Wellesley Middle School Summer Reading List 2013/2014

Entering Eighth Grade

In addition to your choice of required titles, students entering eighth grade are required to read one other book from the following list.

A Corner of White by Jacqueline Moriarty Fourteen-year-old Madeleine of Cambridge, England, struggling to cope with poverty and her mother's illness, and fifteen-year-old Elliot of the Kingdom of Cello in a parallel world where colors are villainous and his father is missing, begin exchanging notes through a crack between their worlds and find they can be of great help to each other. The Language Inside by Holly Thompson When 15-year-old Emmas mom is diagnosed with cancer, she is forced to leave Japan, the only place shes ever lived, to go live with her grandmother in Massachusetts, where she feels totally out of place. She starts volunteering in a long-term care center where she becomes close with some of the patients. Then, Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return home early to Japan.

This year, students entering eighth grade are required to read ONE of the following books:

Bad Boy:

a memoir

by Walter Dean Myers

Chew On This:

Author Walter Dean Myers describes his childhood in Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s, discussing his loving stepmother, his problems in school, his reasons for leaving home, and his beginnings as a writer.

everything you don't want to know about fast food

Into Thin Air:

a personal account of the Mount Everest disaster

by Eric Schlosser
A look at fast food, what's in it, how it's made, and what it does to our bodies.

by John Krakauer

Soldier Dog by Sam Angus After his dad disappears, thirteen-year-old Stanley joins the army during World War I and is assigned to the War Dog School, where he is partnered with a messenger dog named Bones and the two of them are sent to France.

Bomb:

the race to build and steal the world's most dangerous weapon

Discovering Wes Moore

by Wes Moore
The author discusses how he was drawn into a life of drugs and crime and ended up serving life in prison. The book focuses on the influence of relatives, mentors, and social expectations that could have led either of them on different paths.

The author relates his experience of climbing Mount Everest during its deadliest season and examines what it is about the mountain that makes people willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense.

Outcasts United:

by Steve Sheinkin
Examines the history of the atomic bomb, discussing the discovery of the behavior of uranium when placed next to radioactive material, the race to build a bomb, and the impact of the weapon on societies around the world.

the story of a refugee soccer team that changed a town

by Warren St. John.

An inspirational story about how a youth soccer team made up of diverse refugees from around the world, and their coach changed a community.

Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank Born in 1929, Anne Frank received a blank diary on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding to avoid being rounded up in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Her journal chronicles the 25 trying months of Anne Franks time hidden in the secret annex with her family and others as they deal with the constant fear of discovery.

Emma by Jane Austen Emma, a self-assured young lady in Regency England, attempts to arrange her life and the lives of those around her into a pattern dictated by her romantic fancy. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Francie Nolan grows up amid the poverty of a Brooklyn tenement, in a poignant novel set in the early twentieth century. By turns overwhelming, heartbreaking, and uplifting, the story of the daily experiences of the unforgettable Nolan family is honest and tender. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesela young German girl whose bookstealing and storytelling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers 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. Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine Twelve-year-old Marlee develops a strong friendship with Liz, the new girl in school, but when Liz suddenly stops attending school and Marlee hears a rumor that her friend is actually an African American girl passing herself off as white, the two young girls must decide whether their friendship is worth taking on integration and the dangers it could bring to their families.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta Sixteen-year-old Francesca could use her outspoken mother's help with the problems of being one of a handful of girls at a parochial school that has just turned co-ed, but her mother has suddenly become severely depressed.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox* by Mary Pearson In the not-too-distant future, when biotechnological advances have made synthetic bodies and brains possible but illegal, a seventeenyear-old girl, recovering from a serious accident and suffering from memory lapses, learns a startling secret about her existence. The Mortal Instruments series* by Cassandra Clare Suddenly able to see demons and the Shadowhunters 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 and discovers her true heritage. Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater Nineteen-year-old returning champion Sean Kendrick competes against Puck Connolly, the first girl ever to ride in the annual Scorpio Races, both trying to keep hold of their dangerous water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.

