These three terrific tales will have you on the edge of your seat! From an all-or nothing middle school competition, to uncovering the truth about her family's secret magical history, to

Control Freaks by J.E. THOMAS. Seventh-grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer (Doug) knows he has to win the epic science, technology, engineering, math, arts, and sports competition his school is staging, but arts and sports aren't his strong suit. It doesn't help that his assigned team is a group of middle school misfits! He has to win, or face sports camp for the summer (yikes!) with his with his scary stepbrother (double yikes!). With only a week to go, Doug launches a quest to turn his team of outcasts into winners… and maybe even friends.

Conjure Island by EDEN ROYCE. After having moved around all her life, Del doesn't have many friends, and that's okay, because she and her grandmother are close as can be. But when Gramma falls ill, Del is sent to live with the great-grandmother she never knew, one that teaches her magic and the mystical family history she belongs to. When Del discovers a shadowy presence on the island, she learns that the magic she's learning maty be more connected than she thought.

The Umbrella Maker's Son by KATRINA LENO. Oscar lives in a city where it’s always raining. Oscar’s father is an umbrella maker, but while Buckle Umbrellas are strong, reliable, and high quality, they’re expensive. Because of this, people are buying from the competitor instead, which is threatening Oscar’s family’s business. But when extraordinary events start to occur, Oscar becomes suspicious of their competitor. Desperate to save his town, Oscar must enlist the help of his best friend, Saige, to discover if there's more than nature involved in their city's weather.

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Fantastic Middle Grade Reads - 7/1/23