Town Summer Reading List Grades 7-8
Where to find the books
YA RL: Teen Room, Summer Reading List
YA FIC, FAN, SF: Teen Room, Hardcover
YA PBK: Teen Room, Paperback
YA PBK FAN: Teen Room, Fantasy paperbacks
YA PBK SF: Teen Room, Science Fiction paperbacks
j: Children’s Room, Hardcover,
jPBK: Children’s Room, Paperback
FIC: Ground floor, Fiction hardcovers
SF: Ground floor, Science fiction hardcovers,
PBK: First floor, paperbacks in Reference Room
* Challenging ** More Challenging *** Most Challenging*
Take a Look: Picture Books for Older Readers
Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret *
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.
Look for under: jSelznick Brian
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese **
As alienated kids go, Jin Wang is fairly run-of-the-mill: he eats lunch by himself in a corner of the schoolyard, gets picked on by bullies and jocks, and develops a crush on a pretty classmate. And, oh, yes, his parents are from Taiwan. This is more than just the story of a Chinese-American childhood: it’s a fable for every kid born into a body and a life they wished they could escape.
Look for under: YA GRAPHIC AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
Too Good to Miss: Classics
Adams, Douglas. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ***
When Earth is about to be demolished to make way for an intergalactic highway, Ford Prefect, unlike the rest of Earth's clueless population, knows he has to get off the planet. Ford is an alien sent to Earth to research the planet for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a guide to more or less everything in the universe. Ford and his pal Dent manage to get away from Earth right before it is destroyed. Now without a home planet, Arthur, armed with The Hitchhiker's Guide is off on a hilarious galactic adventure full of strange places and even stranger people.
Look for under: YA PBK SF ADA, SF ADAMS Douglas
Adams, Richard. Watership Down ***
In this classic story of a group of rabbits forced to leave their home, Adams has created an entire rabbit culture, complete with mythology and language, as well as paranormal rabbits who have prophetic visions. A captivating book.
Look for under: YA RL ADA, FIC ADAMS Richard, jAdams Richard
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility ***
Two sisters share the pangs of tragic love. Practical and conventional Elinor desires a man who is promised to another. Emotional and sentimental Marianne loses her heart to a scoundral who jilts her.
Look for under: YA FIC AUSTEN Jane, FIC AUSTEN Jane
Castaneda, Omar. Among the Volcanoes **
Isabel Pacay longs to go to school and become a teacher, but her dream just doesn't seem possible in the her small Guatemalan village where she is expected to follow tradition and marry her handsome boyfriend. Can she hold on to her dream?
Look for in the Minuteman Network
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring ***
Bilbo Baggins reluctantly agrees to give up the powerful but corrupt Ring of Power, but getting rid of the ring turns out to be no easy task. Bilbo's nephew Frodo and his friends try to dispose of it before it falls into the hands of some truly unsavory characters.
Look for under: YA RL TOL, YA PBK FAN TOL, FIC TOLKEIN J.R.R., PBK FAN TOL
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit **
Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, is a peaceful sort who lives in the Shire, a place where adventure is uncommon. He is not entirely thrilled when the wizard Gandalf whisks him away on a treasure-hunting expedition with a group of rowdy dwarves. They encounter ruthless trolls, beastly ogres, gigantic spiders, hungry wolves and must ultimately confront the ferocious dragon.
Look for under: YA PBK FAN TOL, FIC TOLKIEN J.R.R., jTolkien J.R.R., J PBK TOL
Zindel, Paul. The Pigman ***
Two lonely high school students meet Mr. Pignati, an old man who lives in his dreams and makes daily visits to the baboons at the zoo. The three find love and laughter, but only for a short time. A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award.
Look for under: YA RL ZIN, jZindel Paul, J PBK ZIN
Get Real: Nonfiction
Akbar, Said Hyder and Susan Burton. Come Back to Afghanistan ***
After the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, Afghans living in exile began to return home in hopes of participating in rebuilding their war-torn country. Akbar's father sold his clothing store in Oakland to join his friend Hamid Karzai, now the elected president, serving first as his spokesman and later as the governor of the province of Kunar. In this memoir, he chronicled his experiences and his reactions.
Look for under: YA RL AKB, 958 Akbar 2005
Armstrong, Jennifer. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance *
Armstrong describes the events of the 1914 Antarctic expedition when, after being trapped in a frozen sea for nine months, their ship, Endurance, was finally crushed, forcing Shackleton and his men to make a very long and perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land.
Look for under: YA RL ARM
Calabro, Marian. The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party **
This book uses materials from letters and diaries written by survivors of the Donner Party to relate the experiences of that ill-fated group as they endured horrific circumstances on their way to California in 1846-47.
Look for under: YA 979.4 Calabro 1999
D’Orso, Michael. Eagle Blue: A Team, a Tribe, and a High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska **
Eagle Blue follows the Fort Yukon Eagles, winners of six regional championships in a row, through the course of an entire 28-game season, from their first day of practice to the Alaska State Championship Tournament.
