Magical fantasy and adventure are the themes in this collection of our favorite book series for middle schoolers.
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Starting a book series can be a great way to get kids excited about reading. If they enjoy the first book in a series, there’s a good chance they’ll want to read them all. But if you’re looking for standalone books for middle schoolers, try this list of middle grade fiction.
Middle grade is written for kids ages 8 to 12. It’s a short window, so many middle grade series are written to grow with the readers. For example, in the Percy Jackson series, he starts at age 12 and each book covers approximately a year.
Popular book series
These book series are in no particular order.
Percy Jackson
There are currently 7 books in the Percy Jackson series, by Rick Riordan.
- The Lightning Thief
- The Sea of Monsters
- The Titan’s Curse
- The Battle of the Labyrinth
- The Last Olympian
- The Chalice of the Gods
- Wrath of the Triple Goddess
Percy Jackson lives with his mom and has struggled at school and with friends. When a monster attacks him, Percy discovers he’s a demigod and his mom sends him to Camp Half-Blood for protection. After discovering his father is Poseidon, Percy must juggle new friends and monsters, epic adventures, and magic.
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Momo Arashima
There are 3 books in the Momo Arashima series, by Misa Sugiura.
- Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind
- Momo Arashima Breaks the Mirror of the Sun
- Momo Arashima Duels the Queen of Death (coming February 2025)
Momo is 12 when she discovers that her mother is a Shinto goddess, making Momo a half-goddess. She must embrace her powers and navigate the challenges of friendship, family, and her newfound discovery that the Shinto mythology stories her mother told are all real.
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Witchlings
There are currently 3 books in the Wichlings series, by Claribel A. Ortega.
- Witchlings
- The Golden Frog Games
- House of Elephants (coming October 2024)
Every year a ceremony puts new Witchlings into covens, but 12-year-old Seven is left out. Instead, she’s labeled a Spare and put in a side coven where she must make new friends, learn magic, and prove that Spares are just as special.
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Skandar
There are 4 books in the Skandar series, by AF Steadman.
- Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
- Skandar and the Phantom Rider
- Skandar and the Chaos Trials
- Untitled book 4 (coming October 2024)
In a magical world of unicorn riders, 13-year-old Skandar has dreamed of the day he can take the exam to join them. When things go wrong, he’s caught up in a world of epic battles, mysterious prophesies, and new friends.
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Adia Kelbara
The Adia Kelbara series is by Isi Hendrix.
- Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans
- Adia Kelbara and the High Queen’s Tomb (scheduled for October 2024)
Adia Kelbara is a 12-year-old orphan living with her aunt and uncle. When she suddenly has magic powers, they declare her a demon and she runs away to an apprenticeship at the Academy of Shamans. Searching for answers, Adia uncovers goddesses and demons, new friends and enemies, and a school packed with Afrofantasy magic and adventures.
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Sinister Summer
There are 5 books in the Sinister Summer series, by Kiersten White.
- Wretched Waterpark
- Vampiric Vacation
- Camp Creepy
- Menacing Manor
- Haunted Holiday
When the Sinister-Winterbottom twins (along with their phone-loving sister) are suddenly dropped off at their aunt’s house for the summer, everything is a bit strange. Aunt Saffronia is a gothic recluse, but when the kids accept the chance to spend all summer at a waterpark, the park turns out to be just as spooky. Through each book, the kids will solve mysteries and find out what happened to their parents. This series is perfect for fans of Tim Burton and Gravity Falls.
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Camp Sylvania
There are most recently 2 books in the Camp Sylvania series by Julie Murphy.
- Camp Sylvania
- Moon Madness
Maggie wants to go to theater camp but her parents ship her off to fat camp with an influencer. Although some things are as awful as she expected (and the author takes care to call out body shaming), things turn spooky and she and her new friends must find out what’s happening when campers go missing. In the second book, the campers return to a new camp but it doesn’t take long for strange things to start happening.
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Nic Blake and the Remarkables
So far there are 2 books in the Nic Blake series by Angie Thomas.
- The Manifestor Prophecy
- The Book of Anansi (expected for October 2024)
In the first book, 12-year-old Nic wants to learn how to become a manifestor, just like her magical dad. She passes the first challenge and gets a pet hellhound, but things quickly take a turn for the worse. Nic joins up with friends to discover her family’s secret past and save her father from trouble by finding a powerful magic tool.
