Summer Reading Academy of the Sacred Heart Middle School

Dear Sacred Heart Parents, Here you will find your child’s summer reading assignment as well as additional suggested titles to read over the course of their summer break. Every student must complete their REQUIRED reading which is assigned based on their incoming grade level as well as two additional FREE CHOICE novels. We know how hard it can be to choose a just right book, so we’re including some sug- gestions in this packet for you to browse through together! Each title in our catalog is accompanied with a book review written by a student or faculty member. If you have any questions, please feel free to email!

What’s Included: Ms. Diane Aiken Cover: Parent Letter PGS 2-5: Required Reading MS Librarian PGS 6-13: Student Book Recommendations [email protected] Back Cover: Summer Reading Challenge

5th Grade Required Reading

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes Twelve-year-old Lanesha lives in a tight-knit community in New Orleans' Ninth Ward. She doesn't have a fancy house like her uptown family or lots of friends like the other kids on her street. But what she does have is Mama Ya-Ya, her fiercely lov- ing caretaker, wise in the ways of the world and able to predict the future. So when Mama Ya-Ya's visions show a powerful hurricane--Katrina--fast approaching, it's up to Lanesha to call upon the hope and strength Mama Ya-Ya has given her to help them both survive the storm. ISBN: 0316043087 Two Free Choice Novels

6th Grade Required Reading

Esperanza Rising Esperanza isn't ready for the by Pam Muñoz Ryan hard work, financial struggles brought on by the Great Depres- Esperanza thought she'd always sion, or lack of acceptance she live a privileged life on her fami- now faces. When Mama gets sick ly's ranch in Mexico. She'd al- and a strike for better working ways have fancy dresses, a beau- conditions threatens to uproot tiful home filled with servants, their new life, Esperanza must and Mama, Papa, and Abuelita to find a way to rise above her diffi- care for her. But a sudden trage- cult circumstances because dy forces Esperanza and Mama to Mama's life, and her own, de- flee to California and settle in a pend on it. Mexican farm labor camp. ISBN: 9780439120425 ELA

SS Chu Ju’s House Homeless by Gloria Bird by Glo- Whelan ria Whelan When a girl is born Like many girls to Chu Ju's family, it her age in India, is quickly deter- thirteen-year- mined that the baby old Koly faces must be sent away. her arranged After all, the law marriage with states that a family hope and cour- may have only two age. But Koly's children, and tradi- story takes a tion dictates that terrible turn every family should when in the have a boy. To make wake of the cer- room for one, this girl will have to go. Fourteen- emony, she discovers she's been horribly mis- year-old Chu Ju knows she cannot allow this to led—her life has been sold for a dowry. Can happen to her sister. Understanding that one girl she forge her own future, even in the face of must leave, she sets out in the middle of the night, time-worn tradition? vowing not to return. ISBN: 0064408191 ISBN: 0439799554 Two Free Choice Novels

7th Grade Required Reading Alabama Moon by Watt Key

For as long as ten-year-old Moon can remember, he has lived out in the forest in a shelter with his father. They keep to themselves, their only con- tact with other human beings an occasional trip to the nearest general store. When Moon's father dies, Moon follows his father's last instructions: to travel to Alaska to find others like themselves. But Moon is soon caught and entangled in a world he doesn't know or understand; he's become property of the government he has been avoiding all his life. As the spirited and resourceful Moon encounters constables, jails, institutions, lawyers, true friends, and true enemies, he adapts his wilderness survival skills and learns to survive in the outside world, and even, perhaps, make his home there.

