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10 Best Middle Grade Books I Read From Summer 2023

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10 Best Middle Grade Books from Summer 2023

This summer definitely did not go as I planned. Looking back, I wonder why I imagined I’d have so much more time to do things like create list posts. Ha! Alas, here I am at the end of summer, and instead of a big list of the middle grade books that looked so great, please enjoy a list of the 10 best middle grade books I read from summer 2023.

10 Best Middle Grade Books I Read From Summer 2023

The Gray by Chris Baron

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A boy with anxiety forced to spend an unplugged summer with his aunt meets new friends who challenge how he sees himself. This was the first book by Chris Baron that I’ve read, and I can’t wait to read more!

Published: June 13, 2023 | My Review

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thompson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A girl portals to another world filled with magic and danger– and a fabulous cat! This could be my favorite book this year.

Published: June 6, 2023 | My Review

The Hunt for the Hollower by Callie C. Miller

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A girl struggling to control her magic may be the only person who can save her twin brother. Full of fun, magic, friendships, and adventure.

Published: June 13, 2023 | My Review

Maybe There Are Witches by Jude Atwood

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: In a small town with deep history, a girl with a magical diary must stop a great evil bent on destroying the town. Perfect for the Halloween season.

Published: June 13, 2023 | My Review | Author Q&A

Theo Tan and the Iron Fan by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A boy and his fox spirit journey to hell and back (literally) for his family. Fun and filled with magic and adventure.

Published: June 27, 2023 | My Review

Brick Dust and Bones by M. R. Fournet

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: A twelve-year-old monster hunter battles evil to bring his mother back from the dead. This one surprised me in the best ways. Powerful storytelling and great characters.

Published: July 18, 2023 | My Review

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu (Academy for the Unbreakable Arts #2) by Erika Lewis

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: Kelcie and her friends race to stop the theft of a magical artifact that protects life in her kingdom. Great for kids interested in a magic school story.

Published: July 25, 2023 | My Review

The Great Texas Dragon Race by Kacy Ritter

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: In a world in which dragons are often enslaved, the daughter of a rancher enters a race in order to save their dragon sanctuary. Fans of SKANDAR AND THE UNICORN THIEF would like this one.

Published: August 1, 2023 | My Review

The Raven Throne (Raven Crown #2) by Stephanie Burgis

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: When their sister falls into an enchanted sleep, triplets Giles and Rosalind race to save her. The twisty conclusion to the Raven Crown duology.

Published: August 8, 2023 | My Review

Sorceline 2 by Sylvia Douyé, Paola Antista, and Tanya Gold

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

What you need to know: In an enchanted sleep, Sorceline fights for her life while her classmates unravel the mystery of her origin in hopes of waking her. Beautifully illustrated– a fantastic follow-up to the first book.

Published: August 22, 2023 | My Review

What Were Your Favorite Middle Grade Books of Summer 2023?

Did you read any great books over the summer this year? Are there great books I should add to my reading list? What are your new favorites? Did you read any of the books I listed here? Leave a comment and let me know!

Review: Limitless Roads Café by Samantha Picaro

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Limitless Roads Café
Samantha Picaro
Published May 15, 2023

Amazon | Goodreads

About Limitless Roads Café

Kinsey Fontana relies on lists to navigate the world as an autistic teen. #Goals list: win her dream event planning internship (she knows it’s an ironic dream); master the art of masking; and gain Mom’s approval. Instead, she works at a café hiring teens with disabilities. Although she loves the café and discounted macchiatos, she dreams of more than planning open mic nights.

She has an opportunity to shine by throwing a fundraiser to save the café. The catch: allow her ex-best friend Melissa Castillo to be her assistant and pretend they are friends again so Melissa’s parents respect her.

To-do list: plan the fundraiser with zero fundraising experience; work with the intimidating hotel planner who rejected her for the internship; and use every masking technique to charm rather than repel people from sponsors to a boy band. Although she needs unhealthy amounts of caffeine to handle autistic burnout, Kinsey reconsiders her #Goals list and realizes self-doubt belongs down the drain like incorrect orders.

