What Genre?
FIC
ODE
Black Star, Bright Dawn
by Scott O'Dell
Bright Dawn must face the
challenge of the Iditarod dog
sled race alone when her
father is injured.
Adventure
FIC
WAU
Earthborn
by Sylvia Waugh
Upon suddenly learning
that her parents are
researchers from another
planet and they must leave
in seven days or risk
discovery, twelve-year-old
Nesta decides to stay in
their York, England, home,
whether or not her parents
go.
[SLJ’s Best Books, 2002]
Science Fiction
FIC
WOL
Make Lemonade
by Virginia Euwer Wolff
In order to earn money
for college, fourteenyear-old LaVaughn
babysits for a teenage
mother of two. Written in
66 chapters, with text
lines that break at natural
speaking phrases.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
FAR
The Land of the
Silver Apples
by Nancy Farmer
After escaping from the
Sea of Trolls, the
apprentice bard Jack
plunges into a new
series of adventures,
traveling underground
to Elfland and
uncovering the truth
about his little sister
Lucy.
Fantasy
FIC
WIL
The Aurora County
All-Stars
by Deborah Wiles
After the death of the old
man to whom 12-year-old
star pitcher House Jackson
has been secretly reading
for a year, House uncovers
secrets about the man and
the history of baseball in
Aurora County.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
COO
Family Reunion
by Caroline B. Cooney
At a family reunion,
Shelley comes to terms
with her parents'
divorce, her mother's
absence, her new
stepmother, and being
the "stable" member of
her colorful family.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
PAR
Archer’s Quest
by Linda Sue Park
Twelve-year-old Kevin
Kim helps Chu-mong, a
legendary king of ancient
Korea, return to his own
time. He had come to
Kevin’s time through a
strange adventure, and if
he doesn’t get back to his
centuries’-old kingdom
soon, history will be
changed forever.
Fantasy
&
Humor
FIC
MCD
The Time Capsule
by Lurlene McDaniel
Reminded of what life was
once like by the opening of a
first-grade time capsule,
seventeen-year-old Alexis
now faces the pressures of
senior year in high school,
her parents' total focus on
work, and the recurrence of
her twin brother's leukemia.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
LOW
Truth and Salsa
by Linda Lowery
Having moved temporarily
from Michigan to live with
her grandmother in
Mexico, twelve-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.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
DEN
Atticus of Rome
by Barry Denenberg
In ancient Rome, Atticus, a
young slave purchased by a
wealthy and powerful
lawyer, finds that he is
completely invisible to the
people from whom he must
gather information in order
to help foil a plot against
the Emperor.
Historical Fiction
FIC
PIN
The Neddiad: How
Neddie Took the Train,
Went to Hollywood,
and Saved Civilization
written by Daniel Pinkwater
When shoelace heir Neddie
Wentworthstein and his family
take the train from Chicago to
Los Angeles in the 1940s, he
winds up in possession of a
valuable Indian turtle artifact
whose owner is supposed to be
able to prevent the impending
destruction of the world, but he
is not sure exactly how.
Historical Fiction,
Humor,
Supernatural
FIC
WRI
The Dollhouse
Murders
by Betty Ren Wright
A dollhouse filled with a
ghostly light in the
middle of the night and
dolls that have moved
from where she last left
them lead Amy and her
developmentally disabled
sister to unravel the story
surrounding grisly
murders that took place
years ago.
Mystery
FIC
SCH
The Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt
During the 1967 school year,
while the rest of the world
worries about Vietnam, on
Wednesday afternoons 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 of value
about the world he lives in.
Historical Fiction,
Realistic Fiction,
&
Humor
FIC
SMI
Elephant Run
by Roland Smith
The time is 1941, and
bombs are falling on
London. In hopes that
fourteen-year-old Nick
Freestone will be safer, his
mother sends him to Burma
to live with his father on the
family’s teak plantation. His
time exploring the jungles
there turns out to be more
dangerous than his mother
could have imagined.
Adventure
&
Historical Fiction
FIC
HAR
Orphan of the Sun
by Gill Harvey
Meryt-Re, a thirteen-year-old
orphan living in Set-Maat,
Egypt, during the building of
the pharaohs' tombs, tries to
come to terms with her ability
to see the truth in dreams
while also attempting to
determine who is trying to
overthrow the village
foreman.
