Archives de catégorie : Middle Grade

WINK de Rob Harrell

A hilarious and heartwrenching story about surviving middle school–and an unthinkable diagnosis–while embracing life’s weirdness.

WINK
by Rob Harrell
Dial Books for Young Readers, 2020
(via Writers House)

Ross Maloy just wants to be a normal seventh grader. He doesn’t want to lose his hair, or wear a weird hat, or deal with the disappearing friends who don’t know what to say to « the cancer kid. » But with his recent diagnosis of a rare eye cancer, blending in is off the table.

Based on Rob Harrell’s real life experience, and packed with comic panels and spot art, this incredibly personal and poignant novel is an unforgettable, heartbreaking, hilarious, and uplifting story of survival and finding the music, magic, and laughter in life’s weirdness. 

Rob Harrell created the Life of Zarf series, the graphic novel Monster on the Hill, and also writes and draws the long-running daily comic strip Adam@Home, which appears in more than 140 papers worldwide. He created and drew the internationally syndicated comic strip Big Top until 2007. He lives with his wife in Indiana.

THE EIGHTY-NINTH WITCH de Dimitri Balcaen

Music, art, and magic meet in this spellbinding tale about a young witch recruited to a mysterious coven that draws its powers from the stars. When the coven discovers there is an imposter among them, she must help find and stop them.

THE EIGHTY-NINTH WITCH
The Observatory Series, Book 1
by Dimitri Balcaen
ReadMore Publishing, April 2023
(via JABberwocky)

Seren has enjoyed her cozy life by the sea with her Granny Calloway, until the day she is whisked away to the mysterious Observatory to join the coven of eighty-eight witches who help protect the universe, along with members of the Zodiac.

There must always be that eighty-eight witches at the Observatory in order to keep the balance of the magic. But when there suddenly turns out to be one witch too many at the initiation, the search begins for who among them is the one who doesn’t belong.

Seren and her new friends take it up on themselves to solve the mystery of who the intruder is and what her purpose might be. Is this mysterious false witch here to bring down the Observatory? Is she responsible for the growing disappearances of the members of the Zodiac?

As Seren develops her magical powers, she will uncover more secrets about the Observatory than she ever imagined.

Book 2 THE KNIGHT OF ORION published in April 2024.

Dimitri Olivier Balcaen is a Belgian novelist and screenwriter. He has written several books for Readmore Publishing, including the Peter & Pan series and Grimoire the World Tree cycle.

GRAVE MISTAKES de Kitty Curran

A twelve-year-old’s family is deadly embarrassing (literally) in this modern middle grade coming-of-age mystery that crosses the madcap macabre humor of The Addams Family with a poignant depiction of friendship, grief, and finding your way home (even if your home is in a graveyard).

GRAVE MISTAKES: THE DEAD FAMILY
by Kitty Curran
Disney Hyperion, August 2023
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Molly Dade has big problems. She’s got an important violin audition coming up, she’s been paired with her nemesis for a group project, and she’s struggling to hide a life-or-death secret from…well, from everyone. It wasn’t long ago that the Dades were just a regular Maine family living in their reportedly haunted house in the local cemetery. But then Molly’s mom and twin brother Marty were killed in a freak accident. And Molly, her older brother Timothy, and her father became the town’s newest bereaved family.

Except Mom and Marty are still very much present. No one knows why, but Mom is now a ghost and Marty is a poltergeist. Oh, and there’s also Molly’s younger sister Dyandra, who is a zombie.

Keeping all this supernatural stuff a secret from everyone is hard work, especially when the dead (undead?) members of the family still want to participate in things like the Parent Teacher Association meetings or come to the (very public, very potentially embarrassing) school concert.

When Dad’s new cemetery assistant seems to know the Dade family secret, Molly and Marty worry about the future of their family. And when Marty begins to regain his memories of the explosion that killed him and Mom, the twins realize that the situation might be even more grave than they thought. Someone might be after the Dade family—but who? And why?

Kitty Curran is the co-author of two adult books published by Quirk (For Your Consideration: Keanu Reaves and My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel), as well as a YA time-travel fantasy graphic novel forthcoming from Boom! Studios. Kitty has also worked as a designer and had her work featured in Time, Upworthy, CNN, HelloGiggles, CBS, and The Huffington Post. She is a London native who is now based in Chicago. GRAVE MISTAKES is her middle grade debut.

MINERVA KEEN’S DETECTIVE CLUB de James Patterson et Keir Graff

James Patterson has just created the most spine-tingling, creepycrawling, giggle-producing kid’s detective club ever.That’s ever.

MINERVA KEEN’S DETECTIVE CLUB
Minerva Keen #1
by James Patterson and Keir Graff
‎ JIMMY Patterson, May 2023
(via Kaplan/DeFiore Rights)

Living in the luxurious Arcanum building—with its interior balconies perfect for playing tag, an elevator like an iron birdcage, and quirky neighbors behind every apartment door—has always been fun and games for twelve-year-old Minerva Keen…until her neighbors start getting poisoned. Anyone could be next, and everyone is a suspect, including Minerva herself.

To clear her name and help the police crack the case, Minerva starts her own detective club. So what if it has only two other members, one being Minerva’s accident-prone daredevil brother and the other being the biggest and quietest kid in school, who happens to be afraid of his own shadow? Minerva knows that with her brainpower, the club’s sleuthing skills, and case files full of suspects, they can unmask the poisoner…hopefully before it’s too late.

This page-turning new mystery series is packed with thrills, chills, laughs, and unforgettable characters and will leave kids eager to join the best club around.

James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author. The creator of Max Einstein and Middle School, he founded JIMMY Patterson to publish books that young readers will love. He lives in Florida with his family.

Keir Graff is thrilled to collaborate with James Patterson on the Minerva Keen series. His funny and fantastical middle-grade adventure novels include The Tiny Mansion, The Phantom Tower (a Chicago Tribune Best Children’s Book), and The Matchstick Castle (an official Illinois Reads selection). He lives in Chicago.

MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES d’Adam Gidwitz

MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES by Adam Gidwitz is a fast-paced historical novel, with a dash of magic, about a young German Jewish boy named Max who is sent to England alone by his parents for his own safety as World War II is about to start, only for him to return to Germany as a British spy with two mythical creatures helping him along the way.

MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES
by Adam Gidwitz
Dutton Books for Young Readers, February 2024
(via The Gernert Company)

Max Bretzfeld doesn’t want to move to London.

Leaving home is hard and Max is alone for the first time in his life. But not for long. Max is surprised to discover that he’s been joined by two unexpected traveling companions, one on each shoulder, a kobold and a dybbuk named Berg and Stein.

Germany is becoming more and more dangerous for Jewish families, but Max is determined to find a way back home, and back to his parents. He has a plan to return to Berlin. It merely involves accomplishing the impossible: becoming a British spy.

Thought-provoking historical fiction with a dash of magic, Max in the House of Spies is a World War II story as only acclaimed storyteller Adam Gidwitz can tell it—fast-paced, hilarious, and filled with heart.

Bestselling author Adam Gidwitz was a teacher for eight years. He told countless stories to his students, who then demanded he write his first book, A Tale Dark & Grimm. Adam has since written two companion novels, In a Glass Grimmly and The Grimm Conclusion. He is also the author of The Inquisitor’s Tale, which won the Newbery Honor, and The Unicorn Rescue Society series. Adam still tells creepy, funny fairy tales live to kids on his podcast Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest—and at schools around the world. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, daughter, and dog, Lucy Goosey.