At the beginning of the year I shared a list of middle grade books releasing for the first few months of the year and now I wanted to do a new list for books releasing in the second half of the year!

I really like middle grade books as an adult which I think is a good thing because then I can proof-read a lot of books for my kids.

There are a number of books coming out in the next few months that are a continuation of a series and I’m doubly excited about most of these because they are in series that I’ve really been enjoying.

Before we dive into the list though, I want to give an honorable mention to The Jane Austen Investigates: The Abbey Mystery, I recently read this book and it just came out in April but I didn’t have it on my previous anticipated releases list because I didn’t know about it then. If you have a kid that likes mysteries, that one was a lot of fun!

If you know about more middle grade books that are being released in the next half of the year, let me know!

Anticipated Middle Grade Releases: July-December 2021

JUNE 2021 RELEASES

We are Dude Perfect fans in our family so this one is on our to-buy list!

Dude Perfect 101 Tricks, Tips, and Cool Stuff

You may know Dude Perfect from their mind-blowing, world record-breaking, viral trick shot videos and hilarious Overtime videos! NOW, with the guys’ new, massive, photo-intensive book Dude Perfect 101 Tricks, Tips, and Cool Stuff, you’ll experience a behind-the-scenes look at their stunts and their personal lives, PLUS step-by-step instructions so you can attempt their tricks at home!

At Dude Perfect, we do everything we can to bring families closer together, and that’s why we’re excited to share this book with you. Follow our step-by-step instructions to have your own Dude Perfect–style fun!

Tweens and teens, ages 8 to 12, will enjoy complete panda-monium with this in-depth look at Dude Perfect: five guys who are kickin’ it, throwin’ it, tossin’ it, and shootin’ it for more than 55 million YouTube subscribers and more than twelve billion views.

With an oversize format and fun, informative graphics, Dude Perfect 101 Tricks, Tips, and Cool Stuff includes . . .

• Step-by-step instructions to perform your own real life trick shots using everyday objects.
• A behind-the-scenes view of those hilarious Overtime videos and extreme sports moments.
• Dude Perfect teaching about what a blast patience, perseverance, teamwork, friendship, and faith can be.
• Fun science facts behind the seemingly impossible tricks—because really, how did they do that?!
• Infographics with “No way!” truths from the inspirational to the absurd.
• A deeper look into each Dude’s personal life, including stats, favorite stunts, and insights.

Each trick in Dude Perfect 101 Tricks, Tips, and Cool Stuff is the perfect combination of challenging and doable to keep your young reader off-screen for hours. This interactive book is a great gift for birthdays, Easter baskets, holiday gift giving, or just because.

Whether your own trickster wants to perform solo, challenge a friend, or host a family date night, this visually engaging book is a slam dunk for anyone who is young at heart.

JULY 2021 RELEASES

I can tell you right now, I have a kid that I plan on buying this for and then having them use it in our homeschool in the fall.

Anxious For Nothing: For Young Readers

Written for kids ages 8-12, this Bible-based book draws on content from Max Lucado’s bestselling book Anxious for Nothing to help young people overcome the anxiety and pressures of today’s world and come to a deeper understanding of God’s constant, loving presence.

In this chaotic age of social media, packed schedules, and an increasing awareness of the world’s problems, it’s normal for young people to feel overwhelmed sometimes. But the good news of the gospel has not changed. This encouraging, let’s-start-now book is the perfect tool to help tweens take control of their feelings and choose to focus on God’s truth.

This much-needed book adapts content from You Are Not Alone as well as from Anxious for Nothing, which has sold over 900,000 copies. With the warmth and authenticity that has made him a beloved pastor and writer, Max Lucado offers young readers:

• biblical hope and powerful strategies to help them flourish under the mounting struggles of the middle grade years
• encouragement that God is near, He cares, and He listens
• truths to claim for themselves in difficult moments
• practical ways to work through their worries and rely on God’s faithfulness

This special edition of Anxious for Nothing also includes:

• a note to kids from the author
• age-appropriate application questions, journal prompts, and activities that guide kids in Christ-focused mindfulness
• callouts and infographics featuring key verses, facts, and takeaways
• sidebars addressing technology-related stress

Practical, motivating, and biblically grounded, Anxious for Nothing (Young Readers Edition) is a timely book for any tween who sometimes feels overwhelmed, lonely, or anxious, or who simply wants to know more of God’s abundant joy and peace.

