Middle School Summer Reading List 2018

Middle School Summer Reading List 2018

Dear Families,

Summer break is here! It is a golden opportunity for your family to get to all those books that you all have been wanting to read! In this booklet you will find the Middle School Summer Reading list in which I have tried to include a variety of titles that will appeal to a broad range of readers. Please use this list as a guide and even as a jumping off point to give you ideas about what to read. I have included genres and authors that are popular with our students, loved by the librarians and teachers and titles that are hot off the press!

On the first page, you will see the required reading assignments divided by grade level.Please encourage your children to read the required reading selections towards the end of the summer, as the teachers will use these books in September for a variety of assignments. You can find these books at your local public libraries, bookstores, and through online vendors.

Students should complete the Middle School Reading Log (found in the back of this packet) with the assistance of a parent. Please make sure to add your signature as your child completes each book!

Next year’s Karla Harry Visiting Author will be Matt de la Peña. He has written a variety of books, from young adult to picture books, on many topics such as his love of basketball and sport, his experiences as a Mexican-American, and writing science fiction and thrillers. I have included a page showcasing his work and I encourage students to explore his books over the summer.

Many of the books, designated as ‘eBook’ or ‘digital audiobook’ on this list, are available through the Joukowsky Family Library’s digital collection. Please find the instructions for accessing this collection in the following pages.

Have a wonderful summer of reading and be sure to share your favorite books when you return in September!

Sincerely,

Mimi Roterman Library Support

Required summer reading

Entering fifth grade: Entering seventh grade: Please read two titles that are from these nine genres: 1) Please select one choice from the following: Realistic Fiction / Science Fiction / Mystery & Horror Med Head: My Knock-Down, Drag-Out, Drugged- Historical Fiction / Nonfiction / Fantasy Up Battle with my Brain by James Patterson and Hal Novel in Verse / Autobiography & Biography Friedman Graphic Novel The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Please choose books that you have not read before Skloot and make sure your two choices are not from the Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary same genres (like two graphic novels for instance). Of Roach course, you can read more than two books over the 2) Please select two additional titles from elsewhere summer! in this booklet or you are welcome to make your own You can use the booklet as a guide to make your book choices with the help of a parent. choices or not. Whatever titles you choose, please have a parent help you so that you are sure it is a ‘just Entering eighth grade: right’ book (not too easy, not too hard) for you. 1) Please select one choice from the following: Remember to record your choices in the log at the Spare Parts by Joshua Davis back of this booklet. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba Entering sixth grade: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly Required reading: The Misfitsby James Howe 2) Please select two additional titles from elsewhere Please select two additional titles from elsewhere in in this booklet or you are welcome to make your own this booklet or you are welcome to make your own book choices with the help of a parent. book choices with the help of a parent. *Notice that other books in the The Misfits series have been included, should they interest you!

French eighth grade: La terre est ronde, Lectures ELI Junior by B. Brunetti Teacher will distribute book to students in June

Spanish fifth grade: ABeCedario Salvaje (2009) by Yanitzia Canetti Book can be ordered from www.amazon.com

Spanish sixth grade: El Nabo Gigante (1998) by Aleksei Tolstoy. Illustrated by Niamh Sharkey Book can be ordered from www.amazon.com

Spanish seventh grade: Un Barrilete para el Día de los Muertos / A Kite for the Day of the Dead (bilingual version, 1999) by Elisa Amado Book can be ordered from www.amazon.com

Spanish eighth grade: Incoming eighth grade Spanish students should choose ONE picture book to read. All titles relate to our yearlong theme of immigration in the United States. Students should read their book over the summer and bring it to school in September. They will be participating in book talks during the year. The first two choices are bilingual books while the second two are written in Spanish only. All books can be found at amazon.com

CHOOSE ONE: Del Norte al Sur / From North to South (2010) by René Colato Lainez, illustrated by Joe Cepeda. El Niño de Cabeza / The Upside Down Boy (2000) by Juan Felipe Herrera, illustrated by Elizabeth Gómez Un Mundo Nuevo (1999) by D.H. Figueredo, illustrated by Enrique O. Sánchez Al Fin en Casa (2002) by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Felipe Dávalos

Accessing the Joukowsky Family Library’s eBooks and audiobooks

From desktop or laptop:

1) Go to http://library.gordonschool.org and click on the blue Gordon School link. 2) Choose the “Catalog” tab and click the “Destiny Discover” link on the left sidebar. 3) To view or check out any eBook/audiobook, you will need your login

username: graduatingyearfirstinitiallastname (e.g. 2022gcooke) password: bookshelf

4) Once you have selected a title from the available eBook/audiobook titles in Destiny Discover, click the title link below the book cover to check out and open or play the title. 5) Once you have checked out a title, you can access the content for fourteen days. 6) Most eBooks/audiobooks can only be checked out by one person at a time. EBooks with the infinity icon are avail- able for check out by an unlimited number of readers.

From tablet devices or smart phones:

1) Go to your device’s app store. 2) Search for Destiny Discover and download this free app. 3) Open the app and scroll through the locations to select Rhode Island, then type in Gordon in the school box. Then enter your login information:

username: graduatingyearfirstinitiallastname (e.g. 2022gcooke) password: bookshelf

4) Click the blue login button. 5) You now have the option to search for a specific item or browse eBooks or audiobooks. 6) Once you have selected a title from those available in Destiny Discover, click the green “Checkout/Hold” button to check out and begin reading/listening. 7) Once you have checked out an eBook/audiobook, you can access the title by pressing the “Open” button. 8) You may return the title early by clicking on “Bookbag” from the main menu in the upper right corner. Select Checkouts and then Return. 9) Most eBooks can only be checked out by one person at a time. EBooks with the infinity icon are available for check out by an unlimited number of readers. 10) The circulation period for eBooks and digital audiobooks is fourteen days. By Matt de la Peña 2018 Karla Harry Visiting Author

