Archives de catégorie : Middle Grade

THE UNDERWILD: RIVER OF SPIRITS de Shana Targosz

A “dazzling debut” (Booklist, starred review) middle-grade fantasy about a girl caught between the realms of the living and the dead who gets lost in the Underworld—perfect for fans of Greenwild and Rick Riordan.

THE UNDERWILD: RIVER OF SPIRITS (Book 1)
by Shana Targosz
Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, March 2025
(via Writers House)

Senka lives between the realm of the Living and the realm of the Dead. As ward to Charon, the Ferryer of the Underworld, Senka assists in ferrying recently departed souls across the river and into their afterlife. Although Charon has taught her many Rules about life in the Underworld, there is much he avoids telling her. Though she doesn’t understand why the Rules are so important, she listens—she must heed them in order to become an official Ferryer, just like Charon.

Then a Living girl, Poppy, enters the Underworld to plead for help in finding the ghost of her brother. Poppy’s grief tugs at Senka’s heart—but helping Poppy goes against the very Rules Senka is so desperate to follow. When Poppy is yanked away by the river’s current, Senka leaps to save her, and she and Poppy are swept downriver, far from everything Senka has ever known.

Lost in the Underwild, Senka and Poppy encounter malevolent spirits of lore and eccentric ghosts—and not all are willing to let souls slip through their grasp. Senka knows the Living can’t stay in the realm of the Dead for long, and if Poppy isn’t returned home soon, she will risk becoming lost to the Underworld forever. But as Senka travels deeper into the Underwild, she discovers there are secrets her guardian has kept from her, including the mystery surrounding her own existence. As Poppy and Senka dodge angry demigods, hungry wraiths, and terrifying dragon chimera, Senka gets closer to learning the truth of her own past. Soon, Senka won’t just need to save Poppy’s life—she’ll also need to save her own.

Shana Targosz writes about magical girls, budding friendships, ghosts who may or may not be friendly, and fiercely held hope. She is an Oregon Literary Fellow and the 2021 recipient of the Edna L. Holmes Fellowship in Young Readers Literature. River of Spirits is her debut novel. When not writing or reading through a stack of books, she spends her time playing Zelda with her son, designing solo journaling games, walking her domesticated monster disguised as a Labradoodle, and dreaming up different worlds.

THE GUARDIANS OF THE NORTH d’Antonia Maxwell

Book 1 in an action-packed dystopian adventure series set in the near- future post-melt Arctic.

THE GUARDIANS OF THE NORTH
(Terra Electrica, Book 1)
by Antonia Maxwell
Neem Tree Press, July 2024
(via Randle Editorial & Literary Consultancy)

The last ice cap has melted, and the world is on the brink of collapse. A deadly alien force—the Terra Electrica—has been unleashed. It feeds on electricity. It is infecting humanity.

In this chaotic, rapidly changing reality, 12-year-old Mani has lost her family and community to the Terra Electrica. Armed only with some ancestral wisdom and a powerful, ancient wooden mask she was never meant to inherit so soon, she suddenly finds herself responsible for the fate of the world.

Can Mani piece everything together and harness her newfound powers in time to save humanity?

Antonia Maxwell is a writer and editor based in North Essex and Cambridge, UK. With a degree in Modern Languages and a longstanding career as a book editor, she has a lifelong curiosity for language and words, and a growing fascination in the power of story – the way it shapes our lives and frames our experience.

DREAMSLINGER de Graci Kim

Amari and the Night Brothers meets Pokémon in this thrilling start to Graci Kim’s brand-new fantasy series where dragons and phoenixes roam the skies of Seoul; meals magically appear based on your mood; and dreams literally come to life.

DREAMSLINGER (Book 1)
by Graci Kim
Disney Hyperion, April 2025
(via Writers House)

Fourteen-year-old Aria Loveridge lives at the Resthaven Home for Dreamslingers, a safe haven for children born with a genetic mutation that transports them to a powerfully magical realm while they sleep. But this magic can be unpredictable—even deadly. After all, it was only ten years ago when members of the Royal League of Dreamslingers caused the Great Outburst—a tragedy that killed hundreds of people, including Aria’s mom.

Since then, Aria’s dad has become leading expert on Dreamslinger Welfare, which means Aria knows better than most what it takes to keep society safe from her, and others like her: separation, identification, and most importantly, power suppression.

So when the Kingdom of Royal Hanguk—home of the Dreamslinger League—announces the first Dreamslinger trials where teenage slingers from around the world are invited to compete for a chance to join the League and learn how to use their powers, Aria knows what she must do: join the trials and take down the League from the inside.

But the Trials introduce Aria to a world of wonderous magic and friendship, a world where she finally feels like she belongs. And as dark secrets from the past are revealed—ones that make Aria question her very identity—she becomes even more determined to discover the truth for herself. She just has to survive the trials first.