My Review

Though I’ve read a few other books with autistic characters and authors, I think this is the first book I’ve read with so many disabled characters in it. In the beginning, Kinsey feels no special connection to her coworkers, preferring to keep her head down and get her work done rather than socializing. But when she learns the cafe is at risk of closing, she and the other cafe employees band together to try to save it with a huge community fundraiser. Along the way, she builds relationships not only with her coworkers but with other people she’d written off as bad for one reason or another.

I really liked the way the character relationships developed and changed, especially the relationships between Kinsey and her cafe friends. I also enjoyed the up-close, inside-the-mind feel of the story. The scenes deftly capture social cues Kinsey misses without making it awkward or too obvious. Kinsey’s voice is believable and consistent, even if her choices or responses may be unexpected to some readers. As a member of an Italian family myself, I also loved all the references to Italian language, traditions, and food.

Here and there, I did spot a missing or incorrect word. A couple of times, it seemed like there was maybe a line of dialogue missing from a conversation, so the next line seemed to refer to something that hadn’t happened. I was always able to figure it out and move on really quickly, though.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book and loved the cast of characters. I think this is a great summer read and a nice pick for readers interested in dialogue about ableism and disabled teens.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Kinsey is autistic. She works at a cafe where all the employees are disabled.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Kinsey and her dad attend Italian Mass. Kinsey isn’t sure what she believes about God but finds the service calming.

Violent Content
In several scenes, people use ableist language or behavior. Often Kinsey or other people confront them and point out why what they said or did was problematic. Kinsey and another girl get into a shoving match in a store when Kinsey’s competitiveness spirals out of control.

Drug Content
Kinsey’s parents pressure her to take a drink of wine, which she immediately hates.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of LIMITLESS ROADS CAFE in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Review: Ode to My First Car by Robin Gow

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Ode to My First Car
Robin Gow
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Published June 20, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Ode to My First Car

By the critically praised author of A Million Quiet Revolutions , this YA contemporary sapphic romance told in verse is about a bisexual teen girl who falls in and out of love over the course of one fateful summer.

It’s a few months before senior year and Claire Kemp, a closeted bisexual, is finally starting to admit she might be falling in love with her best friend, Sophia, who she’s known since they were four.

Trying to pay off the fine from the crash that totals Lars, her beloved car, Claire takes a job at the local nursing home up the street from her house. There she meets Lena, an eighty-eight-year-old lesbian woman who tells her stories about what it was like growing up gay in the 1950s and ’60s.

As Claire spends more time with Lena and grows more confident of her identity, another girl, Pen, comes into the picture, and Claire is caught between two loves–one familiar and well-worn, the other new and untested.

My Review

Last year I read A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS, which is also a novel in verse by Robin Gow. I really enjoyed the epistolary format in which the story is written. ODE TO MY FIRST CAR also has an epistolary feel to it since every poem is addressed to Claire’s first car, which she wrecks just before the story begins.

It felt really easy to understand Claire’s feelings and needs. Even though I didn’t always agree with her, I still totally understood where she was coming from and what led her to conclude certain things. I also really liked her brother and the relationship that develops between them.

Her relationship with Lena was really great, too. I feel like I have seen a lot more stories featuring mentorship lately, whether that comes in the form of a teen having a mentoring relationship with an adult, or a teen having a mentor relationship with an older teen. It’s a cool element to see in books, and those are often some of my favorite relationships. I liked that Lena isn’t a grouchy old lady (though I love the stories about those, too!). She’s a little bit closed up, and obviously has some wounds in her past, but I loved the gentleness in her approach to Claire and in the way Claire kept showing up for her, even though Lena didn’t want to intrude into her life.

All in all, I think I might like this one even better than A MILLION QUIET REVOLUTIONS, but I think they’re both really well done.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Claire is bisexual, but her family doesn’t know. Her best friend Sophie is transgender. Other characters are queer as well.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. Two girls talk about wanting to have sex and challenge each other to have sex that summer. In one scene, two girls make out in the car, and Claire reports they also have sex (off-scene).

