10 Epic Fantasy Books for Middle Grade Readers

Adia is an orphan who has it tough. She’s long been led to believe that she’s possessed, and her unusual powers make her think that might be correct. So she flees her village to apprentice in the kitchens of the Academy of Shamans, hoping someone can help her. Instead, she discovers that the king is actually possessed, and Adia might be the key to saving him and the kingdom.

Amari’s brother disappeared years ago, but she’s never given up hope that he’s alive. One day, she finds a ticking briefcase in her closet, which is an invitation to try out for the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Suddenly, she knows that magic and the supernatural are real, and she is sure this place holds the key to finding her brother. If only she can stick the audition and survive.

This book is so good, and it’s soon to be a show on Disney+. Aru is a bit of a fibber. Her classmates are regularly jetting off on vacations, while Aru is stuck at home, wandering the museum. When three classmates try to catch her in a lie about a cursed lamp, Aru lights it. Except the lie turns true, and lighting the lamp releases a demon bent on awakening the god of destruction. Now, it’s up to Aru to save her classmates, her mother, and the world.

This book kicks off The Wingfeather Saga, a series that middle grade readers love. Janner, Tink, and Leeli are siblings, loved and constantly on the run from Fangs of Dang. Their family holds many secrets that are pursued by evil people, and only together can they survive and triumph.

Lalani is a 12-year-old girl who lives on the island of Sanlagita with her mother. Surrounded by dangers, she faces the same fate as any girl: to stay on the island and live a quiet life. But when her mother falls terribly ill, Lalani must embark on a quest off the island. She must brave a terrifying mountain that has claimed many lives if she wants her mother to survive.

For a little something different, this epic fantasy for middle grade readers is a comic book. Issue by issue, this series takes the old stories of princes saving princesses and turns them on their heads.

In the first volume, Adrienne is a princess who decides to save herself with the help of her dragon Sparky and her friend Bedelia. Adventure ensues!

Is your middle grade reader voracious for more books? Then here’s a classic that kicks off a 15-book series. In Mossflower Wood, the mice have gathered to celebrate abundance and peace. But when a terrible shadow falls across their wood, they fear that the evil of Cluny and his rat horde has come calling. Now, it’s up to a bumbling apprentice to find the sword of Martin the Warrior and save his people.

Yes, there’s another comic book series on this list! Zuli has lived her entire life in the Great Tree, raised by mystical birds. When an evil force threatens the Great Tree, though, Zuli must venture out to save everything she knows. Accompanied by her guardian owl Frowly, they’ll confront everything from dragons to Zuli’s true identity.

Seven Salazar is a witchling. Soon, though, she participates in the Black Moon Ceremony to become a full witch and join a coven. Except everything goes wrong. She’s a spare, and, thus, doomed to stay a witchling. That is, unless she and her fellow spares complete the Impossible Task. Succeed, and they’ll be witches. Fail, and they’ll be toads. Forever.

Last up is a book that rides the line between middle grade and young adult, perfect for those older MG readers soon to head on up to YA. Mona is an unusual young wizard. Her magic only works on bread. Her familiar is a sourdough starter. But when Mona finds a dead body in her aunt’s bakery, she realizes she’s an assassin’s next target. When the city is suddenly devoid of wizards, Mona knows her problems are only beginning.