Interesting Reads for Middle School Book List.pdf - Deerlake Middle ...

Interesting Reads for Middle School Book List
Copeland/Language Arts
These books are good reads for students in middle school, but NOT all of these
meet the BLUE BOOK RECORD/REPORT REQUIREMENTS!
Friendship, Reinventing Yourself, Coming of Age, Acceptance, Equality, and Justice
8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich - After half-heartedly joining his
church youth group's project at a homeless shelter near his Brooklyn middle school, eighth-grade
"loser" Reggie McKnight is inspired to run for school office on a platform of making a real
difference in the community.
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick - Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend,
Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in
preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen,
who is studying drums in Africa.
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko - When his father takes a job at the Alcatraz
Island prison in 1935, 12-year-old Moose has to contend with an extraordinary new environment
in addition to the challenges of life with an autistic sister.
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin - Jason, a twelve-year-old autistic boy who wants
to become a writer, relates what his life is like as he tries to make sense of his world.
Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death
relates the story of Liesel—a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents
help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
Burn My Heart by Beverly Naidoo - Two boys--one white, one black--share an uneasy
friendship in Kenya in the 1950s, a country shaken by a rebellion of Africans against white
landowners, but suspicions and accusations are escalating, and an act of betrayal could change
everything.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose - On March 2, 1955, fifteen-year-old
Colvin, fed up with the daily injustices of segregation, refused to give her seat to a white woman
on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Instead of being celebrated, Colvin found herself shunned by
her classmates and dismissed by community leaders.
Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa-Violet Paz, a Chicago high school student reluctantly prepares for her
upcoming “quince,” a Spanish nickname for the celebration of a Hispanic girl’s fifteenth
birthday.
1

Copeland/Language Arts
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis - In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first
free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses
his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to
be used to buy a family's freedom.
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson - When a new, white student nicknamed "The Jesus Boy" joins
her sixth grade class in the winter of 1971,Frannie's growing friendship with him makes her start
to see some things in a new light.
How to Survive Middle School by Donna Gephart - When thirteen-year-old David Greenberg's
best friend makes the start of middle school even worse than he feared it could be, David
becomes friends with Penny, who shares his love of television shows and posts one of their skits
on YouTube, making them wildly popular--online, at least.
I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb - In
Omaha, Nebraska, twelve-year-old Oliver Watson has everyone convinced that he is extremely
unintelligent and lazy, but he is actually a very wealthy, evil genius, and when he decides to run
for seventh-grade class president, nothing will stand in his way.
Kiss by Jacqueline Wilson - Sylvie and Carl have been friends since they were tiny children.
Sylvie has always believed that they'll end up married to each other. But as they become
teenagers, things begin to change. Sylvie can tell his feelings have changed and that her plans for
the future may be affected. But can she guess at the true reasons behind it all?
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper - Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant,
impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to
speak for the first time.
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo - When Thomas Peaceful’s older brothervis forced to
join the British Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only fourteen years old,
to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood love, Molly, and himself.
Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins - In 1974 her father leaves New Delhi, India, to seek a job in
New York. Ashi, a sixteen year old tomboy, feels thwarted in the home of her extended family in
Calcutta where she, her mother, and sister must stay. When her father dies before he can send for
them, they must remain with their relatives and observe the old-fashioned traditions that Ashi
hates.
Spies of Mississippi by Rick Bowers - In the 1950s and 1960s, the Mississippi State Sovereignty
Commission compiled secret files on more than 87,000 private citizens in the most extensive
state spying program in U.S. history. Its mission: to save segregation.
These books are good reads for students in middle school, but NOT all of these meet
the BLUE BOOK RECORD/REPORT REQUIREMENTS!
2

Copeland/Language Arts
The Cruisers by Walter Dean Myers - Friends Zander, Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbi, caught in
the middle of a mock Civil War at DaVinci Academy, learn the true cost of freedom of speech
when they use their alternative newspaper, The Cruiser, to try to make peace.
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg - Four students develop a special bond and attract
the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to represent their sixth grade class
in the Academic Bowl competition.
The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman I- n this clear and authoritative
account, the author shows the ways in which the seeds of a second world war were sown in the
first. Numerous archival photographs give the often disturbing subject matter a moving visual
counterpart.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis - The ordinary interactions and
everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are
drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
The Year of Goodbyes: A True Story of Friendship, Family and Farewells by Debbie Levy - This
book tells the true story of what happened to a 12-year-old girl named Jutta (Debbie Levy's
mother) in 1938. Actual entries in a posiealbum (autograph book) serve as markers of a crucial
year in history, when people of Jewish ancestry in Germany and Austria were systematically
stripped of their rights. Debbie wrote verses in consultation with her mother to reflect her voice,
feelings, and thoughts throughout this memorable year.
We Troubled the Waters by Ntozake Shange - These poems are a tribute to the many individuals
who acted with courage for justice and change during the civil rights movement.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s
television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to
make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to
defy the laws of time and space.
Adventure, Mystery, and Survival
H.I.V.E.: Higher-Institute-of-Villainous-Education by Mark Walden - Swept away to a hidden
academy for training budding evil geniuses, Otto, a brilliant orphan, Wing, a sensitive warrior,
Laura, a shy computer specialist, and Shelby, an infamous jewel thief, plot to beat the odds and
escape the prison known as H.I.V.E.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld - In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince
Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using
mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the
British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.
3

