7 Middle Grade Reads About Life-Changing Summers

Raymie Nightingale, by Kate DiCamillo
In the midst of a hot and humid Florida summer, Raymie Clarke is hatching a plan. Her father has recently run off with a dental hygienist, and it’s going to take something big, something important, to get him to come back home. Something like Raymie winning the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition and getting her picture in the paper. There’s only one problem: she doesn’t have a talent. That is, not until she decides to take baton lessons. It’s at those lessons that she meets the dramatic Louisiana Elefante, and the passionate Beverly Tapinski. Each girl has her own set of challenges, both internal and external, and it’s these challenges that draw the trio together in an unexpected friendship.

Hour of the Bees, by Lindsay Eagar
Carolina (or Carol, as she prefers to be called) would rather be spending the summer by the pool with her friends. Instead, she’s being dragged along to middle-of-nowhere New Mexico to help her parents back up a grandfather she’s never met, and move him into an Alzheimer’s home. At first Grandpa Serge seems as crazy as everyone says he is. But as the summer wears on, Carol becomes more and more drawn to Grandpa Serge’s bizarre stories. Then strange things begin to happen and Carol begins to wonder if his stories are as unbelievable as they seem—or if maybe Grandpa Serge isn’t so crazy after all.

Drum Roll, Please, by Lisa Jenn Bigelow
When Olivia convinces her best friend Melly to join the school band, they’re both surprised to discover that the shy and quiet Melly has a passion for the drums. Now the girls are off to two weeks of a music summer camp. But the summer doesn’t go as expected for Melly. Her parents announce their divorce, her friendship with Olivia deteriorates, and she finds herself with a whole lot of conflicting emotions regarding another girl at camp. It’s the summer that Melly discovers that she’ll have to find her own beat to play.

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Since their mother took off for California seven years ago, Delphine has helped raise her two younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern. When her father decides to send the girls to California one summer to get to know their estranged mother, Delphine knows not to get her hopes up. But she secretly wishes for hugs, kisses, and Disneyland. Arriving in California, they discover their mother is as mysterious and uninterested in parenting as ever. Instead of Disneyland, the girls are sent to a day camp run by the Black Panthers. There, Delphine finds herself searching not only for who her mother is, but for who she is herself.

Sunny Side Up, by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
In the summer of 1976, 10-year-old Sunny Lewin is shipped off to Florida to visit her grandfather. While life at home isn’t easy—there’s a new baby who cries constantly, and an older brother who can’t seem to stay out of trouble—summer with a bunch of old people in Florida isn’t exactly what Sunny had in mind. Despite the best efforts of her grandfather and his well-meaning retirement village neighbors, it’s not until Sunny meets Buzz, the only other kid her age, that things start to look up. Even so, there’s the question of why exactly was Sunny sent to Florida in the first place? And what exactly is going on at home?

Revolution, Deborah Wiles
12-year-old Sunny’s life is being invaded. At home, there’s a new stepmother and siblings. In her hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi, folks from the north have arrived for what they are calling “Freedom Summer,” a time that summer of 1964 where civil rights activists arrived to improve voter registration and set up Freedom Schools. Still, it’s summer, and on a night when Sunny and her brother sneak into the municipal pool for a swim, Sunny is looking forward to the lazy days ahead. But an encounter at the pool that night sets Sunny and 14-year-old Raymond on a trajectory neither could have expected.

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora, by Pablo Cartaya
For Arturo, Miami summers mean friends, basketball, and working part-time as a dishwasher in the family restaurant. But this summer brings changes. First, Carmen, a family friend from Spain, moves in upstairs, sending Arturo’s heart pounding and his stomach into a spin every time he sees her. Then a slick land developer shows up in the neighborhood, with plans for an upscale high-rise. As neighbors and friends are dazzled by the businessman’s promises and flashy presentation, Arturo realizes it will be up to him to save not only the family restaurant but all that makes his neighborhood so special.