Forsyth County
Suggestions for Middle School Readers
Abdel-Fattah, Randa. Does My Head Look Big In This? Year eleven at an exclusive prep
school in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, would be tough enough, but it is further
complicated for Amal when she decides to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time as
a badge of her faith--without losing her identity or sense of style. AR 4.9 Lexile 850
Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. The classic story of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy in nineteenthcentury New England. AR 7.9
Alexie, Sherman. Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. 14-year-old Arnold “Junior”
Spirit, a Spokane Indian, is regularly the target of bullies, and loves to draw. He expects
disaster when he transfers from the reservation school to the rich, white school in Reardan,
but soon finds himself making friends with both geeky and popular students and starting on
the basketball team. Meeting his old classmates on the court, Junior grapples with questions
about what constitutes one's community, identity, and tribe. AR 4.0 Lexile 600
Bell, Hilari. Shield of Stars. Pickpocket-turned-law-clerk Weasel has two weeks to save his
employer from execution. With girl-adventurer Arisa Benison, Weasel goes in search of
reinforcements for a jail break. Although Weasel's oft-stated philosophy of looking out for
number one is never credible, Bell soon dispenses with it and settles down to a good oldfashioned trickster caper. This offering sustains Bell's reputation for thought-provoking light
fantasy. AR 5.6 Lexile 830
Bingham, Kelly. Shark Girl. Conversations, letters, and prose poems tell the story of fifteenyear-old artist Jane's recovery from a shark attack and adjustment to life as an amputee. We
read letters from sympathizers (after a bystander's video is televised) and feel the sting of pity.
Jane's slowly growing comfort with herself is realistically portrayed. Nicely drawn relationships
round out the involving, affecting story. AR 3.5
Boniface, William. The Hero Revealed - The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy,
Book 1. Ordinary Boy is the only resident of Superopolis who doesn't have superpowers. His
personal hero is the Amazing Indestructo, the self-proclaimed greatest hero of Superopolis.
When the Junior Leaguers get the opportunity to help the Amazing Indestructo foil the sinister
plans of villainous Professor Brain-Drain, Ordinary Boy realizes that even without
superpowers, he can still do extraordinary things. AR 6.1 Lexile 890.
Buchanan, Andrea. Daring Book for Girls. The Daring Book for Girls is the manual for
everything that girls need to know—and that doesn't necessarily mean sewing buttonholes!
Whether it's female heroes in history, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch,
cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking, this book
has it all. But it's not just a guide to giggling at sleepovers—although that's included, of
course! Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this
book is every girl's invitation to adventure. (Non-fiction).
Cabot, Meg. Avalon High. Avalon High seems like a typical high school, attended by typical
students: There's Lance, the jock. Jennifer, the cheerleader. And Will, senior class president,
quarterback, and all-around good guy. But not everybody at Avalon High is who they appear
to be ... not even, as new student Ellie is about to discover, herself. What part does she play
in the drama that is unfolding? What if the bizarre chain of events and coincidences she has
pieced together means -- as with the court of King Arthur -- tragedy is fast approaching Avalon
High? Worst of all, what if there's nothing she can do about it? AR 5.1 Lexile 800
Cabot, Meg. Shadowland (#1 in The Mediator Series). Sixteen-year-old Susannah Simon,
a liaison between the living and the dead, hopes to be able to live as a normal teenager after
moving from New York to California with her mom and new stepfather, but on the very first
day at her new school, Suze realizes it's not that easy. There's a ghost with revenge on her
mind ... and Suze happens to be in the way. AR 4.9
Carbone, Elisa. Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607. Includes bibliographical references.
Traveling to the New World in 1606 as the page to Captain John Smith, twelve-year-old
orphan Samuel Collier settles in the new colony of James Town, where he must quickly learn
to distinguish between friend and foe. AR 5.3 Lexile 830
Coombs, Kate. The Runaway Princess. A young princess conspires to nullify a contest for
her hand in marriage by rescuing the dragon, witch, and bandits named in the challenge-despite the horde of determined princes that stand in her way. With a wry humor that
embraces modern sensibilities but sidesteps anachronisms, this delightfully devious girl-power
fantasy cheerfully undercuts every fairy-tale convention it encounters. AR 4.3 Lexile 700
Cummings, Priscilla. Red Kayak. Living near the water on Maryland's Eastern Shore, thirteenyear-old Brady and his best friends J.T. and Digger live an idyllic life, spending their days
crabbing and fishing. When a community issue starts to gain momentum--the watermen and
environmentalists are at odds--the three friends become divided. At the story's climax, J.T.