ISBN: 0312384289

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Grown-up Meg, tomboyish Jo, timid Beth, and precocious Amy. The four March sisters couldn't be more different. But with their father away at war, and their mother working to support the family, they have to rely on one another. Whether they're putting on a play, forming a secret society, or celebrating Christmas, there's one thing they can't help wondering: Will Father return home safely? ISBN: 0147514010

Refugee by Alan Gratz JOSEF is a Jewish boy living in 1930s Nazi Germany. With the threat of concentration camps looming, he and his family board a ship bound for the other side of the world. ISABEL is a Cuban girl in 1994. With riots and unrest plaguing her country, she and her family set out on a raft, hoping to find safety in America. MAHMOUD is a Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart by violence and destruction, he and his family begin a long trek toward Europe. All three kids go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the hope of tomorrow. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, shocking connections will tie their stories together in the end. ISBN: 9780545880831 Two Free Choice Novels

8th Grade Required Reading The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich Nineteenth century American pioneer life is seen through the eyes of the spirited, 7-year-old Ojibwa girl Omakayas, or Little Frog, so named because her first step was a hop. The sole survivor of a smallpox epidemic on Spirit Island, Omakayas, then only a baby girl, was rescued by a fear- less woman named Tallow and welcomed into an Ojibwa family on Lake Superior's Madeline Island, the Island of the Golden-Breasted Wood- pecker. We follow Omakayas and her adopted family through a cycle of four seasons in 1847, including the winter, when a historically docu- mented outbreak of smallpox overtook the island. ISBN: 9780786814541

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every oppor- tunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn't really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn't mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She's tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.

ISBN: 1681191059 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. By her brother's grave- side, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love af- fair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion- playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down. ISBN: 0375831002 Two Free Choice Novels

Enticing, Inspirational, Hopeful Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling “This book is about a girl, Aven, who has no arms. She has to move from Kan- sas to Arizona with her parents who will soon manage a theme park there. Aven doesn't feel like she is alone at first until she meets Connor, a kid with a disability too. Together, they unveil a secret that will change Aven's life for- ever. Most importantly, they discovered that what makes them different, is what makes them special. It is a really good feel-good novel. Its a pretty quick read and I found it very entertaining. I would recommend it to anybody who feels alone because this book teaches that most definitely aren't alone.” — Abbey Mohr, 8th Grade Exciting, Attention-Grasping, Mysterious The Lost Hero Books by Rick Riordan “This book is about three demi- with YA gods. They are Jason, Piper, and the YA Leo. Jason is the son f Jupiter (Zeus), Piper is the daughter of (Young Aphrodite, and Leo is the son of Adult) sym- bol Hephaestus. They are brought next to them are to a camp for Greek demigods, and Jason (who's memory has been taken away by Hera) is recommended for told he should be dead. In the end, it turns out Piper and Leo mature readers. are Greek demigods, while Jason is Roman.” — Elizabeth Alford, 5th Grade

Adventurous, Smart, Funny

Max Einstein: Rebels with a Cause by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein Max Einstein's typical day is not your average 12-year-old's. She TEACHES classes at a New York college, dodges KIDNAPPING attempts with her best friends, goes on SECRET MISSIONS for her billionaire boss, and has a MYSTERIOUS CONNECTION to Albert Einstein Just a day in the life of the Change Makers Insti- tute's top agent! And Magical, Suspenseful, Intriguing what does an Irish town and a village in India have in common? A water crisis that only a group of kid geni- The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken uses can fix! Max and her CMI friends attempt to use When Ruby woke up on her 10th birth- their smarts to find solutions, but it's hard to save the day, something about her had changed. world when you're trying not to be kidnapped! A greedy Something alarming enough to make her corporation with an eye on capturing Max seems to know parents lock her in the garage and call the their every move. It's almost like the bad guys have a spy police. Something that got her sent to inside the Change Makers... Thurmond, a brutal government — Maddie Rudolph, 6th Grade "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that killed Happy, Old-Fashioned, Sweet most of America's children, but she and Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot Told from 4 year-old Laura's point of view, this story be- control. Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the gins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big dangerous ones. But when the truth about Woods of Wisconsin. Laura lives in the little house with Ruby's abilities--the truth she's hidden her pa, her ma, her sisters and from everyone, even the camp authorities their trusty dog, Jack. Pioneer --comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thur- life is sometimes hard for the mond with her life. On the run, she joins a family, since they must grow group of kids who escaped their own or catch all their own food as camp. While they journey to find the one they get ready for the cold safe haven left for kids like them--East winter, but it is also exciting. River--they must evade their determined — Sophie Uhlig, 5th Grade pursuers, including an organization that “It is very simple but like anoth- will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their er world because we have never fight against the government. experienced life in the woods.“ — Reagan Hayes, 6th Grade

