Brainstorm Vol 86: More Thrilling Middle Grade Reads

I shared a post a few months ago about thrilling reads for middle grades. Several seemed to find that post helpful in finding reading material that gets middle graders reading. So if you’re looking for more exciting, intense, or gripping reads that middle graders (and teens or adults...there's no shame in reading middle grade when you're older) will find hard to put down, here’s a few more.

Middle Grade Fiction Resources

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar
There are two big things in the small town of Heath Cliff, PA: distinguished Woodridge Academy and a secret lab that is engineering Biolene, the latest and greatest in renewable energy. Biolene has been manufactured with the help of slime mold. Supposedly, the microbes cannot survive in oxygen, but when microbes replicate as fast as those in Biolene, mutations are likely to occur. Of course, Woodridge Academy students have no knowledge of Biolene or even that there is a lab in their small town. They are more concerned with things like passing the next math test and avoiding bullying. The latter reason is why Marshall decides to take a short cut through the woods to get home one day. Tamaya isn't allowed to walk home by herself, so she has to follow Marshall. Chad is a new student at Woodridge. This is his last chance before juvie, but Chad doesn't seem to care. He does seem to care about making Marshall's life miserable. The three children's lives collide in the middle of the woods, and in an effort to stop Chad's bullying, Tamaya takes a handful of the strange, fuzzy mud and smooshes it in Chad's face. Later, Tamaya notices a strange rash on her hand. By the next day, Tamaya's hand is covered in gross blisters and the rash is spreading. Chad is missing. And Heath Cliff is on the verge of a biodisaster.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Biothriller Fans: I know this won't be a five star read for everyone, but the bio-thriller elements hit all the right buttons for me. There also really aren't many bio-thriller books out there for kids. It has all the elements of a bio-thriller for adults, the potential for a worldwide pandemic, an unknown microbe, and science experiments gone awry. There's even transcripts from Congressional hearings mixed in which give you just enough info from the future to make you worried about characters in the present. It reminded me of Andromeda Strain, but obviously done in a more kid-friendly way. 
• Protists in the Spotlight/Exponential Growth: The choice of featuring a slime mold was smart on Sachar's part. One, those microbes aren't featured as much as viruses and bacteria, two, it is less likely to make hypochondriacs out of readers, and three, it still has the science backing to make it plausible. The speed with which the slime mold replicates is displayed visually at the beginning of each chapter. It starts with one dot on a pietri dish, then it’s two and by the time the last chapter rolls around there’s dots all over the page.
• Mad Scientist Fans: The mad scientists in this is quite the character. He only appears briefly, but boy does he make an impression.
• Bullying: This is a smart scientific thriller for kids that features characters who face real life issues too. Bullying is the main instigator that drives the kids to run into the forest where the mud is. And the kids have some hard decisions of how to respond to the bully. Eventually, the issue is handled in a healthy way I really liked as one character decides to respond in kindness despite the way she’s been treated. 
• Light Horror Fans: This isn’t a “spooky” book per se as there aren’t any supernatural elements. However, the woods they go through are kinda creepy and there’s some very real threats of death and harm. In the top right corner of each chapter is an illustration of how the slime mold is replicating exponentially as time goes on. Kids who say they want a scary read but don’t like ghosts and such should give this a try.

