April 2024 New Middle Grade Books

Soon-to-be 6th grader Kacie Sithiwat finds that something in her neighborhood has changed when she returns from her summer holiday. For one, her best friend, Nisha, is nowhere to be found. Using her art journal, Kacie investigates the changes in her neighborhood and Nisha’s move. While this isn’t a true mystery, there’s an unmistakable air of mystery and nostalgia as Kacie realizes the impact of gentrification in her neighborhood, explores her memories with her best friend, and learns more about her community. A powerful, heartfelt look at navigating change and discovering the gift of community.

Celia’s life is turned upside down when her Mami doesn’t come home one night. Her reporter father, whom she rarely sees, picks her up in his van, and the two settle in a campground while he works on a new piece about an immigrant detained by ICE for deportation. There, Celia meets a group of kids who love music and are planning a concert. When they discover that Celia can sing, they band together to fundraise for the woman in detention, even as Celia learns more about her mom’s disappearance. This is a strong debut with impressive storytelling chops, and Celia’s voice will draw readers in from the first page. Hand to grades 5-7 because although Celia feels young, it explores several big issues (an incarcerated parent, body image issues, friendship drama) that will draw older tweens in. A big-hearted celebration of Latin American music and culture, the power of community and friendships, and a sweet father-daughter relationship. Good for kids who loved the father-daughter dynamics in Maudie McGinn and the friend group in The Chance to Fly.

Sarah, Hannah, and West are three besties who call themselves The Deltas. They love escape rooms and are always thrilled to break out of each one they try. When Sarah finds out their house will be foreclosed soon on the heels of her father’s Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis, despite all her mom’s hard work, she’s desperate to help out her family. Fortunately, the kids have heard of a funhouse in their town built by a set of now-deceased triplets. Legend has it that there’s a treasure to be won by anyone who gets through the funhouse, so they decide to take it on. Most of the book takes place in the funhouse, and it is such a romp of a story. Suspense, adventure, riddles, puzzles, thrills, and, surprisingly, a lot of heart make this story a winner for young readers. Although Sarah and her friends are older, this is a great story that will work for readers as young as the 4th or 5th grade.

Fern and her mother have been living on The Ranch under the thumb of a charismatic leader named Ben. One day, Fern’s mom sneaks herself and Fern across the country from NY to CA, where they live in a motel in her mother’s teenage neighborhood. Although readers will know that Fern and her mom were in a cult, Fern is confused, misses the stability of living a regimented life, and worries about returning to the unstable lifestyle she and her mother had before The Ranch. Fern feels so real and relatable, and all the characters in this story feel well-rounded. Set largely in the atmospheric Driftbay area, this propulsive story of a girl learning to trust her inner voice is unforgettable and has excellent discussion potential in the classroom.

This is a poignant graphic memoir about Kathy McCleod, who is half-Thai and half-American. Caught between cultures, Kathy constantly feels out of place as she lives in Thailand but loves American food and spends summers in Maine. During one summer trip, her parents send her to summer camp, where she faces ignorant questions about life in Thailand and struggles to make friends. Slowly, Kathy begins to realize that families look different, and she can find belonging even if hers doesn’t look like other peoples’. I loved this slice-of-life graphic memoir, and I think it will be especially meaningful for third-culture kids, biracial kids, or readers who struggle with belonging because of a mixed heritage and upbringing.

Santana and Casey feel like the less-loved daughters in their families, so when the two girls become friends, they decide to weasel their way into being their parents’ favorites by undermining their sisters. I’m typically not a fan of intense sibling rivalry stories, but this book is truly funny and reads in an easy, relatable voice reminiscent of contemporary classics like The Babysitters’ Club books. My heart went out to both girls and anyone who’s ever felt like the second favorite child will feel seen by this story.

Thirteen-year-old Elio is in love for the first time, and his dreams come true when Camelia, his crush, becomes his first girlfriend. The mishaps in that first relationship and an association of males teach him plenty about consent, patriarchy, toxic masculinity, and respect for women. This book, written in lyrical, accessible verse, feels akin to Judy Blume, but for boys, as Salazar writes candidly about Elio’s morning erection, nocturnal emissions, and the way he feels “down there” when he’s around Camelia. Still, the text remains appropriate for tweens and young teens looking for more information than they might be getting from their parents about vital sex ed.

Simon Hyde and his parents have been moving around the country and creating social media content around their travels for as long as he can remember. Now they’ve moved into the Tangerine Apartments and Simon is hoping to put down roots for a while. Thanks to a recent accident, his leg is in a cast, so he’s happy when Amaya, a talkative neighbor, actively befriends him with little effort on his part. Just as the two begin to hit it off, a theft in the building puts everyone on edge and even Simon’s parents begin to contemplate moving away again. This moves Simon to agree with Amaya’s proposal that they solve the mystery together. As the kids unravel the mystery, they also learn plenty about each other, what it means to be a good friend and their eclectic group of neighbors. This is a warm mystery with a great cast of quirky, memorable characters that will appeal to upper elementary schoolers and younger middle schoolers.