Look for under: 796.323 D’Orso 2006
Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air ***
On May 9th, 1996, some 40 climbers started their summit assault on the highest mountain in the world -- Mount Everest. Twenty-four hours later, one climber had died and twenty-three other men and women were caught in a desperate struggle for their lives. This is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest.
Look for under: 796.5 K85i
Lewis, Michael. Blind Side: Evolution of a Game ***
One day Michael Oher will be among the most highly paid athletes in the National Football League. When we first meet him, he is one of thirteen children by a mother addicted to crack; he does not know his real name, his father, his birthday, or how to read or write. He takes up football, and school, after a rich, white, evangelical family plucks him from the streets. Then two great forces alter Oher: the family's love and the evolution of professional football itself into a game in which the quarterback must be protected at any cost.
Look for under: 796.332 Lewis 2006, PBK NF LEW
Nelson, Peter. Left for Dead **
Eleven-year-old Hunter Scott was watching Jaws when he first heard about the World War II sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Intrigued, he investigated further, and discovered a shocking, heartbreaking story behind what should have been a tale of heroism and patriotism. Torpedoed by a Japanese submarine, the Indianapolis went down in minutes, taking more than 800 sailors with it. Several hundred survived, but only after spending days in the open sea with sharks diminishing their numbers hourly.
Look for under: YA 940.934
Philbrick, Nathaniel. Revenge of the Whale: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex ***
The Nantucket whaleship Essex sank in the Pacific in November 1820, after being deliberately rammed twice by an apparently enraged sperm whale. Three months later, five emaciated men were rescued from two small boats filled with the bones of their unlucky companions. The whale's attack on the Essex gave Herman Melville the idea for the climactic scene in Moby-Dick. The grisly details of cannibalism necessary to the telling of the story may provoke shivers but should not give anyone nightmares.
Look for under: YA RL PHI
Read, Piers P. Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors ***
This gripping, unforgettable story of the survivors of a plane crash in the Andes Mountains documents a true story which shocked the world.
Look for under: YA RL REA
Warren, Andrea. Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps **
Through the words and memories of Jack Mandelbaum, Warren presents a harrowing account of a Jewish boy's experience in Nazi prison camps. Mandelbaum had lived a comfortable life with his family in Gdynia, Poland, until the German invasion forced them to flee to a relative's village in 1939. Later, when the Jews were sent to concentration camps, the 12-year-old became separated from the rest of his family and wound up in the Blechhammer camp.
Look for under: YA RL WAR
It Could Happen: Realistic Fiction
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak **
Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it’s been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors’ big end-of-the summer party? Or maybe it’s because her parents’ only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she’s been struck mute.
Look for under: YA RL AND, YA FIC Anderson, Laurie
Bauer, Joan. Best Foot Forward **
As Jenna gears up for 11th grade, she splits her time between home, Al-anon meetings, and her much-loved job at Gladstone Shoes. Jenna is appalled when Mrs. Gladstone offers shoplifter Tanner Cobb a job, and has Jenna mentor Tanner. When Mrs. G's horrible son brings Gladstone Shoes to its corporate knees, Jenna and Tanner unite behind the owner.
Look for under: YA FIC BAUER Joan, YA PBK FIC BAU
Bloor, Edward. Tangerine **
So what if he's legally blind? Even with his bottle-thick, bug-eyed glasses, Paul Fisher can see better than most people. He can see the lies his parents and brother live out, day after day. No one ever listens to Paul, until the family moves to Tangerine. In Tangerine, even a blind, geeky, alien freak can become cool. Who knows? Paul might even become a hero!
Look for under: YA PBK FIC BLO, YA RL BLO
Bunting, Eve. Blackwater *
Thirteen-year-old Brodie Lynch was ready for the perfect summer of adventure along the awesome Blackwater River. That was before everything changed forever. When a harmless prank goes too far, the unthinkable happens. Brodie's lies make him a hero, but inside, his guilt tears at him like the treacherous current of the Blackwater itself.
Look for under: YA RL BUN
Canales, Viola. The Tequila Worm *
Sofia is offered a scholarship to the elite Saint Luke's school in Austin. Now she must convince her Mexican-American family and herself that she is up to the challenge.
Look for under: YA RL CAN
Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street ***
Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, this novel tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong--not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl inventing for herself what she will become.
Look for under: YA RL CIS, YA PBK FIC CIS, PBK FIC CIS
Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes **
An obese boy and a disfigured girl suffer the emotional scars of years of mockery at the hands of their peers. They share a hard-boiled view of the world until events in their senior year hurl them in very different directions. A story about a friendship with staying power, written with pathos and pointed humor.
Look for under: YA RL CRU, YA FIC CRUTCHER Chris
Fleischman, Paul. Whirligig **
While traveling to each corner of the country to build a whirligig in memory of the girl whose death he causes, sixteen-year-old Brian finds forgiveness and atonement.
Look for under: YA RL FLE, YA FIC Fleischman Paul
Grimes, Nikki. Bronx Masquerade
While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates.
