6 Great Middle Grade Fantasies Starring Sisters

A Nearer Moon, by Melanie Crowder
Two pairs of sisters are at the heart of A Nearer Moon. Luna and her little sister Willow live in a swampy village, where the houses are raised up on stilts to keep them from the watery ooze. They’ve heard how the river once flowed fast and clear, but that was years ago, when there was still magic to be found, and before the river sickness began claiming victims. When Willow falls ill, Luna is determined to find a cure no matter what. Her desperate quest leads to another sister, a fey sprit, Perdy, who was separated from her own sister back when the river still ran freely. Deep in the swampy water, Perdy, brokenhearted and embittered, saves Luna from drowning, and gives her the chance to return the talisman that Perdy needs to be reunited from her sister, and set the river to rights again, defeating the river sickness and saving Willow. This story is beautifully told from the points of view of both Luna and Perdy, and it’s a lovely one for readers who like quests that are slower and more character-driven than the sword-waving, dragon-slaying type, but full of tension nonetheless. Pefect for the young reader who who loves books that will find a place in their hearts and imaginations.

Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge
In Cuckoo Song, set in England just after World War One, a girl named Triss wakes up after an accident to find her world gone wrong. Something strange and magical has happened. Her little sister Pen is scared of her, and hostile, her hunger can’t be satisfied, when she cries, she weeps cobwebs, and the pages in her diary that might fill in the recent past she can’t quite remember are torn out.  Triss is not the same sister she was, and Pen, who has lived her life as the bad child in the shadow of good girl Triss, must make hard choices about what sort of sister she herself will be. Can she save this strange new Triss, or should she try to restore Triss to her old self? It’s gripping as all get out, and the mystery of what happened to Triss the day of the accident, and whether she can be saved, makes for intense reading. This is one that verges on nightmare; give it to the older middle grade reader who likes horror and historical fiction; they should find it beautifully satisfying! But it’s not all dark; the love and mutual understanding that grows between Triss and Pen makes it ultimately hopeful and heartwarming.

Rules for Stealing Stars, by Corey Ann Haydu
Also on the dark side is Rules for Stealing Stars. Four sisters discover that the closets in their old family home are magical. The twins, the oldest girls, find a closet that brings the diaoramas they make to life, and at first they exclude the younger girls from the magic. Priscilla, the youngest, from whose point of view the story is told, is nothing if not persistent, and she finds that her own closet is a doorway into a land of enchantment. But one closet seems to hold darker magic, and this is the one that draws the fourth sister, Maria, most strongly. As their mother descends into another episode of alcohol-fueled depression, and the sisters become more anxious and afraid of her, the closets seem to offer solace….until Maria retreats into the dark magic of her closet, whose door refuses to open to her sisters. This is very much a story in which magical complications and the problems of the real world are intermingled; at first the magic seems like a lovely escape, but it becomes clear pretty quickly that it’s not going to be so easy. Although their mother’s problems are not magically whisked away, the four girls do become closer, and the bonds between them are strengthened by their greater understanding of each other, offering hope that things will be better. This is a good fantasy for kids who generally prefer realistic fiction.

The Forgotten Sisters, by Shannon Hale 
The Forgotten Sisters tells of three royal girls sent to live in a swampy village far from the palace. Miri, the heroine of Princess Academy and Palace of Stone, is sent off to the swamp to be their teacher, so that they can be called back to court if they are needed to secure peace through marriage. Miri had plenty of doubts from the beginning, but her job is trickier than she’s imagined. The princesses have been living alone, looking out for themselves as best they could (the money sent for their upkeep is being intercepted by a villain) and they are not at all eager to be educated. But as Miri gets to know the sisters, and understand them better, she’s able to restore them to a more civilized life, and help avert a war in the process. Fans of the first two Princess Academy books will be pleased to see Miri’s story continue to a happy and satisfying ending; and the new characters introduced here are also great additions to the series in their own right! Athough the basic problems aren’t themselves fantastical, there’s real magic at work, adding enchantment to the story. This is one for those who love strong, memorable characters, learning to appreciate each other and work together.

Summer of the Mariposas, by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
Another excellent sister story for older middle grade readers is Summer of the Mariposas. It’s for older readers not because of any “adult content” of a sex/violence/bad language sort, but because it starts with five sisters finding a dead body in a river along the Mexican boarder, and deciding, with some prodding from a magical spirit being, that they should take him home to his family in Mexico, and visit their own Mexican grandma while they’re at it. It turns out the corpse is the least of their worries, as their road trip takes them through a string of supernatural adventures. Fortunately the spirit has given Odilia, the oldest sister, a magical earring whose powers come in very handy as the younger girls plunge from one danger to the next. The adventures echo those of The Odyssey, but are brightly re-rooted in Mexican myth and story. It is one of my own favorite stories of sisters on a magical adventure. Give this one to the middle grade reader who’s starting to look toward the YA shelves.

And for a final sister fantasy book, I highly recommend The Two Princesses of Bamarre, by Gail Carson Levine (of Ella Enchanted fame). Princess Addie is a shy scardy-cat, always relying on her big sister Meryl, who dreams of fighting monsters to save her. But when Merle is struck down with a magical sickness that will kill her, Addie is determined to do for Meryl what her sister would have done for her, and braves the dangers of a land beset by monsters (griffins, ogres, dragons, and more) to find the cure. When she finds herself the prisoner of a dragon, it will take bravery and intelligence she’d never known she possessed to escape, and then even more bravery to keep going. Lots of magic, and a very nice, middle grade-appropriate romance, make this story of an unlikely heroine a lovely escape from reality!
Does your young reader enjoy stories about sisterhood?