Great middle grade (boy?) books

I have boys in this reading age right now, and so I'm always looking for books to recommend to them. Maybe some of you out there are trying to find a good book for your MG son and are looking for suggestions. If so, allow me to suggest some (that also appeal to girls, if my equal-opportunity household is any gauge).

1. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, by Brandon Sanderson (series)



There are few writers of adult books who can write kid books with equal ease. Sanderson might be a bestselling author of fantasy for adults, but he writes a 13YO boy with dead-on accuracy. What you get with this series: evil librarians (naturally), Talents that do things like breaking stuff, making you late, or making you waking up especially ugly--all faults to some people, but very useful in the right hands. Kick-butt warrior girls. Fights with sentient romance novels. And--well, you get the idea. If you are looking for a very funny action adventure fantasy novel that has heart as well, read this today! There are four books so far (the fourth just came out) of a hopeful five.

2. MT Anderson's Pals in Peril series



Here is another very, very funny series that is also action-adventure, that also involves silliness, and that is also for people who already read books. Not because it's difficult to read--but you will laugh at more of the jokes if you recognize what they are poking fun at. Lilly Gefelty, Jasper Dash, and Kate Mulligan are all heroes of their own (imaginary) book series, but friends together in real life. And they have to fight off Bad Guys and solve mysteries and infiltrate the State of Delaware...stuff like that. The fourth book also just came out here, called Agent Q. I have a feeling my kids will be disappointed if someday they actually visit Delaware and find it isn't quite as exciting as Anderson makes it sound. Anderson, as everyone already knows, is wildly talented at writing for different audiences. If you' tried one book and it wasn't for you, seriously, pick up another, because they are ALL DIFFERENT. This series is my favorite of his.

3. Camp Half Blood series (plural)

   

The first book starts the first series (The Lightning Thief) and the second (The Lost Hero), the second series set in the same world. I recommend starting from the beginning if you can. You may have seen the movie of The Lightning Thief last summer. It was a fun movie, but they hacked out whole plot lines to make it a stand-aloner. There's a whole series there, folks! Riordan is one of only a couple other adult-turned-kid authors who IMO really nails it. (Are you seeing a pattern here?)

4. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, starting with Eighth Grade Bites.



Who can resist a cover like that? If you're looking for sparkly vampires, this ain't it. But if you're looking for humor, adventure, action, friends, and vampires, well, here you go. My 10YO son really likes these books, and we are looking forward to reading the final one that recently came out.

So, which MG books will YOU be giving this holiday season?

The Healing Spell

There's nothing like being sick when you're the mom. I'm freezing, have some kind of stomach thing, and just want to go to bed. But uh, bad idea with a 2YO, right? I did try lying down for a little while, and had to get up and rescue him from the bathroom. He was slathered with hand soap, plus he'd taken off all the Christmas balls he could and had them all looped up and down his arm. Lovely. Guess I'm back to groaning on the couch and guarding the tree.



But--when I WAS lying down, I finally got to read Kimberly Griffiths Little's THE HEALING SPELL, which I heartily recommend (although for perhaps a different audience than the MG boy books I posted earlier). 11YO Livie's Mamma had a terrible accident in the swamp, and now she's in a coma. And only Livie knows exactly what happened, and the burden's going to eat her alive or mash her flat, one. Desperate for her Mamma to wake up, she goes to a traiteur, a Cajun healing woman, who tells her to tie a string around her Mamma's ankle--a string knotted with nine things that are important to her Mamma. And then to make a list of favorite memories about her. And to have faith. Well, Livie is desperate and is willing to try--but it isn't an easy spell to do. Especially when she and her Mamma didn't get along all that well to start out with. It's a lovely book and I cried at the end.