Look for under: YA RL GRI, YA FIC Grimes Nikki, YA PBK FIC GRI
Hiaasen, Carl. Flush **
Noah’s dad is in jail for sinking a floating casino, convinced that its owner is illegally dumping raw sewage into the Florida Keys. As Noah and his sister Abbey work to prove that their father is not delusional about the casino owner’s criminal activity, they enlist the help of the town drunk and his less-than-proper girlfriend, as well as a mysterious stranger who comes along at just the right time.
Look for under: YA FIC Hiassen Carl, J PBK HIA
Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders *
This is the story of the struggle of three brothers to stay together after their parents' death and their quest for identity among the conflicting values of adolescent society.
Look for under: YA RL HIN, YA FIC HINTON S. E., YA PBK FIC HIN, jHinton S. E.
Howe, James. The Misfits **
What do a 12-year-old student who moonlights as a tie salesman, a tall, outspoken girl, a gay middle schooler and a kid branded as a hooligan have in common? Best friends for years, they've all been the target of cruel name-calling and now that they're in seventh grade, they're not about to take it any more.
Look for under: YA RL HOW
Joseph, Lynn. The Color of My Words *
When life gets difficult for Ana Rosa, a twelve-year-old would-be writer living in a small village in the Dominican Republic, she can depend on her older brother to make her feel better-- until the life-changing events on her thirteenth birthday.
Look for under: jJoseph Lynn
Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees ***
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this book tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household.
Look for under: YA RL KID, FIC KIDD Sue, PBK FIC KID
Koja, Kathe. Buddha Boy *
The kids at school call Jinsen “Buddha Boy”—he wears oversize tie-dyed dragon T- shirts, shaves his head, and always seems to be smiling. He’s clearly a freak. Then Justin is paired with him for a class project. As he gets to know Jinsen and his incredible artistic talent, Justin questions his own beliefs, but being friends with Buddha Boy isn’t simple, especially when Justin realizes that he’s going to have to take sides.
Look for under: YA RL KOJ, YA FIC Koja Kathe, YA PBK FIC KOJ
Konigsburg, E. L. Silent to the Bone **
What happened to cause Branwell Zamborska to become mute? All anyone knows is that he called 911 because his baby sister, Nikki, had stopped breathing, and when he was unable to speak to the operator, Vivian, the English au pair, came on the line to say that Branwell had dropped the baby and shaken her. His best friend, Connor, begins visiting him at the juvenile behavioral center, where he has been sent while Nikki remains in a coma at the hospital. Working out a code they both can use, Connor begins the long process of trying to communicate with his friend to find out what really happened.
Look for under: YA RL KON, YA PBK FIC KON
Martin, Ann. A Corner of the Universe **
The summer she turns 12, Hattie Owen is steeped in the routines of her small town life until the startling arrival of an uncle no one has ever spoken about. Now that Uncle Adam's "school" - an institution for the mentally disabled - is closing, Hattie's family must deal with a childlike young man whose existence they've denied for years. Hattie suddenly experiences a summer in which she learns living life fully means facing both the good times and the bad.
Look for under: YA RL MAR, jMartin Ann M.
Shusterman, Neal. The Schwa Was Here **
When Anthony “Antsy” Bonano and his friends meet Calvin Schwa, they are impressed by his ability to appear and disappear before their very eyes. Antsy concocts a moneymaking scheme based on the Schwa’s invisibility until he and his friends overreach and are caught by the town’s legendary mean millionaire, Mr. Crawley. Their resulting community service project cements and ultimately challenges friendships. Antsy tells his story in a bubbly Beastie Boys-meet-Bugs Bunny Brooklynese that keeps the pages flipping.
Look for under: YA RL SHU, YA FIC Shusterman Neal
Pearsall, Shelley. All of the Above **
Everyone knows that Washington Middle School is a dead end and its students have no future. Then, Mr. Collins, the seventh-grade math teacher, inadvertently challenges several students to build a tetrahedron (a 3-D multiplane structure) to break the Guinness world record. The students feign disinterest, but gradually the idea takes hold, ultimately drawing in troublemakers and well-behaved kids, parents, relatives, and community members alike. Based on a real event in 2002, this is a delightful story about the power of a vision and the importance of a goal.
Look for under: jPearsall, Shelley
Sonnenblink, Jordan. Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie **
Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey. But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven's world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother's illness and his parents' attempts to keep the family in one piece. Salted with humor and peppered with devastating realities, this is a heartwarming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.
Look for under: YA RL SON, YA FIC Sonnenblink Jordan
Woodson, Jacqueline. If You Come Softly **
After meeting at their private school in New York, fifteen-year- old Jeremiah, who is black and whose parents are separated, and Ellie, who is white and whose mother has twice abandoned her, fall in love and then try to cope with people’s reactions.
