Milton Academy Middle School Book Recommendations 2018-19

From… Middle School Parents Adam Machson-Carter, Grade 6 English Teacher Emily DiDonna, Grade 7 English Teacher Joshua Kronenberg, Grade 7 English Teacher Laura Pearle, Director of Cox Library Beth Reardon, Middle School Librarian Nancy Anderson, Middle School Principal Check back often for more lists!

R ecommendations from Parents Crossover Books (i.e., books for adults and teens): ● The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ​ ● The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown ​ ● Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie ​ ● Exit West by Mohsin Hamid ​ ● All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely ​ ● Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys ​ ● Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys ​ ● Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland ​ ● Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan (funny) ​

Non-Fiction for Adults: ● A Truck Full of Money by Tracy Kidder ​ ● Educated by Tara Westover ​ ● Becoming by Michelle Obama ​ ● The Road to Character by David Brooks ​ ● Lying by Sam Harris and Annaka Harris ​ ● On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder ​ ● The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults by Frances E Jensen ​ ● How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen and James Allworth ​ ● Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by ​ Adam Alter ● Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age by Sherry Turkle ​ ● The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For by David McCullough ​ ● Born to Be Wild: Why Teens Take Risks, and How We Can Help Keep Them Safe by ​ Jess Shatkin ● House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East by Anthony ​ Shadid ● Your Life Calling by Jane Pauley ​ ● The Orchard by Adele Crockett Robertson (family read) ​ ● The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money by Ron Leiber ​ ● The Secret of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler ​ ● A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman (history lover) ​ ● Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang ​ ● The View from Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America by Sarah ​ Kendzior ● The Hundred Story Home: A Memoir of Finding Faith in Ourselves and Something Bigger by Kathy Izard ● The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself by Michael Singer ​ ● The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer by ​ Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn and Dr. Elissa Epel

Fiction: ● Circe by Madeline Miller ​ ● Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng ​ ● Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng ​ ● A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler ​ ● Any books by John Green, J. Courtney Sullivan, Anne Tyler, Liane Moriarty ● Looking for Alaska by John Greene (good for high school kid) ​ ● Washington Black by Esi Edugyan ​ ● A Perfect Spy by John le Carré ​ ● The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock ​

Favorite books of all time (parents): ● The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery ​ ● Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang ​ ● The Punishment she Deserves by Elizabeth George ​ ● The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes ​ ● The Wife by Alafair Burke ​ ● Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler ​ ● The complete poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson ​ ● Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande ​ A dam Machson-Carter, Grade 6 English Teacher ● The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley ​ ● The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen ​ ● Ban This Book! by Alan Gratz ​ ● Ghost by Jason Reynolds (Book 1 of his track series) ​ ● The Spy School Series by Stuart Gibbs (The newest one - Spy School Goes South - ​ just recently came out) ● Booked by Kwame Alexander (or his newest book Swing that just recently came ​ out!) ● The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate ​ ● Enders Game by Orson Scott Card is classic sci-fi ​ ● The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (a tear jerker!) ​ ● Nathan Hales "Hazardous Tales" series -- great historical graphic novels that get kids reading! ● The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - contains mature, difficult content, but ​ could be good to read alongside your child if they are curious ● All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds - another book that grapples with difficult ​ issues, but does so in a deep and thoughtful way - good to read alongside ● The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier - a bit spooky but really well written ​ (maybe not a before bed book!) ● Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan ​

And don't forget the joys of Harry Potter (they just came out with some beautiful ​ ​ illustrated copies) and the somewhat darker (and more challenging) Hunger Games -- ​ ​ both still classics!

R ecommendations from Emily DiDonna, Grade 7 English Teacher ● The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ​ ● All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely ​ ● Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates ​ ● Americanah by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie ​ ● Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins ​ ● We Were Liars by E. Lockhart ​ ● Feed by M.T. Anderson ​ ● The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie ​ ● A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah ​ ● The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls ​ ● A Separate Peace by John Knowles ​ ● Jason Reynolds’ books (all get great reviews) ● Lord of the Flies by William Golding ​ ● David Sedaris’ books (for adults) ● The Giver by Lois Lowry ​ ● Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides ​ ● The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz ​ ● The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky ​ ● Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell ​ ● Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli ​ ● The Fault in our Stars - John Greene (and most of his books) ​ ● Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl ​ ● The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson ​ ● Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan ​ ● The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ​ ● Raymond Carver’s short story collections

