Amanda’s Favorite Middle Grade Reads of 2023

Yes, it’s list time. Again.

As of this post, I have read 241 books this year. Did I get to read everything I had hoped to in 2023? Of course not. But I did read a lot! What follows are my favorite 2023 books that I reviewed here at TLT and excerpts of my reviews.

I pretty much exclusively read contemporary fiction, which my list may reflect. An interesting thing happened both this year and in 2022: after spending my whole life devouring more YA books than any other age level, I read more middle grade than I usually do. I read more middle grade than YA (or grown up books, for that matter). Perhaps it’s a symptom of working in an elementary school, or even of knowing I can read those books a little faster than books for older audiences, but the real reason, the one that matters, is that there is just so much amazing middle grade out there. And hey! Perfect time to remind you to stay tuned in 2024 for our Mind the Middle Project!

These are the books that most stuck with me this year.  Even though I’m a voracious reader, I’m sure I missed a lot of great 2023 books. I always enjoy reading the many lists that crop up this time of the year, but I also always want more variety and to hear from more people. So here’s my list—will you share yours with us too? Leave us a comment or hit me up on Twitter (assuming it still exists when this posts–which is the same thing I wrote in 2022!) where I’m @CiteSomething. 

Books appear on this list in order of publication date. These are excerpts of my reviews, with links at the end of each excerpt to the full review.

Check out my post tomorrow for my favorite YA reads of 2023!

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels written by Beth Lincoln and illustrated by Claire Powell (ISBN-13: 9780593533239 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 02/07/2023 Age Range: 8 – 12 Years)

Here’s who to recommend this book to: your smartest kids; your weirdest kids; your kids who like dark humor; your kids who like words; your kids who like a mystery where some actual bad things actually happen.

Shenanigan is determined to solve the many mysteries happening in her house, including where is the family treasure and who did some murders. Family members are named from the dictionary (or, in their family, the Dictionary) and that sets the tone for their lives—their name tells them who and what they will be forever. It’s all decided. Tidy, right? But what happens if your name doesn’t match who you want to grow into? Who you are? What if your name is WRONG because the assumptions your family made about you, like, say, your gender, were wrong? Then what? Well, we all know that English is a living language and meanings change. So there may be hope for all these Swifts to recreate their identities to better fit who they know they are. But first, there’s the messy business of the murders—murders for which there seem to be many possible suspects, all currently staying in one house together. But it’s not ALL about figuring out the murders or trying to find the treasure. As Aunt Inheritance says, “We can’t let murder get in the way of Family time!” (pg 125) The Swifts are not like other families, so they carry on.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn (ISBN-13: 9781547610853 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Publication date: 02/28/2023 Age Range: 8 – 11 Years)

The book starts with a great first few lines that will draw readers in. And you’ll be reading along, thinking, this is a nice book, I like this book, it’s a quiet little story, but I’m having a nice time. And then. And THEN. Just… and then. Okay? Let’s let this be the book review. Let’s agree that this is fine. This is one of those books that is nice to read and seems perfectly fine, but then becomes something bigger, something better, something different. I know, this is an annoying review. I told you I was going to be annoying. Reviewers shouldn’t ruin what makes a story truly outstanding—they should point you toward the thing and let you discover it on your own. So go. Discover. And be ready.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat (ISBN-13: 9781626724150 Publisher: First Second Publication date: 02/28/2023, Ages 10-14)

We have a main character who has survived the slings and arrows of middle school, but is raw from its horrors–the kind of typical, daily horrors that just mark that time of life. And he’s honest about that. He just wanted to fly under the radar, be unnoticed, be invisible in middle school. And all of us who have lived through it know that the teenage years and high school can certainly be horrific in their own right, so it’s not like we’re reading and seeing all of his flashbacks and thinking, BRIGHTER DAYS ARE AHEAD, BUDDY! HIGH SCHOOL! YAY! But. But. They are. And there are people making sure young Santat gets that message. It’s sometimes overt, like a teacher chaperoning the trip taking the time to walk with Santat and tell him that high school is a fresh start, that he doesn’t need to be afraid of the unexpected, and, most importantly, that the best part of being a teenager is that you only have to do it once. But he also gets the messages in other ways, like by finally connecting with people, smoothing over some of those old wounds from middle school with conversations and apologies, and seeing that the world is much bigger than his sometimes extremely disappointing life in small-town California. Even without knowing anything that happens after this trip, the reader can be sure that Santat will be okay. He will find his people, he will embrace his interests, he will probably still have some pretty crappy things happen to him, but hey, we all do. This immensely readable memoir is a great celebration of exploration of the world and of the self. 

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Finally Seen by Kelly Yang (ISBN-13: 9781534488335 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers Publication date: 02/28/2023 Age Range: 8 – 12 Years)

Lina comes to America to live with parents and little sister after having been in China, after they left, for five years with her grandmother. She’s so excited to be reunited, but it quickly becomes clear that it is pretty challenging to drop back into a family that’s been living in a different country for a significant period of time. Lina doesn’t know much English. She doesn’t understand the cultural references her little sister makes. And her family’s life in America doesn’t actually look anything like how their letters to Lina portrayed life. My little friend who was reading with me said, “I think her parents lied to protect her.” They made their life seem better than it was so no one would worry about them. But the reality is that they are behind in rent, that Lina’s dad is overworked and (really unfairly) undercompensated, and things are HARD. This is not the American Dream that Lina had pictured. She’s lost at school, kids are cruel, and now she’s worried about them losing their apartment. BUT. Like so much of so many lives, things are also constantly getting better. 

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave with illustrations by Tom de Freston (ISBN-13: 9781454948681 Publisher: Union Square Kids Publication date: 03/28/2023 Age Range: 10 – 18 Years)

I want to climb inside this book and hug Julia. And hug her mom. And her dad. And while I’m at it, I’ll just go ahead and hug this book, maybe tuck it inside my sweatshirt to keep it safe, keep it close. I usually read whenever I have a chance—for ten minutes at work while the students are reading, while waiting at an appointment, while I’m keeping an eye on dinner stuff. I tried to do that here, read it in little pieces, but had to just wait until I could sit down and devour it. It’s not a book to pick up and set back down—it’s a book to plow straight through, holding your breath at the beauty and raw emotion of it all.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Bea and the New Deal Horse by L. M. Elliott (ISBN-13: 9780063219007 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication date: 03/28/2023 Age Range: 10 – 12 Years)

Elliott excels at creating memorable characters in unique settings. Here we meet children Bea and Vivian, left by their father in the barn of a very distance acquaintance as he has no way to care for them thanks to the fallout from the Depression. Luckily, the girls are taken in, somewhat hesitantly and not necessarily forever, by Mrs. Scott, who owns the farm. Now, listen. I’m rewatching Designing Women for the millionth time. If you haven’t watched it, or only remember it in bits and pieces from your childhood (as I did, back before my endless loops of it, as my mother was a fan of the show when it was on), do yourself a favor and check it out. So because of this being my go-to show to keep me company, I had the voice of Julia Sugarbaker (Dixie Carter) in my head while I read Mrs. Scott, and I think it was a perfect match. Mrs. Scott is very proper, but very fiery and not afraid to speak her mind, make bold moves, and stand up against those around her that doesn’t agree with. I just loved her. And combined with self-sufficient Bea, who is determined to forge a connection with the allegedly mean horse that Mrs. Scott sees as the downfall of basically her entire life, you’ve got quite the duo.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang (ISBN-13: 9781338832693 Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Publication date: 04/04/2023 Age Range: 9 – 12 Years)