Ball Don’t Lie The Hunted “I think God put me here to play ball,” says More than a month after they set sail in a busted seventeen-year-old Sticky. Shuffled between foster dinghy at the end of The Living (2013), Shy, Marcus, homes since childhood, the skinny, white teen Carmen, and Shoeshine finally arrive at the California devotes himself to playing basketball at Lincoln coast, only to discover incredible devastation wrought Rec, a gritty Los Angeles gym, where he has found both by the earthquake and fever-pitch panic over a family among the serious players, mostly black Romero disease. Condemned buildings hold stacks men. In colloquial language filled with the words of untouched rotting bodies, safety is prohibitively and rhythms of hip hop and the street, de la Peña’s expensive, and roving gangs patrol the streets with debut tells a riveting story about Sticky’s struggle to the directive to shoot anyone trying to travel, which is secure a college basketball scholarship and deepen bad news for Shy and his friends, who are determined his relationship with his girlfriend. The disjointed to make it to Arizona with the remaining vaccines. De narrative, which loops between past and present, la Peña keeps up the frantic pace he set in The Living may slow a few readers. Others, though, will see the as the foursome treks through ruined towns and tries nonlinear story as a reflection of Sticky’s own internal to outrun the mysterious SUVs on their tail. And all journey as he faces violent childhood tragedies, his the while, in an effortlessly slang-inflected tone, Shy numbed emotions, and his sometimes-compulsive weighs his responsibilities, worries about whether he behavior (he repeats actions such as shoe-tying until is brave enough, and considers what makes a hero. they feel right). Teens will be strongly affected by With a careful balance between fast-paced plot and the unforgettable, distinctly male voice; the thrilling, meaningful, diverse character development, this is unusually detailed basketball action; and the questions a great crossover for fans of both thrillers and more about race, love, self-worth, and what it means to character-driven novels. build a life without advantages. *Sequel to The Living* Young Adult Young Adult Realistic Fiction Science Fiction/Thriller (digital audiobook) (available in paperback) (available in paperback) The Living Eternity Ring (Infinity Ring Series Book 8) Shy Espinoza is eleven days into his summer job on a Dak Smyth and Sera Froste are heroes. They fixed luxury cruise line when “the Big One” hits California, the Great Breaks in history, setting the world on its hurling massive tsunamis into the ocean and tearing proper course at last. Or did they? Strange things are our contemporary romantic plotline to bits, as Shy happening in the present, and it all points to more and an unexpected companion are forced to survive trouble in the past. But the time travelers have no idea in churning, shark-infested waters. The tsunami why the SQ is so interested in a Chinese alchemist, sequence is a straight-up tour de force, a breathless, the trial of Galileo, or a stargazing Russian dog. With horrifying dash into the void. The book’s final act—a the clock ticking and no Hystorians to help them, this conspiracy plot upon a mysterious island—is yet time Dak and Sera may not be able to fix what has another narrative jolt. been broken… Young Adult Young Adult Science Fiction/Thriller Science Fiction (available in paperback) (available in paperback) (ebook) Ball Don’t Lie The Hunted “I think God put me here to play ball,” says More than a month after they set sail in a busted seventeen-year-old Sticky. Shuffled between foster dinghy at the end of The Living (2013), Shy, Marcus, homes since childhood, the skinny, white teen Carmen, and Shoeshine finally arrive at the California devotes himself to playing basketball at Lincoln coast, only to discover incredible devastation wrought Rec, a gritty Los Angeles gym, where he has found both by the earthquake and fever-pitch panic over a family among the serious players, mostly black Romero disease. Condemned buildings hold stacks men. In colloquial language filled with the words of untouched rotting bodies, safety is prohibitively and rhythms of hip hop and the street, de la Peña’s expensive, and roving gangs patrol the streets with debut tells a riveting story about Sticky’s struggle to the directive to shoot anyone trying to travel, which is secure a college basketball scholarship and deepen bad news for Shy and his friends, who are determined his relationship with his girlfriend. The disjointed to make it to Arizona with the remaining vaccines. De narrative, which loops between past and present, la Peña keeps up the frantic pace he set in The Living may slow a few readers. Others, though, will see the as the foursome treks through ruined towns and tries nonlinear story as a reflection of Sticky’s own internal to outrun the mysterious SUVs on their tail. And all journey as he faces violent childhood tragedies, his the while, in an effortlessly slang-inflected tone, Shy numbed emotions, and his sometimes-compulsive weighs his responsibilities, worries about whether he behavior (he repeats actions such as shoe-tying until is brave enough, and considers what makes a hero. they feel right). Teens will be strongly affected by With a careful balance between fast-paced plot and the unforgettable, distinctly male voice; the thrilling, meaningful, diverse character development, this is unusually detailed basketball action; and the questions a great crossover for fans of both thrillers and more about race, love, self-worth, and what it means to character-driven novels. build a life without advantages. *Sequel to The Living* Young Adult Young Adult Realistic Fiction Science Fiction/Thriller (digital audiobook) (available in paperback) (available in paperback) The Living Eternity Ring (Infinity Ring Series Book 8) Shy Espinoza is eleven days into his summer job on a Dak Smyth and Sera Froste are heroes. They fixed luxury cruise line when “the Big One” hits California, the Great Breaks in history, setting the world on its hurling massive tsunamis into the ocean and tearing proper course at last. Or did they? Strange things are our contemporary romantic plotline to bits, as Shy happening in the present, and it all points to more and an unexpected companion are forced to survive trouble in the past. But the time travelers have no idea in churning, shark-infested waters. The tsunami why the SQ is so interested in a Chinese alchemist, sequence is a straight-up tour de force, a breathless, the trial of Galileo, or a stargazing Russian dog. With horrifying dash into the void. The book’s final act—a the clock ticking and no Hystorians to help them, this conspiracy plot upon a mysterious island—is yet time Dak and Sera may not be able to fix what has another narrative jolt. been broken… Young Adult Young Adult Science Fiction/Thriller Science Fiction (available in paperback) (available in paperback) (ebook) A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Curse of the Ancients (Infinity Ring Series Book 4) Louis The fourth Infinity Ring episode sends time-traveling Sometimes a boxing match is just that, a sport youths Sera, Dak, and Riq first back to the early days played out on the fists and jaws of two determined of the Mayan civilization and then forward 800 years contenders. But sometimes it is so much more, as in to witness the fiery destruction of its native culture the 1938 bout between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. by the Spaniards. Carrying out their mission to save This spectacularly illustrated, smoothly cadenced an ancient codex entails narrow squeaks aplenty and picture book sets up the historic fight—“Son of a clashes with the archenemy, Time Wardens. Historical black sharecropper / against Hitler’s ‘master race’ background and games that link this volume with / Black and white Americans / together against the previous and future ones are available on a dedicated rule of Nazi hate”—and then quickly traces Louis’ website. Fans will know what to expect; new readers rise from a quiet boy in Jim Crow America to a had best start at the beginning to catch up on the magnificent fighter and national hero. Nelson, who’s characters and conflicts. incapable of even a mediocre painting, flexes his Fifth to eighth grade artistic muscle here, varying his always effective Science Fiction blue-sky-backed, leveled-gaze portraits with dizzying (available in paperback) and dramatic angles, both in and out of the ring. The full weight of the fight’s import may need some I Will Save You additional historical context for young readers, but After running away from a group home, seventeen- the message rings through in any case: that this was year-old Kidd Ellison sets up camp at a beach, a unifying and triumphant moment of national pride, where he is put to work by Mr. Red, an aging surfer for all Americans, and that sports can capture people’s who runs a maintenance shop. Hardworking and hearts for more reasons than just winning. handsome, if somewhat slow, Kidd begins to make Picture book biography friends with some of the camp’s teens, especially Olivia, a blond beauty who wears a ski cap that Mexican Whiteboy covers part of her face regardless of the weather. Biracial Danny Lopez doesn’t think he fits anywhere. Then Devon, Kidd’s former best friend and nemesis, He feels like an outsider with his Mexican father’s finds Kidd and threatens to destroy the peaceful family, with whom he is staying for the summer, and life that he has fallen into. De la Peña has crafted at his mostly white school, and he wonders if his a taut psychological novel that will both frustrate confusion drove his father away. He also struggles and fascinate readers. Narrated by Kidd, it moves with his obsession for baseball; a gifted player with from the immediate past and a possible murder to a blazing fastball, he lacks control of his game. With the present, then to the far past, constantly offering the support of a new friend and his caring cousins, clues to the mysteries of Kidd’s sad and violent life. Danny begins to deal with the multitude of problems The intriguing, well-developed characters introduce in his life, which include his tendency to cut himself, themes of class and gender friction, creating a an unusual characteristic in a male YA protagonist. puzzling and sobering yet strangely hopeful book that The author juggles his many plotlines well, and the will stay with readers. portrayal of Danny’s friends and neighborhood is rich Young Adult and lively. Where the story really lights up is in the Realistic Fiction baseball scenes, which sizzle like Danny’s fastball. (available in paperback) A violent scene, left somewhat unresolved, is the catalyst for him to confront the truth about his father. Danny’s struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens but especially to those of mixed race. Young Adult (available in paperback) We Were Here After being sentenced to a year in a California group home, Miguel Casteñeda, sixteen, breaks out with two other teens, Mong and Rondell. Together, they try to cross the border to Mexico, and Miguel writes in his journal about their journey. His colloquial narrative, laced with insults (but not obscenities), is fast, funny, smart, and heartbreaking as he describes how the three homeless runaways steal, hide, work, fight, bond, and care for each other. Unlike his mates, Miguel is an avid reader, and with the account of their daily struggle, he weaves in references to classics. There may be too much detail for some, but the contemporary survival adventure will keep readers hooked, as will the tension that builds from the story’s secrets. What did Miguel do that landed him in the group home? Why won’t his mother talk to him? The riveting climax shows, without a heavy message, that the hero’s journey is a search for himself. Young Adult Realistic Fiction (available in paperback) (Reviews adapted from Booklist publication) Additional titles (Reviews adapted from Booklist publication)

