Tehlor Kay Mejia
Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares
A vivid, culturally specific fantasy that treats nightmares as a tangible landscape to be navigated rather than just a scary trope.
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The Nightblood Prince
by Molly X. Chang
Middle grade · ages 10–14 · 780L · 2025
A solid middle-grade fantasy with real emotional stakes and a protagonist who earns his agency—not the most innovative premise, but Chang executes the identity-and-duty tension with genuine care.
The Magician's Nephew
by C. S. Lewis
Middle grade · ages 8–12 · 780L · 2020
A prequel that works beautifully as entry point: less battle-heavy than The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, grounded in a real child's moral struggle, and the world-creation arc is genuinely awe-inspiring—though Jadis's arrival carries real menace.
The Swan's Daughter
by Roshani Chokshi
Middle grade · ages 10–14 · 780L
Roshani Chokshi brings South Asian mythology to life through a contemporary girl's eyes—lush prose and real stakes, though the pacing stumbles slightly in the middle act.