Look for under: YA PBK FIC WOO, jWoodson Jacqueline
Life Stories: Biography
Fleischman, Sid. Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini *
Fleischman tells the rags-to-riches story of a poor Jewish boy named Ehrich Weiss, who longed to be like his idol, French magician Robert-Houdin. He began perfecting tricks involving illusion, particularly escaping from restraints such as trunks, handcuffs, and straightjackets. Houdini learned stunt flying and how to make elephants disappear but gained the most attention from his public stunts, such as defying Scotland Yard to keep him locked up, or wrapping himself in chains and jumping into a river.
Look for under: jBIOG Houdini Harry
Mah, Adeline Yen. Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter **
Blamed for the loss of her mother, who died shortly after giving birth to her, Mah is an outcast in her own family. When her father remarries and moves the family to Shanghai to evade the Japanese during WWII, Mah and her siblings are relegated to second-class status by their stepmother. Mah finds escape from this emotionally barren landscape at school, but the academic awards she wins only enrage her jealous siblings and stepmother. Mah easily weaves details of her family's life alongside the traditions of China and the changes throughout the war years and subsequent Communist takeover.
Look for under: YA RL MAH, YA BIOG MAH Adeline
Marrin, Albert. Commander in Chief: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War ***
In this highly praised examination of Lincoln and his times, Albert Marrin shows how a principled but imperfect man-- brilliant and determined but also cautious and prejudiced—grew under the pressure of personal tragedy and national crisis to become our greatest president. A well-researched, riveting account of Lincoln and the Civil War period.
Look for under: YA RL MAR, YA 973.7 M34c
Myers, Walter Dean. The Greatest: Muhammad Ali *
This introduction to Ali's life from his childhood to the present day, focuses on his career and the controversies surrounding him. Both his talent in the boxing ring and his showmanship earned him international fame, while his refusal to accept the stereotypical role of a black athletic star in the 1960s and his membership in the Nation of Islam brought him notoriety.
Look for under: YA RL MYE, jBIOG ALI M
Out of this World: Fantasy & Science Fiction
Alexander, Lloyd. The Taran Wanderer *
Taran, the assistant pig-keeper who wants to be a hero, goes questing for knowledge of his parentage. Accompanied by several loyal friends, Taran begins his search when three wily enchantresses of the Marshes of Morva send him to consult the Mirror of Llunet for the answers he is seeking. He meets Craddoc, the shepherd, and the common people of Prydain. With their help, he continues his mission to learn the secret of the Mirror and the truth about himself.
Look for under: FAIRY ST jZ Alexander, jPBK ALE
Anderson, M.T. Feed ***
This brilliantly ironic satire is set in a future world where television and computers are connected directly into people's brains when they are babies. The result is a chillingly recognizable consumer society where empty-headed kids are driven by fashion and shopping and the avid pursuit of silly entertainment and by constant customized murmurs in their brains of encouragement to buy, buy, buy. A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award.
Look for under: YA RL AND, YA PBK FIC AND, YA FIC Anderson M. T.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451 ***
In this classic American novel Bradbury describes a chilling futuristic society where firemen are paid to set books on fire. The issues of censorship presented here are as relevant today as they were in 1953 when the book was first published.
Look for under: YA PBK SF BRA, YA SF Bradbury Ray, SF Bradbury Ray, PBK SF BRA
Farmer, Nancy. The House of Scorpion ***
In this National Book Award-winning sci-fi thriller, Matt discovers he is a clone in a future where clones are thought of as little more than animals. The intelligence of clones is usually destroyed at birth, but Matt has been spared because he belongs to El Patron, a feudal drug lord. Gradually he realizes the fate that is in store for him and his need to escape.
Look for under: YA RL FAR, YA SF Farmer Nancy, YA PBK SF FAR
Haarsma, P. J. The Softwire – Virus on Orbis 1 *
Johnny Turnbull has spent all of his 12 years aboard the seed- ship Renaissance en route to the Rings of Orbis 1. When they arrive on Orbis 1, the orphans quickly learn that they will be forced to work for the Guarantors (alien businessmen) in order to pay off their dead parents' debt for their passage. Johnny is immediately identified as the first human softwire, someone with the ability to enter and manipulate a computer with his mind. Because of his gift, he is a prime suspect when the central computer of Orbis 1 begins to malfunction. He must prove his innocence and solve the mystery of the mechanical filures before time runs out.
Look for under: SCIFI jHaarsma P. J.
Kessler, Liz. The Tail of Emily Windsnap *
Twelve-year-old Emily Windsnap lives on a houseboat but she has never learned to swim. Even though Emily begs for swimming lessons, her mom always says no. Finally, Emily persuades her mother to let her take swim class at her new school. When Emily hits the water, she gets the surprise of her life. Her legs have turned into a tail. That's right -- Emily is a mermaid! Suddenly Emily's life is full of questions.
Look for under: jKessler Liz
LeGuin, Ursula. The Wizard of Earthsea **
Sparrowhawk, with the potential to become the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, is a headstrong youth hungry for power and knowledge. He behaves recklessly and unleashes a terrible evil shadow upon the world.
