I read 49 middle school or late elementary school fiction books this year. I wish I had time to talk about them all, but I did face up 18 of my favorites, although just looking at some of the great ones that didn’t make the cut makes me sad because they were so good!

If you have a topic that you want a recommendation for, please ask!

Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy (escaping a cult)

The Truth About Triangles by Michael Leali (family business, fighting parents, LGBTQ main character)

Ava Lin Best Friend by Vicky Fang (simple for the youngers, with illustrations)

Free Throws, Friendship, and Other Things We Fouled Up by Jenn Bishop (best friends, basketball)

Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston (neglect, foster care)

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko (neglect, foster care)

Carter Avery’s Tricky Fourth-Grade Year by Rob Buyea (ADHD, first friendships)

Tig by Heather Smith (neglect, LGBTQ uncles)

Grow Up, Luchy Zapata by Alexandra Alessandri (friendship breakup)

Rise of the Spider by Michael P Spradlin (Nazi recruitment)

Lost Kites and Other Treasures by Cathy Carr (family secrets)

Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings by Dionna Mann (matchmaking)

My Life as a Potato by Arianna Costner (mascot)

Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart (loss of mother)

The Beautiful Game by Yamile Saied Mendez (soccer)

The Decomposition of Jack by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb (roadkill)

Frindle and Frindle Files by Andrew Clements (90s classic and current sequel)

I read 6 fantasy books this year, 5 of them being the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. I really liked the first three the most, but do plan on continuing when there’s more.

I read 13 fiction books, my two favorites being The Guncle and The House in Cerulean Sea (technically also fantasy). These both have sequels that I’m excited about reading in 2025.

I really liked so many of the other books too, but those two brought so much needed joy that they stood out. The Women deserves a nod here because it was something so important, women serving in the Vietnam War. It was an addictive read with much to discuss for sure.

The 6 graphic novels I read this year. Five were nonfiction. I can recommend all of the nonfiction, but that vampire book might need a special audience.

If you struggle to read nonfiction there are SO MANY graphic novel/memoirs choices to help smarten you up.

The Talk by Darrin Bell. Highly recommend. Darren Bell has a white mother and a black father and it was his mother who is the first to tell him that the world will see him as different. She embarrasses him when she causes scenes calling out bias and yet his father remains largely silent. This book starts when he is 6 and has a run in with the police and they take his water gun and ends after the George Floyd murder when he has to decide if it’s the right time to have the talk about race with his own young son.

Feeding Dangerously by Andres, Orlando, and Ponticelli. Tells the story of how Jose Andres started the World Central Kitchen, heroes. These volunteers go into areas ravaged by natural disasters like hurricanes, fires, and volcanoes, but more recently into areas of active conflict and war to heal the people through home cooked meals. I’m in awe of all that this organization does.

Nat Turner by Kyle Baker. Over 200 pages of shocking, emotional, and violent black and white drawings. The only words in the book are direct quotes, most coming from Turner himself as he sat in prison. The book is powerful and some will find the images too violent. It’s not for everyone, but it made me feel the horror, and for that I applaud it. It’s the story of the slave rebellion of 1831.

Coco Chanel by Megan Hess. I picked this up because the book is gorgeous. The art mesmerized me and I also learned more about Coco too. Win win. Learning about her Nazi ties was disturbing.

Bloodlust & Bonnets by Emily McGovern. What a hoot! Lucy is a 19th century debutante who is approached to join a vampire cult. Just as she’s about to go to the dark side Lord Byron whisks her off to his magic castle on his psychic eagle. It’s just as silly as it sounds.

Seek You by Kristen Radtke. A book about American lonliness in memoir form. Lots of research, and lots to think about. The monkey experiments were heartbreaking.