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Varsha Seshan

Top 16 Middle-Grade Books – 2025

January 10, 2026 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

SIXTEEN middle-grade books stood out to me last year! When I looked at my list, I did a quick count of how many books I read in all. I lost count at sixty! Of course, that includes picture books and chapter books that make for quicker reads. Here’s my list, beginning with the books I […]

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: A Girl a Tiger and a Very Strange Story, Bipathu and a Very Big Dream, books for tweens, Circus Mirandus, Doubles, Echo, Full Cicada Moon, Gossamer, Leeva at Last, Lion of the Sky, middle-grade, October October, reading, review, The Bridge Home, The Double Life of Danny Day, The Letter with the Golden Stamp, The Space We're In, Willodeen

Willodeen

August 5, 2025 by Varsha Seshan Leave a Comment

Screechers. Hummingbears. Peacock snails.  I’m always amazed when writers seem to effortlessly bring a fantastical world to life, and Katherine Applegate is a master at it. I came across it first in Crenshaw (one of the top 5 chapter books I read in 2020); Willodeen left me awestruck. Willodeen plays out in a world very much like […]

Filed Under: Books, Children Tagged With: books for ages nine and ten, books for tweens, fantasy, Katherine Applegate, Middle Grade, reading, review, Willodeen