Look for under: YA RL LEG, YA FIC FAN LeGuin Ursula, YA PBK FAN LEG, jLeGuin Ursula K.
Levne, Gail Carson. Fairest **
In a world in which elegance, beauty, and singing ability are revered, Aza is bulky, awkward, and homely. Her saving grace is that she can sing and has a gift of voice manipulation that she calls illusing. Pressured by the queen’s threats upon her family, Aza deceives the court into believing that Ivi is a gifted singer. When the ruse is discovered, Aza is forced to flee the castle in order to save her life.
Look for under: YA FIC Levine, jLevine Gail
Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight ***
17-year-old Bella declines her mom's invitation to move to Florida, and instead reluctantly opts to move to her dad's cabin in the dreary, rainy town of Forks, WA. She becomes intrigued with Edward Cullen, a distant, stylish, handsome senior, who is also a vampire. When he reveals that his specific clan hunts wildlife instead of humans, Bella deduces that she is safe from his blood-sucking instincts and therefore free to fall hopelessly in love with him. The feeling is mutual, and the resulting romance smolders as they attempt to hide Edward's identity from her family and the rest of the school.
Look for under: YA RL MEY, YA FIC Meyer Stephenie, YA PBK FIC MEY
Riordan, Rick. The Titan’s Curse. (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3) *
Riordan continues to enliven ancient mythology with wit, contemporary staging, and teenage heroics. Percy Jackson is now 14, a bit older and wiser, yet still entangled with the Fates. Friends, monsters, dysfunctional gods, and the romantic stirrings of all things natural and mythological are encountered. His good friend Annabeth (daughter of Athena) is missing, as is Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Joined by best buddy Grover- the-goat-boy and an argumentative array of accomplices, Percy sets off to fulfill, and hopefully foil, the foreboding prophecy of the Oracle.
Look for under: YA FIC Riordan Rick
Stroud Jonathon. The Amulet of Samarkand (Book 1 in the Bartimaeus Trilogy) ***
Nathaniel is a young magician's apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hotshot wizard ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of everyone he knows, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and take revenge on the wizard. Nathaniel finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, blackmail, and revolt.
Look for under: YA RL STR, YA FAN Stroud Peter, YA PBK FAN STR
Turner, Megan Whalen. The King of Attolia ***
By scheming and theft, the Thief of Eddis has become King of Attolia. Eugenides wanted the queen, not the crown, but he finds himself trapped in a web of his own making. Then he drags a naive young guard into the center of the political maelstrom. Poor Costis knows he is the victim of the king's caprice, but his contempt for Eugenides slowly turns to grudging respect. Though struggling against his fate, the newly crowned king is much more than he appears. Soon the corrupt Attolian court will learn that its subtle and dangerous intrigue is no match for Eugenides.
Look for under: YA RL TUR, jTurner Megan, jPBK Turner Megan
Wells, H. G. The Invisible Man ***
A scientist named Griffin has discovered the means to invisibility--but has gone mad in the process. When frustrated in his efforts to restore himself to visibility, he determines to embark upon a reign of terror that will make him master of the world.
Look for under: YA RL WEL, FIC Wells H. G., SF Wells H. G.
Werlin, Nancy. Double Helix ***
Eighteen-year-old Eli Samuels is hired at the Wyatt Transgenics Lab. Eli's father is dead set against the job because of a secret he harbors concerning the lab's owner, Dr. Quincy Wyatt and Eli's mother. Shortly after starting work, the teen meets Kayla Matheson, a beautiful girl who eerily reminds him of a photo of his mother when she was young. Slowly, Eli uncovers one layer after another of the shocking truth about Dr. Wyatt's genetic-engineering experiments and their connection to his parents, Kayla, and himself.
Look for under: YA RL WER, YA FIC Werlin Nancy
Westerfield, Scott. Uglies. (A Trilogy, Book 1) **
Westerfeld projects a future world in which a compulsory operation at sixteen wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty. Anticipating this happy transformation, Tally meets Shay, another female ugly (someone under 16), who disdains the false values and programmed conformity of the society and urges Tally to defect with her to the Smoke, a distant settlement of simple-living conscientious objectors.
Look for under: YA RL WES, YA FIC Westerfeld Scott, YA PBK FIC WES
Page-turners: Mystery & Adventure
Abrahams, Peter. Down the Rabbit Hole **
Ingrid lands the part of Alice in the town production of Alice in Wonderland and she soon feels a lot like Alice down the rabbit hole when she realizes she was the last person to see a local actress alive. Her new boyfriend’s father, the sheriff, is following up the clues that are pointing way too close to her. An Echo Falls Mystery.
Look for under: YA FIC Abrahams Peter
Avi. Wolf Rider *
Andy places himself in great danger when he tries to prove that the supposed crank caller claiming to have committed murder is telling the truth.
Look for under: YA FIC Avi, YA PBK MYS AVI
Cooney, Caroline. Code Orange **
While conducting research for a school paper on smallpox, Mitty finds an envelope containing 100-year-old smallpox scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New York City.
