Guest post written by Heroes of Havensong: The Last Ice Phoenix author Megan Reyes
Megan Reyes is a children’s author who loves writing stories about dragons, magic, and kids getting into all kinds of fantastical shenanigans. Heroes of Havensong is her first series. Megan lives in Northern California with her husband, four sons, two dogs, and an ever-growing collection of dragon and fox figurines. When she’s not writing, she’s probably drawing, painting, or getting lost in a new book. You can find her at meganreyes.com or @MReyesWrites on social media.
About Heroes of Havensong: The Last Ice Phoenix: Follow the threads of the Fates into the captivating sequel in the timeless fantasy series about four unlikely heroes bound together to save their world—and magic itself.
If you are familiar with middle grade literature then you probably know that this particular age category is known for stories that contain hope, humor, and happy endings. That’s not to say characters don’t face difficult challenges. In fact, middle grade heroes battle all sorts of villains: monsters and popular kids, evil demons and angry gods, BFF-breakups and bullies—not to mention puberty (perhaps the worst villain of all?). But there’s always a sense in middle grade stories that everything will work itself out in the end.
Generally, I’m a fan of this. In fact, it’s why I adore middle grade books and find them so comforting: no matter how bad things get, there’s always hope for a better tomorrow—just around the corner. And isn’t that a lovely thought to cling to? Hope is a beautiful security blanket. It’s what makes the world of middle grade books so cozy—they are often wrapped in sweetness and optimism, making these stories a safe place for kids to land. And this is important.
But it’s not all there is.
What about the middle grade kid who’s hurting? Whose world is wrapped in terrible things and sharp edges? The kid who’s looking to be seen and known, but feels like all hope is gone?
Enter: the Darker Side of Middle Grade.
What about kids who experience and/or witness bigotry, racism, antisemitism, prejudice, child abuse, poverty, hatred against LGBTQIA+ persons, bullying, depression, death? These are incredibly tough topics for kids to grapple with, but that is why shining a light on them is so necessary. When a character in a story speaks out against racism and bigotry, for example, the child reading the story is stirred toward a sense of justice and love for marginalized and hurting people in their schools and communities. Stories that offer a window into these worlds teaches us to do better. To understand others and love them better.
In my newest book in the Heroes of Havensong series, The Last Ice Phoenix, some of the characters deal with truly traumatic events. Amidst all of the humor, preteen shenanigans, and high stakes magical quests, there is grief, and anger, and hopelessness. Blue, River, Wren, and Shenli live in a fractured, broken world and these kids are not all right. And this book (as well as the third installment of the series) doesn’t shy away from that.
To be quite frank, I’ve met adults who find these kinds of themes uncomfortable in children’s books. But these books are necessary. When we talk about how Books Save Lives, this is part of that discussion: allowing young readers to enter into tougher themes, in an age-appropriate backdrop, in order to better understand themselves and those around them. Because there are kids out there who need to know that they are not alone as they wade through Life’s Hardest Things.
Which means having access to stories that don’t shy away from the darkness.
Because we see you, Dear Reader.
And you are not alone.
May the Darker Side of middle grade be a light for us all.
Some of my favorite books that do not shy away from Hard Things:
- Dear Mothman by Robin Gow (grief of best friend who died)
- Coyote Queen by Jessica Vitalis (child abuse and poverty)
- The Sir Callie series by Esme Symes-Smith (prejudice and bigotry)
- The Alex Wise series by Terry J. Benton-Walker (family trauma)
- A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée (racism and Black Lives Matter)
