Books In the Middle Podcast
Looking for booktalks for middle school students? Look no farther than this podcast. Browse through the many titles in all different genres for just the right title to get your students inspired, excited and racing to the library for a copy of the book. Looking for written reviews for more titles? Check out the blog Booksinthemiddle.Wordpress.com to expand your own library and give students more options. New episodes typically release every Monday, however during the summer months, they will release every other week or so. Enjoy!
Episodes
315 episodes
Beastly Beauty By Jennifer Donnelly (Fantasy and Romance)
Beastly Beauty by Jennifer DonnellyBeau is in a hurry to get back to his little brother. But first he has to escape the gang of thieves he has been with for many years. When the gangs latest heist goes south, they take refugee in a stran...
•
4:58
Boy 2.0 by Tracey Baptiste (Science Fiction)
Boy 2.0 by Tracey BaptisteCoal has just landed in another foster home. And he is upset because the last one with Tom, was a good one. Still, his "new" family seem welcoming enough, if a little loud. But when Coal goes out one afternoon t...
•
3:56
Lifeboat 5 by Susan Hood (Novel in Verse - Survival and Historical Fiction)
Lifeboat 5 by Susan HoodLife has become unbearable for Bess in London, 1940. The Germans are bombing the city all the time, and she is scared. Plus she hates the girls at her school who have been bullying her. Maybe the way out is throug...
•
3:33
Spring Break Message 2025
This year has been a big one for me in terms of my library. I got a new one! Well, sort of. My library got a complete facelift and it does look totally new! And without doors, which, honestly, I'm not a fan of. I would like doors on the library...
•
1:36
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows (Contemporary Fiction)
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi MeadowsIngrid is in a bit of a crisis. She doesn't think she actually wants to be best friends with her best friend anymore. Or even just plain friends. Especially after Ingrid feels she has gone too far. But...
•
2:49
This Book Kills by Ravena Guron (Mystery)
This Book Kills by Ravena GuronJess is going to school at a posh English boarding school, with super rich kids. She is not one of them though and has never felt like she belongs. Luckily, her friend Clem took her under her wing ...
•
3:35
Song of a Blackbird by Maria Van Lieshout (Graphic Novel - Historical)
Song of a Blackbird by Maria Van LieshoutAnnick knows her grandmother, her Oma, is very sick, and she's hoping that Oma's siblings will be a bone marrow match for her. But when the test results show something surprising, it leads Annick ...
•
3:10
The Peach Rebellion by Wendelin Van Draanen (Historical Fiction)
The Peach Rebellion by Wendelin Van DraanenGinny Rose and Peggy were great friends as young girls, but then Ginny Roses' family moved away. So, years later when Ginny Rose appears, Peggy is ready to leap right back into their friendship....
•
4:20
The Judgement of Yoyo Gold by Isaac Blum (Contemporary)
The Judgement of Yoyo Gold by Isaac BlumYoyo feels lost for the first time in her life. Up until now, she has known exactly who she is - the sister who keeps the house running and a daughter to the Rabbi in her community. Which can come ...
•
3:01
Signed Sealed Dead by Cynthia Murphy (Mystery)
Signed Sealed Dead by Cynthia Murphy Paige and her parents have just moved into her dad's old hometown of Shorehaven. But everything is new for her and her mum, because Paige was born in England and so was her mum. The new house the...
•
3:38
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Ghost Story/ Mystery)
Ghost Boys By Jewell Parker RhodesJerome has a tough time at school, mostly because of three boys who like to bully him on a daily basis. Still, he tries to put on a brave face for his parents and grandmother. But he has a plan for how t...
•
3:26
Offline by Donna Cooner (Contemporary Fiction)
Offline by Donna CoonerAnnie is always on Social Media. She likes to document all aspects of her life. She enjoys getting the likes and the responses. And her boyfriend, Jameson, and she make such a cute couple, w...
•
4:08
Dust by Dusti Bowling (Fantasy)
Dust by Dusti BowlingAvalyn feels like she is always fighting a battle, a battle with her own lungs. She has asthma. Really bad asthma. So, when she almost died at the age of two, her parents moved her to the town...
•
2:59
Unfriended by Rachel Vail (Contemporary)
Unfriended by Rachel VailTruly was excited that her old best friend, Natasha, had invited her to the Popular Table at lunch. Honestly, she thought that Natasha had completely forgotten about her. But what Truly ...
•
3:20
Aisle Nine by Ian X. Cho (Horror)
Aisle Nine by Ian X. ChoLife has not been great since portals directly from Hell opened up about 2 years ago. Most people have just accepted this is how life is now - you might get killed by a demon, but if you just try to avoid the por...
•
3:54
Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt (Contemporary)
Jupiter Rising by Gary D. SchmidtJack and his family are set to adopt Jupiter, the son of a former foster child named Joseph that had tragically died a few years previous. Everyone loves Jupiter. But when their case manager com...
•
3:11
Winter Break Announcement 2024
Hello All!I hope you are able to have some time off, read some good books, and otherwise recharge your batteries if you work with students. If you are a student and are looking for some great books to read, hopefully you wi...
•
1:55
My Salty Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows (Fantasy and Adventure)
My Salty Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows She was devastated! How could he NOT be in love with her? She saved his life, gave up her tail for him, and he wanted to marry someone else? Mary couldn't believ...
•
5:07
It Happened To Anna by Tehlor Kay Mejia (Horror Fiction)
It Happened to Anna by Tehlor Kay MejiaSadie is alone - or so it feels. She has her dad, but in terms of friends, she has none, and that is just how she wants it, sort of. Because the last good friend that she had was killed, and Sadie ...
•
3:13
Tig by Heather Smith (Contemporary Fiction)
Tig by Heather SmithTig and her older brother, Peter, have been abandoned by their mother a few months prior to them being discovered living on their own. They are taken in by their mother's brother, their Uncle Scott and his partner, M...
•
3:28
Internment by Samira Ahmed (Futuristic and Survival)
Internment by Samira AhmedThe future is here and for Muslims, like Layla, things are not good in the United States. The president has made it very clear that Muslims are to blame for everything (sound familiar - think World War...
•
6:34
Places We've Never Been by Kasie West (Romance and Contemporary Fiction)
Places We've Never Been by Kasie WestNorah is super excited to be heading out on an RV trip with her mom, her older brother and her mom's good friend along with her three kids. Especially since one of those kids is Skylar, her bes...
•
4:29
Why Would I Lie? by Adi Rule (Contemporary Fiction)
Viveca is ready! This is her year for it all to be done and great! She is a senior and on track to be the valedictorian of her class. She has a good friend, Wren, who helps Viveca through her anxiety and helps get her out of her comfort zon...
•
4:48
Warrior on the Mound By Sandra W. Headen (Sports and Historical Fiction)
Warrior on the Mound By Sandra W. HeadenCato loves baseball and plans to follow in his father and big brother's footsteps to become a professional pitcher in the Negro League....just as soon as he can convince his grandfather he is old ...
•
4:12
