3 Authors on Generational Trauma in Middle Grade

Generational trauma may seem like too heavy or mature topic a topic for middle grade readers, but authors like Heather Murphy Capps, Sydney Dunlap, and Meg Eden Kuyatt tackle it with great care. In their latest novels, all three authors tell stories of characters who are on healing journeys to overcome these painful legacies.

Both Heather Murphy Capps’s and Meg Eden Kuyatt’s main characters personally carry the genetic traits of their family’s traumatic histories, and these authors make the challenging subject matter appealing and accessible through the use of magical realism. Sydney Dunlap’s contemporary novel also keeps the topic accessible by balancing a friendship story featuring a sympathetic, relatable main character with an examination of what it takes to heal a longtime family estrangement.

In Sydney Dunlap’s RACING THE CLOUDS, thirteen-year-old Sage dreams of a big, happy family, but she has never met her mother’s parents due to a falling out that occurred before she was born. The hurt of Sage’s mom and her parents parting ways has carried through to Sage, so when her grandparents send her a letter inviting her to visit them for the first time– while her mom is away at rehab battling an opioid addiction–she decides to go, even though it is against her father’s wishes.

But when Sage meets her strict, austere grandmother, she begins to question whether there is any chance of bringing everyone back together. Sage discovers that she has an ally in her grandfather, even though it seems that none of the other adults share her goal of reconciliation. It takes all of Sage’s courage, determination, and persistence to stand up for herself and her hope for the family she knows she deserves.

With support from a new and unexpected friend that she met on the plane, as well as a stray dog Sage rescues who helps bring everyone together, she is able to find the resilience and courage she needs to forgive herself as well as her family and help mend the generational trauma in her family. Although this book delves into difficult subject matter, Sage is a spirited, determined, and also vulnerable main character who readers will want to root for through the tough times. Dunlap also includes many light moments between friends, along with the humorous antics of the dog, that provide warmth and connection.

In Heather Murphy Capps’s, THE RULE OF THREE, Wyatt—a biracial middle school baseball player–wants to survive middle school and win a spot on a travel baseball team. In fact, he’s got a three-part plan to make all that happen, and he’s got a best friend who will be by his side all the way. But then he suddenly develops an embarrassing trait: he spews smoke out of his hands when he gets stressed out, like when he fends off the constant microaggressions he faces at his mostly white school. He’s watched his father grapple with this smoke trait his whole life—he just never expected to develop it himself. He’s mortified by the smoke, but he doesn’t treat it as though it’s an inexplicable, supernatural event. For a brief moment, he uses his smoke to intimidate bullies like those who make his life miserable. Ultimately, however, he learns that his and his father’s smoke is a family legacy born of a painful family history, one which they can overcome if they work on it together. Hurtful parts of Wyatt’s and his family’s histories are expressed by a magical element–the smoke–which can make Wyatt’s pain visible and help readers put a buffer between themselves and the tougher elements of this story. It was important to Capps to ensure this story was age-appropriate and accessible, which is why she used magical realism and also added lighter elements–humor between Wyatt and his best friend and the love of baseball.

Meg Eden Kuyatt uses contemporary fantasy in THE GIRL IN THE WALLS to explore generational trauma in neurodivergent families, and the societal stigma neurotypical individuals may feel. Autistic V thinks she’s nothing like her uptight, hurtful grandmother Jojo.

But when she finds a ghost in her grandmother’s walls, and the two of them play pranks on Jojo, V begins to wonder if there’s more to the story than she knows. Through the pranks, and investigating the hidden dusty parts of Jojo’s perfect, tidy house, V finds that she and Jojo might not be as different as she first thought. She learns that there’s neurodivergent history in her family, and that her ancestors faced risk of being thrown in asylums and masked to survive. The ways V feels scared of not being accepted for her neurodivergence are fears other family members shared before her. With that fear is also hurt and anger–feelings V knows all too well. And while V wants to hear those feelings and acknowledge them for what they are, she discovers how exhausting these feelings can be, and how they aren’t always reliable narrators.

With her cousin’s help, she uses assemblage art as a way to make beautiful things out of the broken, overlooked things. She initiates conversations with her family members, and works to make room for grace. She knows she can’t control how others will respond, but she makes choices in her power to invite healing. With the fantasy world and poetic metaphors, Kuyatt uses the horror of voices and ghosts to speak to the generational traumas and collective fears we carry. The strange magic of Jojo’s house allows space for dealing with challenging, difficult topics of ableism and generational trauma at a safe distance. The story also models possible ways forward to break negative generational patterns, through V’s conversations and actions with the family.

All three of these novels allow young readers the opportunity to connect to an appealing protagonist who can model healthy ways to confront a painful past. While the paths they travel are not easy, all lead to healing, hope, and a brighter future for the characters and their relatives. Making this topic available to middle graders is also important in that these books also open conversations on cultural competence, social emotional learning, and social justice.

The courage and growth reflected in these stories can help readers develop their own resilience as they face challenges in their families and help them to understand and empathize with difficulties their peers may experience as well.

Meg Eden Kuyatt is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection “Drowning in the Floating World” and the forthcoming “obsolete hill” (Fernwood Press, 2026) and children’s novels including the Schneider Family Book Award Honor -winning “Good Different,” “The Girl in the Walls” and “Perfect Enough,” all with Scholastic. When she isn’t writing, she teaches creative writing students. Find her online at megedenbooks.com.

Sydney Dunlap is an award-winning author and former elementary school teacher who has worked extensively with youth facing challenging circumstances. Her 2023 debut novel, IT HAPPENED ON SATURDAY, tackles social media safety and has received a Crystal Kite Honor, several medals, and is featured on multiple state reading lists. Her subsequent novel, RACING THE CLOUDS, received a starred review from School Library Journal and was praised by Highlights Foundation for its outstanding mental health representation. A lifelong animal lover, Sydney lives with her husband and their two dogs and three cats, all rescues. Find her online at www.sydneydunlap.com.

Heather Murphy Capps is the author of middle-grade novels Indigo and Ida (2023 Lerner) and The Rule of Three (2024 Lerner). As a biracial author, Heather is passionate about diversity in publishing. She has earned three starred reviews, made Booklist’s “Top 10 First Novels for Youth,” and has won the National Association of Black Journalists Outstanding Book Award two years in a row, the Social Justice Literature award, and a gold Moonbeam award. Find her online at www.heathermurphycapps.com