and Digger devise a prank involving a kayak that kills an innocent child, and Brady wrestles
with ethical responsibility to tell the truth. Lexile 800
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton. Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first freeborn child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American South in 1859,
uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that
was to be used to buy a family's freedom. AR 5.4 Lexile 1070
Dahlberg, Maurine F. The Story of Jonas. Thirteen-year-old slave Jonas must accompany
his master's cruel son from their home in Missouri to the Kansas Territory gold fields. They
join a wagon train led by a kindly man with abolitionist leanings who puts thoughts of freedom
into Jonah's head. Though Jonah's naiveté is tiresome, his conflicting emotions are
believable, given his situation. An author's note provides more information. AR 4.9 Lexile
820
Dowell, Frances O’Roark. Phineas L. MacGuire …Erupts! When science-minded Mac's
best friend unexpectedly moves away, he is assigned another partner for the upcoming school
science fair--the obnoxious new boy. Told in fourth-grader Mac's open, humorous, and selfeffacing voice, the straightforward story is simple without being simplistic. The amusing tale
and frequent illustrations are perfect for fans of Martin Bridge and the Julian stories. AR 5.0
Lexile 810.
Draper, Sharon. Double Dutch. Three eighth-grade friends, preparing for the International
Double Dutch Championship jump rope competition in their home town of Cincinnati, Ohio,
cope with Randy's missing father, Delia's inability to read, and Yo Yo's encounter with the
class bullies. Lexile 760. AR 4.9
Duprau, Jeanne. The City of Ember. The city of Ember has no natural light, and the
blackouts of its antiquated electrical grid are coming more and more frequently: "disaster was
right around the corner." So thinks Doon, a curious twelve-year-old who, along with his spirited
schoolmate Lina, determines to save the city. The writing is agreeably spare and remarkably
suspenseful; fans will be pleased to know that there's plenty of room for a sequel. AR 5.0
Lexile 680.
Gauthier, Gail.
Happy Kid. All he wants is to get through seventh grade unnoticed. On the
night before school starts, his mother gives him a book to help him counteract his negativity,
claiming that Happy Kid: A Young Person's Guide to Satisfying Relationships and a Happy
and Meaning-filled Life just screamed his name when she saw it. But the book seems to have
a plan of its own, falling open to the parts that are pertinent to the zany situations that Kyle
finds himself in, although sometimes offering advice that makes his life more complicated.
AR 4.9
Graff, Lisa. The Thing About Georgie. The novel introduces its main character by having
readers touch their left ears with their right hands, something Georgie cannot do because he
is a dwarf. What could have been heavy-handed becomes a way for readers to empathize
with Georgie as he faces sibling rivalry and a falling-out with a friend. Graff has created a
likable, realistic fourth grader. AR 4.3 Lexile 770
Grimes, Nikki. Bronx Masquerade. Open Mike Friday is everyone's favorite day in Mr.
Ward's English class. On Fridays, his 18 high-school students dare to relax long enough to let
slip the poets, painters, readers, and dreamers that exist within each of them. By book's end,
all the voices have blended seamlessly into a multicultural chorus laden with a message that
is probably summed up best by one student’s comment, "I am not a skin color or a hank of
wavy hair. I am a person, and if they don't get that, it's their problem, not mine." AR 4.5
Lexile 670
Henkes, Kevin. Olive’s Ocean. This powerful coming-of-age novel starts with twelve-year-old
Martha Boyle preparing for a two week vacation on the New England coast . Before she
departs, Martha receives a visit from the mother of her deceased classmate, Olive Boyle. Mrs.
Boyle presents Martha with a page taken from Olive's diary; on this page Olive expresses her
dream of one day seeing the ocean, becoming a writer and her hope to become a friend of
Martha's. Although Martha is initially puzzled as to why this girl she hardly knew desired a
friendship, she is touched nonetheless. During her vacation, Martha undergoes growing pains
as she confronts her own mortality, and experiences her first crush and her first betrayal.