Look for under: YA FIC Cooney Caroline
Horowitz, Anthony. Stormbreaker ***
After the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, fourteen-year-old Alex Rider is coerced to continue his uncle’s dangerous work for Britain’s intelligence agency, MI6.
Look for under: YA PBK FIC HOR, jHorowitz Anthony, jPBK HOR
Nixon, Joan Lowery. Nightmare *
Since childhood, 10th-grader Emily has had nightmares about a shadowy, slimy place where she is entangled with vines and sees a body lying in water. She is so petrified by this that she is unable to confide in anyone. Her parents are upset because she won't let them help her and are frustrated because she doesn't take after her two brilliant sisters. They send her to Camp Excel, an experimental program for underachievers, where Emily has a sense of deja vu, and her true nightmare begins when she realizes her life is in danger.
Look for under: YA FIC Nixon Joan, jNixon Joan
Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn ***
Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies. Oppel creates an imagined world in which the air is populated by transcontinental voyagers, pirates, and beings never before dreamed of by the humans who sail the skies.
Look for under: YA RL OPP, YA PBK FAN OPP, YA FIC Oppel Kenneth
Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Mysterious Benedict Society **
After Reynie Muldoon responds to an advertisement recruiting "gifted children looking for special opportunities," he finds himself in a world of mystery and adventure. The 11-year-old orphan is one of four children to complete a series of challenging and creative tasks, and he, Kate, Constance, and Sticky become the Mysterious Benedict Society. The four travel to an isolated school where children are being trained by Mr. Curtain, a criminal mastermind, to participate in his schemes to take over the world. They must use their special talents and abilities to discover Mr. Curtain's secrets, and their only chance to defeat him is through working together.
Look for under: jStewart Trenton
Play Ball! Sports Books
Crutcher, Chris. Ironman **
While training for a triathlon, seventeen-year-old Bo attends an anger management group at school which leads him to examine his relationship with his father.
Look for under: YA RL CRU, YA FIC Crutcher Chris, YA PBK FIC CRU
Deuker, Carl. The Heart of a Champion **
Seth faces a strain on his friendship with Jimmy, who is both a baseball champion and something of an irresponsible fool, when Jimmy is kicked off the team.
Look for under: YA RL DEU, YA PBK FIC DEU
Lupica, Mike. Summer Ball **
Danny Walker is back in this sequel to Travel Team (2004). This installment takes Danny to a summer basketball camp, where he faces some of the country's best players in his age group. Danny finds himself spending a lot of time on the bench because his coach (a retired college coach) determines that he is too short for the game. Danny suspects that the coach's antagonism may have more to do with an old grudge the coach holds against Danny's dad, a former basketball star.
Look for under: SPORTS jLupica Mike
Myers, Walter Dean. Slam **
Seventeen-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris can do it all on the basketball court. He's seen ballplayers come and go, and he knows he could be one of the lucky ones. Maybe he'll make it to the top, or maybe he'll stumble along the way. Slam's grades aren't that hot, and when his teachers jam his troubles in his face, he blows up. Slam never doubted himself on the court until he found himself going one-on-one with his own future, and he didn't have the ball.
Look for under: YA RL MYE, YA FIC Myers Walter Dean
Peet, Mal. Keeper **
When Paul Faustino of LA NACION flips on his tape recorder for an exclusive interview with El Gato — the phenomenal goalkeeper who single-handedly brought his team the World Cup — the seasoned reporter quickly learns that this will be no ordinary story. Instead, the legendary El Gato narrates a spellbinding tale that begins in the South American rainforest, where a ghostly but very real mentor, the Keeper, emerges to teach a poor, gawky boy the most thrilling secrets of the game. A seamless blend of magic realism and exhilarating soccer action, this evocative novel will haunt readers long after the story ends.
Look for under: YA FIC Peet Mal
Way Back When: Historical Fiction
Almond, David. The Fire-eaters **
Despite observing his father's illness and the suffering of the fire-eating Mr. McNulty, as well as enduring abuse at school and the stress of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bobby Burns and his family and friends, living in England in 1962, still find reasons to rejoice in their lives and to have hope for the future.
Look for under: YA RL ALM, YA FIC Almond David, jAlmond David
Bruchac, Joseph. Code Talker **
Six-year-old Ned Begay leaves his Navajo home for boarding school, where he learns the English language and American ways. At 16, he enlists in the U.S. Marines during World War II and is trained as a code talker, using his native language to radio battlefield information and commands in a code that was kept secret until 1969. Ned deals with fear, loneliness, and the horrors of the battlefields in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The narrative pulls no punches in describing war’s brutality.
Look for under: YA RL BRU, jBruhac Joseph
Ellis, Deborah. Parvana’s Journey *
The Taliban still control Afghanistan, but Kabul is in ruins. Parvana’s father has just died, and her mother, sister, and brother could be anywhere in the country. Parvana knows she must find them. Despite her youth, Parvana sets out alone, masquerading as a boy. She soon meets other children who are victims of war. The children travel together, forging a kind of family out of sheer need.
