Top Ten Tuesday | Recent Middle Grade Faves – Books. Libraries. Also, cats.

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where book bloggers are invited to share their top ten lists centered on a certain theme.

Since Middle Grade March is coming to a close soon, I wanted to highlight some middle grade fiction I’ve been loving lately! Here are a few middle grade books that I’ve read in the last few months that have quickly become favorites of mine.

1. This is Our Rainbow edited by Katherine Locke & Nicole Melleby: This anthology of LGBTQIA+ stories for kids was so adorable! I love that it featured stories across all genres (even comics!) and highlighted such a wide range of identities.

2. Unsettled by Reem Faruqi: This middle grade novel in verse about a girl moving from Pakistan to the US was so moving. The main character, Nurah, is 13 which makes this a perfect book to bridge the gap between middle grade and YA.

3. How to Win a Slime War by Mae Respicio: I always love Mae’s books starring Filipino-American kids, and this one was such a fun, silly story about a kid obsessed with making slime!

4. That Thing About Bollywood by Supriya Kelkar: Such a fun, whimsical story about a girl whose life turns into a literal Bollywood movie! I really appreciated that this book used a magical element to explore serious issues like divorce, friendship conflicts, and the importance of expressing our feelings.

5. ParaNorthern and the Chaos Bunny A-hop-calypse by Stephanie Cooke & Mari Costa: This middle grade graphic novel about a witch and her BFFs was so delightful and gave me all the Halloweentown vibes!

6. Generation Misfits by Akemi Dawn Bowman: Akemi is one of my favorite YA authors, and I was so excited about her MG debut! It was such a sweet story of a girl making friends by bonding over J-rock, and I loved the diverse cast of characters.

7. Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow: This middle grade contemporary about a roller coaster-obsessed Jewish girl discovering her queerness and having her first crush was the absolute cutest! I adored it and can’t wait for Jake’s upcoming YA novel, How to Excavate a Heart.

8. The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste: I read this one a few months ago around Halloween and it was such a spooky, fun story! It’s rooted in Caribbean folklore, which was really cool to read.

9. The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga: An utterly heartbreaking contemporary middle grade about two former best friends who’ve been torn apart in the aftermath of a school shooting, and their journey back to each other. This book had me sobbing!

10. A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll: This one follows a neurodivergent girl who discovers women believed to be witches were once burned in her hometown. Feeling an affinity with these women who were different & misunderstood, she begins campaigning to get her town to create a plaque recognizing this dark history. This was such a moving story and I really appreciated the autism rep!

Are you a middle grade reader? If so, what are some of your favorites?