Middle Grade Must Reads – June 2026 (Part Three)

Silent Night

• Written by Emma Read
• Published by Chicken House

I had heard so many good things about this book so when I was in my local library and saw this, I picked it up straight away.

And what a read.

When Masen, Conor and Joss wake up in the caravan on Christmas

morning, a chill of unease fills the air. Their presents sit untouched in the house across the way, but their parents are nowhere to be found. Outside, a blizzard rages.

Families don’t just vanish on Christmas Day.

Something is very wrong – but what . . .?

I had previously enjoyed Emma Read’s The Housetrap both in audio and in print so I already knew how good this author is.

And this is so much better.

Yes it’s set over the Christmas period but honestly this is one of those books that can be read all year round.

This book had the perfect balance of heart, horror and mystery.

The author paints an eerie, creepy atmosphere.

 This  book has a major focus on family and friendship  facing your fears – whatever they may be,and working together to solve problems

You feel the characters’ nerves, anxiety and determination to find their parents.

As the reader it’s difficult to work out what has happened and who to trust. And I was pretty sure where I thought the ending was going to go but I was completely wrong.

This did have vibes of Day of the Triffids, but for children.

Children who love creepiness in a book will love this.

The author made these characters real and believable.

Ghost Tide

Don’t open the box, warned the old man.

But Charlie can’t help himself…

Fourteen-year-old London schoolboy Charlie has been looking forward to playing football with his mates in the Christmas holidays. Instead, he is packed off to the wilds of the East Anglian coast to stay with an uncle he barely knows.

It’s going to be a tough week. Uncle Patrick’s ramshackle house doesn’t have wi-fi, his daughter Ariel seems determined to be vile – and who are the mysterious children laughing after dark in the empty bedroom next to Charlie’s?

When Charlie finds an ancient brass box buried on the beach, he unleashes a chilling sequence of events. At least these bring him and his grumpy cousin together, as the pair battle to solve the mystery of the ‘box of souls’ and re-capture the violent ghostly presence wreaking havoc around the town.

I really enjoyed this book, it was such an interesting and spooky read.

Set on the east coast of the UK, us readers can feel the wild and windy weather. The cold snow, the gales and all the rain and this all added to the creepy atmosphere.

But there was also the festive feeling, set a week before Christmas, but this is not  a Christmas story.

This is a ghost story.

There are so many mysteries going on, the magical artefacts, the ghost children, the shipwrecks.

But this is also a story of dealing with loss and reconnecting to family.

Anya and the Light Above the Ocean

Anya reached out and placed her hand against the light.

And then she was gone.

When her mum disappears, Anya sets out to find her in the middle of a storm. Taking a boat out to sea, she encounters a strange window of light hovering above the waves. Transfixed, she reaches out to touch it. She then wakes in her boat, the sea now eerily silent.

With her mum still missing, Anya is packed off to stay with an odd, unwelcoming couple. Trapped under their watchful gaze, she uncovers a shocking secret that changes everything she thought she knew.

Anya must now battle to find the about her mum, about the Light, and about herself.

What a debut book. This is so completely different to what is currently around the MG market.

And from the second you open the book you are faced with non – stop adventure, non stop action and a mystery that will take you right to the end of the book.

It was an interesting read, and I didn’t see the twist coming, and what a twist it was. And there were so many places that it was hard to know what and who to trust.

Everything in this book was so well throughout.