Look for under: YA RL ELL, YA PBK FIC ELL
Fleischman, Paul. Bull Run *
Through the alternating viewpoints of 16 characters from various walks of life, readers gain insight into the first battle of the Civil War and into the nature of war in general. Poignant, dramatic cameos seamlessly woven together make for compelling historical fiction.
Look for under: YA RL FLE, YA FIC Fleischman Paul
Greene, Betty. Summer of My German Soldier *
Sheltering an escaped German prisoner of war is the beginning of some shattering experiences for a twelve-year-old Jewish girl in Arkansas.
Look for under: YA RL GRE, YA FIC Greene Betty, jGreene Betty, jPB Greene Betty
Hesse, Karen. Witness *
Set in 1924 in a small Vermont town after the arrival of the Klu Klux Klan, this story presents a cast of 11 characters who tell a story of racism and bigotry based on actual events. As each character speaks, the tale builds like a courtroom drama in which it becomes apparent that the families of 12-year-old Leanora Sutter, an African-American girl, and 6-year-old Esther Hirsh, daughter of a Jewish shoe salesman, are among the victims of Klan activities.
Look for under: YA RL HES, YA PBK FIC HES
Klages, Ellen. The Green Glass Sea **
It is 1943, and Dewey Kerrigan is en route to New Mexico to live with her mathematician father. Soon she arrives at a town that, officially, doesn’t exist. It is called Los Alamos, and it is abuzz with activity, as scientists and mathematicians from all over America and Europe work on the biggest secret of all— “the gadget.” None of them—not J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project; not the mathematicians and scientists; and least of all, Dewey—know how much “the gadget” is about to change their lives.
Look for under: jKlages Ellen
Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky **
In this historical novel set in 1918, 16-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks leaves Iowa and travels to a Montana homestead inherited from her uncle. In the beautiful but harsh setting, she has less than a year to fence and cultivate the land in order to keep it. Neighbors who welcome Hattie help heal the hurt she has suffered from years of feeling unwanted. This Newbery Honor book is engaging and memorable.
Look for under: jLarson Kirby, jPBK LAR
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Fever 1793.
This story is based on an actual epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia that wiped out 5,000 people--or 10 percent of the city's population--in three months. At the close of the 18th century, Philadelphia was the bustling capital of the United States, with Washington and Jefferson in residence. Sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, her widowed mother, and her grandfather are eking out a living running a coffeehouse in the middle of a bustling city when they learn that their servant girl has died of yellow fever. Thus begins Matilda's odyssey of coping and survival as the disease decimates the city and her family.
Look for under: YA RL AND, YA FIC Anderson, Laurie
Myers, Walter Dean . Fallen Angels **
Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam.
Look for under: YA RL MYE, YA PBK FIC MYE
Orlev, Uri. The Man from the Other Side **
Living on the outskirts of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II, fourteen-year-old Marek and his grandparents shelter a Jewish man in the days before the Jewish uprising.
Look for under: YA RL ORL, YA FIC Orlev Uri, YA PBK FIC ORL
Paulsen, Gary. The Legend of Bass Reeves *
Being the true and fictional account of the most valiant Marshal in the West, this engrossingly told tale fills in the unrecorded youth of a unjustly obscure historical figure who was born a salve, became a successful ranger, then later in his long life went on to play an integral role in taming the rough-hewn Oklahoma Territory.
Look for under: jPaulsen Gary
Peck, Richard. The River Between Us ***
At the start of the Civil War two mysterious young women get off a boat in a small town in southern Illinois, and 15-year-old Tilly Pruitt's mother takes them in. Who are they? Is the darker- complexioned woman the other woman's slave? Tilly's twin brother, Noah, falls in love with one of them--rich, stylish, worldly Delphine, who shows Tilly a world of possibilities beyond her home. When Noah runs away to war, Tilly and Delphine go after him, find him in the horror of an army tent hospital, and bring him back; but their world is changed forever.
Look for under: YA RL PEC, jPeck Richard, jPBK PEC
Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels ***
This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel brings the reader face-to-face with the key participants of one of the bloodiest battles of American history -- the Battle of Gettysburg.
Look for under: YA RL SHA, FIC SHAARA Michael, PBK FIC SHA
Stolz, Joelle. The Shadows of Ghadames **
In the Libyan city of Ghadames at the end of the nineteenth century, Malika is dreading her twelfth birthday. That is the time when, according to her family's Berber customs, she will be close to marriageable age and confined to the world of women. In Ghadames that means restriction to the rooftops, a place for women only where they never talk to men. Malika longs to live beyond the segregated city and travel, like her father, a trader.