Spiritual Content
Claire is supposed to go to Mass with her family but hasn’t been going. After her car is wrecked, she has to ride with them to church, but she doesn’t enjoy it or feel connected to it in any spiritual way.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of a car accident. References to homophobic or biphobic comments. One peripheral relationship has a lot of flags for toxic/abusive behavior. Claire doesn’t witness any of that happening, but she hears about it and is worried/unsure of what to do.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of ODE TO MY FIRST CAR in exchange for my honest review.

Review: You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight
Kalynn Bayron
Bloomsbury YA
Published June 20, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight

At Camp Mirror Lake, terror is the name of the game . . . but can you survive the night?

This heart-pounding slasher by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron is perfect for fans of Fear Street.

Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake. The more realistic the fear, the better for business.

But the last weekend of the season, Charity’s co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity’s role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they’ll need figure out what this killer is after. Is there is more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past than Charity ever suspected?

My Review

Okay, Kaylnn Bayon is on a ROLL. Wow. So, earlier this year I read MY DEAR HENRY, which is a reimagining of “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde,” and it was amazing. (My daughter is currently reading and loving it.) Last year I read her middle grade debut, THE VANQUISHERS, and that one was excellent as well. Now, here she is again, taking on a completely new genre of writing with this book. Is there anything she can’t write?

I don’t read a lot of books in this specific genre, so I’m not going to really be able to evaluate this book against other similar titles, but I have to say that I felt super engaged reading this book. It’s only about 240 pages or so, and I read it in one sitting.

I liked the characters a lot, especially Charity and Bezi. The setting– the backwoods camp turned into a live horror show experience– felt so creepy and isolated. I thought the premise of the story was really fascinating, too. It starts off walking a balance between poking fun at slasher films and also appreciating the beats and plot points writers use to tell those stories.

The only real thing that stands out to me as feeling like it didn’t really fit together is the way one minor character is introduced. She appears on scene dropping hints about something bad, and then later reappears in the story as the slasher part of the plot ramps up. I am not sure that I understood why she made the claims she did in the first place in light of all the reveals later in the book. But I did tense up in that first scene when she appears, so I appreciate the tension of that part. I just wish it had connected with the overall story a little more cohesively.

Conclusion

On the whole, though, I definitely enjoyed this creepy, scary read. The only other book like this one that I’ve read is THE PLEDGE by Cale Dietrich, and I can definitely say I enjoyed this one more. The woods and isolated camp really hooked me in this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charity is a lesbian and Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
References to blood rituals. Some characters act out blood rituals.

Violent Content
Charity and the other staff act out a slasher skit (complete with fake blood and rubber/retractable weapons) with customers who participate and try to avoid the “killer.” Some scenes show people who have been seriously injured or killed. A masked killer attacks Charity and her friends.

Drug Content
References to Charity’s stepdad, who is an alcoholic.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Going Bicoastal
Dahlia Adler
Wednesday Books
Published June 13, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Going Bicoastal

A queer SLIDING DOORS YA rom-com in which a girl must choose between summer in NYC with her dad (and the girl she’s always wanted) or LA with her estranged mom (and the guy she never saw coming).

In Dahlia Adler’s GOING BICOASTAL, there’s more than one path to happily ever after.

Natalya Fox has twenty-four hours to make the biggest choice of her life: stay home in NYC for the summer with her dad (and finally screw up the courage to talk to the girl she’s been crushing on), or spend it with her basically estranged mom in LA (knowing this is the best chance she has to fix their relationship, if she even wants to.) (Does she want to?)

How’s a girl supposed to choose?

She can’t, and so both summers play out in alternating timelines – one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the girl she’s always wanted. And one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the guy she never saw coming.

My Review

The thing I keep thinking about with this book is how smart it is to show two separate relationships at once, one with a girl and the other with a boy, to represent bisexuality. Showing both relationships side by side really makes the point that both are options and that one identity contains both possibilities at the same time. It is such a cool way to emphasize that point.

