Please read (at least) two books of your choice this summer.
This list is a collection of recommendations from seventh graders and the school librarian.
See the back of last page for the rest of your Summer Reading assignment
24 Hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling
To get a stolen dirt bike back, 13 year old
Rossi insists that her friend has to search
for gold in the dangerous Dead
Frenchman Mine. Along with a small,
disjointed band of peers, they spend the
next twenty-four hours bonding over
shared turmoil in Nowhere and realizing
this quest might be their ticket out.
Mission Unstoppable* by Dan Gutman
On a cross-country vacation with their
parents, twins Coke and Pepsi, soon to be
thirteen, fend off strange assassins as
they try to come to terms with their being
part of a top-secret government
organization known as The Genius Files.
North of Benjamin by Alan Cumyn
Eleven-year-old Edgar and his mother
move to Dawson, a town in Yukon,
Canada, for a new start, but when Edgar
fears his mother's destructive behavior
will force them to leave, he turns to a dog
named Benjamin to help him stop the
worst from happening.
Spy School* by Stuart Gibbs
Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley leaves his
public middle school to attend the CIA's
highly secretive Espionage Academy,
which everyone is told is an elite science
school.
Summer of the Mariposas
by Guadalupe Garcia McCall
When the Garza sisters find the body of a
dead man near the Rio Grande, they
discover he is a native of Mexico and take
it upon themselves to return his body to
his family. They become the target of
supernatural forces both good and bad,
causing obstacles that test their resolve
and their commitment to their journey.
®Refers to Young Reader edition
*Part of a series
Children of Blood and Bone*
by Tomi Adeyemi
Seventeen-year-old Zélie, her older
brother Tzain, and rogue princess Amari
fight to restore magic to the land and
activate a new generation of magi, but
they are ruthlessly pursued by the crown
prince, who believes the return of magic
will mean the end of the monarchy.
The Merchant of Death* by D.J. MacHale
After fourteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon
discovers that life is quite different from
what he anticipated, he is taken quite
quickly to a dimension known as
Denduron where peculiar beings exist,
where a magical despot rules, and where
the territory faces a dangerous
revolution.
School for Good and Evil*
by Soman Chainani
Beautiful Sophie and ugly Agatha, best
friends, are taken by the School Master to
the School for Good and Evil, where
children are trained to be fairy tale
heroes and villains. But when Sophie is
sent to the School for evil, and Agatha to
princess classes, the shocked girls think
it's a mistake and try to switch.
Skulduggery Pleasant* by Derek Landy
Set on Ireland's coast, 12-year-old
Stephanie Edgley meets Skulduggery
Pleasant, a fire-throwing skeleton of a
man. Skulduggery is back from the dead
in hopes of avenging his family's murder,
and Stephanie has a genetic
predisposition to sorcery. Together they
embark on a quest to defeat the villain.
Wildwood by Colin Meloy
When 12-year-old Prue's baby brother is
abducted by crows, she is prompted to
enter the Impassable Wilderness to get
him back. With her classmate Curtis at
her side, Prue ventures into the
Wilderness but the two become
separated amidst a war between
bureaucrats, bandit separatists, militant
birds, and the evil Dowager Governess.
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
In 1941, during WWII and Joseph Stalin's
reign, Soviet officers send 15-year-old Lina
and her family to a Siberian work camp.
Lina and her fellow prisoners must endure
many difficulties. Lina documents her
experiences through drawings and passes
them along to other deportees, hoping
they'll reach her father in his Soviet prison.
The Blackthorn Key* by Kevin Sands
Christopher Rowe is a 14-year-old
apprentice to Master Benedict Blackthorn,
the greatest apothecary in 1665 London.
Blackthorn, intelligent and kind, forgives
Christopher's mistakes. Then Blackthorn is
killed and Christopher must go on the run
with only a hastily written, coded message
from his master.
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
In 1939, on her way to a foster home in
Germany, Liesel steals a book from a
graveyard. From that moment on, her life
revolves around books. Death is the
narrator and tells the story of this young
orphan girl.
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
In 1958 Little Rock, Arkansas quiet Marlee
becomes friends with bold Liz, the new girl
at school. Liz helps Marlee overcome her
fears, but when Liz suddenly disappears
from school under a rumor that she was a
Negro "passing" as a white, Marlee feels
confused and hurt. The two girls try to stay
friends causing as much harm as good.
Twerp by Matt Goldblatt
Sixth-grader Julian Twerski doesn't
believe he's a bully--he just made a
mistake when he participated in bullying
the school's designated twerp. After his
suspension is up, Julian is given the option
by his English teacher of writing a year-
long journal, in the hopes that Julian will
see that he actually is a bully and needs to
change.
And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
When ten strangers, each with a wicked
past, are invited to a private island for the
weekend, they are murdered one-by-one.
Clarity by Kim Harrington
Born with the ability to touch an object
and view its past, Clarity often sees too
much. When a tourist is killed and her
brother is a suspect, she teams up with
the police detective's son to solve the
mystery. She must depend on her gift –
but will it fail her now when she needs it
the most?
Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer*
by John Grisham
Hoping to one day become a lawyer,
thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone has his
desire to enter the courtroom granted a
bit early when he is called in to testify
against a suspected murderer. The man is
about to be set free, but only Theo knows
the truth -- a truth that could put his life
at risk.
Truly Devious* by Maureen Johnson
Ellingham Academy is full of riddles,
twisting pathways, and winding gardens.
Shortly after it opens in 1936, tragedy
strikes. Years later, true-crime buff Stevie
