Posts Tagged cultural identity

5 Middle Grade Books About That Summer When Everything Changes

By on June 24, 2026   /   Book Lists, Fiction  

Summer can be an exciting season, inviting more time with friends and family, campouts under the stars, or fun-filled travel plans. However, the break in predictable school-centered schedules can also invite big changes! For me growing up, summers often meant relocation and new schools, for others it can bring big shifts in friendships or new family dynamics. Follow the kids in these five middle grade novels, as they navigate tricky summers when everything for them changes.

Why it matters: Low key, vacation-centric summers are pleasant, but some kids face a different kind of “heat” during their break from school. These stories may help a challenging summer feel less isolating. 

Go Deeper: For readers seeking emotionally touching summer reads that won’t fade like tan lines, these five middle grade novels are bound to stick.

Read Time: 4 Minutes

five young people paddle away from shore on different water crafts on the cover of the firefly summer.

“The Firefly Summer” (2023) by Morgan Matson

Summary:
Ryanna spends the summer with her mother’s estranged family in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she meets relatives she barely knows and begins uncovering family secrets. What starts as an unfamiliar summer becomes a journey of discovering where she belongs and what family really means.

Perfect for: readers navigating family changes, blended families, and searching for belonging.

a young person approaches a victorian house surrounded by flowers and fireflies with a ferris wheel in the distance on the cover of ferris.

“Ferris” (2024) by Kate DiCamillo

Summary:
Ferris Wilkey’s summer is turned upside down when her grandmother claims to see a ghost, her family is dealing with personal struggles, and everything feels slightly out of control. Through the chaos, Ferris learns more about her family, herself, and the complicated emotions that come with growing up.

Perfect for: readers looking for a funny, heartfelt story about family and change.

a young girl holds a lighthouse at night on the cover of ruptured.

“Ruptured” (2023) by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz

Summary:
During a summer vacation in Florida, Claire’s family is shaken when her mother experiences a medical emergency that changes the entire trip. Claire has to navigate fear, uncertainty, and the reality that sometimes one moment can change everything.

Perfect for: readers navigating a family crisis or searching for resilience, and lovers of novels in verse or deeply emotional stories.

a large group of chinese summer camp goers create a human tower on the cover of summer at squee.

“Summer at Squee” (2024) by Andrea Wang

Summary:
Phoenny Fang returns to Squee, a Chinese cultural summer camp, expecting another perfect summer with her friends, but things quickly change when friendships shift and new challenges emerge. As she navigates camp life, identity, and expectations, Phoenny learns that growing up means adapting to change.

Perfect for: readers experiencing friendship changes, identity questions, or who love a good summer camp adventure.

three girls of color sit on a picnic table braiding each others hair on the cover of the braid girls.

“The Braid Girls” (2023) by Sherri Winston

Summary:
Best friends Maggie and Lena spend the summer building a braiding business while balancing friendship, family expectations, and their dreams for the future. As their business grows, they learn that growing up means figuring out who you are and what kind of friend you want to be.

Perfect for: readers who enjoy friendship-focused stories, have an eye for creativity, or want to see characters exploring entrepreneurship.

In Closing:

When summer brings unexpected challenges or new beginnings, these five stories remind readers that not only can change be the start of something meaningful, but they are certainly not alone.

Until next time, remember: 💔+ 📚 = ❤️‍🩹

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Finding Home Again: 5 MG Books About Moving and Identity

By on July 18, 2025   /   Book Lists, Fiction  
Two Black girls stand confidently on a beach with a purple-blue sky and knit-textured backdrop. One wears overalls and sneakers, the other wears a skirt and boots with sunglasses. The title is in bold white handwritten letters.

Unlike most kids I knew, my family moved almost every year. New town. New school. New hallways to navigate. And nearly every time, I was the only kid of color in the room. This not only left me feeling unsure about who I’d sit with at lunch, but unsure about who I would have to become in order to fit in.

Why it Matters: During the summer months, many kids are bracing for that intense kind of transition. Some are moving across town. Some across states. Some across oceans. They won’t just be starting over. They’ll be rebuilding their sense of identity and belonging from scratch. A process that can be uncomfortable, disorienting, and at times, deeply lonely.

Go Deeper: These five middle grade books are for readers going through that kind of change. Kids of color, kids from other countries, kids navigating new spaces that don’t quite feel like home yet. These stories reflect their journey and remind them that “home” is a place within themselves.

Read Time: 4 minutes

Manga-style illustrated cover of a smiling Japanese girl with a ponytail holding a basketball with a winking cartoon cat perched on top. The background is bright blue with the title in bold purple letters.

Bounce Back by Misako Rocks! (2021)

Lilico doesn’t want to leave Japan, but when her family moves to Brooklyn, she’s forced to start all over. New school, new language, new everything. Basketball becomes her anchor, and a magical guardian spirit cat named Nico helps her find strength when she’s overwhelmed by change.

Perfect for: readers navigating culture shock or who are adjusting to a brand new country or school. 

Two Black girls stand confidently on a beach with a purple-blue sky and knit-textured backdrop. One wears overalls and sneakers, the other wears a skirt and boots with sunglasses. The title is in bold white handwritten letters.

The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert (2020)

Alberta has always been the only Black girl in her small California beach town, until Edie moves in. The two form a bond over their shared identity, but also uncover hidden secrets in old journals found in Edie’s attic. Together, they find their place in a town that rarely made space for them.

Perfect for: readers navigating the complexity of being “the only one” and wondering what it means to share space with someone who gets it.

Illustrated cover of a red-haired girl with glasses holding a beagle puppy, standing in front of a leafy green background. She looks off to the side with a thoughtful expression. The title is in whimsical teal lettering.

Hazel’s Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (2019)

Hazel’s family moves her to a new school district the same year her moms are expecting a baby after several heartbreaking losses. Hazel isn’t sure how to make new friends, how to support her family, or how to deal with the emotional swirl she’s carrying inside. Slowly, she learns that change doesn’t mean losing everything. It just means evolving.

Perfect for: introverted readers who feel overwhelmed by transitions, or for kids whose family lives are shifting too.

A cartoon-style cover featuring a Black boy in a hoodie and backpack, writing in a notebook. The title "New Kid" is in bold yellow on a black background, with multiple award seals at the bottom.

New Kid by Jerry Craft (2019)

Jordan Banks just wants to go to art school, but instead, his parents send him to a prestigious private academy where he’s one of the only kids of color. Through graphic novel panels, we follow Jordan’s inner world as he navigates code-switching, microaggressions, and the tension between two different worlds.

Perfect for: readers entering unfamiliar cultural territory and learning how to stay true to themselves.

Illustrated cover of a young Chinese American girl with long black hair, a teal beetle in her hair, and a gentle smile. The title is hand-lettered in white with rainbow brush strokes behind her head on a coral-red background.

The Many Meanings of Meilan by Andrea Wang (2021)

When Meilan’s family leaves Boston’s Chinatown for a mostly white town in Ohio, she loses more than her home. At her new school, her principal even changes her name to “Melanie” without asking. Meilan splits herself into pieces just to survive, but ultimately must decide which version of herself is true.

Perfect for: readers who’ve been renamed, mispronounced, or asked to shrink themselves to fit in.

In Closing

You know I love to highlight books that aren’t afraid of the hard stuff. And at the heart of every move is a kid asking tough questions like: Who will I be in this new space? Will anyone see me for me? Will I ever feel like myself here?

It can make kids feel like the ground is slipping beneath them. I hope these stories help them find home again, not in a specific place, but in who they are. 

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