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WNDMG – Anticipated Diverse MG Reads for January 2025

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A new year often equates to new beginnings.
Everyone feels refreshed and ready to tackle grand adventures and daring challenges. We cast Happy New Year Fireworksaway the failures and mistakes of the previous year in exchange for new projects, goals, and resolutions. While I don’t always make new year’s resolutions (at least not ones that I announce aloud to the world), I think my goal for 2025 is to broaden my reading horizons and be more diligent about tackling my booklists to share with others.

As readers, writers, parents, and educators, we all seek to open our eyes to new worlds and opinions in order to grow as people. Learning about things that are different from us is critical to that growth and those lessons we learn should be shared with those around us. Being a member of the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors is an exciting new adventure I’m happy to be a part of, and sharing my love of middle grade books ~ especially those from diverse backgrounds ~ is key.

So to tackle two tasks at once, for this opening post of the WNDMG 2025 series, I offer my top five anticipated 2025 releases for January.

 

Misfits - A Copycat Conundrum by Lisa Yee

Misfits – A Copycat Conundrum by Lisa Yee

 

#1: A Copycat Conundrum (The Misfits #2)

By Lisa Yee

Illustrated by Dan Santat

Release Date: January 7, 2025

ISBN: 9780593564226

As a fan of both Lisa Yee and Dan Santat, I am ready to laugh my face off with another zany mission of the Misfits! This sequel to A Royal Conundrum, this story is sure to keep you on your toes as these crime-fighters put their heads together and solve another mind-bending mystery.

 

 

 

Publisher’s Description:

Oof! After solving the case of the Royal Rumpus, Olive Cobin Zang and her elite team of underdogs are on top of the world. As the awkward, crime-fighting Misfits, they’re acing every mission thrown at them from NOCK (aka No One Can Know, the covert agency they work for).

But when their classmate Zeke starts receiving threatening notes, the Misfits are stumped. They’re no strangers to danger, but this case is a total head-scratcher. Who would target kind, friendly Zeke . . . unless he’s not what he seems to be?

At the same time, unusual earthquakes start shaking up San Francisco just as priceless art goes missing, and the Misfits are called to investigate. Is it a coincidence that the city is under attack while Zeke is getting mysterious messages? Or is it all just a cover for a scheme bigger than any they’ve faced before?

 

As You Wish by Nashae Jones

As You Wish by Nashae Jones

 

#2: As You Wish

By Nashae Jones

Release Date: January 14, 2025

ISBN: 9781665939911

 

Continuing with my need for a joyous January, I love a good rom-com which is why this sophomore novel of Nashae Jones is a must read for me! I love the concept and can’t wait to see what Anasi has in store for Birdie and Deve!

 

Publisher’s Description:

Birdie has big plans for eighth grade. This is the year that she gets a boyfriend, and since she and her best friend, Deve, do everything together, it makes sense that Deve will get a girlfriend. This is the kind of math Birdie doesn’t find intimidating—it’s Eighth Grade 101. (Birdie + Boyfriend) + (Deve + Girlfriend) = Normal Eighth Grade Experience. And normal is something Birdie craves, especially with a mom as overprotective as hers.

She doesn’t expect Deve to be so against her plan, or for their fight to blow up in her face. So when the West African god Anansi appears to her, claiming to be able to make everything right again, Birdie pushes past her skepticism and makes a wish for the whole mess to go away. But with a trickster god, your wish is bound to come true in a way you never imagined.

Before long, Birdie regrets her rash words…especially when she realizes what’s really going on with her and Deve. With her reality upended, can Birdie figure out how to undo her wish?

 

#3: Fiona and the Forgotten Piano

By Kate DeMaio

Release Date: January 14, 2025

ISBN: 9781958531815

Fiona and the Forgotten Piano by Kate Demaio

Fiona and the Forgotten Piano by Kate DeMaio

 

This book is my most anticipated read for January! I’m a biased fan of this debut author but trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to miss out on FIONA AND THE FORGOTTEN PIANO! Not only does DeMaio creatively weave a musical symphony with her debut, this book will have you rolling on the floor laughing for sure! If you’re a fan of roller coasters, talking frogs, and musical puns, then this debut will definitely be your favorite read of the month!

Publisher’s Description:

Eleven-year-old Fiona isn’t allowed in the Fermata woods. And though its unique trees are fascinating, Fiona has no problem following her mother’s rules. That is, until the trees begin to sing.

