.
2007
Suggested for 7th
and 8th Grades
by
Clarke Middle School
Library
&
Sullivan Library, Diamond
Middle School
Almond,
David. Clay. Delacorte, 2006.
The
developing relationship between teenager Davie and a mysterious new boy in town
morphs into something darker and more sinister when Davie learns firsthand of
the boy's supernatural powers.
Anderson,
Laurie.Twisted. Viking, 2007.
After
finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry
father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the
attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must
choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts
Anderson,
M.T. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation,
Volume I: The Pox Party. Candlewick, 2006.
Various
diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the experiences of Octavian,
a young African American, from birth to age sixteen, as he is brought up as
part of a science experiment in the years leading up to and during the
Revolutionary War.
Boyne,
John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. David Fickling, 2006.
Bored
and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called
"Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy
in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.
Budhos,
Marina. Ask Me No Questions. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.
Fourteen-year-old
Nadira, her sister, and their parents leave Bangladesh for New York City, but
the expiration of their visas and the events of September 11, 2001, bring
frustration, sorrow, and terror for the whole family.
Draper,
Sharon. Copper Sun. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.
Two
fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape
their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a
Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.
Gratz,
Alan. Samurai Shortstop. Dial, 2006.
While
obtaining a Western education at a prestigious Japanese boarding school in
1890, sixteen-year-old Toyo also receives traditional samurai training which
has profound effects on both his baseball game and his relationship with his
father.
Jansen,
Hanna. Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You. Carolrhoda, 2006.
Jeanne,
the only member of her family not murdered in the Rwandan genocide, struggles
to start a new life without her family while coping with the violent memories
that haunt her.
Klass,
David. Firestorm. Frances Foster, 2006.
After
learning that he has been sent from the future for a special purpose,
eighteen-year-old Jack receives help from an unusual dog and a shape-shifting
female fighter.
Lupica,
Mike. Heat.
Philomel, 2006.
Pitching
prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned
from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only
twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.
Meyer,
Stephanie. Twilight. Little, Brown, 2005.
When
seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks,
Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels
an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not wholly human.
If
you liked this, try the sequel: New Moon
Myers,
Walter Dean. Street Love. Amistad/Harpr/Tempest, 2006.
This
story told in free verse is set against a background of street gangs and
poverty in Harlem in which seventeen-year-old African American Damien takes a
bold step to ensure that he and his new love will not be separated
Na,
An. Wait for Me. Putnam, 2006.
As
her senior year in high school approaches, Mina yearns to find her own path in
life but working at the family business, taking care of her little sister, and
dealing with her mother's impossible expectations are as stifling as the
southern California heat, until she falls in love with a man who offers a way
out.
Pfeffer,
Susan Beth. Life as We Knew It. Harcourt, 2006.
Through
journal entries sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggle to
survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes,
and volcanic eruptions
Shulman,
Polly. Enthusiasm. Putnam, 2006.
Julie
and Ashleigh, high school sophomores and Jane Austen fans, seem to fall for the
same Mr. Darcy-like boy and struggle to hide their true feelings from one
another while rehearsing for a school musical
Smelcer,
John E. The Trap. Holt, 2006.
In
alternating chapters, seventeen-year-old Johnny Least-Weasel, who is better
known for brains than brawn, worries about his missing grandfather, and the
grandfather, Albert Least-Weasel, struggles to survive, caught in his own steel
trap in the Alaskan winter.
Wittlinger,
Ellen. Blind Faith. Simon & Schuster, 2006
While
coping with her grandmother's sudden death and her mother's resulting
depression and fascination with a spiritualist church, whose ministers claim to
communicate with the dead, fifteen-year-old Liz finds herself falling for a new
neighbor whose mother is dying of cancer
Zusak,
Marcus. The Book Thief. Knopf, 2006.
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.
DonŐt
miss these favorite authors and their series:
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Horowitz Meg
Cabot Brian
Jacques
Scott
Westerfeld Tamora
Pierce Orson Scott
Card
Ann
Brashares Philip
Pullman Christopher Paolini
Louise
Rennison Garth
Nix Jacqueline
Woodson
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