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!
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.
I read 20 modern romances this year. My friend Karen @cover.to.bookcover runs a monthly online romance book club so at least handful were from that. I have my ongoing faves and new authors too.
YA Romance
I will read anything Nicola Yoon writes. Everything, Everything was great. Ali Hazelwood is another author I’ve enjoyed over the last few years and Check & Mate felt older than most teen books. Still a girl owning the chess circuit was pretty cool.
My Romance Go Tos
My old faithfuls came through for me this year. Funny Story by Emily Henry was, by far, my favorite romance of the year. If you don’t like romances, give this a try and tell me what you think. Katherine Center and Susan Elizabeth Phillips both had new books I loved. I read two Ashley Poston and I really liked The Seven Year Slip. Kristan Higgins has some fantastic backlist romances and I love both of the Gideon’s Cove books I read. Jasmine Guillory is a newer fave and I really liked By the Book, I guess a take on Beauty and the Beast but it didn’t quite read that way for me. Still good!
New To Me
And I read these authors for the first time and I’m already excited about reading more from them in 2025…Christina Lauren, Denise Williams, Mariana Zapata, and Tessa Bailey.
End of the year list making is my favorite. It lets me reflect on the year and make some new goals for the future. Here are the 6 books I reread this year because I liked them so much the first time.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck shows how a mastery of spare prose can elicit strong emotions. First printed in 1937 and only 107 pages so it’s a quick way to add a classic to your reading.
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafonis a historical thriller for book lovers. In 1945 Spain a boy is taken to the Cemetery for Lost Books and his life changed forever. “Books are mirrors- you only see in them what you already have inside you.” 487 pages
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. Nonfiction. Corrie’s family used a secret room to hide Jews when the Nazis invaded Holland. She and her sister were in their 50s, their father in his 80s when they were discovered and sent to a concentration camp. The one thing that sustained her was her faith in God. A master class about forgiveness and loving your enemies. 269 pages.
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende was my first introduction to magical realism. Set in Chile this story focused on the women around the monster Estaban . There was a focus in the last section on 1970s Chile when the ‘right’ overthrew the socialists by a coup, only to empower a dictator who ended democracy for the country. Hm. First published in 1982. 433 Pages.
Mariana by Susanna Kearsley is another magical realism book, but this one is has dual storylines. History, romance, danger, and the England setting make this a keeper. 364 pages
Better late than never? October reads minus two. 12 middle school fiction titles for Cybils, 1 fiction, 1 nonfiction. Some of these middle school titles are so good!
My one adult fiction book this month was perfect for the spooky season. Louise goes back to Charleston after her parents died and finds her relationship with her brother as rocky as ever and the house they grew up in full of the creepy puppets she remembered. But the longer she’s there more memories and secrets come to life.
Are puppets creepy? YES! Are they more creepy when they’re haunted? Again, YES!
Thich Nhat Hanh and I had the same birthday. Maybe that’s why his books connect with me so much. He was a Buddhist monk from the age of 16 and involved himself in engaged Buddhism to speak out against social issues. For his efforts to help end the war in Vietnam, where he was born and then exiled, Martin Luther King Jr. nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
He wrote over 100 books, for me this is book 11 I think. His books on mindfulness will be an asset to anyone who reads them.
This book, No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life, focuses on how to look at death and even how to ease the passing of those you love. This has been a part of my morning reading the past few months and I finally finished it today. Powerful and thoughtful.
“We think of our body as our self or belonging to our self. We think of our body as me or mine. But if you look deeply, you see that your body is also the body of your ancestors, of your parents, of your children, and of their children.”
“If you live without awareness it is the same as being dead.”
Middle School Fiction for first round of Cybils reading.
My favorites
Rise of the Spider by Michael Spradlin. If there is ever the perfect book to read at the exact right time, this is one. This is the first of a series and should be read in middle school history classes everywhere.
How did Hitler rise to power? Who are the people that followed him and spread hate and violence? This tells the story of 11 year old Rolf whose brother joins the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, otherwise known as Hitler Youth. Hitler isn’t in power, yet, but he is collecting people more loyal to him than to their country. The next book is titled Threat of the Spider.
This book is only 138 pages and I have at least 12 pages marked with notes and tags. Read your history to avoid repeating it.
Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart. My notes have these descriptive words.. charmingly enchanting, found family, unconventional, quest, mature. This book is deals with grief head on since it focuses on finding a book where her mother wrote where she wanted to be scattered. I fell in love with all of these people and I think you will too. 278 pages.
