My Favorite Middle Grade Books of 2017

There were seriously so many awesome middle grade books that came out this year! Although I sadly couldn't get to them all (if only), there were still quite a few I read that I loved. Below, in no particular order, a few of my favorites from 2017. Keep an eye out for a future post of the middle grade reads that I'm most looking forward to in 2018!

My Favorite Reads

 

The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh (published September 2017)

This was one of my favorite overall reads of the year. I loved the sensitive main character, Bea, as she navigated middle school, changing friendships, and understanding how to be yourself when all kinds of circumstances are pulling you in different directions. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy honest, introspective books that deal with emotions in a realistic way. 

Paper Chains by Elaine Vickers (published October 2017)

This book is a follow-up to Like Magic, telling the story of a character from that book as she moves to a new town and has a new best friend. Both girls have secrets and make assumptions that get in the way of their friendship, but they also go through amazing growth to learn how to be brave for one another and for themselves. A lovely book that confronts serious issues of families splitting up and adoption without sacrificing that brutal kid honest that makes a story ring true.

See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng (published February 2017)

I think this book was another star of 2017, and will definitely resonate with anyone who loved Carl Sagan's Cosmos as a kid. This book follows a precocious kid named Alex, who wants to win a rocket building contest and ends up on a bigger journey with his dog, Carl Sagan, than he initially anticipated. The book is told through recordings that Alex is making for possible alien lifeforms who may discover his "golden iPod", making for a unique storytelling device as well as a quick read, as it is largely dialog. Still, Cheng manages to incorporate some gut wrenching emotional moments as Alex deals with living with a parent who has issues that he doesn't understand, and living without a deceased father that he knows little about. A funny but insightful read.

Other Notable 2017 Releases

 

To be honest, so many awesome middle grade books came out this year that I can't really include them all, but here are a few that I feel should be getting a bit more buzz.

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez (published August 2017)

Confession: when I was in middle school, I totally made zines and listened to punk music and scoffed at all things that I considered suburban and lame, so this book really speaks to me. A lovely, light book about self-expression, figuring out your identity, and determining what it means to feel like you "belong".

It All Comes Down to This by Karen English (published July 2017)

It's 1965 and Sophie has just moved to Los Angeles, where she finds herself on of the few African-American kids in an almost exclusively white neighborhood. Karen English blends the realism of growing up and dealing with shifting family dynamics and being the new kid, along with the historical events of the Watts Riots. A slower paced read that focuses more on the main character and her inner life that will appeal to historical fiction lovers.

Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar (published April 2017)

Inspired by the author's actual experiences growing up in 1960's New York City, this book follows Ruthie, a Cuban-Jewish immigrant who navigates a new culture, a new language, and a horrific car accident. A realistic, inter-sectional book for readers who appreciate character growth and inclusive storytelling.

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (published October 2017)

And to balance out all of those realistic reads, a bit of magic. Morrigan Crow is fated to die when she turns eleven, but is instead swept away to a magical land by the mysterious Jupiter North for a chance to join the Wundrous Society. This imaginative, wonderful story will definitely draw in fantasy lovers who are Harry Potter fans or fans of other inventive worlds like those of Neil Gaiman. Plus it's always good to mix it up with a bit of the fantastic when reading all of these emotional middle grade books!

Side note: can we take a moment appreciate how awesome the cover art for all of these books is??? I love that middle grade is leading the charge for beautiful, engaging cover art. Anyway, that's all for now from me. I'll be assembling a few other best of 2017 lists for young adult and adult fiction, so keep a look out for future posts. 

Until then, happy reading!

Review: The Science of Unbreakable Things by Tae Keller

Title: The Science of Unbreakable Things
Author: Tae Keller
Genre: Realistic Middle Grade
Release Date: March 2018
Rating: 5/5 Stars

I feel incredibly lucky that the past few books that I've read have been super good, and The Science of Unbreakable Things by Tae Keller thankfully did not break the pattern. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I couldn't really write a review right away, I had to take a little while to process what I liked so much about this book. Basically, it follows seventh grader Natalie via the science log book that her teacher, Mr. Neely, has his class keeping for the school year. Natalie is smart, but can't really connect with science at the moment because she's distracted by the fact that her mother won't get of bed or go to work, and her father, a therapist who loves talking about feelings, won't tell her what's going on. Luckily, Natalie has her best friend Twig, who is unapologetically weird but a loyal friend nonetheless, and a possible new friend in Dari, the class science whiz. Mr. Neely suggests that Natalie compete in an egg drop competition for her year long project, and Twig and Dari get drawn into her plan to use the egg drop money to do something for her mom that she thinks will bring her old self back.

Needless to say, this book gives you all the feels. It's wonderfully written and some parts are so true I couldn't help but connect with Natalie. Her father is half Korean, but he isn't very interested in his heritage, often dismissing his Korean mother's cooking or traditions. Natalie, meanwhile, longs to connect with this side of herself. She mentions that she feels like she's not a very good Asian because she doesn't know much about her Korean background, and as someone who is half-Asian, I thought that her feelings about being multiracial rang incredibly true. This book is full of all sorts of little moments of honesty that I feel that readers of all ages could connect with. It also deals with depression in sensitive but truthful way, as well as emphasizing the importance of having a support network when you are dealing with mental illness, either first hand or through a loved one. This debut book really won me over and I would recommend it to readers of books like See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng, who enjoy realistic middle grade that is at times funny, at times sad, but always completely sincere.

Accurate depiction of me reading this book.

This book is definitely a must-read when it comes out next March, and I'm straight up loving all of the STEM-centered stories that have been coming out in the middle grade world. I'm working on doing a post on my favorite middle grade reads of 2017, since I've been reading a lot in that genre, as well as the new releases I'm most looking forward to in 2018. Stay tuned for more middle grade in future posts!

Note: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Title: The Belles

Author: Dhonielle Clayton

Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult

Release Date: February 2018

Rating: 5/5 stars

The Belles is a rich, engrossing fantasy story set in a French-inspired nation called Orléans, where Beauty is a goddess to be worshipped and blessed beings known as the Belles bestow her beauty amongst the rest of society. In the creation myth of this world, humans were cursed after Beauty was accused of caring for them too much, and they were turned into the Gris, with gray skin and devoid of traditional marks of beauty. The story follows Camellia, who is just graduating from her Belle upbringing to begin working to make people beautiful. Camellia is a sort of over-achiever, and longs to be the favorite of the royal family and be stationed as the official palace Belle. However, she finds that life at court is not what she thought it would be, and she's faced with choosing between following the strict rules of society and being an agreeable Belle, or finding what she truly believes in and standing up for herself.

How I pictured the world, except with less white people

What I loved about this book was definitely the beautifully imagined world that Dhonielle Clayton created. Every detail is richly described, and I was immediately transported into the world. The world-building was excellent, and the magic system, known as the Belle's arcana, was unique and well-done. The Belles is not a particularly short book, but it's highly addictive and definitely draws the reader in with its' beautifully rendered world, high-stakes drama, and strong, kind heroine, Camellia, as well as the supportive side characters such as her sister Belles and her servant, Bree. There are a lot of complicated women in this story, which makes it even more interesting. At times I thought that the villain was a little much (think Marie Antoinette meets Joffrey from Game of Thrones), but her actions didn't hinder the storytelling at all. Overall, an excellent start to the series and I can't wait to see how these characters evolve as the story continues!

Note: I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.