Banks, Tyra. Modelland. (2011) ISBN 9780385740593 $17.99 HC
Thrown into a world where she does not seem to belong, awkward fifteen-year-old Tookie De La Creme is invited to join the most exclusive modeling school in the world, where she must survive the beastly Catwalk Corridor and the terrifying Thigh-High Boot Camp in order to uncover Modelland’s sinister secrets. Great for teens interested in modeling or looking for the dark underbelly of the business. Also good for someone who likes a wildly gonzo fantasy- like Hunter S. Thompson tackling the subject.

Beaton, Kate. Hark! A Vagrant. (2011) ISBN 9781770460607 $19.95 HC
For teens interested in history, or for parents trying to get teens interested in history, this wildly hilarious graphic novel will make readers laugh, then go look up the people in the strips to find out the real story. The book is a collection of Beaton’s webcomic of the same name.

Collins, Suzanne. Hunger Games Trilogy. (2011) ISBN 9780545265355 $53.97 HC set
All three books of the trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay together in hardcover. Read the series before the movie comes out, or give to the teen who needs their own set!

Johnson, Maureen. The Name of the Star. (2011) ISBN 9780399256608 $16.99 HC
Nerdfighters, rejoice! The new series from the author of the Little Blue Envelope books is here! The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it’s the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper in the autumn of 1888. Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police now believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was with her at the time, didn’t notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Lu, Marie. Legend. (2011) ISBN 9780399256752 $17.99 HC
For fans of The Hunger Games looking for their next obsession—here is the start of an epic new trilogy. What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths – until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets. Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

Meloy, Colin. Wildwood. (2011) ISBN 9780062024688 $17.99 HC
When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, seventh-grader Prue McKeel ventures into the forbidden Impassable Wilderness–a dangerous and magical forest in the middle of Portland, Oregon–and soon finds herself involved in a war among the various inhabitants. Gorgeous illustrations paired with Decemberist front-man Meloy’s magical prose.

Orloff, Erica. Illuminated. (2011) ISBN 9780142413760 $7.99 pbk
Part historical fiction, part modern teen romance. When sixteen-year-old Callie Martin finds an antique diary hidden in a book, she’s pulled into the doomed romance of Heloise and Abelard. The diary leads her to the brilliant and handsome August, who is just as mysterious as the secret the diary hides. As the two hunt down the truth behind the diary their romance becomes all-consuming. But Callie knows it can’t last, because love never does. Will their love that burns as bright as a shooting star flame out, or will these star-crossed lovers be able to defy history?

Paolini, Christopher. Inheritance. (2011) ISBN 9780375856112 $27.99 HC
The final book of the series that began with Eragon is finally here! Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Reid, Kimberly. My Own Worst Frenemy: a Langdon Prep novel. (2011) ISBN 9780758267405 $9.95 pbk
Great for teens looking for a new mystery series, or fans of the Gossip Girls or Clique books! Chanti Evans moves from the streets of Detroit to the exclusive Langdon prepatory school, where her upbringing immediately makes her a suspect in the string of thefts occurring on campus, and she must find the culprit and clear her name.

Sandler, Karen. Tankborn. (2011) ISBN 9781600606625 $17.95 HC
Science-fiction dystopia for teens wanting to engage with ideas about what it means to be human.
Best friends Kayla and Mishalla know they will be separated when the time comes for their Assignments. They are GENs, Genetically Engineered Non-humans, and in their strict caste system, GENs are at the bottom rung of society, and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach fifteen. When Kayla is Assigned to care for the patriarch of a trueborn family, she finds a host of secrets and surprises. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night. With the help of an intriguing lowborn boy, Mishalla begins to suspect that something horrible is happening to them. Both girls must put their lives and hearts at risk to crack open a sinister conspiracy, one that may reveal secrets no one is ready to face.

Sherman, Delia. The Freedom Maze. (2011) ISBN 9781931520300 $16.95 HC
For any teenage fans of The Help, this time travel story from the Jim Crow-era South back to the time of slavery will captivate and enchant. Thirteen-year-old Sophie isn’t happy about spending summer at her grandmother’s old house in the Bayou. But the house has a maze Sophie can’t resist exploring once she finds it has a secretive and playful inhabitant. When she makes an impulsive wish, she slips one hundred years into the past, to the year 1860. Once she makes her way, bedraggled and tanned, to what will one day be her grandmother’s house, she is taken for a slave.

Stiefvater, Maggie. The Scorpio Races. (2011) ISBN 9780545224901 $17.99 HC
From the author of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, a great pick for teens who read The Hunger Games last year. Some race to win. Others race to survive. It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. Some riders live. Others die. At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition – the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

Taylor, Laini. Daughter of Smoke and Bone. (2011) ISBN 9780316134026 $18.99 HC
Karou is a seventeen-year-old art student with a most unusual family. From his desk in a dusty, otherworldly shop, her mysterious, monstrous father sends her on errands across the globe, collecting teeth for a shadowy purpose. On one such errand, Karou encounters an angel, and soon the mysteries of her life and her family are unraveled–with consequences both beautiful and dreadful. National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor has created a lushly imaginative, fully realized world in Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Taylor’s writing is as sumptuous as poetry, and the story overflows with dark and delightful magic, star-crossed love, and difficult choices with heartbreaking repercussions. Readers of all ages will be utterly enchanted.

Van Allsburg, Chris (editor). The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: fourteen amazing authors tell the tales. (2011) ISBN 9780547548104 $24.99 HC
Van Allsburg’s Harris Burdick illustrations have evoked such wonderment and imagination since Harris Burdick’s original publication in 1984; many have speculated or have woven their own stories to go with his images. This inspired collection of short stories features many remarkable, best-selling authors in the worlds of both adult and children’s literature: Sherman Alexie, M.T. Anderson, Kate DiCamillo, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Stephen King, Tabitha King, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, Walter Dean Myers, Linda Sue Park, Louis Sachar, Jon Scieszka, Lemony Snicket, and Chris Van Allsburg himself.

Condie, Allyson Braithwaite. Matched. (2010) Matched Trilogy; bk.1 ISBN: 9780142419779 $9.99 pbk
A tale of love and the power of freedom of choice in a dystopia disguised as utopia. In a futuristic world in which everyone is assigned their one “perfect” spouse, a “match” calculated to produce life-long happiness and health, Cassia discovers that there are two young men who could be her match. When she falls in love with the one who is not officially approved, her faith in her perfect society begins to disintegrate. A coming of age story with philosophical overtones. Followed by Crossed (2011) bk. 2 ISBN: 9780525423652 $17.99 HC

Doctorow, Cory. Little Brother. (2008) ISBN: 9780765323118 $9.99 pbk
After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

Ness, Patrick. The Knife of Never Letting Go. (2008) Chaos Walking, bk.1 ISBN: 9780763645762 $9.99 pbk
Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss and mad minister Aaron, young Todd and Viola set out across New World searching for answers about his colony’s true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World. Followed by The Ask and the Answer (2009), Monsters of Men (2010), all $9.99 pbk

Ryan, Carrie. The Forest of Hands and Teeth. (2009) Trilogy; bk.1 ISBN: 9780385736824 $9.99 pbk
Through twists and turns of fate, orphaned Mary seeks knowledge of life, love, and especially what lies beyond her walled village and the surrounding forest, where dwell the Unconsecrated, aggressive flesh-eating people who were once dead. Followed by The Dead-Tossed Waves (2010) bk.2 ISBN: 9780385736855 $8.99 pbk & The Dark and Hollow Places (2011) bk.3 ISBN: 9780385738590 $17.99 HC

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. (2005) series bk.1 ISBN: 9781442419810 $9.99 pbk
Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally’s best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all. Followed by Pretties (2005), Specials (2006), Extras (2007), all $9.99 pbk
—Bogus to Bubbly: An Insider’s Guide to the Uglies. (2008) ISBN: 9781416974369 $8.99 pbk
This guide to the series peels back the layers of the world, history, people, and places.

Armstrong, Kelly. The Summoning. (2008) Darkest Powers trilogy; bk.1 ISBN: 9780061450549 $8.99 pbk
After fifteen-year-old Chloe starts seeing ghosts and is sent to Lyle House, a mysterious group home for mentally disturbed teenagers, she soon discovers that neither Lyle House nor its inhabitants are exactly what they seem, and that she and her new friends are in danger. The Awakening (2009) ISBN: 9780061450556 and The Reckoning (2009) ISBN: 9780061450563 both $8.99 pbk

Clare, Cassandra. City of Bones. (2007) Mortal Instruments series; bk.1 ISBN: 978-1416955078 $10.99 pbk
Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster. City of Ashes (2008) ISBN: 9781416972242 $10.99 pbk; City of Glass (2009) ISBN: 9781416972259 $10.99 pbk and City of Fallen Angels (2011) ISBN: 9781442403543 $17.99 HC. Set of first three pbk: ISBN: 9781442409521 $29.99

Durst, Sarah Beth. Drink, Slay, Love. (2011) ISBN: 9781442423732 $17.99 HC
Try this if you like snarky humor and sweet romance. After sixteen-year-old vampire Pearl Sange is stabbed through the heart by a were-unicorn, she develops non-vampire-like traits that lead her to save her high school classmates from the Vampire King of New England.

