The best book I read in December (2020)

[C.J.]

We made it into a new year! Happy 2021, everyone! While we're readying our goals for the months ahead, take a moment to consider December. Did you squeak in with any year-end titles that impressed you?

My December reads were few, but excellent. I'm adding both of these trilogies to my GMGR Series Challenge for the upcoming year:



And while we're being all retrospective, let me ask: What were your best reads of 2020? Share a handful of your top middle grade titles. Maybe the rest of us will be adding them to our To Read piles for 2021!

Here are some of mine:

[Harley]

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden, author of Small Spaces.
The best reread for December was The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Best new reads in 2020:
Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty
Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Guest: A Changeling Tale by Mary Downing Hahn
Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt
Hearts of Ice by Adi Rule

[Ellen]

The best middle grade book I read in December was The Canyon's Edge

My other best middle grade reads of 2020 include:
The Boy At the Back of the Class
Class Act
Echo Mountain
The Lightning Thief
The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane
Mañanaland
The One and Only Bob
Shiloh
Like a River: A Civil War Novel
A Tangle of Knots
War in the Ring: Joe Louis, Max Schmeling, and the Fight Between America and Hitler
When You Trap a Tiger

[Jemima]

My best book read in December were A Wind in the Door (the sequel to Wrinkle of Time) and Witchlet, a very short but excellent MG story from Victoria Zigler.

My top MG reads for 2020:
Witchlet, What Stars are Made of, A Wind in the Door, A Pony for Quarantine and A Dog for Lockdown. See what I mean about too many Ws?

[J.S.]

While trying to finish my A-Z challenge, I stumbled upon teh audiobook of Pirates! Scoundrels Who Shook the World. I can't remember the last time I laughed that much listening to a book. It's non-fiction and tells the history of pirates in a very lively way. It's perfect for middle-grade readers, which made it perfect for me. :)

I was excited to see the author has two other books out in this series (the Rivals series) and have already added them to my 2021 to-read list.

[Justine]

My best read in Dec was The Wild Way Home where a boy suddenly finds himself in the Stone Age era of the forest he had been in.

My favourite books of 2020:
Humour : Fortunately, the Milk
Heart-warming : Song for a Whale
Magical : The Storm Keeper's Island
Action/adventure : The Iron Trial

[Ellen]

Best middle grade read of December: The Canyon's Edge

Favorite middle grade reads of 2020 (in no particular order):
Iggy Is Better Than Ever
The Lightning Thief
The One and Only Bob
Number the Stars
Class Act
When You Trap a Tiger
The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane

[Critter]

The best book I read in December was Delphine and the Silver Needle by Alyssa Moon.

My favorite Middle Grade reads for 2020 were:
Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi
Voyage of the Dogs by Greg Van Eekhout
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright