Winter break is coming up sooner than we think, so what better time to think about helping our youngsters build their cold-weather TBRs? For middle graders, I have two thrilling espionage must-reads that will fill their cozy midwinter reading with suspense.

The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls by Judith Rossell is the tale of Magdalena (Maggie) Fishbone, an orphan who finds herself among the newest residents of the titular institute. Yet what appears to be a dreary orphanage on the surface is actually a training center that gives young and vulnerable girls all manner of special skills: cartography, fencing, languages, Morse code, etc. As Maggie tackles her training with gusto, she’s drawn into a world of spies and society secrets, all of which she must employ her newfound talents and friends to unravel. For readers who love empowered female characters and thrilling mysteries, this one is a delight.

Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz follows up the first book in the series (Max in the House of Spies) with another gripping WWII-set tale. After escaping Berlin on the Kindertransport, the clever young protagonist is working for British Intelligence to bring down the Third Reich. Amidst infiltrating a Nazi propaganda production house and searching for his missing parents, Max and the reader are confronted with the evils of bigotry and misinformation as a means of political control (sound familiar?).

Whether new or returning fans of suspense and spycraft, these two titles make for fantastic winter reading! Thanks so much to Dial Books, Dutton BFYR, and Penguin Kids for sending them our way!