I wish I had these middle grade books as a kid!
Unfortunately for young me, my school library in Alabama barely had any books written by authors of color 😔. The books below are middle grade novels that I WISH I would have had as a kid.
If you decide to purchase any of the books online, I recommend Bookshop.org because they support local bookstores and authors ❤️. Also, Curriculum & Culture earns a few cents if you use our links!
Billions to Burn
Twelve-year-old Zeus Jones is just about the only person in the world who believes in his grandfather’s stories about the Harlem Renaissance. To be fair, they are a bit far-fetched. After all, what are the chances that there was a renowned magazine called Burn! whose headquarters literally burned down, destroying almost every single copy? And who would believe that a secret page was actually hidden amongst the ashes, said to be the key to unlocking a lost fortune? No one, that’s who.
But when Zeus accidentally stumbles upon the secret page on the same day that his grandfather disappears without a trace, he finally has proof that his grandfather’s stories are more than just stories—they’re real. And now he knows that the secret page is more than just a secret page—it’s a treasure map, leading to a prize beyond all imagining.
Follow the map, find the treasure, save his grandfather. Seems simple enough. But as Zeus and his friends work to solve the riddles of the map, long-buried secrets about the Harlem Renaissance, Black history, and Zeus’s own family are unraveled. And what’s more, they aren’t the only ones intent on seizing this prize. . .
As You Wish
Birdie has big plans for eighth grade. This is the year that she gets a boyfriend, and since she and her best friend, Deve, do everything together, it makes sense that Deve will get a girlfriend. This is the kind of math Birdie doesn’t find intimidating—it’s Eighth Grade 101. (Birdie + Boyfriend) + (Deve + Girlfriend) = Normal Eighth Grade Experience. And normal is something Birdie craves, especially with a mom as overprotective as hers.
She doesn’t expect Deve to be so against her plan, or for their fight to blow up in her face. So when the West African god Anansi appears to her, claiming to be able to make everything right again, Birdie pushes past her skepticism and makes a wish for the whole mess to go away. But with a trickster god, your wish is bound to come true in a way you never imagined.
Before long, Birdie regrets her rash words…especially when she realizes what’s really going on with her and Deve. With her reality upended, can Birdie figure out how to undo her wish?
Spirit Service
All Raveena wants is to bring back her school’s beloved arts program. It’s been six months since her music-loving grandmother passed, and four since Hollows’ Peak Middle School cut its entire arts budget. Now Raveena has no way to practice music, and worse, no way to honor Grandmama’s memory.
But Raveena’s world turns on its head when she and her friends stumble upon an otherworldly discovery: an old-fashioned telephone with the ability to contact ghosts!
With her newfound possession, Raveena devises the perfect plan to raise funds for the arts program: Spirit Service, an agency that guides deceased townspeople to the afterlife by reconnecting them with their living loved ones. The best part? There are tons of spirits in need of assistance—and people willing to pay big bucks to communicate with them.
But not all spirits are interested in peacefully moving on…
To keep their neighborhood safe, Raveena and her friends must dive into the history of their town and the mysterious phone, and in the process, uncover secrets that are much closer to home.
Finch House
Eleven-year-old Micah has no interest in moving out of her grandfather’s house. She loves living with Poppop and their shared hobby of driving around rich neighborhoods to find treasures in others’ trash. To avoid packing, Micah goes for a bike ride and ends up at Finch House, the decrepit Victorian that Poppop says is Off Limits. Except when she gets there, it’s all fixed up and there’s a boy named Theo in the front yard. Surely that means Finch House isn’t Off Limits anymore? But when Poppop finds her there, Micah is only met with his disappointment.
By the next day, Poppop is nowhere to be found. After searching everywhere, Micah’s instincts lead her back to Finch House. But once Theo invites her inside, Micah realizes she can’t leave. And that, with its strange whispers and deep-dark shadows, Finch House isn’t just a house…it’s alive.
Can Micah find a way to convince the house to let her go? Or will she be forced to stay in Finch House forever?
Tethered to Other Stars
Seventh grader Wendy Toledo knows that black holes and immigration police have one thing in common: they can both make things disappear without a trace. When her family moves to a new all-American neighborhood, Wendy knows the plan: keep her head down, build a telescope that will win the science fair, and stay on her family’s safe orbit.
But that’s easier said than done when there’s a woman hiding out from ICE agents in the church across the alley—and making Wendy’s parents very nervous.
As bullying at school threatens Wendy’s friendships and her hopes for the science fair, and her family’s secrets start to unravel, Wendy finds herself caught in the middle of far too many gravitational pulls. When someone she loves is detained by ICE, Wendy must find the courage to set her own orbit—and maybe shift the paths of everyone around her.
The Boy, the Mountain, and the Serpent Who Ate the Moon
The town of Santo Cristo is known for two things—their colorful town fiesta capped off with a solemn evening procession, and the dozens of people that have disappeared over the years. When three kids—the headstrong Bayani, stubborn Isay, and anxious Aaron—find their way over the other side of a mysterious bridge and to a long-forgotten island of myth, they're faced with monsters, cryptids, and sinister characters. In this land of Night, they must find their way back to their world and keep their light burning bright lest they lose themselves too.
Let’s Get Together
Kenya Norwood likes things just the way they are. She's lived all her life in Pasadena with her dad and grandmother, she's attended the same school with the same friends since pre-K, and she's always the center of attention. Even as she's about to start middle school, she knows one thing for sure: none of that is going to change.
For Liberty Perry, change is all she's ever known. Her mother disappeared when she was a toddler, and ever since, she's never stayed in one place for very long. But things seem different with her new foster mother, Joey. Maybe in this home, in this school, change won't come so quickly.
Except everything changes the day Liberty and Kenya meet—and discover they are identical.
Neither of them is ready to find out she has a twin sister (in fact, they're unsure if they even want one), and when the girls learn the truth of how they were separated, it's clear that no one else in their lives was ready for this, either. But the connection they share might be even stronger than the things that kept them apart—and teaming up might be the only way to set everything right.
Summer at Squee
Phoenny Fang plans to have the best summer ever. She’s returning to Summertime Chinese Culture, Wellness, and Enrichment Experience (SCCWEE for short and “Squee” to campers in the know), and this year she’s a senior camper. That means she; her best friend, Lyrica Chu; and her whole Squad will have the most influence. It almost doesn’t matter that her brother is a CIT (counselor-in-training) and that her mom and auntie are the camp directors. Time spent at Squee is sacred, glorious, and free.
On the day Phoenny arrives, though, she learns that the Squad has been split up, and there’s an influx of new campers this year. Phoenny is determined to be welcoming and to share all the things she loves about camp—who doesn’t love spending hours talking about and engaging in cultural activities? But she quickly learns how out of touch she is with others’ experiences, particularly of the campers who are adoptees. The same things that make her feel connected to her culture and community make some of the other campers feel excluded.
Summer at Squee turns out to be even more transformative than Phoenny could’ve imagined, with new friendships, her first crush, an epic show, and a bigger love for and understanding of her community.
