Middle Grade Must Reads – June 2026 (Part One)

Lockett & Wilde: The Ghosts of London

• Written by Lucy Strange
• Illustrations by Pam Smy
• Published by Walker Books

Book one of this series was great and book 2 promised to be just as good.

And I bumped this to the top of my TBR pile as soon as I got my hands on  a copy.

Matilda and Edgar are in London’s haunted theatre-land, where Matilda is rehearsing the all-new Signora Valentina show and Edgar is training to become a poltergeist. Spooks are everywhere in this city, and it isn’t long before Lockett & Wilde are called upon to investigate strange happenings at a local curiosity shop. Soon they are drawn into the unsolved case of the infamous gold thief, Bullion Bill, and Matilda finds herself investigating the story of her own parents’ death. The ghosts of London know the truth, and Lockett & Wilde won’t rest until they find it out.

This was a great read, full of spooks, creeps and frights.

There are so many young readers that are desperate for this kind of book, this spookiness. 

 This carries on from the first book and ideally this should be read first, but the author has provided a re – cap in the first couple of chapters so it’s easy to catch up.

I do like this series very much and it’s so fresh and different from anything else.

I hope there is more to come from this series.

The Experiment

What a little gem of a book.

Nathan wants to help his people, but first he has to figure out who they are. Nathan never understood what was “fun” about secrets, probably because he’s always had to keep a very big one. Although he appears to be a typical sixth-grader (with parents, homework and a best friend, Victor), Nathan learned at an early age that his family is from another planet. Now, their time on Earth may be coming to an end.

Nathan, his parents and nine other families are part of an experiment that suddenly seems to be going wrong. Some of the experimenters, including Nathan’s first crush, Izzy, are disappearing without a word. After his family is called back to the mothership, Nathan begins to question everything he’s been taught to believe about who he is and why he’s on Earth.

A week never goes by without  my husband uttering the words ‘I’m sure there are aliens amongst us’ or ‘you can’t tell me that’s not  an alien’.

So when I read this book I did start to wonder if he could be right.

This author is one of those that can write an MG book that is appealing  to  both adults and children, she writes with feeling and depth and they are very very weird – but in  a good way.

The blurb hooks you in straight away. And the book doesn’t let you go until you finish the book.

This is a coming of age story that shows the best in people. And why it’s important to do the right thing.

There is a lot of heart in this book.

Peregrine Quinn and the Mask of Chaos

Having read and adored the first book in the series I was excited to have finally read book 2 .

And what a big book it was.

A Game. A thief. A mechanical lioness. It’s just another week in the Cosmic Realm!

The city of Cosmopolis is buzzing with excitement. The Cosmic Games are fast approaching, and eight champions are about to compete for a magical golden apple and a lifetime of glory. It’s the event of a generation! But behind the scenes tensions within Olympus Inc. are running high as they struggle to hide signs of a rebellion, and the fact that a mysterious figure is trying to sabotage the Games. Who are they, and what do they want?

In Oxford, Peregrine is desperate to return to the Cosmic Realm but her mum is not keen. Surely, Peregrine’s life is adventurous enough? The decision is taken out of Penelope’s hands when Peregrine receives a letter from Athene herself, asking for Peregrine to compete in the Cosmic Games. How can Peregrine possibly compete against the other Academy-trained champions? Especially when someone is making it very clear that she should not be allowed to win . . .

Just like book 1 we are back in the magical realm, full of magical creatures, races, everything.

But she is also working undercover and that’s where the fun begins.

We have returning baddies, returning goodies and even new friends and foes.

Overall this is a fabulous read full of Greek mythology – which I’m starting to love.

Now I need to wait for book 3.