Middle Grade

The House with No Keyes

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by Lindsay Currie
First sentence: “West holds his end of the banner up against the wall and laughs.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: September 30, 2025
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Others in the series: The Mystery of Locked Rooms
Content: There are some intense moments. It will be in the Middle Grade (ages 8-12) section of the bookstore.

It’s a few months since the Deltas – Wes, Hannah, and Sarah – have solved the mystery, won the treasure, and opened up (with help) the Delta Game escape house. They’re mostly happy – there is some small friendship issues- with the way things are. But, then they get an invitation to try a new escape house: The Mystery Mansion. The personal invite says that if that can beat the house in under two hours, they will win $10,000. And it turns out that the kids – individually, not collectively – need the money. But, as they get into the house, there is definitely something suspicious going on.

I’m not sure this sequel needed to exist, but honestly, it was fun being back in an escape room with the Deltas. Currie has a gift for creating fun rooms (I wish they existed, even though I’d be crap at doing them), and it’s interesting to see how the kids figure out how to solve the rooms.

It was a fun read, and I’m sure fans of the first book will be glad to have another one to read.

Audiobook: Return to Sender

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by Vera Brosgol
Read by Michelle H. Lee
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There are some intense moments and it begins with a dead parent. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Oliver has moved a lot in the past year after his dad passed away. He has desperately wanted two things: his own bedroom and to grow up and follow his dad’s dream by opening a restaurant. He gets his first wish when his mom’s great-aunt passes away and leaves the apartment to her. Except there’s something weird in the apartment: A mail slot in the wall that goes nowhere. But, when Oliver slips in an accidental “wish” (for pizza!) and it comes true, he realizes what he’s got: his own personal wish-fulfiller. But, as his wishes get more and more grand, he starts realizing that the consequences of his actions are bigger and bigger.

I’ve enjoyed Brosgol’s graphic novels in the past, and I know she’s a good storyteller, but I didn’t know what to expect out of a prose novel from her. I didn’t need to worry (I didn’t, really): she’s an excellent writer, and this has everything that a middle grade novel needs. It reaches the kids where they are at, it’s funny and fast-paced, and it’s got a huge heart. I loved that at its heart it’s about the butterfly effect – how our actions have consequences, for good or ill – and about the disparity between rich and poor, and how unfair it is that rich people don’t often see the consequences of their actions. There’s a silly villain, there’s action and tension, and it’s just a lot of fun.

This one is good whatever way you read it: in the print version, Brosgol has included illustrations; in the audio version, Lee is an excellent narrator who makes the story that propels the story forward.

I hope many kids find this one, because it’s fantastic.

J vs. K

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by Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft
First sentence: “J loved to draw.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy pilfered off the ARC shelves at work.
Release date: May 6, 2025.
Content: The chapters are short, and it’s a mix between prose and comics. It will be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore, but it could probably skew younger for an advanced reader.

J is a fifth grader with a passion for drawing. He’s great at it and loves doing it. In fact, all his classmates at Dean Ashley Public School think he’s the greatest, so he is sure he could win the annual creativity contest the school holds. The only problem: K, a new kid, who is just as gifted at writing as J is at drawing. There’s no way either one of them will let the other get the best of him. That is, until they learn that maybe working together is the best way to go.

There’s not much to this story, and yet I had a grand time with it. It helps that Craft and Alexander are gently ribbing each other in commentary throughout the novel, that it’s a silly reason for two gifted, brilliant authors to work together, and to show that while there’s nothing wrong with competition, maybe working together is the better way to go. It’s based super loosely on Craft and Alexander’s real-life friendship/rivalry, which makes the whole thing that more hilarious and fun.

It’s a very silly book, but I loved it.

Audiobook: Deep Dark

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by Zohra Nabi
Read by Sarah Ovens
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There are some intense parts, jump scares, and neglectful/bad parenting. It would be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore if it existed in physical form.

Cassia Thorne has spent half of her life in a debtor’s prison in London, eking out what living she could while her father slowly descended into madness. She has made her way as a flute player at the Bartholomew Fair, but this year, she has hopes of something grander: to write and sell the songs that everyone sings. But, her quest for a grander life is waylaid when her friend’s younger brother goes missing. And suddenly Cassia is thrust into the underworld of London, a world of monsters and greedy men, a world where poor children go missing solely because no one will think to go looking for them.

Can Cassia help before it’s too late?

I pitched this one to my coworkers as Dickens with a kraken, and they all agreed: who wouldn’t want to read that? I do have to admit, I was a little disappointed there was an actual monster; I was kind of hoping for a straight-up historical mystery. That said, Nabi did a fantastic job weaving both the speculative aspect of an actual monster in the tunnels under London with the historical elements of class and the way poor people had to scrape to make it.

Ovens was a fantastic narrator, though, keeping the story moving forward, and keeping me engaged enough to keep wanting to listen. I’m sad there isn’t a physical publication of the book in the US; I can think of a handful of kids who would love this one.

But it’s fantastic on audio.

The Trouble with Heroes

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by Kate Messner
First sentence: “If I were a better kid, this story would begin with my seventh-grade diploma.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is PTSD and the death of a parent. (But not the dog.)

Finn Connelly is angry. So angry that he kicked over the tombstone in the local graveyard of his small town. Except, it turns out that the tombstone was the one of a locally famous mountain hiker. And her daughter offers Finn a deal: hike all 46 of the Adirondack HIgh Peaks, taking her mother’s dog, by Labor Day and she’ll dismiss the charges. Finn doesn’t have a choice: he and his mother can’t afford to replace the tombstone. So, it’s off to the mountains for reparations.

