Middle School

Silverborn by Jessica Townsend – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Silverborn by Jessica Townsend 

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: June 24, 2025

Reviewed from library copy

ISBN: 9780316348393

The fourth book in the Nevermoor series has Morrigan discovering that her mother is actually from Nevermoor and was part of a very wealthy family. Morrigan is invited to meet her mother’s family, the Darlings, but things don’t go perfectly at their first meeting. Still, she continues to be in touch with them as her relationship with her mentor falls apart due to both of them having kept large secrets from one another. At a Darling wedding, Morrigan finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation where she and her friends may just be the only ones still searching for the true murderer. She must also find time to continue her studies to be a Wundersmith, one of the big secrets she is keeping from everyone.

After many delays in its publication, there is such joy in returning to the world of Nevermoor and the magic delights that dwell there. In this novel, there is plenty of darkness woven throughout. Readers will be able to figure out some of the mysteries and lies ahead of Morrigan while other reveals will surprise. With a monster, a murder and Morrigan, this book has plenty to keep fans happy.

If you haven’t tried this children’s fantasy series yet, this fourth book just adds to the reasons to read it soon. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Publishers Weekly Best Middle Grade Books of 2025

| Tasha

Publishers Weekly has announced their best books lists for 2025. Here are their picks for best Middle Grade books:

Candle Island by Lauren Wolk

Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina, illus. by Anna and Elena Balbusso

How to Say Goodbye in Cuban by Daniel Miyares

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes

Malcolm Lives! by Ibram X. Kendi

My Presentation Today Is About the Anaconda by Bibi Dumon Tak, trans. from the Dutch by Nancy Forest-Flier, illus. by Annemarie van Haeringen

Night Chef by Mika Song

The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser

Oasis by Guojing

Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate, illus. by Charles Santoso

A Sea of Lemon Trees by María Dolores Águila

The Summer of the Bone Horses by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, illus. by Steph Littlebird

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff

Free Piano (Not Haunted) by Whitney Gardner – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Free Piano (Not Haunted) by Whitney Gardner 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication: July 1, 2025

Reviewed from copy provided by publisher

ISBN: 9781665938129

In 1980, Vision was a teen pop star, singing in front of large crowds. Today, Margot is trying to catch the attention of people online with her music, but her ukulele isn’t cutting it. Margot finds a synthesizer on the side of the road with a sign saying that it’s not haunted. She hauls it home, hoping for her father to teach her to play. But her father deserts Margot and heads to California to become a star once he gets enough online fans. Left behind, Margot starts to learn to play keyboard and that’s when Vision, whose spirit is trapped in the synthesizer, appears. The two girls start to play music together, but is something darker involved with the keyboard and what is the price of chasing external fame?

A marvelous graphic novel for middle-grade readers, this book successfully combines modern online attention culture with throwbacks to the 1980s. The haunted, or not, synthesizer forms a bridge both in music and connection between the two girls, one a ghost and one alive. The message of finding your own happiness rather than seeking external validation is offered in a variety of ways through the story, via Margot’s father, her friends and Vision herself. The art is bright and popping and veers dynamically into horror lighting at times. 

A great graphic novel with a message for our times. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Nightmare Jones by Shannon Bramer – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Nightmare Jones by Shannon Bramer, illustrated by Cindy Derby (9781773069463)

First meet Nightmare Jones himself via the poem about him. He has blood on his shoe, a swashbuckler heart and a soul of soot. One after another, monsters appear poem by poem. There are little ghosts who live in shoes. There is the man who collects teeth. You can visit a witch’s garden or find the monster with a hole in her head. Spiders and eyes make several appearances in the book alongside dark emotions. Your monster can be tangible or all in your head, or maybe a bit of both. 

So much poetry for children is simplified and this book is marvelously challenging both in content being less than straight forward and poetry structure being played with constantly. The result is a book with lines that are eerie and strange, just right for odd children who enjoy the dark corners of books. My favorite poem is near the end of the collection, “The Strangest One” and the title is just right. 

Dark, delightful and dangerously good. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Groundwood Books.

The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell (9780593809907)

Return to the world of Impossible Creatures with this second book in the series. Christopher is delighted to be called back to help the Archipelago again, this time to save the dragons. It takes a lot to kill dragons, and they only trust Christopher to speak to them and rescue them. As Christopher travels to the magical world, he meets Anya, a girl with a special connection to royal birds and who has lost people to the poison being used to kill the dragons. Now they have a shared quest, to find an antidote and save Anya’s father from being accused of killing the king, her grandfather. 

