to the pandemic, but am very glad to have caught up with it now.

The summer after 7th grade, Mia and her family move back to Vermont and she wishes the two years in Boston had never happened. Mom is making her choose two activities–one for her brain and one for her body–when Mia would rather just stay on the couch like she’s mostly been since her accident. New friendships, helping out Gram out with her cricket farm that she was supposed to sell, keeps her busy, but things keep reminding her of the secret she’s hiding.

This book is sooo good. It’s not just a making friends story, or a kid moving story, but so much more. So many layers.

And, yes, the bestselling author did eat crickets in her research for this story. Read more about Kate here and check out all her books here.

cover of Dead Man's Hand in front of the two books that follow this one
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Abilene Kid: Dead Man’s Hand

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Abilene Kid: Dead Man’s Hand (Wise Wolf Books, 2025) by John V. Madormo was a fun time travel western! (Another MMGM blogger recently shared this book and it sounded so interesting I had to read it. Thanks, Rosi Hollinbeck!)

Twelve-year-old Dominick is obsessed with the Old West. So much so that when he writes about “The Most Influential Person in His Life” he chooses “Lone Wolf” Malone, a sheriff from the time period. His teacher is not amused.

Then a book in the library transports Dominick to 1888 Abilene, Kansas and he gets to see what it’s really like living there. Under the name, Pete Moss, he becomes an apprentice to the local sheriff, Lone Wolf himself, and wants to warn him about his upcoming death, but the sheriff won’t listen.

This is the first book in a four volume series. The Abilene Kid: The Boot Hill Curse and The Abilene Kid: Sacred Relics are already out. But the fourth book is only available for preorder.

Read about the author here and read log lines about some of his books here. (This might be helpful for writers writing their own.)