AUGUST 2021 RELEASES

The Enola Holmes series is in the upper middle grade range in my opinion but I have read the first book and really enjoyed it. I’m actually planning on reading the rest of the series this summer in anticipation of this release!

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche

Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of her more famous brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft. But she has all the wits, skills, and sleuthing inclinations of them both. At fifteen, she’s an independent young woman–after all, her name spelled backwards reads ‘alone’–and living on her own in London. When a young professional woman, Miss Letitia Glover, shows up on Sherlock’s doorstep, desperate to learn more about the fate of her twin sister, it is Enola who steps up. It seems her sister, the former Felicity Glover, married the Earl of Dunhench and per a curt note from the Earl, has died. But Letitia Glover is convinced this isn’t the truth, that she’d know–she’d feel–if her twin had died.

The Earl’s note is suspiciously vague and the death certificate is even more dubious, signed it seems by a John H. Watson, M.D. (who denies any knowledge of such). The only way forward is for Enola to go undercover–or so Enola decides at the vehement objection of her brother. And she soon finds out that this is not the first of the Earl’s wives to die suddenly and vaguely–and that the secret to the fate of the missing Felicity is tied to a mysterious black barouche that arrived at the Earl’s home in the middle of the night. To uncover the secrets held tightly within the Earl’s hall, Enola is going to require help–from Sherlock, from the twin sister of the missing woman, and from an old friend, the young Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether!

My kids love the I Survived series and have learned so much history as a result. I love that they are coming out with a graphic novel of this one!

I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001

A gripping graphic novel adaptation of Lauren Tarshis’s bestselling I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001, in time for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

The only thing Lucas loves more than football is his Uncle Benny, his dad’s best friend at the fire department where they both work. Benny taught Lucas everything about football. So when Lucas’s parents decide the sport is too dangerous and he needs to quit, Lucas has to talk to his biggest fan. The next morning, Lucas takes the train to the city instead of the bus to school. It’s a bright, beautiful day in New York. But just as Lucas arrives at his uncle’s firehouse, everything changes — and nothing will ever be the same again. Lauren Tarshis’s New York Times bestselling I Survived series comes to vivid life in bold graphic novels. Perfect for readers who prefer the graphic novel format, or for existing fans of the I Survived chapter book series, these graphic novels combine historical facts with high-action storytelling that’s sure to keep any reader turning the pages. Includes a nonfiction section at the back with facts and photos about the real-life event.

SEPTEMBER 2021 RELEASES

Oh man, the first book, Pax, had me tearing up, I’m slightly afraid what this one will do to me (in a good way, mostly).

Pax, Journey Home

It’s been a year since Peter and his pet fox, Pax, have seen each other. Once inseparable, they now lead very different lives.

Pax and his mate, Bristle, have welcomed a litter of kits they must protect in a dangerous world. Meanwhile Peter—newly orphaned after the war, racked with guilt and loneliness—leaves his adopted home with Vola to join the Water Warriors, a group of people determined to heal the land from the scars of the war.

When one of Pax’s kits falls desperately ill, he turns to the one human he knows he can trust. And no matter how hard Peter tries to harden his broken heart, love keeps finding a way in. Now both boy and fox find themselves on journeys toward home, healing—and each other, once again.

Brian Selznick’s books are so unique! They are massively thick but that is because more than have the pages are sketches. And not just illustrations to enhance the story, many of the pages tell the story in between the text pages. I am so excited that he is coming out with another book!

Kaleidoscope

A ship. A garden. A library. A key. In Kaleidoscope, the incomparable Brian Selznick presents the story of two people bound to each other through time and space, memory and dreams. At the center of their relationship is a mystery about the nature of grief and love which will look different to each reader. Kaleidoscope is a feat of storytelling that illuminates how even the wildest tales can help us in the hardest times.