Addie on the Inside by James Howe The Adventures of John Black: Mystery of the Addison Carle navigates the seventh grade just Ghost Ship by Philip Pullman like everyone else—by leaning on the tenuous Like Pullman’s indelible Lyra, Christina connections of friendship and first love, as allegiances Henderson is a girl who finds herself yanked out form and fall away with equal unpredictability. Her of her accustomed world. Rescued from drowning on-again, off-again relationship with handsome, by the time-traveling ghost ship, Mary Alice, she popular DuShawn makes her the subject of gossip and makes the acquaintance of young John Blake, leaves her feeling both empowered and apprehensive. swept up by the currents of time when he was an Meanwhile, she grows closer to her grandmother, unintentional participant in a secret, ocean-based but there is increasing friction with her favorite experiment conducted by none other than Albert teacher, and all of this contributes to a general sense Einstein. The ship is pursued in the present by a of uncertainty. In this companion to The Misfits British secret agent, a female maritime expert, (2001) and Totally Joe (2005), Howe explores the and the CEO of the sinister Dahlberg Corporation, tender thrills and insecurities of early adolescence in all of whom have meaningful connections to the first-person poems. The verses themselves display a ship. With obvious affection for Tintin, Pullman wide variety of styles, some rushing with the frantic threads this complicated skein of plot with pace of short, tight lines and others settling into customary measures of awe and menace, and for contemplative rest. Howe maintains a consistent an esteemed man of letters on his first expedition voice, however, without compromising the heartfelt into the graphic novel format, he proves an urgency of Addie’s words. This exploration of Addie’s expert visual storyteller. Fordham animates with struggles and reconciliations makes a strong addition characters who have the detail and agility of to its companion titles and stands on its own as a a Studio Ghibli cast. He shows particular flair compelling and moving story about growing up and for silent passages, evidencing as much gusto out. in nimble fight scenes and breathless chase *Karla Harry Visiting Author 2015* sequences as in a meaningful glare and capturing Novel in Verse Fifth to eighth grade the vastness of the sea as it swallows a young girl. Fifth to eighth grade (available in paperback) Graphic Novel Part of the Misfits Series: (see sixth grade required (available in paperback) reading) All Summer Long by Hope Larson Bina and Austin have been best friends since they were babies, but the summer before eighth grade, things start to get weird. First, Austin’s leaving for a month-long soccer camp; then, he thinks their annual “summer fun index” is dumb; and worst of all, he barely acknowledges her texts while he’s at camp. But Bina finds plenty to occupy herself, and with Austin away, she can focus even more on music. Larson perfectly captures the anxiety and relief that sometimes accompanies changing childhood friendships—Bina is hurt that Austin isn’t as interested in the things they used to do together, but she seems just as happy to find her own path while he’s gone. With bold, black outlines and a sunny yellow palette, Larson’s figures have wonderfully expressive faces—she’s particularly good at signaling emotion with eyes and shoulders. Readers who love Raina Telgemeier’s Smile (2010) will find plenty to like here. Graphic Novel Fifth to eighth grade (available in paperback) All’s Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jaimeson Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar After years of homeschooling, Imogene is excited Kelkar’s first middle-grade book is filled with female to start public school for the first time. Plus, she empowerment, hope, family, and the power of finally gets to perform in the Renaissance faire, nonviolent resistance. It is a tumultuous time: India, where her mom has a shop (or, shoppe) and her dad 1942. India’s freedom fighters, led by Mahatma plays a knight. Imogene doesn’t have much trouble Gandhi, are trying to overthrow British rule. When sliding into her new role at the faire, but middle her mother takes Gandhi’s teachings to heart, Anjali’s school is another story. Rules about who to sit with, world is turned upside down. She balks at first as her what to wear, and how to fit in are confounding, mother joins the movement and makes the family especially when she’s getting some seriously mixed participate in acts of protest, like burning their messages from the popular girls in her class and clothes or becoming friends with the lowest caste realizing how different her family is. Jamieson’s system, the untouchables. Anjali tries to make sense appealing, naturalistic artwork, full of warm tones, of it, gradually opening her mind to her mother’s realistic-looking characters, and saturated colors, place in the movement. As she learns about equality playfully incorporates medieval imagery along with and civil liberties, riots erupt around her. When her Imogene’s more mundane homelife, particularly mother is put in jail, Anjali has to decide if she has when Imogene fears that her misbehavior at home, the emotional fortitude to practice Gandhi’s teachings thanks to frustrations at school, makes her more of a and continue with the freedom movement. Drawing dragon than a knight. Jamieson masterfully taps into from her own family history, Kelkar doesn’t shy from the voice and concerns of middle-schoolers, and the the reality that progress is slow and that one must offbeat setting of the Renaissance faire adds some persist even when all hope seems gone. Readers will lively texture. Kids who loved Jamieson’s Roller Girl empathize with this heartbreakingly charming debut (2015) will adore this one, too. about the universal struggle of overcoming fears and Graphic Novel biases in order to make the world a better place. Fifth to eighth grade Historical Fiction (available in paperback) Fifth to eighth grade

