Holiday House, Peachtree, and Pixel+Ink keep the top-notch middle-grade books flowing this fall. From mystery to LGBTQ+ tales, take a look at what’s coming up.
Team Trash: A Time Traveler’s Guide to Sustainability by Kate Wheeler and Trent Huntington, illus by Kate Wheeler (Holiday House, for ages 10-14, on sale now)
In this sweeping educational adventure that transports readers across continents and centuries, Washington Post contributor Katie Wheeler and sustainability expert Trent Huntington invite readers into the history of recycling and how students can reduce plastic waste. The fresh journal-style graphic novel acknowledges the reality of plastic pollution while offering accessible activist solutions, playfully illustrated sustainability tips, and an optimistic look into how scientists are combating waste.
The Curious League of Detectives and Thieves 2: S.O.S. by Tom Phillips (Pixel+Ink, for ages 8-12, on sale now)
The second book in the Curious League of Detectives and Thieves series is a hilarious, heart-pounding mystery adventure. John Boarhog and Inspector Toadius book passage on luxury airship, but there will be no clear skies ahead. The Society of Sleuths (S.O.S) is ready to put John through his first trial to gain full membership, despite Toadius’s objections. Furious, John falls in with the Hive, a group of kids obsessed with using social media for fame. But when both the Mauve Moth and Shim-Sham resurface, will the detective duo be able to see past their disagreements to, once again, save the day?
Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, for ages 9-12, on sale now)
From the author of A Place to Hang the Moon comes another World War II story about three siblings on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Based on a very real place in old New York and steeped in the history of the last year of World War II, Nothing Else but Miracles shows how, when things get tough, the neighborhood really will give you what you need… and may even offer up a miracle or two in the process.
Last Exit to Feral (Frights from Feral #2) by Mark Fearing (Holiday House, for ages 8-12, on sale now)
Can Freya get to the bottom of her small town’s secrets, or will she become another ghost story? Find out in the second entry in the second entry of Frights from Feral, a freakily fun graphic novel series sure to scare middle-grade readers silly. Kids are turned into rats, trapped in underground tunnels, and just barely escape from basement monsters. With vibrant art, clever humor, and heaps of unsolved mysteries, animator Mark Fearing conjures a fearsome saga out of small-town terrors.
I Am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera (Holiday House, for ages 8-12, on sale 9/19/23)
I Am Kavi centers on a powerful South Asian voice and stars an unforgettable heroine each one of us can relate to. This dazzling novel-in-verse comes from an astonishing new talent who lived through the civil war herself. Caught between two worlds—a poverty-stricken village and a new fancy big-city school—a young Sri Lankan girl must decide who she really is and where she really belongs. 1998, Colombo. The Sri Lankan Civil War is raging, but everyday life must go on. To fit in at her new school, Kavi begins lying about her background. Now Kavi is afraid of something even scarier than war. She fears that if her friends discover her secret—that she is not who she is pretending to be—they’ll stop talking to her.
The Problem with Gravity by Michelle Mohrweis (Peachtree, for ages 8-12, on sale 9/26/23)
From the author of The Trouble with Robots comes another heartfelt story told in dual perspective. This charming companion novel features delightful cameos from The Trouble with Robots and compassionately explores themes of divorce, neglect, and sibling rivalry alongside an age-appropriate first crush story. A great pick for celebrating STEAM, LGBTQ+, and autistic audiences!
Plotting the Stars 2: Seagarden by Michelle A. Barry (Pixel+Ink, for ages 10 and up, 10/3/23)
Seagarden, the second book in the Plotting the Stars series, blossoms with unexpected twists and heartbreaking revelations, underpinned by climate change warnings and a determination to fight against the status quo. Forced to hide her new-found magic or risk imprisonment or worse, Myra enrolls in an interplanetary academy exchange program to dig up more about the government’s many conspiracies, but instead uproots even darker secrets that could drown everything she’s grown to trust.
Pine Island Visitors by Polly Horvath (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, for ages 9-12, on sale 10/10/23)
By Newbery Honor author Polly Horvath comes a sequel to her popular Pine Island Home about orphaned sisters who find a way to make a new family. The girls have been adopted by their unlikely guardian and are now settled into their new home on Pine Island. Then they receive a letter from their former caretaker. She is coming to visit with her narcissistic friend for an inordinate amount of time. When the two announce that they are going to extend their stay even longer, the sisters must find the courage to stand up to these grown-up bullies if there is any hope of getting their lives back to normal.
The Winterton Deception 1: Final Word by Janet Sumner Johnson (Pixel+Ink, for ages 8-12, on sale 10/24/23)
In this twisty middle-grade mystery, thirteen-year-old twins Hope and Gordon enter a spelling bee in a last-ditch effort to save their family from financial ruin, only to find themselves in a cut-throat competition to uncover a fortune and dark secrets about the wealthy relations they’ve never known. A tense, clever clue hunt unafraid to tackle the challenges and secrets often kept behind closed doors, Final Word is a gripping series starter sure to satisfy even the most voracious armchair detectives.
Stories of the Islands by Clar Angkasa (Holiday House, for ages 8-12, on sale 10/31/23)
In this collection of reimagined Indonesian fairy tales, the girls are the ones with power. Because why should girls in folktales always need saving? Based on debut graphic novelist Clar Angkasa’s favorite childhood stories and gorgeously illustrated with a dedicated color palette for each tale, this retelling of “Keong Mas,” “Bawang Merah Bawang Putih,” and “Timun Mas” is filled with spectacular landscapes, deep emotions, and a firm belief in the power of girls’ stories.