Suddenly, it feels as though long forgotten memories are being unlocked in Fiona’s mind. As she nears the woods edge, the trees fall silent, so silent even the leaves stop rustling. Fiona will finally break the rules and venture into the woods. She’ll soon find herself traveling through portals to undiscovered worlds. And she’ll have to trust her instincts and her quirky new friends to bring back the music or she may get lost within its notes.

 

Chickenpox by Remy Lai

Chickenpox by Remy Lai

 

#4: Chickenpox

By Remy Lai

Release Date: January 14, 2025

ISBN: 9781250863294

 

Surviving the chickenpox is a rite of passage for all of us. This story feels reminiscent of chickenpox parties of the past but with a dash of modern-day quarantine experiences. This book feels like it will be full of family antics with a lot of heart. But I know I’ll be fighting the urge to scratch my arms while reading this one!

 

Publisher’s Description:

All big sister Abby wants is to spend more time with her friends, far away from the sticky fingers and snooping eyes of her annoying brothers and sisters. But when a case of the chickenpox leaves the Lai kids covered in scratchy red spots and stuck at home together for two weeks of nonstop mayhem, Abby thinks this might be the end . . . of her sanity. Yet she feels responsible for the situation since her best friend was Patient Zero and brought chickenpox into their home.

Will the itch to escape her siblings overwhelm Abby or will she realize being a big sister isn’t all bad? Full of heart and hijinks, Chickenpox showcases what gets us through good times and bad: family.

 

 

Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia

Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia

#5: Mixed-Up

By Kami Garcia

Release Date: January 21, 2025

ISBN: 9781250840882

 

Rounding out the month, I can’t wait to catch these mixed-up feelings. (It wouldn’t feel right to leave this new release off our list given our blog name!) I’m looking forward to the representation of dyslexia and neurodivergent characters and was touched by the author’s personal inspiration. Throw in some online gaming girls and we’ve got ourselves a winner!

 

 

Publisher’s Description:

Stella knows fifth grade will be the best year ever. Her closest friends, Emiko and Latasha, are in her class and they all got the teacher they wanted. Then their favorite television show, Witchlins, announces a new guidebook and an online game!

But when the classwork starts piling up, Stella struggles to stay on top. Why does it take her so long to read? And how can she keep up with friends in the Witchlins game if she can’t get through the text-heavy guidebook? And when she can’t deal with the text-heavy Witchlins guidebook, she can’t keep up with her friends in the game. It takes loving teachers and her family to recognize that Stella has a learning difference, and after a dyslexia diagnosis she gets the support and tools she needs to succeed.

Bestselling author Kami Garcia was inspired to write this special book by her daughter’s dyslexia journey; her own neurodivergent experience; and the many students she taught over the years. With subtle design and formatting choices making this story accessible to all readers, Mixed-Up shows that our differences don’t need to separate us.

To make reading as comfortable as possible for dyslexic readers, the book has been lettered in Dyslexie.

 

Which of these recommendations are you looking forward to? Which will you be adding to your TBR?

WNDMG Author Interview with Elle McNicoll

WNDMG Author Interview with Elle McNicoll

My reading sweet spot is MG fantasy, so give me dragons, witches, spells, and curses any day of the week. Like A Curse by Elle McNicoll delivered on them all, plus more including a new creature I haven’t read about before! 

I had the esteemed pleasure of sitting down to interview Elle. Here’s the inside scoop on both the author and her book…

About the Author

Elle McNicoll is a bestselling and award-winning novelist. Her debut, A Kind of Spark, was a Schneider Family Honor title, an overall winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and a Blackwell’s Book of the Year. She has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal and was shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards, the Branford Boase Award, and the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award. Her second novel, Show Us Who You Are, was a Blackwell’s Book of the Month title and one of the Bookseller’s Best Book of the year. She is an advocate for better representation of neurodiversity in publishing and currently lives in London.

Interview with Elle McNicoll

Kate: Our Mixed-Up-Files readers would love the inside scoop on book 2 in your Like a Charm series. Can you tell us a bit about neurodivergent tween Rayma and her role in becoming a witch?

Elle: Ramya is a witch in training. She’s a little too emotional when it comes to her magic and, while a lot of fantasy heroes need to be convinced that they’re the chosen one, Ramya needs people to remind her that she can’t do everything by herself.

