Great Reads for Middle School

Recommended Middle School Reads

MMS Librarian's Picks

Accidental Genius of Weasel High by Rick Detorie
A great book for teen fans of the Wimpy Kid series. Larkin Pace wants a new camcorder, but his dad won’t give him any money, his sister is determined to make his life miserable, and his nemesis Dalton Cooke is trying to steal his girlfriend.

Ashes, by Ilsa J. Bick
An electromagnetic pulse flashed in the sky and now billions are dead and electronics are useless. Alex must forge a new family in a world where some people may no longer be human.

Chomp by Carl Hiaassen
A reality-television show comes to the Florida Everglades and it’s up to Mickey Cray, a wild animal wrangler, and his son Wahoo to keep the pampered Expedition Survival! star from accidentally killing himself with the local wildlife.

Legend by Marie Lu
The Western United States is now an independent republic which is constantly at war with its neighbors. June is a 15-year-old prodigy being groomed for the highest military order.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Winner of the 2011 Newbery Award, this touching novel follows Abeliene Tucker as she searches for answers to her father’s past only to find herself on a spy hunt.

Payback Time by Carl Deuker
What’s the surprising truth behind the new mysterious football player named Angel?

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Is the small paper finger puppet on Dwight’s finger a mystical being who can predict the future, or is it just Dwight, talking in a funny voice?

Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 feet Below the Chilean Desert by Marc Aronson
A riveting look at the event that captured the world’s attention.

Trapped by Michael Northrop
When a monster snow storm traps a group of kids in a high school building, they have to stick together to survive.

11 Birthdays, 12 Finally, 13 Gifts by Wendy Mass
Check out these great stories by this author!

 

Recommended Reads - Maggie's Picks

Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
A 15-year-old Lithuanian girl leads a normal life until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her life apart. A gripping tale that reveals the horrors of Stalin’s Russia.

Compound  by S.A. Bodeen
Eli, the 15-year-old son of a billionaire, has spent the past 6 years in an underground compound his father built to survive a nuclear attack. Suspicious, Eli starts to question his father’s claims and soon reveals a shocking truth.

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Winner of the 2012 Newbery Award, this is a funny tale about a boy living in a small town during the 1950’s who has a new job: writing the town obituaries with a wacky neighbor.

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
This is a beautifully-written historical fiction about a young girl who is forced to stake a claim on a homestead in Montana.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
This book grips you from the very beginning! Set in the future, Nailer works light crew where he crawls inside wrecked oil rigs looking for copper lines to salvage. After a storm, Nailer and his friend Pima find a wrecked luxurious clipper ship where a mysterious girl clings to life.

What Happened to Goodbye, by Sarah Dessen
Mclean keeps moving around after her parents split up; she doesn’t really mind because each new place allows her to try on a different persona. Her latest move, however, forces her to do something new – being herself.

Wonder, by R.J. Palacio
Everyone can relate to this heart-breaking, touching story about August Pullman, a young boy who was born with a facial deformity. Written from different perspectives, this book follows Pullman through his first year of school in the fifth grade.

Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick
Another great story by the author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. In words and beautiful illustrations, this book is a “gift for the mind, eye and heart.”