So this book is about a family that comes to the US from Taiwan, allegedly for a visit but really to stay. The dad goes back, the mom goes back, the three kids (ages 10, 14, and 16) stay. Can I, the parent of a 16-year-old, picture this? Not really. Can plenty of families relate to this storyline? Of course. And the kids do their best. They take care of each other, they learn how to mostly fend for themselves, and they make plenty of mistakes along the way. It’s a story of learning and growing, of family and the hope for a better life, of sacrifices and love. In so many of the best stories for kids, parents fade to the background so the kids can take center stage, something that may be a dream for a lot of kids (some portion of life without parents around to get in the way and ruin all the fun) but in reality looks very different when parents are actually completely removed from your life. It’s hard.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Shannon in the Spotlight by Kalena Miller (ISBN-13: 9780593486054 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 04/25/2023 Age Range: 10 – 12 Years)

In addition to working on/through her OCD, Shannon is also dealing with all the typical issues that come with middle school. She’s always been tight with her two best friends Fatima and Elise, but Elise, who has high hopes for her role in the summer musical, begins to act distant when Shannon, to everyone’s surprise, is cast in the play in the role Elise hoped for. And those two get so caught up in being hurt and angry that they overlook something important to Fatima. Then there’s Micah, the new boy that Shannon begins to hang out with. Navigating that first real crush is no small thing! And Shannon is also dealing with the unexpected long-term visit from her abrasive grandmother. For someone who really likes things just so, having a roommate who doesn’t necessarily understand Shannon’s OCD is rough.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Mèo and Bé by Doan Phuong Nguyen (ISBN-13: 9781643796253 Publisher: Tu Books Publication date: 05/23/2023 Age Range: 11 – 14 Years)

I read this on the heels of another pretty grim book and wasn’t sure I could do two such upsetting reads in a row, but immediately got wrapped up in Bé’s story. This historical fiction is so powerful, so gripping, and shows us the Vietnam War from a perspective I feel like we have rarely seen. Bé is not excited to move with her mother to her father’s home, but it seems like the safer choice for now. Safer, that is, from the perspective of the war happening. It is, in fact, an incredibly unsafe move. Bé’s mom is her father’s second wife, and his first wife, Big Mother, is just awful—cruel and abusive in just shocking ways. She hates Bé, so when Bé’s mother leaves (in hopes of establishing herself elsewhere and sending for her daughter later), everything goes to hell.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt (ISBN-13: 9780358659631 Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication date: 05/23/2023 Age Range: 8 – 12 Years)

I’m reading this book and crying and crying. “What’s wrong with me?” I think. And yes, it’s the amazing storytelling. The sheer beauty of a perfect book. But it’s also, of course, the grief. It’s what reading about Hercules picturing the car accident does to me, makes me picture my own dad’s death from a car accident. It’s how palpable the loss is, the blame is, the weight of it all is. Whether it’s a car accident, whether it’s a parent, whether it’s unexpected—whatever the cause, whatever the loss, it’s a place we all end up. Mired in grief. And I would love nothing more than to think that Hercules’s level of loss and sadness is just so extreme that it’s beyond what most kids can relate to, but we all know it’s a tough world (right, Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer?).

The labors of Hercules the Myth gave Hercules the Kid something to focus on, and while his labors were also about him getting through his grief (not beyond, never beyond), they brought so much more to his life. This completely bonkers-seeming project connected him to people around him in ways that were unexpected but so beautiful. The labors allowed Hercules to stop feeling like he’s just practicing being normal (when really he’s just being eaten up).

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Code Red by Joy McCullough (ISBN-13: 9781534496262 Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers Publication date: 06/13/2023 Age Range: 8 – 14 Years)

This was great. It hits that hard-to-find spot of upper middle grade/lower YA just perfectly. Usually when I’m reading I’m super aware of a book being middle grade or being YA, but with this one I repeatedly had to remind myself that this is middle grade. And I don’t mean that in any disparaging way—it’s not that the book sounded too “sophisticated” for middle grade (not that I think books for that age aren’t/can’t be incredibly sophisticated) or felt untrue to the age it’s portraying etc. It just hits a great place of appealing to a wide range of ages, which is perfect because what this book is talking about is so important. And it’s talking about a lot! Not just periods and period poverty and the importance of access to period supplies! The book tackles changing friendships, challenging mother-child relationships, learning and unlearning as you meet new people and are introduced to new ideas. Eden has to figure out who she is now that she’s no longer an elite gymnast. She learns to talk a stand, put herself out there, speak up. I love that she is very firmly outside of her comfort zone in almost all ways for the entirety of the story—because that’s where you learn and grow so much, right?

