15 Canadian middle-grade and YA books to read this summer
Looking for a summer read geared for kids and teens? Check out these middle-grade and YA books by Canadian authors.
Where the Water Takes Us by Alan Barillaro
In Where the Water Takes U, Ava's mother is pregnant with twins. When the hospital visits become more serious, Ava is sent to live with her grandparents in their cabin. When a bird dies in front of her, Ava is sure she is cursed — so she makes a deal. If she can take care of the bird's orphaned eggs, her family will be alright. Where the Water Takes Us is a coming-of-age novel that explores feelings of anxiety, openness to change and intergenerational relationships.
Where the Water Takes Us is for ages 8 to 12.
Alan Barillaro is a writer and director from Niagara Falls, Ont. He won an Academy Award for the animated short film Piper and was the supervising animator on other theatrical releases such as WALL-E, Brave and The Incredibles. Where the Water Takes Us is his debut middle-grade novel.
Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold by Jessica Outram
Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold is a historical middle-grade novel set in the summer of 1914. Bernice is eight years old and lives with her family in a lighthouse in the Georgian Bay. When she wakes up one day to a stranger sleeping in her living room, she overhears him talking about gold on an island nearby. Inspired by her Mémèr's stories of adventure and hardship of their Métis family, Bernice sets out with her two dogs in a rowboat to find the fortune.
Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold is for ages 9 to 12.
Jessica Outram is a Métis poet, writer, playwright, artist, singer and educator with roots in the Georgian Bay Métis Community. She is also the author of the poetry anthology The Thing with Feathers.
The Boy Who Woke the Sun by AT Woodley, illustrated by Mike Deas
The Boy Who Woke the Sun is a middle-grade fantasy novel set during a pandemic summer. 11-year-old Elliot is transported to another world where the sun doesn't shine, and he must discover his true path to find his way home.
The Boy Who Woke the Sun is for ages 9 to 12.
A.T. Woodley is a debut author and former filmmaker who grew up in Toronto and is currently based in Victoria.
Mike Deas is an author and illustrator based in Salt Spring Island, B.C. He has written graphic novels and picture books.
The Curious Misadventures of Kitty The Cat by Marie-Renée Lavoie, translated by Arielle Aaronson
The Curious Misadventures of Kitty The Cat is a middle-grade novel about a cat named Kitty, who wanders away from his family, is found in the forest by a little girl and moves to the city with her. This book follows his adventures as he makes new friends with the other alley cats, spiders, the neighbour Billy and the little girl's parents. Eventually he learns his mother lives in St. Hilarion and sets out to find her.
The Curious Misadventures of Kitty The Cat is for ages 8 to 10.
Marie-Renée Lavoie is a Quebec City-based writer. Her books include the novels Autopsy of a Boring Wife,, A Boring Wife Settles the Score and Some Maintenance Required.
Arielle Aaronson is a Montreal-based translator. She has translated several literary works into English, including Marie-Renée Lavoie's titles for adult readers.
Swept Away by Natalie Hyde
In the middle-grade mystery novel Swept Away, Ruth Mornay is determined to find out what really happened to her 64-year-old neighbor Beatrice. While the rest of her small town are still convinced that Beatrice died in an accident on the Teeswater River, Beatrice's godson, Saul, claims to have had premonitions of her death. Together Saul, Ruth and her pet chicken Dorcas gather clues to solve this mystery.
Swept Away is for ages 9 to 12.
Natalie Hyde writes YA and middle-grade novels. Her previous work includes Saving Armpit, I Owe You One and Cryptic Canada. She is based in Flamborough, Ont.
P.S. Tell No One by Vikki VanSickle
Four middle-schoolers start a secret shared journal — the pages are filled with insights on friendship, family, relationships and student life. P.S. Tell No One follows Sunny, MP, Twix and Hoops as they support each other throughout the seventh grade.
P.S. Tell No One is for ages 9 to 12.
Vikki VanSickle is a Toronto-based writer. Her first novel, Words That Start with B, was shortlisted for the 2011 Libris Award's Children's Book of the Year. It was followed up with Love is a Four-Letter Word, Days that End in Y and Summer Days, Starry Nights. Her YA novel The Winnowing was the winner of the OLA Red Maple Award, Fiction.
Mixed Up by Gordon Korman
In the middle-grade novel Mixed Up, two boys lose their memories to each other. While Reef loses the only memories he has of his mom, Theo gains a freedom he doesn't have with his dad.
Mixed Up is for ages 8 to 12.