Historical Fiction
FIC
CUR
Elijah of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
In 1859, eleven-year-old
Elijah Freeman, the first freeborn child in Buxton, Canada,
which is a haven for slaves
fleeing the American south,
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.
[SLJ’s Best Books of 2007]
Historical Fiction
FIC
GRE
Leonardo’s Shadow:
Or, My Astonishing
Life as Leonardo da
Vinci’s Servant
By Christopher Grey
Fifteen-year-old Giacomo--servant
to Leonardo da Vinci--helps his
procrastinating master finish
painting "The Last Supper" while
also trying to find clues to his
parentage and pursue his own
career as an artist in late fifteenthcentury Milan.
Historical Fiction
FIC
ARR
Paper Heart
By Aileen Arrington
Sixth-grader Nadia begins to
defy her overprotective
mother, hoping to be seen as
more than the "poor sick girl"
who cannot participate in
school activities, form
friendships, or even be
outside in the cold for fear
she has inherited her father's
heart trouble.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
WIN
Tanglewreck
by Jeanette Winterson
Eleven-year-old Silver sets out
to find the Timekeeper--a
clock that controls time--and
to protect it from falling into
the hands of two people who
want to use the device for their
own nefarious ends.
Subject headings:
Space travel
Women scientists
Space flight
Time travel
Alchemists
Villains
Good & evil
Quests
Prophecies
Clocks & watches
Science Fiction
FIC
FEI
Cover-Up
by John Feinstein
Fledgling fourteen-year-old
sports reporters Susan
Carol and Stevie
investigate suspicious
activities at the Super Bowl
after Stevie gets fired from
his co-anchor job on a
ground-breaking teen
sports show.
Mystery
FIC
RYA
Paint the Wind
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
After her overprotective
grandmother has a
stroke, Maya, an orphan,
leaves her extremely
restricted life in California
to stay with her mother's
family on a remote
Wyoming ranch, where
she discovers a love of
horses and encounters a
wild mare that her mother
once rode.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
LAK
The Coming of
Dragons
by A.J. Lake
Two eleven-year-olds
named Edmund and Elspeth
discover that they have been
given fantastic gifts to use
against the ancient and evil
forces that have been
awakened by powerful
magic during the Dark Ages
in Great Britain.
Fantasy
FIC
FEI
Vanishing Act
by John Feinstein
Eighth-grade sports
reporters Susan Carol and
Stevie reunite at the U.S.
Open tennis championships
where they investigate the
unexplained disappearance
of a top Russian player.
Mystery
FIC
SAN
Song of the
Sparrow
by Lisa Ann Sandell
In 5th-century Britain, 9 years
after the destruction of their
home brings her to live with her
father and brothers in the
military encampments of King
Arthur's army, seventeen-yearold Elaine describes her changing
perceptions of war and the
people around her as she
becomes increasingly involved in
the bitter struggle against the
invading Saxons.
Fantasy
[Arthurian legend]
FIC
HAR
Sunshine Rider: The
First Vegetarian
Western
By Ric Lynden Hardman
Wylie, a seventeen-year-old
assistant cook on a cattle
drive, has many adventures
during which he turns
vegetarian and decides to
become a doctor. Includes
recipes.
Adventure
FIC
PAU
The Transall Saga
by Gary Paulsen
While backpacking in the
desert, thriteen-year-old Mark
falls into a tube of blue light
and is transported into a more
primitive world, where he
must use his knowledge and
skills to survive.
Science Fiction
(Post-Apocalyptic)
FIC
ABR
Behind the
Curtain: an Echo
Falls Mystery
by Peter Abrahams
An avid Sherlock
Holmes fan, eighth
grader Ingrid LevinHill is kidnapped while
investigating strange,
unexplained
happenings in her
home town.
Mystery
FIC
ODE
Black Star, Bright Dawn
by Scott O'Dell
Bright Dawn must face the
challenge of the Iditarod dog
sled race alone when her
father is injured.
Adventure
FIC
SLE
Interstellar Pig
by William Sleator
Barney's boring seaside
vacation suddenly
becomes more interesting
when the cottage next
door is occupied by three
exotic neighbors who are
addicted to a game they
call "Interstellar Pig."
Science Fiction
FIC
MOR
The Savage
Damsel and the
Dwarf
by Gerald Morris
Lynet, a feisty young woman,
journeys to King Arthur's
court in order to find a
champion to rescue her
beautiful older sister, and she
is joined in her quest by a
clever dwarf and a bold
kitchen knave, neither of
whom is what he seems.
