Authors have to do all kinds of research for their books --- maybe they have to travel to faraway places like India or the Netherlands, or maybe they have to go to special library archives to read through primary documents from the Civil War. What’s another helpful tool, though, no matter what authors write about? Reading OTHER middle grade books. Seriously, though --- you can realize what makes a book great (or not-so-great) and use those skills to make your own book even better.

Below, SUPER FREAK author Vanessa Barger takes us through some of her own favorite middle grade novels and series. Be sure to check them out --- as well as her story (which follows a 13-year-old, very non-magical girl in a town full of supernaturals as she tries to figure out the secret behind her very creepy house).

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