Middle Grade

The Wild Season

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by Dashka Slater
First sentence: “One night in June 2023, someone approached a small park in San Francisco carrying bunnies.”
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Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work.
Content: It’s pretty simple text and dotted throughout with illustrations. It’s in the Middle Reader NonFiction section of the bookstore.

This sweet little Middle Grade Nonfiction book covers the summer when a neighborhood in San Francisco came together to rescue domesticated bunnies that were dumped in a neighborhood park. It’s simply told – it is for younger readers, after all – but it’s a compelling story about passionate people doing things together. It follows a group of kids who formed The Bunny Club to look for them, as well as a teenager who was in the right place at the right time to catch a couple, and adults, including one who started a bunny rescue organization.

I learned a lot reading this – from how to catch bunnies to the reasons why domesticated bunnies really don’t survive well in the wild. The most astonishing fact was the overrunning of bunnies in Australia because some English guy wanted to hunt them, so his friend brought them over. It was simply told, but incredibly engaging – it reads like a fiction story, although it’s not. It’s simple without being simplistic, and appropriate for younger readers without talking down to them.

A surprisingly good book.

The Year I Stopped Drawing

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by Grant Snider
First sentence: “The year I stopped drawing was the year my parents started yelling.”
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Review copy provided by the publisher
Release date: November 10, 2026
Content: There is mention of adult alcoholism, parental fighting, and bullying. It’ll be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Adam’s always been the best artist in school, but seventh grade is different. His parents are fighting, he’s struggling at school, and he’s lost his desire to draw. He doesn’t know who he is without drawing, and at the encouragement of a school counselor, he spends the year trying to find himself (and his love of drawing) again.

It’s a simple novel, but I do love the way Snider tells it. It’s peppered with his art, in many different styles, as Adam tries to figure himself out. As I’ve only read Snider’s comic strips, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this and how well he captured what it means for a kid to have their life in flux. It caught the turmoil and uncertainty of middle school especially well.

Highly recommend this one.

Hometown

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by Shaun Tan
First sentence: “Here I am.”
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Release date: September 15, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There’s really nothing. The publisher says it’s for ages 10-14, but the text is a bit simple for that. This one might be difficult to find the right audience.

This is the story of a human-looking girl who lives on a planet of non-human creatures. She’s fine with this; they are her family and her friends. She doesn’t even question her existence as being “different” until an outsider – another human – comes and tells her she’s different and that she doesn’t belong.

It’s a simple story; there isn’t a lot of text. But the art. Oh my gosh, the art. It’s breathtaking. It’s funny at times. It’s telling so much story. THIS is why I love Tan’s books. He tells so much in art, so much story with so little. It’s telling a story of belonging, of found family, of colonialism, of exploration. And I adored it.

The question is, however, will it be able to find its audience? Because it definitely deserves to.

This is a Door

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by Daniel Nayeri
First sentence: “A boy named Nothing woke up on the floor.”
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Release date: October 27, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: It has a fairy-tale-like feel, and there is a lot of white space. However, the words make pictures and while that’s cool, it might put off some readers.

Nothing has no parents, and isn’t regarded at all in the mountain town where he lives. (Hence, his name.) All he has is a woman he calls Nana, his mouse friend mOmO, and a dog named Pöppy. Nothing wants to find out his True Purpose, and asks Nana how. She sends the trio off on an adventure. Things Happen, and Nothing figures out that it’s not what he’s named or who is parents are, it’s who he is.

There’s not much substance to this book – mostly because it’s a fairy tale, a fable. What IS cool about this book, and the reason I kept reading, is the format. The words make pictures on the page. Like this:

It’s very visually engaging. Though, as I was raving about this to a coworker, they mentioned that maybe that would make it difficult for some kids to read. Because it’s a very involved book. Sometimes the text goes over a page turn and back again, which confused me until I figured it out. This will be amazing for some kids – they will enjoy the puzzle of it all, and the visual aspect of the book, but it will absolutely turn others off. I fall in the enjoyment camp: I found it engaging and entertaining, though it was entirely because of the visual aspect.

And truthfully, I can’t wait to see the final book.

An Octopus Named Houdini

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by Zana Fraillon
First sentence: “Our nine octopus brains have a lot we’d like to say to the Waves of people who come every day to stare, to gawk to squeak to squak to squeal and to bang on our glass — “
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Release date: October 20, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher
Content: There really isn’t anything. It will be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section fo the bookstore.

Houdini is an octopus in an aquarium. They’ve been there since childhood, and while it’s been a safe life, it’s been a boring one. Houdini longs for the sea, even though her keepers don’t know that they remember the sea, as they were very young when they were caught by a fisherman and donated to the aquarium. The plot is simple: Houdini wants to find a way to escape to the sea, the humans don’t want that – well, the director doesn’t want that – and some humans Understand and want to help.

The real charm of this book is the words. Fraillon writes from the octopus’s perspective, which was absolutely wonderfu. There’s a lyricism to this book, one that pulled me in and kept me reading. It’s going to be a good book for kids who love animals, and for people who enjoy a good novel in verse, becuase this is definitely that.

Licorice

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by Kara LaReau
First sentence: “Sometimes I dream about the house at 5 Manderley Lane, dreams that make my legs kick and my whiskers twitch.”
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Release date: Oct 20, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There are some unsettling moments and talk of a pet’s death. It will be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Kitty is a feral cat that lost her family and has been rescued and placed at a shelter. It’s there that Max finds her and decides to adopt her, even though his previous cat, Licorice, just tragically died months before. Kitty – because she’s anxious and shy and getting used to being inside — has a hard time adjusting, something which is made exponentially more difficult by the bird in the house, Duchess. Duchess, who says that Licorice was perfect. That Max loved Licorice best. That Kitty could never replace Licorice.

