Rebellious Kids, Shapeshifting Spirits, and a Magic Umbrella: 7 New Middle Grade Books for Adventure Addicts

The Misfits Club, by Kieran Crowley
Kieran Crowley’s latest middle grade novel feels like a classic. Hilarious, heartwarming, and engaging from start to finish, The Misfits Club is a favorite new release. Set in the Irish town of Newpark, the book centers around the lives of five friends, each wonderfully peculiar in their own way. The club for misfits was started years ago, in an attempt to escape the monotony of small-town life. Each member has vowed to fight evil in all its forms, whether it be human, alien, or the undead. Despite all the fun they’ve had, the misfits have never solved an actual mystery. But the group refuses to give up. They are especially determined as two of their group will soon be leaving. Luckily, trouble finally comes to their small town, kickstarting the club’s first real adventure!

Simon Thorn and the Shark’s Cave, by Aimée Carter
Simon Thorn and his crew of Animalgams—humans who can shapeshift into animals—are back! This time they will be traveling to deep and dangerous waters. In the third installment of the Simon Thorn series, Simon and his friends are still on the hunt for pieces of the Predator, a weapon that has the power to control, and destroy, everyone in the five kingdoms. Simon Thorn and The Shark’s Cave is just as exciting as its two predecessors. As always, Simon’s path is a perilous one. He must carefully navigate the militant underwater world of Atlantis and use his unique shapeshifting abilities to outwit his many enemies.

R Is for Rebel, by J. Anderson Coats
In Malley’s world, the Wealdans are the ruling class. Ever since Milea was conquered many years ago, Malley and her fellow Mileans have suffered. Both girls and boys are taken from their parents and trained to serve. Adults are worked to death or killed for rebelling. Still, Malley has no intention of giving in. She is determined to be ungovernable, even when she is sent to a prison-like school. The other students at the school aren’t as willing to rebel. Or so Malley thinks. Throughout the book, Malley leads by example, rebelling in both small and big ways. R is for Rebel is a powerful book that encourages individuality and strength of spirit.

The Boggart Fights Back, by Susan Cooper
The first book in Susan Cooper’s Boggart series was released 25 years ago to great acclaim. The Boggart Fights Back maintains the charm and originality of the first two books. For those unfamiliar with the series, Cooper’s Boggart is a shapeshifting spirit from Scotland who delights in mischief. Just as the years have passed for us, so have they for the Boggart and the rest of Cooper’s characters. The Boggart Fights Back follows Allie and Jay, the children of two of the first book’s main characters. This is a second-generation Boggart tale! The focus of the book is the fate of Castle Keep, the long-treasured home of the Boggart. In danger of being overrun by a fancy resort, the Boggart and his cousin Nessie—yes, that Nessie—decide to save their home by using their mischievous powers for good.

Legends of the Lost Causes, by Brad McLelland and Louis Sylvester
Keech Blackwood is an orphan raised in the Wild West. When Keech was young, he was adopted by Pa Abner, a man who carefully trained Keech in survival skills. When Pa dies protecting Keech from a mysterious man named Bad Whiskey, Keech vows to take his revenge. It soon becomes clear that Keech will not be facing ordinary men. His adversaries include the undead—zombie cowboys who shrug off bullets! Readers who love westerns or zombie books will delight in Legends of the Lost Causes.

The Ambrose Deception, by Emily Ecton
The three kids you’d least expect to win anything are chosen to compete for a prestigious scholarship. There’s Melissa, a girl who earns her bus money doing homework for other kids; Wilf, super slacker extraordinaire; and Bodhi, the boy who lives to stand out. The competition starts when each kid gets a set of mysterious clues. Initially, they face the challenge alone. Sharing clues between competitors has been expressly prohibited. But the further they get into the competition, the stranger things become. Even though it’s against the rules, the three kids join forces.
Solving their clues will take them on adventures around the city of Chicago. Together, they discover the real reason behind the competition. A spirited mystery featuring a peculiar billionaire, The Ambrose Deception finds close kinship with Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game.

Samantha Spinner and the Super-Secret Plans, by Russell Ginns
Samantha knew her Uncle Paul was weird, but she didn’t know how weird. When said eccentric uncle disappears, he leaves three gifts to his nieces and nephews. Buffy, Sam’s sister, gets $2,400,000,000 to spend at her shopaholic discretion. Nipper, Sam’s brother, gets an entire baseball team—the New York Yankees! Sam’s gift is a little less impressive: a rusty red umbrella. Feeling cheated, Sam takes to her diary to grumble about life’s extreme unfairness. But the dark clouds lift when she inspects the umbrella with a magnifying glass. Super-secret plans appear! Readers will cheer when the red umbrella is revealed to be a map of underground expressways from Seattle to Paris to Edfu.