Gray, Claudia. Evernight. (2008) Evernight series; bk.1 ISBN: 0061284440 $8.99 pbk
Sixteen-year-old Bianca, a new girl at the sinister Evernight boarding school, finds herself drawn to another outsider, Lucas, but dark forces threaten to tear them apart and destroy Bianca’s entire world. This is an interesting twist on vampires told from the female point-of-view. Stargazer (2009) ISBN: 0061284467 $8.99 pbk; Hourglass (2010) ISBN: 9780061284489 $8.99 pbk and Afterlife (2011) ISBN: 9780061284427 $16.99 HC

Hunter, C.C. Born at Midnight. (2011) Shadow Falls series; bk.1 ISBN: 0312624670 $9.99 pbk
Sixteen-year-old Kylie Galen thinks her misbehavior in the wake of her grandmother’s death and her parents’ separation are the reasons she has been sent to Shadow Falls Camp, but learns it is a training ground for vampires, werewolves, and other “freaky freaks,” of which she may be one. Awake at Dawn (2011) ISBN: 9780312624682 $9.99 pbk

Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and Chocolate. 1997) ISBN: 9780385734219 $8.99 pbkHaving fallen for a human boy, a beautiful teenage werewolf must battle both her packmates and the fear of the townspeople to decide where she belongs and with whom.

Steifvater, Maggie. Shiver. (2009) Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy; bk.1 ISBN: 9780545123273 $8.99 pbk
In all the years she has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house, Grace has been particularly drawn to an unusual yellow-eyed wolf who, in his turn, has been watching her with increasing intensity. Linger (2010) ISBN: 9780545123297 $9.99 pbk and Forever (2011) ISBN: 9780545259088 $17.99. HC Series 3HC Set: ISBN: 9780545326865 $52.97

Galvin Middle School
Summer 2011 Reading List
For Students Entering Grade 8

Students must read two (2) books before school starts.

Fiction

Crispin: the Cross of Lead by Avi.

Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets Bear, a roving Juggler, who holds a dangerous secret.

3 Willows: the sisterhood grows by Ann Brashares.

Ama, Jo, and Polly spend the summer before ninth grade learning about themselves, their families, and the changing nature of their friendship.

Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford.

Will Carter thinks this could be the year he gets it together and learns how to manage his ADD. He’s just started high school and despite his efforts to stay focused, his troubles with girls and humiliations by upper classmen may seriously jeopardize his plans.

Night Hoops by Carl Deuker.

While trying to prove that he is good enough to be on his high school’s varsity basketball team, Nick must also deal with his parents’ divorce and the erratic behavior of a troubled classmate who lives across the street.

Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper.

Romiette, an African-American girl, and Julio, a Hispanic boy, discover that they attend the same high school after falling in love on the Internet, but are harassed by a gang whose members object to their interracial dating.

Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.

Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one but not the older, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with–and protection from–Venice’s Thief Lord.

Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going.

When a high-school dropout talks a boy out of suicide the boys become unlikely friends—who end up saving each other, and making punk rock history.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

When Jonah and Chip learn they were discovered on a plane full of babies with no adults on board, they realize that they have uncovered a mystery involving time travel and two opposing forces.

The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon.

After Ben’s father makes a shocking announcement and leaves the family, Ben’s rebellion lands him in the middle of nowhere with his dad. He is forced to find a way to deal with the new version of his family.

Invisible by Pete Hautman.

Doug and Andy are unlikely best friends–one a loner obsessed by his model trains, the other a popular student involved in football and theater–who grew up together and share a bond that nothing can sever.

The Stepsister Scheme by Jim Hines.

Cinderella teams up with Snow White and Sleeping Beauty to save the kingdom from Cinderella’s evil stepsisters and some very bad fairies.

Far North by Will Hobbs.

After the destruction of their floatplane, sixteen-year-old Gabe and his Dene friend, Raymond, struggle to survive a winter in the wilderness of the Northwest Territories.

Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes.

A disparate group of high school students thrown together in detention form a band to play at a school talent show and end up competing with a wildly popular local rock band.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemison.

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, Yeine is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, she is named an heiress to the king. Bloody intrigue follows while Yeine tries to solve her mother’s death with the help of gods and men.

Hunting of the Last Dragon by Sheryl Jordan.

As a monk records his every word, a young peasant tells of his journey with a young Chinese noblewoman to St. Alfric’s Cove and the lair of a dragon.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.

Fleeing home, a young girl is given a home by three African-American beekeeping sisters. There she discovers a place where she can find the single thing her heart longs for most.

Side Effects by Amy Goldman Koss.

Everything changes for Isabelle when she is diagnosed with lymphoma, but eventually she survives and even thrives.

The Juvie Three by Gordan Korman.

Gecko, Arjay, and Terence must find a way to keep their halfway house open in order to stay out of juvenile detention.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler.

Fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves is sure that she’s the weakest link in her high-powered family until her handsome, athletic, star-student brother shockingly falls from grace.

Dooley Takes the Fall by Norah McClintock.

Ryan Dooley, 17, has been trying to stay out of trouble, but when a dead body falls in front of him, he is blamed.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo.

When Thomas Peaceful’s older brother is 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.

Handbook for Boys by Walter Dean Myers.

Sixteen-year-old Jimmy, on probation for assault, talks about life with three old men in a Harlem barbershop and hears about the tools he can use to get what he wants.

If I Should Die Before I Wake by Han Nolan.

Can an alienated, Jew-hating, Neo-Nazi teenager have lived a previous life as a Polish Jewish girl in the Lodz ghetto during the Holocaust? Can a motorcycle accident which lands her comatose in a Jewish hospital be the vehicle for her tumbling through time repeatedly to relive that life while fighting for this one?

Transall Saga by Gary Paulsen.

While backpacking in the desert, thirteen-year-old Mark is transported into a more primitive world, where he must use his knowledge and skills to survive.

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund.

Astrid has always scoffed at her eccentric mother’s stories about killer unicorns. But after one attacks her boyfriend–ruining any chance of him taking her to the prom–Astrid must head to Rome to become a unicorn hunter.

By the Time You Read This I’ll Be Dead by Julianne Peters.

High school student Daelyn Rice, who has been bullied throughout her school career and has more than once attempted suicide, again makes plans to kill herself, in spite of the persistent attempts of an unusual boy to draw her out.

The Daughters by Joanna Philbin.

In New York City, three fourteen-year-old best friends who are all daughters of celebrities watch out for each other as they try to strike a balance between ordinary high school events, such as finding a date for the homecoming dance, and family functions like walking the red carpet with their famous parents.

Under the Baseball Moon by John H. Ritter.

Andy and Glory, two fifteen-year-olds from Ocean Beach, California, pursue their respective dreams of becoming a famous musician and a professional softball player.

Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan.

Darren Shan is an ordinary schoolboy who enjoys hanging out with his three best friends. Then one day they stumble across an invitation to visit the Cirque Du Freak, a mysterious freak show. As if by destiny, Darren wins a ticket, and what follows is his horrifying descent into the dark and bloody world of vampires.

One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones.

After her mother’s death, Ruby moves to Los Angeles to live with her father, actor Whip Logan, whom she’s never met. Ruby hates her new glamorous life, but a tragic incident helps Ruby and Whip be honest with each other.

Cruise Control by Terry Trueman.

A talented basketball player struggles to deal with the helplessness and anger that come with having a brother rendered dysfunctional by severe cerebral palsy and a father who deserted the family.

Alison Who Went Away by Vivian Vande Velde.

Three years after the disappearance of her older sister, fourteen-year-old Sibyl and her family struggle to continue their lives, separately and together.

Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan.

When 13-year-old Koly enters into an ill-fated arranged marriage, she must either suffer a destiny dictated by India’s tradition or find courage to oppose it.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones.

Sophie, resigned to her fate as a hat shop apprentice until a witch turns her into an old woman and she finds herself in the castle of the greatly feared Wizard Howl.

NONFICTION

Bill Gates by Marc Aronson.

Bill Gates is many things: the richest person in the world; the ruthless businessman who co-founded Microsoft and led it to domination of the computer software industry; and now, the leading global philanthropist.

Close to Shore: the Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 by Michael Capuzzo.

Details the first documented cases in American history of sharks attacking swimmers, which occurred along the Atlantic coast of New Jersey in 1916.

Houdini by Clinton Cox.

Drawing from Houdini’s diary and correspondence, as well as period newspapers and reviews of the illusionist’s performances, the author illuminates both the personal and professional sides of Houdini.

Getting Away with Murder: the True Story of the Emmett Till Case by Chris Crowe.

Presents a true account of the murder of fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, the boy who triggered the civil rights movement in Mississippi in 1955.

Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipović.

As war engulfs Sarajevo, Zlata Filipović becomes a witness to food shortages and the deaths of friends and learns to wait out bombardments in a neighbor’s cellar.

Twitter for Dummies by Laura Fitton.

More than staying in touch with friends, Twitter keeps you current of favorite bands, trends, even information sources for projects.

The Abracadabra Kid by Sid Fleischman.

The autobiography of the Newbery award-winning children’s author who set out from childhood to be a magician. It gives warm insight into what made Fleischman become a writer.

Sigmund Freud by Kathleen Krull.

Freud was a complicated, often irascible man, who in 19th century Vienna developed his still-controversial ideas and the new discipline of psychoanalysis.

A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.

In this dramatic and historic recreation of the bravery and agony that marked that fateful night the author paints a vivid portrait of the last hours of the Titanic’s first and final voyage.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah.

