Middle Grade Summer Books!

 

Woohoo, it's summer! Here are some great summer books to relax and unwind. 

 *I've updated this post to include new summaries by me and clearer cover images.

Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Melly Goodwin didn't expect to like the drums when her best friend, Olivia, made her join the school band. But surprisingly, introverted Melly fell in love with the powerful, rhythmic sounds that she can make when she's behind a drum set. So when she and Olivia sign up for music camp together, she's excited. Until her parents tell her that they're breaking up the morning before camp starts.

And Camp Rockaway isn't everything Melly expected. She and Olivia, who pride themselves as being close as BFFs can be, seem to be growing apart. Melly starts to develop feelings for one of her bandmates, Adeline, and she isn't sure if she has what it takes to be a real rock drummer. Will Melly be able to sort out her feelings before camp is over?

 

Magic by the Lake by Edward Eager

In this sequel to Half Magic, four children on vacation accidentally wish themselves into a lake-full of magic for the summer...but magic always has rules. And if those rules are broken, there will be consequences.   

 

Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn

Cat has always been the one who understood her brother Chicken best. She's the one who looks after him and calms him down, especially since their father died. But when Cat and Chicken are unexpectedly sent to say with their estranged grandparents in North Carolina, Cat realizes that all of her responsibility really was taking a toll on her. This summer, maybe Cat can let someone else take care of Chicken; maybe she can just be a kid again.  

 

These Unlucky Stars by Gillian McDunn

Annie just doesn't feel at home in her family anymore, ever since her mother left. Her dad and brother never seem to tell her anything, when all she wants to do is help. 

When a game gone wrong ends up hurting Annie's elderly neighbor, Annie works off her debt by looking after the neighbor's dog for the summer. But it's not only the dog Annie finds herself looking after: her neighbor, Gloria, is fiercely independent but it's clear that she isn't as strong as she used to be. 

Slowly, Annie begins to make more connections with the people in her small North Carolina town...and learns important things about how and when to let people into your life. 

 

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

Vera can't help but feel jealous of her rich friends with huge houses, fancy dolls, and perfect birthday parties. As a Russian immigrant, she has a hard time fitting in. So when she finds out about a Russian summer camp, she's thrilled--her mother can't say no to this, and she'll finally get to go to a sleepaway camp like all of her friends. But camp is not the sing-along s'mores paradise she imagined. First of all, there outhouse is revolting. Then the other girls in her cabin aren't too thrilled to have a younger girl bunking with them. What with the drama between the campers and Vera's utter lack of friends, she just can't wait to get out. How will she survive the whole summer?

 

 

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

Sisters follows Raina's family as they drive from their home in San Francisco to a family reunion in Colorado. Raina and her sister Amara have never been best friends, even though Raina spent much of her fifth year wishing for a sister every chance she got. It may take a three-week road trip to get her and Amara to become closer.

 

Camp by Kayla Miller

Extroverted Olive can make friends almost anywhere: and her new summer camp is no exception. But her friend Willow is a different story...shy and nervous around the other kids, Willow clings to Olive like a leech. Olive loves Willow, but she wants to make new friends, too...will she be able to balance her old friendship with her new ones?

 

The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss

The girl named Bicycle appeared at the doorstep of the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C. when she was only a baby. Now at twelve, she has spent almost her entire life in the monastery, perfectly happy among the Mostly Silent Monks, longing for a bicycle of her own and avoiding social interaction with anyone her age.

So when Sister Wanda announces that Bicycle is going to attend a summer camp where she'll finally learn how to make friends, Bicycle snatches her first chance and pedals as hard as she can away from the monastery. She's headed for San Francisco, where she can meet her bicycle idol and maybe make a real friend. She never expected a handlebar-haunting ghost, overly aggressive pigs, and a mysterious woman dressed in black to be following her across the states. On the stops and starts of her journey, Bicycle makes more friends than she ever expected. But will she reach her goal in the end?

 

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwicks: four sisters, a botanical father, and a loving one dog, in for the summer of their lives. There's Rosalind, the practical eldest; Skye, rebellious and stubborn; Jane, a dreamy writer; and Batty, the youngest, who loves animals and her butterfly wings above anything else. 