Possibly my favorite book find this year has been this series! Inspired by young Agatha Christie, Aggie Morton is a mystery solver! I love the line up of characters/suspects at the beginning of each book, it’s such a fun addition.

Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: The Dead Man in the Garden

Aspiring writer Aggie Morton is ready to enjoy an invigorating trip to a Yorkshire spa, where her widowed mother can take the waters and recover from a long mourning period. Having solved yet another murder and faced extreme peril with her best friend Hector over Christmas, Aggie’s Morbid Preoccupation is on alert when rumors abound about the spa’s recently deceased former patient . . . and then another body appears under mysterious circumstances. Together with Grannie Jane, and often in the company of George, a young patient at the spa, Aggie and Hector take a closer look at the guests and staff of the Wellspring Hotel, and venture into the intriguing world of the local undertaker. Has there been a murder—or even two? As Aggie and Hector ignite their deductive skills, their restful trip takes a sudden, dangerous turn.

OCTOBER 2021 RELEASES

Admittedly, I’ve only read book one in this series and this is book five coming out this fall but the first book was a five star for me and I’ve heard such good things about the rest of the series. Mostly from my daughter, it’s her favorite series of all time.

The Shattered Castle

King Jaron has outwitted the Prozarians and returned to his own kingdom with one secret in his pocket that not even his friends know about. He’s hoping that secret will help him finally bring stability to Carthya.

But a surprise attack on his own land — on the castle itself — reminds Jaron that nothing is easy. The Prozarian Monarch threatens to crumble Jaron’s entire kingdom. And that’s not the only thing in danger: With old enemies and new rumors circling around him, even Jaron’s relationship with Imogen is uncertain.

This former False Prince will need his best tricks and many allies at his side to hold Carthya together.

Like Aggie Morton, Myrtle Hardcastle is another middle grade mystery series I found and have loved this year! And I really appreciate the puns in each of the titles in this series.

Cold-Blooded Myrtle

Myrtle Hardcastle—twelve-year-old Young Lady of Quality and Victorian amateur detective—is back on the case, solving a string of bizarre murders in her hometown of Swinburne. 

When the proprietor of Leighton’s Mercantile is found dead on the morning his annual Christmas shop display is to be unveiled, it’s clear a killer had revenge in mind. But who would want to kill the local dry-goods merchant? Perhaps someone who remembers the mysterious scandal that destroyed his career as a professor and archaeologist. When the killer strikes again, each time manipulating the figures in the display to foretell the crime, Myrtle finds herself racing to uncover the long-buried facts of a cold case—and the motivations of a modern murderer. 

Leave a comment below if you know of other middle grade books coming out in the second half of 2021!

There are so many good sounding books coming out this year!

I keep thinking I’ve heard of them all when new ones are announced.

There are lots of middle grade books being released from March through to June but these are ones that I’ve heard about and are currently on my radar. It’s not an exhaustive list by any means.

I shared a list of books coming out from January through to March already. And then I saw more March releases so I have added them to this list.

Are there some middle grade books you know of coming out in the next few months that sound good? Let me know so I can read them!

If you are interested in picture books, I’ve been making monthly lists of anticipated releases:

• New Picture Book Releases We Want to Read: January 2021
• New Picture Book Releases We Want to Read: February 2021
• New Picture Book Releases We Want to Read: March 2021

12 of the Best Middle Grade Releases 2021: March – June

The Elephant in the Room

March 2nd

It’s been almost a year since Sila’s mother traveled halfway around the world to Turkey, hoping to secure the immigration paperwork that would allow her to return to her family in the United States.

The long separation is almost impossible for Sila to withstand. But things change when Sila accompanies her father (who is a mechanic) outside their Oregon town to fix a truck. There, behind an enormous stone wall, she meets a grandfatherly man who only months before won the state lottery. Their new alliance leads to the rescue of a circus elephant named Veda, and then to a friendship with an unusual boy named Mateo, proving that comfort and hope come in the most unlikely of places.

