Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

There's been a recent trend lending a voice to neurodivergent kids. Do you have favorites in this genre?

I recently finished A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, in which the main character (and one of her sisters) is autistic. It's really very good. Recommended!

OCDaniel is a past Book of the Month here at GMGR. The story broke my heart a little, since Daniel tries to hide his compulsions & doesn't have any context for them. In the afterword, Wes King shares that Daniel's story is sorta semi-autobiographic. Recommended!

Flipping Forward Twisting Backward explores how Claire, a passionate gymnast, hides her illiteracy due to an undetected learning disability. Clever, curious, and driven, she finds the right people to confide in when her mother won't believe her struggles with school aren't simply due to distractions.

I read All the things could go wrong by Stewart Foster and The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson. Both have characters with OCD. The second one is a,so a mystery.

Oooh, I read THE GOLDFISH BOY last year. It was incredibly good! The tension throughout was absolute mystery-novel perfection.

Justine wrote: "I read All the things could go wrong by Stewart Foster and The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson. Both have characters with OCD. The second one is a,so a mystery."

Hi, guys! Newbie member here— Expat Scribe . Pardon my bias, but I’d like to introduce my middle-grade illustrated children’s book in this thread because it addresses neurodiversity by discussing a neurological medical condition. It’s title is My Mother, the Good Witch Doctor: How Mom helped princesses with dyslexia .

Synopsis: This fairytale-inspired children’s book is about a teenager recruited by a queen to save her younger daughter because the protagonist’s deceased mother “cured” the older princess years before… allegedly with her witchcraft. Like The Invisible Cyber Bully: What it's like to be watched 24/7 , this one has multiple underlying messages, including preserving the legacy of departed family members and busting myths about dyslexia.

Bonus: This publication has a (non-fiction) section for parents and guardians of children with dyslexia, which includes information on this learning disorder, plus tips on how to manage it.

For details and a video trailer, please visit: solacejournal.com/witchdoctor

is currently on sale (50% discount) on Smashwords until July 31: smashwords.com/books/view/1515507. If you want to read a couple of chapters for free before buying, or prefer to borrow the ebook from an online library, check it out here: books2read.com/witchdoctor. Thanks!

C.J. wrote: "I recently finished A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, in which the main character (and one of her sisters) is autistic. It's really very good. Recommended!

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Sounds like a great one! I can't wait to check it out! I'm trying to make a point of reading books with more neurodiverse characters so thanks for the recommendations!

Anything But Typical is excellent, in my opinion.