Middle-Grade Novels
by Rebecca Behrens
13-year-old Hannah Steele has just completed a babysitting course and has agreed to watch her neighbor's two young children after school. This would technically be her second time ever being alone with kids. Although she's nervous, she assures herself that nothing could possibly happen in their quiet little neighborhood on Pelling Island. Could it?
But then, a 9.0 earthquake shakes the neighborhood, destroying the bridge to the mainland, leveling the power grid, and cutting off any help for Hannah and her charges. Aftershocks soon follow. The house collapses, the kids become injured, and Hannah's asthma flares up unexpectedly.
Will she be able to get everyone to safety? This fast-paced, suspenseful page-turner will keep older middle-grade readers on the edge of their seats.
Please note: Hannah lies to the two children about their mother's whereabouts and the severity of the situation to keep them calm, but she eventually regrets her deception and apologizes. Additionally, one of the characters uses God's name in vain, and another character attempts to tell a "scary story" about a shadow that doesn't end up being scary.
by Jean Van Leeuwen
Merciless Marvin is tired of swiping popcorn and candy bars from the movie theatre. The mouse mob boss thinks he and his band of rodent thugs are ready for "the big time." Together, they plan to rob the local cheese factory. But things don't go exactly as planned.
This light-hearted caper is full of misadventures and hijinx that lead to the shopkeeper's offer to forgive and rehabilitate the gangster mice.
I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, which includes music, sound effects, and 1930s James Cagney-style dialects
by S.D. Smith
What starts as an innocent stunt to sneak to the "wizard's" house after church, find a stolen backpack, and return it to its rightful owner turns into a harrowing adventure for Scott, Tommy, and Dooley. Turns out, the wizard has nothing to do with magic or fantasy worlds as the boys had thought. He's a member of the Ku Klux Klan and was one of many who had previously burned a cross in Dooley's yard. When the authorities find out what Willie Barnes, the notorious "wizard," is up to, they file criminal charges. It's then that Dooley's dad, pastor of the local black congregation, reveals some sobering truths to Willie and the boys.
This powerful story about forgiveness and the redemptive power of Christ, set in the 1980s, is inspired by the author's childhood memories of seeing racial injustice in the hollers of West Virginia and later on the mission field in South Africa.
I'm often asked for book suggestions for older kids who struggle to read. The Found Boys, with its more mature themes of racism and injustice, small word count, and illustrations, would be perfect for reluctant older middle-grade readers.
Please note: The text includes two or three uses of the word "heck."
by Lois Lowry
The year is 1943. Life in Copenhagen under Nazi occupation has been incredibly upsetting for 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen. Her Jewish best friend, Ellen Rosen, has moved in. For everyone's sake, the entire Johansen family must pretend that Ellen is Lise, the eldest sister, who was killed in a car accident several years before. To protect their young charge, the Johansens join forces with the Danish resistance and arrange to smuggle Ellen into Sweden. Annemarie is asked to play a pivotal role in the escape plan.
The narrative is Annemarie's first-person retelling of the atrocities of WWII and highlights the difficult sacrifices of ordinary people in an age-appropriate way for middle-grade readers.
Parents, Be Aware
by R.L. Stine
Liam's mom is making a shark documentary for The Danger Channel. An actor has been hired, a shark has been caged, and the scene has been set for a terrifically scary, albeit perfectly safe, shark encounter. But when the actor becomes injured, 12-year-old Liam is forced into the water. His mother assures him that the entire event is choreographed and that nothing could possibly go wrong. Except, everything does go wrong. The cage breaks, Liam is swept out to sea, and spends the next two days fighting for his life.
This stand-alone, first-person novel from the author of Goosebumps is action-packed. Every chapter ends on an exciting, although at times, unbelievable cliffhanger.
Things to know: Liam's little sister lies multiple times. Once washed ashore and desperate for help, the two siblings sneak into a resort, lie about their identities, and attempt to steal clean, dry clothes from the gift shop. One character says, "sucky."
(Spoiler: Although my underlying concern with the plot may be lost on most middle-grade readers, parents should know that the entire adventure is set up by Liam's mother, who continues to film the two days of terror in order to get better TV ratings. Every character is in on the secret but Liam, who later must come to terms with the fact that his mom sacrificed his safety for her career.)
Just for you, Mom
by Michelle Shocklee
Seven years after the stock market crashed, leaving her relatively well-off family completely shattered and derailing her personal dreams of being a successful journalist, Lorena ("Rena") takes a job interviewing former slaves as part of a special branch of FDR's Works Progress Administration called the Federal Writer's Project.
Her first subject is 101-year-old Frankie Washington, a former slave who was severely abused as a child by her master's wife. Rena, having been sheltered from many "unsavory" topics as a child, is horrified to learn of the atrocities that formerly enslaved Americans endured. Although she continues interviewing others daily to fulfill her contract, she's compelled to return to Frankie's home again and again to hear more of the older woman's story. Little does she know that their families are forever linked through their shared pasts.
This is a dual-time novel. Most of the book takes place in 1936 and features the budding relationships between Rena, Frankie, and Alden Norwood, a fellow FWP employee who volunteers to drive Rena to her interviews each day. However, several flashback chapters are sprinkled throughout, recounting Frankie's early life and acting as Rena's "report" on a former slave.