Kate: Beyond casting spells, there are other magical abilities to read about in your book as well. I absolutely love the notion of Glamour! This one’s new to me. Is this something you created? And, if I were to go about daydreaming this was my magical power, what are the rules around using it?
Elle: I wish!! Glamour is a fae creation, and it’s popular in Scottish mythology. It’s a kind of disguise, and Ramya is lucky (or unlucky) in that she can see through it. The rules of glamour are fairly simple. It can turn you into anything to just about anyone. It’s like a magical filter. It helps you edit or reinvent yourself.

Kate: Let’s talk setting. Edinburgh has been on my bucket list for years, so I thank you for bringing it to life for me! How important was it for you to place your story inside a real world vs a created one?
Elle: So important. As a Scot, I want the kids I write for to touch the places in the book. I’ve done a few sold out walking tours in Edinburgh and the kids adore being able to take pictures in the real locations.
Kate: Rayma comes into contact with many interesting creatures such as Hidden Folk – Hulders, Blue Men, selkies, and kelpies – just to name a few. When choosing who to add to your storyline, were any of these mythological creatures based on research? Or do they stem from part of your cultural folklore?
Elle: They’re all part of my culture, in stories that have been handed down. I liked using childhood memories of Scotland to craft the world Ramya lives in.
Kate: It’s often fun to read about the baddies of a book, and Portia is certainly up there on that list! How fun is it for you to write the antagonist?
Elle: It’s fun! I like her. There’s lots about her to like. And she’s got a big wound, one that’s much more personal than her enemies realise. I love that!
Kate: Other important characters include many of Rayma’s family members. In what ways do these multiple generations impact how you developed Rayma as a character?
Elle: I love the whole wild bunch. I like the three sisters, I think that’s such a witchy number. They’re all sort of a coven, and their disapproval of Ramya’s impulsivity make the dynamics fun to write. She feels like a bad witch compared to her aunts.
Kate: You and Rayma share many things in common, I’m sure, one in particular is dyspraxia. Can you tell MUF readers about dyspraxia and how this connection to Rayma helped you in your story development?
Elle: Dyspraxia is a learning difficulty that can impact coordination, balance, processing and memory. Amongst many other things. I wanted Ramya to be dyspraxic, like me. I’m also autistic. I thought a neurodivergent witch would be fun. Also, ND kids are forced to be really resilient so we make good protagonists, I think.
Kate: Like a Curse leaves readers with such a great message. Without revealing spoilers, can you describe your writing process: in organizing your duology, did you have this ending for book two in mind when you set out to write book one? And, can you give us an example of something you cut, changed, or reworked from draft to publication?
Elle: I knew I wanted to see Ramya and Opal’s relationship develop in Like a Curse and I wanted more of Portia. Everything was planned, I didn’t need to make big cuts. It was enough stories for a tight duology and I’m glad it panned out that way.
Kate: You write for multiple age ranges. Do you set out knowing before you write a book whether it will be MG or YA? And for Like a Curse in particular, how did you nail that MG voice?
Elle: I always know which age the book is for, usually because the main character’s age dictates it. It’s important to know, I think. I remember being 12. It’s very close to my mind at all times, so it’s easy to get back in those shoes.
Kate: Thank you for taking the time to share the inside scoop on Like a Curse. Is there something beyond Rayma’s world you can hint at? Perhaps a new project in the works?
Elle: I’ll be writing witches again. Without a doubt!
Kate: Where can readers best find you if they want to reach out?
Elle: @ellemcnicollofficial on Instagram
Or ellemcnicoll.com

And of course, no MUF interview is complete without a lightning round, so…

Favorite place to write? At home.Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? White chocolate.

Superpower? Glamour

Rollerblades or bike? Neither, I’m dyspraxic.

Dream job when you were a kid? This.

House pet? My dog, Cheeseburger.

Favorite piece of advice? Take the work seriously, but not yourself. And if you’re different from the herd, you gotta be tough.

Author Spotlight: Ciera Burch

Today, we’re thrilled to welcome author Ciera Burch back for her second visit to the Mixed-Up Files! Her sophomore MG novel, Camp Twisted Pine, a paranormal fantasy that mixes thrills, chills, and local legend, is out tomorrow, September 17, from Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Melissa: Hi, Ciera! Welcome back to the Mixed-Up Files. It’s great to have you here again!

