Summer is half-way over, but don’t let that get you down, there’s still time to discover new stories that are sure to inspire, make you laugh and transport you to places you’ve never been.
Take a road trip, join a team, build relationships and solve problems with these fun middle grade novels.
THE BEST WORST SUMMER OF ESME SUN, by Wendy Wan-Long Shang, Scholastic Press, June 3, 2025, Hardcover, $19.99 (ages 8-12)
Esme Sun absolutely does not care about winning shiny trophies or finally receiving some of the praise her mother bestows so lavishly on her three older, brilliant sisters. But, actually… it would be nice to be good at something. So when Esme discovers on the first day of summer, opening day at the community pool, that her growth spurt over the winter has made her a really fast swimmer, she wonders if she just might have found that thing.
After Esme has an uncomfortable encounter at the pool with a new girl, Kaya, Esme worries she may have hurt Kaya’s feelings. Then, embarrassed by Esme’s awkwardness, her friend Tegan, the cool girl at school who seems to do everything perfectly, makes Esme promise that from now on, she’ll be chill, not act so babyish and intense about things–especially not swim team.
But when their swim competitions begin, and Esme starts winning, she finds that she actually cares a lot. In fact, she wants to break the pool’s freestyle record. That doesn’t mesh so well with her promise to Tegan. And as Esme tries to navigate swimming and her friendships, she searches for a way to apologize and make things right with Kaya.
Esme’s mom’s focus on winning confuses her, though, and she begins to wonder: Is winning really as important as she thinks, even if it means being unkind to your friends and teammates? Or is there another way to compete, to be a good sport and a good friend? —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
FUTURE ME SAVES THE WORLD (AND RUINS MY LIFE), by Leah Cypess and Wes Molebash, Aladdin, June 3, 2025, Paperback, $7.99 (ages 8-12)
A boy’s time-travelling older self gives him an impossible mission: convince his class to be nice to their substitute teacher…or risk the fate of the world.
Ethan seems like a normal ten-year-old, but he has a secret. It’s not that he’s the one who accidentally filled the sunblock container with glue last summer or that he cracked the screen on his sister’s phone and blamed it on their baby brother. (Those things may have happened, but they’ve got nothing on this.) No, Ethan’s secret is that he knows time travel is real—because his future self keeps coming back to visit him.
Lucky Ethan, right?
Wrong. Because when Ethan’s future self shows up, he tends to bring bad news, and he’s kind of bossy. (Not to mention he’s always wearing super weird clothes.) This time around, he’s asking Ethan to do one simple thing: make sure today’s substitute teacher doesn’t quit, or else one day she’ll become an evil dictator who will destroy the planet. But his future self clearly forgot what fourth grade is like, because if there’s one thing Ethan’s class is great at (other than losing their homework), it’s tormenting substitute teachers… —Synopsis provided by Aladdin
THE UNFORGETTABLE LETA “LIGHTNING” LAUREL, by R.L. Toalson, Aladdin, May 27, 2025, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 10 and up)
Eighth-grader Leta “Lightning” Laurel is a big sister, a problem solver, and the star of her track team. Her dad’s been out of the picture for more than a year, and food’s gotten scarce at home.
When Leta learns her mom’s financial struggles are even worse than she’d thought, she hatches a plan to bring her dad home: she’ll win district champion in the 400-meter dash, the newspaper will write about her, her mom will send the clipping to her dad, and her dad will remember he has daughters who need him. Because she’ll be unforgettable.
It should be easy; no one can beat her in the 400. But a new runner shows up, threatening Leta’s top spot and her budding feminist beliefs about sisterhood. She works harder and harder in practice, trying to ensure the new girl won’t ruin her perfect plan…until an injury sidelines her.
How will she ever prove to her dad and the world that she’s unforgettable? How will she prove it to herself? —Synopsis provided by Aladdin
A HERO’S GUIDE TO SUMMER VACATION, by Pablo Cartaya, Kokila, May 6, 2025, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
Reality proves more epic than fantasy in this family road trip story starring a reluctant young hero and his curmudgeonly grandfather.
Gonzalo Alberto Sánchez García has never considered himself the hero of his own story. He’s an observer, quietly snapshotting landscapes and drawing the creatures he imagines emerging from them. Forced to spend the summer with his estranged grandfather, Alberto William García—the very famous reclusive author—Gonzalo doesn’t expect to learn that heroes and monsters are not only the stuff of fantasy.
But that’s precisely what happens when Gonzalo’s CEO mother, Veronica, sends Alberto on tour to promote the final book in his fantasy series for children and Gonzalo must tag along, even though he feels no connection to his grandfather or the books. Together, they embark on a cross-country road trip from Mendocino to Miami in a classic 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass S convertible named Mathilde. Over the course of ten epic days on the highway, they will slay demons, real and imagined; confront old stories to write new ones; and learn what it truly means to show up for your family. —Synopsis provided by Kolika
CANDLE ISLAND, by Lauren Wolk, Dutton Books for Young Readers, April 22, 2025, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 10 and up)
Lucretia Sanderson has a secret.
Lucretia and her mother have come to tiny Candle Island, Maine (Population: Summer, 986; Winter, 315) to escape—escape memories of the car accident that killed her father and escape the journalists that hound her mother, a famous and reclusive artist. The rocky coast and ocean breeze are a welcome respite for Lucretia, who dedicates her summer days to painting, exploring the island, and caring for an orphaned osprey chick.
But Candle Island has secrets of its own—a hidden room in her new house, a mysterious boy with a beautiful voice—and just like the strong tides that surround the shores, they will catch Lucretia in their wake.
With an unforgettable New England setting and a complex web of relationships old and new, Candle Island is a powerful story about art, loss, and the power of being true to your own voice. —Synopsis provided by Dutton Books for Young Readers
*This post is part of a larger summer reading list, which consists of recommendations but not individual book reviews.
Copyright © 2025 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
