A couple years ago I wrote a post called What Is “Middle Grade?” It’s all about books targeted to older kids in roughly the 8-12 age range. Some of my all time favorite books are written for this age group – Frindle, No Talking, The Candymakers (you can read about the second book here), The Westing Game.
You can find some amazing middle grade books – ones I rated 5 stars – here. Books like Finding Orion and The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl and Solving for M.
Since that post two years ago, though, I’ve been noticing that some publishers are designating some books for what I call “older middle grade” readers – kids 10 and up. It can be hard to find books to fit this group. The readers are ready for something more intricate, or maybe something with more grown up content like crushes and relationship situations, But they aren’t all quite ready for the mature content in some books for teens and young adults.
I’ve been keeping a list of books that fit this older crowd. If you search for some of these titles, you might find them in a Book News post. If they are books I have read and reviewed, I will note that as well. But here are some of the books in that list for older middle grade readers. (Note that these books may include mature content.)
Books for Older Middle Grade Readers
Wizard for Hire series by Obert Skye – When his parents are kidnapped, Ozzy calls a wizard for hire to help. You can read my review of book one here. The third book releases in April.
The Pumpkin Falls mystery series by Heather Vogel Fredrick – Book 1 of this mystery series, Absolutely Truly, is marked for readers 8-12. The next two books, Yours Truly and Really Truly currently scheduled for June 2020, are marked for readers 10-14.
The Fairy Tale Reform School series by Jen Calonita – All 6 books, including Cursed which is scheduled to release in May, are written for kids 10 and up. You can read some of my reviews of the series here. Rating for Flunked: ♥♥♥♥
The Track Series by Jason Reynolds – All 4 books, about a group of kids who run track who have a lot to prove, are written for kids 10 and up. Rating for Ghost: ♥♥♥♥
The Trials of Apollo Series by Rick Riordan – A series where the god, Apollo, who has been turned into a normal teenager, is sent to earth to figure out what has happened to the Oracles and set things right. All 5 books, including The Tower of Nero which is scheduled for September, are written for kids 10 and up. Rating for The Hidden Oracle: ♥♥♥♥
Well That Was Awkward by Rachel Vail – For readers 10-15. You can read my review here.
Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor – For readers 10-14. You can read my review here.
My Life As an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi – A girl raised by her grandfather – the first black engineer at NASA – in Huntsville spends time with her father in Harlem, not sure if she could ever fit in there. For readers 10-13
Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya – As a girl watches her father try to piece his life back together after deployment, her community starts to fall apart, and some of her classmates are caught in the middle. For readers 10-12.
Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj – An Indian-American girl and her grandfather are targeted in an assault. While her grandfather recovers, the girl uses her social media accounts to bring attention to the attack. For readers 10 and up
Broken Strings by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer – When a middle schooler gets cast in Fiddler on the Roof, she thinks her Jewish grandfather might have things in his attic the school production can use. But she discovers an old violin with broken strings and some secrets of her grandfather’s past that he wants to keep to himself. For readers 10-14. You can read my full review here.
Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs – The CIA drags a young genius into the hunt for a secret Einstein equation that could save – or destroy – the world. For readers 10 and up. You can read my review here.
The Crossover Graphic Novel by Kwame Alexander – For readers 10 to 12. The source material, the novel in verse by the same name (Rating: ♥♥♥♥), is also for readers 10-12.
Born to Fly by Steve Sheinkin – A middle grade history of the 1929 Air Derby, the first women’s air race across America. For readers 10 to 14.
The Train to Impossible Places series by P. G. Bell – A troll-operated postal delivery train turns a girl’s world upside down. Both books in this series so far are for readers 10 to 14.
Roll With It by Jamie Sumner – A girl with cerebral palsy who longs to be a baker adjusts to a new home and a new school. For readers 10 and up. You can read a brief review here.
The Tornado by Jake Burt – A fantastic bullying story from Jake Burt that asks what responsibility the formerly-bullied have when their bully chooses a new target. For readers 10 -14. You can read my full review here.