Ciera: Great to be back. Thanks so much for having me!

Melissa: The last time we chatted, your MG debut, Finch House, was about to be released. Now you have a second MG, Camp Twisted Pine, launching tomorrow. How have you prepared for the big day? Was the experience similar to—or vastly different from—your debut launch?

Ciera: Ha, yes, time really flies! It’s honestly been so much different this time around. With Finch House, I had a launch event at Politics and Prose {in Washington, D.C.} and so many friends and family members came out, with my friends even coming a few days before and staying over, making a whole event of the weekend up until launch day. This time, I’m doing pretty normal things like going to the dentist and grocery shopping. I’m very glad to have had both experiences, but as an anxious introvert, I’m loving a much more relaxed launch.

Camp Twisted Pine: A Summary

Melissa: Let’s turn our attention to Camp Twisted Pine. Can you give Mixed-Up Files readers your best elevator pitch?

Ciera: Of course! Camp Twisted Pine is about Naomi, a girl who loves nature in theory but isn’t super into experiencing it firsthand, who’s being sent, along with her younger twin brothers, to summer camp in the Pine Barrens, in New Jersey, for the first time as her parents deal with their impending divorce. While she’s there, she realizes that campers have been going missing and that it might be up to her to figure out what’s wrong and to help save them…especially when one of her brothers and her cabinmate (and crush), Jackie, go missing.

Melissa: As you’d mentioned, the novel takes place at a sleepaway camp in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. What made you choose this particular location? Does the area have a special significance for you?

Ciera: I’m from New Jersey, so Jersey has always had a special place in my heart. But the Pine Barrens especially do for being the site of my first and only taste of sleepaway camp, thanks to a field trip I went on in the sixth grade. It’s also a massive swath of protected land in New Jersey that’s super important to the ecosystem and landscape of our state, and I feel like it doesn’t get enough love, especially since it’s said to be home to a mysterious creature…

Back to Nature

Melissa: Along these lines, Camp Twisted Pine has been described as an “eco-fable,” with kudzu that comes alive and other nature-based anomalies. Can you speak more to this?

Ciera: I can! I think we all know at least a bit about climate change and its effects on the world, but we don’t often—myself included—think about other potential threats to nature, of which intrusive plants, like kudzu, are one. Nature provides us with so much and it’s so easy to overlook or not recognize changes in it, but even things that are natural themselves can cause harm to our favorite spaces if we’re not vigilant. There are different native plant species in all regions and to help protect them, we should all strive to learn more about the plants that inhabit the places we call home!

Melissa: As you mentioned, Naomi, the eleven-year-old protagonist of the novel, loves to study nature but isn’t wild about the great outdoors. Is this a trait you share with her?

Ciera: I think it can be! And absolutely was when I was younger. As someone who hates the heat and isn’t a fan of bugs or being itchy, nature and I never seemed to click, especially when my main experience of it, growing up in the suburbs, was going to parks or beaches. But as I got older and traveled more, and moved to D.C, which has a wonderful amount of green space and proximity to even more, I’ve discovered that I do really enjoy nature—the songs of birds and the babbling of creeks, and just the soft rustle of leaves on trees. It’s a nice refresh from the bustle of just living.

I still can’t say I’m a big bug fan, though. I’m a nature girl in the colder months much more than I am in the warmer ones.

Melissa: As a follow-up, Naomi is a logical person who appreciates things that are “real and true and provable.” How does she reconcile this when faced with the possibility of a child-stealing cryptid—aka the Jersey Devil—at camp?

Ciera: Oh, she has a tough time! Stories and facts are in two very different folders in her mind, so the idea that a chimera-like creature can move from the “story” folder to the “fact” folder is a little bit mind bending. It definitely makes her reevaluate her definitions of “real” and whether or not things that are real need proof, or at least tangible proof.

You Gotta Have Friends

Melissa: Friendship is an overarching theme in Camp Twisted Pine. By opening herself up to new friends—including Jackie, who wears a hearing aid and teaches Naomi ASL—Naomi learns more about herself and about her core beliefs. What else were you trying to say about friendship?

Ciera: It can be so hard to make friends, as kids and as adults, and I think it’s especially true when you’re so often in your head like Naomi is. It’s hard to put yourself out there and be vulnerable with people, but being vulnerable, at least a little bit, is a part of human connection, and opening yourself up to others can lead to some really fantastic relationships and experiences.

