Whether we like it or not, March break is here! Keep your middle school kiddos busy with these engrossing reads. Perfect for kids ages 7-12, there is something for every reader on this list, from mysteries to magic. Try one of these great titles and enjoy the silence, at least for a little while.

The Bookshop at the Back of the Beyond by Amy Sparkes
Series Name: The House at the Edge of the Magic, # 3

Nine and her friends have cured the house’s hiccups and are off to the strange and utterly unpredictable Back of Beyond in search of Professor Dish – Spoon’s best friend and partner in all things alchemy.

When they find Dish trapped by the greedy witch Ophidia in the basement of a particularly marvellous shop, it soon becomes clear they’re going to need something more than Flabberghast’s dicey magic and Nine’s quick thinking to triumph this time. What they really need is a rather clever witch – one particularly good at curses.

Wizard for Hire by Obert Skye
Series Name: Wizard for Hire, # 1

Fourteen-year-old Ozzy lives near Portland, Oregon, and is desperate for help. His scientist parents have been kidnapped after discovering a formula that enables mind control. Their work was so top secret Ozzy is afraid to go to the police, but without help, he fears he’ll never find his parents. Then he stumbles across a classified ad in the local newspaper that says “Wizard for Hire. Call 555-SPEL.” Ozzy has read about wizards in books like Harry Potter, but wizards couldn’t actually exist today, could they? After Ozzy meets the wizard Labyrinth — aka Rin — he’s even more skeptical.

Sure, Rin dresses like a wizard, but the short robe and high-top tennis shoes seem unorthodox, as does Rin’s habit of writing notes on his shoes and eating breakfast for every meal. Plus, Rin doesn’t even cast any magic spells, which means that the unexplained coincidences that start happening around Ozzy are just that — coincidences.

With the help of a robotic-talking raven invented by Ozzy’s father, a kind and curious girl at school who decides to help Ozzy, and, of course, a self-proclaimed wizard who may or may not have a magical wand, Ozzy begins an unforgettable quest that will lead him closer to the answers he desperately seeks about his missing parents.

Into the Glades by Laura Sebastian 

Best friends Cordelia and Larkin have always called the Glades—a peaceful swamp full of magical creatures—home. But when Oziris, Cordelia’s father and the leader of their village, dies unexpectedly, a dark curse sweeps over the land.

The girls know that the curse must be tied to Oziris’s death, and they’re determined to break its hold on their home and bring Oziris back to life. Together, Cordelia, Larkin, and their two little brothers set off into the wild Glades in search of an elusive and enigmatic witch who is rumored to have the power to reverse death.

The Glades are no longer a familiar and friendly place, though, and danger lurks around every corner. But on their journey, the children discover that the most difficult challenge isn’t wild marsh-maids or bogilisks or dragon-gators—it’s the grief threatening to consume them.

Hedgewitch by Skye McKenna
Series Name: Hedgewitch, # 1

It has been seven years since Cassie Morgan last saw her mother. Left at a dreary boarding school, she spends her days hiding from the school bully and reading forbidden story books about the world of Faerie.

Certain that her mother is still alive, Cassie is determined to find her, whatever the dangers, and runs away from school. Lost and alone, she is chased by a pack of goblins but, to her surprise, escapes with the help of a flying broom and a talking cat named Montague, who takes her to the cosy village of Hedgely.

Here she discovers that she comes from a family of witches, women who protect Britain from the denizens of Faerie, who are all too real and far more frightening than her story books suggest.

Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy
Series Name: Brightstorm Chronicles, # 1

Arthur and Maudie Brightstorm receive devastating news: their famous explorer father has died in a failed attempt to reach South Polaris. To make matters worse, the Lontown Geographical Society finds Ernest Brightstorm guilty of sabotaging the expedition of his competitor, Eudora Vane. But a mysterious clue leads the twins to question the story they’ve been told—and to uncover the truth, they must undertake the journey of a lifetime.