Houdini and Me

March 2nd

Eleven-year-old Harry Mancini is NOT Harry Houdini–the famous escape artist who died in 1926. But Harry DOES live in Houdini’s old New York City home, and he definitely knows everything there is to know about Houdini’s life. What is he supposed to do, then, when someone starts texting him claiming that they’re Houdini, communicating from beyond the grave? Respond, of course.

It’s hard for Harry to believe that Houdini is really contacting him, but this Houdini texts the secrets to all of the escape tricks the dead Houdini used to do. What’s more, Houdini’s offering Harry a chance to go back in time and experience it for himself. Should Harry ignore what must be a hoax? Or should he give it a try and take Houdini up on this death-defying offer?

Dan Gutman is the award-winning author of series including My Weird School, The Genius Files, and the baseball card series, including Honus & Me. He uses his writing powers for good once again in this exciting new middle grade novel.

Across the Pond

March 16th

Callie can’t wait for her new life to start. After a major friendship breakup in San Diego, moving overseas to Scotland gives her the perfect chance to reinvent herself. On top of that, she’s going to live in a real-life castle!

But as romantic as life in a castle sounds, the reality is a little less comfortable: it’s run-down, freezing, and crawling with critters. Plus, starting off on the wrong foot with the gardener’s granddaughter doesn’t help her nerves about making new friends. So she comes up with the perfect solution: she’ll be homeschooled. Her parents agree, on one condition: she has to participate in a social activity.

Inspired by a journal that she finds hidden in her bedroom, Callie decides to join a birding club. Sure, it sounds unusual, but at least it’s not sports or performing. But when she clashes with the club leader, she risks losing a set of friends all over again. Will she ever be able to find her flock and make this strange new place feel like home?

Wicked Epic Adventures: Another Wallace the Brave Collection (Volume 3)

March 23rd

The world of Wallace The Brave is one of imagination, discovery, and wonder, as Wallace and his friends explore the coastal surroundings of Snug Harbor, Rhode Island, uncovering new mysteries, adventure, and mischief wherever they turn. Brought to life by the wonderfully detailed ink-and-watercolor art of Will Henry, Wallace The Brave (named the 2018 Newspaper Comic Strip of the Year) will delight young readers as well as their parents, who will recognize a camaraderie and heart similar to classic strips like Calvin & Hobbes.

Science Comics: The Digestive System: A Tour Through Your Guts

March 23rd

In Science Comics: The Digestive System, visit the inside of your mouth, stomach, liver, intestines, and other organs that make up the gastrointestinal tract! Your guide to the gut is a friendly bacterium who will take you on a journey beyond imagination. Uncover how food is transformed into nutrients! Explore strange and dangerous glands! Behold the wonders of saliva, mucus, and vomit! Writer Jason Viola and illustrator Andy Ristaino provide a trip to the toilet you will never forget!

Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic―dinosaurs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, robots, and more! Whether you’re a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty-year-old with a secret passion for airplanes, these graphic novels are for you!

This is a new series that sounds really good!

The Case of the Missing Cheetah (Secret Spy Society)

March 23rd

The first book in a highly illustrated new chapter book series about three delightfully mischievous young girls and some of the most enigmatic women in history who worked as spies.

It’s a dark and stormy night when three sleuthing little girls get pulled into a web of mystery. They have mistakenly uncovered a secret society of some of the most famous female spies in history. A glamorous spy named Josephine Baker enlists the girls to find out who has kidnapped Chiquita, her precious pet cheetah. Do the girls have what it takes to become spies themselves?

Debut author-illustrator Veronica Mang has created a playful pastiche full of masters of disguise, martial artists, codebreakers, and double agents in the first of this new illustrated chapter book series. Secret Spy Society: The Case of the Missing Cheetah introduces young readers to three delightfully mischievous girls and some of the most enigmatic and unforgettable women in history.

We Belong

March 30th

Stella and Luna know that their mama, Elsie, came from the Philippines when she was a child, but they don’t know much else. So one night they ask her to tell them her story. As they get ready for bed, their mama spins two tales: that of her youth as a strong-willed middle child and immigrant; and that of the young life of Mayari, the mythical daughter of a god. Both are tales of sisterhood and motherhood, and of the difficult experience of trying to fit into a new culture, and having to fight for a home and acceptance. Glorious and layered, this is a portrait of family and strength for the ages.

I read the first book in this series last month and plan on reading the second this month so I can be ready for book three when it’s out!

The Messengers (Greystone Secrets #3)

April 6th

As book three of the Greystone Secrets series opens, the Greystone kids have their mother back from the evil alternate world, and so does their friend Natalie. But no one believes the danger is past.

Then mysterious coins begin falling from unexpected places. They are inscribed with codes that look just like what the Greystones’ father was working on before he died. And with the right touch, those symbols transform into words: PLEASE LISTEN. And FIND US, SEE US, HELP US. . . .

The coins are messengers, telling the Greystones and their allies that their friends in the alternate world are under attack—and that the cruel, mind-controlling forces are now invading the better world, too.

After another spinning, sliding journey across worlds, the Greystone kids must solve mysteries that have haunted them since the beginning: what happened when the Gustanos were kidnapped, what created the alternate world, and how a group of mismatched kids can triumph once and for all against an evil force that seems to have total control.

How did I not know that the author of one of my favorite picture books, Extra Yarn, had a history mystery series??? I need to read these asap.

Mac B.: Kid Spy – Mac Saves the World

May 4th

The Queen of England calls on her trusty spy, Mac B., once again. This time, Mac must navigate secret tunnels beneath the Berlin Wall in order to retrieve cheat codes from a Soviet scientist. Floppy disk in hand, our hero finds himself trapped in East Germany, stuck between the wall and the Stasi. How will he escape? Well it is 1989, and walls do fall down.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy

May 4th

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy is an accessible book for children to learn about systemic racism and racist behavior. For the awkward questions white and non-black parents don’t know how to answer, this book is an essential guide to help support communication on how to dismantle racism amongst our youngest generation.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy creates a safe, judgment-free space for curious children to ask questions they’ve long been afraid to verbalize. How can I have white privilege if I’m not wealthy? Why do Black people protest against the police? If Black people can say the N-word, why can’t I? And many, many more.

Young people have the power to affect sweeping change, and the key to mending the racial divide in America lies in giving them the tools to ask honest questions and take in the difficult answers. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy is just one way young readers can begin to short circuit racism within their own lives and communities.

Sunshine

May 18th

Set in the northern Minnesota wilderness, a timeless novel about a boy and his imaginary dog explores the legacy of guilt and blame—and what really constitutes a family.

Newbery Honoree Marion Dane Bauer evokes the “summer that changed everything” in the life of a boy growing up without a mother. Since as far back as Ben can remember, it’s been him, his devoted dad, and Sunshine—Ben’s little dog, who rarely leaves Ben’s side. It was Mom who did the leaving, and Ben’s about to spend a whole week with his suddenly present mother in the wilds of northern Minnesota. On the remote island she calls home, Ben will learn to camp, canoe, weather the elements, and weigh a burning question: when will she come back to where she belongs? A must-read for dog lovers, children of divorce, and the imaginative and outdoorsy, Sunshine is a poignant, ultimately hopeful story about self-discovery, facing big realities, and finally, forgiving the things—and people—you can’t forget.

I enjoyed book one of this series and need to continue on!

The Map of Stories (Pages & Co. #3)

June 1st

Tilly and Oskar embark on an impromptu trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, in search of an elusive group of bookwanderers called the Archivists, who they believe are the key to restoring the balance and saving the British Underlibrary.

Along the way, the friends realize that something strange is happening in the world of bookwandering: books are disappearing, people are forgetting their favorite stories, and stories are trying to drag Tilly into them.

With a mysterious set of clues and some surprising new faces, Tilly and Oskar will need the help of some of their dearest fictional friends to be able to solve the mystery . . . and save bookwandering forever.

If you are looking for similar lists, here are some to check out:

• 2021 Middle Grade Releases: January-March
• New Picture Book Releases We Want to Read: January 2021
• New Picture Book Releases We Want to Read: February 2021
• New Picture Book Releases We Want to Read: March 2021

For the first time this year I am paying attention to release dates of new books.

I am blaming it on the fact that for the last year I have been in the depths of BookTube sharing about what I’ve been reading and hearing about the books everyone else is excited about.

I shared on my YouTube channel about some of the books I am excited to read in the first bit of this year and I thought it would be fun to make a list of solely middle grade books that are coming out this year that I am excited about.

Obviously I’ve never read any of these books before so I can’t say they are great but they are either on this list because the description sounds really good or I’ve read something by the author or a previous book in the series. I’ll try to make share why each book sounds interesting to me.

Do you know about any good sounding middle grade books that are coming out this year? If I’ve missed a good one, let me know! I would also love to hear if there are some from this list that sound good to you!

Anticipated Middle Grade Releases in 2021: January-March

I love Gary D. Schmidt’s writing and am looking forward to this book!

JUST LIKE THAT

January 5th, 2021

Following the death of her closest friend in summer 1968, Meryl Lee Kowalski goes off to St. Elene’s Preparatory Academy for Girls, where she struggles to navigate the venerable boarding school’s traditions and a social structure heavily weighted toward students from wealthy backgrounds. In a parallel story, Matt Coffin has wound up on the Maine coast near St. Elene’s with a pillowcase full of money lifted from the leader of a criminal gang, fearing the gang’s relentless, destructive pursuit. Both young people gradually dispel their loneliness, finding a way to be hopeful and also finding each other.

I’m always drawn to middle grade books with kids that like science because both of my kids love it!

Clues to the Universe

January 12, 2021

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 doesn’t like science, but he can’t get enough of Spacebound, a popular comic book series. When he finds a sketch that suggests that his dad created the comics, he’s thrilled. Too bad his dad walked out years ago, and Benji has no way to contact him.

Though Ro and Benji were only supposed to be science class partners, the pair become unlikely friends: Benji helps Ro finish her rocket, and Ro figures out a way to reunite Benji and his dad. But Benji hesitates, which infuriates Ro. Doesn’t he realize how much Ro wishes she could be in his place?

As the two face bullying, grief, and their own differences, Benji and Ro must try to piece together clues to some of the biggest questions in the universe.

We listened to Barbara O’Connor’s “Wish” as a family and love it. I’m hoping this one is just as good!

Halfway to Harmony

January 12, 2021

Walter Tipple is looking for adventure. He keeps having a dream that his big brother, Tank, appears before him and says, “Let’s you and me go see my world, little man.” But Tank went to the army and never came home, and Walter doesn’t know how to see the world without him.

Then he meets Posey, the brash new girl from next door, and an eccentric man named Banjo, who’s off on a bodacious adventure of his own. What follows is a summer of taking chances, becoming braver, and making friends―and maybe Walter can learn who he wants to be without the brother he always wanted to be like.

Halfway to Harmony is an utterly charming story about change and growing up.

This book sounds fun, it reminds me a lot of the game, Outfoxed, my kids have played for years, I especially think my son will like this one.

The Animal Rescue Agency #1: Case File: Little Claws

January 12, 2021

When an animal is in trouble, there’s only one place to turn: the Animal Rescue Agency!

Dashing Esquire Fox used to organize the world’s most elaborate chicken raids until the day she encountered Mr. Pepper. Meeting the blustery old rooster changed her heart, convincing her to turn from a life of crime and instead form the Animal Rescue Agency, which masterminds rescue operations across the globe.

Esquire and her unlikely chicken business manager coordinate their far-flung agents to get them to the Arctic. In that frozen land they learn that what happened to the polar bear cub was no accident—and that saving him will pit them against the scariest predator in the world: a human.

I love dystopian books plus it sounds like this one is written in verse!

Alone

January 12, 2021

When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. She’s alone—left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned.

With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten.

