#MiddleGradeMarch Book Recommendations

What is Middle Grade and what is Middle Grade March?

Middle Grade is a book genre that is aimed towards middle school aged children particularly in the 8-12 age range. Just because they are written with that age group in mind doesn’t mean that people out of that age range can’t read them, however. Reading from an 8-12 year-old perspective is often an eye opening experience on certain situations and oftentimes it allows you to be a kid again. Many of the topics discussed in middle grade are still very relatable to adults such as friendship and dealing with change.

Middle Grade March is a reading challenge to read more middle grade books during the month of March. It started in the book community on Instagram with the hashtag #middlegrademarch. You don’t have to be a part of the book community on Instagram to participate, however! You also don’t have to dedicate yourself to reading only middle grade books during March, either. The entire purpose is to encourage more people, particularly those who often don’t read the middle grade genre, to read more middle grade books.

The Recommendations

Today I am going to talk about three middle grade series that I have been loving recently and are perfect for adults and kids alike for middle grade march. I hope you decide to pick up some of these fabulous books and give them a read in March or anytime!

Dragonwatch by Brandon Mull

I was ridiculously happy when I saw the first of this series, also called Dragonwatch, appear on the shelves of my local bookstore. Dragonwatch is a spin-off series of Brandon Mull’s original series, Fablehaven, which I was obsessed with when I was younger. I’ve reread Fablehaven many times over the years and so I was excited to see that Mull was continuing the story in a new series.

Dragonwatch takes off right where the last book in the Fablehaven left us and begins with Kendra and Seth’s next adventure--- making sure that a dragon sanctuary doesn’t fall to the dragons. When I started reading, I immediately fell right back into the story like I had never left the world. You get to meet some old favorite characters while also being introduced to some new ones along the way.

The second book in the series, Wrath of the Dragon King, is also out and was just as good as the first. Mull does a good job of bringing back old characters and settings while also integrating new material to make it new and exciting at the same time.

While I do think this series will probably be enjoyed more if you have read the original Fablehaven series, I think that these books do stand on their own as well. If you don’t read the original series you will miss out on some references made about past experiences or all of the dimensions of the different relationships between characters but that being said, I think the story will still draw you in and you will find yourself wanting to know more about the world and the characters. Also, even though the setting of this series is one that is visited in a previous book, Mull does tell us even more information about it that will interest old readers of the series as well as new.

The third book in the series, Master of the Phantom Isle, is set to be released November 1, 2019.

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

I originally picked up Nevermoor because it has been blowing up all over bookish social media. I have seen so many positive reviews from some of my favorite book reviews so I knew I needed to pick it up.

Nevermoor is about a young girl named Morrigan that is destined to die on her eleventh birthday. She is considered to be cursed and her entire town blames her for all of their misfortunes. On the day of her eleventh birthday, however, a mysterious man appears and takes her to a new city named Nevermoor where she will compete against hundreds of other children to get into a magical organization called the Wundrous Society.

This book was so cute and whimsical! The world is so unique and original and exploring this new world with Morrigan was very fun. Sometimes with fantastical books, the authors can become a little infodumpy(giving lots of information about the world in big chunks) but Townsend integrated all the information very naturally. Not only is the setting very magical and quirky but the were also and it was very easy to picture the world and all the people in it.

Nevermoor also delves into different types of relationships a lot and that was something that I really appreciated. It didn’t just showcase the friend and enemy relationships like many books but also talked about relationships with people that don’t necessarily fall into either of those categories and how to handle them. I think it also did a good job of making the characters three-dimensional and showing the reasoning behind characters actions so that we can better understand their actions. Showing this is very important for a younger audience who are still trying to work out how to deal with relationships between people but also is a good reminder for the older audiences as well.

The next book in the series, Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, came out a few months ago and I’ve heard that it is even better than the first so I cannot wait to read it.

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Victoria Schwab is a very popular young adult and adult fantasy writer that many people love. I’ve read a few of her works and thoroughly enjoyed them and so I was intrigued to hear that she was writing a middle grade series. I was even more intrigued when I learned that the first book takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland, a city that I visited last year and fell in love with.

City of Ghosts is about a girl named Cass. Her parents are ghost hunters and when they get a tv show to explore different haunted cities all over the world, they bring Cass along. Their first stop is Edinburgh, one of the most haunted cities in the world. Also, Cass can see and interact with ghosts. Her best friend, Jacob, is even a ghost. Once in Scotland, Cass realizes that not all ghosts are as friendly as her friend Jacob and we go on an adventure with Cass as she discovers more about her abilities.

I really enjoyed the reading experience that City of Ghosts offered. The characters were fun to follow along and I enjoyed how much history about the city was included into the story. Cass and her family go to so many historical spots in Edinburgh and we also find out a lot of background and history about those spots at the same time. These aspects meant that I was learning while also being entertained which is a huge plus in my book.

I’m not normally into paranormal type books and so I wasn’t sure I would enjoy that aspect of the story. In general, that aspect would turn me off from reading the story but because of the setting and that it was written by Victoria Schwab I decided to give it a go. As the story was geared towards younger readers it was never too scary or dark for my tastes. It definitely has the underlying dark vibes that Victoria Scwab is known for, but it wasn’t overwhelming at any point.

The next book, Tunnel of Bones, takes place in the catacombs of Paris, another city and place I have visited so I can’t wait for it to come out September 3,, 2019.