January 2025 Book Recommendations

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I love the fresh start of a new year and this is always when I set new reading goals for the year. My goal this year is to read 156 books and I’m already on book #3 so I’m off to a great start! As a reminder, 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.

12 to 22

(Older Middle Grade) 13 Going on 30 for middle grade readers! Harper’s parents have finally given her approval to have social media, but when she goes to post her first photo, she suddenly finds herself in the future. Ten years in the future! Now she’s 22 and she’s not sure this is the life she pictured for herself. This book is great for older middle graders (4th to 7th grade) as a springboard for discussing social media and phone use.

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The Grace of Wild Things

Anne of Green Gables is reimagined with witches and magic. Grace sees other children being adopted from the orphanage, but not her. It seems nobody wants her. So she runs away to the woods, because how bad can the witch be? Turns out she is pretty awful, but now Grace is stuck. Will she be able to figure out a plan to save herself, and find belonging at the same time?

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Little Monarchs

(Graphic Novel) It's been fifty years since a sun shift wiped out nearly all mammal life across the earth. The world is being slowly reclaimed by nature and now Elvie is on a mission to save humanity from extinction. A great read for kids who are into STEM topics and who want a graphic novel with a bit more substance.

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The Ogress and the Orphans

What does it mean to be a good neighbor? Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Then one day, a child goes missing from the Orphan House. Everyone in town assumes the Ogress is to blame, but the Orphans are certain that isn’t true. But if nobody will listen to them, how can they convince people that the Ogress isn’t to blame?

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The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow

(Young Middle Grade) Butternut lives in the burrows of Milkweed Meadow with her nine rabbit brothers and sisters. They live by certain rules that are meant to keep them safe, but what if you need to break the rules to help another animal in crisis? A beautiful story about community, friendship, and doing the right thing. Although I think this is best for younger middle grade readers (approximately 2nd-4th grade), I think it would also be a fun family read aloud if there are younger siblings.

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Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis’ Secret Code

(Non-Fiction) This is the true story of the codebreakers, spies, and navy men who cracked the Nazis’ infamous Enigma encryption machine and turned the tide of World War II. During the war, the Nazis plans were always sent out over the radio, but to the Allied trips it sounded like completely nonsensical words. Breaking the code would mean knowing what was going to happen before it happened. But would they be able to break the code in time to make a difference?

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