New Middle Grade Books, March 2023

With all the middle grade novels I get sent every month, here are the ones for March 2023 that I want to tell you about. BUT, there are two that are marketed as middle grade but librarians and teachers ordering for the classroom need to know that they aren’t middle grade. More on that when you scroll down.

Something else besides inappropriate book labeling is on my mind right now…

Where are the middle grade books with male protagonists? We have gone so far to the side of female main characters that I rarely see books published with male main characters.

Yes, boys can read books with girl main characters.

AND, sometimes boys are more motivated to read books about boys. (I know that I prefer reading adult books about women.)
Let’s give our boys, who are often reading less than girls, MORE good book choices with boy main characters.

What are your thoughts? Comment below!

Scroll down to see the two books incorrectly labeled middle grade. Books that are good, but just need a different age recommendation.

New Middle Grade Books, March 2023

Children of the Black Glass by Anthony Peckham
FANTASY BOOK
If you like exciting adventures with surprising twists and cool world-building, read this middle grade fantasy book next! Abandoned by their mom, Tell and Wren live with their dad on the mountain but their dad gets blinded in an accident. The mountain rule is that if you can’t work, you can’t drain the resources and must be killed. So the children go down the mountain to trade their dad’s black glass and find a cure. They’ve never been to the big city since it is forbidden for children. In the city, they immediately lose everything and discover an unfamiliar world with different rules, lies, treachery, and feuding families and sorcerers. Wren and Tell make tentative friendships but must use their cleverness and new and old knowledge to survive the secrets revealed and the chaos of war.

Skyriders by Polly Holyoke
FANTASY

What Happens Next? Talent Show Troubles by Jess Smart Smiley
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE GRAPHIC NOVEL
This is a choose your own adventure graphic novel with fun illustrations about a school talent show. Megan is in charge of the show, but it’s not going well. The stories were short, and I didn’t like how often the choices and page turns occured. It’s not a prose book, so it means you’re constantly turning back and forth through the book. I’m including it in this round-up because the graphic novel illustrations and interactive elements will appeal to many readers.

Guardians of Horsa: Legend of the Yearling by Roan Black, illustrated by Glass House Graphics
(ages 7 – 10)
FANTASY GRAPHIC NOVEL
This book feels like ONE chapter of a longer story. Which was super disappointing. So, I’d call this a comic, not a graphic novel, because only the characters, setting, and premise are introduced, and then it abruptly ends. The gist is that four young horses from each of the four enemy tribes must work together to search for the prophesied yearling. That’s all we get until the next book. I would suggest waiting until the next few books come out before you give this a read. The best thing bout this book is the artwork.

NOT MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS!!

Readers, I’m sharing two books being marketed at middle grade, which I think you need to know ARE NOT meant for the majority of middle grade readers which are ages 8 to 12. Maybe you could say they’re for upper middle grade, but it would be a personal preference. So if you’re a teacher or librarian trying to order books, I’m sharing this to let you know that while both books are good, they are meant for older readers.

Dreamer by Alim Aliu and Greg Anderson Elysee, illustrated by Karen De La Vega
WARNING: NOT MIDDLE GRADE
3/10 UPDATE FROM PUBLISHER: THEY WILL BE CHANGING THIS TO YA!!
MEMOIR
This is the graphic novel memoir of Akim Aliu, a pro hockey player who faced terrible racism as a young hockey player all the way up to the pro levels. It’s well-written and, sadly, completely believable. It’s marketed as a middle-grade book, but it’s NOT because there’s so much bad language. Some of the swear words are crossed out but you can tell what the words are, whether it’s the n-word or the f-word. I do think the words belong in the story because they’re essential to the plot’s point about how harassed and bullied he was. And yet, most parents do not want this much (any?) bad language in their 8-year-old’s book choices. So, upper middle grade maybe?

The Librarian of Auschwitz adapted by Salva Rubio, translated by Lilit Zekuli Thwaites, illustrated by Loreto Aroca
WARNING: NOT MIDDLE GRADE
HISTORICAL MEMOIR GRAPHIC NOVEL
I genuinely liked this book, and so did my husband. BUT. There are images of naked people (boobs and pubic hair) and the use of the word tits (and touching breasts.) While this is an exceptionally written based on a true story book with good pacing, it is NOT, in my opinion, appropriate for middle grade readers who are 8 to 12-year-olds. The story follows 14-year-old Dita and her family when they are sent to Auschwitz. Dita gets a job as a librarian caring for a handful of books in different languages and from different authors. She is a survivor but confused when she sees the Jewish leader kissing a German soldier and when he commits suicide. She survives the camps, but her family doesn’t. Later, she reunites with a boy she knew before, and they get married. I wish the editors had used better judgment so this story would be appropriate for 8 year olds and taken out some of the images (and words) that weren’t totally necessary to the plot so that young readers could read it without parent concerns.