Page-Turning, Exciting, Interesting Imaginative, Silliness, Refugee by Alan Gratz Crazy JOSEF is a Jewish boy The Indispensible living in 1930s Nazi Calvin and Hobbes Germany. With the by Bill Watterson threat of concentration camps looming, he and Calvin, the six-year- his family board a ship old dirty tricksmeis- bound for the other ter and master of side of the world . . . indignation and his ISABEL is a Cuban girl warm, cuddly phi- in 1994. With riots and losopher sidekick unrest plaguing her and Hobbes, a tiger country, she and her family set out on a raft, hop- whose idea of adventure is to lie on his back by ing to find safety in America . . . MAHMOUD is a the fire and have his stomach rubbed. Syrian boy in 2015. With his homeland torn apart Sra. Torres, Spanish Teacher by violence and destruction, he and his family “I used to read these comics in the morning from begin a long trek toward Europe . . . All three kids the newspaper while I ate breakfast before go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. All school. I fell in love with all the crazy antics of will face unimaginable dangers -- from drownings Calvin and his stuffed animal Hobbes. During to bombings to betrayals. But there is always the COVID, my older brother and I took pictures of hope of tomorrow. the comic strips from books we owned and — Colette English, 5th Grade passed them back and forth to keep smiles on “I liked how all of the characters had a connection. I our faces. Calvin always makes me smile!” also liked how the characters were based on real people’s experiences.”

Snap pictures of yourself reading books over the summer and post them to you/your parent’s social media accounts using the hastags #SacredHeartReads and #SHCaughtReading. Make sure to tag us in your photos too so we can share or retweet them! *You can also email them!

Magical, Friendship, Magical, Exciting

Romantic, Dramatic, Funny The Unicorn Quest by Ka- To All the Boys I’ve Loved milla Benko Before by Jenny Han “This book is Lara-Jean was a normal teen- about two sis- ager who loves to read books, ters, Claire bake, and spend time with and Sophie, her sisters. She was almost who have completely normal- except moved to she wrote letters: love letters. their Aunt's She would never dare to mail mansion. In YA them to anyone, but when her this house, letters mysteriously get sent they found a passageway to a whole out, she has to face the most popular kid in new world, which could possibly heal school, her sisters ex-boyfriend, and a kid she went to Sophie's unknown sickness. This world homecoming with. creates adventure, and an unforgetta-

— Elise Khoury, 6th Grade ble experience for both girls.”

“It´s so much better than the movie. The end of the book — Jane Farnsworth, 6th Grade satisfied me way more than the movie’s ending!” Sad, Surprising, Heart-Stopping The Cruel Prince by Amal Unbound by Holly Black Aisha Saeed “This book takes Amal dreams of

place in a magical becoming a teacher Worldly Worldly - world called Faerie one day but her just outside of the Hu- dreams are tempo- man world. After rarily dashed after finding out about her an accidental run- mothers past, Jude in with the son of and her sisters are her village's cor- sent to live with the rupt landlord re- general of the Faerie. sults in Amal work- All Jude wants is to be powerful like ing as his family's servant to pay off her own the rest of the faeries, even though she will family's debt. Life at the estate is hard for have to pay a price to have such power. During Amal, but most troubling is her growing the story she has a hatred towards one of the awareness of the Khans' nefarious dealings. princes of Faerie, Cardan. People should read When it becomes clear just how far they will this book because it is full of suspenseful betray- go to protect their interests, Amal realizes als and surprising alliances. While reading this she will have to find a way to work with oth- book I couldn't put it down it was so good. “ ers if she is ever to achieve her dreams.