Fantasy
(Arthurian Legend)
FIC
VAN
Flipped
by Wendelin Van
Draanen
In alternating chapters,
two teenagers describe
how their feelings about
themselves, each other,
and their families have
changed over the years.
Realistic Fiction
(Romance)
FIC
GOL
Raisin Rodriguez &
the big-time smooch
by Judy Goldschidt
Still corresponding through her
blog with her friends who live
across the country, thirteen-yearold Raisin records her hopes and
worries as she tries to obtain her
first kiss from the long-lashed
and cinnamon-scented CJ
Mullen.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
WIL
My Angelica
by Carol Lynch Williams
Fifteen-year-old Sage is
enthusiastic about submitting
her historical romance novel to
the school creative writing
contest, but her would-be
boyfriend George thinks that it
is awful and tries to stop her.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
SHE
The Billion Dollar
Boy
by Charles Sheffield
Rich, spoiled, overweight 15-year-old
Shelby Cheever is bored, so he convinces
his mother to take him on a space cruise.
Without proper preparation, he accesses the
node network alone to visit the Kuiper
asteroid belt and finds himself hurtled 27
light years out to the Messina Dust Cloud,
where he is rescued by a mining family. On
the three-month journey home, Shelby must
learn how to do for himself in an
environment where his wealth and
pampered status mean nothing.
Science Fiction
FIC
ALC
The Sylvia Game
by Vivien Alcock
During a trip to the seaside with
her ne'er-do-well artist father,
twelve-year-old Emily makes
friends with a gypsy's son and
the young heir to a stately home,
who are struck by her
resemblance to mysterious, longdead Sylvia, a girl in a painting
by Renoir.
Mystery
FIC
ODE
Island of the Blue
Dolphins
by Scott O’Dell
Left alone on a beautiful but
isolated island off the coast of
California, a young Indian girl
spends eighteen years, not
only merely surviving through
her enormous courage and
self-reliance, but also finding a
measure of happiness in her
solitary life.
Adventure/Survival
FIC
FLA
The Skin I’m In
by Sharon Flake
Thirteen-year-old Maleeka,
uncomfortable because her
skin is extremely dark,
meets a new teacher and
makes some discoveries
about how to love who she
is and what she looks like.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
KIL
The Passage
by James Killgore
Fifteen-year-old Mississippi
schoolboy Sam Wood learns
about honor, courage, and
friendship while serving on a
Confederate ironclad gunboat,
the CSS Arkansas, in the
early days of the Civil War.
Historical Fiction
FIC
HIG
The Black Book of
Secrets
by F.E. Higgins
When Ludlow Fitch runs away
from his thieving parents in the
City, he meets up with the
mysterious Joe Zabbidou, who
calls himself a secret pawnbroker,
and who takes Ludlow as an
apprentice to record the
confessions of the townspeople of
Pagus Parvus, where resentments
are many and trust is scarce.
Subject headings:
Magic
Villains
Betrayal Pawnbrokers
Guilt
Runaway Boys
Fantasy
FIC
YEE
So Totally Emily
Ebers
by Lisa Yee
In a series of letters to her
absent father, twelve-year-old
Emily Ebers deals with moving
cross-country, her parents'
divorce, a new friendship, and
her first serious crush.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
YOU
The Beetle and Me: a
love story
by Karen Romano Young
Surrounded by her busy
extended family and their
many cars, fifteen-year-old
Daisy pursues her goal of
single-handedly restoring
the car of her dreams, the
old purple Volkswagen
Beetle from her childhood.
Realistic Fiction
FIC
VAN
Sammy Keyes and
the Hotel Thief
by Wendelin Van Draanen
Seventh grader Sammy's
habit of speaking her mind
gets her into trouble when
she involves herself in the
investigation of a robbery at
the "seedy" hotel across the
street from the seniors'
building where she is living
with her grandmother.
Mystery
FIC
COV
Juliet Dove, Queen
of Love
by Bruce Coville
A shy twelve-year-old girl
must solve a puzzle
involving characters from
Greek mythology to free
herself from a magical
spell that makes her
irresistible to boys.
Fantasy
FIC
MIL
Kiki Strike: Inside
the Shadow City
by Kirsten Miller
Life becomes more
interesting for Ananka
Fishbein when, at the age
of twelve, she discovers an
underground room in the
park across from her New
York City apartment and
meets a mysterious girl
called Kiki Strike who
claims that she, too, wants
to explore the
subterranean world.
