24 Middle Grade Books to Get Your Hands On: Our Favorite Reads of 2017

Middle Grade
Written By Anne-Marie Strohman

The turn of the new year is a time to look forward (resolutions, anyone?) and to look back. We've perused our reading lists from the past year and picked out our favorite reads of the year--some published in 2017, some we encountered or re-read this past year. If you're one for resolutions, you can use this list as a guide for reading great middle grade books in the new year. Enjoy! Let us know your 2017 favorites in the comments.note: The covers below are IndieBound Affiliate links. Any proceeds generated from affiliate links will go to cover the cost of website hosting and maintenance. We encourage you to support your local independent bookstore. 

 Thanks to Beth, Brigid, Suzanne, Kristi, Becky, Kate, Anne-Marie, and Kerry for their contributions.What were your favorite reads of 2017? Let us know in the comments!

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Cindy Chang: Playing with the Past
Cindy Chang: Playing with the Past

“Writing about a lived experience, especially a difficult one, can be challenging. As much as you may want to share exactly how the events unfolded in reality, it’s okay to take some creative liberties. Ultimately it’s more about figuring out the story and focusing on communicating the wants, conflicts, and lessons learned through your lived experience. And in doing so, you may find yourself feeling a little freer from the past.”

Deborah Underwood: Writing Dynamic Dialogue
Deborah Underwood: Writing Dynamic Dialogue

“You can communicate so much using dialogue alone. Try telling your story in dialogue only and seeing what happens. Even if that doesn’t work for the final version, it might help you to find a character’s voice or learn something new about them.”

Erin Becker: Go For It!
Erin Becker: Go For It!

“I want to write books that make people feel good. I wrote Crushing It during the pandemic, during a difficult time in my life. Writing this story was like a warm hug and a reminder that sometimes, things do turn out okay.” 

Anne-Marie Strohman

Anne-Marie Strohman (co-editor) writes picture books, middle grade novels, and young adult short stories and novels. She is a teacher, an editor, and a scholar. She is an active member of SCBWI and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Find her at amstrohman.com and on Twitter @amstrwriter

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