Not exactly realistic middle grade fiction

 You know those books.  The ones that sit charmingly between genres.  Are they realistic because the characters SEEM like real people, if slightly (or extremely) exaggerated.  Are they speculative (or fantasy) because I really, really hope that things like this never really happen to kids or that there are people like this out in the world.  Here are two books that are just like that!

The first one is called That Time I Got Kidnapped by Tom Mitchell.  It's about Jacob, who is 14 and a HUGE Marvel Comics fan, who has won a chance to be an extra in a new movie shooting in Hollywood, with all expenses paid.  So he's going from England to Hollywood, all by himself.  He has a list of things he should not do (like lose his passport or miss his connecting flight), so what could possibly go wrong?  For starters, there's a huge snowstorm in Chicago, which is his point of entry in the US.  And he misses the connecting flight.  So he decides to take a bus to Hollywood, where he meets a crazy girl named Jennifer, who asks a million questions, appears to be considered missing by the authorities and bosses Jacob relentlessly.  She's also carrying a mysterious package and is being followed by a giant man wearing a cowboy hat.  It turns out Jennifer is running away and would like some company so they get off the bus and hide from the cowboy.  The starts a complete manic trip across the western half of the US that is funny and compelling.  There are lots of plot twists and crazy action.  Like I said, I hope kids are never put in a position like this (so does that make it fantasy fiction?  There's no aliens or witches or talking bunnies...) but what if they were?  Tom Mitchell would make a great travel companion and so would Jacob but I definitely would NOT want Jennifer in charge of my travel arrangements!  This is a very fun story to read and I think the kids are going to like this one a lot.

Here's a little video of Tom Mitchell telling about the book!

The second one is by a perennial favorite middle grade children's author-Gordon Korman.  This one is called Unplugged.  Korman often dances on that line between realistic fiction and speculative fiction (like in Restart where a kid falls off the roof and ends up with amnesia and when he realizes who he was, he doesn't want to be that guy anymore).  Unplugged is told from several different view points, the most prominent being Jett Baranov.  Jett is the son of a major tech giant-his dad invented some of the most amazing tech devices (in the book).  Jett has been working hard to get his dad and his mom's attention but so far it hasn't worked so his dad is sending him to a wellness camp in Arkansas that is off the grid and Jett is expected to hand over his phone (lifeline to the rest of the world) and meditate and do yoga for the next 6 weeks.  Jett is less than enthused and does everything he can to do the opposite of the expectations of the camp.  He makes friends with some of the other kids, Grace, Trey, and Brooklyn, all of whom have been coming to the camp for many years.  Grace LOVES the camp and really wants buys into the meditation and wellness things.  Trey is somewhat less enthusiastic and struggles with terrible allergies and Brooklyn is trying not to be seen.  But they find a lizard in the lake and decide that they would like to keep it as a pet.  They try a number of different vegetarian foods from the food service at the camp, but the lizard won't eat any of it.  One day the lizard eats a bug and the kids figure out that the lizard is a carnivore.  They think they can't catch enough bugs for the lizard to keep it healthy so Brooklyn tells them about a boat that they can borrow (steal) and take to town to get meat (and candy and the least healthy food they can find).  There are several pivotal points along the story that I don't want to spoil for you, because it's a very fun mystery, but let's just say that Korman does his usual wonderful job of spinning a story that's fun and compelling to read and has characters that you'd like to be friends with (mostly).  The kids are going to have a great time with this one.