Suspenseful, Surprising, Other Surprising, Suspenseful, — Lilah Deynoodt, 6th Grade — Caroline Kenter, 5th Grade

Scary, Adventure, Surviving Emotional, Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz Moving, 10 concentration camps. 10 different Melancholy places where you are Unbroken by Laura starved, tortured, and Hillenbrand worked mercilessly. It's something no one In boyhood, Louis could imagine surviv- Zamperini was an in- ing. But it is what Ya- corrigible delin- nek Gruener has to quent. As a teenager, face. As a Jewish boy he channeled his defi- in 1930s Poland, Yanek is at the mercy of the Na- ance into running, discovering a prodigious talent zis who have taken over. Everything he has, and that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But everyone he loves, have been snatched brutally when World War II began, the athlete became an from him. And then Yanek himself is taken pris- airman, embarking on a journey that led to a oner -- his arm tattooed with the words PRISON- doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When ER B-3087. his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pa- cific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, — Cynthia Smith, 5th Grade adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperi- “If you like books about World War II, you should ni lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping read this because it talks about a boy who sur- sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, vives the harshest things that can happen to a beyond, a trial even greater. person.” — Amelia Stein, 6th Grade

Mystical, Historical, Romantic Lovely War by Julie Berry “This isn't your typical historical fiction novel. In an effort to win for- giveness from her husband Hephaestus, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells the story of four young people finding love and struggling to survive during World War I. Aphrodite calls on the gods Apollo, Hades, and Ares to fill in the parts of the story they had a hand in creating. Through the words of the Greek gods, readers learn about Aubrey, a talented Ameri- can jazz musician from Harlem who fights both the Germans and the ra- cial prejudice of his fellow Americans; Collete, a Belgian woman who is trying to survive her past and possesses a singing voice like no other; James, the perfect British soldier trained to be a sniper; and Hazel, a pi- ano virtuoso who is figuring out what she wants in her life.” Ms. Nadell, 8th Grade ELA Teacher

Mysterious, Heart-Warming, Twisty Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing. Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories are told -- Ben's in words, Rose's in pictures -- each weaving back and forth with mesmerizing sym- metry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine with one another will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. — Logan Lanier, 5th Grade “I really enjoyed this story because of the beautiful illustrations, they are not like comic book illustrations. I really recommend this book because it will certainly keep you on your feet!” Magical, Fantastical, Fun The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid Banks “On his birthday, Omri is given several simple gifts, including an old wood- en cupboard and a small plastic figurine of a Native American man. When he locks the toy inside the cabinet, it magically comes to life as a tiny, cag- ey warrior named Little Bear. The boy then places other toys in the cupboard and they too come to life, even engaging in entertaining battles. But after Little Bear is wounded, Omri begins to understand that his animate toys are not mere playthings.” Mrs. Burruss, 6th Grade ELA Teacher

Sadness,Sad, Happy, Happiness, Anxious Anxious Wishtree by Katherine Applegate Trees can't tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. . . . Red is an oak tree who is many rings old. Red is the neighborhood "wishtree" ― people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red's branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red's hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood. You might say Red has seen it all. Until a new family moves in. Not everyone is wel- coming, and Red's experience as a wishtree is more important than ever. — Meredith Eddins, 5th Grade

