Middle-Grade Novels
The Unlikely Intrusion of Adams Klein
by John Greco
The year is 2196. The world is under the absolute, totalitarian control of a paranoid ruler known as The Marshal. In this society, independent thought is punishable by death, and teenagers are trained to be soldiers while factual data is directly downloaded into their brains.
When The Marshal experiences a series of prophetic dreams warning him of a future assassin, he targets 14-year-old Adams Klein. To save his son's life, Adams' father, Grant, uses highly classified technology to send Adams and his dog, Jupiter, back in time. He leaves Adams with one crucial, strict rule: hide in isolation, keep a low profile, and do not change the course of history.
Adams materializes in small-town America in the year 2015. For a time, he successfully lives in secret to avoid creating historical anomalies that could alert the future regime. However, everything changes when he witnesses a girl his age fall through a patch of ice on a frozen lake.
Unable to watch her drown, Adams breaks his father's rule and intervenes to save her life. This act of bravery triggers an immediate ripple effect through time.
This is the first in The Timefall Trilogy, a squeaky-clean, fast-paced sci-fi/dystopian series about three unlikely friends who band together to take down a dictator.
Since learning of the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ character in book 9.5 of the popular middle-grade series Keeper of the Cities, numerous moms have asked me if I know of an agenda-free series that their sci-fi/dystopian loving tweens and young teens might enjoy. The Timefall Trilogy definitely fits the bill.
Please note: The near-drowned girl develops a mild crush on Adams and kisses him on the cheek when she thinks she will never get to see him again.
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Middle schooler Cordy, her younger brother Geno, and their mother Casey are still paralyzed by grief after the tragic boating accident that killed their husband and father a few years ago.
Now cash-strapped, the family lives in a drafty, 100-year-old boathouse on the Oregon coast. In exchange for rent and utilities, Casey works long hours as an unpaid property manager for the wealthy owners.
One day, desperate to stop her mother from moving their family far away from their small coastal town, Cordy brainstorms ideas to help ease their financial strain. Instead of finding or earning money, she crosses paths with a muddy, hungry, stray dog with terrible breath.
The family adopts the dog and fittingly names him Lost. A trip to the local animal shelter reveals that Lost's halitosis problem is caused by severe dental issues requiring expensive surgery that the family cannot afford.
A kind veterinarian named Taj steps in to perform the surgery completely free of charge. This gesture kicks off a chain of events Cordy is not sure she will ever be ready for.
Please note: Two characters briefly discuss whether someone has "good luck" or "bad luck."
At one point, Geno mentions that he has dreams about Zombies.
One character believes humans are said to be the smartest "animals" on the planet.
The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester
by Barbara O'Connor
After his father loses his job, Owen's family moves into his ailing grandfather's home in the rural town of Carter, Georgia. Late one night, Owen hears a curious noise from a passing freight train near his new-to-him home. In the morning, he goes in search of the mysterious noisemaker and discovers that a two-person submarine had tumbled off the train and into the woods.
Owen and his friends, Travis and Stumpy, keep the sub hidden from adults, desperately scheming to transport the massive object through the thick brush to a nearby pond so they can operate it.
Moving a submarine is physically grueling. To succeed, the boys must put aside their pride and enlist the help of their "pesky" neighbor Viola, whose vast knowledge of engineering and physics proves absolutely vital to transport the machine.
This is the story of how one boy navigates a summer full of unexpected adventure, difficult choices, and unlikely friendships.
Please note: At the beginning of the book, Owen and his friends are mean to Viola simply because she is a girl.
The text includes a few uses of the word "dang" and one use of "dufus."
One character is said to have issued a "slew of curse words."