Gordon Korman is an author of over 100 novels for young readers, including I Want to Go Home, Slacker and the seven books in the Macdonald Hall series. Born in Montreal, Gordon grew up in Thornhill, Ont., and now lives in New York.
Jacob's Dilemma by Daphne Greer
In the middle-grade novel Jacob's Dilemma, 13-year-old Jacob is faced with a hard choice after he meets his biological mother just when he is about to be adopted. This book, a sequel to Jacob's Landing, explores grief, loss and finding family.
Jacob's Dilemma is for ages 8 to 12.
Daphne Greer is an author who lives in Newport Landing, N.S.. Her book Camped Out won the Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award in 2019, while Finding Grace was an Ann Connor Brimer Finalist and Jacob's Landing was a Silver Birch Finalist.
What a Desi Girl Wants by Sabina Khan
What a Desi Girl Wants is a YA novel about Mehar, a teenager who lives in Kansas with her mother. When Mehar's father, who never left India, announces his engagement with Naz, a socialite, Mehar returns to her birth country to heal her broken relationship with her family. There, she develops a relationship with Sufiya, her grandmother's assistant. As she grows to dislike Naz further, Mehar is determined to put a stop to the wedding – putting her new relationship with Sufiya at risk.
What a Desi Girl Wants is for ages 12 to 17.
Sabina Khan is a Vancouver-based educator and the author of What a Desi Girl Wants, Meet Me in Mumbai, Zara Hossain Is Here and The Love and Lies Of Rukhsana Ali.
Cleaning Up by Leanne Lieberman
In the YA novel Cleaning Up, a young teen named Jess lives with her father who is coping with addiction and unemployment. Jess gets a gig cleaning a gorgeous country home and discovers the trashed bedroom of the teenaged daughter, Quinn. When Jess discovers Quinn's secret diary, it leads her to imagine another life through the author's seemingly perfect one. Jess learns that being "the girl who has everything" isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
Cleaning Up is for ages 13 and up.
Leanne Lieberman is a teacher and writer. Her previous books include The Most Dangerous Thing, Gravity and The Book of Trees. She lives in Kingston, Ont.
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
The YA novel Delicious Monsters is set in Toronto and involves a girl named Daisy who can see ghosts. When her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario, Daisy discovers supernatural secrets that might be beyond her control. Flash forward a decade later and a teen named Brittney gets wrapped up in a mystery about what befell Daisy years prior.
Delicious Monsters is for ages 12 and up.
Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian Canadian YA writer and blogger. Her debut novel, Blood Like Magic, was on the shortlist for the 2021 Governor General's Literary award for young people's literature — text.
The Sound of a Rainbow by Sharon Frayne
The Sound of a Rainbow is a YA novel about 16-year-old Raven Tantie — a teen devastated after her less-than-perfect performance at a talent show goes viral on social media. But when her family sends her to a performing arts summer camp in Northern Ontario, Raven learns more about acceptance and belonging.
The Sound of a Rainbow is for ages 14 and up.
Sharon Frayne is a retired principal, artist and writer who divides her time between Niagara and Muskoka Lakes, Ont.
The Melancholy of Summer by Louisa Onomé
The YA novel The Melancholy of Summer is about a girl named Summer who must fend for herself when her parents abruptly leave town. When Summer is discovered to be living alone, without a guardian or a permanent residence, for a whole year, she is sent to live with a cousin who teaches her about trust and the meaning of resilience.
Louisa Onomé is a Nigerian Canadian author living in Toronto. Her YA books include novels Like Home and Twice as Perfect.
A Mist of Memories by Kate Blair
A Mist of Memories is a YA mystery novel about a mysterious island and a girl named Charlotte who must uncover the secrets there. The region has been closed to the public since Charlotte had an accident on the cliffs — but her memory loss and visions of a mysterious woman force her to solve the mystery once and for all.
A Mist of Memories is for ages 13 and up.
Kate Blair is a Toronto author originally from the U.K. Her novels Transferral and Tangled Planet were both longlisted for the Sunburst Award.
The Meadowlands by Kate Kelly
The Meadowlands is a YA fantasy novel about four children who live in a dystopian future featuring advanced technology and state control. It's a world where Terran and his younger sister Brooke must find community and the meaning of family.
The Meadowlands is for ages 14 and up.
Kate Kelly is an educator, singer-songwriter, poet and writer. Her previous books include the novel A Harsh and Private Beauty. She lives in Peterborough, Ont.
