It's my last Middle Grade Minded Post for the year and I can't help but look back.
This has been a wonderful year for middle grade books.
You can't help but feel that a year that gave us Orphan Island, Refugee, Wishtree, The Stars Beneath our Feet, The War I Finally Won, The Dollmaker of Krakow, and Patina to name but a few, is a good year.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdzhnQ5yvZzZw46Z-adxSXSgSNRNE-V_a8Pn8KctZu60dbTC7biUD23J-lA1dJ6bqtUVWC8MOt1I_iWzF0_5nQNHbFDNltHFr48fosTNmhNNH2I8xKr7IsxApbXPfHDwI3jd8KSp_Mfcy/s200/patina.jpg)
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#ownvoices and #weneeddiversebooks became a rallying cry within the industry and brought us new and wonderful stories:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jTZke3w2hAl7HT1oOwKXfccj27ByP7JyD-BkP0HHnTXGPYqZBVkeJJiTAywR_99XxvmMsvsnfJbByCMcY083EFjZgC9kMa3nlFh7CAgtR2nYUNBFUNkVsJu1h2fOxB9iCNLEag-FU_UM/s200/oneshadow.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6uge6GE-K5heKklaXj1X17NOUnFnu2OEczi3INI7K8YSpR6GY-x5IjYMRFyqiQUYcdjm8D5YbERn2Myr1902-nJ0glmzk6pMOQQ-umBkoXCYVYfUN7DwPrkkOFu7DgJKRQXWaujgFkS6/s200/the-gauntlet-9781481486965_hr.jpg)
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And then there were the delights of just wonderfully funny and thrilling and epic MG, always the best antidote for everything negative in this world:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKz3rxUTN3YdPoshIoDmk0J7lyjfdluLWS70pKnYNEqZkmuoYLa0F_po2p9HC-hDe2iXcsPJsdvFHh1LiHwMEuoHU-aSGzd9e6XMxlpoYjaXGMKicb6E6Z8zEX2rkSMHyXbzPN0eKvWlV/s200/enginerds-9781481468725_hr.jpg)
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And heartwarming and inspiring tales:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD0B4eqaPEO_AsSEjy1cGm0xwMLoDuc8gk_hvoxkLyrbRj6vXD53L7qDZOSfYo29aKhm6BdglbI8JuhRpXlctWQxWTvyTXKr0VlfeUTTJQQLTdSeFzb24yUqRoUr5cMa-f3R9JjN4A_DY_/s200/ethan.jpg)
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In no way is this an exhaustive list, but these books helped me get through 2017, and made the world shine a little brighter for me.
Now, more than ever, we need middle grade novels that inspire, transport and delight readers.
We live in a complicated world.
Sometimes we want to escape from it in a book.
Sometimes we want to understand it by reading a book.
Sometimes we want heroines and heroes who vanquish foes, kids who figure things out, animals and trees that have a different kind of wisdom, families that aren't perfect but keep trying, friendships that are messy but fulfilling.
Sometimes, we need hope.
I found all of that in the middle grade novels I read this year.
And if 2017 is any indication of the quality of middle grade literature, I look forward to 2018 with open arms, with my library card and wallet in one hand, my TBR list in the other, and a heart full of gladness for the creativity and respect for children shown by our middle grade authors.
5 comments:
I agree with everything you said. I also noted all the book titles you mentioned and wonder how you managed to keep up with them all. I read as much as I can, but there's no way I can follow everything.
Chuck, the struggle is real! I am lucky; I am a fast reader, and can usually get 40 to 50 pages in a day, but not always!
Challenges make great stories, and these are challenging times, indeed.
Agree Mirka!
Middle grade books are so wonderful. Such a great collection here! Many of these are still on my TBR list...so hard to keep up with all the awesome! (Wishing I was a faster reader, but alas, I'm slow. I didn't even manage to hit my "goodreads reading challenge" goal this year, for the first time. Lots of great books to catch up with!)
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