Friend or Fiction by Abby Cooper – When her dad gets sick, Jade starts writing stories in a notebook about herself and a perfect new best friend named Zoe. But after a classmate gets a hold of her notebook and does an experiment with it, fictional Zoe becomes Jade’s real-life neighbor and friend. For readers 10-14. You can read my full review here. The author’s previous books Sticks and Stones as well as Bubbles are also for readers 10 -12.
How to Rob a Bank by Tom Mitchel – When a boy trying to impress a girl ends up burning down her house instead, he thinks only the grandest gestures can make up for it – like robbing a bank to help pay for a new house. For readers 11 and up.
Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds – A story told in ten blocks on the trip home from school. For readers 10-14.
Ali Cross by James Patterson – A spin off of Patterson’s Alex Cross series, this one starring Alex’s son who wants to follow in his father’s detective footsteps. Ali is hunting for his missing best friend while his father is on trial for a crime he didn’t commit. For readers 10-14.
I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora – A group of teens hides copies of To Kill a Mockingbird in order to get everyone talking about it. For readers 10-14. You can read a little about the book here. Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
The Agatha Oddly series by Lena Jones – All three books in the series about a young detective in London, including The Silver Serpent scheduled for June, are for readers 11 and up.
Pixie Pushes On by Tamara Bundy – A novel set in the 1940s about a girl growing up on a farm, missing her sister who is in quarantine because of polio, and who learns to soften her rough edges by raising a runt baby lamb. For readers 10 and up.
Go With the Flow by Lily Williams – A group of high school sophomores start a “menstruation revolution” at their high school. A graphic novel for readers 10 to 14. Rating: ♥♥♥♥
Chirp by Kate Messner – Mia moves to Vermont, healing from a broken arm and hiding a secret. She and her new friends get pulled into helping her grandmother who believes someone is trying to sabotage her cricket farm. But Mia’s parents aren’t sure if there is a real threat, or if her grandmother’s thinking has changed after a stroke. For readers 10-14. You can read my full review here.
Parked by Danielle Svetcov – Jeanne lives in an orange van, but she hopes to have a more permanent address by the time school starts. Cal lives in a big house across the street from Jeanne’s van, and he’s determined to “rescue” her. While Jeanne is not on board with that plan, the two do form a friendship that will impact both of them. For readers 10-14. Rating: ♥♥♥♥½
Red Menace by Lois Ruby – A teen has FBI agents staking out his house (in 1953) because they are convinced his parents, college professors, are communist sympathizers. He knows the Rosenbergs are scheduled for execution because of their suspected activities. For readers 11-14.
A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Conner – When a girl loses her mother and goes to live with an aunt and her wife, she struggles to find a place of belonging. Then the adults also take in a rotten, misbehaving dog. Wasn’t taking her in enough “rescuing” for them for awhile? For readers 10-14.
The Bridge Home – Four homeless kids make a family for themselves as they live near an abandoned bridge, but when illness strikes, will they continue to fend for themselves or will they have the strength to reach out for help? This was one of those “it’s well written, but I didn’t like it” books. This was dark and sad and upsetting and heart-wrenching. I did not enjoy reading it. But it’s well-written and there’s TONS of material in it for readers to dig into. This is for older middle grade readers (10+). Rating: ♥♥♥♥
Maybe He Just Likes You – A middle school girl struggles to speak up about the behavior of the boys around her, especially when her friends tell her she is over-reacting or should be flattered. You can read my full review of this one 
Operation Frog Effect – Eight kids tell the story of what happened that got their teacher in trouble. One of the stories is told in graphic novel format. To me this felt like a 
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise – Coyote and her dad have lived life on the road in their renovated school bus since Coyote’s mother and sisters were killed in an accident. But now she is desperate to get back home before her last moments with her mom and sisters are lost forever. You can read my full review of this one 
Right As Rain – A grieving family moves to New York hoping a change of scenery can help them in their loss, but Rain is convinced her brother’s death is her fault. While she holds her secrets close, a new friend may help her open up and shine the light of truth on what happened that night. I LOVED this! Of these 7 books, I had already read and reviewed 3 of them. Of the four that were new to me, this was my favorite. I adored everything about this – the grieving pieces as well as the poetry and the hot chocolate and the soup kitchen and the running. Fantastic characters. A story I just wanted to hug. A happy tearful ending as Rain finally shares her story. Beautiful! Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Song for a Whale – A deaf girl who is also a tech genius learns about a whale that can’t communicate with other whales, and she decides to find a way to “sing” to this whale. You can read my full review of this one 
12. A Duke by Default – Book 2 in the Reluctant Royals series. You can read my summary of the series 
11. Star Trek Discovery: The Way to the Stars – Sylvia Tilly is my favorite character on Star Trek Discovery, and this book just reinforced that love. This reads a bit like a YA coming-of-age-story to me, which is a feature, not a bug. 
