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Spectacular speculative middle grade fiction 2025

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 So even though CYBILS isn't doing an award this year, people are still reading and recommending books.  I'm so happy I got to read this two, because they're wonderful! The first one is called "Candace, the Universe, and Everything".  It's written by Sherri L. Smith, who has written several other books, but this is the first one I've read (and it will NOT be the last).  The story is told by Candace, a middle schooler who lives with two loving parents.  She's having a hard time adapting to the new relationship she has with two girls that she considers her best fiends.  She missed out on a camping trip with Becca and Deen and it seems like Becca and Deen are bonded in a way that they hadn't been before.  Candace feels left out.  And then, a bird flies out of her locker, leaving behind a purple notebook full of advice that seems surprisingly on point, especially when Candace finds out that the notebook is 40 years old and that the writer had the same...
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Even more middle grade fiction Fall 2025

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 Usually this time of year, I'm knee deep in middle grade speculative fiction as part of the CYBILS award list, which is super fun.  But this year, they are taking a break (sad face emoji) but I'm still finding some fun things to read, it's just not the overwhelming glut I'm accustomed to, with stacks of books on hold for me at my local library and the stacks of books on my coffee table giving me the stink eye every time I sit down.  Luckily, here are two amazing ones that just came out. The first one is in a category I like to call "not exactly speculative fiction".  There are no ghosts or magical creatures in these books, but the kids face obstacles that I hope are not realistic.  This one is called "The Free State of Jax".  It's written by Jennifer Nielsen, an author whose work I admire greatly.  Jax is a kid who has lived with his grandmother since he was a little boy.  But his grandmother developed Alzheimer's disease and he was sent to ...
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Even more middle grade speculative fiction Fall 2025

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 Sooooo many new middle grade fiction titles are coming out this fall.  Check out these two new ones. The first one actually came out in May but Netgalley was kind enough to keep it on the shelf until a few weeks ago.  It's called "The Curiosities" by W. H. Eatons, which is actually three people- Mark Wheaton and his two kids, Rowan and Wyatt.  It's about two kids, Marlow and Zack, who just moved to a new small town with their mom, an exogeologist (a scientist who studies rocks from other planets) who works at the Rocket Propulsion Lab.  It's also about the cats who live in the neighborhood, who are talkative, friendly, and capable of a great many things.  The problem begins with a hum that a creature notices.  The creature is unidentified until quite late in the book but is referred to occasionally.  The hum seems to be disrupting insects and birds and eventually the people of the town.  When the middle school science teacher, Ms. Layla, dis...
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New middle grade speculative fiction-Fall 2025

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I'm sorry that we're not going to get to do the CYBILS award this year.  The CYBILS award was created by people who blog and write about children's literature and has consistently been one of my favorite things to do each year.  Imagine getting a list of 100+ middle grade fiction books, having to source them, read them and rate them and discuss them with a group of other people who love books as much as you do.  It wasn't always easy but I always found a couple of titles that I would have otherwise missed that I totally fell in love with.  But [sigh], this year, the organizers wanted to take a break.  Or needed to take a break.  I hope it's a short one and we can go back next year!  Here are two of my new speculative fiction favorites this year. The first one is called Outside by Jennifer Holm.  I adore Jennifer Holm's work and it was such an honor to get to meet her at the Nerdy Book Camp when that was still a thing.  This new one is terrifi...
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Realistic middle grade fiction Fall 2025

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 So if you like middle grade fiction, there are so many new books coming out this fall.  Two of my favorite authors have new books, YAY!!  And they are both wonderful (the authors AND their new books).   The first one is by Holly Goldberg Sloan, who wrote Counting by 7s, which is still on my top ten favorite books of all time.  She's written several others as well, including this new one, which is called "Finding Lost".  It's about Cordy, a middle schooler, who lives with her mom and her perpetually cheerful younger brother, Geno in coastal Oregon.  They are living in a small caretaker's house on the edge of a bigger property, for which her mother acts as a caretaker.  The owners are rarely there, which makes living in the caretaker's house seem all the more miserable.  The caretaker's house is a former boatshed and has a leaky roof, poor insulation and poor internet access.  They live there because since Cordy's dad died in a boating ac...
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More new middle grade fiction Fall 2025

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 I have SOOO many books to read.  My TBR pile is tragically large.  Thank goodness I'm retired so I can devote my time to reading!  Here are two of my newest favorites. The first one is a science fiction tale by Rebecca Stead called "The Experiment".  Nathan is a pretty regular sixth grader with a best friend named Victor, except for one teensy little thing-Nathan and his parents come from another planet.  For the most part, Nathan's life is like everyone else's-but there are a few eccentricities like how his mom weighs all of his food (and subtracts the things he doesn't eat), she keeps a log book with data about their life, they have Zoom meetings with other alien families and their kids, and then there's the pink toothpaste that Nathan has to brush with 5 times a day.  But some weird things have been happening.  Some of the kids have disappeared from the Zoom meeting without an explanation and now Nathan is growing a tail.  A furry, orange...
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My new favorites in middle grade fiction fall 2025

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 Boy have there been some great new middle grade books out in September 2025.    Here are two of my favorites. The first one is called Three Blue Hearts and it's by Lynne Kelly.  This is Lynne's fourth book and although I loved her others,  I think this one might be my favorite.  It's about Max, who lives in the shadow of his dad, who is a local politician.  Max wants his dad to be proud of him, but Max likes different things than his dad-his dad likes sports and being the center of attention and Max likes animals and small groups.  So Max decides to go spend the summer with his mom on a small island where she is doing some scientific research and after a particularly embarrassing viral video event, decides to change his name to Milo so no one will recognize him.  There is a big storm the first night Max and his mom are there and in the morning, he decides to go for a walk on the beach and finds an octopus stranded on the shore.  He want...
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