The Five Middle-Grade Books I Want to Read: An Excited Reader's Perspective

I'm so excited to share with you my list of five middle-grade books that I really want to read as soon as possible. As an avid reader, I've been fortunate enough to have access to a wide range of amazing books, but some are just calling my name more than others.

The first book on my list is The SL Series by Tahara Mafi. I've heard so many great things about this series, and I'm obsessed with the idea of a Whimsical, Alice-in-Wonderland-esque story. The main character, Alice, goes in search of her missing father, Fenwood, which sounds like an incredible adventure. What I love most about this series is that it's set in a world where color eludes the characters, but magic is abundant. This unique twist on our usual expectations of fantasy stories has me really eager to dive in and explore the world of Fenwood.

Another book that's been piquing my interest is The Descendant Series by Melissa de la Cruz. I've heard amazing things about this series, particularly the first book, "Isle of the Lost," which is a spin-off of the Disney show on Disney Jr. or Disney+. The idea of an island where all the Disney villains' kids live sounds like a dream come true for me. As someone who loves origin stories and fairy tales, I'm intrigued by the prospect of learning more about these characters and their journeys towards villainy (or not becoming villains). This series just sounds so adorable and fun that I couldn't resist adding it to my list.

Now, I want to talk about a book that I've already read because, well, let's be real – I've been reading a lot of middle-grade books lately. But this one, "Circus Miranda" by Cassie Beasley, is truly special. I read it a couple years ago and adored it so much that I ended up giving it to my nephew because I just wanted him to experience the joy of it as well. This book has a unique blend of tall tales and circus stories that reminds me of "Big Fish," which is another one of my favorite movies. The story follows Micah, who sets out to find his grandfather's promise of a miracle from the ringmaster of Circus Miranda. What I love most about this book is its heart – it's just so cute and adorable, with a wonderful blend of magic, adventure, and family.

As I mentioned earlier, my list started with five books that I've really been wanting to read. But, after some thought, I realized that I didn't actually have "The SL Series" on my original list because... well, I hadn't gotten around to reading it yet! So, I decided to add it to the article anyway, as a special treat for all you fellow readers out there who might be interested in this series.

While I was making up my mind about what books to include, I couldn't help but think about which one would be the most recommended. Honestly? I think Circus Miranda is probably my top pick, just because of its heart and its unique blend of stories that will transport you to a magical world. The Descendant Series comes close, though – I've heard so many great things about it! As for The SL Series... well, I'm sure it'll be amazing once I finally get around to reading it.

Overall, I hope this article has given you a glimpse into my world of middle-grade book love. Whether you're an avid reader or just starting out, I hope that one of these books will pique your interest and inspire you to pick up a copy. If you have any thoughts on the books I mentioned today, please don't hesitate to share them with me!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello everyone today I'm here to talk about middle grade reads or more specifically five middle-grade books that I really want to read so I honestly don't read a ton of middle grade books I read a lot of young adult books as well as adult books as well middle grade is one genre I have really not forayed into quite yet so today would be a perfect like kind of introduction into what middle grade books I really would like to read really soon honestly so today's video is going to be talking about all about the middle grade books that I am dying to read this video is a pay promotion with Disney Hyperion and celebration of the release of saraphina and the splintered Heart by Robert Bey this is the third book in the saraphina series the first book being saraphina and the black cloak second one is saraphina and the Twisted staff and like I said the newly released saraphina and the splintered heart this is a middle grade series that is very very popular and it sounds so interesting so so this is first on my list of what middle grade books I want to read if you're unfamiliar with the saraphina series this is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina which I myself have actually been to and it is so beautiful so I'm excited that it's set somewhere I've been and it follows the character of saraphina who is a very very smart very very brilliant very very Fierce character she's a wild girl longing for kinship and struggling to understand her place in this world this is a Timeless story of her trying to find her home and trying to really navigate good versus evil all in the home she lives I believe that every single one of the books like it takes place in her manner where she lives at and there's always some kind of evil lurking there and she has to discover what's going on at least I know that's what the first book The Black cloak is about she lives in this place called builtmore estate and children start disappearing in this estate so she sets off to try to find them and she goes into the forest and no one's supposed to go into the forest and the second and third book obviously have kind of different plots but I can't tell you about them because that would be spoiling them for you and myself since I haven't read any of these books so I'm very very excited because I do want to read this whole series because it just sounds so fun I think with middle grade books they're just just so much fun you can go on this Grand Adventure and have such a good time and saraphina and the splintered heart sounds like a perfect book to read for the middle grade genre even actually all the saraphina books honestly because they just all have such an element of fun in them so I'm very very excited to read this so if you're interested in the saraphina series and more specifically the third book saraphina and the spinner heart just came out July 3rd so it is in stores right now for you to get your hands on so this is my first series in the middle grade books I want to read moving on to some other middle grade books I want to read like I said I'm going to talk about five of them my next pick is Percy Jackson and the iians by Rick Ry and I have yet to finish this series I have read the first book in the series and really enjoyed it and still have not yet read the other books I'm still at a mist of whether to read them or not a lot of people say you know go for it read it and I do want to read it but I feel like my time has kind of come and gone to read them however I'm still keeping this series and I do have plans to read them one day if not I'm hoping my son will be a reader because he loves reading right now and I'm hoping that he'll love the Percy Jackson series and we can read them together that's kind of my dream honestly I would love to read them together but either way I do ultimately want to read these books because Percy Jackson is such a staple name in the middle grade genre like Percy Jackson is like the one middle-grade series you think of after Harry Potter I want to read this series so bad but it's just you know it's just I don't know what what's holding me back on honestly so if you have any recommendations of how to read it like do you read them all at once do you span them out between months let me know your thoughts and opinions because I just am forever intrigued by the world of Percy Jackson and I want to delve into it more next up is another series I would really like to start and that is the iron trial series or the magum how do you say that this is written by Holly black and Cassandra CLA I have read no books by Holly black but I have read a plethora of candra Clair books and I've heard really good things about this middle series thing called the iron trial and most kids would do anything to pass the iron trial but not Callum H all of his life callum's dad has told him to stay away from Magic it is evil it is not good to stay away from it 100% and his dad is told him if he suceeds in the iron trial againsts um accepted into the mag I can't pronounce the word to say my life only bad things will come from it Callum obviously tries to do his best at failing and he even fails at failing because he gets accepted into the magisterium and they're very very int intrigued by him so it's all about that it says the iron trial is just the beginning for the biggest test is still to come I've heard countless good things about this series I think the third book just came out it I know there's at least two books in it I want to say the third one just came out but either way it just sounds like an awesome magical Adventure written by two really known ya authors so I'm sure that I will love it and I really want to read it very very soon and my last two books I don't physically own so I'll insert pictures right here of them but the first one is another series the second book will be coming out this fall I believe and that is furthermore and that is the furthermore series by tahara Mafi the first book came out last year and it just sounds so fun and Whimsical so this series follows Alice whose dad went missing in this place called Fenwood three years ago only with the ruler for some reason I don't know why but either way she decides to go after him and there are certain things that Alice doesn't have while going in a faen hood that she probably should have such as color color eludes her she cannot see any color at all as well as magic magic does not elude her so she goes into Fenwood in search of her father with a companion and fairen wood