Also Known As Elvis by James Howe Armada by Ernest Cline Schuyler Skeezie Tookis is stuck in Paintbrush Falls In his second geek-coming-of-age tale, Cline presents for the summer while his three best friends, Bobby, Zack Lightman, a teen with anger issues obsessed Joe, and Addie, are off on adventures of their own. with his late father, who left behind some rocking Life is hard enough working at the Candy Kitchen to mixtapes and notebooks delineating a wild conspiracy help pay the bills, watching his ornery little sisters, theory about the truth embedded in popular science and mixing the signals he’s getting from popular fiction novels, movies, and videogames. When Becca. Then his dad shows up after a two-year Zack looks out a school window and sees an absence with big news, and Skeezie needs his friends. alien spacecraft just like those he shoots down so Howe complements the strong first-person voice decisively while playing the online alien-invaders with tweets, texts, and dialogue transcripts as he video game, Armada (he’s ranked sixth best player tackles themes of bullying, family, and independence. in the world), he fears he’s losing his mind. Readers, Skeezie’s story swells with the same earnest humor however, will feel confident that they’re in for another and after-school-special sweetness as the other Misfits hard-charging adventure that blasts open the barrier books. Indeed, this is a fitting final installment in between the actual and the virtual. And indeed, the series. Each of the books has a distinct voice, Cline once again brings crackling humor and fanboy reflecting the individual protagonist’s personality, knowledge to a zesty, crowd-pleasing, countdown- yet they fit together perfectly, just like the friends clock, save-the-planet tale featuring an unlikely hero, themselves. A framing device, as Skeezie relates his adrenaline-pumping action, gawky romance, and story to his soon-to-be born son, twelve years later, touching family moments. If the interactions among includes successful eventualities for the gang. characters tend to be as predictable as fast food, *Karla Harry Visiting Author 2015* Cline’s sly, mind-twisting premise and energetically Realistic Fiction depicted and electrifying high-tech battles make for Fifth to eighth grade (available in paperback) smart, frenetic, and satisfying entertainment. Book 3 of the Misfits Series (see sixth grade required Science Fiction reading) Young Adult (available in paperback) Becoming Kareem by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is nearing 70, and from that Vera feels too Russian for her friends in Albany. She can never vantage, he writes, he is able to see the big picture, quite get the hang of sleepover birthday parties, and she’ll which is comprised of the many details, observations, never have expensive toys like they do. So when she hears and revelations that comprise this autobiography. It about a summer camp just for Russian American kids, she’s begins with a name. Abdul-Jabbar was born Lewis sure she’s finally found her place. But she’s much younger than Alcindor. It wasn’t until he was a 24-year-old student her tent-mates, and—impossibly—she’s not Russian enough of Islam that he assumed the name the world knows, to fit in. She stumbles over the language, doesn’t know all the which signaled who he wanted to be—and is the songs, and generally can’t quite get a handle on roughing it. substance of this fine, thoughtful memoir. More than But what’s more Russian than suffering? With fantastic pacing a play-by-play sports story, it’s an honest, powerful and poignant emotional turns, Brosgol’s winsome graphic exposition of what it means to be black in white memoir hilariously captures the lengths kids go to in order to America, offering a de facto history of the civil rights fit in as well as the author’s growth from a girl desperate for movement. But it’s also a celebration of education a place to belong into someone confident enough to stand up and the teachers who helped him become Kareem; for herself. Brosgol’s pitch-perfect art varies between serene, teachers like his UCLA mentor Coach John Wooden; contemplative snapshot-like images of nature and comedic Dr. John Henrik Clarke of the Harlem Youth Action scenes between Vera—cartoonishly drawn with huge, goggle- Project, who Abdul-Jabbar says was crucial to him eyed glasses—and her friends and campmates, all of whom in “understanding my path; sports legends Wilt appear in a relatively realistic style. Even though it’s rendered Chamberlain and Muhammad Ali; and others. Most of only in black, white, and olive green, Brosgol’s artwork has all, this is a coming-of-age story that focuses entirely immense depth, from the facial expressions and gestures to the on Abdul-Jabbar’s childhood and young adulthood spot-on visual gags, and she strikes a perfect balance between and demonstrates how this foundation would lead to heartfelt honesty and uproarious, self-deprecating humor. his becoming one of the most successful and famous Perfect for fans of Shannon Hale’s Real Friends (2017), this basketball players of all time. An inspiring and very will easily lodge a place in readers’ hearts, even as it has them human story. rolling in the aisles. Autobiography Graphic Novel Young Adult Fifth to eighth grade (available in paperback) Between the Lines by Nikki Grimes Told in nine voices and interspersed with poetry, Braced by Alyson Gerber Grimes stuns in this companion novel to The Bronx Rachel’s life is going really well. She’s twelve and totally Masquerade (2002). The next iteration of teens in crushing it on the soccer field (which means more time with Mr. Ward’s class are learning how to write poetry, her best-friend teammates), and everyone agrees that the rhyme, and flow, all the while opening up to each ridiculously cute Tate is within days of asking her to be official other about their various struggles: Jenesis is in foster BF/GF. All of that comes to a crashing halt when her Boston care. Kyle has a heart condition. Darrian lost his specialist reveals she has scoliosis. In fact, the curvature mom to cancer. Marcel’s father recently got out of of her spine is so extreme that she’ll have to wear a back jail. Freddie has to take care of her niece because her brace—a heavy hulk of white padded plastic stretching from sister is a drug addict. Li’s parents don’t understand armpits to tail bone—for 23 hours a day. She tries to keep her her love for poetry and want her to study hard and spirits up but feels like a freak. Her soccer game plummets, go to Yale. Valentina’s parents are immigrants, and and it seems like everyone—even her friends and Tate—are she struggles with how they are treated in America. whispering in the halls. How can everything turn upside down Grimes aptly describes inner-city problems, from so quickly? And where can she possibly find the strength to police discrimination to gangs, but the teens are the power through? Rachel’s first-person narration relays her story focal point of the novel. Although each character has in a surprisingly intimate, beautifully earnest voice, likely an “after school special” problem, Grimes excels at attributable to Gerber herself suffering from scoliosis and making the students multidimensional and complex. wearing a fitted brace in her formative years. Here she captures Novel in Verse the preteen mindset so authentically that it’s simultaneously Young Adult delightful and painful. Every hallway whisper and direct insult *Karla Harry Visiting Author of 2018” will cut to the reader’s heart, and the details about the process Sequel to Bronx Masquerade of wearing a brace in all its agonies—and, yes, benefits— are a natural and enlightening thread through the story. A masterfully constructed and highly empathetic debut about a different kind of acceptance. Realistic Fiction Fifth to seventh grade Breakout by Kate Messner A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole When two inmates escape from Wolf Creek’s In her first YA novel, Cole delivers a brilliant and maximum-security prison, the usually sleepy town suspenseful sci-fi adventure revolving around becomes the setting of a sixteen-day manhunt. two separate worlds, N’Terra and Faloiv, that Messner creatively packages her scrapbook-style exist side by side in a tenuous peace. N’Terra is story as an entry for a community time