Copeland/Language Arts
Life in the Wild: George Schaller's Struggle to Save the Last Great Beasts by Pamela S. Turner -
In this compelling biography, illustrated with Schaller's own photographs, Turner examines the
amazing life and groundbreaking work of the man International Wildlife calls "the world's
foremost field biologist." Schaller's landmark research revolutionized field biology,
demonstrating that it is possible to study dangerous animals in their own habitats.
Peak by Roland Smith - After Peak Marcello is arrested for scaling a New York City skyscraper,
he goes to live with his long-lost father, who runs a climbing company in Thailand. But Peak
quickly learns that his father's interest in him has strings attached. He wants Peak to be the
youngest person to reach the Everest summit--and his motives are selfish at best. Even so, for a
climbing addict like Peak, tackling Everest is the challenge of a lifetime. But it's also one that
could cost him his life.
Probably Still Nick Swansen by Virginia Euwer Wolff - Sixteen-year-old Nick finds joy in life
despite his learning disability, the taunting of other kids, and the death of his sister.
STORM: The Infinity Code by E.L. Young - In London, the teenaged geniuses of STORM, a
secret organization dedicated to eliminating the world's misery through science and technology,
uncover plans for a deadly weapon and race to find and dismantle it, then confront the corrupt
scientist behind the scheme.
The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer - A new series featuring Sherlock Holmes'
much-younger sister Enola begins. When her mother disappears, Enola is determined to find her
and sets out to the heart of London. There Enola becomes involved in the kidnapping of a young
marquess.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been
raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard. Newbery Award Winner
Science Fiction and Fantasy
A Matter of Profit by Hilari Bell - Sick of the horrors of conquering beings on other planets,
Ahvrem will end his service as a soldier and save his sister from an unhappy marriage if he can
discover who is behind a rumored plot to assassinate the Emperor.
Ender’s Game or Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card - End, who is the result of genetic
experimentation, may be the military genius Earth needs in its war against an alien enemy; OR
Bean must overcome his past and prove to the recruiters at the Battle School that he can help
save the planet from an alien invasion.
Fever Crumb by Phillip Reeve Foundling - Fever Crumb has been raised as an engineer although
females in the future London, England, are not believed capable of rational thought. But at age
fourteen she leaves her sheltered world and begins to learn startling truths about her past while
facing danger in the present.
4

Copeland/Language Arts
Gateway by Sharon Shinn - As a Chinese adoptee in St. Louis, teenage Daiyu often feels out of
place. When an elderly Asian jeweler shows her a black jade ring, she buys it as a talisman of her
heritage. But it's more than that; it's magic. It transports Daiyu into a version of St. Louis much
like 19th century China. Almost immediately she is recruited as a spy. It also means stealing time
to be with handsome Kalen, who is in on the plan. There's only one problem. Once her task is
done, she must go back to St. Louis and leave him behind forever.
Heir Apparent by Vivan Vande-Velde – While playing a total immersion virtual reality game of
kings and intrigue, fourteen-year-old Giannine learns that demonstrators have damaged the
equipment to which she is connected, and she must win the game quickly or be damaged herself.
House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer - In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys
special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 14 year-old leaser of a corrupt drug empire
nestled between Mexico and the United States.
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher - To free herself from an upcoming arranged marriage, Claudia,
the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, a futuristic prison with a mind of its own, decides to
help a young prisoner escape.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem
maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from
each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the
test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - Readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in
this series that follows a boy and girl on the run from a town where all thoughts can be heard-and
the passage into manhood embodies a horrible secret. Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss,
young Todd and newly arrived Viola set out across New World searching for answers about the
colony's true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World.
The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood - Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place,
the three "Incorrigibles" are no ordinary children. Luckily, fifteen-year-old Miss Penelope
Lumley is no ordinary governess. Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position--- to
teach them to behave in a civilized manner, in time for a Christmas ball. But mysteries abound at
Ashton Place.
The Story of Cirrus Flux by Matthew Skelton - In 1783 London, orphan Cirrus Flux is being
watched. Merciless villains are conniving to steal the world's most divine power which they
believe Cirrus has inherited. Now he faces a perilous journey through the dirty backstreets of the
city. Cirrus must escape, but he'll need to trust some unlikely allies if he hopes to thwart his foes
and survive a grand and terrifying showdown.
5

Copeland/Language Arts
Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix - Melly and Anny Beth both lived normal lives
throughout the twentieth century. But in 2000, when they are old and ready to die, they are
selected to participate in Project Turnabout, and each are given an injection to grow younger.
These books are good reads for students in middle school, but NOT all of these
meet the BLUE BOOK RECORD/REPORT REQUIREMENTS!
6