reminds me a lot of Wonderland where it's very Whimsical left is right right is left Up Is Down Down is up all those different things like it's just a really Whimsical and bizarre place so that is what this whole series is about and I've heard a lot of really amazing things about this book I've I've heard a lot of amazing things about this series and it just sounds like such a Whimsical kind of Alice and Wonderland esque story that I would love to read and the last series on my list is The Descendant series I believe it's called I know the first book is the Isle of the lost by Melissa de la Cruz this is kind of like a spin-off of The Descendant show on Disney or Disney Jr I'm not sure I don't have C but I've heard a lot about it it's kind of like an island where all like the Disney villains kids live so this series is all about the Disney villains kids like and all about like them becoming villains and maybe not becoming villains it just sounds really really adorable in my opinion like it sounds like anything with Disney in it and like fairy tales and villains that kind of stuff I'm like yes sign me up either way it sounds really adorable and I love a good like origin villain story I don't know if that's particularly what the series is about but either way it's about like kids of Disney villain so it sounds really really intriguing to me and sounds like just something really fun to read the last book I know I said five books that was five books but one book I want to talk about that I have read because I have read some MD great books and I found one in my library and I was like oh I've read that and I really enjoyed it and I wanted to talk about that and that is Circus mandis by Cassie Beasley I read this a couple years ago and I adored it so so I really want to recommend it to you in case you are interested in getting into middle grade because I don't know if you want to take my recommendation seriously or not because I apparently have read a lot of middle grade at all but this one oh it's such a gem of a middle grade book in my opinion and not a lot of people have read it so this is all about a kid named Micah and Micah's Grandpa Ephraim has told him all of his life about the circus called circus mirandas and how it does magical things that circus Miranda like ring Master owes his grandpa a miracle and his grandpa is actually dying so so Micah takes it upon himself to find circus Miranda and try to find the ring master and try to really get his grandfather the miracle so his Grand so his grandfather can live and it's such an adorable book I see if you love the movie Big Fish which is such a gem of a movie as well you will love this book it's just got that Vibe of like tall tales and like circus stories and it's such an incredible adorable read actually you know what I don't have this anymore because I gave it to my nephew because I enjoyed it that much and he really enjoyed it as well so I let him keep it but either way it's an adorable middle grade book and it's like a standalone I think so in case you're wondering just to read one one middle grade book and that's it I would highly recommend circus moradas it was just it was so cute so so cute so there you have it there are five middle-grade books SL series that I really want to delve into if you have read any of these books that I talked about today please let me know your thoughts and opinions on them which one would you recommend the most which one would you recommend the least and let me know what you think about them overall if you enjoyed this video please give it a thumbs up and hit subscribe and I will see you guys in the next one byehello everyone today I'm here to talk about middle grade reads or more specifically five middle-grade books that I really want to read so I honestly don't read a ton of middle grade books I read a lot of young adult books as well as adult books as well middle grade is one genre I have really not forayed into quite yet so today would be a perfect like kind of introduction into what middle grade books I really would like to read really soon honestly so today's video is going to be talking about all about the middle grade books that I am dying to read this video is a pay promotion with Disney Hyperion and celebration of the release of saraphina and the splintered Heart by Robert Bey this is the third book in the saraphina series the first book being saraphina and the black cloak second one is saraphina and the Twisted staff and like I said the newly released saraphina and the splintered heart this is a middle grade series that is very very popular and it sounds so interesting so so this is first on my list of what middle grade books I want to read if you're unfamiliar with the saraphina series this is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina which I myself have actually been to and it is so beautiful so I'm excited that it's set somewhere I've been and it follows the character of saraphina who is a very very smart very very brilliant very very Fierce character she's a wild girl longing for kinship and struggling to understand her place in this world this is a Timeless story of her trying to find her home and trying to really navigate good versus evil all in the home she lives I believe that every single one of the books like it takes place in her manner where she lives at and there's always some kind of evil lurking there and she has to discover what's going on at least I know that's what the first book The Black cloak is about she lives in this place called builtmore estate and children start disappearing in this estate so she sets off to try to find them and she goes into the forest and no one's supposed to go into the forest and the second and third book obviously have kind of different plots but I can't tell you about them because that would be spoiling them for you and myself since I haven't read any of these books so I'm very very excited because I do want to read this whole series because it just sounds so fun I think with middle grade books they're just just so much fun you can go on this Grand Adventure and have such a good time and saraphina and the splintered heart sounds like a perfect book to read for the middle grade genre even actually all the saraphina books honestly because they just all have such an element of fun in them so I'm very very excited to read this so if you're interested in the saraphina series and more specifically the third book saraphina and the spinner heart just came out July 3rd so it is in stores right now for you to get your hands on so this is my first series in the middle grade books I want to read moving on to some other middle grade books I want to read like I said I'm going to talk about five of them my next pick is Percy Jackson and the iians by Rick Ry and I have yet to finish this series I have read the first book in the series and really enjoyed it and