As months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. But Maddie’s most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. Can Maddie’s stubborn will to survive carry her through the most frightening experience of her life?

This is a debut novel that I’m interested in!

365 Days to Alaska

January 19, 2021

Eleven-year-old Rigel Harman loves her life in off-the-grid Alaska. She hunts rabbits, takes correspondence classes through the mail, and plays dominoes with her family in their two-room cabin. She doesn’t mind not having electricity or running water—instead, she’s got tall trees, fresh streams, and endless sky.
 
But then her parents divorce, and Rigel and her sisters have to move with their mom to the Connecticut suburbs to live with a grandmother they’ve never met. Rigel hates it in Connecticut. It’s noisy, and crowded, and there’s no real nature. Her only hope is a secret pact that she made with her father: If she can stick it out in Connecticut for one year, he’ll bring her back home.
 
At first, surviving the year feels impossible. Middle school is nothing like the wilderness, and she doesn’t connect with anyone . . . until she befriends a crow living behind her school. And if this wild creature has made a life for itself in the suburbs, then, just maybe, Rigel can too.

My daughter loves fantasy books so I’m always looking for new ones for her to read!

Amari and the Night Brothers

January 19, 2021

Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good.

So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton—if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.

Now she must compete for a spot against kids who’ve known about magic their whole lives. No matter how hard she tries, Amari can’t seem to escape their intense doubt and scrutiny—especially once her supernaturally enhanced talent is deemed “illegal.” With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she’s an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

This is book five in the Greenglass House series – I’ve only read book one but I enjoyed it!

The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book: A Greenglass House Story

February 23, 2021

The rain hasn’t stopped for a week, and the twelve guests of the Blue Vein Tavern are trapped by flooded roads and the rising Skidwrack River. Among them are a ship’s captain, tattooed twins, a musician, and a young girl traveling on her own. To pass the time, they begin to tell stories—each a different type of folklore—that eventually reveal more about their own secrets than they intended.

As the rain continues to pour down—an uncanny, unnatural amount of rain—the guests begin to realize that the entire city is in danger, and not just from the flood. But they have only their stories, and one another, to save them. Will it be enough?

This is book three in the series. Rae loved book one and got book two for Christmas.

Never Grow Up

February 23rd

When Kari Baxter is assigned an essay about what she wants to be when she grows up, her mind goes blank. She doesn’t want to grow up; she wants everything to stay just like it is. But Kari comes to realize that while making time stand still isn’t possible, she can enjoy every moment with her best family ever.

Meanwhile, Ashley Baxter feels the same way. She is worried her siblings are growing up too fast. When she wins the role of Wendy in her school performance of Peter Pan, Ashley gets an idea. Maybe she and her siblings can pledge to never grow up at all!

This third story in the Baxter Family Children series shares the reassuring message that even though growing up can be tough, family and friends are always there with support and love.

Jennifer A. Nielsen has really proven herself as an author to me so I’m excited about this one!

RESCUE 

March 2

Six hundred and fifty-seven days ago, Meg Kenyon’s father left their home in France to fight for the Allies in World War II, and that was the last time Meg saw him. Recently, she heard he was being held prisoner by the Nazis, a terrible sentence from which Meg fears he’ll never return. All she has left of him are the codes he placed in a jar for her to decipher, an affectionate game the two of them shared. But the codes are running low, and soon there’ll be nothing left of Papa for Meg to hold on to at all.

Suddenly, an impossible chance to save her father falls into Meg’s lap. After following a trail of blood in the snow, Meggie finds an injured British spy hiding in her grandmother’s barn. Captain Stewart tells her that a family of German refugees must be guided across Nazi-occupied France to neutral Spain, whereupon one of them has promised to free Meg’s father. Captain Stewart was meant to take that family on their journey, but too injured to complete the task himself, he offers it to Meg, along with a final code from Papa to help complete the mission — perhaps the most important, and most difficult, riddle she’s received yet.