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet by Jake Maia Arlow (ISBN-13: 9780593112960 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 08/01/2023 Age Range: 10 – 14 Years)

Al is recently diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. She has spent so much time feeling absolutely mortified to constantly be running to the bathroom and battling her upset stomach. Now, at least, she has an answer why, but like so many diseases, there’s not an easy fix. A diagnosis is not a cure. She has some things to help her manage her symptoms, but this is something she will likely have to deal with for the rest of her life. This is, of course, a bummer, but there turns out to be an unexpected upside to this diagnosis. Her doctor hooks her up with a support group of other tweens/teens dealing with similar issues and diagnoses. Al is completely uninterested in going, but when her very best friend Leo starts to get involved in theater and live his own life, Al goes to the group as kind of a “well, fine, I can make new friends too” move. To her surprise, she actually does make new friends there.

Suddenly, she’s around kids who totally 100% understand what she’s been going through. And it’s not just that—everyone in the group is awesome. And, you know what, let me just go ahead and spoil this eventual reveal to you, because it’s important to see this especially if you buy books for your library or classroom etc: basically everyone in this book is queer. Al is just starting to understand this about herself (as are some of the others) and gets to have a really sweet and joyful crush/first girlfriend experience. And watching these kids come together to support each other and reveal these identities and share their feelings was just lovely. 

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Make a Move, Sunny Park! by Jessica Kim (ISBN-13: 9780525555001 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 08/15/2023 Age Range: 9 – 12 Years)

I just don’t think there can ever be enough middle grade stories where at least part of the focus is on how friendships change and maybe even end. For all of us, at every age, this is a relatable plot point, but probably never more so than middle school. And it’s not the end of the world. It might feel like it is, but it’s not. It happens. There will be other, maybe better and healthier friendships to come, even if it feels like that can’t possibly be true. Sunny, who has really found friends she connects with, makes mistakes and hurts feelings and gets her feelings hurt as she discovers how friendships can change. And that’s all okay. And how great for readers to get to see this.

The distance between Sunny and her bossy best friend Bailey begins to grow when Sunny makes the school dance team and Bailey doesn’t. Suddenly Sunny has new friends and Bailey, who is going through some things at home, is not happy. She makes Sunny feel guilty, she demands her attention, she even goes so far as to sabotage Sunny’s new friendships. And Sunny makes some not great but totally typical and common choices. She ditches friends, lies, talks behind their backs, and more. She’s trying to navigate this new portion of her life and it’s not easy. She definitely messes up a lot. But, as her coach tells her, “You’re bigger than your biggest mistake.” A great reminder for readers who may be busy making lots of mistakes of their own.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

The Curious Vanishing of Beatrice Willoughby by G. Z. Schmidt (ISBN-13: 9780823450732 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 09/05/2023 Age Range: 8 – 12 Years)

Fairy tales meets The Canterbury Tales meets Clue. You’re in, right? Because I was in from the very first line. Usually I read something for TLT during the day, then when I go to bed to read at night, I read another book, a book I think of as a “fun” book only because it’s usually an adult book so it’s not for “work” thus I don’t have to think about what I want to say. But with this book? I kept right on reading when I went to bed and read to the end. I needed to know who was involved in Beatrice’s disappearance and what was going on with all the other extremely suspicious characters.

