Middle School Suggested Reading List Classics Title Author ...

Two Years before the Mast Richard Henry Dana The remarkable story of life at sea, as told by a
19 year old, who has left the privileged world
of Boston and Harvard to become a common
sailor.
Modern Fiction
A Death in the Family James Agee A sensitive account of a family’s reaction to
the death of one of its members, this novel
examines the most delicate, private realms of
emotion.
A Long Way from Chicago Robert Peck What happened when Joey and his sister,
Mary Alice—two city slickers from Chicago—
make their annual summer visit to Grandma
Dowdel’s seemingly sleepy Illinois town?
A Step from Heaven An Na In this story, a young girl recounts her
bittersweet experience in the United States
after her family emigrates from Korea.
CrashBoomLove: A Novel in Verse Juan Felipe Herrera Sixteen year old Cesar Garcia is careening. His
father, Papi Cesar, has left the migrant circuit
in California for his other wife and children in
Denver. Sweet Mama Lucy tries to provide for
her son with dichos and tales of her own
misspent youth. But at Rambling West High
School in Fowlerville, the sides are drawn:
Hmong vs. Chicanos vs. everybody vs. Cesar,
the new kid on the block.
Criss Cross Lynne Rae Perkins Teenagers in a small town in the 1960s
experience new thoughts and feelings,
question their identities, connect, and
disconnect as they search for the meaning of
life and love.