capsule, home to a renowned group of scientists known as compiling letters and other documents from three whitecoats, and Octavia yearns to become one of seventh-grade girls, whose individual perspectives the elite scientists who studies the natural wonders and personalities are clearly reflected. Spearheading of Faloiv. When N’Terra’s labs suddenly change the endeavor is Nora, aspiring journalist and daughter their long-standing policy of seclusion and open of the prison superintendent, who writes news articles their doors to students, Octavia seizes the chance to on the town’s unfolding drama. Her friend Lizzie, discover Faloiv’s secrets. But she soon learns that future mathematician or comedian, contributes the whitecoats and N’Terra’s ruling council may parody news pieces, infographics, and transcribed be hiding information about the true nature of the conversations from around town. Most compelling, experiments they conduct. As Octavia discovers however, is Elidee, the new girl and one of only two one shadowy secret after another, she is set on an black kids in the seventh grade. Her writing includes inevitable collision course with the new, charming, unsent letters to her brother in Wolf Creek’s prison and extremist leader of the council. She also finds and poetry styled after writers she admires: Nikki herself at the center of a looming war, spurred on by Giovanni, Nikki Grimes, Jacqueline Woodson, and her discovery of the truths behind the history she’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. Elidee gracefully deals with been taught, the science she lives by, and the family residents’ ignorance and prejudice, opening Nora’s from which she hails. This fantastical read is home eyes to issues like racism, police bias, and white to exceptional world building that is intricate and privilege. lush and vivid, with well-drawn characters. Its sci-fi Realistic Fiction elements, like skinsuits and the array of peculiar flora Fifth to eighth grade and fauna, plunge readers into a mysterious, futuristic world that they will be reluctant to leave. A stellar, Click Here to Start: a Novel by Denis Markell captivating start to Cole’s duology. Ted meets his great-uncle, also named Ted, as the Science Fiction elder is in the hospital, dying. Uncle Ted’s final Young Adult words to his nephew set young Ted off on a hunt for treasure, even though he’s uncertain what the treasure is. The clues are embedded in a video game, and Ted, who loves puzzles, wonders how his uncle managed to design a game that will lead to the prize. The clues keep coming, but there are people willing to do anything to prevent Ted from solving the final puzzle and uncovering the mysterious treasure. Though he has friends on his side, Ted doesn’t know whom to trust. What is the secret his late uncle wants him to find? Is the answer tied to Uncle Ted’s military service during WWII? Debuting author Markell offers readers the chance to solve the puzzle alongside Ted and his friends, and readers who love locked room mysteries, vintage video games, and red herrings will have a blast. Fifth to eighth grade Mystery *RI Middle School Book Award 2019 Nominee (available as a paperback) Edgeland by James Halpern The First Rule of Punk by Celia Perez Life on Edgeland is devoted to funerary arts, due to In her story of seventh-grader Malú, debut author its nearness to the Drain—the waterfall-like ocean Pérez harnesses the spirit of School of Rock and drop-off believed to lead to purgatory. Dodging gives it a punk rock spin. Malú isn’t happy about her through the somber island’s streets, 12-year-old recent move to Chicago, because it meant leaving Wren snatches what valuables she can in order to buy her dad (her parents are amicably divorced) and his passage off Edgeland and find her missing father. record store behind. She tries to assume a brave punk It’s a cutthroat existence that ultimately lands her attitude, but she can’t help being anxious on her first at the scene of a murder, rendering Wren its prime day of school, especially when she gets on the wrong suspect. Before making her escape, she agrees to help side of the class mean girl. When Malú learns about her friend Alec retrieve a considerable payment to the upcoming Fall Fiesta talent show, she decides to his bone house (a cross between a funeral parlor and form a band, with the hopes of finding “her people” church) that was accidentally loaded onto a funeral in the process. While this plan hits a few snags, it raft. Their daring plan goes spectacularly wrong, results in friendships and a Mexican punk mentor. sending Wren and Alec over the Drain’s edge along Like any good riot grrrl, Malú finds a creative outlet with the dead, who are reviving for their journey to in making zines, several of which appear in the novel the afterlife. Purgatory is a dangerous place for the and call attention to Malú’s passions, heritage (she is living, and as Wren and Alec endeavor to escape, half Mexican), and private concerns. Pérez delivers their core beliefs are challenged in unexpected an upbeat story of being true to yourself and your ways. Halpern and Kujawinski have constructed a beliefs, that tweens will rally behind. refreshing, original fantasy that thoughtfully probes Realistic Fiction the subjects of class, religion, and morality. Wren’s Fifth to eighth grade and Alec’s responses to the astonishing sights in the Drain are believable and reflective of their individual Fuzzy by Tom Angleberger personalities, maintaining the importance of their Angleberger teams up with science fiction writer inner lives. Dellinger to transport readers to the near future, Fantasy Thriller where middle school still stinks (sorry, kids) but Fifth to eighth grade at least has robots. Though students at Vanguard (available as a paperback) One Middle School are used to seeing mechanized custodians and lunch ladies—even their vice principal Empress of a Thousand Suns by Rhonda Belleza is a supercomputer—they are abuzz with curiosity “She was alone, friendless, and supposedly dead. over Fuzzy, their first ever robot student. Max can It was her sixteenth birthday.” Crown Princess barely contain her excitement when she is chosen Rhiannon Ta’an—Rhee—the last surviving member to show Fuzzy the ropes. Equipped with humanlike of the galaxy’s ruling family, faces this sobering “fuzzy logic,” Fuzzy’s mission is to learn to navigate reality after she survives an attempt on her life by the most hostile environment Earth has to offer one of her closest confidantes and jettisons into (middle school). Soon, however, a new mission space in pursuit of the man she believes orchestrated takes precedent: HelpMax. Convinced that Vice the fatal attack on her family. Alternating chapters Principal Barbara has gone rogue, Max and Fuzzy detail the saga of Alyosha, roguish star of the put a risky plan into action while trying to keep the DroneVision show The Revolutionary Boys (think robot safe from outside threats. Middle-school drama YouTube channel meets reality TV), who gets framed is ratcheted up as school testing and technology are for Princess Rhee’s presumed murder. Belleza’s taken to the extreme. The result is a smart, sci-fi page- ambitious debut lays the groundwork for what is turner that will grab kids’ imagination and appeal to sure to be a rich sci-fi series full of political plots and their conscience and sense of humor. worlds on the brink of war, futuristic biotechnologies Fifth to seventh grade reminiscent of M. T. Anderson’s Feed (2002), and Science Fiction/Humor startling plot twists. Fortunately, Rhee and Aly both *RI Middle School Book Award 2019 Nominee* stand out as resilient, resourceful protagonists who (ebook) are, if not always innocent, at least confident in what they believe. Science Fiction Young Adult Ghost by Jason Reynolds Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes Castle “Ghost” Cranshaw has been running for three Jerome, a young black boy gunned down while playing years, ever since the night his father shot a gun at him in a park with a toy gun, invites readers to bear witness and his mother. When he gets recruited by a local to his story, to the tragedy of being dispatched simply track coach for a championship team, they strike a because of a policeman’s internalized prejudice deal: if Ghost can stop getting into fights at school, masquerading as fear. One day