This is the kind of review where I mostly just tell you that this book was amazing and you should go read it. It’s full of red herrings, humor (necrowmancer! ha!), phenomenal (and suspicious!) characters, and a truly mysterious mystery. Schmidt does something really great here.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus (ISBN-13: 9780823451630 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 09/05/2023 Age Range: 9 – 12 Years)

Set during WWII, Dory and her brothers Pike and Fish don’t have it easy. Their mother passed away from tuberculosis and their father is gone, again, fighting in the war. That leaves Fish, age 17, in charge of his younger siblings. Sure, the entire neighborhood is looking out for them, but being without their dad is hard. The kids actually do a great job looking after themselves and each other. Fish is so responsible, Pike is so smart, and Dory is so gutsy. Their traits work well together. But when their new landlord makes it clear he isn’t running some kind of orphanage, Dory and her brothers have to think fast. Their landlord wants to meet with their dad to make sure that he exists—a meeting that can’t exactly happen right now. So their best plan is to try to avoid him. If he can’t ask where their dad is, they don’t have to keep lying and trying to avoid a visit from social services. But how do you avoid someone who’s always so close by?

Dory to the rescue! Let me tell you, Dory stands out to me as an absolutely iconic character. 

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

The A&A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair by K. H. Saxton (ISBN-13: 9781454950127 Publisher: Union Square Kids Publication date: 09/19/2023 Series: A&A Detective Agency Age Range: 8 – 12 Years)

I think I’m really into mysteries these days. This story grabbed my attention right away. When a local bigwig goes missing, he leaves behind clues for four very important adults in town and two super-sleuth children, Alex and Asha. Their detective agency certainly has never had a case this big to solve. And thank goodness they’re involved because they FOR SURE put together more of the pieces than the adults do. Also? Most of the adults seem suspicious. Who knows what? Who may be behind the disappearance? Who may be after the kids?

Alex and Asha are smart, they’re determined, and they don’t mind stirring things up. As Alex says, “We didn’t come to be useful. We can to find the truth. And if that requires a little disturbance, so be it” (55). And boy howdy do those kids cause disturbances. They end up interrogating not just the adults but really digging deep and thinking hard about art forgeries, history, archeology, literature, and the entire practice and morality of curating museum and art collections in the first place. Oh! AND there’s a secret bookcase door revealing a hidden room. I want one!

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Hidden Truths by Elly Swartz (ISBN-13: 9780593483664 Publisher: Random House Children’s Books Publication date: 10/31/2023 Age Range: 10 Years)

I always appreciate stories that focus on how complicated friendship can be, especially as kids. There are often ups and downs, hurt feelings, lies, distance that grows, and resentment. But there’s also often apologies, understanding, learning, and growing. It’s all normal. And even though Dani and Eric are super duper best friends, things get really hard for them. They actually spend most of this story not particularly being friends. When Dani gets hurt in an accident while camping, Eric saves her, but also wonders if maybe he is to blame for the accident. When he shares this hard truth with her, she shuts him out. She’s furious. They both spend much of the story either alone or with their new friends (or perhaps “friends”) while they work through their feelings—feelings that change as the story goes on and other truths are revealed, not just about the accident but about other people in their lives. It’s a really sensitive look at how it feels when an important friendship falls apart and how you go about building it back up. 

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

Ruptured by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz (ISBN-13: 9780823452330 Publisher: Holiday House Publication date: 11/14/2023 Age Range: 8 – 12 Years)

RUPTURED follows 8th grade Claire’s life. She’s sitting at a restaurant with her mother when her mom has a massive headache and faints; she’s had a brain aneurysm rupture. What comes next is lots of uncertainty, fear, anger, and sadness as her mother spends time in the hospital. Claire is worried that her mom won’t survive the aneurysm, that she won’t ever be her “old” self again. Her mom is hallucinating, forgetting words, not remembering things. All totally normal given her situation, but terrifying to witness. Thankfully, Claire takes solace in her books (she’s an avid reader, with dreams of one day maybe being a librarian, and there are so many wonderful references to contemporary MG and YA titles) and her new connection with DeShawn, a boy she meets in the hospital as he’s visiting his own mother (also recovering from an aneurysm). At the library, she searches and searches for a book where a parent has something huge happens but lives. Those books are not easy to find, but Claire, who has always turned to books, needs to hope and reassurance that people can survive scary medical things.

(FULL REVIEW HERE.)

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