Middle Grade Review: Secrets, Spells, and Chocolate

 

Sylvie Jones has been wishing to attend the magical culinary school:  Brindille School of Culinary Arts and Magic for ages. A long time ago, her mother was accused of cheating in a competition. Now they both have a chance to clear their names. 

 Her mother's been invited to participate in another cooking competition.  

 Many students in Sylvie's class are hoping that she will fail. Sylvie overhears many disgruntled comments. Some of them lead her to discover a plot that could ruin her mother's dreams and her own. Can she uncover the truth about what happened all those years ago? Could her mother be in trouble now?

My Thoughts: I love the idea of magic influencing baking. Sylvie had a hard time trusting people - and with good reason given her mother's history. This book had lots of twists and turns.  Sylvie was very much a rule breaker, with good excuses. Like in any school, you had bullies, cheats, and some obsessed with rankings. This was such a fun read; I loved the class moments and cooking moments. While this book did wrap up, I can't help but wish for more stories set in this school.

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: ARC sent for Review

Publication Date: December 9, 2026 (tomorrow)

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your middle grade/younger YA readers for school and public libraries

Hand this to readers: Who like cozy foodie magical reads

Middle Grade Review: The Ribbon Skirt

Anang isn't a boy or a girl. They are a two-spirit or nonbinary. They want to make a ribbon skirt for the powwow. They don't want people to treat them differently; not every in the tribe is welcoming about their two spirit-ness. Even someone Anang considered a friend.

They ask the spirits for help. The turtles show up and help. Anang takes it as a sign that they should wear the skirt. 

My Thoughts: This was a really interesting book as it combined so many pieces. The author is from the same tribe as Anang - and is also a two-spirit person. I felt so bad for them and wanted to wrap them in a hug. I love the way the spirits were woven into the books. The illustrations are lovely. I love how the skirt turned out. 

The back matter is fantastic: glossary, histories, two-spirit information, and a recipe.

Cover Thoughts: Sweet

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your school and public library's collection. 

Graphic Novel Review: Fresh Start

Ollie's used to moving (her dad is a diplomat) and creating a fresh start - which is great when you make a fool out of yourself. But it's also hard to keep friends when you're always moving. 

Ollie loves anime - particularly Quill. As she gets to know her classmates, she realizes that she might have judged them too soon. There are several who love anime - just like her. 

As she starts putting down roots, could everything be ripped away from her?

My Thoughts: This book was super cute. There was a lot of drama: friendship and family. Ollie's parents and her younger sister don't get along. Trouble bubbles up in the family. I love the addition of the hedgie. I really loved how the friendships developed - past and present. The illustrations are adorable. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A must have book for your school and graphic novel

Graphic Novel Review: Chickenpox

 

Abby's friends decide they want to hang at her house - for once. They think that being surrounded by her four siblings will be fun. Abby's always looking for ways to escape the chaos of her family. The day turns out as Abby expects - her siblings ruin the fun and drive her nuts. The next day her friends are talking negatively about her - saying she acted immaturely. Abby's not sure what to do, but the next day one of her friends is home sick with the chicken pox. 

Two weeks later, Abby and all her siblings also come down with the chicken pox. They are forced to quarantine together for up to ten days. Abby can't imagine anything worse. The house is noisy and everyone is fighting. Her dad has to leave for a business trip, making her the only one that can help their mom. Abby doesn't want to be responsible for her siblings. 

My Thoughts: This was a really fun read. I felt terrible for everyone in the house. Being sick is the worst, especially afterwards when you're feeling better but you're stuck in quarantine. I only have one sister and I can't imagine have three more. Even though most of the book took place during the sickness period - there's still lots of friendship drama and family drama. This is a quick read; I read it in one sitting because I wanted to know what happened. I did like how everything turned out.

Cover Thoughts: Captures the mood of the book

Source: Book sent for review

Library Recommendation: Highly recommended for your graphic novel school or public library collection

Middle Grade Books: 2025 Books

 

Here are a few middle grade books and graphic novels I'm hoping to read (and review) this year:

Novels:

Graphic Novels:

And the new Meg Cabot book that doesn't have a cover yet.

What am I missing from this list?

Middle Grade Review: The Sherlock Society

* First in the new series * 

Zoe and Alex, sister and brother, are supposed to get a job this summer. They veto baby-sitting, dog walking, and lawn mowing. Instead, they decide to open their own detective agency. Two friends of Alex's join them. As they'll need an adult to drive them places, they coerce their grandfather to help. 

Their grandfather worked for years as a reporter. They go through his old case files to discover a cold case to work on. They vote on the cold case of Al Capone and the missing million dollars. As they attempt to uncover the treasure, they stumble upon an illegal dump site of contaminated waste.