at school, while he and he can run for the Defenders, but one altercation and his new friend Carlos are being bullied, Carlos pulls out he’s gone. Despite Ghost’s best intentions, everyone a toy gun to scare their attackers. Afterward, he gives always has something to say about his raggedy shoes, it to Jerome so he can have a chance to play with it, homemade haircut, ratty clothes, or his neighborhood, to pretend that he is in charge. But when he is shot in and he doesn’t last 24 hours without a brawl. Will the back while running from the police, his soul leaves Coach and his mom give him another chance to his body and he becomes one of the army of ghost be part of something bigger than himself, or is he boys hoping to communicate with those still consumed simply destined to explode? With his second fantastic with racial bias. While looking in on the preliminary middle-grade novel of the year (As Brave as You, court hearing, Jerome realizes that the police officer’s 2016), the ferociously talented Reynolds perfectly daughter can see and talk to him, and together they captures both the pain and earnest longing of a young try to understand how the world around them could boy. The first in the four-book Track series, this is be so cruel. Rhodes (Sugar, 2013; Towers Falling, raw and lyrical, and as funny as it is heartbreaking. 2016) beautifully weaves together the fictional and the It tackles issues such as theft, bullying, and domestic historical—Jerome comes across the ghosts of real-life violence with candor and bravery, while opening a individuals like Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin—in door for empathy and discussion. An absolute must- this gripping and all-too-necessary novel about police read for anyone who has ever wondered how fast you brutality, injustice, and the power of bearing witness to must be to run away from yourself. the stories of those who are gone. Realistic Fiction Magical Realism Series Fifth to eighth grade Fifth to eighth grade. *RI Middle School Book Award 2018 Nominee* (available in paperback) (digital audiobook) Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender Four middle-schoolers’ fates intertwine one summer in One year and three months have passed since Kelly’s (The Land of Forgotten Girls, 2016) touching Caroline’s mother left her behind on Water Island, tale of friendship. Scrawny, taciturn Virgil Salinas adjacent to Saint Thomas. Did she desert her because can generally be found caring for his guinea pig and she doesn’t love her, or is it possible that the strange avoiding neighborhood bully Chet Bullens. The only spirit Caroline keeps seeing, the woman in black, people he feels comfortable around are his lola (his is involved in her disappearance? Caroline finds a Filipino grandmother) and his Japanese American true friend in Kalinda, a rare new girl who arrives friend Kaori, who fancies herself a psychic. Kaori’s on the island from Barbados, though for Caroline, quirky self-confidence is a foil to Virgil’s insecurities, their connection runs deeper than mere friendship. and when he comes to her for help befriending a girl in But it’s not only that Kalinda can see the spirits, his class, Valencia Somerset, she can’t wait to consult too—it’s everything about Kalinda, and soon Caroline her star chart. For her own part, Valencia struggles with harbors an all-consuming crush... or could it be nightmares after being rejected by her best friend, and love? Caroline and Kalinda’s quest leads to stunning the fact that she’s deaf hasn’t made finding new friends revelations that shatter Caroline’s conception of her easy. When she spots Kaori’s “business card” on a mother. Set against the richly evoked backdrop of the notice board, she makes an appointment to discuss her Caribbean, Callender’s novel captures the exquisite troubling dreams. That very day, Virgil goes missing, agony and pain that accompany rejection and and Valencia joins Kaori’s search for the boy. Chapters abandonment. Caroline’s search for answers provides alternate between the four kids’ perspectives, infusing a steady through line for the story, but it’s the deeper the story with their unique interests, backgrounds, questioning and reflection that set this book apart. beliefs, and doubts. Lola’s hilariously grim Filipino Whether Caroline is contemplating the way religion folk stories weave in and out of Virgil’s mind, is invoked to address same-sex attraction or the ultimately giving him the courage to stand up for possibility of multiple realities existing alongside one himself; and rather than holding her back, Valencia’s another, the inner workings of her mind pay homage deafness heightens her perceptiveness. Readers will to the complexity of being 12. be instantly engrossed in this relatable neighborhood Realistic Fiction adventure and its eclectic cast of misfits. Fifth to eighth grade Realistic Fiction (ebook) Fifth and sixth grades (digital audiobook) If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson In dazzling prose, Jacqueline Woodson provides a nineties Romeo and Juliet. The lead characters, fifteen-year-old Jeremiah (Miah), a black boy, and Elisha (Ellie) a white girl, are both new students in a Manhattan prep school. They meet the first day and have an immediate connection with one another. The conflicting forces are not the two kids’ families, but society in general. In one touching scene, Ellie is upset when a young black woman gives them a dirty look after she kisses Miah. She wonders if it will always be this way. The writing is lyrical and spare, with believable characters and dialogue. Each chapter has an alternating viewpoint, giving both main characters other plot threads that make this novel interesting. Miah’s very famous parents are separated, and he doesn’t want anyone at this new school to know who he really is. Ellie is dealing with her relationship with her mother, who disappeared during her childhood twice for extended times, and she has a falling out with one of her siblings. Like Romeo and Juliet, things don’t end up well for the couple. This is a realistic, thought-provoking story. Realistic Fiction Young Adult (available in paperback) The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste The League of Seven by Alan Gratz What’s a jumbie? Corinne and her friends know. In This hybrid of steampunk and alternate American Trinidad, where Corinne lives with her widowed history features a hell-raising girl’s school, Atlantis, papa on the edge of the forest, a jumbie is an evil and three highly likable leads in a yarn rip-roaring spirit that comes out at night to suck blood, steal from start to finish. It’s 1875, and Archie Dent is the children, or lure people into peril, the kind of creature son of Septembrists, members of a secret society parents tell stories about to frighten their children. who protect humanity from the Mangleborn. There Corinne knows they are not real, but when a beautiful is a cyclical nature to their work: the Septemberists woman suddenly takes an interest in Papa, she starts subdue the Mangleborn and lock them beneath the digging deeper. With the help of her friends—Dru, earth, but the Mangleborn eventually rise again. of South Asian descent; Malik, who never says a When Archie’s parents are brainwashed by a new word; and Bouki—she discovers something deeply Mangleborn threat, he sets out to recruit a League sinister going on. Structural elements similar to of Seven, the legendary combination of a Tinker, those of classic European fairy tales (brave girl, evil a Lawbringer, a Scientist, a Trickster, a Warrior, stepmother, magic amulet, and so on) look fresh, a Shadow, and a Hero. The first two are Fergus, a lively, and no less scary in the Caribbean setting. mechanic in a kilt, rescued from a maniacal Thomas Readers will thrill to the werewolf-like lagahoo Edison, and Hachi, a Native American girl who wants and the creepy little douens, who have backward- to assassinate Edison. Moments of humor and pathos facing feet. With a diverse cast of multidimensional enliven the history and fantasy. Though the main characters, a swift plot, and a unique setting, this plot concerning Archie’s parents is resolved, there is book will delight many. plenty to address and discover in a sequel. Horror/Fantasy Fantasy Fifth to seventh grade Fifth to eighth grade (available in paperback) Series

