Tag: contemporary middle grade

cover of Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Georgia Watson and the 99 Percent Campaign (Fitzroy Books/Regal House, October 2025*) by Sara F. Shacter was so good it was a one-sitting read. Ask your libraries to order it. I mean it!

Georgia and her one friend Izzy are entering 6th grade and thrilled to be in Mr. C’s class. (They both love science which he teaches.) But when Izzy’s former friend, mean Nicole, tries to squeeze Georgia out, Georgia is so mad she does something mean back with unfortunate consequences. Will she lose Izzy now? And what will their other classmates think? Worse yet Mr. C is disappointed in her. What a horrible start to the school year that may mean Georgia doesn’t get her wish for the two of them to go to science camp together next summer.

I love how what they’re learning in class effects Georgia’s actions, and how class assignments help her to see others differently. We all want kids to have teachers like fun and inventive Mr. C. Georgia’s science themed t-shirts are great, too. I also like that this ISN’T the typical “mean girl” story.

This is the author’s first middle grade novel. Read about Sara here and check out her picture books here.

*I got to read an Advanced Reader Copy.

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

Wonderland

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Mnday

Wonderland (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018) by Barbara O’Connor is a sweet story I’m glad I found. It’s told in three viewpoints, including a dog’s!

It’s the summer between fourth and fifth grade and Mavis Jeeter’s mother is moving them again. Mavis wants to have a best friend. How can she do that if they don’t stay anywhere long enough? She wants this new home in Alabama to be permanent. She’s decided that Mom’s employer’s daughter will be her new best friend and tells her so.

Ten-year-old Rose Tully doesn’t fit in with the others in Magnolia Estates. But then this strange new girl, Mavis, arrives makes her believe she can have a friend, besides Mr. Duffy, the gateguard.

Then there’s Henry, a dog on the run.

See the awards for this book here.

Last year I recommended Barbara’s book Wish. Here’s a link to this bestselling author’s FAQ.

cover of Tree. Table. Book.
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Tree. Table. Book.

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Tree. Table. Book. (Clarion Books, 2024) by Lois Lowry is such a sweet book of loss and hope.

Eleven-year-old Sophie’s best friend is her eighty-eight-year-old neighbor also named Sophie. Young Sophie’s worrying her best friend is increasingly forgetful and comes up with a plan to keep the old woman from being taken from her own home and put in assisted living.

I love the connection between the two Sophies and how the aide the younger offers reveals stories of the older one’s past.

Lois is an award-winning author and two times Newbery winner. Read about her many books here and learn more about her here.

cover of Gut Reaction
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Gut Reaction

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Gut Reaction (Scholastic Press, 2024) by Kirby Larson and Quinn Wyatt was an inspirational read.

After the loss of her father, 8th grader Tess Medina is starting a new school and when she gets her new schedule, it shows a SEL class. What’s that? The counselor explains it is “Social Emotional Learning. Talking about feelings and stuff.” No way is she going to share feelings with strangers! Especially how baking is what still ties her to her dad. Or that she’s got this pain in her stomach that makes her rush for the bathroom. She has a goal of winning the Jubilee Flour Junior Baker West Coast competition, but how is she going to raise the money for the entry fees?

This is Quinn’s debut book, written with her mom, Kirby, and inspired by her own experience with Crohn’s disease. Read this interview about how the book nearly didn’t happen. This is Kirby’s first contemporary middle grade book. Read about the award winning author here and check out all her other books here.

This is the book’s website.

Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Code Name Kingfisher

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Code Name Kingfisher (Aladdin, 2023) by Liz Kessler is a remarkable duel timeline novel of present day and 1942. You definitely don’t want to miss this story.

Thirteen-year-old Liv doesn’t understand her ninety-two-year-old grandmother and why all she says about her childhood is that it was hard. How is Liv to do a school assignment of a family tree when she knows nothing and Bubbe won’t answer questions. But while helping clean out Bubbe’s house, Liv finds a box of old letters in Dutch and begins to unravel the past.

Twelve-year-old Mila and her older sister Hannie have to leave their Jewish family behind and go live with strangers during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Will they ever see their parents again? Mila makes new friends in her new home, but her sister is becoming more and more distant.

The contrast of the three girls’ lives and the growth of affection and understanding between Liv and her grandmother is so good. I also love how Liv changes because she was inspired by knowing the truth about her family.

The author writers for children and young adults. Read more about her here and check out all her books here.