The team decides to switch gears and focus on who is dumping the waste. After getting stone-walled, they need to come up with a better way to uncover the truth. But can they root out this conspiracy?

My Thoughts: I'm a huge fan of the City Spies series so I was super happy to receive this ARC. I loved the sibling relationship. Zoe wasn't thrilled with her summer plans, but I think the summer turned out better than expected. I loved how the grandfather and his "old school" ways. I loved how they had to research everything before taking action. I admired their problem-solving skills. I really liked the lawyer mother in this one. She had a few tricks on her sleeve. I also enjoyed the nerdy moments. Lots of action and danger in that kept me turning the pages. This is a great start to a new series; I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Cover Thoughts: Love it

Source: ARC sent for review

Published Date: September 3rd

Library Recommendation: James Ponti is a favorite author at my library. This is a must have book for school and public libraries. 

Middle Grade Review: Tegan and Sara

Tegan and Sara are twins. They just moved and are now starting middle school in a new place. Both are anxious and worried about making new friends. It takes a while for them to navigate the waters. As they start having different friends for the first time in their lives, they start to form their own identities. 

My Thoughts: Confession: I don't really know who Tegan and Sara are IRL, but I do love twin stories (Thank you Sweet Valley High). But this made me do a little research on the sisters and wow. I loved how they were growing into their own identities - even if that meant sometimes growing apart. I did have trouble telling the twins apart - but that's more of a me problem. However, I was glad when one cut her hair shorter.

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A great graphic novel for your school and public library's collection.  

Middle Grade Review: Falling Hard

 

* Book 3 in the Saddlehill Academy series *

Abby and her teammates are finding their way back to being a team after the drama from the last book! They're not in the clear with their instructor yet, but they are making progress. They do have to apologize to everyone.

Once that's finished, they can go back to focusing on the upcoming shows, especially one at Canterwood Crest! Since it's near Halloween, there will be a spooky element. 

Even better, they learn about a clinic being run by the Sasha Silver. It's very competitive, but Abby dreams of winning a spot. 

Abby's struggling with all the pressure from riding, creating the perfect video for the clinic, and fixing things with her friends. They seem to be getting along just fine without her and excluding her from their hangouts. It gives her a pit in her stomach and makes her doubt everything - even the feelings she has for Mila. 

Will Abby find her balance again?

My Thoughts: Once I finally got my hands on this book, I tore through it! I loved every second of it. I loved the friendship drama and how everything turned out. I loved going back to Canterwood Crest. Even more, I loved catching up with old favorite characters from that series. There's a lot of drama in this series that keeps me turning the pages quickly. I love the friendships and the descriptions of everything. I really really want to attend Saddlehill Academy. I loved the Halloween and fall portions of this story - especially the costumes. It seems like so much fun! Also, I loved how Jessica Burkhart writes about representation and how it matters! 

Cover Thoughts: Charming

Source: Purchased

Library Recommendation: A must have series for your school and public libraries!

Middle Grade Review: Ink Girls

Cinzia is the printer's apprentice. Mestra Aronne is determined to publish a story that will anger the ruling family. Even though the story is true; the guards come for both of them in the middle of the night. Cinzia manages to escape. She runs into Elena - she's part of the ruling noble family. Elena thinks she can help Cinzia. Together, they can discover the proof Mestra Aronne has and bring it to the family. With Elena on her side, Cinzia hopes they can save her found family. But will the city support her?

My Thoughts: I loved this graphic novel! There's action, danger, found family, and fighting for good. A group of girls, who wouldn't normally be friends, find each other and fight to change the world. Just one girl has a hard time changing the world, but together, they seem almost unstoppable. A great feminist graphic novel. There's a rumor that this is book one - here's hoping this is true, because I want more Ink Girls! 

Cover Thoughts: Fantastic

Source: my Library

Library Recommendation: A must have graphic novel for your library's collection. 

Middle Grade Monday: Huda F Cares?

Huda and her sisters are excited to learned that they are going to Disney World. They are not excited for the 24-hour car ride nor the forced bonding sister time. When they get to the park, they split up into groups. Huda struggles with her sisters. She also struggles with people commenting on her Muslim clothing and her family's moments of prayer. Huda isn't sure what to do, but she does have her sisters to turn to.

My Thoughts: This graphic novel was funny, sweet, and full of drama. I laughed at the sister moments in the car. I have had similar moments, although I only have one sister. I felt bad for Huda as she tried to navigate her feelings with being visually different from others. She deals with comments from people and stands up for herself. It makes me want to hug her. I love that she packed books to Disney World (yes, the lines are a perfect time to read.).  A great graphic novel sequel. I hope there are more Huda books coming!

Library Recommendation: A great graphic novel series for your school and public library collection.