Look for under: YA RL STO, jStolz Joelle
Taylor, Mildred. The Land **
Like Taylor's Newbery Medal book, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976), this powerful historical novel, a prequel to Roll of Thunder, refuses to "whitewash" history. As the author notes in her afterward, the language was painful and life was painful for many African Americans, including her family. Drawing directly on her family history, she goes back to the time of Reconstruction to tell a searing story of cruelty, racism, and betrayal. She also tells a thrilling coming-of-age story about friendship, hope, and family strength.
Look for under: jTaylor Mildred, jPBK TAY
Winthrop, Elizabeth. Counting on Grace **
It’s 1910 in Pownal, Vermont. At 12, Grace and her best friend Arthur must go to work in the mill, helping their mothers work the looms. Together Grace and Arthur write a secret letter to the Child Labor Board about underage children working in the mill. A few weeks later, Lewis Hines, a famous reformer arrives undercover to gather evidence. Grace meets him and appears in some of his photographs, changing her life forever.
Look for under: jWinthrop Elizabeth
Just for Fun: Humor
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bucking the Sarge **
In this hilarious, anguished novel set in Flint, Michigan, the narrator is smart, desperate 15-year-old Luther Farrell, who speaks with wit, wisdom, and heartbreaking realism about family, work, school, friends, and enemies.
Look for under: YA RL CUR, YA FIC Curtis Christopher
Korman, Gordon. No More Dead Dogs *
Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is sentenced to detention attending rehearsals of the school play where, in spite of himself, he becomes wrapped up in the production and begins to suggest changes that improve not only the play but his life as well.
Look for under: YA RL KOR, YA PBK FIC KOR
Lubar, David. Dunk **
Sitting over a tub of dirty water, the Bozo taunts the crowd until some poor fool forks over enough money to finally dunk him. The Bozo is amazing and powerful--and Chad wants to be that Bozo. Full of anger at a father who left him, a mother who works too much, adults who think he is a loser, and the autoimmune disease that is killing his best friend, Chad is sure he can be the perfect Bozo. And master the craft he does, only to find it more useful in real life than in the tank.
Look for under: YA RL LUB, YA FIC Lubar David, YA PBK FIC LUB
Peck, Richard. The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts *
School is the only thing standing between fifteen-year-old Russell and his dream of joining a team of harvesters. But when the teacher dies and Russell’s sister takes over teaching, his worst nightmare comes true.
Look for under: jPeck Richard, jPBK PEC
Soto, Gary. Crazy Weekend *
Seventh-grader Hector’s and Mando’s visit to Uncle Julio in Fresno turns unexpectedly exciting when their photograph of a robbery is published in the newspaper and they are pursued by the hilariously inept thugs.
Look for under: YA RL SOT, jSoto Gary
Van Draanen, Wendelin. Flipped *
The first time she saw him, she flipped. The first time he saw her, he ran. That was the second grade, but not much has changed by the seventh. But in the eighth grade everything gets turned upside down, and just as he’s thinking there’s more to her than meets the eye, she’s thinking that he’s not quite all he seemed. This is a classic romantic comedy of errors told in alternating chapters by two fresh, funny new voices.
Look for under: YA RL VAN, YA FIC Van Draanen, Wendelin, YA PBK FIC VAN
Yee, Lisa. Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time *
After flunking sixth-grade English, Stanford Wong, named for his father’s alma mater, must forgo celebrity basketball camp for summer school and afternoon tutoring with Millicent Min, girl genius. During their sessions, the former adversaries grudgingly discover that they have more in common than just their grandmothers, who are best friends, and each helps the other move through messy predicaments grounded in their own embarrassment and lies.
Look for under: YA RL YEE, jYee Lisa
A Way with Words: Poetry
Koertge, Ron. Shakespeare Bats Cleanup **
Fourteen-year-old Kevin Boland is an MVP first baseman whose whole life revolves around baseball. Diagnosed with mono, he is forced to stay at home for months while he recuperates. Bored, Kevin borrows his father's book of poetry and starts writing his own. At first, he just has fun imitating haiku and sonnets, but he soon begins writing insightful verse, both funny and serious, in which he records his candid observations about life in junior high, romance, his dreams of baseball stardom, and his grief over the recent death of his mother.
Look for under: YA RL KOE, YA FIC Koertge Ron
Porter, Pamela. The Crazy Man *
After Emaline is crippled by an accident with her father's tractor in 1965, Daddy kills her beloved dog, Prince, and walks away from the farm on the Saskatchewan prairie. Mom takes in Angus from the local mental hospital to help with the farm work, but the neighbors jeer and complain about the "sub-human" crazy man on the loose. Emaline never denies Angus' illness, but she sees his kindness and strength, and they help each other with their work and with their grief.
Look for under: YA RL POR, jPorter Pamela, jPBK POR
Sones, Sonya. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy *
In a story based on real events, and told in poems, Sones explores what happened and how she reacted when her adored older sister suddenly had a mental breakdown and had to be hospitalized. She, the younger sister, was left behind to cope with a family torn apart by grief and friends who turned their backs on her. But worst of all was the loss of her big sister, her confidante, her best friend, who had gone someplace no one could reach.
Look for under: YA PBK FIC SON