At first it’s not fun – he doesn’t like the “nannies” that have been assigned to accompany him on the hikes, he doesn’t want to wear hiking boots, he doesn’t like the dog…. but as the summer goes on, Finn finds out that maybe nature is healing. And he’s got healing to do – his father was a first responder on 9/11 and died couple years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Finn has yet to process that death. And, maybe, hiking the mountains will help.

This one was absolutely stunning. I loved the verse format – it’s partially because Finn needs to finish an ELA assignment to write 20 poems on heroes – and felt that it helped with the emotional impact of the book. Because this book packs an emotional punch. It’s funny and heartwarming, and yet the grief and loss is palpable. I just hope it’s one of those books that kids will actually like.

Because I loved it.

Audiobook: All the Blues in the Sky

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by Renée Watson
Read by Bahni Turpin
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: This talks pretty explicitly about the violent death (due to a hit-and-run) of a beloved friend. It may touch some nerves with sensitive readers. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Sage’s thirteenth birthday party was supposed to be a fun afternoon and evening with her best friend. Except that, on her way to Sage’s party, her best friend was killed in a hit-and-run by a drunk driver. Suddenly, Sage’s world is turned upside down as she deals with the tragic death of her closest friend. It’s not easy: she’s dealing with survivor’s guilt, with the sympathy (and pity) of her classmates, and just learning to make new friends. It’s not an easy journey, and even as she grieves, new, good things come into her life.

Watson is a remarkable writer, and is able to capture so much emotion and pain and sadness in so few words. Sage’s pain and heartbreak and grief came through the page (well, audiobook) loud and clear. Some of that, though, is Turpin’s excellent narration. She’s long been one of my favorite narrators, mostly because she captures the essence of the characters and the words so well. I felt Sage’s pain. And yet, the book was hopeful. Sage was beginning to work through the grief and guilt, good things were happening. And when more bad news came, Sage was better equipped to deal with it. I know kids shouldn’t “have to” deal with things like this, but the truth is they do. And having a book that can help them see what the grieving process might look like is an incredibly helpful thing.

It’s also an excellent book for its own sake.

Not Nothing

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by Gayle Forman
First sentence: “Actually, it’s two stories, one you will recognize and one you won’t.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is anger management issues, abandonment by a parent, and an act of violence. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Alex, by a combination of chance and choice has landed a community service assignment at Shady Glenn Retirement center. He doesn’t want to be there (obviously) and is determined to have a terrible time and just grudgingly do his work until a longtime resident, Josef – nonverbal, 107 years old, and basically waiting to die – breaks his longtime silence to tell Alex his story. The book goes back and forth – Josef is our narrator the whole way, though – between telling Alex’s story and Josef’s, but the theme is the same: how can a person, through their choices, make a difference for good or ill, in the lives of others.

On the one hand, I really loved this book. I loved the way it was written, I loved the connection Josef and Alex had, I loved that Forman was exploring the idea of being better than the sum of their actions. It’s heartwarming and even though it deals with the Holocaust, it’s not a Holocaust book. It’s about connection and redemption and making our lives matter, in spite of our past choices.

On the other hand, I’m thinking, as much as I loved it, that it’s a kids book for adults. It’s the sort of book written in the sort of way that I think more adults who read kids books will like than actual kids. (Maybe some kids; I might have been able to convince a couple of mine to read it.) That’s not a knock; it’s just an observation.

It’s still an excellent book, though.

Tig

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by Heather Smith
First sentence: “We’re different now, me and Peter.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is abandonment by a parent, and destructive behavior by a child. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Tig and her older brother Peter have been living in their abandoned house – their mother up and left with her boyfriend – for four months before their Uncle Scott and his partner Monty find out and take them in. The thing is, though, Tig feels like they would be better off on their own. She hates the new house, the new town, and the new rules. She fights back at every opportunity. But, when things get a little out of hand, Tig is forced to realize that maybe the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

I wanted to like this book more than I actually liked it. It’s a tough pill to swallow, from the mom’s abandonment (four months! FOUR months!) to Tig acting up and being cruel to the people who took her in. Maybe it’s a bit of PTSD from when we ended up taking in a friend of our daughters, and the stress and trauma that brought into our house (and 7 years later, we’re still trying to unpack). But, I just couldn’t with this book. I finished it, but I didn’t like it.

The Door is Open

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Edited by Hena Khan
First sentence: “I pick up the queen and twirl her between my forefinger and thumb.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some talk of domestic abuse and racism. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

In this series of interconnected short stories, we get a portrait of the Maple Grove community center and some of the people who use it. There are chess tournaments and spelling bees, basketball games and cooking classes, and celebrations, including festivals and banquets. It is very much the heart of the city, especially the Desi community, and when it is proposed to be knocked down instead of renovated, the community – especially the kids who find value in having it be a community meeting spot.

I liked this collection a lot. I liked getting the perspectives of a number of children; it helped emphasize just how diverse the Desi community is. I liked the role the center played in the lives of all the kids; in Wichita, the budget for the Parks & Rec department and the community centers have been slashed, so we don’t have anything like that here. But, I respect it, and am glad that the authors of these stories portrayed the community center as a vibrant and vital part of the community. I liked how all the stories connected; characters and situations in one would appear in another.

It’s a solid short story collection.

It’s Cybils Day!

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And, being on the Round 2 panel for Elementary/Middle-Grade Fiction, this is my to-read pile for the next 6 weeks:

Not pictured: Grow Up, Luchy Zapata by Alexandra Alessandri because I gave away the ARC and another copy hasn’t come in yet.

You can see all the lists here!