Tully Birch’s mom left them weeks ago and Tully is convinced that if she does a marathon swim, something her mom was supposed to help her train for, her mom would see she is worth returning for. Her friend Arch is her only supporter, and although the swim starts out well, the weather, poor training, the weight of sad memories, and fatigue catch up with Tully just around the halfway mark. This book is gorgeously written and accessible for tween readers. I loved the shape poems, the survival edge throughout the story, and Tully and Arch’s friendship. I also enjoyed the way Sumner gradually shows readers a clearer vision of Tully’s mom besides the initial rosy depiction we see. This is a very short book that will appeal to fans of Alone and verse novel lovers in general. 

This 5-star romance about two overachieving rivals is perfect for tweens and young teens. Grace feels like being smart is all she has. She doesn’t seem to good at social situations and can’t figure out fashion and styling like her friends. So she holds on to book smarts and finds worth in her grades — and in competing with her former best friend, Jonah. Their friendship exploded after his dad’s sudden illness and death. Now, it’s the end of 8th grade, and Jonah’s won the coveted top scholar spot, leaving Grace with no raison d’etre. She decides to compete in a half marathon that she finds out Jonah is training for, so she has one last chance to beat him, and she ends up learning a lot about what really matters in life. The romance is sweet and swoony, and Grace and Jonah’s dialogue is so authentic and left me an adult with heart eyes while feeling age-appropriate.

After years of living in the Philippines while her mom works abroad, it’s finally time for Isabel to reunite with her mother in California. But when she arrives, there’s so much to adjust to, from snooty classmates to big malls, the absence of green space in their small apartment, and the different food. Armed with her grandfather’s advice to look for the familiar, things slowly get easier as she joins a cooking club in school and starts working on growing the school garden. I enjoyed this one and loved the underrepresented theme of an immigrant parent reuniting with a child and the insight into balikbayan boxes. It also includes a depiction of Filipino culture and musings about elderly Asian attacks as one older man in the community is attacked. 

Fame-hungry Bay Ann is caught unawares when a mishap after her winning performance leads to popular boy Alyee Maqq scoring the spotlight for helping the disabled girl. Bay Ann is furious about the narrative but mostly about Aly going viral instead of her. So she embarks on a mission to outdo him in different ventures—from science fairs to debate team—and go viral with the help of her two best friends. But when her mission keeps taking her farther and farther from those who matter, Bay Ann is forced to home in on what matters most. Honestly, this book was weird, and I liked it. It was jarring at first because of the way Bay Ann and her friends speak (and really how all the characters speak like they’re in a Shakespeare play but with a dash of dry millennial wit) but also because Bay Ann is simultaneously going to be not the most likable (especially for some adults) but also irresistibly relatable for some kids. But her character truly has an entertaining true redemption arc, and she’s not afraid to poke fun at her disability and common disability tropes.

Pan is a middle schooler at a Catholic school when he starts struggling with intrusive thoughts and overwhelming urges to perform compulsions in order to quell these feelings. Unsure of the source of these feelings, Pan worries that he’s possessed or “crazy.” As time passes, his obsessions and compulsions change, but the puzzle remains: why does he have these thoughts? This graphic memoir follows Pan as he figures out this mental health puzzle while navigating life as a tween and then teen, bullies, the impact of his OCD on his friendships, and how easily kids can hide their mental health struggles. This is a great pick for fans of Page’s Button Pusher, although Pan doesn’t dive too deeply into the science behind OCD but focuses more on the emotional turmoil. It will resonate with kids dealing with anxiety or OCD specifically.

After his best friend dies in a hit-and-run, 13-year-old Isaiah feels lost, especially because his other best friend seems reluctant to spend time with him. Isaiah is a sensitive boy with a love for rock music and a serious green thumb but he worries his sensitivity and hobbies make him less manly. When he’s involved in yet another tragic incident, his parents send him off to his aunt and uncle in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he comes to terms with his grief and gains a new level of self-acceptance. This is much different from Williams’ debut; more gentle and lyrical in the verse format. Her writing expertly combines the adventurous tone of Isaiah and his friends’ hijinks with the moving depiction of his grief and the hopefulness of his healing and recovery. Older middle schoolers who love verse novels and male friendship stories will enjoy this one.

13-year-old Mia feels like her social circle is changing faster than she can keep up with. Her best friend Addy is now friends with a not-nice popular girl whom they were both united in not liking. Happily, one of her good friends, Tariq announces that he’s moving to her town. But when Tariq arrives, he looks different: cool haircut, contacts, and he plays sports too now? Tariq quickly begins to make friends at school while remaining friends with Mia, who also finds herself befriended by Kinsey, a nice but mysterious girl in her class. Soon, Kinsey, Tariq, Mia, and another kid, Evan, get thrown into a science lab group together, and their first project is building a snake robot. I really liked this one. This is another slice-of-life graphic novel, but the friendship miscommunications add a necessary level of tension and suspense. I also loved the friendship between these kids and the fact that everything stays platonic. This is one of those rare times where I think the Telgemeier comparison is actually spot on.