Cammie McGovern | The Children’s Book Review | April 10, 2016
Five Exceptionally Good Middle-Grade Novels
My favorite middle-grade novels all seem to have one thing in common: a narrator with a wonderfully strong voice that makes me laugh even as the story makes me cry. The five books on this list which have come out in the last year do just this. I not only loved all these books, I know I’ll go back and re-read them in the future to study exactly how these skillful writers strike the delicate balance I’m always looking for between laugh-out-loud funny and reach-for-the-Kleenex poignant. I also admire the way a few of them have chartered what feels to me like new territory for middle-grade fiction—a minimum-security prison, a severely agoraphobic parent, a disabled girl escaping an abusive parent—in stories which, by the end, can only be described as uplifting.
Written by Leslie Connor
For a young boy raised in a prison to defend his inmate mother, he must first learn the truth not only about her crime but her fellow inmates who have become his family. Endearing, honest, and most surprising of all: funny.
Ages 8-12 | Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books | 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-0062333469
Written by Karen Harrington
The plot summary—a girl copes with a severely agoraphobic mother after her father has an accident that leaves him a coma—belies how truly hilarious the main character and her school friends are. This one is a jewel.
Ages 10-13 | Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0316210461
Written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
This is the best historical MG book I’ve read in ages. A disabled girl escapes her abusive mother during the relocation program of London children at the start of WWII. Filled with fascinating historical details, it’s also a testimonial to how some children survive abuse.
Ages 10-13 | Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0316210461
Written by Ali Benjamin
A beautiful study of a science-obsessed girl’s inquiry into the death of a friend (and really into the death of the friendship before her death…) Though she’s never labeled with Aspergers, any child (or parent) with an interest in this, will love this book.
Ages 10-13 | Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0316380867
Written by Jennifer Maschari
A book that combines elements of magical realism in telling the very real story of a very real boy coping with the loss of his mother and the weight of grief.
Ages 8-12 | Publisher: Balzer + Bray | 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-0062380104
About Cammie McGovern
Cammie McGovern is the author of the teen novels Say What You Will and A Step Toward Falling as well as the adult novels Neighborhood Watch, Eye Contact, and The Art of Seeing. Her debut middle grade novel, Just My Luck, released in February 2016. Cammie is also one of the founders of Whole Children, a resource center that runs after-school classes and programs for children with special needs, and is actively involved in Beyond Differences. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with her husband and three children. You can visit Cammie online at www.cammiemcgovern.com.
Written by Cammie McGovern
Publisher’s Synopsis: Critically acclaimed author Cammie McGovern’s middle-grade debut is a powerful and heartwarming story that will appeal to readers who loved R. J. Palacio’s Wonder, Ann M. Martin’s Rain Reign, and Holly Sloan’s Counting by 7s.
Fourth grade is not going at all how Benny Barrows hoped. He hasn’t found a new best friend. He’s still not a great bike rider—even though his brother George, who’s autistic, can do tricks. And worst of all, he worries his dad’s recent accident might be all his fault. Benny tries to take his mom’s advice and focus on helping others, and to take things one step at a time. But when his dad ends up in the hospital again, Benny doesn’t know how he and his family will overcome all the bad luck that life seems to have thrown their way.
Just My Luck is a deeply moving and rewarding novel about a down-on-his-luck boy whose caring heart ultimately helps him find the strength to cope with tragedy and realize how much he truly has to offer his friends and family.
Ages 8-12 | Publisher: HarperCollins | 2016 | ISBN-13: 978-0062330659
Available Here:
Cammie McGovern, author of Just My Luck, selected these five middle-grade books. Discover more articles on The Children’s Book Review tagged with Middle-Grade Books and Books for Kids Age 9-12.