Throughout it all, Martha often returns to the soothing words of Olive as she confronts the
many changes in her life. AR 4.7 Lexile 680
Hiaasen, Carl. Flush. In his second children's book, Hiaasen hits his stride, offering a great
action adventure without a hint of the didacticism that crept into Hoot (rev. 11/02). As is his
trademark, he sets this eco-mystery in Florida and peoples it with crooks (Dusty Muleman,
who dumps sewage from his gambling boat into Florida's waters); idealists (Paine Underwood,
who sinks Muleman's boat in an effort to call attention to the illegal waste disposal); everyday
heroes (Noah and Abbey, Paine's children, who finally reveal Muleman's operation and
validate their dad's noble gesture); and oddball characters (an old "pirate" who shows up
throughout the story and a tattooed, hard-living card dealer). While the plot offers enough
twists and turns to satisfy even the most serious adventure junkies, it is the multidimensional
characters who give the novel its vitality. Hiaasen always shows rather than tells, and that
showing creates individuals who are simultaneously noble and petty, quirky and realistic,
decent and wayward. Horn Book. AR 5.0 Lexile 830
Hill, Kirkpatrick. Do Not Pass Go. In his small Alaskan town, Deet is certain that everyone in
his school will learn that his stepfather has been jailed for drug possession. He faces his
classmates with trepidation, but even more intimidating is the prison, where Deet goes to visit
his stepdad. Through these visits, Deet comes to know some of the prisoners and gains
insight into their stories. Most of these insights are explained in Deet's homework assignment
for English class, and he forms a friendship with a fellow student whose brother is also in jail.
Hill is a master of the telling detail; she conveys the atmosphere of the visitor's center of the
jail, for example, in a few vivid sentences. Best is her portrait of Deet, a strong, thoughtful
teenager, forced through circumstances to hold things together for his family. There's not a
great deal of action here, but the story is compelling nonetheless. AR Lexile 850
Hobbs, Valerie. Defiance. Toby Steiner, age 11, doesn't want to go back to the cancer
hospital. He doesn't want to "puke up his guts" or "make . . . friends with kids who
disappeared." So he's not going to tell anyone about the hard marble-sized lump that just
reappeared in his side. Instead, while on a country vacation, he's going to ride a bike, view the
heavens through his telescope and enjoy being a regular kid. What happens in this stirring
evocative tale is that Toby strikes up an unlikely acquaintanceship with an elderly lady who
lives nearby, a once famous poet who has been "losing her vision" both physically and
metaphorically. Hobbs manages to wring genuine emotion from the reader despite a
somewhat pat ending. The feisty, life-affirming, lesson-teaching elder is a familiar character in
children's literature, but Hobbs breathes new life into the situation, giving the character some
problems of her own and making the intersection of these two souls both real and poignant.
AR 4.0 Lexile 640
Hobbs, Will. Crossing the Wire. When falling crop prices threaten his family with starvation,
fifteen-year-old Victor Flores heads north in an attempt to "cross the wire" from Mexico into
the U.S. so he can find work and send money home. But with no money to pay the smugglers
who sneak illegal workers across the border, Victor must struggle to survive as he jumps
trains, stows away on trucks, and hikes through the Arizona desert. His journey is fraught with
danger. Through Victor's often desperate struggle, Will Hobbs brings to life one of the great
human dramas of our time. AR 4.3 Lexile 670
Hoffman, Alice. Incantation. During the Spanish Inquisition, sixteen-year-old Estrella,
brought up a Catholic, discovers her family's true Jewish identity. When their secret is
betrayed by Estrella's best friend, the consequences are tragic. AR 5.0
Holmes, Sara Lewis. Letters from Rapunzel. A girl deals with her poet father's
institutionalization for clinical depression by writing letters to an unknown recipient, whom she
thinks must be her father's muse. In the process, she discovers more about herself and
uncovers the hidden facts of her father's situation. The main character offers a fresh,
interesting--albeit a little too precocious--voice. AR 5.3 Lexile
Howe, James. The Misfits. Bobby Goodspeed is not your typical 12-year-old. He's probably
the world's youngest tie salesman. He also meets his friends at the local Candy Kitchen for
regular "forums." When his pals decide they need to create a third political party for the school
election, Bobby gets an idea that could really change Paintbrush Falls Middle School. It is an
upbeat, reassuring novel that encourages preteens and teens to celebrate their individuality.
AR 5.2 Lexile 960
Iggulden, Conn. Dangerous Book for Boys. Intentionally old-fashioned, this eclectic
collection addresses the undeniable boy-appeal of certain facts and activities. Dozens of short
chapters cover a wide range of topics. Simple instructions for coin tricks and paper airplanes
alternate with excerpts from history such as Famous Battles and facts about ancient wonders
of the world and astronomy. The dangerous aspect is more apparent in such chapters as
Making Cloth Fireproof, and Hunting and Cooking a Rabbit, but also applies to the overall
premise that action is fun and can be worth the risks. (Non-fiction)
Lombard, Jenny. Drita, My Homegirl. Fourth-graders Drita and Maxie alternate telling the
story of their friendship. Drita and her family have come to New York City from war-torn
Kosova and are struggling to adjust, especially Drita's mother, who becomes more and more
depressed. Maxie is still dealing with her mother's accidental death years before. Though
weighed down with many serious issues, the story is ultimately moving. AR Lexile 690.
Lord, Cynthia. Rules. "No toys in the fish tank"is one of many rules that 12-year-old
Catherine shares with her autistic younger brother, David, to help him understand his world.
Lots of the rules are practical. Others are more subtle and shed light on issues in Catherine's
own life. Torn between love for her brother and impatience with the responsibilities and
embarrassment he brings, she strives to be on her parents'radar and to establish an identity of
her own. At her brother's clinic, Catherine befriends a wheelchair-bound boy, Jason, who talks
by pointing at word cards in a communication notebook. Her drawing skills and additional
vocabulary cards--including "whatever"(which prompts Jason to roll his eyes at his mother)-enliven his speech. The details of autistic behavior are handled well, as are depictions of
relationships: Catherine experiences some of the same unease with Jason that others do in
the presence of her brother. In the end, Jason helps Catherine see that her rules may really
be excuses, opening the way for her to look at things differently. AR 3.9 Lexile 390
Lowery, Linda. Truth and Salsa. Having moved temporarily from Michigan to live with her
grandmother in Mexico, thirteen-year-old Hayley tries to sort out her feelings about her
parents' separation while also helping some townsmen who have run into trouble while
working in the United States.
Lupica, Mike. Heat. Michael Arroyo's left arm is "a gift from the gods." His Papi would say,
"Someday, you will make it to the World Series." Michael has grown up the object of his
father's dreams, but what he loved most was just playing catch with his father in Cuba and,
now, playing pickup games with his friends in the shadow of Yankee Stadium. Lurking behind
the scenes is the issue of Michael's real age and whether he's really eligible to play in the
Little League World Series, if his team makes it that far. Lupica follows his bestselling Travel
Team (2004) with another winner. He has the veteran sportswriter's gift of dialogue and
muscular prose, employed well in creating believable characters and well-developed action
scenes. The story culminates in a tear-jerking scene with Michael on the mound in Yankee
Stadium, making this work an irresistible treat for sports fans. AR 5.3 Lexile 940
Lupica, Mike. Miracle on 49th Street. Josh Cameron is MVP of the championship Boston
Celtics and a media darling with a spotless reputation. He has it all . . . including a daughter
he never knew. When twelve-year-old Molly Parker arrives in his life, claiming to be his
daughter, she catches him off guard. Molly says her mom, Jen, revealed his identity before
losing her battle with cancer. Josh isn’t so sure about this girl. She must be trying to scam him
for his money. Still, there is something about Molly that reminds him so much of Jen. But as
Molly gets to know the real Josh, the one the camera never sees, she starts to understand
why her mother never wanted her to know her dad. Josh has room in his heart for only two
things: basketball and himself. Does Molly really want this man for a father? Together, these
two strangers learn that sometimes, for things to end up the way you want them to, you have
to fire up a prayer at the buzzer and hope it goes in. AR 4.7 Lexile 790
Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. Seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father
in Forks, Washington, where she meets an exquisitely handsome boy. She feels an
overwhelming attraction to him and comes to realize he is not wholly human. AR 4.9 Lexile
720
Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen. In this charming, "painfully funny" novel, 15-yearold D.J. Schwenk provides a first-person memoir of her fifteenth summer on her family's small
Wisconsin dairy farm. D.J. comes from a family of successful football players: Her two older
brothers were legends in high school, and her dad was a coach until he injured his hip. When
she is asked to train Brian, a stud quarterback on the rival football team, she develops a
monster crush and decides to try out for her own school's football team. AR 5.3 Lexile 990
Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Off Season. Life is looking up for D.J. Schwenk. She's in
eleventh grade, finally and after a rocky summer, she's reconnecting in a big way with her
best friend, Amber. She's got kind of a thing going with Brian Nelson, who's cute and popular
and smart but seems to like her anyway. And then there's the fact she's starting for the Red
Bend High School football team--the first girl linebacker in northern Wisconsin, probably. As
autumn progresses, D.J. struggles to understand Amber, Schwenk Farm, her relationship with
Brian, and most of all her family. As a whole herd of trouble comes her way, she discovers
she's a lot stronger than she--or anyone--ever thought. This hilarious, heartbreaking and
triumphant sequel to the critically acclaimed Dairy Queen takes D.J. and all the Schwenks
from Labor Day to a Thanksgiving football game that you will never forget. AR 5.8 Lexile 1160
Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in
the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his
mother, and learning also to survive his parents’ divorce. AR 5.7
Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. In Aagaesia, a fifteen-year-old boy of unknown lineage called
Eragon finds a mysterious stone that weaves his life into an intricate tapestry of destiny,
magic, and power, peopled with dragons, elves, and monsters. AR 5.6 Lexile 710.
Peck, Richard. On the Wings of Heroes. Peck gives readers a nostalgic glimpse into the
American heartland during World War II. He's all about setting here, using Davy Bowman as
the voice to describe the scene: a town that remembers the horrors of the preceding war but
nonetheless supports the present one. Davy's idols, his father and his brother, begin and end
as heroes, creating a weak arc. AR 4.6
Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief. Percy Jackson, living with ADHD, finds meaning behind
his difficulties at last--he's really a half-blood offspring of Poseidon. It's not long before he's
sent on a quest to retrieve Zeus's thunderbolt from Hades (located, naturally, in L.A.). The
book is packed with humorous allusions to Greek mythology and clever updates of the old
stories, along with rip-snorting action sequences. AR 4.7 Lexile 740
Ruby, Laura. The Wall and the Wing. In a future New York where most people can fly and
cats are a rarity, a nondescript resident of Hope House for the Homeless and Hopeless
discovers that although she is shunned as a non-flying “leadfoot," she has the surprising
ability to become invisible. AR 4.6 Lexile 770
Rupp, Rebecca. Journey to the Blue Moon. This fast-paced fantasy, dusted with humor,
rife with danger and bulging with bizarre characters, delivers wisdom about time use, loyalty,
bravery and integrity. Alex loses his grandfather's stopwatch and notices that time has begun
to slip through his fingers. After a chance encounter in the library, Alex learns that to stabilize
time, he must retrieve the watch from the moon (where all lost items go) when it is blue. Alex
and his dog Zeke are zipped to the moon aboard a rickety and rat-filled space ship.
Accompanied by two other seekers, they discover many odd places, such as the Gallery of Ar
that houses unfinished art and the chest of wasted talents. They also encounter loathsome
creatures such as the Time Eaters; like grim reapers in look and deed, they suck time and
nearly kill Zeke. Before the job is done, they must face off with time's greatest and greediest
foe. Among the knowledge Alex gleans along the way, he learns that, "Time isn't wasted if
you're doing what you love best," and reading this is absolutely time well spent. AR 5.1
Sachar, Louis. Holes. 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. AR 4.6
Schlitz, Robert. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
(2008 Newbery Award). The author helps students step directly into the shoes-and lives-of
medieval children in this outstanding collection of interrelated monologues. The book offers
students an incredibly approachable format for learning about the Middle Ages that makes the
period both realistic and relevant. The text, varying from dramatic to poetic, depending on the
point of view, is accompanied by historical notes that shed light on societal roles, religion, and
town life. AR 5.6
Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2008 Caldecott Award). Orphan, clock
keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival
depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric,
bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life,
and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. AR 5.1 Lexile 820
Smith, Roland. Peak. Peak is a natural-born climber. After being apprehended atop the
Woolworth Building, he's rescued from juvie by his estranged father, who pushes Peak to be
the youngest to summit Everest. Smith takes classic plot elements--kid in trouble, physical
challenge, overly ambitious parent--and plays them perfectly. The gripping story pulls no
punches about the toll Everest exacts on body and psyche. AR 5.0 Lexile 780
Taylor, Theodore. The Cay. After the freighter on which Phillip and his mother were traveling
from wartime Curacao to the U.S. is torpedoed, the boy finds himself dependent on an old
West Indian for survival. AR 5.3
Weeks, Sarah. So B. It. Twelve-year-old Heidi It and her severely mentally disabled mother
survive through a combination of good luck and their next-door neighbor's loving attention. An
undeveloped roll of old film leads Heidi to embark alone on a risky cross-country quest to
answer questions about Mama's past. Narrator Heidi's realistic voice lends authenticity to her
unusual circumstances. AR 5.0 Lexile 860
Wells, Rosemary. Red moon at Sharpsburg : a novel. Three promises precede the birth of
India Moody in 1848, and everything that follows in India's wartime experience comes from
those promises--two kept, one broken. The Civil War comes to India's home in the
Shenandoah Valley and, by its end, northern Virginia is a charred and desolate land, and
