Rachel Rosenberg has been writing since she was a child—at 13, she was published alongside celebs and fellow teens in Chicken Soup For the Teenage Soul 2. Rachel has a degree in Creative Writing from Montreal’s Concordia University; she’s been published in a few different anthologies and publications, including Best Lesbian Love Stories 2008, Little Fiction, Big Truth’s Re/Coded anthology and Broken Pencil magazine. She also appeared on the Montreal episode of the Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids podcast. Her day job is as a Children’s Librarian, where she digs singing and dancing with small humans.
Rachel Rosenberg has been writing since she was a child—at 13, she was published alongside celebs and fellow teens in Chicken Soup For the Teenage Soul 2. Rachel has a degree in Creative Writing from Montreal’s Concordia University; she’s been published in a few different anthologies and publications, including Best Lesbian Love Stories 2008, Little Fiction, Big Truth’s Re/Coded anthology and Broken Pencil magazine. She also appeared on the Montreal episode of the Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids podcast. Her day job is as a Children’s Librarian, where she digs singing and dancing with small humans.
When you help in finding someone their next read, it’s like being a detective, but using your powers of deduction for something happy. And helping find new middle grade novels for kids is an especially satisfying task. Narrowing down options requires considering different aspects, like their reading level, preferred genre, desire for representation, and even past faves. Ultimately, though, when you finally land on the right book or books for a kid? Delightful. Their enthusiasm and their parents’ relief are palpable. In fact, introducing children to new books is one of the main things that keeps me in library work because it’s uplifting, fun, and deeply validating.
Of course, there are always new novels being published, so, as a children’s librarian, I am always reading the latest releases to discover what else is out there. For this list of new and recent middle grade novels, I focused more on realistic fiction, but there is plenty else out there; after all, mystery, fantasy, and horror remain popular with the 8-12 year old set.
The Moon Without Stars by Chanel Miller
Thirteen-year-old Luna is as awkward and anxious as most teen girls are, but she doesn’t realize that and lets her embarrassment and shame keep her quiet. Luna and her best friend, Scott, love making zines together, until suddenly the zines bring Luna to the attention of the popular girls in school. Thrust into their orbit, she has to balance her newfound popularity with her desire to remain friends with Scott and true to herself.
Fooled by Susan Haas and Lexi Haas
The story is about Lil and her friends, students attending an Exceptional Children’s program for kids with special needs. Lil, for instance, has cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair and an alternative communication device. Their school’s principal wants to keep the students with special needs separate, therefore barring them from participating in extracurricular activities. Lil and her friends refuse to accept the unfair treatment, fighting for inclusivity as they stand up to the school board. This book is co-written by Susan and Lexi Haas, mother-and-daughter co-authors, as well as disability advocates and educators.
The Treasure of Ocean Parkway by Sarvenaz Tash
This is the second book of this mystery series, but the good news is that it works as a standalone book as well. Thea discovers a mystery in her grandfather Errol’s belongings and doesn’t know how to solve it on her own, but luckily, she lives in the same building as Roya and Amin, two kids her own age who have a mystery podcast. She will need their help to solve her family’s mystery, but will also need to learn how to stand up to her family to get to the bottom of everything.
Chris Makes a Friend by Alex Gino
Chris normally lives with her sister Becca and her mom, and sometimes her mom’s girlfriend, Frank, stays over to help out. But Chris’ mom has chronic pain and, when she needs to recover from surgery, Chris and her sister are sent to stay with their maternal grandparents for the whole summer. Neither of the kids wants to go and spend the summer in Western Massachusetts, but off they go for six whole weeks. That yanks Chris away from her best friend Vicky, just before Vicky leaves for a last-minute theatre camp. Chris has always struggled with making new friends but then she meets Mia, who is also staying with her grandparents, and their quick bonding seems too good to be true.
Goodbye, French Fry by Rin-rin Yu (February 17, 2026)
Ping-Ping feels trapped between two cultures, neither American enough for her classmates nor Chinese enough for her family. But she has a pretty good life overall, hanging out with her best friend Ana, taking piano lessons, and practicing taekwondo. But then Ping-Ping discovers that her family may have to relocate to Kenya so that her father can take a higher-paying job than his current one at the UN. Desperate to find a way to stay, Ping-Ping and her brother Xy try to raise money.
While I didn’t include any graphic novels in my list, you can read this recent roundup of some new graphic novels for middle schoolers. For genre stories, check out these middle grade mysteries and middle grade sci-fi novels.
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