Middle Grade Must Reads – September 2025 (Part Two)
Rebel Heart
England, 1645. Merriweather Pryce is the daughter of a nobleman fighting for King Charles I in a war that divides the country. When her family home is besieged by Cromwell’s army, Merri set out to get help. But in a land filled with enemy soldiers, turncoats and spies, Who can she really trust?
This is an amazing historical book that will teach younger readers about the civil war.
This book briefly looks at the battle of Naesby- a turning point of the civil war, it really looks at mostly at the rest of the war and what happens in between the battles. We get a look at the house sieges and experience what they felt like.
We also get to see the lives of the soldiers both good and bad sides.
It’s also a look at the lives of the people who aren’t fighting and how their lives are affected..Although we see the civil war in this book really this book is about a girl on a mission to save her father and bring him home.
This is an extremely well written book that will leave the reader with more knowledge about the civil war.
But what I like more than anything is the fact that the author has given the reader extra information at the end.
Inkbound : Meticulous Jones and the Skull Tattoo
I love a new series and this promises to be a great one.
On her tenth birthday, Meticulous Jones–known to her friends as Metty–receives her fate, as all children do, in the form of a magical tattoo on her hand. She hopes that her ink will reveal something exciting: a tattoo that will symbolize travel, or discovery, or adventure. What appears is a skull, balanced in the palm of a violet glove.
Metty’s fate is to become a murderer.
Metty is swiftly hidden away by her father, Moral Jones, in a remote Welsh farmhouse, with only a miserable housekeeper (who’s terrified she’ll become Metty’s first victim) for company. But when Moral goes missing, his sister, Aunt Magnificent, arrives to sweep Metty off to the glittering city of New London. Metty is mesmerized by the magic and enchantment she discovers there. But when she starts to hear rumors of a mysterious and dangerous organization known as the Black Moths, she wonders if they might be connected to her father’s disappearance–and to her own fate. . . .
After reading this book, here is what I would love to have in my life….
A snack potato machine for my kitchen.
A brush that dye your hair.
And a gargoyle sidekick – if you are able to provide these please email me!
I am a big fan of The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, one of the reasons is I like the play on names and I enjoyed this in this book too.
This is a fabulous debut author of 2025, they keep getting better don’t they?
The author has created a world where your fate is decided by a tattoo on your hand on your tenth birthday.
And as soon as you start this book you are dropped straight into the action, and it doesn’t stop after that.
We find out that our main character Metty is destined to be a murderer – now I know a lot of year 5 and 6 children who like nothing better than a good old murder so I can imagine that this is going to be very popular at school.
This is a non stop action packed adventure that leaves the reader desperate to visit New London – myself included.
This is going to be one of the best books of 2025 and I know the rest of the series is going to be worth the wait.
Oh and I hope the snack potato machine makes another appearance.
The World’s Worst Alien
- Illustrations by Fred Blunt
- Published by Walker Books
This sounded so fun and I couldn’t wait to read it.
When alien “Sky” creates planet Earth as part of a school project, she’s delighted by her success. Those dinosaurs roaming about the place are top-mark material! Then humans sweep in and it’s farewell dinosaurs, hello destruction. This disappointing evolutionary twist calls for drastic Sky, the laziest student in class, is going to have to make an effort, go down to Earth and fix humanity…
The first thing to mention is the fun illustrations that are dotted throughout the book. They are so fun and bring the story to life.
The book is a fun book to read and this is the kind of book that should be read out loud. There is some sarcasm that I think is more aimed at adults.
This is a look at us on Earth by an alien and what they would make of us, and yes we did come across as a strange bunch.
This is the start of a new series which if the first book is anything to go by then this is going to be great.