When they set off one summer in search of a little place to stay, they find a lavish estate with a comfortable guest house instead of the homely cottage they expected. And while the sprawling estate, Arundel, is  certainly the fanciest place they've ever seen, they soon grow comfortable in it: especially when they discover Jeffrey, the owner's son. In Jeffrey is a kindred spirit, and a boy who will show them all the hidden corners of Arundel, from the less-than-welcoming bull who lives in a pasture to the attic of the mansion, filled with long-forgotten treasures. But Jeffrey's mother, Mrs. Tifton, is less than pleased to have the Penderwicks staying on her estate. Will they manage to stay out of trouble and remain on her good side?

 

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwick sisters are heading to Maine for the summer with their Aunt Claire and their friend Jeffrey. This should be a fun vacation, but Skye is wracked with anxiety about being left the OAP (Oldest Available Penderwick) while Rosalind is in New Jersey. What should be a relaxing summer turns into an eventful, chaotic one, what with Jane trying to research love for her new book, Skye worrying about Batty blowing up, and Aunt Claire getting injured just as Skye feared. And in the end, this summer may turn out to have a more permanent effect on the Penderwicks than they could have imagined.

All Summer Long by Hope Larson

All Bina wants to do is hang out with her best friend, Austin, and practice her electric guitar. But Austin is off to soccer camp for the summer, leaving Bina alone to die of boredom at home in LA. Bina finds a friend in Austin's older sister, but she's sure to mess things up when her new friend expects her to be more grown-up than she really is. And when Austin gets back from camp, he's acting weirder than usual...will he and Bina be able to stay friends after their summer apart?

The first book in the Hope Larson's Eagle Rock trio. 

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake 

After her heart surgery, Sunny St. James decides that she can use this opportunity to restart her life as well as her heart. On the top of her list for New Sunny are to make a new best friend after she fell out with her old one, do something new and exciting that her previous fragile self wouldn't be able to do, and kiss a boy. Meeting Quinn, who is visiting the island, accomplishes her first goal. And when Sunny's estranged mother makes an entrance and introduces Sunny to surfing, she's accomplishing goal number two. But even though she tells herself she wants to kiss a boy, as she gets to know Quinn better, she's not quite sure anymore. Will the new Sunny St. James be the person she wants to be? Or will she be someone different?

 

Strange Birds by Celia C. Pérez

Ofelia Castillo is a budding journalist whose parents refuse to let her attend a writing camp in New York City. Aster Douglas is a foodie who lives with her grandpa and adores trying new recipes. Cat Garcia is a birdwatcher who is struggling with her mother's expectations. And Lane DiSanti is the granddaughter of the richest woman in town. When these four girls meet up at Lane's friend-making treehouse club, they aren't instant friends--but they learn to care about each other as they start a revolution concerning an offensive hat and some girl scouts. 

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

When Astrid's mother takes her and her best friend, Nicole, to a roller derby match, it's love at first sight. Astrid jumps to sign up for the youth roller derby league in her town, but is shocked to discover that Nicole isn't joining her. What's happened between the two friends who used to do everything together? And roller derby turns out to be harder than it looks: Astrid is the new girl on the team, and finds herself lagging behind the others. Will she be able to patch things up with Nicole, and does she need to? And can Astrid be able to find it in herself to be the best roller girl she can be?

 

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Geimenhart

Coyote Sunrise hasn't been home in five years. Instead, she's been living in a school bus, traveling around the country with her dad, Rodeo. Rodeo won't talk about Coyote's mother and sisters, who died in a car accident five years ago. He won't go near their old town, though they'll roam all over the rest of the country. And if Coyote told him that the park in her hometown was being destroyed--a park where a very important box is buried--Rodeo would drive as far away from those old memories as he could.

So Coyote has a plan: trick Rodeo into driving her all the way to Washington state to get to the park before the bulldozers do. After all, she managed to sneak a real, live kitten into the bus without Rodeo noticing. 

On the journey, the bus picks up some passengers. Salvador, his mom, and his aunt need a fresh start. Lester has to get back to his girlfriend. Val just wants to be herself. And there's also a goat.

As Coyote's story speeds across the U.S., she learns that just her dad and a cat for company really wasn't enough--she needs friends by her. And that running from your past only brings it closer.