Grades 7 and 8 Summer Reading 2015 for Norwell Middle School

Students entering grade 7 should read At the Edge: Daring Acts in Desperate Times by Larry

Verstraete and one title from this list. (Copies of required book will be signed out to students in June.)

Students entering grade 8 should read Feed by M.T. Anderson and one title from this list.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Printz Award 2007, Eisner Award 2007, National Book Award Finalist 2006) ­­ Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format. (Graphic Novel)

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery ­­ Anne, an eleven­year­old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle­aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her. (Free ebook download available from Project Gutenberg)

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol (Eisner Award 2012) ­­ Anya, embarrassed by her Russian immigrant family and self­conscious about her body, has given up on fitting in at school but falling down a well and making friends with the ghost there just may be worse. (Graphic Novel)

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez ­­ In the early 1960s in the Dominican Republic, twelve­year­old Anita learns that her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo.

Black Radishes by Susan Lynn Meyer ­­ Gustave, having been forced to move from Paris to the countryside after his parents decided it was not safe for Jews to live in the city during World War II, meets a Catholic girl named Nicole, whose family is part of the French Resistance, and together they devise a plan to rescue his friend and family members from the Nazi occupied territory.

Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer ­­ Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a

thirteen­year­old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne ­­ Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out­With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.

The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter ­­ The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato.

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson ­­ Jake and Rosa, two children, form an unlikely friendship as they try to survive and understand the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog)

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift’s “Chocolate Pilot” by Michael O. Tunnell ­­ World War II was over, and Berlin was in ruins. US Air Force Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen knew the children of the city were suffering. They were hungry and afraid. The young pilot wanted to help, but what could one man in one plane do? (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog)

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction Winner, National Book Award Finalist) ­­ After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan ­­ Twelve­year­old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident.

The Dark Game: True Spy Stories from Invisible Ink to CIA Moles by Paul B. Janeczko ­­ From clothesline codes to surveillance satellites and cyber espionage, Janeczko uncovers two centuries' worth of true spy stories in U.S. history. (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog)

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams ­­ Like her idol Sherlock Holmes, eighth grader Ingrid Levin­Hill uses her intellect to solve a murder case in her home town of Echo Falls.

Duke by Kirby Larson ­­ In 1944, Hobie Hanson's father is flying B­24s in Europe, so Hobie decides to donate his beloved German shepherd, Duke, to Dogs for Defense in the hope that it will help end the war sooner­­but when he learns that Duke is being trained for combat he is shocked, frightened, and determined to get his dog back.

Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire (School Library Journal Best Book 2014) ­­ Impoverished Russian country girl Elena Rudina and the aristocratic Ekatrina meet and set in motion an escapade that includes mistaken identity, a monk locked in a tower, a prince traveling incognito, and the witch Baba Yaga

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan (Pura Belpre Award 2002) ­­ Esperanza and her mother are forced to leave their life of wealth and privilege in Mexico to go work in the labor camps of Southern California, where they must adapt to the harsh circumstances facing Mexican farm workers on the eve of the Great Depression.

Fallout by Todd Strasser ­­ Scott's dad is the only one in the neighborhood who builds a bomb shelter during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and when the time comes, more neighbors enter the shelter than Scott's dad is prepared for.

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson ­­ In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen­year­old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self­reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech ­­ A story of Sybil and Nula (now estranged sisters who grew up together in Ireland) and Naomi and Lizzie (both orphans in present­day USA) and unraveling mysteries about family and identity.

Hard Ball by Will Weaver ­­ A fourteen­year­old Minnesota farm boy has to figure out how to get along with the arch­rival in his love life and on the baseball diamond, and both boys must learn how to deal with the unfair expectations of their fathers.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (Newbery Honor 2007) ­­ After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen­year­old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe.

The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe by Loree Griffin Burns ­­ Bees don't just produce honey. Your food supply depends on them. Apiarist Dave Hackenberg's bees have a busy travel schedule, pollinating around the United States from February to July. So when Dave inspected four hundred of his hives and found that the bees had simply vanished, a dream team of bee scientists got to work. (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog)

Home Front Girl by Joan Wehlen Morrison ­­ This is the diary of a smart, astute, and funny teenager, making a record of what an everyday American girl thought and felt during the Depression and the lead­up to World War II. This is an important primary source on the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt ­­ Abandoned by their mother, four children begin a search for a home and an identity.

Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (National Book Award 2000) ­­ When thirteen­year­old Koly enters into an ill­fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India's tradition or find the courage to oppose it.

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart (BookPage Top Pick) ­­ A boy named Mark, tired of being sick with cancer, conceives a plan to climb Mount Rainier, and runs away from home with his dog, Beau­­but with over two hundred miles between him and his goal, and only anger at his situation to drive him on, nothing will be easy, and only his best friend, Jessie, suspects where he is heading.

I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier ­­ A young boy desperately tries to unlock his past yet knows he must hide those memories if he is to remain alive.

Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lai ­­ Twelve­year­old Mai is sick of being perfect and her straight A's and extracurricular activities have gotten her a much unwanted trip to Vietnam with her family so she can learn more about her roots. But as time goes on, Mai grows closer to her family and she begins to understand her culture.

Last Shot by John Feinstein ­­ After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott ­­ Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young ladies in nineteenth­century New England. (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog; free ebook download available from Project Gutenberg)

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park ­­ When the Sudanese civil war reaches his village in 1985, eleven­year­old Salva becomes separated from his family and must walk with other Dinka tribe members through southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya in search of safe haven. Based on the life of Salva Dut, who, after emigrating to America in 1996, began a project to dig water wells in Sudan.

Masterminds by Gordon Korman ­­ A group of kids discovers they were cloned from the DNA of some of the greatest criminal masterminds in history for a sociological experiment.

Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman (Eisner Award 1992; Pulitzer Prize Special Awards and Citations ­­ Letters 1992) ­­ A story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's story and history itself. (IMPORTANT NOTE: While this is a Graphic Novel, it is a particularly intense book that touches on topics like suicide in

addition to recounting the beginning of the Holocaust. It is an example of the graphic novel medium at its most moving and sophisticated, but it is definitely for more mature readers.)

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson ­­ After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart ­­ After passing a series of mind­bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt ­­ As a fourteen­year­old who just moved to a new town, with no friends, an abusive father, and a louse for an older brother, Doug Swieteck has all the stats stacked against him until he finds an ally in Lil Spicer­­a fiery young lady. Together, they find a safe haven in the local library, inspiration in learning about the plates of John James Audubon's birds, and a hilarious adventure on a Broadway stage. (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog)

One Kingdom: Our Lives With Animals by Deborah Noyes ­­ In ancient Egypt people worshiped cats, and in India the cow is sacred. Today in America we flock to zoos in record numbers and pamper our pets. But what do we really know about animals? And what do we feel about them in spite of it? Walking a mile in their paws, feathers, or fur is harder than it seems. Here Deborah Noyes embarks on a quest for understanding­­struggling with science and love­­attempting to distance, but also bring closer, the "other" kingdom. What results is a visionary meditation on how myth, history, and culture have influenced our view of animals and shaped our lives with them. Smart and unsentimental, Noyes"s wide­ranging narrative and affectionate portraits raise difficult but important questions, challenging what we think we know about our animal fellows while helping us form new perceptions and realities. We are all­­bird, beast, and boy­­made of blood, bone, and beating heart. Where do they end and we begin?

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle ­­ During the summer her grandfather is dying of leukemia and death seems all around, 15­year­old Vicky finds comfort with the pod of dolphins with whom she has been doing research.

Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus ­­ In Nazi­occupied Norway, fourteen­year­old Espen

joins the resistance movement, graduating from deliverer of illegal newspapers to courier and spy.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong ­­ Describes the 1914 Shackleton Antarctic expedition and how the ship, Endurance, was trapped for months, then crushed, forcing the men to make a long, perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land.

So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane ­­ Thirteen­year­old Nita, tormented by a gang of bullies because she won't fight back, finds the help she needs in a library book on wizardry which guides her into another dimension. (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog)

Son by Lois Lowry ­­ Unlike the other Birthmothers in her utopian community, teenaged Claire forms an attachment to her baby, feeling a great loss when he is taken to the Nurturing Center to be adopted by a family unit. (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog)

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (Mass. Bk Award Winner 2005; Batchelder Award 2003) ­­ Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt only the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they find protection from a gang of Venetian street children and their leader, the Thief Lord. (E­book available to check out through NMS Library Catalog)

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson ­­ While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads them to a pirate's fortune. (Free ebook download available from Project Gutenberg)

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi (Newbery Honor 1991) ­­ As the lone "young lady" on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley ­­ A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.

The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (Newbery Honor 1996) ­­ 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.

West of the Moon by Margi Preus (School Library Journal Best Book 2014) ­­ In nineteenth­century Norway, fourteen­year­old Astri, whose aunt has sold her to a mean goatherder, dreams of joining her father in America.

Women of the Frontier: 16 Tales of Trailblazing Homesteaders, Entrepreneurs, and Rabble­Rousers by Brandon Marie Miller ­­ Drawing on journal entries, letters, and song lyrics to evoke the courage and spirit of female pioneers, a collection of portraits traces the lives of such individuals as Amelia Stewart Knight, Miriam Colt, and Clara Brown.

The Wreckers by Iain Lawrence ­­ Shipwrecked after a vicious storm, fourteen­year­old John Spencer attempts to save his father and himself while also dealing with an evil secret about the English coastal town where they are stranded.

Year of Impossible Goodbyes by Sook Nyul Choi ­­ A young Korean girl survives the oppressive Japanese and Russian occupation of North Korea during the 1940s, to later escape to freedom in South Korea.

Z For Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien ­­ Seemingly the only person left alive after a nuclear war, sixteen­year­old Ann Burden is relieved to see a man arrive into her valley until she realizes that he is a tyrant and she must somehow escape. *Annotation summary descriptions and covers are taken from the Norwell Public Library/OCLN catalog