Adeline Yen Mah’s compelling autobiography in which, like the fairy tale maiden, her childhood was ruled by a cruel stepmother. As the youngest of her five siblings, she suffers the worst.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.

The inspiring account of one man’s campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia.

Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom by Walter Dean Myers.

The 1839 revolt of Africans against their Spanish captors aboard the slave ship Amistad leads to their arrest for piracy and murder, and trials which ended in the group’s acquittal by the Supreme Court.

The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers.

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 1960’s and his membership in the Nation of Islam brought him notoriety.

Guts or How I Lived the Same as Brian Robeson by Gary Paulsen.

The author relates incidents in his life and how they inspired parts of his books about the character Brian Robeson featured in Hatchet and Brian’s Winter.

The Chicago “Black Sox” Scandal: a Headline Court Case by Michael Pellowski.

Eight Chicago White Sox baseball players are accused of conspiracy when they allegedly took money to lose the 1919 World Series.

Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas.

While growing up in a Spanish Harlem, author Piri Thomas plunges into drugs, street fighting, and armed robbery—a descent that ended when the twenty-two-year-old Piri was sent to prison for shooting a cop.

Chewing Gum in Holy Water by Mario Valentini.

Funny stories of growing up in Italy.

Facebook: the missing manual by E.A. Vander Veer.

Everyone knows that Facebook helps to keep you in touch with friends.  But do you know you can start Interest Groups, advertise Events, and use it to land a job or advertise a startup business?

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally Walker.

Walker takes readers on an archaeological investigation of human and material remains from 17th- and 18th-century Jamestown and colonial Maryland, while addressing relevant topics in forensic anthropology, history, and archaeology.

Galvin Middle School
Summer 2011 Reading List
For Students Entering Grade 7

Students must read two (2) books before school starts.

FICTION

Beauty Shop for Rent by Laura Bowers.

Raised by a great-grandmother and a bunch of beauty shop buddies, fourteen-year-old Abbey resolves to overcome her unhappy childhood and disillusionment with the mother who deserted her.

Spy High; Mission One by A.J. Butcher.

To the outside world, the boarding school known as Devereaux Academy also goes by the name Spy High.

Storm Warriors by Elisa Carbone.

After his mother’s death, twelve-year-old Nathan moves with his father and grandfather, and hopes to join the all-black crew at the nearby lifesaving station, despite his father’s objections.

If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko.

Kirsten and Walk, seventh-graders at an elite private school, stand up to a mean but influential classmate, and uncover a long-kept secret about themselves.

Crunch by Leslie Connor.

Fourteen-year-old Dewey attempts to be the “embodiment of  responsibility” as he juggles the management of the family’s bicycle repair business while sharing the household and farm duties with his siblings after a sudden energy crisis strands their parents far from home.

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney.

While conducting research for a school paper on smallpox, Mitty finds an envelope containing smallpox scabs and fears that he has infected himself and all of New York City.

Children of the Sea Vol. 1 by Daisuke Igarashi.

When Ruka was younger, she saw a ghost at the aquarium and is drawn to it and the two mysterious boys she meets there. They become caught up in the mystery of the worldwide disappearance of the oceans’ fish.

Last Shot: a Final Four Mystery by John Feinstein.

After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game.

No Small Thing by Natale Ghent.

Twelve-year-old Nat and his sisters find that owning a pony they acquired for free helps them cope with the poverty they have faced since their father left them.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen-year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1995 tourist site under unseen observation by heartless scientists, and it’s up to Jessie to escape and save the lives of the dying children.

Flush by Carl Hiaasen.

With their father jailed for sinking a river boat, Noah Underwood and his younger sister, Abbey, must gather evidence that the owner of this floating casino is emptying his bilge tanks into the protected waters around their home.

The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins.

Young Ludlow Fitch is hired as the assistant to a pawnbroker who trades dark secrets for cash. Ludlow’s job is to transcribe the confessions in the Black Book of Secrets. What the pawnbroker doesn’t know is that his new apprentice may have the most troubling secret of all.

The Last Best Days of Summer by Valerie Hobbs.

During a summer visit, twelve-year-old Lucy must come to terms with both her grandmother’s failing memory and how her mentally-challenged neighbor will impact her popularity when both enter the same middle school in the fall.

Following Fake Man by Barbara Ware Holmes.

During his summer in Maine, twelve-year-old Homer, together with his new friend Roger, is determined to find the truth about himself, his long-dead father, and a mysterious man.

Straydog by Kathe Koja.

Rachel begins to feel at home volunteering at an animal shelter.

No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman.

Eighth-grade football hero Wallace Wallace is sentenced to detention attending play rehearsals.  He becomes wrapped up in the production, suggesting changes that improve not only the play but his life as well.

Pop by Gordan Korman

Lonely after a move to a new town, sixteen-year-old high-school quarterback Marcus Jordan becomes friends with a retired professional linebacker who trains him but also gets Marcus into constant trouble.

Shipwreck by Gordon Korman (Book one of the Island series).

Six kids, Nick, J.J., Will, Lyssa, Charla, and Ian, are thrown together against their will on a small boat that will make a one-month journey on the Pacific Ocean.

The Batboy by Mike Lupica.

It is every baseball kid’s dream summer job: batboy for your hometown Major League team. Yet for fourteen year-old Brian, the job means more than just the chance to hang around his idols.

Any book from the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale.

An ordinary boy discovers his strange destiny and takes adventures through time and space.

Odysseus by Geraldine McCaughrean.

Imagine Odysseus and his crew traveling across the “world-encircled sea,” seduced by sirens and threatened by gruesome monsters. Just as dramatic is the story of Odysseus’ son and his wife, waiting for his ship that “did not come and did not come and did not ever come.”

Makeovers by Marcia by Claudia Mills.

At the beginning of eighth grade, all Marcia can think about is what nail polish to use, how to lose weight, and whether Alex will ask her to the dance, but after giving makeovers in a nursing home for a school project, she begins to appreciate the value of inner beauty.

Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers.

After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun–until a tragedy occurs.

Slam by Walter Dean Myers.

Sixteen-year-old “Slam” Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently.

Game by Walter Dean Myers.

Drew won’t let anyone disrespect his game. Just as his team makes the playoffs, Drew must come up with something big to save his fading college prospects. It’s all up to Drew to find out just how deep his game really is.

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson.

Fifteen-year-old Daniel followed in his parents’ footsteps as an Alien Hunter, exterminating beings on The List of Alien Outlaws on Terra Firma, but when he faces his first of the top ten outlaws, the very
existence of Earth and another planet are at stake.

Lyddie by Katherine Patterson.

Ten-year-old Lyddie and her younger brother are hired out as servants to help pay off their family farm’s debts.  Lyddie flees to Lowell, Mass., in hopes of finding a better job that will provide enough income to pay off farm debts and allow the family to be reunited.

Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins.

The story centers on a group of 14-year-old neighbors and friends finding their way to adulthood. Their stories meet, crisscross, diverge, and then come back together again over the course of a summer.

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.

Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students from a school for “bad kids,” find themselves at Camp Half-Blood, where they learn that they are demigods and begin a quest to free Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself.

The View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts.

Rob admits having seen a murder, but no one believes him–except the murderer.

Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt.

When all his classmates go to either Catechism or Hebrew school, seventh-grader Holling Hoodhood stays in Mrs. Baker’s classroom where they read the plays of William Shakespeare and Holling learns much about the world he lives in.

Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick.

When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family.

Finding the Forger by Libby Sternberg.

Teenage sleuth Bianca Balducci is asked to prove the innocence of Sarah’s latest boyfriend, Hector, who is the prime suspect in the theft of a local art museum’s missing paintings.

Tiger by Jeff Stone.

Five young warrior-monk brothers survive an insurrection and must use the ancient arts to avenge their Grandmaster.

Killer Pizza by Greg Taylor.

While working as summer employees in a local pizza parlor, three teenagers are recruited by an underground organization of monster hunters.

In the Night Garden (Orphan’s Tales Vol. 1) by Catherynne M. Valente.

An abandoned girl with strange, ink-black stains around her eyes and over her eyelids tells stories to the boy who finds her in the garden.

Man in the Woods by Rosemary Wells.

14-year-old Helen investigates what she considers the false arrest of a classmate and is nearly killed herself as her findings lead her into big-money drug dealings.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.

In the summer of 1968 eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive in California to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer they barely know, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

Hush by Jacqueline Woodson.

Twelve-year-old Toswiah finds her life changed when her family enters the witness protection program.

NONFICTION

The Perilous Journey of the Donner Party by Marian Calabro.

This account of the Donner party’s infamous 1846 trek from Illinois to the largely unsettled territory of California chronicles the factors and circumstances that left the group stranded in the mountains for the winter.

Escape! The story of the great Houdini by Sid Fleischman.

A biography of the magician and ghost chaser whose amazing feats are remembered long after his death in 1926.

The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman.

The author lays out a clear and compelling history of the early aviation experiments that culminated in the legendary flight at Kitty Hawk.

The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler by James Giblin.

A biography of the man responsible for some of the most atrocious acts committed in human memory.

Girls Rock by Robyn Goodmark.

Getting your band together, establishing a fan base, raising startup funds, budgeting, and planning costumes and gigs are explained in this how-to manual.

Shutting Out the Sky: Life in the Tenements of New York, 1880-1915 by Deborah Hopkinson.