Readers’ hearts will soar along with Christopher’s in delight at returning to the Archipelago. Second books in series are particularly challenging and Rundell carries this off with grace and style. She gives readers exactly what they were yearning for, a grand adventure with beloved characters as well as new characters to connect with. Anya is a great foil for Christopher in the tale, which is less a tour of the magical land and more focused on a specific quest, yet feels incredibly expansive too. Don’t forget to say some of Rundell’s gorgeous language aloud, particularly her character names for the creatures, they are great fun!

A great sequel in a marvelous series. When does the third come out? Appropriate for ages 10+.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Let’s Get Together by Brandy Colbert – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Let’s Get Together by Brandy Colbert (9780063092488)

A modern retelling of The Parent Trap, this version focuses on identical twins who meet one another at school for the first time. Kenya has been raised by her father and grandmother. She is confident and doesn’t want anything to change. In fact, the boy she has a crush on has started to notice her, so things are getting even better. Liberty has spent most of her life in a variety of foster homes and finally has found one where she belongs and feels accepted. She is starting a new school and for the first time looking forward to the future. But neither girl expects to meet someone who looks just like them. Now everything is changing whether they like it or not.

Colbert keeps a light touch in this story which could have gotten serious at times. Instead, she continues to pay homage to the original in tone with funny moments between the sisters and an organic growth and blossoming of their connection with one another. With Black characters rather than white girls, this book has a depth to it and a focus on family that is more profound than the original and very welcome. 

Clever use of tropes from the original are freshened in this new twin-focused novel. Appropriate for ages 8-12. 

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Edelweiss and Clarion Books.

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner – Book Review

| Tasha

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner (9781547616398)

Finn isn’t having a good end of school. He has missed lots of gym class, hasn’t turned in his poetry project about heroes, and just kicked over a gravestone. He’s in big trouble for that last one. It turns out the grave is that of a local Adirondack High Peaks heroine, so her daughter reaches out to see if they can make a deal. She will drop the charges if Finn climbs all 46 of the High Peaks by Labor Day. Plus, he has to take along the dead woman’s dog who loves to hike. As Finn begins to hike and reach summits, he learns a lot along the way, particularly about his anger towards his father who died recently and was by everyone else’s account a hero.

As I read this book, I was in awe of Messner’s skill. She combines so many disparate elements into a book that feels organic and beautiful. Her use of a verse novel format makes so much sense here, allowing us to feel what Finn does even as he is in denial about much of it. His poetry project weaves its way through the verse, capturing his voice and rage. Finn can’t see himself through most of the book, can’t see the people around him and their support, can’t see his father and the truth about him, can’t find his way through.

This is a book about what nature can do for a person who is lost and not looking to be rescued. It is a book about the various ways that heroes enter our lives, the forms they take that are unexpected and sometimes drooling dogs, the connection that can result in shared experiences. It is about so much at once and yet again, is superbly focused and deftly written. Messner shows her mastery here.

A mountain of heart, a range of emotions, and quite a summit of a book. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson – Book Review

| Tasha

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson (9781547605897)

Sage’s entire life changed on her thirteenth birthday. It was the day her best friend was killed by a drunk driver as she walked to Sage’s house. Now Sage is lost in her grief and ashamed of the way she treated her friend on the day she died. Sage has joined a counseling group at school with other girls who have experienced recent deaths of loved ones. As Sage and the other girls process their grief together, there are moments of sadness, anger and somehow friendship manages to grow too.

This is one of the best and most piercing depictions of grief for teens that I have ever read. I appreciate that that book moves beyond blame, shame and anger to also show healing and good things happening. Newbery Honor winning author, Watson, has written this book in a dynamic mixture of prose and verse, allowing real feelings to be shown bare and honest on the page. All of the processing of grief and healing feels organic and true as readers see the various shades of blue that grief entails.

One of the best teen novels about grief, get this one in your collection. Appropriate for ages 12+.

Reviewed from library copy.

A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill – Book Review

| Tasha

A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill (9780593182307)

Rowan is learning to be a ranger, taking care of the land and its people with the help of a flying horse. But when Rowan tries to show off their skill and doesn’t listen to cautions, their horse is injured. Stuck now walking everywhere, Rowan is assigned to help Leone, a lone figure who spends a lot of time with sheep. Leone has his own dreams. He plays the fiddle constantly but won’t play for any person at all. As the two of them start their slow journeys together, their friendship begins to grow. Each finds support in one another, creating joy and romance.

O’Neill is author of The Moth Keeper and the Tea Dragon Society. This graphic novel combines a fantasy world with a trans and non-binary coming out story for both main characters. Beautifully told and filled with true moments of connection and romance, this book features characters who are complex and layered.

Beautifully illustrated and compellingly told, this graphic novel will make your heart soar. Appropriate for ages 10-14.

Reviewed from library copy.