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Lulu Sinagtala and the Tagalog Gods
Lulu Sinagtala and the Tagalog Gods is planned to be a 2-book series, by Gail D. Villanueva.
- Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors
- second title TBA
In the first book, Filipino girl Lulu discovers that the Tagalog myths are real when a creature kidnaps her mother. Lulu must discover her own powers and set off on a quest with her friends to stop an evil spirit and save her mom.
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Tristan Strong
Tristan Strong is a 3-book series by Kwame Mbalia.
- Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (also available as a graphic novel)
- Tristan Strong Destroys the World
- Tristan Strong Keeps Punching
West African gods and African American legends combine in a Rick Riordan Presents series. Tristan is struggling with grief following the death of his friend and figuring out who he wants to be while he spends a summer on his grandparents’ farm. When he accidentally punches a hole in the sky to MidPass, Tristan goes on an epic quest to save the world.
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Daughters of the Lamp
Daughters of the Lamp is a new series by Nedda Lewers.
- Daughters of the Lamp
- Children of the Wind
Sahara Rashad loves logic and science, but when she travels to Egypt with her family she gets caught up in Arabian fairy tales. Strange things happen at her uncle’s wedding that lead her to a secret chamber of Ali Baba’s treasures. Sahara will have to learn to believe in magic to save the day.
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The Forgotten Five
The Forgotten Five is soon to be a 5-book series, by Lisa McMann.
- Map of Flames
- The Invisible Spy
- Rebel Undercover
- Dangerous Allies
- Operation Chaos (coming October 2024)
A group of 5 supernatural kids who grew up in a secret hideout have to go out into the world for the first time. Their parents, supervillains, fled to this hideout years ago and disappeared or died over the years. The kids find a secret stash along with a map and a quest to find one of the kids’ moms.
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Paola Santiago
The Paola Santiago series is currently a 3-book series, by Tehlor Kay Mejia.
- Paola Santiago and the River of Tears
- Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares
- Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows
Paola and her friends have grown up knowing to stay away from the river because of La Llorona, the ghost who haunts it at night. When someone goes missing, Paola investigates. It leads her into a supernatural world of monsters and supernatural powers from Mexican folklore.
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Adventures of Sik Aziz
There are 2 books so far in the Adventures of Sik Aziz series, by Sarwat Chadda.
- City of the Plague God
- Fury of the Dragon Goddess
This Rick Riordan Presents series is based on ancient Mesopotamian mythology. This contemporary retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh follows teen Sik as he discovers he’s immortal. Along with his friends, he’ll have to go on a quest to save Manhattan.
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Gifted Clans Series
The Gifted Clans series is a 3-book series, by Graci Kim.
- The Last Fallen Star
- The Last Fallen Moon
- The Last Fallen Realm
This Korean American series, also produced by Rick Riordan Presents, follows Riley Oh as she discovers her family heritage. Riley is adopted and her family is a clan of witches. Always feeling left out because she doesn’t have magic, Riley attempts a spell to change that. When it backfires, she must go on a quest and save her sister and understand the meaning of family.
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Skyborn
There are 3 books to date in the Skyborn series, by Jessica Khouri.
- Sparrow Rising
- Call of the Crow
- Phoenix Flight
In a magical world, everyone is born with wings and sorted into bird-themed clans. Ellie has dreamed of joining a prestigious group of knights and goes on a quest to the city, meets other outcasts, and learns how to be a hero.
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Supernatural Investigations
The Supernatural Investigations series, by BB Alston, has 3 books so far.
- Amari and the Night Brothers
- Amari and the Great Game
- Amari and the Despicable Wonders (coming August 2024)
When Amari Peters’s older brother goes missing, she finds a briefcase he left for her with information on the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Soon she spends the summer competing for a place in the supernatural school, trying to catch up to her peers, and dodging threats from an evil magician.
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Greenwild
There are 2 books so far in the new Greenwild series, by Pari Thomson.
- Greenwild: The World Behind the Door
- The City Beyond the Sea
Daisy Thistledown is searching for her mother and fleeing someone hunting her when she stumbles through a doorway into Greenwild. It’s a magical world of nature, new friends, and a secret power she doesn’t know she has to change the world.
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Most of the titles on this list of book series for middle schoolers are relatively new, so more books may be added in the future. Save this post and check back to see if your favorite authors have more stories coming soon.
Check out some other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:
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