Challenges face five teen immigrants from Belarus, Italy, Lithuania, and Romania in New York’s teeming tenements at the turn of the twentieth century.

The Road from Home by David Kherdian.

A biography of the author’s mother concentrating on her childhood in Turkey before the Turkish government deported its Armenian population. 

The Wright Sister by Richard Maurer.

Katharine Wright ran the household for her older brothers and their father when Orville and Wilbur were developing and promoting their airplane. A graduate of Oberlin College, she gave up her career as a teacher to help them turn their airplane from a curiosity into a viable business.

Marching to Freedom: The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Joyce Milton.

A biography of the Baptist minister and civil rights leader whose philosophy and  practice of nonviolent civil disobedience helped African Americans win many battles for equal rights.

Restless Spirit by Elizabeth Partridge.

Dorothea Lange, whose photographs of migrant workers, Japanese American internees, and rural poverty helped bring about important social reforms.

Galvin Middle School
Summer 2011 Reading List
For Students Entering Grade 6

Students must read two (2) books before school starts.

FICTION

Skellig by David Almond.

Unhappy about his baby sister’s illness and the chaos of moving into a dilapidated old house, Michael retreats to the garage and finds a mysterious stranger.

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson.

In 1793 Philadelphia, sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow fever epidemic.

SOS Titanic by Eve Bunting.

15-year-old Barry O’Neill, traveling from Ireland to America on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, finds his life endangered when the ship hits an iceberg and begins to sink.

The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper.

On his eleventh birthday Will Stanton discovers that he is the last of the Old Ones, destined to seek the six magical signs that will enable the Old Ones to triumph over the evil forces of the Dark.

The Wanderer by Sharon Creech.

Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat, which is en route to visit their grandfather in England.

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis.

Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father–the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau.

When Lina finds part of an ancient message, she and her friend Doon are sure it holds a secret that will save the underground city of Ember.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can “read” fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman.

Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents and the souls of three others.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos.

To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention and controlling his mood swings when his prescription meds wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting wired.

Among the Betrayed by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Thirteen-year-old Nina is imprisoned by the Population Police who give her the option of helping them identify illegal “third-born” children, or facing death.

Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes.

On a summer visit to her grandmother’s cottage, twelve-year-old Martha learns to deal with the death of a classmate, her relationship with her grandmother, her feelings for an older boy and her plans to be a writer.

Jackie’s Wild Seattle by Will Hobbs.

How do you rescue a wild coyote trapped in an elevator in a downtown Seattle office building? How do you save an injured baby seal at the bottom of a cliff with the tide coming in? Fourteen-year-old Shannon Young, visiting from New Jersey, is about to find out.

The Misfits by James Howe.

Four students who do not fit in at their small-town middle school decide to create a third party for the student council elections to represent all students who have ever been called names.

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata.

Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.

Haunted Sister by Lael Littke.

A sixteen-year-old girl suffers a near-death experience in which her twin sister, who died in an accident twelve years before, returns to forcibly share her body.

Stop the Train! By Geraldine McCaughrean.

In 1893 the new settlers of Florence, Oklahoma, are determined to build a real town, despite the opposition of the owner of the Red Rock Runner railroad

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

Lucky knows about the uncertainty of life because she lost her mother in a sudden accident two years ago. When she thinks that her guardian plans to leave, Lucky knows she has hit rock bottom and must run away.

Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen.

In Hatchet, Brian was rescued. This story portrays what would have happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet.

The Teacher’s Funeral by Richard Peck.

Fifteen-year-old Russell’s dreams of quitting school to go to work are disrupted when his older sister takes over the teaching at his one-room schoolhouse after mean old Myrt Arbuckle “hauls off and dies.”

The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan.

Eleven-year-old Jack faces local bullies, crippling dust storms, his sick sister, and despairing townspeople in a small Oklahoma town.

Only You Can Save Mankind! by Terry Pratchett.

Johnny Maxwell takes on aliens, girls, video games, and the nature of war itself.

Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury.

Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi’s father and grandfather are arrested. It’s a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn’t change: the loyalty of Tomi’s buddies, the Rats.

Letters from Wolfie by Patti Sherlock.

Certain that he is doing the right thing by donating his dog, Wolfie, to the Army’s scout program in Vietnam, thirteen-year-old Mark has second thoughts when the Army refuses to say when or if Wolfie will ever return.

Loser by Jerry Spinelli.

Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff’s optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself.

Now You See It by Vivian Vande Velde.

With Wendy’s new glasses, she sees cheerful corpses, old crones disguised as teeny-boppers, and portals to another world–a place where everyone knows of the glasses’ powers and will do anything they can to get them.

Any book in the P.C. Hawke Mysteries series by Paul

Zindel.

P.C. Hawke, a Sherlock Holmes for the twenty-first century, and his fashionable and fabulous sidekick, Mackenzie, solve crimes and have adventures in this wild series.

NONFICTION

Beyond: A Solar System Voyage by Michael Benson.

The author reviews the latest scientific developments about each individual planet, including Pluto’s status change to a dwarf planet.

Killer at Large by D.B. Beres.

Profilers provide law enforcement with scientific and psychological evidence that helps narrow the search for criminals.

The Word Snoop by Ursula Dubosarsky.

The best-kept secrets in the English language are revealed to your unsuspecting eyes and ears!

The Power of One: Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine by Judith Fradin.

Daisy Bates was a journalist and activist who became one of the foremost civil rights leaders in America. In 1957 she mentored the nine black students who were integrated into Central High School in Little Rock.

Break a Leg by Lise Friedman.

Whether you just want to learn improv, hone your stand up routine, or become a Shakespearean actor, this book has tips on all aspects of the stage, including behind-the-scenes work such as lighting design and stage management.

A Smart Girl’s Guide to Money by Nancy Holyoke.

Whether it’s shopping, saving, or investing, this guide investigates your relationship with money and how you feel about it to maximize your earning potential.

The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students by Suzanne Jurmain.

They threw rocks and rotten eggs at the school windows; refused to sell Miss Crandall groceries; her schoolhouse was set on fire; the town authorities dragged her to jail. Her crime? Trying to open and maintain one of the first African American schools in America.

Horse Showing for Kids by Cheryl Kimball.

Horse enthusiasts will learn how to care for their horse, receive tips on grooming, even dressing themselves to make a good impression on judges.

Trial by Ice: A Photobiography of Ernest Shackleton by  K.M Kostyal.

Traces the adventurous life of the South Pole explorer whose ship, the Endurance, was frozen in ice and crushed, leaving captain and crew to fight for survival.

Leonardo Da Vinci by Kathleen Krull.

The author discusses his lonely childhood and his insatiable curiosity and craving for knowledge. The author also shows the workings of a scientific mind and the close connection between science and art.

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy.

For more than a century poor Mrs. O’Leary and her cow have shouldered the blame for Chicago’s infamous Great Fire of 1871. Now the author lays bare the facts concerning one of the greatest disasters in American history.

In the Line of Fire: Presidents’ Lives at Stake by Judith St. George.

Four presidents have been assassinated: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John Kennedy. But did you know that seven other attempts have been made on the lives of the presidents?

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine by Sally M. Walker.

Although divers searched for more than 130 years, the sub was not found until 1995. Over the last 14 years archeologists have raised the sub and sifted through sediment for artifacts and human remains and clues to why, when and how she sank.

Galvin Middle School
Summer 2011 Reading List
For Students Entering Grade 5

Students must read two (2) books before school starts.

FICTION

The Barn by Avi.
In an effort to fulfill their dying father’s last request, nine-year-old Ben and his brother and sister construct a barn on their land in the Oregon Territory.

Never Mind: a Twin Novel by Avi.
Twelve-year-old twins Meg and Edward have nothing in common, so they are shocked when Meg’s hopes for popularity and Edward’s mischievous schemes coincidentally collide.

Basketball (or Something Like It) by Nora Raleigh Baskin.

Basketball clinics, a revolving door of coaches, outraged parents, and the importance of the right sneakers—is that what the game is about?

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.

Twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards’ families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

The School Story by Andrew Clements.

After twelve-year-old Natalie writes a wonderful novel, her friend Zoë helps her devise a scheme to get it published. But Natalie’s mother is her editor.

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins.

When 11-year-old Gregor and his 2-year-old sister are pulled into an underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

Replay by Sharon Creech.

While preparing for a role in the school play, twelve-year-old Leo finds an autobiography that his father wrote as a teenager and learns about the ways people change as they grow up.

Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.

Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, shares adventure with the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.

Chicken Boy by Frances O’Roark Dowell.

Since the death of his mother, Tobin’s family and school life have been in disarray, but after he starts raising chickens with his seventh-grade classmate, Henry, everything starts to fall into place.

The Ruins of Gorlan (The Ranger’s Apprentice Series, Bk.1) by John Flanagan.

When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.

Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff.

Sam is almost 11 when he discovers a locked box in the attic, and a piece of paper that says he was kidnapped.

Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff.

A troublesome twelve-year-old orphan remembers the only other time she was happy in a foster home, with a family that truly seemed to care about her.

Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff.

During a summer spent at Rockaway Beach in 1944, Lily’s friendship with a young Hungarian refugee causes her to see the war and her own world differently.

Mickey and Me: a Baseball Card Adventure by Dan Gutman.

When Joe travels back in time to 1944, he meets the Milwaukee Chicks, one of the only all-female professional baseball teams in the history of the game.

