Megan Mabee has been filling notebooks with her story ideas and favorite book quotes since she first began reading. She enjoys board gaming, rewatching Miyazaki movies, and building Legos with her preschooler. Megan holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from UNC Greensboro and a Public Librarian Certification. Megan has worked in a college bookstore and high school library, and she now loves talking books in the public library where she works and as a Bibliologist at TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations.
There’s no movie that makes me more nostalgic for summer adventures than The Goonies. This iconic classic released in June of 1985, marking the 40th anniversary of the film this summer. Watching The Goonies draws me back to a time when my family and I rented movies from Blockbuster and had movie nights that involved all of our neighborhood buddies. It reminds me of the endless summer days I spent outside with my brothers and neighbors, enacting our own silly quests as we biked around and felt like the world was very wide and we had so much still to discover in it. That’s part of why I love The Goonies: the theme of an unlikely crew of neighborhood kids and friends banding together to find pirate treasure and save their homes is the ultimate epic kid adventure.
I’m also extremely late to the party in discovering that the actor who played Mikey in The Goonies is none other than Sean Astin, the endearing, unsung hero of the Lord of the Rings movies, Samwise Gamgee. For those who weren’t aware of this connection either, I hope it only deepens your love for the movie as it has for me.
In between all of the rewatching I hope you have of this classic 80’s film this summer, I thought you might like to read books like The Goonies, too. Below, I’ve gathered together some great middle grade books like The Goonies for you to dive into. You’ll find treasure hunting escapades, intriguing mysteries, ’80s vibes, and heartfelt themes of coming-of-age and friendship. Whether you’re young or young at heart, you’ll find much to love in these books like The Goonies.
5 Middle Grade Books Like The Goonies
The Treasure of Maria Mamoun by Michelle Chalfoun
As with The Goonies, this book by Michelle Chalfoun promises coastal adventures and the lure of hidden pirate treasure. With her Lebanese mother working two nursing jobs to make ends meet, twelve-year-old Maria lives a lonely life in the Bronx. Everything changes, though, when Maria’s mom gets a job on an estate in Martha’s Vineyard. As Maria traverses her new seaside home, she makes a friend, learns to sail, and finds an old map she thinks may lead to pirate treasure.
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The Last Treasure by Janet S. Anderson
The theme of long-lost treasures also takes the spotlight in this delightful middle grade mystery by Janet S. Anderson. The story stars 13-year-old Ellsworth, who gets a letter to visit mysterious, distant relations who live in a neighborhood called the Square in Smith Mills, New York. One of Ellsworth’s wealthy ancestors hid treasures in three houses within the Square, and over the years, different children within the family have uncovered the treasures at times when they desperately needed them. Now only one treasure remains, and Ellsworth will team up with his cousin Jess to find it. I fell in love with this book as a tween, and it’s one that’s stayed with me ever since. The eccentric family and inheritance competition give it great Knives Out vibes, too.
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
This middle grade mystery by Varian Johnson involves a mysterious discovery in the attic and neighbors banding together. When Candice comes across a letter in the attic, she and her shy neighbor Brandon find themselves caught up in an unsolved mystery left behind by Candice’s grandmother. As the pair begin deciphering the letter, they’ll uncover Jim Crow-era secrets about their small South Carolina town.
Treasure in the Lake: A Graphic Novel by Jason Pamment
This whimsical graphic novel by Jason Pamment touches upon the theme of sunken secrets. In the tiny town of Bugden, 13-year-old friends Iris and Sam have found themselves drifting apart. Things take a turn though when they follow a dried river on the edge of town and uncover the ruins of a once-submerged city.
Hope In the Valley by Mitali Perkins
Just as the kids in The Goonies face off against a property developing company threatening their homes, so too does twelve-year-old Indian-American Pandita Paul in this book by Mitali Perkins. Plus, this story takes place in the 1980s, so you’ll find all that great ’80s nostalgia here too. As Pandita navigates her grief over her mother’s death, as well as a falling out with her best friend, she finds refuge in reading and writing in the abandoned mansion across the street. When the town announces the old home will get torn down, Pandita must decide what’s worth fighting for.
Before You Go…
As Mikey would say, “Down here, it’s our time. It’s our time down here!” So take advantage of that Goonies time and dig into some of these great summer reads. As we celebrate 40 years of this film, I hope our love for The Goonies never dies.
For those looking for some more ’80s nostalgia, check out this list of The Best Books About the ’80s and ’90s. Happy summer reading, Goonies fans!
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