As a childrenās novelist, I believe thereās nothing more important than showing kids itās okay to experience emotion. Nothing is more powerful than watching someone rise to the occasion, and showing vulnerability in the process. Plus, middle-grade books are just funāthey let us create these fantastical ways to show very grounded, human needs. Rockets become friendships? Jellyfish offer understanding? Sign me up! Itās my pleasure to recommend these novels to kids everywhere (even the adult ones)!
I have to start the list with my favorite of favorites, The Thing About Jellyfish. This novel is justā¦ wow. An absolutely beautiful introspection of losing a dear friend after a terrible fallout. When her ex-best friend drowns, Suzy becomes obsessed with proving that a rare jellyfish sting caused the accidentāand her journey is the most poignant thing Iāve ever experienced. The way Suzy experiences grief is real and raw, and any child (or adult!) reading this book will be able to relate.
It's peculiar how no-words can be better than words. How silence can say more than noise, or a person's absence can occupy even more space than their presence did.
Suzy is twelve when her best friend, Franny, drowns one summer at the beach. It takes two days for the news to reach Suzy, and it's not something that she can accept: Franny has always been a strong swimmer, from the day they met in swim class when they were just five. How can someone all of a sudden, just no longer be there?
Last Day on Mars was an absolute pleasure to recommend. Set on Mars, which is months away from destruction via a superheated sun, the final remnants of humanity are boarding a spaceship destined for an Earth-like planet far away. Have you ever run for the last flight in an airport? This whole book felt exactly like thatāwith a pair of main characters who had me shouting, āHurry up! Get on the ship!!ā With the loss of their solar system, their families, and maybe their lives, this science-fiction adventure is everything I love in a novel!
āLast Day on Mars is thrillingly ambitious and imaginative. Like a lovechild of Gravity and The Martian, it's a rousing space opera for any age, meticulously researched and relentlessly paced, that balances action, science, humor, and most importantly, two compelling main characters in Liam and Phoebe. A fantastic start to an epic new series.ā āSoman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of the School for Good and Evil series
āEmerson's writing explodes off the page in this irresistible space adventure, filled with startling plot twists, diabolical aliens, and (my favorite!) courageous young heroes faced with an impossible task.ā āLisa McMann,ā¦
An Heir of Realms tells the tale of two young heroinesāa dragon rider and a portal jumperāwho fight dragon-like parasites to save their realms from extinction.
Rhoswen is training as a Realm Rider to work with dragons and burn away the Narxon swarming into her realm. Rhoswenās dream is toā¦
This book was my childhood favorite, by far. The Girl Who Owned a City is an exploration of life after adults: when every adult suddenly dies, the world is left to their kidsā¦ and not everyone will survive. Determined to keep her younger brother alive and the memory of their parents close, Lisa somehow creates a community that becomes a safe haven for miles around. As a main character, Lisa absolutely steals the show; her resourcefulness and grit are unmatched, and stuck with me for years after reading this book. Thereās also a graphic novel version, for anyone who prefers that format!
A deadly plague has devastated Earth, killing all the adults.
Lisa and her younger brother Todd are struggling to stay alive in a world where no one is safe. Other children along Grand Avenue need help as well. They band together to find food, shelter, and protection from dangerous gangs invading their neighborhood.
When Tom Logan and his army start making threats, Lisa comes up with a plan and leads her group to a safer place. But how far is she willing to go to protect what's hers?
I finished this novel in a day, simply because of its incredible portrayal of emotion. Clues to the Universe follows Ro and Benji, two kids who couldnāt be more different. And yet, through circumstances of loss (and a class partnership), they find solace in a new friendship. Although itās set firmly on the groundābased in the 1980s, on the heels of the Space Raceāthis book would appeal to the dreamers everywhere, the scientists and artists alike. Ro and Benji have a great dynamic, and while they lost their dads in very different ways, the grief is shared. A truly wonderful read!
This stellar debut about losing and finding family, forging unlikely friendships, and searching for answers to big questions will resonate with fans of Erin Entrada Kelly and Rebecca Stead.
The only thing Rosalind Ling Geraghty loves more than watching NASA launches with her dad is building rockets with him. When he dies unexpectedly, all Ro has left of him is an unfinished model rocket they had been working on together.
Benjamin Burns doesnāt like science, but he canāt get enough of Spacebound, a popular comic book series. When he finds a sketch that suggests that his dad created the comics,ā¦
Discover a new early middle-grade graphic novel series full of humor and heart about a lovable dog, her favorite human, and their pawsome pack in this unforgettable friendship story. Though Thunder wants to be good for Sage, sheās having a rough time stopping herself from doing things she knows areā¦
I have to finish this list with a classic. The Giver is a startling novel about how far society will go to avoid pain and suffering. In todayās world, nothing could be more appropriate than the loss of feeling, and this book portrays the downfalls of that perfectly. As Jonas wrestles with the weight of a whole communityās history, weāre pulled on a journey of discovery that is nothing short of spectacular. I think a novel like this is a necessity for any childās reading list!
THE GIVER is soon to be a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift.
Now available for the first time in the UK, THE GIVER QUARTET is the complete four-novel collection.
THE GIVER: It is the future. There is no war, no hunger, no pain. No one in the community wants for anything. Everything needed is provided. And at twelve years old, each member of the community has their profession carefully chosen for them by the Committee of Elders.
Jonas has never thought there was anything wrong with his world. But from the moment he isā¦
On the small space station Azura, Maxion Belmont is constantly torn between his two passionsāengineering and music. Both are hobbies handed down from his father, who died two years ago. While his hydrodriver is great for repairing starship parts, every chord played on his fatherās old instrument tugs at the latent grief Max hides from his mom and classmates.
When a foreign starship appears on the horizon, Azura welcomes its first tourist in years. But thereās something weird about Mr. Hames, the stranger-turned-substitute-teacher. As Max and the rest of Mr. Hamesās class-turned-starship-crew begin to uncover the mysteries of the star whales, they discover they arenāt the only ones looking for the elusive creaturesāand not every whaler has good intentions.
"MacKenzie's Last Run is a highly recommended, emotionally compelling survival tale. It should be on the reading lists of readers ages 11 and up who look for stories of not just suspense, but revelation."
Winner of the 2022 Midwest Book Award for children's fiction, readers call it, "Heart-pounding, fast-paced, andā¦