Holes by Louis Sachar.

Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.

Silent to the Bone by E. L. Konigsburg.

When he is wrongly accused of gravely injuring his baby half-sister, thirteen-year-old Branwell loses his power of speech and only his friend Connor is able to reach him and uncover the truth about what really happened.

Chasing the Falconers by Gordon Korman.

Aidan and Meg Falconer are the only hope of their parents who are facing life in prison. Can Aidan and Meg follow a trail of clues to prove their innocence while they’re trapped in a juvenile detention center?

The Capture (Book 1 of the Guardians of Ga’hoole) by Kathryn Lasky.

After Soren, a young Barn Owl, falls from his nest, his idyllic world transforms into one of confusion and danger, as he is captured by evil chick-snatching owls and taken to the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls.

Journey to America by Sonia Levitin.

A Jewish family fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938 endures innumerable separations before they are reunited.

The Kid in the Red Jacket by Barbara Park.

Ten-year-old Howard moves with his family to a distant state, is forced to live on a street named Chester Pewe, and gets used to being shadowed by a little girl in a nearby house.

On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck.

A boy in Illinois remembers the homefront years of World War II, especially his two heroes–his brother in the Air Force and his father, who fought in World War I.

A Year Down Yonder by Robert Peck.

During the recession of 1937, 15-year-old Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty grandmother in rural Illinois and grows to understand this fearsome woman.

Bystander by James Preller.

Thirteen-year-old Eric discovers there are consequences to not standing by and watching as the bully at his new school hurts people. Although school officials are aware of the problem, Eric may be the one with a solution.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.

As Samuel G. Westing’s 16 heirs gather for the reading of his will, they are elated to find that one of them stands to inherit a cool $200 million. In order to collect it, all he or she has to do is expose Mr. Westing’s murderer, who also happens to be one of the heirs.

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.

After learning that he is the son of a mortal woman and Poseidon, god of the sea, 12-year-old Percy is sent to a summer camp for demigods, and joins his new friends on a quest to prevent a war between the gods.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan.

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.

Magyk by Angie Sage.

After learning that she is a princess, Jenna is whisked from her home and carried toward safety by the Extraordinary Wizard and a young guard.

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman.

A Brooklyn eighth-grader nicknamed Antsy befriends the Schwa, an “invisible-ish” boy who is tired of blending into his surroundings and going unnoticed by nearly everyone.

Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley.

Raised by peasants, Bella discovers that she is actually the daughter of a knight. Now he wants her back, so Bella is torn from her beloved foster family and sent to live with her deranged father and his resentful new wife. Soon Bella is caught up in a terrible plot that will change her life — and the kingdom — forever.

The Noonday Friends by Mary Stolz.

Two young friends stop speaking to each other even though they can’t remember why they argued in the first place, and this is just one more on top of the other problems that each has with her own family.

Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen.

Fifth-grader Nolan Byrd, tired of being called names by the class bully, has a secret identity–Shredderman! The website capturing evidence of bullying has results, but some of them aren’t what Nolan expects.

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson.

Through letters to his little sister, who is living in a different foster home, sixth-grader Lonnie, also known as “Locomotion,” keeps a record of their lives while they are apart, describing his own foster family, including his foster brother who returns home after losing a leg in the Iraq War

NONFICTION

Shark Life: True Stories about Sharks and the Sea by Peter Benchley.

Benchley shares many anecdotes of his personal encounters with sharks, including the Great White, in stories that are exciting and sometimes terrifying

The Journey that Saved Curious George by Louise Borden.

Tells the story of Margret and H. A. Rey, who were carrying several illustrated manuscripts, including The Adventures of FiFi, later retitled Curious George.

Bodies from the Ash: Life and Death in Ancient Pompeii by James M. Deem.

On the morning of August 24, A.D. 79, Vesuvius began to erupt. Within twenty-four hours, the entire city of  Pompeii—and many of its citizens—had been utterly annihilated. Hundreds of years later Pompeii saw daylight again, as archaeological excavations began to unearth what had been buried under layers of volcanic rubble.

5,000 Miles to Freedom: Ellen and William Craft’s Flight from Slavery by Judith Bloom Fradin.

Ellen and William Craft were two of the few slaves to escape. Their escape took them to Philadelphia, then on to Boston pursued by slave hunters, and 5,000 miles across the ocean to England.

Out of Darkness: The Story of Louis Braille by Russell Freedman.

A biography of the nineteenth-century Frenchman who, having been blinded at the age of three, went on to develop the system of raised dots on paper that enabled blind people to read and write.

Homesick by Jean Fritz.

Jean Fritz describes her childhood in China in the 1920′s.

You Wouldn’t Want to Be on the First Submarine! By Ian Graham.

Get ready…as a young man in Civil War America, you are about to become involved in a highly dangerous underwater arms race. You could get into very deep water in the first submarine…

Tutankhamun: the Mystery of the Boy King by Zahi Hawass.

An account of the life, death and burial of King Tut and the unearthing of his tomb. The author sheds new light on the biggest question about Tut—was he murdered?

Extreme Scientists by Donna M. Jackson.

Hurricane hunters, cave women, and other people in extreme careers share their experiences on the job and how they got there.

Diving to a Deep-Sea Volcano by Kenneth Mallory.

Changing undersea technology allows people to learn more about the sea as an ecosystem, and about the life forms that live there.

Why is Snot Green? by Glenn Murphy.

Science facts from biology, astronomy, the human body, technology, and mother nature cover a range of topics from alien life forms to mucous.

Woodsong by Gary Paulsen.

For a rugged outdoor man and his family, life in northern Minnesota is a wild experience involving wolves, deer, and the sled dogs that make their way of life possible.

My Life in Dog Years by Gary Paulsen.

The author describes some of the dogs that have had special places in his life, including his first dog, Snowball, in the Philippines; Dirk, who protected him from bullies; and Cookie, who saved his life.

The Goal by Andrew Podnieks.

The Boston Bruins Stanley Cup win in 1970 concluded with Bobby Orr’s dramatic overtime goal.

Mystery on Everest: a Photobiography of George Mallory by Audrey Salkeld.

Discusses the life of British mountain climber, George Mallory, the discovery of his body seventy-five years after his death, and the debate over whether Mallory was the first person to reach the top of Mount Everest.

Venom by Marilyn Singer.

Learn about venom and the animals that produce it and use it to survive, including spiders, insects, snakes and other reptiles, frogs and toads, fish, and ocean invertebrates.

Almost Astronauts by Margaret Weitekamp.

The true story of the women who “manned” Mercury 13.

*Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. A rape near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year in high school.

Anderson, M.T. Thirsty. FANTASY. From the moment he knows that he is destined to be a vampire, Chris thirsts for the blood of people around him while also struggling to remain human.

*Arrington, Frances. Prairie Whispers. HISTORICAL FICTION. Only twelve-year-old Colleen knows that her baby sister died just after she was born and that Colleen put another baby in her place, until the baby’s father shows up and makes trouble for her and her family on the South Dakota prairie in the 1860s.

*Asimov, Isaac. Foundation. SCIENCE FICTION. In this first book of the classic Foundation series, a band of psychologists plant a colony to encourage art, science, and technology in the declining Galactic Empire and to preserve the accumulated knowledge of humankind.

*Barker, Clive. Abarat. FANTASY. Candy Quackenbush of Chickentown, Minnesota, one day finds herself on the edge of a foreign world that is populated by strange creatures, and her life is forever changed. 1st of a quartet, followed by Days of Magic, Nights of War.

*Berg, Elizabeth. Durable Goods or True to Form or Joy School.
Durable Goods. Following her mother’s death, Katie, a young girl living on an army base in the 1960s, waits for her Prince Charming to fall in love with her and struggles to understand her distant, violent father.
True to Form. This novel tracks 13-year-old Katie as she becomes a babysitter, a Girl Scout, and deals with adolescence.
Joy School. Young Katie’s first experience of intense romantic love–with a much older man–becomes a rite of passage and an exploration of love in its many guises.

*Blais, Madeleine. In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle. NON-FICTION. This is the story of the Amherst Lady Hurricanes High School basketball team during their championship season.

*Bloor, Edward. Story Time. FANTASY. George and Kate are promised the best education but instead face obsessed administrators, endless tests, and evil spirits when they are transferred to haunted Whittaker Magnet School.

Blos, Joan. A Gathering of Days: A New England Journal, 1830-32. HISTORICAL FICTION. The journal of a fourteen-year-old girl, kept the last year she lived on the family farm, records daily events in her small New Hampshire town, her father’s remarriage, and the death of her best friend.

*Bray, Libba. A Great and Terrible Beauty. FANTASY. After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers and ability to see into the spirit world. Followed by Rebel Angels.

*Brooks, Bruce. The Moves Make the Man. A thirteen-year-old black boy and an emotionally troubled white boy in North Carolina form a precarious friendship on the basketball court.

*Brooks, Kevin. The Road of the Dead or Kissing the Rain.
The Road of the Dead. SUSPENSE. Two brothers, sons of an incarcerated gypsy, leave London and travel to an isolated and desolate village, in search of the brutal killer of their sister.
Kissing the Rain. Fifteen-year-old Moo Nelson, shy, overweight, and bullied by his classmates, finds his life spinning out of control after he witnesses a car chase and a fight that results in a murder.

