Right before the vampire apocalypse

My 13 year-old daughter recently aged herself out of Middle Grade books, and she isn't going quietly into the night:

"MG books are SO lame!" she told me.

"The stories are all the same! The characters always learn lessons, and there's never any real danger."

I listen and nod and bite my tongue.

She’s still reading at least, more sophisticated books about vampires and apocalypses and dating, but I miss our Middle Grade bond. In defense of Middle Grade, these books can be wildly different (The First Rule of Punk is nothing like The One and Only Ivan, both equally loveable), the danger is real (Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and The Sign of the Beaver) and sometimes lessons are just tossed out the window (The Wimpy Kid oeuvre).

All these books are magic and reading MG gave my daughter so many laughs and feels and thrills. One day she’ll remember.

For now, there are apocalypses to confront and vampire romances to amuse. The heart wants exactly what it wants.