R ecommendations from Josh Kronenberg, Grade 8 English Teacher Note: I am limiting myself to only picking from books I read in 2018. I’d give myself a headache trying to make a best of all time list! These are for adults and advanced student-readers: ● An American Marriage by Tayari Jones ​ ● American War by Omar el Akkad ​ ● Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue ​ ● The Leavers by Lisa Ko ​ ● Less by Andrew Sean Greer ​ ● The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri ​ ● The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ​ ● Pachinko by Min Jin Lee ​ ● Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ​ ● The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen ​

R ecommendations from Laura Pearle, Director of Cox Library Note: These are books I’ve read and loved in the past two years. ● Great MG Books ● The Star Thief by Lindsey Becker ​ ● Monsterland by James Cowley ​ ● You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! by Alex Gino ​ ● Winterhouse and The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson ​ ​ ​ ● The Wingsnatchers and The Crooked Castle by Sarah Jean Horwitz ​ ​ ​ ● The Inventors at No. 8 by A.M. Morgan ​ ● The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarity ​ ● Frogkisser! by Garth Nix ​ ● Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend ​

Great YA Books ● The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert ​ ● Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth ​ ● Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich ​ ● Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa ​ ● Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham ​ ● #Murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil ​ ● When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandyha Menon ​ ● The Girl King by Mimi Yu ​

YA/Adult Crossover ● The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty ​ ​ ​ ● Monstrous Devices by Damien Love ​ ● The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire (Beneath the Sugar Sky, Down ​ Among the Sticks and Bones, Every Heart a Doorway, and In an Absent Dream) ​ ​ ​ ● The Future Will Be BS-Free by Will McIntosh ​ ● Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl ​ ● The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (Murderbot, Artificial Condition, Rogue ​ Protocol and Exit Strategy) ​ ​ ​

Adult ● Vox by Christina Dalcher ​ ● A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua ​ ● Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala ​ ● Circe by Madeline Miller ​ ● There, There by Tommy Orange ​ ● Baby Teeth by Zoju Stage ​ ● Dracul by Dacre Stoker ​ ● The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar ​

R ecommendations from Beth Reardon, Middle School Librarian There are some great choices above, most of which were on my original list. Here a just a few recommendations: ● The Book Thief Marcus Zusak ​ ● Between Shades of Gray Ruth Sepetys ​ ● A Separate Peace - John Knowles (not sure this is still relevant to our kids, but ​ worth a re-read as an adult) ● The Giver - Lois Lowry ​ ● Eleanor and Park Rainbow Rowell ​ ● Refugee Alan Gratz ​ ● Jason Reynolds - He's awesome ● The Fault in Our Stars - John Green, but for older middle schoolers ​ ● A Mango Shaped Space Wendy Maas (you need kleenex ready for these last two) ​ ● For good, fun adventures: Rick Riordan (The first in the Magnus Chase series is fun for all the Boston scenes in it) ● The Girl Who Drank the Moon Kelly Barnhill - for fans of magical realism, along ​ with anything by Grace Lin If you like funny, any of Carl Hiaasen’s young adult fiction (his adult fiction is pretty entertaining as well)

Some recent adult fiction I've recently enjoyed: ● The Seven Sisters Lucinda Riley (I've just finished the 4th in the series) ​ ● Before We Were Yours Lisa Wingate ​ ● The Nightingale Kristen Hannah (yes, late to the party on this one) ​

Books Popular with the Middle School (most circulated from library) ​ ● OMG Shakespeare and OMG Classics series ​ ​ ​ ● The Selection series by Kiera Cass ​ ● Spy School series by Stuart Gibbs ​ ● The Olympians series by George O’Connor (Graphic Novel format) ​ ● The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ​ ● Pretties, Uglies and Specials by Scott Westerfeld ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

R ecommendations from Nancy Anderson, Middle School Principal Favorite Non-Fiction (inc. memoirs) ● House by Tracy Kidder ​ ● Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder ​ ● Old Friends by Tracy Kidder ​ ● Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich ​ ● Standing Tall by C. Vivian Stringer ​ ● Educated by Tara Westover ​ ● Teacher Man by Frank McCourt ​ ● Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday ​

Favorite Fiction ● Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini ​ ● Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan ​ ● A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman ​ ● Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary ​ ● Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler ​ ● Saints for All Occasions J. Courtney Sullivan ​ ● The Corrections by Jonathan Frazen ​ ● Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan ​ ● What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty ​ ● Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple ​