7th grade Summer Reading Lists

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Anya, embarrassed by her family and lacking confidence in her body and her

social skills, finally finds a friend after falling down a well, but quickly learns

there are drawbacks to having a ghost for a friend.

My Name is Not Easy by Debby Dahl Edwardson

Alaskans Luke, Chickie, Sonny, Donna, and Amiq relate

their experiences in the early 1960s when they are

forced to attend a Catholic boarding school where,

despite different tribal affiliations, they come to find a

sort of family and home.

Addie On the Inside by James Howe

Outspoken thirteen-year-old Addie Carle learns about

love, loss, and staying true to herself as she navigates

seventh grade, enjoys a visit from her grandmother,

fights with her boyfriend, and endures gossip and

meanness from her former best friend.

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, and Treachery by Steve Sheinkin

An introduction to the life of Benedict Arnold that highlights not

only the traitorous actions that made him legendary, but also his

heroic involvement in the American Revolution.

The Returning by Christine Hinwood

When the twelve-year war between the Uplanders and

Downlanders is over and Cam returns home to his village,

questions dog him, from how he lost an arm to why he was

the only one of his fellow soldiers to survive, such that he

must leave until his own suspicions are resolved.

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Throughout her high school years, as her mother battles

cancer, Lupita takes on more responsibility for her house and

seven younger siblings, while finding refuge in acting and

writing poetry.

           

              A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Thirteen-year-old Conor awakens one night to

find a monster outside his bedroom window, but

not the one from the recurring nightmare that

began when his mother became ill--an ancient,

wild creature that wants him to face truth and

loss.

Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt

Fourteen-year-old Doug Swieteck faces many challenges,

including an abusive father, a brother traumatized by

Vietnam, suspicious teachers and police officers, and isolation,

but when he meets a girl known as Lil Spicer, he develops a

close relationship with her and finds a safe place at the local

library.

Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer

  An  illustrated  history  of  the  witch  hunts  that  took  place  in  colonial-­‐era  Salem,  Massachusetts,

featuring  primary  source  accounts,  and  describing  the  victims,  accused  witches,  corrupt

officials,  and  impact  of  the  events  on  society.

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

In small-town Australia, teens Jasper and Charlie form an unlikely

friendship when one asks the other to help him cover up a murder

until they can prove who is responsible.

Classics

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

During one of his several adventurous voyages in the 1600's

an Englishman becomes the sole survivor of a shipwreck

and lives for nearly thirty years on a deserted island.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Buck, a dog that has been forced into the harsh life of sled dog, befriends a

man seeking his fortune in the Klondike gold fields, and must ultimately

decide whether to stay with his master or obey his instinct to join the

wolves. 

           

A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

Three men dare to adventure into a subterranean world full of danger

and beauty discovering many unusual things on their trip to the Earth's

mysterious core.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Chronicles the adventures of a group of rabbits searching for a safe

place to establish a new warren where they can live in peace.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

A political satire in which the animals take over running the farm, but

find their utopian state turning into a dictatorship.

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

.

Jules Verne's classic novel featuring Phileas Fogg, a wealthy gentleman

who makes a bet that he can travel around the world in just eighty

days

Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R.Tolkien

The first volume of a three-volume epic adventure set in the fantasy world of

the Third Age of Middle-earth, a world inhabited by many strange beings.

(The T wo T owers, The Return of the King)           

           

Realistic Fiction

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

When sixteen-year-old Hope and the aunt who had raised her move

from Brooklyn to Mulhoney, Wisconsin, to work as waitress and cook in

the Welcome Stairways diner, they become involved with a political

campaign to oust the town's corrupt mayor.

Hush by Jacqueline Woodson

Twelve-year-old Toswiah finds her life changed when her family

enters the witness protection program.

Box Out by John Coy

High school sophomore Liam jeopardizes his new position on

the varsity basketball team when he decides to take a stand

against his coach who is leading prayers before games and enforcing teamwide participation.

The Bat Boy by Mike Lupica

Even though his mother feels baseball ruined her

marriage to his father, she allows fourteen-year-

old Brian to become a bat boy for the Detroit

Tigers, who have just drafted his favorite player

back onto the team.

Tell Us We’re Home by Marina Budhos

Three immigrant girls from different parts of the world meet

and become close friends in a small New Jersey town where

their mothers have found domestic work, but their

relationships are tested when one girl's mother is accused of

stealing a precious heirloom.

Keeping  the  Moon  by  Sarah  Dessen  

Fifteen-year-old Colie, a former fat girl, spends the summer

working as a waitress in a beachside restaurant, staying with her

overweight and eccentric Aunt Mira, and trying to explore her

sense of self. 

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl, a teen who animates quiet Mica High with her colorful

personality, suddenly finds herself shunned for her refusal to

conform. (Love, Stargirl)

Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani

When fourteen-year-old Viola is sent from her beloved

Brooklyn to boarding school in Indiana for ninth grade, she

overcomes her initial reservations as she makes friends with

her roommates, goes on a real date, and uses the unsettling

ghost she keeps seeing as the subject of a short film--her

first. (Viola in the Spotlight)

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

Abandoned by their mother, four children begin a search for a home

and an identity. (Dicey’s Song)

Trouble by Gary Schmidt

Fourteen-year-old Henry, wishing to honor his brother

Franklin's dying wish, sets out to hike Maine's Mount

Katahdin with his best friend and dog, but fate adds

another companion--the Cambodian refugee accused of

fatally injuring Franklin--and reveals troubles that

predate the accident.

 Historical Fiction

Ashes by Kathryn Lasky

In 1932 Berlin, thirteen-year-old Gaby Schramm witnesses the

beginning of Hitler's rise to power, as soldiers become ubiquitous,

her beloved literature teacher starts wearing a jewelled swastika

pin, and the family's dear friend, Albert Einstein, leaves the

country while Gaby's parents secretly bury his books and papers

in their small yard.

Traitor’s Gate         byAvi        

When his father is arrested as a debtor in 1849 London, fourteen-

year-old John Huffman must take on unexpected responsibilities,

from asking a distant relative for help to determining why people are

spying on him and his family.

             

Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a

place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi

officer, befriends a boyin striped pajamas who lives behind a

wire fence.

Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill

A fictionalized account, told in verse, of the Salem witch trials, told

from the perspective of three young women living in Salem in 1692--

Mercy Lewis, Margaret Walcott, and Ann Putnam, Jr.

RIOT by Walter Dean Myers

In 1863, fifteen-year-old Claire, the daughter of an Irish mother and an

African father, faces ugly truths and great danger when Irish

immigrants, enraged by the Civil War and a federal draft, lash out

against African-Americans and wealthy "swells" of New York City.

Mare’s War by Tanita Davis

Teens Octavia and Tali learn about strength, independence, and courage

when they are forced to take a car trip with their grandmother, who tells

about growing up Black in 1940s Alabama and serving in Europe during

World War II as a member of the Women's Army Corps.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

(Forge)

After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

  

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt

In 1911, Turner Buckminster hates his new home of Phippsburg, Maine,

but things improve when he meets Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a poor,

nearby island community founded by former slaves that the town fathers--

and Turner's--want to change into a tourist spot.

Mystery & Adventure

Heist Society         by         Ally Carter        

  

(Uncommon Criminals)

Fifteen-year-old Kat schemes her way into the best boarding

school, hoping to leave the thieving antics of her family behind her,

but Hal, a former co-conspirator, appears on campus to tell Kat that

a powerful mobster believes her father stole art from a priceless

collection, and in order to save him, Kat will have to recover the

paintings.

The Convicts by Iain Lawrence

His efforts to avenge his father's unjust imprisonment force

thirteen-year-old Tom Tin into the streets of nineteenth-

century London, but after he is convicted of murder, Tom is

eventually sent to Australia where he has a surprise reunion.

(The Cannibals, The Castaways)

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Ten strangers are invited to a lonely mansion on Indian Island by a host

who, surprisingly, fails to appear--ten people who have something to

hide, something to fear.

 Airman by Eoin Colfer

In the 1890s on an island off the Irish coast, Conor

Broekhart is falsely imprisoned and passes the solitary

months by scratching designs of flying machines into the

walls, including one for a glider with which he dreams of

escape.

 Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks

Child prodigy Cadel Piggot, an antisocial

computer hacker, discovers his true identity

when he enrolls as a first-year student at an

advanced crime academy. (Genius Squad, The

Genius Wars)           

  

Trash by Andy Mulligan

A group of fourteen-year-old boys, who make a living

picking garbage from the outskirts of a large city, finds

something special and mysterious that brings terrifying

consequences.

Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock

In 1867, Sherlock Holmes, an impoverished young outcast with a

Jewish father and a highborn mother, visits the scene of a woman's

brutal murder, where he meets a wrongly accused young Arab and

becomes a suspect himself. (Death in the Air, Vanishing Girl, The

Secret Fiend)

The Recruit by Robert Muchamore

JAMES BECOMES A PART OF THE HIGHLY SECRETIVE

ORGANIZATION, CHERUB, A GROUP OF TEENS WHOSE MISSION

IS TO SPY ON TERRORISTS AND INTERNATIONAL DRUG

DEALERS, HACK INTO COMPUTERS, AND DOWNLOAD CRUCIAL

INFORMATION FOR THE GOVERNMENT. (CHERUB SERIES:

CLASS A, MAXIMUM SECURITY, THE KILLING, DIVINE

MADNESS, MAN VS BEAST, ETC)

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

(Maximum Ride Series: School’s Out Forever, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, Final Warning, Max, Fang, Angel)

After the mutant Erasers abduct the youngest member of their

group, the "birdkids," who are the result of genetic

experimentation, take off in pursuit and find themselves

struggling to understand their own origins and purpose.

Fantasy

King of Shadows by Susan Cooper

While in London as part of an all-boy acting company preparing to

perform in a replica of the famous Globe Theatre, Nat Field

suddenly finds himself transported back to 1599 and performing

in the original theater under the tutelage of Shakespeare himself.

Reckless Cornelia Funke

Jacob and Will Reckless have looked out for each other ever since their father

disappeared, but when Jacob discovers a magical mirror that transports him to a warring

world populated by witches, giants, and ogres, he keeps it to himself until Will follows him one day, with dire consequences.

             

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

In the land of Ingary, the Witch of Waste and the Wizard Howl,

whose black turreted castle can move at the discretion of its

owner, fight a stormy duel.

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

Twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba discover an entrance to a

strange world where they encounter killer giraffes, animated umbrellas,

ghost children, and flying double-decker buses.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Young Tristran Thorn, having lost his heart to the

lovely but cold Victoria Forester, leaves the safe

English town of Wall and sets out into a strange world

on a quest to retrieve a fallen star he has promised to

his beloved.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Accompanied by her daemon, Lyra Belacqua sets out to prevent

her best friend and other kidnapped children from becoming the

subject of gruesome experiments in the Far North. (The Subtle

Knife, The Amber Spyglass)

The Great Tree of Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophesy by T.A. Barron

The fate of Avalon rests in the hands of three people:

Tamwyn, Elli, and Scree; however one of them is the

true heir of Merlin and the only one who can

saveAvalon and one of them is the child of Dark

Prophecy, the person chosen to destroy it.

(Shadow on

the Stars, The Eternal Flame)

 Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients by Derek Landy

When twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her weird uncle's

estate, she must join forces with Skulduggery Pleasant, a

skeleton mage, to save the world from the Faceless Ones.

(Playing with Fire, The Faceless Ones, Dark Days, Moral Coil,

Death Bringer)           

  

Revenge         of the Witch         by         Joseph         Delaney        

Young Tom, the seventh son of a seventh son, starts work as an

apprentice for the village spook, whose job is to protect ordinary

folk from "ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties."

(The Last Apprentice Series: Curse of the Bane, Night of the Soul

Stealer, Attack of the Fiend, Wrath of the Bloodeye, Etc.)

Merchant of Death by D.J. MacHale

(Pendragon Series: The Losy City of Faar, The Never War, The Reality Bug, Black Water, Etc.)

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.

Science Fiction

Ship Breaker Paolo Bacigalupi

In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil

tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the

wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the Ship for its wealth or rescue the

girl.

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

In a future where humans despise clones, Matt

enjoys special status as the young clone of El

Patrón, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt

drug empire nestled between Mexico and the

United States.

Shade’s Children by Garth Nix

In a savage future world, four young fugitives

attempt to overthrow the bloodthirsty rule of

the Overlords with the help of Shade, their

mysterious mentor.

Gone by Michael Grant

(Hunger, Lies, Plague)

In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of

fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the

remaining town residents and the students from a local private school,

as well as those who have "The Power" and are able to perform

supernatural feats and those who do not.           

  

Interworld by Neil Gaiman

At nearly fifteen years of age, Joey Harker learns

that he is a Walker, able to travel between

dimensions, and soon joins a team of different

versions of himself, each from another

dimension, to fight the evil forces striving to

conquer all the worlds.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender, who is the result of genetic experimentation, may be the military genius

Earth needs in its war against an alien enemy. (Ender’s Shadow, Speaker for

the Dead)

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

In rural Ohio, friendships and a beautiful girl prove distracting

to a fifteen-year-old who has hidden on Earth for ten years

waiting to develop the Legacies, or powers, he will need to

rejoin the other six surviving Garde members and fight the

Mogadorians who destroyed their planet, Lorien. (The Power of

Six)

Matched by Ally Condie

(Crossed)

Cassia has always had complete trust in the Society to

make decisions for her, but when she is being paired with

her ideal mate, a second face flashes on the screen, and

Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility as she tries

to decide which man she truly loves.

 Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Tally is faced with a difficult choice when her new friend Shay decides

to risk life on the outside rather than submit to the forced operation

that turns sixteen year old girls into gorgeous beauties, and realizes

that there is a whole new side to the pretty world that she doesn't like.

(Pretties, Specials, Extras)

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

(Predator’s Gold, Infernal Devices, A Darkling Plain)

Tom, a third class apprentice in a distant future in which technology

has been lost and tiered cities move about the Earth on caterpillar

tracks, often absorbing smaller locales, has many dangerous

adventures after being pushed off London by Thaddeus Valentine, a

historian who is trying to resurrect an ancient atomic weapon.

           

             

  Non-Fiction

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow

           

A photo-illustrated look at

the youth organizations Adolf Hitler founded and

used to meet his sociopolitical and military ends;

includes profiles of

individual Hitler Youth members as well as young

people who opposed the Nazis, such as Hans and

Sophie Scholl.

Diary of Young Girl by Anne Frank

    A  thirteen-­‐year-­‐old  Dutch-­‐Jewish  girl  records  her  impressions  of  the  two  years

she  and  seven  others  spent  hiding  from  the  Nazis  before  they  were  discovered  

and  taken  to  concentration  camps.

The War to End All Wars: World War I by Russell Freedman

           

A narrative history of World War I for young readers that

features archival photographs, and describes how advanced

military weaponry impacted the course of the war.

 The Good, the Bad and the Barbie: A Doll’s History and her Impact on Us by Tanya Lee Stone

            Explores how Barbie has influenced generations of girls,

discussing criticisms of the doll, her role in fashion,

and her surprising popularity during her first fifty years.

The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers

Details the life of boxer Muhammad Ali, including his rise to athletic

fame, the hazards of his sport, which permanently affected him, and

his battle with Parkinson's disease.

           

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

            Presents an account of fifteen-year-old Claudette Colvin, an

African-American girl who refused to give up her seat to a

white woman on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama,

nine months before Rosa Parks, and covers her role in a

crucial civil rights case.           

  

Spies of Mississippi: The True Story of the Spy Network that tried to destroy the Civil Rights Movement by Rick Bowers

           

Chronicles how the Mississippi State Sovereignty

Commission attempted to halt racial integration in the 1950s

and 1960s through an extensive propaganda effort to

label civil rights leaders and their followers as communists.

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker

            Reports on the work of forensic scientists who are

excavating grave sites in James Fort, in Jamestown,

Virginia, to understand who lived in the Chesapeake Bay

area in the 1600s and 1700s; and uncovers the lives of a

teenage boy, a ship's captain, a colonial officer, an African

slave girl, and others.