The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy. A girl and her mother escape a cult, only the girl doesn’t realize that’s what it was and wants to go back. Heartbreakingly good.
The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson. My notes have these descriptive words…tries so hard, loss, so much beautiful energy, imagination, belief in traditions, hero. Lucy is sent to live on a tiny island with a family who mans the lighthouse. Grief is fresh, but it’s about learning to move on and fit it with new family. 172 pages
Carter Avery’s Tricky Fourth Grade Year by Rob Buyea. My notes have these descriptive words…ADHD, special teacher, first friendships, self advocacy, feeling left out. Carter and his sister live with their grandma and the parents died when they were young, so that’s not the focus, but it’s there. 344 pages
These others were really good too
The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie. Three friends try to go into an old fun house to find treasure. Sure to thrill any escape room enthusiast.
Painting the Game by Patricia MacLachlan. A sweet story of a young girl trying to become a baseball player just like her minor league pitching dad. It has a rural throwback feel with a big ending. 134 pages
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. Two storylines, one of Jakob who works at Bletchley to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher and one of his little sister Lizzie who believes her mother is still alive and is trying to stay off a boat to America so she can prove it. There was lots of adventure and mystery along with some legit wartime scariness. 392 pages.
The Misfits by Lisa Yee and Dan Santant. Kids with powers at a school being trained together in teams. If a kid likes superheroes, they’ll like this, the first of series.
Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan. The story of young Safiyyah who loves the library and whose father is in charge of the Grand Mosque of Paris who joins the Nazi Resistance and saves hundreds of Jewish people. So much love for books in this one. 329 pages
Amil and the After by Veera Hiranandani. 1948 India after Amil’s family had to move from the new Pakistan to Bombay. Shows the hardship of moving to a new place.
Faker by Gordon Korman. His dad is a conman and his sister is his competition to become his number two. What happens when Trey finally wants to put down some roots? This was my first Gordon Korman and I’m not sure he’s for me.
Fantasy Series 5*A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas – It’s not very often that I love the second book in a series more than the first, but here it is. Thanks to @thepageburner I am unlikely to get anything done until I’ve burned through this series. I’m listening to the audios mostly because it’s the only way that I can get my fix and still keep our house running.
It’s pure escapism which is why I need it right now. And you might too! It’s fantasy. It’s fairies. It’s humans becoming fairies. It’s full of characters that you love. There’s romance. There are battles. There are powers and wings.
That’s all I can really say without spoiling anything. Anything I say about the second book can spoil the first. Don’t start unless you’ve got some time on your hands.
4.5*A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas – Book 3 in the A Court of Thorns & Roses series brings the whole gang together for the battle royale. Alliances, betrayals, magic, sacrifice, love, wings, witches, magic cauldrons, and rebirth all make this 699 pager a nice culmination.
This is not my usual fare and I’ve been thinking about what makes this such a good series for me, aside from the high adventure and intrigue. I think it’s because it’s a story of family. The one we’re born with and the one forged through love and trials. I love a good friends as family story.
4.25*A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J Maas – After the mad rush of A Court of Mist & Fury, book 3.5 was a nice breather. I’m not sure it was completely necessary, but I’ll reserve judgement until I read the last one.
The whole gang is back in Velaris recovering from the effects of a brutal war. We hear from 5 different voices, Feyre, Rhysand, Cassian, Nesta, and Morrrigan. Nesta is in a bad place. Feyre wants to make the world a better place. Elain isn’t interested in Lucien. And Amren is doing…jigsaw puzzles. I look forward to the last book to see how everything pans out.
Fiction 5*Funny Story by Emily Henry – Daphne is a children’s librarian who is about to be married to the man who brought her to Michigan last year. But what happened at the bachelor party didn’t stay at the bachelor party and now she’s got a roommate with heartbreak as big as her own. When she lies to make her ex-fiancee jealous it sets off a chain of events that have her wondering if leaving Michigan is really what her heart wants after all.
Steamy, funny, and real. Don’t miss it.
4.5* Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera– Listen for the Lie is the story of Lucy. Lucy left her small Texas town for LA five years ago after everyone there became convinced that she had killed her best friend Savvy. When a popular true crime podcaster starts sniffing around that can only mean trouble.
