The holidays are here!
One of the best things to do when it’s chilly outside is to curl up under a warm blanket with some hot cocoa and read a book! Here are some fun seasonal MG reads for all readers, whether they enjoy action, adventure, fantasy, love, mystery, or cozy!
Let It Glow by Marissa Meyer and Joanne Levy
When Aviva Davis and Holly Martin meet at the holiday pageant tryouts for their local senior’s center, they think they must be seeing double. While they both knew they were adopted, they had no idea they had a biological sibling, let alone an identical twin! The similarities are only skin deep, though, because while Aviva has a big personality and even bigger Broadway plans, Holly is more the quiet dreamer type who longs to become a famous author like her grandfather.
One thing the girls do have in common is their curiosity about how the other celebrates the holidays. What better way to discover the magic of the holidays than to experience them firsthand? The girls secretly trade lives, planning to stage a dramatic reveal to their families. Two virtual strangers swapping homes, holidays, and age-old traditions–what could possibly go wrong? Find out in this sweet as a sugarplum and satisfying as a latke middle grade novel!
The Daggers of Ire by J.C. Cervantes 
Esmerelda Santos is a rare bruja, born with Chaos magic in her veins. She and her family are direct descendants of one of the four original witches—a mysterious legend about the night magic was born in San Bosco. But since the death of her mother, Esme is more concerned about healing their father’s spiraling grief.
When Esme finds a heart spell in a forbidden grimorio, she thinks it could be the answer to making her dad whole again. But before she can try, she and her best friend, Tiago, discover that their families and all the town’s witches have vanished—along with their magic, which keeps San Bosco alive. The only way to save them and the town is to find an original witch—impossible, since no one has actually ever seen one.
With a witch hunter on their tail, Esme and Tiago journey to a banished realm where forbidden magic runs wild. Here the two must embrace their powers and confront the legend’s terrible truths . . . or risk losing their families and their magic forever.
Spellbound Solstice by Alexandria Rogers
Every winter solstice, when people lock eyes in the Ambrose Ensorcelled Cottage, they fall in love.
This year, Alice Ambrose has secretly invited her dad in hopes that her parents will realize they’re happier together than apart. With her parents together, Alice will finally feel whole. But when Alice’s parents lock eyes…nothing happens.
Turns out, the women in her family are cursed to never fall in love.
Ronan Knight will do anything to get his enchantress mom to settle on a forever home. Luckily, he’s found her a perfect job at a perfect place: the Ensorcelled Cottage. The only snag? His mom would rather run from their mysterious past than settle down.
When Ronan learns about Alice’s family curse, he figures he can kill two birds with one broken curse, since helping Alice will surely earn his mom points with the owner of Ensorcelled Cottage. But when their meddling causes the town to lose the ability to love all together, and ghosts whisper of the very past haunting Ronan’s family, Alice and Ronan discover that happily ever after doesn’t look the same for everyone. And sometimes, to get what you want, you’ll have to give your heart away.
Northwind by Gary Paulsen 
When a deadly plague reaches the small fish camp where he lives, an orphan named Leif is forced to take to the water in a cedar canoe. He flees northward, following a wild, fjord-riven shore, thrown from one danger to the next, unsure of his destination. Yet the deeper into his journey he paddles, the closer Leif comes to his truest self as he connects to the heartbeat of the ocean, the pulse of the sea.
Voyage of the Frostheart by Jamie Littler
In a snow-covered land where monsters rule the icy tundra, only song weavers hold the power to control these vicious giants. But for centuries song weavers have been the subject of suspicion–how can those who hold so much power be trusted?
Ever since his parents were lost on a pathfinding expedition, Ash has spent his life as an outcast. As a budding song weaver, his village marked him as a potential threat, even though all he wants to do is protect them. Eager to find his place in the world, he and his cantankerous yeti caretaker seek passage on the Frostheart: a ship-like sleigh whose mission is to explore faraway lands.
There he meets a fast-talking, spunky navigator, a walrus captain with a peg leg who runs a tight sleigh, and a mysterious traveler who encourages him to hone his song. But can Ash’s song weaving save the Frostheart from the monsters hiding under the ice? Or will his untamed powers put his newfound friends in jeopardy?
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson, illustrated by Chloe Bristol 
Orphan Elizabeth Somers’s malevolent aunt and uncle ship her off to the ominous Winterhouse Hotel, owned by the peculiar Norbridge Falls. Upon arrival, Elizabeth quickly discovers that Winterhouse has many charms―most notably its massive library. It’s not long before she locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Norbridge and his sinister family.
But the deeper she delves into the hotel’s secrets, the more Elizabeth starts to realize that she is somehow connected to Winterhouse. As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel’s curse and solve the mystery. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to car for, and even Winterhouse itself?
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, illustrated by Erin McGuire
Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it’s up to Hazel to go in after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” Breadcrumbs is a fairy tale of modern-day America, an ode to the power of fantasy, and a heartbreaking meditation on how growing up is as much a choice as it is something that happens to us.