As the Nazis flood Meg’s village in fierce pursuit, she accepts the duty and begins the trek across France. Leading strangers through treacherous territory, Meg faces danger and uncertainty at every turn, all the while struggling to crack her father’s code. The message, as she unravels it, reveals secrets costly enough to risk the mission and even her own life. Can Meg solve the puzzle, rescue the family, and save her father?

This is book two in a series, so we’ll check out book one first but this one sounds fun!

WINTERBORNE HOME FOR MAYHEM AND MYSTERY

March 2

Five orphans. Two sword-wielding vigilantes. One mansion. No rules.

April thought she had her happy ending. After all, she has her new house and new friends and new guardian. But she also has a very big new secret.

The kids of Winterborne House are the only ones who know that Gabriel Winterborne—famous billionaire and terrible cook—is really a sword-wielding vigilante.

What they don’t know is that he’s not the only one.

When a masked figure breaks in, looking for something—or someone—it’s clear that Gabriel has met his match, and now no one is safe. April and her friends will have to solve a decades-old mystery in order to hang on to the most important thing in the world: each other.

Golden Gate

March 16th

After thwarting a notorious villain at an eco-summit in Paris, the City Spies are gearing up for their next mission. Operating out of a base in Scotland, this secret team of young agents working for the British Secret Intelligence Service’s MI6 division have honed their unique skills, such as sleight of hand, breaking and entering, observation, and explosives. All of these allow them to go places in the world of espionage where adults can’t.

Fourteen-year-old Sydney is a surfer and a rebel from Bondi Beach, Australia. She’s also a field ops specialist for the City Spies. Sydney is excited to learn that she’ll be going undercover on the marine research vessel the Sylvia Earle. But things don’t go exactly as planned, and while Sydney does find herself in the spotlight, it’s not in the way she was hoping.

Meanwhile, there’s been some new intel regarding a potential mole within the organization, offering the spies a lead that takes them to San Francisco, California. But as they investigate a spy who died at the Botanical Gardens, they discover that they are also being investigated. And soon, they’re caught up in an exciting adventure filled with rogue missions and double agents!

This mission is hot! The City Spies are a go!

I am so very excited about this book, we love The Wingfeather Saga!!

Wingfeather Tales: Seven Thrilling Stories from the World of Aerwiar

March 23, 2021

Immerse yourself in a land of bomnubbles and quarreling cousins, sea dragons and book publishers, thieves and Fangs and secret maps. Here within these pages lie six stories of the distant past, lost adventures, forgotten songs, and heartbreaking histories. The Shining Isle is restored, but Aerwiar is vast–and these authors have tales yet to tell:

  •  Explore the inner walls of Yorsha Doon, just West of the Woes of Shreve, on the edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, from the eyes of young Safiki in “The Prince of Yorsha Doon” from the creator of Aewiar, Andrew Peterson.
  •  Jennifer Trafton’s warm and whimsical writing brings to life a publishing nightmare populated by the many beasts of Skree in “The Wooing of Sophelia Stupe.”
  •  Learn the origins of Ollister Pebmrick’s mysterious entry in the Creaturepedia about his encounter with a raggant in “Willow Worlds” by N. D. Wilson.
  •  Travel with young Podo Helmer on an epic hunt for sea dragons in “From the Deeps of the Dragon King” from A. S. Peterson.
  •  Jonathan Rogers presents “The Ballard of Lanric and Rube,” sung by Armulyn the Bard, tale-spinner of the imaginary Shining Isle of Anniera, in On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness.
  •  Discover what life was like for Maraly and Gammon in post-war Skree in “Shadowblade and the Florid Sword”—the first-ever Wingfeather comic—by Andrew Peterson.
  •  Douglas McKelvey’s epic, heartbreakingly hopeful novella “The Places Beyond the Maps” recounts a father’s journey to redemption.

You’ll also find delightful illustrations by Justin Gerard, Hein Zaayman, Cory Godbey, John Hendrix, Nicholas Kole, Aedan Peterson, Joe Sutphin, Jay Myers, and Doug TenNapel.

Enter a rich, imaginative world that becomes more real, more mysterious, more dangerous, and more beautiful with each story’s telling.