Graci Kim is the New York Times best-selling author of The Last Fallen Star and The Last Fallen Moon, the first two books in the Gifted Clans trilogy. A Korean Kiwi diplomat turned author, Graci writes about the magic she wants to see in the world. In a previous life she used to be a cooking show host, and she once ran a business that turned children’s drawings into cuddly toys. When she’s not lost in her imagination, you’ll find Graci drinking flat whites, eating ramyeon, and most likely hugging a dog (or ideally, many). She lives in New Zealand with her husband and daughter. Follow her on Instagram @GraciKimWrites and find her at GraciKim.com.

RYMWORLD ARCANA de Ryan Calejo

A new middle-grade mind-bending adventure from award-winning author Ryan Calejo, destined to be an instant classic.

RYMWORLD ARCANA
by Ryan Calejo
Amulet/Abrams, 2023 – 2025

THE SHAPE OF TIME (Book 1 – October 2023)

Fourteen-year-old Antares De La Vega is a natural born adventurer. He dreams of journeying across burning deserts, trekking through wild and uncharted jungles, sailing the furthest reaches of the seas—and yet, he’s never even stepped foot outside of South Florida . . . But that all changes when strange creatures come leaping out of lightning bolts to kidnap him. Locked away in a secret prison in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, Antares meets fourteen-year-old Magdavellía, a mysterious and iron-willed girl who opens his eyes to a shocking truth: that this world is a far different place than he’s been led to believe. He learns of the existence of The Flat Earth Society, an ancient secret order, whose main function is to keep the world beyond the great Ice Wall a mystery—a land known as Rymworld. But Rymworld is in trouble. Led by a nameless evil, a sinister group of mystics seek to seize control over its only true resource: time itself.
Antares and Magdavellía must set out beyond the edges of any map to discover the undiscoverable: a lost and forgotten island where there is rumored to exist a legendary artifact: a mythical compass that just might hold the key to foiling the mystics’ plans. Following a series of intricately concealed clues left behind by Magdavellía’s parents (clues Antares seems to be the key to unlocking), they must wield both geometry and alchemy, outsmart molemen and mermaids, and outrun fiendish outer space aliens––all while attempting to solve a riddle as old and mystifying as the sun.

THE SECRET OF MATTER (Book 2 – January 2025)

After wielding time itself to save the Rym, Antares and Magdavellía return to Agartha as heroes. But peace is short–lived. As a mystic–led sneak attack plunges the Rym into chaos, they once again find themselves in a world on the brink of doom. Their only hope is a forgotten alchemyst map that supposedly leads to the Elementals—powerful Ancient Astronaut substances that, when combined, create the ultimate instrument of destruction. Antares and Magdavellía will have to race against old and new enemies to secure the Elementals, even as a traitor in their midst plots their long–awaited revenge against the empress. But every step they take toward the forging of the ancient weapon brings them one step closer to uncovering a horrible secret from Magdavellía’s past—a secret that could bring down her throne.

Ryan Calejo is an award–winning author born and raised in sunny South Florida. His critically acclaimed Charlie Hernández series has been featured in half a dozen state reading lists and has earned starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus, was a Texas Bluebonnet Master List Selection, and won an International Latino Book Award, a Sunshine State Young Readers Award, and a Florida Book Award (Gold Medal). He lives in Miami.

THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY de Marie Benedict et Courtney Sheinmel

From New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and Courtney Sheinmel comes a historical adventure about a young girl plucked from a London orphanage to begin attending a boarding school with more secrets than she could imagine—perfect for fans of Enola Holmes.

THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY (Book 1)
by Marie Benedict and Courtney Sheinmel
Aladdin (Simon & Schuster), April 2025
(via Laura Dail Literary Agency)

London, 1904.

Lainey Phillips has lived at the Sycamore Home for Orphaned Children since she was three years old. Now nearly a teenager, her life is difficult, and she doesn’t expect it to get better—until a chance encounter during an open house changes everything when Lainey meets a woman who invites her to attend the prestigious Lovelace Academy.

Fitting in amongst the many privileged students at Lovelace Academy proves challenging in a different way, though. Terrified she’ll be cast out of the academy, Lainey grabs the chance to prove herself by traveling to Switzerland to witness a female scientist craft a groundbreaking theory. The journey that includes a train, a ferry, and a mysterious boy named Gen is treacherous, but the real test is what awaits her at the home of Mileva Maric, wife of Albert Einstein.

Marie Benedict is the New York Times bestselling author of several adult books of historical fiction, including The Other Einstein, the inspiration for this book. She found her calling unearthing the hidden historical stories of women. Her mission is to excavate from the past the most important, complex, and fascinating women of history and bring them into the light of present day where readers can finally perceive the breadth of their contributions as well as the insights they bring to modern day issues. THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY, written with Courtney Sheinmel, is her first book for kids. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Courtney Sheinmel is the author of nearly thirty books for kids and teens, including the acclaimed Stella Batts and My Pet Slime series for young readers. Her book, Helen Keller, was part of Chelsea Clinton’s She Persisted series. Courtney received a National Scholastic Outstanding Educator Award for her work as a writing instructor at the non-profit Writopia Lab. She lives in New York City.