Caine, Rachel. Glass Houses. FANTASY. Peer pressure sucks. So do vampires. In Morganville, Texas, a town where evil terrorizes the streets under the cover of darkness, Claire Danvers, who has had enough of her current dorm situation, moves off campus and discovers that her new roommates have some serious problems with vampires. First in Morganville Vampire Series, followed by The Dead Girls’ Dance. If you liked Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, give this a try.

*Caletti, Deb. Wild Roses. In Washington State, seventeen-year-old Cassie learns about the good and bad sides of both love and genius while living with her mother and brilliant-yet-disturbed, violinist stepfather and falling in love with a gifted young musician.

*Carmi, Daniella. Samir and Yonatan. Samir, a Palestinian boy, is sent for surgery to an Israeli hospital where he has two otherworldly experiences, making friends with an Israeli boy, Yonatan, and traveling with him to Mars, where Samir finds peace about his brother’s death in the war.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie is navigating through the strange worlds of love, drugs, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and dealing with the loss of a good friend and his favorite aunt. Written in diary format. Some profane and crude language.

*Clarke, Susanna. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. FANTASY. If magic intrigues you, this fantastic comedy of manners, complete with elaborate false footnotes, occasional period spellings, and a dense, lively mythology may speak to you. In nineteenth-century England, all is going well for rich, reclusive Mr. Norell, who has regained some of the power of England’s magicians from the past, until a rival magician, Jonathan Strange, appears and becomes Mr. Norrell’s pupil.

*Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. SCIENCE FICTION. In this page-turner, 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. Followed in the series by Catching Fire.

Coman, Carolyn. What Jamie Saw. Having fled to a family friend’s hillside trailer after his mother’s boyfriend tried to throw his baby sister against a wall, nine-year-old Jamie finds himself living an existence full of uncertainty and fear.

*Cormier, Robert. In the Middle of the Night. Sixteen-year-old Denny lives in the shadow of deadly accident with which his father was connected when he was Denny’s age, a disaster for which some of the survivors still blame his father and prevents Denny from having the normal life of a teenager.

Dash, Joan. World at Her Fingertips: The Story of Helen Keller. BIOGRAPHY. Helen Keller’s earlier life with teacher Annie Sullivan may be well known, but Dash examines an older Helen, one who struggled through high school, attended and graduated from college. Dash paints a very human Helen, very different from the woman on the pedestal that others have portrayed.

*Dessen, Sarah. Just Listen. Isolated from friends who believe the worst because she has not been truthful with them, sixteen-year-old Annabel finds an ally in classmate Owen, whose honesty and passion for music help her to face and share what really happened at the end-of-the-year party that changed her life.

Draper, Sharon. Double Dutch. Eighth-grader Delia becomes a double Dutch champion, even as she hides her illiteracy and her friend Randy struggles with his own secret—his missing father.

*Drvenkar, Zoran. Tell Me What You See. FANTASY. Told from the point of view of each person, this story tells how Alissa finds an odd plant that gives her strange powers, how Simon stalks Alissa because he can’t get over their break-up, and how Evelyn tries to help Alissa with everything.

Duncan, Lois. Gallows Hill. When seventeen-year-old Sarah works in the fortune-telling booth at a school carnival, she finds that sometimes she can really see the future in the crystal ball, a talent that disturbs some of the other students and makes them suspect her of being a witch.

*Erickson, Carolly. Alexandra: the Last Tsarina or Her Little Majesty. BIOGRAPHIES.
Alexandra: The Last Tsarina. The author depicts Alexandra as rejected from the start by the Russian court and oblivious to the political situation in her adopted country, with a strong desire for a “normal,” loving family life. This book covers Alexandra’s childhood, her marriage to Nicholas, her increasing eccentricities and psychological anguish, and her focus and dependence on a series of occult mentors, including Rasputin.
Her Little Majesty, The Life of Queen Victoria. A multilayered portrait of Queen Victoria describes the life and reign of a monarch who ruled for sixty-four years.

*Fischer, Jackie Moyer. An Egg on Three Sticks. In this unforgettable debut, thirteen-year-old Abby recounts her mother’s heartbreaking descent into mental illness.

Gaiman, Neil. Death, The High Cost of Living. GRAPHIC NOVEL. THIS TITLE IS NOT A CHOICE FOR STUDENTS TAKING AP OR HONORS ENGLISH. Death (in the guise of a hot Goth chick) arrives just in time to save a teenager contemplating suicide and they end up searching New York City to find a witch’s heart. Illustrated by Chris Bachalo & Mark Buckingham. Part of Gaiman’s Sandman series.

*Gallagher, Tim. Falcon Fever: A Falconer in the Twenty-first Century. NON-FICTION. The author shares his lifelong obsession with falcons, discusses the subculture of individuals involved in falconry, and explores the role of the sport in providing him with emotional solace in response to his turbulent childhood.

*Godbersen, Anna. The Luxe. HISTORICAL FICTION. In Manhattan in 1899, five teens of different social classes lead dangerously scandalous lives, despite the strict rules of society and the best-laid plans of parents and others. First in The Luxe series, followed by Rumors. For fans of the The Gossip Girls.

Golding, Julia. The Diamond of Drury Lane. HISTORICAL MYSTERY. Orphan Catherine “Cat” Royal, living at the Drury Lane Theater in 1790s London, tries to find the “diamond” supposedly hidden in the theater, which unmasks a treasonous political cartoonist and involves her in the street gangs of Covent Garden and the world of nobility. This debut is the first in the Cat Royal Quartet, followed by Cat Among the Pigeons.

*Grealy, Lucy. Autobiography of a Face. BIOGRAPHY. Grealy’s hard-hitting personal narrative about life as a teen with a face disfigured by cancer covers so much–from the definition of beauty to loneliness to acceptance. The author tells a moving and heroic story of her struggle for dignity.

Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days FANTASY.
Through a diary format, the reader learns about 15-year-old Dashti, sworn to obey her 16-year-old mistress, the Lady Saren, as she shares Saren’s years of punishment locked in a tower, then brings her safely to the lands of her true love, where both must hide who they are as they work as kitchen maids. Especially appealing to fans of Ella Enchanted.

*Hamilton, Bethany. Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. MEMOIR. Teen surfer Hamilton lost her arm in a brutal shark attack, but she found support in her strong Christian faith, her family, and in the sport that she loves.

Hautman, Pete. No Limit (also titled Stone Cold ).This is a gripping story about a sixteen-year-old card shark who ends up owning the world but losing his soul. Followed by All-In.

*Hayslip, Le Ly. When Heaven & Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman’s Journey From War to Peace. NON-FICTION. A Vietnamese woman describes her journey from war-torn central Vietnam to the U.S., recounting how she endured imprisonment, torture, rape, near-starvation, and the deaths of members of her family.

*Hesse, Karen. Witness. HISTORICAL FICTION. In this novel based on actual events, a young African-American girl and the six-year-old daughter of a Jewish shoe salesman become targets of the Ku Klux Klan when they move into a sleepy Vermont town in 1924.

Hesser, Terry Spencer. Kissing Doorknobs. Fourteen-year-old Tara describes how her increasingly strange compulsions begin to take over her life and affect her relationships with her family and friends.

*Hoffman, Nina. A Stir of Bones. SUSPENSE. After discovering the secrets that lie in an abandoned house, fourteen-year-old Susan, with the help of some new friends, has the ability to make a safe, new life for herself.

Horowitz, Anthony. Point Blank: An Alexander Rider Mystery. SUSPENSE. In Rider’s second adventure following StormBreaker, this reluctant British spy sees plenty of action, hi-tech gadgets, and mysterious disappearances investigating an exclusive school for boys in the French Alps. Followed by Skeleton Key, Eagle Strike, Scorpia, Ark Angel, Snakehead & Crocodile Tears.

Hughes, Dean. Soldier Boys HISTORICAL FICTION. Two boys, one German and one American, are eager to join their respective armies during World War II, and their paths cross at the Battle of the Bulge. This story is told through each boy’s different point of view.

Johnson, Maureen. 13 Little Blue Envelopes. When seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a packet of mysterious envelopes from her favorite aunt, she leaves New Jersey to criss-cross Europe on a sort of scavenger hunt that transforms her life.

*King, Stephen. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. When a nine-year-old girl becomes lost on a hike on the Appalachian Trail, she relies on her courage and faith, as she imagines her hero, baseball pitcher Tom Gordon, is with her.

*Korman, Gordon. Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle. Vince Luca, from Son of the Mob (2002), returns, and this time he tries to get away from his family and “The Life” by moving to Santa Monica to start college as a film major.

*Kreidler, Mark. Six Good Innings: How One Small Town became a Little League Giant. NON-FICTION. Describes the popularity of Little League Baseball in Toms River, NY, and the relationship the team has with the town.

Larsen, Kristine. Stephen Hawking: A Biography. BIOGRAPHY. Presents the life and accomplishments of the English scientist, who, despite suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, has become a renowned cosmologist whose theory of black holes has had a profound influence on the modern study of the universe.

Lerangis, Peter. Smiler’s Bones. HISTORICAL. This first novel provides the story of an Eskimo boy who, after being brought from his home in Greenland to New York City by explorer Robert Peary, was forced to deal with the death of his father, and the loss of everything familiar to him. The novel asks the question: Do explorers have a responsibility to avoid cultural exploitation?

*Levitin, Sonia. The Cure. SCIENCE FICTION. Lois Lowry fans take notice of this book with the same themes as The Giver. Branded a deviant and therefore a threat to the utopian society that exists in the year 2407, Gemm 16884 is given the choice between being recycled or undergoing a painful and mysterious cure. Gemm chooses the cure, and suddenly finds himself living the life of Johannes, a sixteen-year-old Jewish musician in Strasbourg, Germany in 1348 at the onset of the Black Death. Hard to Find or Buy.

Lipsyte, Robert. One Fat Summer. Overweight Bobby Marks hates the summertime because he can’t hide under heavy clothing. Then he gets a job grooming the grounds of Dr. Kahn’s estate, and it isn’t long before he finds out how terrifying and exhilarating, how dangerous and wonderful, one fat summer can be. Good companion to Marino’s Dough Boy on this list.

Lowry, Lois. Gathering Blue. SCIENCE FICTION. Revisiting many of the same themes as her award-winning The Giver, the author introduces lame and suddenly orphaned Kira, who is mysteriously removed from her squalid village to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians. Good companion to Levitin’s The Cure on this list.

Lubar, David. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie. While navigating his first year of high school and awaiting the birth of his new baby brother, Scott loses old friends and gains some unlikely new ones as he hones his skills as a writer.

Lupica, Mike. Miracle on 49th Street or Travel Team.
Miracle on 49th Street. After her mother’s death, twelve-year-old Molly learns that her father is a basketball star for the Boston Celtics.
Travel Team. After he is cut from his travel basketball team–the very same team that his father once led to national prominence–twelve-year-old Danny Walker forms his own team of cast-offs that might have a shot at victory.

*Lyga, Barry. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl. Fanboy, a fifteen-year-old “geek,” keeps a list of the high school jocks and others who torment him and pours his energy into creating a great graphic novel. When he encounters Kyra, “Goth Girl,” she helps change his outlook on almost everything, including himself.

*Lynch, Jim. The Highest Tide. Miles O’Malley, a boy with a fascination for the sea, copes with the trials of growing up, his infatuation with the girl next door, bickering parents, and his fear that his life and his beloved Puget Sound are slipping away.

*Mahy, Margaret. Alchemy. MYSTERY/FANTASY. Seventeen-year-old Roland discovers that an unpopular girl in his school is studying alchemy and finds that their destiny is linked with that of a power-hungry magician. Hard to Find or Buy.

Marino, Peter. Dough Boy. Fifteen-year-old Tristan has always been fat. This has never particularly bothered him because his Mom isn’t upset about it, and because his best friend’s popularity has always shielded him from bullies. All that changes, however, when his mother’s boyfriend’s attractive, weight-conscious daughter, Kelly, moves in. In his disarming debut, Marino explores not only bullying and body issues but also blended families and the lengths to which people will go to make their mergers successful. Good companion to Lipsyte’s One Fat Summer on this list.

*Marr, Melissa. Wicked Lovely. FANTASY. Seventeen-year-old Aislinn, who has the rare ability to see faeries, is drawn against her will into a centuries-old battle between the Summer King and Winter Queen, and the survival of her life, her love, and summer all hang in the balance. If you liked Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, give this a try.

*McCormick, Patricia. Cut. While confined to a mental hospital, thirteen-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better.

*McKinley, Robin. Sunshine. FANTASY. In a not-so-distant future where werewolves, demons, and other creatures take over the world, teen Sunshine unearths her magical legacy and saves a vampire and herself from death.

McNamee, Graham. Acceleration. SUSPENSE. Stuck working in the Lost and Found of the Toronto Transit Authority for the summer, seventeen-year-old Duncan finds the diary of a serial killer and sets out to stop him. Well-placed comic relief and solid characters add to the thrilling ride.

*McNaughton, Janet. An Earthly Knight. FANTASY/ROMANCE. In 1162 in Scotland, sixteen-year-old Jenny Avenel falls in love with the mysterious Tam Lin while being courted by the king’s brother and must navigate the tides of tradition and the power of ancient magic to define her own destiny.

Mikealsen, Ben. Touching Spirit Bear. After his anger erupts into violence, Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life.

*Moriarty, Jaclyn. Year of Secret Assignments. Three female students from Ashbury High write to three male students from rival Brookfield High as part of a pen pal program told through journal entries, letters, e-mails, and notes chronicling a year filled with romance, humiliation, revenge plots, and war between the schools.

Mowat, Farley. The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be. BIOGRAPHY. An entertaining story of Mowat’s boyhood and his marvelous Mutt who shared that time with him.

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school’s rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.

*Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels or *Sunrise Over Fallujah.
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.
Sunrise Over Fallujah. Robin Perry, from Harlem, is sent to Iraq in 2003 as a member of the Civilian Affairs Battalion, and his time there profoundly changes him.

Myracle, Lauren. TTYL. First in the Internet Girl series chronicles, in “instant message” format, the day-to-day experiences, feelings, and plans of three friends, Zoe, Maddie, and Angela, as they begin tenth grade. TTFN and L8r G8r follow in the series.

*Oppel, Kenneth. Airborn. FANTASY. Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth’s surface. Followed by its sequel, Sykbreaker.

*Paolini, Christopher. Eldest. FANTASY. After successfully evading an Urgals ambush, Eragon is adopted into the Ingeitum clan and sent to finish his training so he can further help the Varden in their struggle against the Empire in this second book in the Inheritance Quartet, following Eragon and preceding Brisingr.

Paterson, Katherine. Jip, His Story. HISTORICAL FICTION. When an aged lunatic named Putnam arrives at a poorhouse farm in rural Vermont in 1855, he is treated as little more than a beast by everyone except the orphan Jip, who himself arrived at the charity orphanage/asylum after being found abandoned by the roadside.

*Pattou, Edith. East. FANTASY. A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment, based on the tale: “East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon.”

Paulsen, Gary. Canyons. Finding a skull on a camping trip in the canyons outside El Paso, Texas, Brennan becomes involved with the fate of a young Apache Indian who lived in the late 1800s.

Paulsen, Gary. Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod. NON-FICTION. The author presents an unforgettable account of his participation in the 1,100 mile-long dogsled race called the “Iditarod.” For seventeen days, Paulsen and his team of dogs endured blinding wind, snowstorms, moose attacks, and more–yet relentlessly pushed on to the end.

Peck, Richard. The River Between Us. HISTORICAL FICTION. During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois.

Philbrick, W.R. The Last Book in the Universe Is About to Be Destroyed. SCIENCE FICTION. After an earthquake has destroyed much of the planet, an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to the Earth of a distant future.

*Plum-Ucci, Carol. The Body of Christopher Creed or The She. SUSPENSE.
The Body of Christopher Creed. Torey Adams, a high school junior with a seemingly perfect life, struggles with doubts and questions surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the class outcast.
The She. Was a shrieking “sea monster” responsible for the disappearance of Evan’s parents long ago? After his parents are lost at sea, Evan Barrett and his older brother leave their seaside home in West Hook to escape bad memories, but years later even worse questions emerge when Evan is asked to help a fellow student deal with another sea-related tragedy.

Powell, Randy. Tribute to Another Dead Rock Star. Grady has been living with his grandmother for the past three years since the overdose of his rock star mother. Now that his grandmother is getting married and he can no longer stay with her, he has to decide if he should study abroad or move in with the family of his mentally retarded half brother Louie. But that poses a problem: Louie’s adoptive mother, Vickie, and Grady are about as compatible as Mozart and heavy metal.

*Ray, Jeanne. Julie and Romeo. Romeo Cacciamani and Julie Roseman are rival florists in Boston whose families have hated each other for as long as anyone can remember. When these two vital, lonely people see each other across a crowded lobby at a small business owners’ seminar, an intense attraction blooms that neither tries to squelch.

*Rees, Celia. Witch Child. HISTORICAL FICTION. In 1659, fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in a community of Puritans near Salem, Massachusetts.

Rennison, Louise. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. This novel presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-year-old British girl who tries to reduce the size of her nose, stop her mad cat from terrorizing the neighborhood animals, and win the love of handsome hunk Robbie. Many Georgia Nicolson sequels follow.

*Rice, Anne. The Mummy: or, Ramses the Damned. HORROR. In the early 1900′s when an archaeologist discovers a perfectly preserved mummy in a tomb in Cairo, little does he know that the mummy, one Ramses the Great, has consumed an extraordinary potion that makes him immortal; only the powerful rays of the sun are needed to bring him to life. Ramses the Great lives, but having drunk the elixir of life, he is now Ramses the Damned, doomed forever to wander the earth, desperate to quell hungers that can never be satisfied–for food, for wine, for women.

*Roberts, Selena. A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriquez. BIOGRAPHY. Documents the life and controversial career of the baseball star, including his childhood in NY and the Dominican Republic, his rise to stardom with the Seattle Mariners, his record-breaking contract, his marriage, his relationships with Madonna, and the revelation he used performance-enhancing drugs. Some profane and crude language.

*Russell, Bill, with Alan Steinberg. Red and Me: My Coach, My Lifelong Friend. NON-FICTION. The basketball legend presents a tribute of Boston Celtic coach Red Auerbach that describes how their collaborative efforts transcended race and cultural barriers to help establish the Celtic’s impressive record while also creating an enduring friendship.

Salisbury, Graham. Lord of the Deep. Working for his stepfather on a charter fishing boat in Hawaii teaches thirteen-year-old Mikey about fishing, and about taking risks, making sacrifices, and facing some of life’s difficult choices.

