How excited are you for summer vacation?! I have no clue what I am going to do this summer, but I’m excited anyway!
Whether or not you are going anywhere this summer, I highly recommend escaping to a magical world and exciting adventure through books!
Looking for ideas for your summer reading? Here are a few great books you might like.
Rating Your Bunkmates and Other Camp Crimes
By Jennifer Orr
Summer camp anyone? The main character of this fun book, Abigail, is brilliant but struggles socially. Each chapter starts with cleverly written field notes, and it’s not long until Abigail stumbles onto a mystery. Will she solve it? More importantly, will she finally learn how to make friends?
Book Description:
Twelve-year-old Abigail Hensley is a socially awkward aspiring anthropologist who has always had trouble connecting with her peers. Abigail is hopeful that a week at sleepaway camp is the answer to finally making a friend. After all, her extensive research shows that summer camp is the best place to make lifelong connections. Using her tried-and-true research methods, Abigail begins to study her cabinmates for friendship potential. But just when it seems that she is off to a good start, her bunkmate’s phone gets stolen, and Abigail is the main suspect. Can she clear her name, find the real culprit, and make a friend before the week is done?
Pegasus: The Flame of Olympus
By Kate O’Hearn
I love mythical creatures! Filled with adventures and mythology, I loved all 6 books in this series. Give this one a try, and if you like it, you’ll have 5 more to keep you busy all summer long.
Book Description:
When Pegasus crashes onto a Manhattan roof during a terrible storm, thirteen-year-old Emily’s life changes forever. Suddenly allied with a winged horse she’d always thought was mythical, Emily is thrust into the center of a fierce battle between the Roman gods and a terrifying race of multiarmed stone warriors called the Nirads. Emily must team up with a thief named Paelen, the goddess Diana, and a mortal boy named Joel to return Pegasus to Olympus and rescue the gods from a certain death.
Along the way, Emily and her companions will fight monsters, run from a government agency that is prepared to dissect Pegasus, and even fly above the Manhattan skyline—all as part of a quest to save Olympus before the Olympic flame burns out.
Welcome to Dog Beach
By Lisa Greenwald
I love books with animals, especially dogs, and this book is a great middle grade getaway read!
Book Description:
Eleven-year-old Remy loves Seagate, the island where her grandmother had a house and where her family spends every summer vacation. But this year’s different. Remy misses her dog, Danish, who recently passed away. The usual Seagate traditions don’t feel the same—and neither does her relationship with her two best friends, Micayla and Bennett. Micayla’s family is moving to Seagate year-round, and she’s spending more time with the year-round kids. Bennett’s doing “boy stuff” with new kid Calvin and his snobby sister Claire. Remy takes comfort in the company of Dog Beach—which is where she hatches her plan to bring her friends closer and recapture the Seagate magic. This start of a new series is filled with summer treats, activities, and the spirit of friendship and invention that are Greenwald’s trademarks.
Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
By Rick Riordan
I recently did an author interview with a 5th grade classroom, and they asked me my favorite authors. Rick Riordan is at the top of the list! If you haven’t yet, give Percy Jackson a try. It is epic fantasy, with amazing characters, and Percy even learns differently, like me!
Book Description:
Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can’t seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse–Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him.
When Percy’s mom finds out, she knows it’s time that he learns the truth about where he came from, and that he goes to the one place he’ll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, god of the sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends–one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena–Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.
The Genius Files
By Dan Gutman
Perfect for dreaming of summer vacations, this is a great family adventure featuring twins. It also adds in a fun dose of US Geography! Plus, it’s book one of five, so there are more traveling twin adventures to read if you love this one.
Book Description:
The most exciting road trip in history begins! In this action-packed, New York Times bestselling adventure, twelve-year-old twins Coke and Pepsi McDonald embark on a family vacation you’ll have to read to believe.
Coke McDonald and his twin sister, Pepsi, think their family’s cross-country RV vacation is nothing to get excited about…until they’re chased off a cliff, locked in a burning school, and receive mysterious messages in codes and ciphers. From California to Wisconsin, it’s a race against time to find out who’s after Coke and Pep, who’s leaving the notes…and just what being a part of The Genius Files entails!
With the real-kid humor that has earned Dan Gutman millions of fans around the world and featuring weird-but-true American tourist destinations, The Genius Files is a one-of-a-kind mix of geography and fun.
As Coke and Pep dodge nefarious villains from the Pez museum in California all the way to the Infinity Room in Wisconsin, black-and-white photographs and maps put young readers right into the action.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
By Grace Lin
This gorgeous fantasy is inspired by Chinese folklore. The pictures are beautiful, and the story is magical. I loved it and highly recommend it.
Book Description:
In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life’s questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family’s fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.
Grace Lin, author of the beloved Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat returns with a wondrous story of adventure, faith, and friendship. A fantasy crossed with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a timeless story reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz and Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Her beautiful illustrations, printed in full color, accompany the text throughout. Once again, she has created a charming, engaging book for young readers.
Princess Academy
By Shannon Hale
I don’t think I would want to attend school at the Princess Academy. (Neither does the main character!) I love books with strong female characters, and this one does not disappoint.
Book Description:
In this first book in New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor-winning author Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy series, Miri finds herself a sudden participant in a contest to find the next princess of the realm.
Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king’s priests have divined her village the home of the future princess. In a year’s time, the prince will choose his bride from among the village girls.
The king’s ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess. Soon Miri finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires. Winning the contest could give her everything she ever wanted–but it would mean leaving her home and family behind.
Welcome to Superhero School
By Gracie Dix (that’s me!)
I love the crew in Welcome to Superhero School. They are not perfect, and sometimes they are even annoying, but they are the best! This team of students learn that their superpowers alone aren’t enough to save the day – they must rely on one another, ask for help, and work together. Plus, there are dinosaurs with laser eyes! I recently re-read my book, and I loved it as much as I did when I was writing it. I hope you do too!
Book Description:
Join Oliver, Jess, and all their friends on a mission to destroy the power-hungry, evil villains of Vork.
From subterranean sewers to lush jungle, from dinosaurs to dragons, our heroes will be pushed to their limits in ways they’d never imagined. Will their collective Powers—Flight, Morphing, Invisibility, Mind Reading, and more—be enough for them to overcome the malevolence of Vork? Or will they stumble over their own doubts and painful histories?
This action-packed journey of friendship, hardship, and humor will take our heroes to thrilling new heights and a deeper understanding of their own place in the world. But will that be enough—or will Vork always be one step ahead?
Graceanne “Gracie” Dix is a high school author. When she isn’t writing, she can be found singing, creating art, in the theatre, volunteering, or playing tennis. She loves to travel and is a loyal friend. Gracie lives in Dallas, Texas with her parents, Richard and Jennifer, her brother, Nate, whenever he is home from college, and her beloved dogs, Snowball and Sandcastle (“Sandy”). You can find reviews for these, and lots more middle grade books, on her Instagram account: @gracie.dix.author and on her blog at graciedix.com.
