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If You Like... Middle Grade Romance

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If you like sweet middle grade romance books that are all about friendship, self-discovery, first love, or first crushes these books are for you. Fall in love with one of these sweet middle grade enemy to friends, romance stories that will make you say "ahhh."

Courtesy of Cupid
By Nashae Jones
New York: Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. 2024.  Fiction. 274 pages.

Thirteen year-old Erin wants to become a scientist and cure colon cancer as well as become the first Black woman to receive a Nobel Prize for medicine. She has her life plan in place so she can make her dreams a reality. Part of her plan starts with becoming president of the Multicultural Leadership Club at school. The only thing that stands in her way is her rival and enemy, Trevor Jin. He has been her rival since the first day of kindergarten and wouldn't you know it, Trevor also has plans to run for president and he is ready to fight her for it. So when Erin discovers that her long lost father is Cupid, the God of Love, she decides to fix the election for sure by making Trevor fall in love with her so he will drop out of the election and she can win the president position.

A charming enemies-to-lovers story for any beginning romance reader.

Emma and the Love Spell
By Meredith Ireland
New York: Bloomsbury Children's Books. 2024. Fiction. 251 pages.

Emma is looking forward to spending the summer with her best friend, Avangeline or Lina as her friends like to call her. But her summer plans are turned upside down when she learns that Lina is moving to New Orleans in a month because her parents are getting divorced. Emma comes up with a plan to make Lina's parents fall in love again, so she begins to weave a powerful love spell, with the help of her neighbor and fellow witch, Mrs. Cornwall. After she casts her spell Emma soon realizes that by putting a spell on someone there are more consequences than she realized. She begins to see that maybe it's better to accept what life brings instead of bending it to your will, especially when it comes to love.

A delightful book about learning to trust your instincts about people, finding and losing friends, and choosing to do the right thing even when it's hard. 

The Unbeatable Lily Hong
By: Diana Ma
New York: Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2024. Fiction. 292 pages.

Lily Hong loves making films and she likes to be first in everything that's why she and Max Zhang can never be friends. He moved to town during fifth grade and beat Lily in the class reading challenge by reading more books than her. So when Max shows up at her parents community center with his surprisingly good dance skills, Lily doesn't want to let him help. But she and Max might have more in common than she realizes and she may need to become friends with him in order to save the community center. 

A fun book with great characters, friendship, and a fun plot that keeps things interesting. 

Pack Your Bags, Maggie Diaz
Written by: Nina Moreno
New York: Scholastic Press. 2023. Fiction. 256 pages.

Everything is going great for Maggie, her friends are a team again, her grades are great, she is starting track, and the 7th grade class has planned a spring break trip to St. Augustine. But when Valentine's Day comes love hits hard and now everyone has a crush and wants to start pairing off. Maggie begins to wonder if she will be able to keep her friends when everyone is interested in pairing off with someone else. And to make things worse Maggie begins to fall behind in her classes and now she may not be able to go on the spring trip with her class. 

A funny story about middle school friendship and budding romance, that will make you laugh as everyone learns to navigate first crushes and the excitement of a first school dance. 


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