10. Well Met – A woman coming home to help her sister after an accident is roped into participating in the local Renaissance Faire. Her lighthearted take on the faire puts her in conflict with the man responsible for the volunteers who bears the weight of his family’s legacy. This was a delight from the first page! I already have book 2 on my wish list. This is one I will read again. (♥♥♥♥♥)
9. Deadly Little Scandals – Book 2 after the delightful 
8. The Storm – This is book 6 in the Sons of Destiny series, a romance/fantasy series I re-read usually once every year. It’s unusual for a re-read to make my top favorites of the year, but there are two on the list this year. I’ve written about this book 
7. Prince in Disguise – The second re-read that made my top 12 this year is this delightful YA romance by 
6. Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram – This is the only nonfiction book to make my favorites list this year. I didn’t read a ton of nonfiction in 2019, and what I did read, while mostly enjoyable, didn’t stick with me enough to rise to the top of the list. But I got so much out of this book, and I think about the things I learned when I read it. I have it in a stack of resources I want to read through again in order to glean some more of its wisdom. You can read about this book, and the other Enneagram books I read in 2019, 
5. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill – 2019 was the year of romance and romantic comedies for me. And this was one of my favorites! In fact it’s another book on the list that received a 5+ rating. One of my favorite features of this book, in addition to the terrific story, is the smart, snappy writing. It begs to be read aloud. You can read my full review 
4. The Boy Next Story – Book 2 in the Bookish Boyfriends series after 
3. 10 Blind Dates – This YA romance was hysterical, and I absolutely adored it. The premise is fantastic and clever, and the execution was even better. This was the book I was telling everyone about this fall. Here’s
2. The Blacksmith Queen – A prophecy about a rising queen to replace the recently dead king angers his sons who want no part of anything that would force them to give up the throne. When it looks like the new queen will be her younger sister, a blacksmith gathers supporters to help her defend her family.
1. Polaris Rising – I read this awesome sci-fi/romance twice in 2019, and BOTH times it ended up on my best-of-the-month lists, which is why I gave this the top spot for 2019 after the tie with The Blacksmith Queen. I loved the characters in this and the world building. You can read my review 
The Complete Enneagram – I have started this one but I haven’t gotten too far yet. I picked this up because I want to learn about the subtypes. There are three subtypes for every Enneagram type. And in a teaching I heard recently, the instructor pointed out that it can be hard to zero into your type because of the variations within the subtypes – one might be the stereotypical description, but the other two might be nuanced and different enough that you can’t find yourself within the type if you fit one of those. So I am going to dig into this more this summer/fall. I recently heard a teaching from the author, and I enjoyed it.
The Enneagram of Eating – I have started this one, too, this year, but haven’t finished yet. I like the idea of these books that take each of the types and show how the type – in health and in some of the lower places – can interact with this topic. This author will have a book about the Enneagram and sex later this year.
Millenneagram – I recently discovered Hannah Paasch on Twitter, and I had to pick up her book! She has a sassy, irreverent style, and I wanted to see how that impacted her take on the Enneagram. I’m going to do a full review of this soon, but for now I will say this is both a fresh and a foul take on the Enneagram. There is a LOT of swearing in this book, so if that will bother you, skip this one. But if you can get past that, don’t miss out on this fresh look at the 9 types. I loved this! Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
The Art of Typing – This is a gorgeous resource! I love the layout of this. But it is a niche resource. This is what I would recommend to someone who either can’t distinguish their type because they are vacillating between a few or for professionals who work with people on the Enneagram a lot. This gives a set of three questions (different questions for each pairing) to each of two numbers and shows how the numbers would answer those questions differently. It’s brilliant for learning differentiation and the nuances between types. Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
