Posted by CBethM on May 23, 2025 in Author Posts, Top Ten Lists |
I’m a big fan of middle grade novels with a hint of magic, stories where the world is recognizable but things happen that wouldn’t in real life (or would they?!). Magical elements can heighten the fun of an adventure and soften the blow of hard things, making them perfect for young readers. Here are ten engaging books with a layer of magic that elevates each story.
Freddie vs. the Family Curse by Tracy Badua (Clarion)
Funny, charming Freddie is plagued by bad luck. But his fortunes appear to change when he finds a family heirloom—an amulet from the Philippines. As Freddie learns, the amulet comes with a crotchety ancestor trapped inside. If he can’t break the curse, fast, Freddie will wind up stuck there, too, in this humor-and-history-filled adventure.
The Second Chance of Benjamin Waterfalls by James Bird (Square Fish)
The trying-but-endearing Benjamin Waterfalls burns through chances until he’s caught shoplifting one last time. At her wits’ end, Benjamin’s mom sends him to live with his father, who left the family and returned to his Ojibwe community in northern Minnesota. Under the tutelage of the tribal leader’s daughter, Benjamin enters a personalized boot camp filled with magical animals and dreamlike sequences where he learns to help others while helping himself.
Dust by Dusti Bowling (Little, Brown BYR)
Avalyn lives in the Arizona desert where her severe asthma limits her physically and socially. When a new boy, Adam, moves to town, Avalyn’s sixth sense tells her that he is hurting. Adam’s arrival also coincides with a series of violent dust storms. Convinced that the storms are linked to Adam’s emotions, Avalyn has to find a way to save her friend and assert herself. A hard, compelling, and excellent novel about bullying and physical abuse.
The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Dial Books)
In the midst of World War Two, twelve-year-old Miri Schreiber evades a roundup in her Parisian Jewish neighborhood and escapes to the countryside, where she takes refuge in a Catholic boarding school. Miri soon comes across the former home of Catherine de Medici and begins to usher Jewish refugees through the castle grounds to freedom. A woman with a surprising past and, readers slowly discover, a supernatural present, helps Miri with her dangerous task.
The Best Friend Bracelet by Nicole D. Collier (HarperCollins)
Zariah is a talented friendship bracelet maker with no best friend to give one to. Worse, everyone else in seventh grade seems to have a bestie. When Zariah makes a bracelet that unexpectedly turns the wearer into her BFF, her problems might be solved. But it takes more than magic to find the right match. Zariah’s well-drawn family and surrounding kid drama perfectly round out the story.
Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War Two by Adam Gidwitz (Dutton)
After Max leaves Berlin for England on a Kindertransport, he discovers that members of the family sheltering him are British spies. Determined to reunite with his parents despite the dire situation for Jews in Germany, Max earns a spot as a spy himself. Two mythical creatures sit on Max’s shoulders to provide dashes of snarky humor while accompanying him on his journey.
Fortune Tellers by Lisa Greenwald (HarperCollins)
Told in three alternating points of view by former best friends Bea, Nora, and Millie, the book charts the blow up of their friendship, shortly before Covid-19 shut down schools, through their effort to reunite two years later. Who will have the courage to reach out first? The answer in this ups-and-downs-of-friendship story comes after a collection of fortune tellers the former friends made in elementary school magically reappear, inspiring each girl in different ways.
As You Wish by Nashae Jones (Aladdin)
In this charming rom-com, slightly-awkward eighth grader Birdie wants to make life more normal by getting herself a boyfriend, and by getting a girlfriend for her best friend, Deve, too. But when she falls into the tricky trap of the West African god Anansi, Birdie is reminded to be careful what you wish for, especially once she starts to see Deve as more than a friend. This is a great upper middle grade novel for readers looking for a magical addition to a first-love story.
El Niño by Pam Muñoz Ryan, illus. by Joe Cepeda (Scholastic)
Kai comes from a family of swimmers, but when his big sister, Cali, disappears into the ocean, grief overwhelms them. Two years later, Kai joins Cali’s elite swim team but struggles to live up to Cali’s legacy and his potential. Guided by porpoises and swim coaches with unconventional methods, he reunites with his sister in the Realm, an underwater kingdom that guards against despair. Back on land, Kai must help Cali protect the Realm and rediscover his own happiness. Lovely drawings by Joe Cepeda enrich the text, which is printed in blue ink.
Coyote Queen by Jessica Vitalis (Greenwillow)
In a wrenching story about poverty and domestic violence, twelve-year-old Fud tries to rescue her mom and herself from a violent home in remote Wyoming. Fud’s emerging friendship with her neighbor and entry into a beauty pageant bring warmth and touches of humor to the narrative. As she taps her inner strength and observes a family of coyotes living nearby, Fud wonders if she just may be turning into a coyote herself.
Melissa Dassori is the author of two coming-of-age novels with their own hints of magic, J.R. Silver Writes Her World, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, and Greta Ever After, which will be out on August 19, 2025 from Christy Ottaviano Books. Visit her at melissadassori.com.
English (US) · 