8 Terrific Middle Grade Books to Look Forward to this Fall

A twisted game show story, Game of Pets is set in a world where our beloved animals are more sinister than you might think. In this first book in a hilarious new series, Griff is thrust into a game show being broadcast across the universe, run by Earth’s pets. With his talking axolotl sidekick, Griff has to outsmart the animals and save the world.

Sit’s sequel to Land of the Last Wildcat comes out this fall, and it sees young adventurer Puffin return to Linger Island, where she finds a new magical wildcat. This time, it’s a kitten called Noma. Puffin already has enough on her plate looking after Noma when a disaster means her scientist mother needs her help. So Puffin, Lance, and kitten Noma have to head out into the wilds to save her.

Fans of novels in verse will love this beautifully written, heartwarming story about two sisters and their bond. Rama and Leena are very different, and the death of their mother has put an even greater strain on their relationship. When a snowstorm traps them, they must work through their differences and the difficulties they have faced to survive.

In the sequel to Evie and Maryam’s Family Tree, the two titular friends once again find themselves in difficult situations. Maryam is having trouble settling in at her new boarding school. Although she was excited to attend, none of the other students seemed to want to befriend her. Meanwhile, Evie is dealing with creative criticism. The play that she and Maryam wrote about their earlier adventures has drawn the ire of a theatre director. The friends come up with a plan to fix their respective problems, but this soon spirals out of control, and the girls don’t know how to get out of the tangle they’ve created.

Fans of historical fiction will love Girl With a Sabretooth Tiger, a tale set in the prehistoric British Isles. When Swallow’s baby sister becomes ill, Swallow has to go on a journey to find the cure. Along the way, she meets a sabretooth tiger, a creature that at first seems frightening, but will help her on her quest.

This action-adventure story follows Jordi, a young boy who’s sick of standing out. Six feet tall at 12 years old, he doesn’t fit in with his classmates. He spends his spring break with his mother at a wildlife refuge. When he gets there, though, he discovers that his mom actually looks after cryptids – and that he needs to defend these magical creatures from a sinister corporation that wants to eliminate them.

Maia is one of a rare group of children in her society who are born with shapeshifting powers, developing animal-like traits whenever they shift. Unlike her other shapeshifter friends, Maia isn’t happy about her moth wings, which grow whenever she feels strong emotion. Things only get worse when adults begin blaming shapeshifter children for a strange illness that is spreading through the town, and they decide that the shapeshifters need to be made into “normal” children. Maia and her friends have to fight back against the prejudice and prove that they are a wonderful and important part of their town.

Twin detectives Ming and Wah make their debut in this fun story that sees them solving multiple mysteries over their summer break. After setting up a detective agency in their town, the twins are brought in to solve all kinds of cases, from rigged competitions to the discovery of a burglar’s identity. Perfect for newly independent readers, Summer Drama will get young detectives’ brains working overtime.