Take Five: January 2025 Middle Grade Novels

We’ve left 2024 behind, which means we’ve left behind our 2024 project, Mind the Middle, where we focused on middle grade books. But I’m going to keep doing weekly Take Five lists where I recommend five middle grade books on a certain theme. Today’s list is of new middle grade books coming out this month. All descriptions from the publishers. Happy reading!

No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam (ISBN-13: 9780063360921 Publisher: HarperCollins Publication date: 01/14/2025, Ages 8-12)

The wannabe-cool, Tamil-nerd vibes of Never Have I Ever meet the hidden life of Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim in this funny, poignant coming-of-age middle grade debut from Maria Marianayagam. A Sri Lankan boy’s life spirals out of control when he wins a prize in a stolen candy bar, pushing him to navigate his identity amid his ever-watchful family.

Ajay Anthonipillai has a million-dollar problem. 

Ajay has lived his life dutifully following the rules set by his Tamil parents.

Rule #3: Straight As only

Rule #5: There is no such thing as a no-homework day.

Rule #10: Never watch scary movies.

However, moving to a new school gives Ajay a new rule to follow: Get on seventh-grade all-star Jacob Underson’s good side.

When Jacob asks him to steal a Mercury bar from Scary Al’s convenience store, Ajay feels this is his chance to finally “get cool” and stop eating alone. But Jacob rejects the stolen chocolate bar, leaving Ajay to unwrap it and discover that it contains Mercury’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary Grand Prize…one million dollars.

Faced with an extreme dilemma, Ajay will have to bear the weight of his actions and battle his morality in deciding whether to claim the prize that may change the life of his family forever.

As You Wish by Nashae Jones (ISBN-13: 9781665939911 Publisher: Aladdin Publication date: 01/14/2025, Ages 10-14)

A girl learns the hard way to be careful what she wishes for in this sweet and funny middle grade rom-com featuring a chaos-loving West African trickster god.

Birdie has big plans for eighth grade. This is the year that she gets a boyfriend, and since she and her best friend, Deve, do everything together, it makes sense that Deve will get a girlfriend. This is the kind of math Birdie doesn’t find intimidating—it’s Eighth Grade 101. (Birdie + Boyfriend) + (Deve + Girlfriend) = Normal Eighth Grade Experience. And normal is something Birdie craves, especially with a mom as overprotective as hers.

She doesn’t expect Deve to be so against her plan, or for their fight to blow up in her face. So when the West African god Anansi appears to her, claiming to be able to make everything right again, Birdie pushes past her skepticism and makes a wish for the whole mess to go away. But with a trickster god, your wish is bound to come true in a way you never imagined.

Before long, Birdie regrets her rash words…especially when she realizes what’s really going on with her and Deve. With her reality upended, can Birdie figure out how to undo her wish?

The Forgotten Magic of Zoey Turner by Erin Stewart (ISBN-13: 9781665952255 Publisher: Aladdin Publication date: 01/14/2025, Ages 10-13)

A girl whose anxiety disorder has been ruling her life since her father’s death unexpectedly has the story she’s written come alive in this adventurous and tender middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of Barbara Dee and Jamie Sumner.

Zoey Turner used to see magic everywhere. With a dad like Zoey’s, it was hard not to. Not only did they read The Magic of Ever After series together every day, they also used to create original stories together. Used to. Ever since her dad died unexpectedly last year, all Zoey sees is danger.

Fear has shrunk homeschooled Zoey’s life to the span of one block, where she keeps close to the people that she needs the most. Her mom is almost never out of sight, and Jada, the owner of Ever After Books, is always around to talk about their favorite fantasy trilogy. Zoey finally ventures outside her comfort zone for the chance to meet famed author Raven M. Wells, only for the outing to lead to a panic attack.

Instead of a signed book, Zoey ends up with a novelty pencil embossed with the phrase make your own magic that she uses to cope with her disappointment by writing a story like the ones she and her dad shared. The next day, Zoey is shocked to find her fantastical tale has come true. Emboldened by the pencil, Zoey takes risks she thought were long behind her in pursuit of her happy ending. But is she really in charge of how the story ends?

Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker (ISBN-13: 9780316299336 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Publication date: 01/14/2025, Ages 8-12)

Bestselling and award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes goes West in this thrilling adventure story about a son and his father who set out to win land during the Oklahoma Land Rush–if they can survive the journey.  
 
It’s 1889, barely twenty-five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and a young Black family is tired of working on land they don’t get to own.
 
So when Will and his father hear about an upcoming land rush, they set out on a journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to the place where land is free—if they can get to it fast enough. But the journey isn’t easy—the terrain is rough, the bandits are brutal, and every interaction carries a heavy undercurrent of danger.
 
And then there’s the stranger they encounter and befriend: a mysterious soldier named Caesar, whose Union emblem brings more attention—and more trouble—than any of them need.
 
All three are propelled by the promise of something long denied to them: freedom, land ownership, and a place to call home—but is a strong will enough to get them there? 

Safe Harbor by Padma Venkatraman (ISBN-13: 9780593112502 Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group Publication date: 01/21/2025, Ages 10-13)

An uplifting novel in verse about an immigrant girl adjusting to life in the US through her love of nature, music, and poetry, by the award-winning author of The Bridge Home

When Geetha and her mom move from India to Rhode Island after her parents’ divorce, they leave everything Geetha loves behind—her family, her friends, her dog, and all that’s familiar. As if that’s not hard enough, Geetha is bullied at her new school for her clothes, her food, and her English (who knew so many English words could be spelled or pronounced differently in the US—or just be altogether different!). She finds some solace in playing her flute and writing poetry, and even more when she meets Miguel, a kid with whom she has a lot in common, and the two of them help rescue an injured harp seal stranded on the beach. But Geetha can feel her anger building over lots of things—careless people who pollute the sea and hurt animals, and her mom for making her move. She’s never been so sad and angry. She can see a lot of her fears mirrored in the injured seal when she visits it at the Marine Mammal Rehabilitation Center, and this broadens her understanding of survival skills. And when she and Miguel start a beach-clean-up venture, she’s surprised to find how many kind kids are out there. Geetha is torn as the time comes to let the seal go, knowing she’ll miss him, but wanting the best for him. She’s learning to live with mixed feelings and accept that while there will always be rough waters, there are plenty of safe harbors too.

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