Funny, Joyful, Crazy Exciting, Fun, Engaging Romance, Humor, Magical

Soupy Saturdays with the Pain The Tyrant’s Tomb: The Trials The School for Good and Evil and the Great One by Judy of Apollo by Rick Riordan by Somani Chainani Blume It's not easy being Apollo, espe- “Two best friends named Sophie MEET THE PAIN: cially when you've become hu- and Agatha discover the fabled My sister's name is Abigail, but I man and banished from Olym- school of Good and Evil. There, call her The Great One because pus. On his path to restoring an- normal children train to become she thinks she's so great. Who cient oracles and reclaiming his princesses and villains. With her cares if she's in third grade and godly powers, Apollo has faced pink dresses and determination I'm just in the first grade? both triumphs and tragedies. for good deeds, Sophie knows she MEET THE GREAT ONE: Now his journey takes him to would go to the school of Good My brother's name is Jacob Ed- Camp Jupiter where the Roman and become a princess. While for ward, but everyone calls him demigods are preparing for a Agatha, with her black hair and Jake. Everyone but me. I call him last stand against the evil Tri- ignorance of everyone would The Pain because that's what he umvirate of Roman emperors. naturally go to the school of Evil. is. He's a first-grade pain in the Many old friends will need Apol- But when the time comes, Sophie butt. I'll always know exactly lo's aid to survive the onslaught. gets into the school of Evil and what he's thinking. That's just Unfortunately, the answer to Agatha is sent to the school of the way it is. their salvation lies in the forgot- Good. This onset of the story is These seven warm-hearted sto- ten tomb of a Roman ruler, just the beginning for these girls ries will give readers a peek at someone even worse than the to see who they really are and how a brother and sister relate emperors Apollo has already how their lives will change forev- to each other. faced. er. — Ellie Brennan, 5th Grade — Isabella Jacobs, 7th Grade This book is very interesting and “People should read this book “It's a really funny book and you it shows the power of friendship.” because when you read, it brings will learn a lot about Greek my- — Emmeline Singer, a smile on your face.“ thology.” 6th Grade 12

Exciting, Mysterious, Adventurous

Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi Dominica's private school is covered in cameras, and someone is hack- ing into them and posting embarrassing moments for the whole school to see. Like Ana picking her nose. When Dominica quickly changes her shirt from inside out in what she thinks is the privacy of a quiet corner in the library, she's shocked and embarrassed to discover a video has captured this and is currently circulating amongst her schoolmates. So mortifying, especially since over the past 3 years, they've had a half- dozen school talks about social media safety. Who has access to the school security cameras and why are they doing this? Dominica and her best friends are determined to find out, and in the process start an art-based student campaign against cameras in the classroom. — Maddie Smith, 5th Grade Thrilling, Exciting, Mysterious Killing November by Adriana Mather “When November Adley is sent to boarding school, she is not expecting it to be a cut-throat training school for assassins and spies. Just as she is getting used to classes in knife throwing, poisons, and the art of decep- tion, another student is murdered and November becomes the prime suspect. November must find the real killer before she is accused of being guilty… or becomes the killer's next victim. it's an exciting and thrilling story with twists and turns. And if you want more, which you will, the sequel called Hunting November just came out! “ Ms. Turner, 7th Grade ELA Teacher Adventurous, Exciting, Fun

Making Mistakes on Purpose by Elise Primavera Great Rapscott School for Girls of Busy Parents is not your typical boarding school. Students arrive in boxes, birthday cake is served for breakfast, and two very talented corgis assist the rather quirky head- mistress. This semester, the girls will learn how to get to The Top, but the semester is not off to a good start. One of the girls doesn’t make it back to school and when her friends try to rescue her, they wind up at the Bottom of the Barrel. Luckily, Ms. Rapscott knows that learning to fail is the secret to Going Far in life. — Charlotte Jenkins, 5th Grade

This summer, we will be hosting a SUMMER READING CHALLENGE! Students are encouraged to compete against each other to see which grade level can read the largest number of books throughout the summer. As a special treat, the winning team will receive an ice cream party at the beginning of the new school year! To submit a book that you’ve read for the competition (required reading counts too), simply fill out the google form sent to your school email address OR search for “Summer Reading Chal- lenge” on your Google Drive under your “Shared with me” tab on the left-hand side of the screen.

Have a wonderful summer!