Joining the ragtag crew of a homemade sky-ship captained by the intrepid Harriet Culpepper, Arthur and Maudie race to South Polaris to salvage their family’s reputation and find out what really happened on their father’s doomed expedition. Brightstorm is a propulsive and compelling fantasy adventure set among the vibrant landscapes and dynamic characters of Vashti Hardy’s vividly imagined world.

The Secret Key by Lena Jones
Series Name: Agatha Oddly, # 1

Meet thirteen-year-old Agatha Oddly – a bold, determined heroine, and the star of a stylish new detective series.

Agatha Oddlow has been a detective for as long as she can remember – she’s just been waiting for her first big case. And nothing gets bigger than saving the City of London from some strange goings-on.

With a scholarship to the prestigious St Regis School, a cottage in the middle of Hyde Park, a room full of beloved sleuthing novels, and a secret key that gives her access to a whole hidden side of London, Agatha is perfectly poised to solve the mystery of what’s going on. But just who can she trust when no one is quite who they seem…

A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga 

Meet Resilience, a Mars rover determined to live up to his name.

Res was built to explore Mars. He was not built to have human emotions. But as he learns new things from the NASA scientists who assemble him, he begins to develop human-like feelings. Maybe there’s a problem with his programming….

Human emotions or not, launch day comes, and Res blasts off to Mars, accompanied by a friendly drone helicopter named Fly. But Res quickly discovers that Mars is a dangerous place filled with dust storms and giant cliffs. As he navigates Mars’s difficult landscape, Res is tested in ways that go beyond space exploration.

As millions of people back on Earth follow his progress, will Res have the determination, courage–and resilience–to succeed… and survive?

Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Fodi 

Most students at Dragonsong Academy spend their days practicing spells and wielding wands, but after flunking her sixth-grade standardized tests, Cara Moone is on the fast track to becoming a MOP (a.k.a. Magical Occurrence Purger). See, when a real wizard casts a spell, it leaves behind a residue called spell dust—which can be dangerous if not disposed of properly. It’s a MOP’s job to clean up the mess.

And no one makes more of a mess than Dragonsong Academy’s star student, Harlee. Widely believed to be the Chosen One who’s destined to save the magical world, she makes magic look easy. So of course she’s Cara’s sworn nemesis. Or she would be, if she even knew Cara existed.

But then Harlee’s spells begin to leave behind something far worse than spell dust: rifts in the fabric of magic itself. Soon Cara begins to suspect that the so-called “Chosen One” isn’t going to save the world. She’s going to destroy it.

It will take more than magic to clean up a mess this big. Fortunately, messes are kind of Cara’s thing.

The Case of the Smuggler’s Curse by Mark Dawson
Series Name: The After School Detective Club, # 1

Lucy, Max, Charlie and Joe aren’t looking for new friends – they have too many of their own problems to worry about. But when the four of them, and Charlie’s faithful dog, Sherlock, spot a phantom figure on Southwold beach one winter’s night, they are thrown together to unravel a mystery that none of them expected.

The deeper they dig, the bigger the adventure becomes – motorboats and tracking devices, bedroom breakouts and daring sea rescues are all in a day’s work for the After-School Detective Club. But when their investigations lead them into trouble with the police, there is only one thing left to do – they must go undercover for a final showdown with a ruthless gang of smugglers who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters
Series Name: The Unforgettable Logan Foster, # 1

Logan Foster has pretty much given up on the idea of ever being adopted. It could have something to with his awkward manner, his photographic memory, or his affection for reciting curious facts, but whatever the cause, Logan and his “PP’s” (prospective parents) have never clicked. 

Then everything changes when Gil and Margie arrive. Although they aren’t exactly perfect themselves—Gil has the punniest sense of humor and Margie’s cooking would have anyone running for the hills—they genuinely seem to care.

But it doesn’t take Logan long to notice some very odd things about them. They are out at all hours, they never seem to eat, and there’s a part of the house that is protected by some pretty elaborate security.

No matter what Logan could have imagined, nothing prepared him for the truth: His PP’s are actually superheroes, and they’re being hunted down by dastardly forces. Logan’s found himself caught in the middle in a massive battle and the very fate of the world may hang in the balance. Will Logan be able to find a way to save the day and his new family?