Middle Grade Must Reads – August 2025 (Part One)

Dragonborn

If there is one author that can get you out of a reading slump, it’s Struan Murray.

Everything he has ever written has been different and exciting and I knew this was going to be no different.

Become the impossible . . .

Life is no fun for Alex Evans. Ever since her dad’s death, her overprotective mother has smothered her with unbreakable rules and unspoken fears. When the frustration inside Alex finally gets too big to bear, it rushes to the surface.

And flames spill from her mouth.

Because Alex is a dragon. One of the many who live among us, unless something awakens their true nature. Led by the mighty Oliphos to the legendary island of Skralla, Alex must now train alongside fierce, frightening dragon children, if she is to unlock the power of her birthright.

But other dragons are rising too. Drak Midna, the greatest dragon of all, is preparing a war against the human world, and Alex has to be good enough for this fight, or we all will burn . . .

The first thing that grabbed my attention was that this is the start of a brand new series, a series with my favourite elements magic and dragons.

And what a first book in the series this turned out to be.

It was an edge of your seat rollercoaster ride, so fast paced that if I had been the main character that I would have needed a massive lay down.

The author has created a fantastic world which is so fun to live in, and the world is so detailed that you can picture it in your mind’s eye and the mythical creatures are truly some of the best I have written,

. The  main character Alice is so well plotted and thought out. You feel the grief she is going through after losing her dad, you feel how overwhelming she feels with life. You will definitely find yourself rooting for her. But in this book the author has made the secondary characters really interesting . In other books a lot of secondary characters are just that,characters in the background. There were some very emotional scenes that these characters had, and I was heartbroken with how life was for Erik, and I found him becoming my favourite character. And how we left him at the end of the book.There were 3 places in the book that I had to re-read because I couldn’t believe how these characters weren’t who I thought they were and what the author had made them into. 

This is an exciting middle grade full of adventure and heart and I really hope the next book isn’t too long in coming.

Wolf Siren

• Written by Beth O Brien
• Published by HarperCollins

A modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

The woods are hiding a secret… but then so is Red…

Red is not allowed to go into the woods. Everyone knows that they are dangerous – because of their strange magic and the wolves that lurk there… But Red finds herself increasingly drawn to the woods and the place where her grandmother disappeared without a trace three years ago. When the woodcutter fails to return home one night and wolves are spotted close to the village boundary, fear drives a deep and dangerous divide between the villagers and the nature they live alongside.

Only Red seems to hold the key – but she has a secret, and exposing it could ruin her family forever …

This is a beautiful empowering fairy tale retelling , with a strong feminist main character. Our main character is also partially sighted. This book explorers how courage can show up and also what it’s like to be solidary and different. And more importantly overcoming prejudice.

This book is full of magic and mystery.

The plot centres on Red and her magical abilities, but also the relationship the village has with the woods and the wolves that live there. But there is also a murder mystery to be solved.

There are some breathtaking descriptions  of the woods and surrounding areas. We also get to put ourselves in Red’s shoes and see the world partially sighted.  

There are some truly heartbreaking scenes especially towards the end.

This is one of those books that is neither MG or YA but sits a bit awkwardly in between, but I am still aiming to put this in my primary school library for the year 6 children.

Dream Hunters

• Written by Nazima Pathan
• Published by Simon and Schuster

Set in a fantasy, reimagined India where dreams can be captured and bottled, a young girl adventures to save the king and rescue her parents.

Twelve-year-old Mimi lives with her Aunt Moyna in a centuries-old Citadel where she studies the ancient practice of making, capturing and recycling dreams. The Citadel was once run by Mimi’s parents who have been imprisoned by the king, accused of treason.

When Mimi spies a royal visitor, she uncovers a plot to transform the Citadel from a place of gentle, healing dream craft and a dangerous plot – the crown prince is purchasing nightmares from her aunt to poison the king.

With only her dream creature, Lalu, and her best friend Rafi, Mimi must escape the Citadel and begin a perilous journey across India. There are few people she can trust, but saving the life of the king and foiling her aunt’s scheme is in Mimi’s hands alone…

s. The Citadel was once run by Mimi’s parents who had been imprisoned by the king, accused of treason.

When Mimi spies a royal visitor, she uncovers a plot to transform the Citadel from a place of gentle, healing dream craft and a dangerous plot – the crown prince is purchasing nightmares from her aunt to poison the king.

With only her dream creature, Lalu, and her best friend Rafi, Mimi must escape the Citadel and begin a perilous journey across India. There are few people she can trust, but saving the life of the king and foiling her aunt’s scheme is in Mimi’s hands alone…

I think the first thing that needs to be mentioned is that this is a debut book.

By the standard of the writing it’s like the author had written a lot of books,

This did remind me a little of The BFG, with all the dream catching and bottling up of dreams. 

This book goes one step further in that dreams are used as a type of currency, something that you can use as a bargaining tool.

The world building is something special and a lot of thought has gone into this. It was an interesting look at Mumbai and we got a look at the reality of poverty and living conditions. And how hard street children have it. And it was an interesting concept that one of the main characters had endured this.

 This is something not often seen in MG books.

As a reader who loves magic, I thought this was excellently done

The adventure and mystery was gripping and I wanted more.

The amazing illustrations brought the characters and world to life.

This is an amazing story that will leave the reader wanting more from the author.