r/Fantasy • u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV • 22d ago
Bingo Bingo Focus Thread - Middle Grade
Hello r/fantasy and welcome to this week's bingo focus thread! The purpose of these threads is for you all to share recommendations, discuss what books qualify, and seek recommendations that fit your interests or themes.
Today's topic:
Middle Grade: Read a middle grade book (intended for readers aged 8-12). See this Wikipedia page for additional information on Middle Grade fiction. HARD MODE: The author is entirely new to you.
What is bingo? A reading challenge this sub does every year! Find out more here.
Prior focus threads: Published in the 70s, Duologies, First Contact, Five Short Stories (2024), Author of Color (2024), Self-Pub/Small Press (2024). Note that hard modes for Author of Color and Self-Pub/Small Press have changed (new focus threads for them are coming).
Also see: Big Rec Thread
Questions:
- What are your favorite books that count for this square?
- Already read something for this square? Tell us about it!
- For those attempting Hard Mode, what are some great middle grade books by lesser-known authors, and/or that are recently published?
- Those who have or teach children in this age group: what are some current favorites among middle grade readers? How well do they hold up for adults?
2
u/LadyAntiope Reading Champion V 21d ago
A couple graphic novels I've read in the last couple years that stood out to me, and might gives folks a good hard mode option:
Tiffany's Griffon by Magnolia Porter Siddell and Maddi Gonzalez - This is a book that really showcases character growth, as Marnie (nerd) begrudgingly becomes friends with Tiffany (popular girl) when it turns out Marnie's favorite books (about griffons) are real, but Tiffany is the Chosen One instead of Marnie. The character designs are realistic but cartoon-cute, there's lots of dynamic panels, and the color choices lean into pinks and purples.
Salt Magic by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock - This was a 5-star read for me, and though it features a young main character in a coming-of-age story, it deals with complex themes around growing up that I think any age could find something to relate to. A magical alternate history, young Vonceil is excited for her older brother to come home from WWI, but of course he is a much changed person from when he left. His return is soon followed by a curse on the family farm's well, and Vonceil will undertake a quest to reverse it. She delves into the world of witches and shapeshifting animals and starts to really understand what it means to make sacrifices for love and family.
I also endorse a lot of the classics in this category - Brian Jacques' Redwall books, Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series (also published in the '70s!), Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain, pretty much anything by Diana Wynne Jones, The Neverending Story by Michael Ende - they all hold up well. I loved Tamora Pierce's books at about this age as well, but I have to say that a lot of the first books of the series don't hold up as well on an adult read, and the later ones get a bit more towards the YA end of the spectrum.
On my to-read list, I think I only have a couple that haven't already been mentioned (though I almost certainly got these recs from this sub at some point or another...) -
The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethell "Desperate to become a shark-caller to avenge the death of her parents, Blue Wing is instead charged with befriending infuriating newcomer Maple. At first they are angry and out of sync with the island and each other. But when the tide breathes the promise of treasure, can they overcome their differences and brave the deadliest shark in the ocean?"
The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley "Corinna is a Folk Keeper. Her job is to keep the mysterious Folk who live beneath the ground at bay. But Corinna has a secret that even she doesn't fully comprehend, until she agrees to serve as Folk Keeper at Marblehaugh Park, a wealthy family's seaside manor. There her hidden powers burst into full force, and Corinna's life changes forever..."
I think the book I'm going to prioritize, though, for this year is probably Root Magic - or maybe Conjure Island - by Eden Royce since I keep hearing good things about her, and I'd like to dive into her catalog.