Middle Grade Must Reads – October 2026 (Part Three)

Glam and Beardy: Volume 1

The five Kingdoms of Kin Isle have stood since the dawn of time. Each holds its own unique power, its own importance in the balance of our world. We all belong to one of these ancient Kindoms. When we turn ten, we Meet our Familiar, and our Familiar bears a Mark that reveals which Kingdom we belong to, and we fit into our Kingdom perfectly and feel wonderful and happy and good forever and ever and always.

Unless you’re me, that is.

This is the historical record of how I, Glam, FINALLY met my Familiar, Beardy, and how we learned that NOTHING about our world is as it seems… (And that parkour and dandelions are ALWAYS the answer – Beardy said it was very important that I add that!)

My mission for the y5 children this year has been to find something different from Wimpy Kid books, and I have found that in this book.

This was a great, funny read. It was funny, serious in places and it was a fantastic adventure.

It was also very easy to read, full of fun text and illustrations, the only problem was that I really need to get myself  a familiar now.

And this is book one in a new series. There is more fun to come.

Renegades : The Magic Awakens

Willow and Luna have been on their own since they were kittens. After their mother’s death, they settled into a scrappy life in the heart of the city. But when a mysterious fire rips through their makeshift shelter, they’re left searching for a new home.

Luna is immediately drawn in by the strange, secretive animals they meet in the park—animals they can somehow talk to . . . and who unlock her ability to perform magic. Willow is less sure about these so-called “attuned” animals and has no interest in joining their world—or their fight against the human witches who seek to “bind” the animals to them.

As Luna and Willow come to realize their own unique magic, they find themselves at odds, separated by destiny, with the fate of the whole city in their paws.

Erin Hunter is well known for their Warrior series, so I was interested in seeing what they would do with this brand new series.

This book is full of the twists and turns you would expect from this author. And I will be interested to see where future books go.

I was pleased that this book hardly had any humans in the plot and where Warrior deals a lot with animal deaths this is more about animal cruelty. As with Warrior the story is dark and though it’s aimed at the MG audience I do wonder if it’s more YA.

The Unchosen One

What happens when the Chosen One decides to go on strike?

Tassie has always dreamt of a life of adventure and exploration. Instead, she’s stuck in the Citadel under the care of the Chief Steward, well away from any form of danger. When the Wisest of the Wise Witches comes to visit and proclaims her the Chosen One, destined to save her people from death and destruction, Tassie realizes why she’s spent her life under lock and key—in order to fulfill a prophecy. Can she refuse the role and find an alternative? Along with her best friend, a griffin named Spin, she embarks on a hilarious epic quest through magical lands in a race against time.

This MG book has something for everyone, adventure, danger, and true friendship.

 And the wraiths  were some of the best characters ever, their dialogue was truly great.

Not to mention there is an absolutely gorgeous map in the beginning!!! Andal prologue that hooked me into the story right away!

The plot is very fast paced with plenty going on, but nothing rushed.

The plot moves fairly quickly and it is very fast-paced without feeling too rushed, which I found lovely! It is full of humor and jokes and laughter and all sorts of sticky situations that Tassie and her friends get into! I do think that, due to the fast-paced plot, it would be perfect for class reads.

The setting was wonderful as well! It is just so quirky and whimsical!! Full of mischief and magic!! And there are dragon taxis!! – I mean who wouldn’t want a dragon taxi. Which is such fun. Much less fun if you’re being chased by wraiths at the same time though.

After finishing the book I did wonder if the author has left the door open for another book – hopefully this will become a series.

Dragon Girl and the Awakened Flames

• Written by Jenny Moore
• Original title – Emba Oak and the Terrible Tomorrows
• Published by Maverick Arts Publishing

An orphan girl discovers she has dragon blood—the key to immortality. Hunted by an evil necromancer, she must learn to control her emerging powers if she is going to stop him.

“A hero forged in fiercest flame, A child of iron and pain. By blood shall heal and chasm seal A kingdom torn in twain.”—The Final Prophecy from the Tome of Terrible Tomorrows*

*Also known as Odolf’s prophecy. (But only by Odolf!)

All the best stories and adventures start with a knock at the door… Or the thwump of a dragon’s tail at the entrance to her cave, in the case of Emba Oak. But then nothing about Emba’s story is normal; from the scales on her arms and legs, to the shocking discovery that she hatched out of a dragon’s egg. Even more shocking is the news that an evil sorcerer is after her dragon blood and will do anything to get his hands on it. Can Emba keep herself safe or will her loved ones pay the price?

This is a fantastic story full of adventure, a story that shows you don’t need to be blood related to be family.

The author has added a lot of humour to the story and more than once  I was caught laughing out loud. The humour seems to be in the parts of the story where the characters are getting overwhelmed, the characters are unique and interesting and I liked that there were so few of them. I am looking forward to the next one.