I also really liked Nat as a character. She’s artistic and sweet, a little bit of a people pleaser, and she’s in the midst of trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life. She feels like everyone else has it all figured out, which makes her feel like she’s somehow already behind. She brings her whole heart to a relationship and shows up to help her friends when they’re in need.

Though the story follows two separate timelines, there are things that appear in both stories, which I also thought was cool. It made those moments feel like they were pretty central to what would become Nat’s life story. I liked seeing the way some things played out at different times but often in a similar or the same way.

All in all, I’d definitely say this is a great summer romance to put on your reading list. It’s fun and sweet, with celebrations of music and food, so there’s a lot to love about it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Natalya is Jewish and bisexual. She’s part of a diverse friend group.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. Kissing between a boy and girl. Some scenes talk about making out without shirts on. In two scenes, it’s clear the couple have sex, but the description of the event is largely kept private, with a couple details giving us an idea of what goes on.

Spiritual Content
Natalya celebrates Shabbos every Friday night with her dad as well as other Jewish holidays. Her mom, though, is not religious, and it has been a point of conflict between her, Nat, and Nat’s dad.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
References to teens drinking at a party. At a show, Nat’s girlfriend uses a fake ID to get alcoholic drinks for them.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of GOING BICOASTAL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: You Wouldn’t Dare by Samantha Markum

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

You Wouldn’t Dare
Samantha Markum
Wednesday Books
Published March 28, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You Wouldn’t Dare

A rom com about trying to have the summer of your life before everything changes – only to realize change might be exactly what you need…

When Juniper Nash Abreheart kissed Graham Isham for the first time, she had no idea it would nearly be the end of their friendship.

More specifically, she had no idea that the terrible, unforgivable thing she did to keep their summer fling a secret wouldn’t just ruin their friendship, but also Graham’s entire life. Now, months since the fallout, Junie and Graham spend most of their time sidestepping conversational landmines on the journey back to normalcy.

Junie is sure the strangeness between her and Graham is her biggest problem – until her mom hires Tallulah, her boyfriend’s surly teenage daughter, to work at their family café, and then announces they’ll all be moving in together at the end of the summer. The only bright spot ahead is Junie’s dad’s upcoming visit, just in time for her community theater production. And then poor turnout soon threatens that.

But when Junie starts to realize the feelings she swore to take care of last summer have lingered, saving her production and managing her hostile relationship with Tallulah might be the least of her problems. Graham isn’t just off limits – their friendship has been mended to barely withstand a breeze, and the gale force of Junie’s feelings could be just what breaks them.

Samantha Markum’s YOU WOULDN’T DARE is about the risks and triumphs that come with being brave enough to take a chance at what you really want, including love.

My Review

YOU WOULDN’T DARE is set in Florida, on a (made up) island called White Coral Key that’s about four hours from Jacksonville. One side of the island is ocean-facing, and the other is bay-facing, so I’m guessing the island would be either somewhere just south of Tampa on the Gulf side of FL or somewhere around West Palm Beach on the Atlantic coast. Anyway. I live a pretty short drive from both of those places, so it was fun to read about a place so similar to my own hometown.

Besides the beachy summer setting, there’s so much to love about this book. There’s the fun community theater production, which Junie ropes all her friends into helping with. There’s the banter between her and her three best friends, and the simmering tension between her and Graham.

This book literally made me laugh out loud (twice) and cry (also twice). I loved the messages about community, found family, and the bravery it takes to have the relationships you want. I also loved Samantha Markum’s debut, THIS MAY END BADLY, but I might have actually enjoyed this one even more?

If you like friend banter, antics, and summer fun plus angsty friends-to-lovers romance, you do not want to miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Junie is white. She has a diverse group of friends. One is bisexual. One is biracial, and one is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls. References to hands up shirts in the kissing sessions between the boy and girl. Vague reference to Junie’s friends having sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to a car accident in which someone was killed. References to characters stung by jellyfish.

Drug Content
Junie and her friends drink alcohol at parties. One gets very drunk and sick.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of YOU WOULDN’T DARE in exchange for my honest review.