[eszed]

How I Live Now, by Meg Rossof, is a stellar novel. There are some really, really good books marketed as YA (Young Adult) (that's the term I know for what he's calling "middle-grade" - maybe that's new branding?), only because their protagonists are teenagers.

[yorwba]

"Middle-grade" is the age category before "young adult" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_grade_fiction pragmatically because younger children aren't as interested in the topics that captivate hormone-filled teenagers.

[eszed]

I stand corrected. Thank you.

(Still recommend HILN, though it's not a valid answer to the question asked.)