One goal I have this year is to increase the number of middle grade novels I read. I’m aiming for one title per week. In order to achieve this goal, I’m taking advantage of ‘suspended holds’. You can place a book on hold at the library but ‘suspend’ it until a certain date. This means you keep your place in line, but the book doesn’t become available until after that date. By using this strategy, I hope to avoid A) that pile up of too many books at one time which I don’t end up reading and B) lulls in which I have no books to read.
I have holds suspended now through to March. My list so far is comprised of titles I would have read in 2018 if I lived in an ideal world, plus the Cybils shortlist for middle grade speculative fiction.
- A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano (Cybils – currently reading)
- Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (Cybils)
- The Stone Girl’s Story by Sarah Beth Dust (Cybils)
- Snared: Escape to the Above by Adam Jay Epstein (Cybils)
- Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain by Zac Gorman (Cybils)
- Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier (Cybils)
- The Land of Yesterday by K.A. Reynolds
- Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren
- Dragons in a Bag by Zetta Elliott
- Lu by Jason Reynolds
- The Dreamway by Lisa Papademetriou
- Begone the Raggedy Witches by Celine Kiernan
- Spell & Spindle by Michelle Shusterman
- City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
- The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
- The House in Poplar Wood by K.E. Ormsbee
- The Girl with the Dragon Heart by Stephanie Burgis
- Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
I have not yet incorporated 2019 releases or Newbery challenge titles. What middle grade novels would you add to my reading list?
If you haven’t read it yet, I’m loving The Land of Stories Series by Chris Colfer.
Ooh, yes, that’s a series I need to check out!
Adding some of these tp my TBR. The only middle grade I’ve read lately is Fablehaven/Dragonwatch due to nostalgia. But I’m curious to see what’s new.
I’m glad to hear that! Hope you find some great new reads.
I need to read more middle grade this year too. This is a pretty great idea actually, maybe I will try it!
Thank-you~ 🙂 I would love it if this encourages more bloggers to read middle grade!
Begone, the Raggedy Witches is phenomenal! I still need to read Sweep and finish Jason Reynolds’ Track series, though.
Your review was one of the ones that convinced me Begone needed to go on my priority list! I have only seen a few reviews of it, but they were all highly positive.
Well, I certainly hope it lives up to expectations! 😀