Scott, Kieran. I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader. As a brunette on the all-blonde cheerleading squad at her new Florida high school, sophomore Annisa Gobrowski tries to fit in with her popular teammates without losing the friendship of Bethany, the only other non-blonde at the school. Followed in the series by Brunettes Strike Back.

*Shaughnessy, Dan. The Curse of the Bambino. NON-FICTION. Written in 1990, this book traces the history of the Boston Red Sox, linking the 1920 trade of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees to a curse that haunted Boston and kept the team from winning any world championships until October 2004.

Slade, Arthur G. Dust. MYSTERY. Eleven-year-old Robert is the only one who can help when a mysterious stranger arrives, performing tricks and promising to bring rain, at the same time children begin to disappear from a dust bowl farm town in 1930s Saskatchewan.

Sones, Sonya. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. POETRY. A younger sister has a difficult time adjusting to life after her older sister has a mental breakdown.

Springer, Nancy. I Am Mordred. or I am Morgan le Fay: Tales from Camelot. FANTASY.
I Am Mordred When Mordred learns the identity of his father, he struggles with feelings of hatred, but also fights the fate which determines that he kill the good and gracious king.
I Am Morgan le Fay. In a war-torn England where her half-brother Arthur will eventually become king, the young Morgan le Fay comes to realize that she has magic powers and links to the faerie world.

Tingle, Rebecca. Edge on the Sword. HISTORICAL FICTION. In ninth-century Britain, fifteen-year-old Aethelflaed, daughter of King Alfred of West Saxony, finds she must assume new responsibilities much sooner than expected when she is betrothed to Ethelred of Mercia in order to strengthen a strategic alliance against the Danes.

Van Draanen, Wendelin. Flipped. In alternating chapters, two teenagers describe how their feelings about themselves, each other, and their families have changed over the years.

Warren, Andrea. Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps. NON-FICTION. Experience the horrors of Blechhammer concentration camp through the eyes of twelve-year-old Jack Mandelbaum, who was separated from the rest of his family in 1939.

*Weis, Margaret. Dragons of Autumn Twilight. FANTASY. An unlikely band of heroes must battle terrifying dragons in order to restore balance to their lives and to their world. Book one of The Dragonlance Chronicles.

Werlin, Nancy. Black Mirror or The Killer’s Cousin. SUSPENSE.
Black Mirror. Convinced her brother’s death was murder rather than suicide, sixteen-year-old Frances begins her own investigation into suspicious student activities.
The Killer’s Cousin. After being acquitted of murder, seventeen-year-old David goes to stay with relatives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he finds himself forced to face his past as he learns more about his strange young cousin Lily.

*Westerfeld, Jack. Peeps or Uglies. FANTASY.
Peeps. Cal Thompson is a carrier of a parasite that causes vampirism, and must hunt down all of the girlfriends he has unknowingly infected.
Uglies. Just before their sixteenth birthdays, when they will be transformed into beauties whose only job is to have a great time, Tally’s best friend runs away and Tally must find her and turn her in, or never become pretty at all. Issues of betrayal, honesty, free will, and Western ideas of beauty are explored in this dystopian adventure. 1st in Uglies Trilogy.

Whitney, Kim Ablon. See You Down the Road. Sixteen-year-old Bridget, member of an Irish Traveller community in the United States, questions the traditions of her family’s nomadic and criminal way of life and begins to wonder if she wants to continue living it. This novel looks at ethics from a whole different angle. Hard to Find or Buy.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Fast Talk on a Slow Track. Fast-talking and quick-thinking, city kid Denzel Watson finds his street smarts put to the test when he spends the summer at Princeton University before his school year there and wonders if he has what it takes.

*Wooding, Chris. Poison. FANTASY. When Poison leaves her home in the marshes of Gull to retrieve the infant sister who was snatched by the fairies, she and a group of unusual friends survive encounters with the inhabitants of various Realms, and Poison herself confronts a surprising destiny.

*Yolen, Jane. Armageddon Summer or Briar Rose.
Armageddon Summer. Fourteen-year-old Marina and sixteen-year-old Jed accompany their parents’ religious cult, the Believers, to await the end of the world atop a remote mountain, where they try to decide what they themselves believe. Written with Bruce Coville.
Briar Rose. A powerful and moving retelling of the story of Sleeping Beauty as a Holocaust memoir.

*Zimniuch, Fran. Crooked: A History of Cheating in Sports. NON-FICTION. The author provides an anecdotal survey of various types of dishonesty that have gone on in sports from the Olympics of ancient Greece to New England Patriots Spygate scandal in this well researched and timely book.

GENERAL

Savage Pastimes: A cultural history of violent entertainment by Harold Schechter. Our culture’s gory past and how it compares to today. 303.6 Schechter

Regarding the pain of others by Susan Sontag. A reappraisal of how we view violence, war, and disaster. 303.6 Sontag

Is Religion Killing Us?: Violence in the Bible and the Quran by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. 291.5697 Nelson-Pallmeyer

FAMILY VIOLENCE

Insult to Injury: Rethinking our responses to intimate abuse by Linda G. Mills. A paradigm-shifting look at dealing with abusive relationships. 362.8292 Mills

Invisible Scars: How to stop, change or end psychological abuse by Catharine Dowda. NEW 362.8292 Dowda

Healing the trauma of domestic violence : A workbook for women by Edward S. Kubany et al. 362.8292 Kubany

Beyond Bruises: The truth about teens and abuse by Sherri Mabry. For Teens. Children’s

CHILDREN and VIOLENCE

Killing Monsters: Why children need fantasy, super heroes, and make-believe violence by Gerard Jones. 303.6 Jones

Children Who See Too Much by Betsy McAlister Groves. Presenting steps for creating a safer world for kids who observe violence. 303.6 Groves

Lost Boys: Why our sons turn violent and how we can save them by James Gabarino. 303.6 Garbarino

Sugar and Spice and no longer nice: How we can stop girls’ violence by Deborah Prothrow-Stith. 303.6 Prothrow-Stith

See Jane Hit: Why girls are growing more violent and what can be done about it by James Gabarino. 303.6 Garbarino

Books, Blackboards, and Bullets: School shootings and violence in America by Marcel Lebrun. NEW 371.7 Lebrun

Why Kids Kill: Inside the minds of school shooters by Peter Langman. NEW 371.7 Langman

Ceremonial Violence: A psychological explanation of school shootings by Jonathan Fast. 371.7 Fast

BULLYING

Your Child Bully or Victim?: Understanding and ending schoolyard tyranny by Peter Sheras with Sherill Tippins. 649.125 Sheras

The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Pre-School to High School: How parents can help break the cycle of violence. by Barbara Coloroso. 371.102 Coloroso

Cyber bullying : Protecting kids and adults from online bullies by Samuel C. McQuade et al. 371.1 McQuade

Bullying beyond the schoolyard : Preventing and responding to cyberbullying by Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin. 371.7 Hinduja

VIOLENCE and the MEDIA

Grand Theft Childhood: The surprising truth about violent video games and what parents should know by Lawrence Kutner. Parent’s Shelf 302.23 Kutner

Media Violence by David M. Haugen and Susan Musser, eds. Especially for teens, a book presenting opposing viewpoints. Children’s 303.6 Media

The Other Parent: The inside story of the media’s effect on our children by James P. Steyer. Parent’s Shelf 302.23 Steyer

Stories for a Safer Wakefield is a month-long community inquiry during May 2010, intended to provoke thought and discussion about violence and its deterrence. Beebe Library invites you to read from a selection of stories that draw awareness to the effects of violence in a community. Stories for a Safer Wakefield features forums and activities to better understand and mitigate violence in our lives. For more information on Stories for a Safer Wakefield: Brochure or Wakefield Alliance Against Violence.

Children and Youth Titles

Picture Books for Preschool~Grade 1

The Bully Blockers Club by Teresa Bateman~ Lotty Raccoon is bullied in school so much that it makes her feel sick. After several failed attempts to deal with the problem, she comes up with an idea that works.

No! by David McPhail~ Repeated only three times, “No!” is the only word spoken in this beautifully illustrated book about a boy who walks to the post office to deliver a letter to his President and witnesses the war raging around him. A good story dealing with bullying.

The Recess Queen by Alexis O’Neill~ Mean Jean is the biggest bully on the school playground until a new girl arrives and challenges Jean’s status as the Recess Queen.

Chapter Books for Children

Secret Identity by Wendelin Van Draanen~ Fifth-grader Nolan Byrd, tired of being called names by the class bully, has a secret identity- Shredderman!

CRAFT AND BOOK DISCUSSION: Friday, May 28; 4:00-5:30pm for grades 4 and up.

Super Emma by Sally Warner~ Third-grader Emma becomes a reluctant heroine when she defends a friend from the class bully.

CRAFT AND BOOK DISCUSSION: Saturday, May 8; 2:00-3:00pm for grades 2 and up.

Young Adult Novels

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson~ After making a 911 call at a party, popular Melinda finds herself abandoned by her friends and an outcast among her classmates.

TEEN MOVIE AND TRIVIA NIGHT: movie based on the novel starring Kristen Stewart. Tuesday, May 4; 7:00-9:00pm.

Crash by Jerry Spinelli~ Football star John “Crash” Coogan enjoys making touchdowns and rough-housing for fun. Not until his pranks have serious consequences does Crash begin to think of himself and his friend Mike as bullies.