Bell enters the Academy with a goal to
solve the cold case. Then Truly Devious
makes a surprising return, and another
death rocks the school.
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson
Elizabeth, 11, spends Christmas break at
Winterhouse Hotel under strange
circumstances, where she discovers that
she has magic, and her love of puzzles
helps her solve a mystery.
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
Thirteen-year-old Min stows away on a
space battle cruiser as an impersonated
cadet in the Thousand World Space
Force in order to discover what
happened to her older brother. As a girl
with fox-magic, she could use a charm or
her shape-shifting ability, but to keep her
family's secret safe, Min's mother insists
she appear human at all times.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
In order to win a war against a hostile
alien race, the government is breeding
child geniuses and training them to
become soldiers but some of the soldiers,
such as Andrew "Ender" Wiggins, are
leery of the harsh environment they are
growing up in.
57 Bus by Dashka Slater
Explores the true stories of Sasha and
Richard, two teens from Oakland,
California, who never would have met if
not for the 57 Bus which they both were
taking home one day. Richard had a
lighter; Sasha wore a skirt. A dare
changed both their lives forever.
Shoe Dog® by Phil Knight
Phil Knight, cofounder of the Nike
corporation, offers a memoir adapted for
young people describing the many early
obstacles to building his brand, and the
luck, faith, relationships, and
determination that helped him rise to
fame and fortune.
Unsinkable by Jessica Long
The author, a record-setting Paralympic
swimmer, shares the story of how she
overcame the struggles that naturally
accompanied being an orphaned, double
amputee and her miraculous journey to
accepting who she is and being the best
version of herself.
When Plague Strikes by James Giblin
Tells the stories of three of the most
serious and damaging diseases: the Black
Death, smallpox, and AIDS. All three have
had disastrous impacts on the affected
populations, leaving lasting social,
economic, and political consequences in
their wake.
Why We Fight by Niki Walker
Why do we feel the need to attack and
destroy one another? This book explores
this timeless, ever-important question,
spotlighting various violent events over
the centuries and discussing why they
occurred.
Legend* by Marie Lu
As wealthy, intelligent June trains for the
Republic's military and earns a perfect
score in the Trials, Day, a street thug,
becomes the Republic's most wanted
criminal. Their worlds drastically collide
when June's brother is murdered, and
Day stands accused of the crime.
Life As We Knew It* by Susan Beth Pfeffer
When a meteor hits the moon and knocks
it closer to Earth, Miranda and the rest of
her small town must struggle to survive as
tsunamis, earthquakes, disease and
volcanic eruptions disrupt life on the
planet.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
by Mary E. Pearson
When Jenna Fox wakes from a coma she
doesn't remember anything. She watches
videos of her childhood, but nothing
seems familiar. Little by little, Jenna
pieces together clues from her mental
flashbacks to discover the truth about her
horrible accident and how her father's
career in biotechnology fits in.
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Madeline has severe combined
immunodeficiency, an extremely rare
condition that makes her allergic to the
world. Her only human contact is her
mother and her nurse Carla. When Olly
and his family move in next door,
Madeline is drawn to Olly immediately,
but how can she ever get to know him if
going outside could kill her? Is Olly worth
the risk?
Ghost* by Jason Reynolds
If they can get their acts together, Ghost,
Lu, Patina, and Sunny could potentially
become their middle school track team's
elite squad. Ghost has outstanding
natural talent, but no formal training, and
his discipline is lacking. He will have to do
everything he can to stay on track,
physically and figuratively, to be the best
sprinter in the city.
Holes by Louis Sachar
As further evidence of his family's bad
fortune which they attribute to a curse on
a distant relative, 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.
Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart
Lily is a young transgender girl, in the
body of a boy, who is in the eighth grade.
Dunkin is a young boy in her class with
bipolar disorder. Both know what it is like
to be different, but for Dunkin, who has
just moved to Lily's school, things are a
extra painful because he harbors deep
secrets that even he can't face.
Still a Work in Progress by Jo Knowles
Noah was hoping for a normal seventh-
grade year, but no such luck. Girls confuse
him, his friends annoy him, and his sister,
Emma, seems to follow ever-stricter food
rules and regulations. When Emma's
condition takes a turn for the worse, Noah
must find a way to help himself, and those
he loves, in the crisis.
YOUR SUMMER READING
ASSIGNMENT:
& Read at least two
books of your choice.
& Fill out the “Entering
Seventh Grade
Summer Reading”
sheet on the next
page.
& Print the sheet and
bring it with you on
the first day of school.
Entering Seventh Grade Summer Reading
Please complete this sheet and bring it with you on the first day of school.

Name ____________________________________________________________
Homeroom __________________________________

What was the best book you read this summer? ______________________________

What was your favorite line or quotation from that book (please give a direct quotation with
page numbers)?
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Who do you think would enjoy reading this book?

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What other books did you read this summer? Rate them 1-5 (1= did not enjoy it and 5=loved it!)

1. _______________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5

2. _______________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5

3. _______________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5

4. _______________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5

5. ________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5

Parent Signature ________________________________________________________