We’re back with the second half of our picks for the best children’s books of 2025, this time with our top ten middle grade reads. And while this list could have contained dozens of incredible books that were released over the past year, we tried to narrow it down to the ten that we thought that kids and their adults should absolutely not sleep on.
From nonfiction titles that help guide young readers through tricky topics to moving novels full of literary excellence and lasting lessons, these ten titles—in no particular order—are the ones that we found ourselves recommending again and again.
The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, illus. by Cynthia Yuan Cheng
This first pick may be a controversial one—after all, the middle grade adaptation of Haidt’s eye-opening nonfiction book The Anxious Generation technically doesn’t come out until the penultimate day of 2025. But having had the opportunity to read an early copy of this phenomenal expository title on the damaging effects of social media, I’d be remiss in not calling attention to it. Haidt and Price do an exemplary job of approaching the topic in a way that doesn’t blame kids for their screen time, instead taking the time to explain how companies and algorithms manipulate users, and offering actionable alternatives for kids who want to decrease their device dependence.
So Over Sharing by Elissa Brent Weissman
On the subject of the perils of social media, this incredibly timely novel introduces two very different preteen girls with one very frustrating commonality: both of their mothers are family content creators and see no problem with sharing every aspect of their children’s lives online. Hadley and Willow’s story of social media rebellion is one with growing resonance as a generation of influencers’ children are reaching teenage- and adulthood, and Weissman tackles the themes of autonomy and digital privacy with nuance and understanding in So Over Sharing.
Holding on for Dear Life by Dusti Bowling
While the cover of this story might appear to promise a fluffy tale of kid cowboy shannigans, believe me when I say that this title is far more than meets the eye. The proud Holding on for Dear Life uses the story of thirteen-year-old junior bullrider Canyon to explore a number of weighty subjects, including grief, parental neglect and alcohol abuse, toxic masculinity, and the lasting physical and psychological damage of contact sports for young athletes. It’s hard-hitting yet sensitive, thrilling yet heartbreaking, and an important assurance for young boys that being a “real man” takes many forms.
Defanged by H.E. Edgmon
In fiction, using preternatural creatures as stand-ins for marginalized groups isn’t necessarily new. However, this fresh and pulse-pounding tale of a young neurodivergent vampire fighting for his right to exist in a world where a “cure” for vampirism exists sets itself far above the pack through its all-too-timely exploration of how institutionalized discrimination and propaganda affect the way the narratives—and lives—of persecuted groups are taken from them. Incisively analytical and sharply critical, this urban fantasy is about so much more than vampires; it’s a passionate argument for existence.
Where There Be Monsters by Alby C. Williams
Speaking of stellar worldbuilding! As a fan of horror fantasy and science fiction, this intriguing tale of a young and powerful girl living in a perpetual twilight world of monsters and mystery caught me from its opening chapter. Williams crafts a phenomenally unique mythology that combines science and magic and provides a brilliant, brash, and courageous protagonist in Glory. For young readers who love getting lost in unraveling enigmas and exploring uncharted worlds, I can’t recommend this one enough, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to be released in 2026.
The Better to Eat You With by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Fans of horror stories—particularly those with themes drawn from social issues—will also not want to miss this title, but be warned: The Better to Eat You With, for several reasons, is not for the faint of heart. Readers with a history of disordered eating and/or body dysmorphia may especially find young Evan’s story painful or triggering as she grapples with both the looming threat of a vicious monster and her controlling mother’s rules on food and appearance. Body horror can be tricky for middle grade audience, but Mejia’s story is both gripping, cathartic, and ultimately affirming for those who share Evan’s challenges.
Dragonborn by Struan Murray
It’s hard to talk too much about this book without giving away its masterful twists and turns, but I’ll try to sum up why I loved this tale of a twelve-year-old girl’s journey into a dimension of dragons, danger, and discovery without getting too spoilery. While there is so much to love about the title—deft worldbuilding, snappy writing, endearing characters, etc.—what I loved most is the way it embraces and recontextualizes feminine rage in its protagonist. With so many fantasy stories that emphasize success through girls’ ability to suppress emotion, Dragonborn equates female rage with power, especially when embraced and focused by the girl who weilds it.
A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila
Often, a book comes along offering an unvarnished and scathing reminder of the past when it is seemingly needed most. Based on the true story of twelve-year-old Roberto Alvarez and the 1931 Lemon Grove court case (the first successful desegregation lawsuit in the United States), this unflinching novel in verse captures the power of community resistance while also humanizing the real-life preteen who found himself unwillingly at the center of an incredibly charged and acrimonious political movement. And set against the very real and eerily familiar backdrop of the Mexican Repatriation, A Sea of Lemon Trees hits as hard as it should for younger generations.
A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff
The odd thing about folklore is that so much of it stays relevant, even oddly prescient, of modern issues, enabling a gifted storyteller like Lukoff to weave Ashkenazi Jewish fable into coming-of-age adventure in a way that revolutionizes the latter. A is a transgender teen who is destined to save humanity from a soul-sucking demon while questioning if a world where he and his friends are deadnamed, bullied, and dragged to weekly conversion therapy by their parents is worth saving. It’s a rare book that offers a weighty consideration on the shortcomings of humanity, subverting expectations and providing plenty of edge-of-your-seat suspense through its emotionally impactful narrative.
Growing into You!: An Inclusive, Shame-Busting, Get-Real Guide to Your Changing Body and Mind by Melissa Pintor Carnagey, illus. by Brianna Gilmartin
Nonfiction books on puberty can be instrumental to children’s mental health and understanding of their changing bodies, yet so few are inclusive of a puberty experience that is not straight and cisgender (among other marginalized identities). That’s where Growing into You! is so refreshingly different: Carnagey offers a practical guide that young readers of all gender identities can utilize, offering advice and information on both universal and individual-specific elements of puberty.
Compassionate language extends this inclusion to other areas of regularly underserved communities, such as queer, disabled, or low-SES kids. Simply put, and with all due respect to the puberty nonfiction titles that paved its way, Growing into You! should be the new standard for growing preteens; it’s just that good.
Those are my picks for the 10 Best New Middle Grade Books of 2025! What an incredible year in reading it has been. I hope you check these books out with your young readers, and be sure to also check out my 10 Best New Picture Books of 2025! Happy reading!
The Baby Bookworm 