India's life is forever changed. India is a memorable character, so well drawn she seems to
leap from the pages of the period letters and diaries upon which Wells based her tale. She
studies chemistry with Emory Trimble, witnesses the battle of Antietam and dreams of
studying science at Oberlin College. Thorough research is neatly woven into this epic tale of
war, romance, faith, science and promise without ever overwhelming the telling, and India is a
feisty heroine making her way into a new world forged by the fires of war. A grand historical
novel of exceptional scale and depth. AR 4.7 Lexile 760
Westerfeld, Scott. Pretties. Tally's perfect life as a Pretty is disrupted when she receives a
letter from herself, written when she was an Ugly, reminding her of the promise she made to
take a drug developed to cure the brain lesions that keep the Pretties shallow and happy--and
when she takes the pills, she becomes a target of those determined to keep Pretty society
carefree. AR 5.7 Lexile 860
White, Ruth. Way Down Deep. In the West Virginia town of Way Down Deep in the 1950s, a
foundling called Ruby June is happily living with Miss Arbutus at the local boarding house
when suddenly, after the arrival of a family of outsiders, the mystery of Ruby's past begins to
unravel. AR 4.8 Lexile 820
Woodworth, Chris. Georgie’s Moon. In 1970, an angry seventh-grader copes with life in a
new town while her father, a career Air Force pilot, is away in Vietnam. Every night, she looks
for the moon, knowing that her father has sent his love to her on it. Her anger comes out in
vicious spurts, cynicism and casual cruelty shielding her from her other emotions. Woodhouse
gives Georgie fairly standard plot elements to help her out, a school project binding her to
Lisa, a girl she simultaneously likes and despises, while they help in a nursing home. For all
that these devices are hardly new, they work, for both the reader and Georgie. A touching
exploration of an aspect of the Vietnam War not often seen in books for children. Kirkus
Review. AR 3.8 Lexile 630
Yep, Laurence. The Earth Dragon Awakes. On April 17, 1906, neither eight-year-old Henry
nor his friend Ching is aware that the earth beneath their San Francisco homes is shifting.
When the earthquake shakes the city and a firestorm breaks out, Henry and his parents
scramble in the chaos and battle the fire. Ching and his father survive the collapse of their
Chinatown tenement and flee to the ferry through the debris and turmoil. In the midst of
catastrophe, the boys realize that their fathers are real-life heroes. AR 3.7 Lexile 510
Zevin, Gabrielle. Elsewhere. After fifteen-year-old Liz Hall is hit by a taxi and killed, she finds
herself in a place that is both like and unlike Earth, where she must adjust to her new status
and figure out how to "live." AR 4.3
Patterson, James. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment. Max Ride and five other humanavian genetic hybrids fly (literally) from the lab where they were created as experiments and
forge a new life in hiding. When six-year-old Angel is captured, Max leads her makeshift family
in a rescue attempt, raising questions about their origins and destiny. Smart-mouthed,
sympathetic characters and copious butt-kicking make this fast read pure escapist. AR 4.6
Lexile 700
Horowitz, Anthony. Alex Rider: Stormbreaker. When Uncle Ian is murdered, Alex learns
that his guardian was a spy. England's intelligence agency then drafts the fourteen-year-old to
complete his uncle's work. Equipped with sophisticated gadgetry, Alex investigates a
businessman who is planning a violent act of terrorism. This junior James Bond skydives,
dodges bullets, and swims through underwater caves in a book that, despite its preposterous
premise, is hard to put down. AR 5.1 Lexile 600
MacHale, D.J. Pendragon: Merchant of Death. "Journal of an adventure through time and
space." Fourteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon, having learned he is a Traveler--someone who
can ride "flumes" through time and space, is soon off to the alternative dimension of Denduron
where he teams up with Loor, a girl his age from the warrior-territory of Zadaa, in an attempt
to save the gentle Milago people from slavery. Lexile 660
Hunter, Erin. Warriors: Into the Wild. When Rusty--later renamed Firepaw and then
Fireheart--leaves his life as a house pet to join one of the clans of wild cats that live in the
woods, he must overcome the disdain that the other ThunderClan cats feel for pets and prove
his worth as a warrior and as a friend. Filled with details about warrior life and populated with
interesting characters, the series may draw in some Redwall readers. AR 5.6 Lexile 790