Adventure
FIC
BOS
The Name of This
Book is Secret
By Pseudonymous
Bosch
The first page warns: "Do not
read beyond this page!" The
reason? The book contains a
secret that is dangerous even to
innocent page-turners.
Adventure
&
Humor
FIC
RAY
My Life Starring Mum
by Chloe Rayban
Having left boarding school to
live in a London hotel with her
famous mother, thirteen-year-old
Hollywood Bliss Winterman
attempts to lead a normal life
despite her mother's attempts to
turn her into a celebrity. Holly’s
mom is Khandi, a pop mega-star,
the tenth richest woman in the
world.
Realistic Fiction
The Wizard, the
Witch, and Two Girls
from Jersey
By Lisa Papademetriou
Two mismatched teenage
girls must find their way
back home to New Jersey
after being zapped into
the pages of a novel.
Fantasy
Swear to Howdy
by Wendelin Van Draanen
Two thirteen-year-old boys
share neighborhood
adventures, complaints about
their older sisters, family
secrets, and even guilt that
bind them together in a
special friendship.
Realistic Fiction
&
Humor
FIC
WAU
Space Race
by Sylvia Waugh
When he learns that he
and his father must
soon leave Earth,
eleven-year old Thomas
Derwent is upset. But a
terrible accident that
separates the two of
them makes Thomas's
situation much worse.
Science Fiction
FIC
HOR
South By
Southeast
by Anthony Horowitz
Fourteen-year-old Nick
and his bumbling
detective brother Tim
Diamond investigate an
incident involving
international spies and
assassins.
Mystery
FIC
HOR
The Devil and His Boy
by Anthony Horowitz
In 1593, thirteen-year-old Tom
travels through the English
countryside to London, where he
falls in with a troupe of actors and
finds himself in great danger from
several sources.
Subject headings:
Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1533-1603
Theater
Wizards—England
Teenage adventurers
Thirteen-year-old boys
??
Historical Fiction
FIC
COR
12 Again
by Sue Corbett
When an overburdened
journalist mom makes an idle
wish while drinking a special
cordial, she wakes up the next
morning as her twelve-year-old
self and needs her son's help
surviving middle school and
getting back to her family.
Fantasy
FIC
SPE
Barry Boyhound
by Andy Spearman
To the confusion of his friends
and family, Barry starts chasing
squirrels, eating food off the
floor, and otherwise acting like
a canine after a flea bite turns
his human brain into that of a
dog.
Fantasy
FIC
HUN
Firestar’s Quest
by Erin Hunter
Firestar, leader of the Thunder
Clan, sets off on a harrowing
journey to find a long-lost clan
of cats that had been forced to
leave the forest many moons
ago.
Subject headings:
Feral cats
Wild cats
Warriors
Clans
Adventurers
Quests
Heroes and heroines
Fantasy
&
Adventure
FIC
SPI
Love, Stargirl
by Jerry Spinelli
Still moping months after
being dumped by her
Arizona boyfriend Leo,
fifteen-year-old Stargirl, a
home-schooled free spirit,
writes "the world's longest
letter" to Leo, describing
her new life in
Pennsylvania.
Realistic Fiction
CAMS EAST LIBRARY WEB SITE
HOMEWORK HELP
READING: LITERARY GENRES
* NOVELIST K-8
* LIBRARY CATALOG
* OTHER WEB SITES
The Way Things
Work
&
The NEW Way
Things Work
In The New Way Things
Work, The Great Woolly
Mammoth, the inventor's
hapless assistant, returns,
and this time you can help
him improve his inventor's
skills in the Mammoth School
House. Keep him well fed
with knowledge and he'll be
the perfect companion for
your scientific discoveries.
600
LAN
The NEW How
Things Work
by John Langone
The New How Things Work, a
fascinating and clearly
written and illustrated
volume, uses anecdotal
information to help readers
understand the mechanisms
and principals behind
technological wonders,
painlessly folding in the basic
scientific principles that
make each of them work.
811
GRA
Blue Lipstick
A 15-year-old girl named Jessie
voices typicaland not so typical
teenage concerns in this unique,
hilarious collection of poems. Her
musings about trying out new
makeup and hairstyles, playing
volleyball and cello, and dealing
with her annoying younger brother
are never boring or predictable.
Who else do you know who designs
her own clothes and writes poetry to
her cat?