I loved this fast paced thriller. Once I started it was hard to put down. Lucy is such an unreliable narrator, not just because sure she still claimed amnesia from the night, but because of the voices in her head. My favorite character of the book was her day drink grandmother who is turning 80 and convinces Lucy to come home.
A fantastic thriller, especially if you love podcasts or true crime.
3*The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine – Not gonna lie, this one left me feeling yucky. I really didn’t like spending time with these people. I did make it to the end and liked the twist, but can’t really say I liked the book. And why would there be a sequel? No thank you.
I loved reading this book with Gage when he was younger. There are so many ways to be inspired, so many fabulous activities to do with your little ones. The most important thing about this book is the lesson that there’s magic in imagination. This magic may come from creating your own world through art or words. Or the magic from getting lost in a story from someone else’s imagination. Art is subjective. Art is your own point of view. Embrace it.
The illustrations are simple, just a black and white Harold and everything that comes from his purple crayon. It encourages enchantment of the mind. There is magic in the every day, the mundane. He draws himself into comforting situations and into danger equally and manages to be zen about it.
Gage and I went to see the movie this summer starring Zachary Levi as Harold. It maintained some of the magic and much of the simplicity of the book. I thought it was cute, although I did take issue with the bad guy being a librarian/writer.
This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens….When a library disappears, or a bookshop closes down, when a book is consigned to oblivion, those of us who know this place, its guardians, make sure that it gets here. In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader’s hands. In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend. Now they have only us, Daniel. Do you think you’ll be able to keep such a secret?” (p 5)
This is my review from when I first read this in 2010…
This is a book for book lovers just in case you couldn’t tell from the passage above. In 1945, Daniel is just a boy when his father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books hidden in the back streets of Barcelona and when his obsession with the mysterious author, Julian Carax begins. Daniel chose The Shadow of Wind to take home and he soon began to search out other Carax titles. Only there weren’t any. Someone had been destroying them all one by one. Daniel was sixteen when he began to search out the books in earnest and he was aided in his quest by the cagey and charming Fermin.
I couldn’t help but fall in love with Daniel and Fermin and I was drawn into the mess they got themselves into when they started asking questions about Carax. Why were so many people trying to keep the truth hidden? And who were the good guys? The characters they meet along the way heightened the suspense and I loved them all (well, I loved their addition to the story!).
I have the attention span of a gnat these days, but this book kept me reading every spare moment I had, even if it was only a few minutes at a time. I loved the drama, the mystery, the love, the Spanish setting, the wide cast of characters, and the love and respect of books shown in the story. This book has a little bit of everything and I loved it. Since I’m rating this a 5 it is obviously one of my favorites this year!
I’ve spent the last week listening to the audio and much of what I loved the first time was still there. The atmosphere, the characters, the stories, the mystery, and the absolute devotion to the written word all combine to make this a great read. I liked experiencing the book a second time and think the reading the words on the page is the way to go with this one. I’m keeping the book on my favorites list for now as I try to work through what belongs there and why, but I’m not sure it will stay.
“Books are mirrors – you only see in them what you already have inside you.”
“In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend.”
April was the slowest reading month for me in at least 4 years! I read 8 books with two clear favorites, a few I really liked, and a couple that were just okay.
Things Past Telling by Sheila Williams. Our book club pick this month. A fresh take on the harrowing and horrific journey of the people stolen from their homes and brought to America as slaves. 4 stars!
The Decomposition of Jack by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb. 5 stars!. Middle Grade Fiction, 208 pages, 2022
Let’s talk about roadkill. Who picks it up? What happens to the remains? What if you were in middle school and known as Roadkill Kid or Jack Splat because you helped your mom shovel the bloody carcasses off the road? And what if you then took those specimens to your back yard and took notes on how they decomposed every day for your mom’s research?
Jack is dealing with a lot. His dad has left and he’s trying to hold his mom together while also pushing down his own confusion and anger. He has his first crush. He has discovered a cougar just past their back yard.
I’ve never loved and been so grossed out by a book before. On the back , Margaret Peterson Haddox says, “This book is disgusting-and I mean that as a compliment!” And I couldn’t agree more.
It’s also very funny while still dealing with tough things. I’m not sure I’ll ever get the image of a ham in the church collection plate out of my head.
Gage and I read this together and we learned so much. This would be a fabulous science class read! On a more practical note, it mentioned a bone collector who sold roadkill bones on Etsy. We spent a good hour laughing at the amount of bones we found sold on Etsy. Reading the descriptions and reviews was a hoot.
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