Nashua School District Media Specialists Printable List (PDF)
SUMMER READING SUGGESTIONS 2011
Grades 6-8
*Click Title to Reserve a Copy*
The following is a list of suggested quality titles for summer reading. Feel free to read anything else that interests you!
Abrahams, Peter. Into the Dark : An Echo Falls Mystery.
Thirteen-year-old Sherlock Holmes aficionado Ingrid Levin-Hill tries to clear her grandfather's name when he is accused of murdering an environmental activist found dead on his farm.
Anderson, Laurie Halse. Chains.
After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.
Baskin, Nora Raleigh. Anything but Typical.
Jason, a twelve-year-old autistic boy who wants to become a writer, relates what his life is like as he tries to make sense of his world.
Burg, Ann E. All the Broken Pieces : A Novel in Verse.
Two years after being airlifted out of Vietnam in 1975, Matt Pin is haunted by the terrible secret he left behind and, now, in a loving adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events forces him to confront his past.
Cochrane, Mick. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies.
Eighth-grader Molly's ability to throw a knuckleball earns her a spot on the baseball team, which not only helps her feel connected to her recently deceased father, who loved baseball, it helps in other aspects of her life, as well.
Corriveau, Art. How I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life (and a Dog) : A Novel.
Moving to inner-city Boston after his parents' divorce, eleven-year-old Nicky struggles to cope with the changes in his life, including acquiring a former guide dog that leads to a mystery for Nicky to solve.
Cottrell Boyce, Frank. Cosmic.
Twelve-year-old Liam, who looks like he is thirty and is tired of being treated like he is older than he actually is, decides he is going to pose as the adult chaperone on the first spaceship to take civilians into space, but when he ends up in outer space with a group of kids and no adult supervision, he must think fast to make things right.
Cushman, Karen. Alchemy and Meggy Swann.
Meggy Swann, a girl who walks with the aid of two sticks, arrives in Elizabethan London, along with her goose Louise, to stay with her father who really does not want her, and while he pursues his dream of transforming base metal into gold, Meggy undergoes a transformation herself.
Draper, Sharon M. (Sharon Mills). Out of My Mind.
Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time.
Gordon, Roderick. Deeper.
Boy archaeologist Will Burrows wanders the caverns beneath the Colony with his best friend Chester and brother Cal, falls upon the Styx's plan to get rid of Topsoilers with a deadly plague, and risks his life to foil their plot while wondering if his killer stepsister is still on the loose.
Hahn, Mary Downing. Closed for the Season: A Mystery Story.
When thirteen-year-old Logan and his family move into a run-down old house in rural Virginia, he discovers that a woman was murdered there and becomes involved with his neighbor Arthur in a dangerous investigation to try to uncover the killer.
Hiaasen, Carl. Scat.
Nick and Marta are both suspicious when their biology teacher, the feared Mrs. Bunny Starch, disappears, and try to uncover the truth despite the police and headmaster's insistence that nothing is wrong.
Horowitz, Anthony. Crocodile Tears.
Alex Rider's desire to return to life as a normal high school student must be put aside when he is asked to face his greatest adversary yet, a con man who plans to use genetically modified wheat to release a deadly virus that will kill millions of innocent people.
Ibbotson, Eva. The Dragonfly Pool.
Tally and her friends at Dalderton Boarding School form a dance troupe and travel to Bergania, where she befriends Karil, the crown prince, and helps him flee the Nazis after his father is assassinated.
Kehret, Peg. Runaway Twin.
Thirteen-year-old Sunny, accompanied by a stray dog, takes advantage of a monetary windfall to travel from her Nebraska foster home to Enumclaw, Washington in order to find the twin sister from whom she was separated at age three.
Kerr, Philip. One Small Step.
In 1969 Houston, Texas, thirteen-year-old Scott learns to fly from his father, an Air Force flight instructor, but when NASA needs him for a secret space mission, Scott's elation is tempered by concern that his mother, who has moved to Florida, will find out.
Korman, Gordon. Zoobreak.
After a class trip to a floating zoo where animals are mistreated and Savannah's missing pet monkey is found in a cage, Long Island sixth-grader Griffin Bing and his band of misfits plan a rescue.
Lasky, Kathryn. Lone Wolf.
Abandoned by his pack, a baby wolf with a mysterious mark on his deformed paw survives and embarks on a journey that will change the world of the wolves of the Beyond.
Mackel, Kathryn. Boost.
Thirteen-year-old Savvy is the girls basketball team's star player, but, despite her height and skills, Savvy struggles with her self-confidence and searches for some way to boost her performance, but when steroids are found in her bag, Savvy denies they are hers and the rumors start to fly.
Mass, Wendy. Finally.
After her twelfth birthday, Rory checks off a list of things she is finally allowed to do, but unexpected consequences interfere with her involvement in the movie being shot at her school, while a weird prediction starts to make sense.
Paterson, Katherine. The Day of the Pelican.
In 1998 when the Kosovo hostilities escalate, thirteen-year-old Meli's life as an ethnic Albanian, changes forever after her brother escapes his Serbian captors and the entire family flees from one refugee camp to another until they are able to immigrate to America.
Paulsen, Gary. Woods Runner.
From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Native Americans who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community. Includes historical notes.
Pearson, Ridley. Kingdom Keepers : Disney After Dark.
Thirteen-year-old Finn Whitman and four other young teens have been transformed into holograms to be guides for visitors to Disney World, but now they must do battle with the evil witch, Maleficent, and her Overtakers to save Walt Disney World.
Preller, James. Bystander.
Thirteen-year-old Eric discovers there are consequences to not standing by and watching as the bully at his new school hurts people, but although school officials are aware of the problem, Eric may be the one with a solution.
Prineas, Sarah. The Magic Thief.
Conn's life is forever changed when he tries to pick the pocket of the wizard Nevery and instead gets a strong jolt of magic, but, instead of punishing the boy, Nevery takes Conn under his wing, teaches him magic, and enlists his help in finding the person responsible for stealing the city's dwindling magic supply.
Reisman, Michael. Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper.
Sixth-grader Simon Bloom finds a book that enables him to control the laws of physics; but when two thugs come after him, he needs the formulas in the book to save himself.
Riordan, Rick. The Red Pyramid.
Brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane accidentally unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes the doctor to oblivion and forces his two children to embark on a dangerous journey, bringing them closer to the truth about their family and its links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.
Scaletta, Kurtis. Mudville.
For twenty-two years, since a fateful baseball game against their rival town, it has rained in Moundville, so when the rain finally stops, twelve-year-old Roy, his friends, and foster brother Sturgis dare to face the curse and form a team.
Schröder, Monika. The Dog in the Wood.
As World War II draws to an end, Russian soldiers occupy Schwarz, Germany, bringing both friendships and hardship to the family of ten-year-old Fritz, whose grandfather was a Nazi sympathizer, and after they are forced to leave their farm, Fritz's mother and hired hand are arrested, leaving Fritz to fend for himself.
Slade, Arthur G. (Arthur Gregory). The Hunchback Assignments.
In Victorian London, fourteen-year-old Modo, a shape-changing hunchback, becomes a secret agent for the Permanent Association, which strives to protect the world from the evil machinations of the Clockwork Guild.
Smith, Roland. The White House.
Q and Angela attempt to learn the truth about the supposed death of Angela's real mother, who used to be a Secret Service agent, while trying to figure out who they can trust.