Weve Got a Job by Cynthia Levinson The 1963 Birmingham Children's March was a turning point in American history. In the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, the fight for civil rights lay in the hands of children like Audrey Hendricks, Wash Booker, James Stewart, and Arnetta Streeter. Through the eyes of these four protesters and others who participated, little-known story is told of the 4,000 black elementary, middle, and high school students who voluntarily went to jail between May 2 and May 11, 1963. Letters to a Bullied Girl by Olivia Gardner Presents a selection from the thousands of letters written to offer comfort and support to Olivia Gardner, a girl who became the victim of bullying after suffering an epileptic seizure in school, and after her story was heard by sisters Emily and Sarah Buder who took it upon themselves to start the letter writing campaign. Twelve Rounds to Glory by Charles R. Smith Rap-inspired verse and illustrations describe the life of Muhammed Ali, discussing his bouts, struggles with societal prejudice, Islamic faith, Olympic glory, and more.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken. Real Time by Pnina Kass Sixteen-year-old Tomas Wanninger persuades his mother to let him leave Germany to volunteer at a kibbutz in Israel, where he experiences a violent political attack and finds answers about his own past.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer * by Michelle Hodkin Seventeen-year-old Mara cannot remember the accident that took the lives of three of her friends but, after moving from Rhode Island to Florida, finding love with Noah, and more deaths, she realizes uncovering something buried in her memory might save her family and her future.

So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld Hunter Braque, a New York City teenager who is paid by corporations to spot what is "cool," combines his analytical skills with girlfriend Jen's creative talents to find a missing person and thwart a conspiracy directed at the heart of consumer culture. Son of the Mob* by Gordon Korman Seventeen-year-old Vince's life is constantly complicated by the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the daughter of an FBI agent. Absolutely, Positively Not by David LaRochelle Steven is a typical kid from Minnesota. So what if he happens to like keeping his stuff neat? And so who cares if he happens to prefer square dancing over everyone else in towns favorite pastime, hockey? He is just like everyone else and he is absolutely, positively, NOT gay. Or is he? Read this hilarious account of Steven trying to figure his life out Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging series* by Louise Rennison Presents the humorous journal of a year in the life of a fourteen-yearold 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.

Pick-Up Game : a full day of full court edited by Marc Aronson and Charles R. Smith Jr. A series of short stories by such authors as Walter Dean Myers, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Joseph Bruchac, interspersed with poems and photographs, provides different perspectives on a game of streetball played one steamy July day at the West 4th Street court in New York City known as The Cage. Keeper by Mal Peet When Paul Faustino of La Nacion flips on his tape recorder for an exclusive interview with El Gatothe phenomenal goalkeeper who single-handedly brought his team the World Cupthe seasoned reporter quickly learns that this will be no ordinary story. Instead, the legendary El Gato narrates a spellbinding tale that begins in the South American rainforest, where a ghostly, but very real mentor, the Keeper, emerges to teach a poor, gawky boy the most thrilling secrets of the game.

The Good Neighbors by Holly Black Sixteen-year-old Rue Silver, whose mother disappeared weeks ago, believes she is going crazy until she learns that the strange things she has been seeing are real, and that she is one of the faerie creatures, or Good Neighbors, that mortals cannot see. Foiled by Jane Yolen Aliera Carstairs, having always felt like an outcast at school but special in her fencing class, falls for Avery Castle, until a fencing foil with a large ruby on the hilt that her mother found at a sale reveals to her that both Avery and the world around her are not what they seem. Savage by David Almond After his father dies and the town bully Hooper begins to target him, Blue starts to write and illustrate a graphic novel full of blood, guts, and adventures; but after one of Blue's characters pays Hooper a nighttime visit, Blue wonders if the lines of reality have blurred.

Au Revoir Crazy European Chick* by Joe Schreiber Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan. Clarity *by Kim Harrington Sixteen-year-old Clare Fern, a member of a family of psychics, helps the mayor and a skeptical detective solve a murder in a Cape Cod town during the height of tourist season--with her brother a prime suspect. Dairy Queen* by Catherine Gilbert Murdock 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.

*These books have a sequel, companion, or are part of a series. Any connected book counts towards the summer reading requirement.