9 Seasonal Back To School Reads by E.G. Runyan

 Today is slightly different from any other week. This is my FIRST guest post ever! 

As you may have noticed in the title it says "by E.G. Runyan" who is a teen blogger from Kansas. You may be wondering how I became acquainted with someone from Kansas, considering I have never been there. 

A year ago, a good friend of mine sent me a Christmas post from E.G. Runyan's blog. After that I subscribed, and she subscribed to mine. Then occasionally I would comment or ask a question. Then finally a few weeks ago I finally asked her to write a post for my blog so here it is!

Whether you like it or not, school is right around the corner. Maybe you’re like me and your classroom is your house. Maybe you attend public or private school. Whoever you are, it’s fun to have a list of back-to-school reads to help you get into the groove of studying again. Today I’d love to share nine fun titles that I like to read when school starts up. These books romanticize the excitement and nerves many of us are familiar with when we walk into our new homeroom or attend our first homecoming dance.

#1: The Mysterious Benedict Society

Trenton Lee Stewart

5/5 stars

When Reynie Muldoon is chosen with three other unique children to attend The Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, there’s a lot more going on than the fact that they passed some difficult tests (or…tried to pass). The principal of the school has a sinister plan he’s putting into action, and Reynie and his friends, with the help of their eccentric benefactor, plan to stop him.

This is by far one of my favorite MG novels. Trenton Lee Stewart is a master when it comes to puzzles and mysteries, and his characters are brilliantly crafted.

#2: The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

Jeanie Birdsall

5/5 stars

The sequel to the Newberry-winning novel The Penderwicks, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street stands as another great stand-alone. When the sisters come home from their summer vacation they have more to adjust to than entering new grades…their widowed father has agreed to a blind date! A hilarious and sweet family adventure full of themes of family, loss, and learning to accept change, this might be my favorite book of the Penderwicks series.

#3: Restart

Gordan Korman

4/5 stars

Chase has lost his memory.

When he wakes up in the hospital, he knows nothing more than his first name. He doesn’t recognize his mom, his dad, or the two kids who claim to be his best friends—the two guys who also turn out to be two school bullies.

When school starts up again, everyone in his middle-school is shocked at the change in Chase. His memory is completely gone for now, but the doctors say it could come back. If it does, will the old Chase come back with it? Chase isn’t sure he wants to remember who he was. 

Is this his chance at a restart?

This is a meaningful book about change and growth. I read it in middle-school and have since re-read it more than once. It’s definitely one of my favorite middle-grade school reads.

#4: A Place to Hang the Moon

Kate Albus

4/5 stars

Anna, Edmund, and William are evacuated from London during WWII, and while being shifted from home to home, they experience the horror of having no more living relatives. Nobody seems to care whether they live or die as long as they get the money the government owes them for keeping war children. Only the librarian seems to show them any kindness, and over time the children begin to hope…could they have a real home again?

Kate Albus’ novel debut, A Place to Hang the Moon is a sweet and cozy historical fiction novel. 

#5: Lost and Found

Andrew Clements

4/5 stars

Ray Jay and Jay Ray are twins, if you couldn’t already tell. And while they love each other for sure, the life of a twin isn’t always an easy one. When Ray and Jay transfer to a new middle-school and Ray is sick on day one, Jay goes to school alone and realizes how wonderful it is for people not to mistake him for his brother. It’s like he’s finally his own person, and that’s when Jay and Ray collaborate on a brilliant plan to each get to experience a school life on their own…and deceive their entire town in the process.

A humorous short novel from author Andrew Clements, this book isn’t only fun to read but highlights the importance of valuing twins as individuals, no matter how identical they may seem on the outside.

#6: Betsy Was a Junior

Maud Hart Lovelace

4/5 stars 

Betsy has big plans for her junior year. Dances, parties, and time with friends fill her calendar; not to mention schoolwork. But as the year progresses, Betsy begins to grow older and see the world through a new lens, especially when she meets other juniors who are already working and living like adults. It’s then that Betsy realizes that there’s more to highschool than parties and crushes.

All of the Betsy books are fun, but this one is especially so. Reading about growing up as a highschooler in the early 1900s is such a fun era, and Lovelace’s characters are sweet and memorable.

#7: Flora and Ulysses

Kate DiCamillo

4/5 stars

Flora has always wanted to meet a superhero, but she never thought that her superhero would be a squirrel that was sucked into her neighbor’s vacuum cleaner. She never thought a temporarily blind boy would become her friend. She never thought that anything could help mend the pain she feels from her parent’s divorce. But Flora is proved wrong when she meets the squirrel Ulysses, and together she and her superhero go on several adventures until cynical Flora begins to think that her sad life could change for the better.

A traditionally bittersweet story from Kate DiCamillo, this book will make you laugh and cry. 

#8: The Princess Academy

Shannon Hale

4/5 stars

When the village learns that the prince is to come to their village to choose a wife, Miri and all the girls old enough to marry are enrolled in a Princess Academy where they must learn all the necessities they would need to become queen. Miri is delighted at the idea of being a queen and seeing the world, but an important question needs answering: what if her heart already belongs in her village?

This is a fun middle-grade fantasy read from author Shannon Hale. A fantastical twist on what it would take to become a queen, this book is probably best for ages 8-13.

#9: The Wednesday Wars 

Gary D. Schmidt

5/5 stars

Holling Hoodhood’s teacher, Mrs. Baker, hates his guts. He’s sure of it. But while all his classmates are in religious instruction classes, Holling has an empty period…which means sitting alone with his teacher. 

But there’s more on the line than Holling’s reputation with Mrs. Baker. The year is 1967, and everything in America seems to be falling apart. Flower children, the war overseas, and teen rebellion seem to be popping up everywhere, even in Holling’s own home with his own sister and parents. Will things ever quiet down? 

A Newberry winning novel, The Wednesday Wars is a literary classic and a masterpiece. Gardy D. Schmidt writes like no one else, and if you read any of the books in this list, I recommend this book!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of Seasonal Back To School Reads and I hope your transition from summer back into school is a smooth one. Never stop reading good books and never stop challenging yourself to learn something new!

E.G. Runyan

writing to see the miraculous in the mundane

egrunyan.com