Baby Island
by Carol Ryrie Brink
Twelve-year-old Mary and ten-year-old Jean are motherless sisters traveling unaccompanied on an ocean liner from America to Australia to join their father at his ranch. When a ferocious storm disables the ship, the girls are inadvertently set adrift in a lifeboat with four babies belonging to their fellow passengers. After floating at sea, the lifeboat washes ashore on a seemingly uninhabited tropical island. Showing immense capability and dedication, Mary and Jean immediately set out to forage for food and make camp. Turns out, they are not alone on the island; instead, they meet a sneaky little monkey and a cranky bachelor who have hermitized themselves at sea. Will the girls and their toddler charges survive this Robinson Crusoe-type adventure? Moreover, will they ever make it back home?
Parents, Be Aware
by Kyle Lukoff
Eleven-year-old Bug and her single mother are reeling from the recent death of Bug's beloved Uncle Roderick. Roderick, a former drag queen, lived with them in their large, old, slightly eerie house. Bug’s best friend, Moira, decides the two must spend the summer preparing to be "cool girls" in middle school. Moira throws herself into makeup, nail polish, fashion, and gossiping about boys. Bug, however, feels deep, unspoken discomfort with these activities and has zero interest in learning "how to be a girl." This creates an agonizing distance between the lifelong friends.
Bug's house has always had benign, historical spirits, but a new, aggressive ghostly presence begins targeting Bug. This spirit slams doors, shatters things, and manipulates rooms. Bug realizes this ghost is desperately trying to send a specific message. She assumes the ghost is Uncle Roderick. However, as Bug follows the clues left by the spirit, she realizes the haunting is actually a mirror to her own internal reality. The ghost isn't trying to scare her; it is pushing her to look past her confusion, helping her to recognize her gender dysphoria, and giving her the courage to transition into a boy.
Things to know: Along with garnering a Newberry Honor and a National Book Award, this title won the Stonewall Award for LGBTQ+ inclusion.
In addition to describing a poltergeist in action, Bug uses a Ouija board to contact the dead.
The text includes the following words: sucks, hell.
Just for you, Mom
Theo of Golden
by Allen Levi
Theo arrives alone in Golden right before Easter, keeping his past, his surname, and his reasons for visiting a complete mystery. He moves into an apartment overlooking the river and establishes a daily routine at a local coffee shop called The Chalice.
At the coffee shop, Theo discovers 92 lifelike pencil portraits of local townspeople drawn by a struggling local artist named Asher Glissen. Deeply moved by how the artwork captures the raw humanity of each subject, Theo decides to buy the portraits one by one and distribute them to their rightful owners — the subjects. In exchange for each drawing, he asks only to hear the recipient's personal story.
This is one of the very best examples of Christian fiction I have ever read. That said, it's not a "Christian" book and was not published by a Christian publisher. But it was written by a Christian who clearly understands the depravity of man as well as the redemption of God. He did not sugarcoat the brokenness of this world but instead painted anyone without Jesus as they are: lost and in need of saving.
Please note: There is quite a bit of colorful language in the book. No F-bombs, mind you, but many examples of other four-letter expletives. However, in the same way that CS Lewis needed the darkness of the witch and her minions in Narnia in order to show the stark contrast between the evil found in them and the good found in Aslan, Allen Levi needed to show the sins of a sinner in order to also show the glorious hope of redemption. In other words, the language has a point. It is not superfluous or thrown in simply for the sake of language, as in so many other popular books. In this case, the language helps to create 3-dimensional characters who obviously need Jesus.
Best in Show
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
What could be worse than being orphaned and poverty-stricken? Being orphaned, poverty-stricken, and hunted for a crime you did not commit. To escape the evil clutches of John Aycliffe, the Steward of Stromford, Asta's son leaves the only home he's ever known. With the help of Bear, a traveling minstrel with a chip on his shoulder, the boy is determined to prove his innocence and learn why Aycliffe wants to arrest him. But in doing so, will he learn too much?
Please note: While not necessarily graphic or overtly violent, this story is about a manhunt and may be difficult for sensitive kids. Further, when the boy discovers his true identity, it's clear (although not explicitly mentioned) that he was conceived out of wedlock. In keeping with historical accuracy, the text includes several mentions of the superstitions and state religious practices of 14th-century England. For these reasons, Crispin and its sequels are more suitable for older middle-grade readers and young teens.