The Big Dark by Rodman Philbrick
An amazing aurora borealis event suddenly becomes a world-wide catastrophe. On New Year's Eve a huge solar flare/electromagnetic event killed all electricity, messed up compasses, and made magnets fall off of fridges. Charlie's small town in the mountains of New Hampshire is quickly consumed with residents trying to figure out how to survive without power. There's the challenges of keeping warm and fed in the middle of winter, as well as dealing with the fear and crazy ideas that come out when the town is cut off from the rest of the world and the biggest authority in town is Mr. Kingman, full-time janitor and part-time volunteer policeman. For the most part, it looks like Charlie, his mom, and his sister Becca will make it through the winter fine. But then, Charlie and Becca realize their mom needs medicine. Hate-spouting, compound-dwelling Mr. Bragg and his sons are likely the ones who burned down the local store a few nights ago, and with it the pharmacy. When a man skis through town, Charlie gets the idea to ski down to the city 50 miles away to get his mom more medicine. It is a harrowing and dangerous trip thanks to winter weather, wild animals, and the fear the power outage has generated. But Charlie can't deal with the thought of losing another parent. He'll get his mom her medicine or die trying.
Warning: Don't give this to kids who are likely to get freaked out and severely scared by the possibility of solar flares shutting down electricity for a few days and the implications of that. Also, there are some deaths mentioned including a plane crash and very serious discriminatory threats going on in Charlie’s home town. Know the kid you hand this to and whether they can handle these things.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Dystopia/Survival Story Fans: This is a relatively quick read. It's part dystopia, part survival story. Mr. Bragg's character upped the psychological thriller/dystopia feel in the town. Of course, survival in present day America without electricity is already pretty adventurous. 
• Understanding those with Mental Illnesses: On Charlie’s journey, he eventually is directed to an asylum for those with mental disabilities because they still have medicine. I really liked how Philbrick depicted those at the asylum and how that experienced helped change Charlie's perception of people with mental conditions. 
• Solar Flares/Prevalence of Electricity: The premise of the story is based on a real scientific phenomena that is possible today. Here's a National Geographic article on the topic.  Now that said, I think Philbrick made the event in the story a little too strong. The science teacher in me was a little dubious. He has the electromagnetic event making all batteries stop working and pretty much ALL of any kind of electricity unviable. Have students try to figure out the implications of this and why I might be dubious. (Personally, I think if that were the case, it should also disrupt the electric flow in humans, and at the very least should cause trouble thinking and moving since nerves and muscles rely on electric flow of charges. At the worst it should kill everything with a heart since those run on electrical impulses.) For the most part, it is a quick, exciting read and few readers are going to have the same kinds of issues I did with plot points. 

The Scavengers by Michael Perry
Ford Falcon (previously known as Maggie) is part of a family of four who chose to go OuterBubble on Decleration Day when the United States had everyone decide if they were going to live in one of the new, safe Bubble Cities or be on their own outside. At first life in the wilderness was hard, but then the family found a junk pile to live beside and a neighbor, Toad, with survival skills took them under his wing and is teaching Ford everything he knows. Her family seems to finally be getting well established, learning how to avoid the GreyDevils and solar bears, and survive on their own scavenging. But what Ford does not know is that her family chose OuterBubble for a very specific reason.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Dystopia/Survival Story Fans: I picked this up expecting your average middle grade dystopia/survival story and was astounded by the depth both of the story and the writing. Perry develops a plot that could rival any young adult dystopia out there (actually, it's more solid and compelling than several). He builds a very interesting future world with multiple layers. The plotline appears to be simply surviving for the first part of the book, but then a secret comes out that the family has been hiding and suddenly you learn more about where the GreyDevils (almost zombie-like people) came from and there are some very powerful people they have to match wits with. 
• American Lit Fans/Word Puzzle Fans: There's also some complex writing going on. Not only does Toad like to play games with his speech, swapping the letters from the beginning of words in phrases and such, but Ford's mom is a former English teacher and the poems of Emily Dickinson play an important part in the story, including parallels to their lives, poetry analysis, and thematic resonance. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with how compelling and complex the story was and how engagingly it was written. Some readers may struggle reading Toad's speech, but Ford usually translates it so you don't have to figure it out yourself to read this.
• Book Clubs: This would make a great book club book also because there are lots of discussion points that pop up. 

Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson
Tom Hammond is trying to escape the possibility of his mom getting re-married and uses the excuse of picking up trash he scattered the day before to sneak out at night. He discovers the styrofoam from the new refrigerator can float, and he inadvertently falls asleep on his little stream cruise. The next thing he knows he's being pommeled and pulled under water, and once the current finally releases him he is on a beach in an underground lake next to a dead man. Up above, some men saw Tom go by and get sucked under and he is presumed dead. However, his mother refuses to believe that and will accept anyone's help to go looking for Tom in the caves under Leepike Ridge. Little does she know that the "rescuers" are much more concerned about Tom finding the legendary treasure down there before they can.
Warning: The fatality count/number of serious injuries makes this probably best for upper middle grades.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Adventure/Survival Fans: This starts out as your average survival story, but then it gets much more suspenseful and tense and secrets start to come out and you realize just how much some others want the supposed treasure in the caves. Tom runs into some very interesting discoveries underground giving this a little Indiana Jones meets Swiss Family Robinson feel.
• Treasure Hunt Fans: This starts off with a boy getting lost, but quickly all the various plot points converge in a hunt for treasure. Does the treasure exist, or is it a wild goose chase more than one man has died trying to find?
• Murder Mystery Fans: Yes, this is a middle grade book. And yes, it is unusual for a middle grade read in that there are several violent deaths and injuries that either happen on page or are related from the past. It starts off a survival story, but slowly changes into a murder mystery. And actual murder mysteries are few and far between for middle grades. Some readers are ready for those even in middle grade. So for those few, this book exists.
• Reluctant Readers: This is very exciting and hard to put down. For those who can handle the content, it is a great pick for reluctant readers or kids who think reading is boring. 

Wake up Missing by Kate Messner
Cat is having trouble recovering from the concussion she suffered when she fell out of the platform while watching birds. She's struggling socially, and she feels like she's constantly suffering from headaches and nausea. So she and her parents jump at the chance for her to go to the cutting edge, I-CAN clinic for concussion recovery in the Everglades. Cat is one of only six patients at the clinic. But it soon becomes clear that something odd is going on. And Cat is increasingly convinced that she and the other patients are in serious danger. But will anyone believe her, and even if they do, what hope of rescue is there from the middle of a swamp?

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Sci-fi Thriller Fans: This is a decent sci-fi/thriller for the middle grade crowd. The suspense never got to be too bad at any one point, which could be good for kids who don’t want things too intense. However that could also backfire and lose some of the appeal for other readers. I personally wasn't tearing through the book because I was pretty sure how things were going to work out. I can see less experienced readers tearing through it faster.
• Science Fans: The futuristic science basis for the plot has a solid base in current research, and Messner even includes in the back what research gave her the ideas for this book. Those who liked their sci-fi based on solid research will appreciate this.
• Everglades Locale: Most of this book takes place in the Everglades, which isn’t a super common location for middle grade reads. Those interested in what it’s like in the Florida Everglades may enjoy this book simply for the setting.

Nonfiction Resources

Plant Hunters by Anita Silvey
When I was teaching Biology, there was always a huge groan when I announced we were starting our unit on plants. The first question was always, "Why are we studying boring old plants?" I wish I had had this book back then, because it makes the "boring" plants suddenly very interesting and highlights their importance to humans. Ms Silvey tells how men (and a few women) were willing to face horrible weather, dangerous terrain, savage wild animals, and unfriendly natives to find "boring" old plants. Plants that were needed to boost economics, create life-saving medicine, or just look pretty in a back yard. The book focuses primarily on some of the most famous historic plant hunters and their most daring or important hunts, but at the end it does point out that plant hunting continues today though some of the conditions have drastically changed.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Reluctant Nonfiction Readers: If you have a child who is reluctant to read nonfiction, this would be an excellent high-interest pick for them. It's hard to get bored when reading about guys who are getting stalked by jaguars and almost falling off of cliffs during earthquakes. 
• Plant Studies: This is also a spectacular choice for 3-12 grade science classes studying plants. It helps highlight the importance of plants and makes them much more relevant to students.

Blizzard of Glass: the Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker
In December of 1917 two ships collided in Halifax's bay setting off the biggest man-made explosion prior to the atomic bomb. Ms Walker tells the tale by following people who lived in the area on the day of the explosion and then following the survivors through the moments and days afterwards.

Activity Tie-ins/Target Readers:

• Disaster Relief History: Though this is a horrible tragedy, which Walker doesn't belittle, she also balances the horror and sadness with tales of the ways people poured in support and love for the victims and set precedents for future disaster aid measures. Many current immediate responses to disasters are in place because of this disaster.
• Reluctant Nonfiction Readers: This is another great pick for kids who think nonfiction is boring.
• Early 20th Century Canada History: Take a look at life in early 1900s Canada through this book and it’s numerous primary resources including photographs.