I didn’t do a fantastic job explaining it, but this is Daphne DuMaurier’s Rebecca, but with pets and for middle graders.

Which is kind of weird, if you think about it. How many kids are going to know the source material? Or even seek it out afterward? LaReau did a great job – all the beats of the book/movie are there, and it’s clever in the way she made the story work. It was slow to start – which is its own problem – but I found that it was quite compelling as it went along. I just wonder how many kids are going to want to read this. Or, to be fair, how to handsell it. Because “Rebecca but with pets” isn’t going to cut it.

I need an actual kid who knows nothing about Rebecca to read this and see if it works, because I think it’s clever.

Building 903

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by Lois Lowry
First sentence: “Later — much later, when she was grown — Tessa remembered those weeks when she was fourteen years old.”
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Review copy provided by the publisher
Release date: September 29, 2026
Content: There are some unsettling parts. It will be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

One day, Tessa’s twin brother Theo just up and disappears. No clue as to where he went, and the government just erases him from the records. It’s a world where the government is run by a fascist dictator, who has outlawed books, music, and pretty much all joy. And then, her next-door neighbor is taken away to Elder Care (she’s 134!) and leaves Tessa with a key that unlocks a secret closet where Miriam’s secret stash of contraband books is.

From there, things get… odd… as Tessa’s parents take over. Her dad’s been working on some sort of secret means of transportation, and the three of them head to Building 903 where all the books are kept, in order to figure out the connection between the books and Theo’s disappearance.

To be honest, once Tessa’s parents got involved, I stopped being interested. I expected more from Lowry, who should know that a middle grade book is where the main character is 11 or 12 (not 14! Though she acted so much younger) and they propel the action, no matter how unbelievable. I was very disappointed at all the exposition (Tessa’s dad goes on for PAGES) and the absolute lack of action from Tessa. What’s the point of having a child as a main character if all the adults do all the work? It’s dumb. I can understand she wanted to write a book about the dangers of book banning and the importance of stories, but this book wasn’t it.

Tragic.

Audiobook: The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest

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by Aubrey Hartman
Read by Marisa Calin
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There are some intense moments, especially for animal lovers. It’s in the Newbery Medal section of the bookstore.

Clair is the usher of animals’ spirits into the afterlife. He’s comfortable in his life; he enjoys his job; and his undeath keeps him from going to the afterworld he thinks he’s destined for: the realm of Pain. Then one day, a badger (of all animals!) comes through and can’t find her way into the afterlife. Clair tries everything he knows how to do, and nothing works. So he and Gingersnipes (the badger) set out on an adventure to try and figure out what to do.

It’s a simple story, and one I think that if I’d read, I’d not enjoy very much. But, listening to it on audio? It was perfect. Calin did an excellent job with the story, keeping me as a listener engaged. Some production elements helped as well – echoes and different effects, and so on — that helped as well. And as a result, I couldn’t stop listening. It was compelling, entertaining, and yes, touching.

This one would make an excellent read-aloud as well.

Midsummer Sisters

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by Niki Smith
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date June 2, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There are a couple of instances of parents fighting and children being afraid, and there is mention of crushes. It will be in the Middle Grade Graphic Novel section.

Kenzie and Quinn are stepsisters, but they have grown up together for most of their twelve years. They don’t remember a time when they weren’t sisters. But, their parents – Kenzie’s dad and Quinn’s mom – are arguing all the time now, their fights getting worse, and Quinn’s mom is looking at a divorce and moving away. Neither girl wants this, but they have no say. When the fighting gets really bad, they go out to the Outer Banks to visit Kenzie’s grandmother, where they become invested in the wild horses. They work out their own issues – anxiety about no longer being sisters – while watching the horses and enjoying the island.

I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. One of my coworkers mentioned that horse books are popular again, and this one definitely falls into that category. I know there will be kids – step-siblings whose parents are going through a divorce – who will find this helpful, but I couldn’t connect. I appreciated the grandmother (she’s the one with the most sense), and I think if I were more of a horse girl, I would have really enjoyed Kenzie and Quinn’s interactions with the horses.

As it was, I recognized that it was good, but I didn’t love it.

Audiobook: The Experiment

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by Rebecca Stead
Read by Mark Sanderlin
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There are some intense moments, bullying by an adult, and mention of crushes and dating. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Nathan has grown up knowing he is different from other kids. See: he’s an alien. His parents are CAST and came here from another planet, intending to see whether they could live among humans without being detected. It means Nathan has to brush his teeth five times a day with pink toothpaste and he mother has to obsessively way his food and track his bowel movements. There are nine other families in other states (Izzy in Illinois, Leo in Louisiana, Annie in Arkansas) that are also trying this experiment. But two things happen to shake Nathan’s world: first, Izzy disappears. And then, Nathan grows a tail. These two events set Nathan on a path that will question everything he has been taught, as he determines to find out the truth of the CAST, his purpose, and the meaning behind it all.

I was truly captivated by this audiobook. A lot of it was the narrator: Sanderlin has a great voice for middle-grade books, and he made this one utterly enjoyable. There were some intense moments when I didn’t know what would happen (justice for Victor! He should have had a larger role.), and I have to admit that the ending was a little pat and somewhat preachy. Perhaps it’s because I’m an adult, but I just felt like Stead couldn’t go through with what the story was demanding of her and pivoted at the end to make a moral out of it. I could be wrong, but that’s the way it felt. That said, the rest of the book is fantastic, and I appreciate a science fiction/aliens book where people are not actually out there battling “bad” aliens. It’s refreshing. And highly recommended.