December 2024 Book Recommendations

Happy Jólabókaflód!

In case you’re new around here, every year I wish you a Happy Jólabókaflód! In Iceland on Christmas Eve, they celebrate the tradition of Jólabókaflód. This is a time for giving and receiving books on Christmas Eve and then spending the rest of the night reading, which sounds absolutely perfect! If you are looking for specific book recommendations for the 8-12 year-old reader in your life, let me know and I’d love to help out!

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My goal is simple: Provide book recommendations you can trust so your 8-12 year-old reader can find their next right book.

The Gatekeeper’s Daughter: Cavern of Light

The responsibilities as the next Gatekeeper leave 12-year-old Maira with little time to play beneath the waves. Instead, she works alongside her father learning the role held by her family for generations. But then the discovery of a glowing underwater cavern turns her world upside down. Will Maira and her friends be able to keep evil out of their community?

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Good Different

Selah knows her rules for being normal. She always, always sticks to them. Until the day she explodes and her comfortable, familiar world starts to crumble. But as Selah starts to figure out more about who she is, she comes to understand that different doesn’t mean damaged. Can she get her school to understand that, too, before it’s too late?

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Hunted (The Deadlands #1)

When the Fallen Star struck, it brought death and despair, ash and toxic rain. But some dinosaurs survived . . . and were changed. Now the two remaining dinosaur kingdoms fight for territory, and then Eleri, the disgraced son of a prince, is exiled from his home for saving an enemy soldier. How will Eleri survive and is it possible to reunite the two remaining kingdoms? Wings of Fire meets Jurassic Park..a great read for kids who like survival, adventure, and dinosaurs!

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Perfect

Saloma is not your typical 12 year old. Sal counts her steps between classes, wears a school uniform that isn't required, and prefers to stay locked inside her tightly controlled OCD world. But when the lure of the perfect snowflake entices her to join the Weather Club, her anti-social shell begins to crack. And then dozens of phones go missing at school. Can Sal can unlock her pattern-driven mind to identify the workings of the real thief and then set an irresistible trap at the Science Fair?

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Valor Wings

Dunkirk, but with dragons! Everyone in Iris's small English village avoids the dragon in the woods. Everyone, that is, except for Iris. Meanwhile in Belgium, Max's school day is abruptly interrupted by some terrifying The Germans have invaded his country. Across hundreds of miles, the stories of Iris and Max steadily converge toward an explosive conclusion that will change them both forever.

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The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City

This is one of my favorite rereads during the this time of year…On Thanksgiving Day, Josie’s older brother Tom brings home a piglet he rescued from a nearby farm. Josie’s parents give her until Christmas to find a forever home for Hamlet. A delightful story about family set during the Christmas season perfect for fans of the VanderBeekers and Charlotte’s Web.

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