r/MiddleGrade

I'm writing an upper-middle-grade fantasy series set in a magical school. The main character is a girl, and one of her best friends/secondary main characters is a boy. There are other male characters in the story, but he is the only boy who is part of the main group.

The story has magical sports, creatures, duelling, mysteries, villains, and a wider magical world outside the school.

I'm a girl myself, so I've been wondering whether having a female protagonist and a main cast that's mostly girls would make the book less appealing to boys, or whether the actual story and characters would matter more.

For boys who read fantasy, would this kind of setup put you off reading it? And for parents/teachers/writers who know boys who read MG fantasy, I'd be interested in your perspective too.

I have a low reading level (below average) my wife said like around middle school level maybe, plus i have a huge comprehension issue, ADHD, and Asperger's.

I have trouble reading in general even with books i know basically the whole story of (IT, Misery, Harry Potter, and The Nightingale) and when i read, i constantly re-read parts multiple times, even zoning out, and have trouble creating the mental image for the book in my head like how most people do.

I want to get better at reading and read more books, not only because i like comics and stories a lot, but also because I'm writing my own book and want more experience with writing as well as reading. My problem is i don't really like harry potter or magic all THAT much but my wife says its where i should start because its around my reading level...

what should i do? what else could i start reading to improve my reading level?

Seeking recommendations for contemporary and recent (post-2020) upper-MG mystery novels that include ciphers / puzzles / finding missing people / solving cases. I'm an adult but enjoy the Ruby Redfort series / Codebusters / The Mysterious Benedict Society / Murdle. Thanks!

EDIT: Preferably not sci-fi or ghosts!

I'm finishing an MG novel, first timer, and would like to know if audio books are popular with this age range. I'm planning to self-publish and wonder if I should go through the expense of hiring a reader.

Many thanks!

My 8 yo and have had so much fun reading these books (we also read all Roald Dahl books and loved them a lot). They are straight up hilarious, make you laugh out loud but are also meaningful, keep you thinking about what's being said because of the clever word play/use. Please recommend something similar. Thanks!

THE LIGHTHOUSE AND THE LOST SHIP is a middle-grade fantasy adventure blending time travel, pirate lore, mystery, and magic.

Blythe Portsmouth has always suspected there’s something magical about the lighthouse where she lives. Then a seventeenth-century pirate ship sails out of the mist.

Stranded three hundred years from home in Franklin Bay, North Carolina, the ship's young passenger, Thomas, needs Blythe's help. With her six-year-old brother Benji in tow, Blythe follows a trail of old sailors' songs, forgotten grottos, and secrets buried in the lighthouse's past in search of a lost treasure that might send Thomas back home. 

But when their search yields nothing, and the ship's fearsome captain prepares to sail back into the fog, Blythe may be running out of time to solve Franklin Bay's oldest mystery.

So I’ve got a new little reading buddy and I’d like to get her a book or two and I was thinking that Misty and Stormy would be good but- do you think the language is too dated? Can anyone suggest a similar kind of book that might work?

Hi! I teach English as a second language and I have a student (she's 14 years old) who loves reading and I started a book club with her. Can you recommend some books that are appropriate for her and and also are easy for an A2 english learner? Thank you so much!!

PS: I don't know if it helps or not, but she loves fantasy like Harry Potter and she also loved Enola Holmes, but I don't know if Sherlock Holmes would be too hard or age appropriate for her. She also likes a Brazilian book that is similar to The princess diaries