Kirkus Reviews - Best Middle Grade Books of 2024Like this list

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• Best Middle Grade Books of the Year

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  "People often ask me what makes for a truly great children’s book. A few characteristics come to mind: stellar writing, impeccable plotting, and immersive illustrations. But there’s also an element of je ne sais quoi. Sometimes, the most…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Girls of Skylark Lane

  Benway, Robin

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  "Twin sisters Jac and Aggie move with their dad and papa (and pet rat, Jack) from San Francisco to Los Angeles. As they adapt to their new home and adjust to seventh grade, they befriend a rambunctious group of girls who run a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Kicked Out

  Dassu, A. M.

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  "This stand-alone companion to Boy, Everywhere (2021), which centered on Syrian refugee Sami and his family’s flight to Manchester, England, is told from the perspective of Sami’s best friend, Ali. In this volume, the boys deepen their…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Still Sal

  Henkes, Kevin, 1960-

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  Also available as a downloadable audiobook. "The protagonist of Oh, Sal (2022) confronts new challenges. For one thing, Sal’s younger sister, Poppy, now 2, is sharing what used to be Sal’s bedroom with her. And Sal’s high expectations for…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Drawing Deena

  Khan, Hena

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  Also available as an eBook. "Seventh grader Deena has a passion for art, a supportive Pakistani American community—and anxiety. Deena feels nauseated every morning; her clenched jaw has even resulted in a cracked tooth. Her parents…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Read at Your Own Risk

  Lai, Remy

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  "A young girl finds herself plagued by a dark spirit. Seventh grader Hannah Lee and her friends skip an assembly for children’s horror author Leon Star and instead go to the school’s supposedly haunted attic, where they attempt to contact…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Jamie

  Lapinski, L. D.

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  "When the schools are gender-segregated after fifth grade, which one is a nonbinary kid supposed to choose? Jamie Rambeau’s a pretty happy kid, growing up in Nottingham, England. It’s not until it comes time to enroll in middle school…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Gallery of Rogues

  Lincoln, Beth

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  "The over-the-top Swift family might be able to reconcile with their cousins—if art theft doesn’t interfere. In this second series entry, as delightfully hilarious and witty as the first, Shenanigan Swift learns she has family in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Monster Locker. [1]

  Aguirre, Jorge Augusto

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  ADVENTURE. "A locker in a middle school basement leads to world-ending trouble. Sixth grade isn’t looking too good for friendless Pablo Ortiz, who still has no cell phone. Prepping for his sister’s quinceañera is no fun, either. “New…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Perilous Performance at Milkweed Meadow

  Dimopoulos, Elaine

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  ADVENTURE. Also available as an eBook. "Lovable lagomorph and remarkable raconteur Butternut details how the denizens of Milkweed Meadow narrowly missed a night of terror. “I know you’re here for the story of the fearsome fire in the oak…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Monkey King and the World of Myths: The Monster and the Maze

  Lam, Maple

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  ADVENTURE. "East meets West in this mythological adventure. Monkey King Sun Wukong was destined for greatness from the moment he burst from a rock that was sitting atop Flowers and Fruit Mountain. But what makes him special—his fighting…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody

  Ness, Patrick, 1971-

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  ADVENTURE. Also available as an eBook and downloadable audiobook. "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them, as this monitor lizard soon learns. Soon after Principal Wombat assures Zeke that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Wrong Way Home

  O'Shaughnessy, Kate

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  ADVENTURE. Also available as an eBook. "Life outside a cult seems full of danger to a girl who yearns for the safety of her oppressive but familiar home. Twelve-year-old Fern’s mother suddenly takes her from the only stable home she’s…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Puppet

  Almond, David, 1951-

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  FAMILY STORIES. Also available as an eBook and talking book on CD. "In a sweet, tender exchange, an aging English puppeteer passes his vision on to a young kindred soul. In a nod to Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, the child-sized puppet old…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Across So Many Seas

  Behar, Ruth, 1956-

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  FAMILY STORIES. "Four 12-year-old Sephardic Jewish girls in different time periods leave their homelands but carry their religion, culture, language, music, and heritage with them. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella’s expulsion of the Jews…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman

  Choldenko, Gennifer, 1957-

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  FAMLY STORIES. "A sixth grader struggles with feelings and survival strategies after his single mom disappears. Hank is more or less used to being left to cope with caring for himself and his 3-year-old sister, Boo, for short…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ferris

  DiCamillo, Kate, 1964-

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  FAMILY STORIES. Also available as an eBook. "Ferris finds herself in the midst of several love stories during the summer before fifth grade. Emma Phineas Wilkey’s moniker comes from the circumstances of her birth: under the Ferris wheel…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• My So-called Family

  Gordon, Gia

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  FAMILY STORIES. "A tough kid earns a family. Twelve-year-old Ashley Dalton, who prefers to be called Ash, has one refuge in the world: a walnut tree in the yard of her foster mother’s rental house, where she lives along with her foster…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Shark Teeth

  Winston, Sherri

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  FAMILY STORIES. Also available as a downloadable audiobook. "A Florida middle schooler tries to hide her problems at home as she attempts to have a normal school experience. Sharkita Lloyd is fearful that something will happen to disrupt…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Kyra, Just for Today

  Zarr, Sara, 1970-

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  FAMILY STORIES. "Thirteen-year-old Kyra lives with her mother in Pacifica, a coastal suburb south of San Francisco. Mom, who’s in recovery from alcoholism and has been sober for more than five years, has a house-cleaning business. Kyra…Read moreRead more of this annotation