I also wanted to touch on the fact that people are different. Some people are braver or rasher than others, and some are quieter or take time to think things through. But our differences, while important, aren’t the whole of who we or other people are and shouldn’t be an immutable barrier to friendship or connection.

Melissa: Like your debut novel, Camp Twisted Pine includes spooky, supernatural elements. What draws you to this genre?

Ciera: I just love all things spooky, the things we imagine exist in the dark the second we turn the lights out! And I love thinking about how rich and complex and vast our world is, and the idea that there can be other creatures and worlds just as vast and complex hidden within ours, or in its very seams. There’s so much possibility and excitement in the unknown to me—in the supernatural.

A’ Camping We Will Go!

Melissa: And now for the question on everyone’s mind: Did you attend sleepaway camp as a child? If so, what was your biggest takeaway from the experience? Also, what were your favorite activities? Your least favorite?

Ciera: Yes, and no! As I’d mentioned, the trip I went on in the sixth grade to the Pine Barrens—funnily called Mount Misery—was a week long and we did sleep in cabins and do traditional camp-like things, but it was also still part of school. I did beg my mom (a lot!) to go to an actual sleepaway camp for the summer, especially because I was obsessed with Percy Jackson and Camp Half Blood, but she always refused.

My biggest takeaway from my sixth grade trip, however, was just being in the middle of so much nature. There were no cars around and I could see so many more stars and hear small animals skittering about it. It was a little scary, I’ll admit, but I also felt really, really human for, I think, the first time. Part of the earth and the universe, you know?

I really loved the bonfires and the stories about the Jersey Devil we told while eating s’mores, and taking pictures of everyone and everything, but my least favorite had to be the night hike, because it was long and exhausting and also pretty dark.

Up Next…

Melissa: What are you working on now, Ciera? 

Ciera: I’m currently working on another middle grade! It’s about 13-year-old Olivia who realizes, after her brother comes out and her friends begin to gush about their recent crushes almost constantly, that she doesn’t feel quite the same way as most other people and starts to turn quite literally invisible when no one will listen to her.

Melissa: Before I let you go, I want to circle back to something you’d mentioned in your previous interview: your love of ice cream! Is mint chocolate chip still your favorite or have you added another flavor to the roster?

Ciera: I’ve definitely added another flavor recently and it’s Strawberry Cheesecake!

Lightning Round!

Melissa: Finally, no Mixed-Up Files interview is complete without a lightning round, so…

Preferred writing snack? (besides ice cream) Seaweed!

Favorite camp prank? Turning out the lights on someone in the bathroom!

Best way to roast a marshmallow: Char it to a crisp or brown it slightly? Almost burnt, but not quite! Just brown enough!

Cryptids: Real or imaginary? Definitely real!

Superpower? Teleportation!

Favorite place on earth? My mom’s backyard! She lives right next to the woods and a river and deer hang out all the time.

If you were stranded on a desert island with only three things, what would they be? Notebook and pencils (totally counting them as one); a flare gun; a big, light blanket

Melissa: Thank you for chatting with us, Ciera. It a pleasure, and I’m sure MUF readers will agree!

Ciera: Thanks so much for having me again! Happy reading!

About Ciera Burch

Ciera Burch is a lifelong writer and ice cream aficionado. She has a BA from American University and an MFA from Emerson College. Her fiction has appeared in The American Literary MagazineUndergroundFive PointsStork, and Blackbird. Her work was also chosen as the 2019 One City One Story read for the Boston Book Festival. While she is originally from New Jersey, she currently resides in Washington, DC, with her stuffed animals, plants, and far too many books. Learn more about Ciera on her website and follow her on Instagram.

Melissa Roske is a writer of middle-grade fiction. Before spending her days with imaginary people, she interviewed real ones as a journalist in Europe. In London she landed a job as an advice columnist for Just Seventeen magazine. Upon returning to her native New York, Melissa contributed to several books and magazines, selected jokes for Reader’s Digest (just the funny ones), and received certification as a life coach from NYU. In addition to her debut novel Kat Greene Comes Clean (Charlesbridge), Melissa’s short story “Grandma Merle’s Last Wish” appears in the Jewish middle-grade anthology, Coming of Age: 13 B’Nai Mitzvah Stories (Albert Whitman). Learn more about Melissa on her Website and follow her on  TwitterFacebook, and Instagram.