still have not yet read the other books I'm still at a mist of whether to read them or not a lot of people say you know go for it read it and I do want to read it but I feel like my time has kind of come and gone to read them however I'm still keeping this series and I do have plans to read them one day if not I'm hoping my son will be a reader because he loves reading right now and I'm hoping that he'll love the Percy Jackson series and we can read them together that's kind of my dream honestly I would love to read them together but either way I do ultimately want to read these books because Percy Jackson is such a staple name in the middle grade genre like Percy Jackson is like the one middle-grade series you think of after Harry Potter I want to read this series so bad but it's just you know it's just I don't know what what's holding me back on honestly so if you have any recommendations of how to read it like do you read them all at once do you span them out between months let me know your thoughts and opinions because I just am forever intrigued by the world of Percy Jackson and I want to delve into it more next up is another series I would really like to start and that is the iron trial series or the magum how do you say that this is written by Holly black and Cassandra CLA I have read no books by Holly black but I have read a plethora of candra Clair books and I've heard really good things about this middle series thing called the iron trial and most kids would do anything to pass the iron trial but not Callum H all of his life callum's dad has told him to stay away from Magic it is evil it is not good to stay away from it 100% and his dad is told him if he suceeds in the iron trial againsts um accepted into the mag I can't pronounce the word to say my life only bad things will come from it Callum obviously tries to do his best at failing and he even fails at failing because he gets accepted into the magisterium and they're very very int intrigued by him so it's all about that it says the iron trial is just the beginning for the biggest test is still to come I've heard countless good things about this series I think the third book just came out it I know there's at least two books in it I want to say the third one just came out but either way it just sounds like an awesome magical Adventure written by two really known ya authors so I'm sure that I will love it and I really want to read it very very soon and my last two books I don't physically own so I'll insert pictures right here of them but the first one is another series the second book will be coming out this fall I believe and that is furthermore and that is the furthermore series by tahara Mafi the first book came out last year and it just sounds so fun and Whimsical so this series follows Alice whose dad went missing in this place called Fenwood three years ago only with the ruler for some reason I don't know why but either way she decides to go after him and there are certain things that Alice doesn't have while going in a faen hood that she probably should have such as color color eludes her she cannot see any color at all as well as magic magic does not elude her so she goes into Fenwood in search of her father with a companion and fairen wood reminds me a lot of Wonderland where it's very Whimsical left is right right is left Up Is Down Down is up all those different things like it's just a really Whimsical and bizarre place so that is what this whole series is about and I've heard a lot of really amazing things about this book I've I've heard a lot of amazing things about this series and it just sounds like such a Whimsical kind of Alice and Wonderland esque story that I would love to read and the last series on my list is The Descendant series I believe it's called I know the first book is the Isle of the lost by Melissa de la Cruz this is kind of like a spin-off of The Descendant show on Disney or Disney Jr I'm not sure I don't have C but I've heard a lot about it it's kind of like an island where all like the Disney villains kids live so this series is all about the Disney villains kids like and all about like them becoming villains and maybe not becoming villains it just sounds really really adorable in my opinion like it sounds like anything with Disney in it and like fairy tales and villains that kind of stuff I'm like yes sign me up either way it sounds really adorable and I love a good like origin villain story I don't know if that's particularly what the series is about but either way it's about like kids of Disney villain so it sounds really really intriguing to me and sounds like just something really fun to read the last book I know I said five books that was five books but one book I want to talk about that I have read because I have read some MD great books and I found one in my library and I was like oh I've read that and I really enjoyed it and I wanted to talk about that and that is Circus mandis by Cassie Beasley I read this a couple years ago and I adored it so so I really want to recommend it to you in case you are interested in getting into middle grade because I don't know if you want to take my recommendation seriously or not because I apparently have read a lot of middle grade at all but this one oh it's such a gem of a middle grade book in my opinion and not a lot of people have read it so this is all about a kid named Micah and Micah's Grandpa Ephraim has told him all of his life about the circus called circus mirandas and how it does magical things that circus Miranda like ring Master owes his grandpa a miracle and his grandpa is actually dying so so Micah takes it upon himself to find circus Miranda and try to find the ring master and try to really get his grandfather the miracle so his Grand so his grandfather can live and it's such an adorable book I see if you love the movie Big Fish which is such a gem of a movie as well you will love this book it's just got that Vibe of like tall tales and like circus stories and it's such an incredible adorable read actually you know what I don't have this anymore because I gave it to my nephew because I enjoyed it that much and he really enjoyed it as well so I let him keep it but either way it's an adorable middle grade book and it's like a standalone I think so in case you're wondering just to read one one middle grade book and that's it I would highly recommend circus moradas it was just it was so cute so so cute so there you have it there are five middle-grade books SL series that I really want to delve into if you have read any of these books that I talked about today please let me know your thoughts and opinions on them which one would you recommend the most which one would you recommend the least and let me know what you think about them overall if you enjoyed this video please give it a thumbs up and hit subscribe and I will see you guys in the next one bye\n"