16 Books Tweens Can Look Forward to This Fall
by Devon A. Corneal
I can’t lie. The pre-teen years are tough. I’m not talking about puberty or junior high or geometry. I’m talking books. Little kids have picture books galore and teenagers have entire rooms dedicated to Young Adult novels that are so good even adults read them.
But great middle grade reads? They’re harder to find. The amazing authors that tackle stories for this age group have to figure out how to write engaging stories that are developmentally appropriate (no genocides, blood-thirsty vampires, existential crises, sex, or profanity) but still interesting enough to hold a readers’ attention. They also have to move past the simple sentences and limited vocabulary of early chapter books and challenge their audience with more complicated themes, vocabulary, and grammar without overwhelming them. It’s a balancing act on every page.
To make things easier for you and your kids, we’ve rounded up some of the best new middle grade books coming out this fall — and there are some great ones. Get ready for kids who turn green, unexpected spies, ghosts, scientific breakthroughs, and a nod to the classics.
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The Marvels
Award-winning author and illustrator Brian Selznick, who brought us the magic of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is back with his newest story of a young boy named Billy Marvel, shipwrecked in 1766, and the generations of his family that follow. The first half of the book is told entirely in illustrations, and the second in text, and while seemingly unrelated, the two halves eventually merge to remind us of the importance of art, the tangled nature of family, and the ties that bind us through generations.
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The Golden Specific
Available from:I’m cheating a little because this sequel to The Glass Sentence actually came out this July, but if, like me, you missed The Glass Sentence when it was published in 2014, you can spend the last days of summer reading the first book in the trilogy and then start the The Golden Specific over Labor Day. The first two books in the Mapmaker’s Trilogy are extraordinary — weaving cartography, history, kidnapping, mystery, and lost family into one fascinating journey.
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Con Academy,
Bridget Wilder: Spy-in-Training,
and Milo Speck: Accidental AgentWho doesn’t like a story about a kid who is more than what she or he seems? Why be a regular student when you can be a spy, secret agent, con artist, or master criminal? Following in the footsteps of Lawless, Con Academy, Milo Speck, and Bridget Wilder tell the stories of kids who are anything but ordinary. Bridget’s family may have forgotten her thirteenth birthday, but her super secret undercover agent biological father hasn’t and he’s about to teach her all the tricks of his profession. Will Shea is a master con artist who finds out he isn’t the only scammer on the campus of his prestigious prep school. Milo Speck just got pulled through his clothes dryer into Ogregon where he is mistaken for a secret agent and an afternoon snack. Get ready for the unexpected.
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Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights?
The fourth and final book in the All the Wrong Questions series by Lemony Snicket is as absurd, witty, clever, and captivating as the earlier installments. But, will it answer the questions about Lemony Snicket’s early life and his apprenticeship with the Association of Associates? If you haven’t figured it out yet, that’s the wrong question. I will warn you though, that if A Series of Unfortunate Events is any indication, I wouldn’t count on a neat ending.
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The Astounding Broccoli Boy
Rory Rooney did not expect to turn green. And he certainly did not expect to be put in an experimental hospital ward while doctors try to figure out what’s wrong with him. And he certainly did not expect to get superpowers and become astounding. While the rest of the world worries about the Killer Kitten virus, Rory just wants to get out of the hospital and see how far his new powers will take him.
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Rules for Stealing Stars
Sometimes a book comes along that takes your breath away with its honesty and bravery. This year it’s Rules for Stealing Stars. Silly is one of four sisters spending their summer at their mother’s childhood home, filling their days by swimming in the lake, and tiptoeing around their mother’s instability. Until Silly’s older sisters find a magical escape from the uncertainty of their mother’s moods, that is. But they’ll soon learn that their haven has its own dark facets.
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Auggie and Me: Three Wonder Stories
If you fell in love with Wonder and wished for more stories about the unforgettable Auggie Pullman, your wish has been granted. Look for three new short stories about the irrepressible and unbreakable boy who lets nothing diminish his spirit.
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Friends for Life
I love a good ghost story, but this one isn’t quite what you think it is. Forget scary, haunting, mournful ghosts. Just because Jessica is dead doesn’t mean she can’t be a good friend. She just needs someone to realize she’s there. That’s where Francis comes in.
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Voyagers: Project Alpha
This new six-book series is part book, part science-fiction, part game, part puzzle, part technophile dream. Designed to engage both readers and gamers alike, six bestselling authors join forces to write the multi-part story of the race to save the planet by finding an alternative energy source before life as we know it ends.
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The Last Kids on Earth
Available from:Did I say that middle grade fiction shouldn’t include books about the apocalypse? Maybe I was wrong. Combine the humor of “The Simpsons” with the setting of “The Walking Dead,” and do it all in graphic novel form with a 13-year-old hero and maybe, just maybe, zombies work for the pre-teen crowd.
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Fast Break
Sports-loving kids can’t get enough of Mike Lupica’s stories and this one doesn’t disappoint. Jayson’s mother has just died and with no family to take him in, Jayson finds himself in foster care. His refuge is basketball and if he can find a way to trust his new family he might have a shot at his dream — a trip to the state finals.
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Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the Race to Link the Nation
and Breakthrough!: How Three People Saved "Blue Babies" and Changed Medicine ForeverFiction shouldn’t be the only thing on your middle grade reader’s plate this fall. Check out these two nonfiction books for a look into a medical breakthrough that has saved thousands of children’s lives and the complexities of building the transcontinental railroad. Both are perfect for the history buff in your family.
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The Iliad
Not nonfiction, and not a breezy novel, Gillian Cross’s retelling of The Illiad is a wonderful introduction to the classics. Neil Packer provides gorgeous illustrations, evocative of ancient Greece, and the story of the Greek and Trojan War is as powerful now as it has ever been.
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