The Last by Katherine Applegate Lone Stars by Mike Lupica In the land of Nedarra, six governing species reign In San Antonio, football is life. For 12-year-old supreme, but the dairnes—a cross between dog and wide receiver Clay Hollis, “don’t play scared” are sugar glider—are critically endangered. Hunted by the words that he lives by—until, that is, he takes a humans to obscurity, the remaining dairnes have left big hit during one of his Pop Warner football games their treetop nests for more concealed abodes on the and thereafter finds himself dodging catches, scared ground. Byx is the runt of her pack and highly curious of getting hurt again. His fear grows when his best about the world around her. When she sneaks out to friend (and team quarterback) gets a concussion on explore one day, she rescues a wobbyk (imagine a the field. Suddenly, Clay can’t stop thinking about silvery-blue chinchilla) named Tobble from a group everything his mom has been saying about football of poachers, only to return home to the horror of and long-term brain damage. To top it all off, Clay is finding her entire pack slaughtered by human soldiers. beginning to realize that the memory-loss episodes of Byx flees with Khara—the poachers’ young guide— Coach Coop (a former Dallas Cowboys player) are and Tobble, but the unusual group is brought up short more serious that Clay might have thought. Can Clay by unsettling news: Byx may be an endling, the last work through his fears in time to help his team get of her species. What follows is a dangerous, heart- to the championships and to help Coach Coop get to stopping quest to stay alive and find an elusive island his Cowboys reunion during Thanksgiving weekend? where dairnes are still rumored to live. Applegate Despite the rushed and somewhat contrived ending, (Wishtree, 2017) effortlessly constructs her fantasy Lupica’s football nuance is unparalleled. Young world, briskly moving readers through its imaginative readers, no matter their level of interest in the game, details while creating winning, unique characters. will be drawn in by this touching, timely story. Readers expecting a whimsical animal adventure Fifth to eighth grade should be warned that the pervading tone is dark, Realistic fiction calling attention to humans’ greed and lust for power. Yet, Khara proves a loyal friend, as do others in Byx’s unlikely crew. This epic series starter is a bracing, propulsive read that will be a challenge to keep on the shelf. Fantasy Fifth to eighth grade Series Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson Moonpenny Island by Tricia Springstubb When Ms. Bixby tells her sixth-grade class that she How can such a tiny island like Moonpenny hold so has cancer and will be leaving before the school year many secrets? Eleven-year-old Flor, bereft when her ends, her students are stunned. But the following best friend Sylvie leaves the island for a new school, week, when they learn that she’s already gone into never imagined how these secrets would impact her the hospital to start treatment several days early, three life. Her sister begins dating the island troublemaker; boys swing into action, carrying out an ambitious her mother flees the constant bickering with Flor’s (and mostly legal) plan to create a grand gesture of father; and then there is the arrival of Jasper, the appreciation, bravado, and connection. Facing a series daughter of a geologist visiting the island to unearth of practical challenges but armed with Bixbyisms trilobites. Jasper is decidedly different from anyone (their teacher’s favorite sayings), Topher, Steve, Flor has ever met, and she opens Flor’s eyes to even and Brand display a winning mixture of courage more secrets of Moonpenny Island. Springstubb, and naïveté as they collect an odd assortment of author of Mo Wren, Lost and Found (2011), has a feel necessities and head for the hospital. The boys are at for the drama and trauma that consume the lives of an interesting stage. In an early scene, they’re running girls like Flor, who discover that life is rarely tidy and from a girl who supposedly has cooties, but soon that stories are often left incomplete. That acceptance they’re carrying out a serious, chivalrous mission. of change is key to Flor’s development, and her The first-person narration rotates among the three actions should also offer hope to readers who will find boys, and readers at first may have a bit of trouble in her a character who thinks and feels and acts very keeping who’s who straight. Through dialogue, much as they do. action, memories, and reflections, the narrators move Realistic Fiction the story forward, filling in gaps in understanding Fifth to eighth grade until the complex puzzle is complete. Through (available in paperback) their individual, interwoven narratives, these well- developed characters become the most intriguing The Other Boy by M.G Hennessey elements of the story. A smart, funny, ultimately When Shane, born a girl, switched schools three years moving novel. ago, things really started to fall into place. Finally, Realistic Fiction he could be the boy he’s known he was since age 3, Fifth to seventh grade without being treated differently. Plus, now that he’s (available in paperback) 12, he’s old enough to begin hormone therapy and is nearly giddy at the prospect of the manly chest hairs The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy he’ll get from the testosterone injections. When a McAnulty school bully shows students an old picture of Shane When Lucy, 12, was struck by lightning, she gained dressed as a girl, however, rumors fly, and Shane extraordinary math skills, and her grandmother, worries he’ll lose everything now that his secret is Nana, who raised Lucy after her parents’ death, has out. First-time author Hennessey sensitively portrays homeschooled her ever since. Lucy is content to typical sixth-grade trials (first crushes, embarrassing fill her hours with online college classes and chats parents, etc.), compounded by the confusion and on math forums where no one knows her real age, prejudice that can accompany transitioning. Although but Nana decides that Lucy needs to experience a Shane is a victim of some hate, he is the recipient of world outside of a computer screen. If Lucy goes to far more acceptance and support, particularly from middle school for one year, Nana promises, she’ll his mother, baseball teammates, and support-group be allowed to apply to college, and reluctantly, Lucy “buddy.” Spreads from the science fiction comic agrees. At first, her germophobia and mild obsessive that Shane is drawing preface several chapters, behavior make a difficult situation more difficult, but each hinting at upcoming struggles. An honest, eventually, she acquires two friends, finds useful work encouraging addition to the growing ranks of to do at an animal shelter, and has her life changed by transgender lit for the middle grades. a little dog she calls Pi. McAnulty captures the drama Realistic Fiction and trauma of middle school with well-rounded and Fifth to eighth grades believable characters and a convincing and appealing (available in paperback) story. Realistic Fiction Fifth to eighth grade (digital audiobook) Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson Radioactive! How Irene Curie & Lise Meitner “Who owns the river and the line, and the hook, revolutionized science and changed the world by and the worm?” wonders Jade, a scholarship kid at Winifred Conkling Portland’s prestigious St. Francis High. Through This joint biography examines two important female her first two years of school, she’s had to balance scientists who have been largely overlooked by her home life in a poor neighborhood with her life history, highlighting their accomplishments and at a school populated mostly by rich white kids. contributions to the advancement of nuclear science. When offered a mentorship for at-risk girls (which The name Irène Curie doesn’t ring as many bells as includes a full college scholarship), she jumps at the that of her parents, Marie and Pierre Curie, though she opportunity to learn how to be a successful black won the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with woman. However, she soon suspects that her mentor, her husband, Frédérick Joliot. Conkling (Passenger Maxine, may only have a superficial understanding on the Pearl, 2015) describes Irène’s childhood and of Jade’s challenges and that there may be things the Joliot-Curies’ discovery of artificial radioactivity, Jade can teach her. Watson is unafraid to show Jade which ushered in the era of nuclear science. Also at as a young woman who is resilient and mature for work during the 1930s’ golden age of physics was her age, but also plagued by self-doubt. The book Lise Meitner, who fought for her education and career itself is a balancing act between class, race, and as a physicist, which was challenged because she social dynamics, with Watson constantly undercutting was a woman and a Jew working in Nazi Germany. stereotypes and showing no fear in portraying In 1938, Meitner discovered nuclear fission, but virtues along with vices. The book’s defiance of a her research partner unsportingly took the credit. single-issue lens will surely inspire discussion and Though Conkling’s succinct scientific explanations consideration. could have been expanded for clarity, she does an Young Adult excellent job of describing this historic period and Realistic Fiction the impact of scientific discoveries made at the time, *2018 Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and including the use of X-rays by medics in WWI, the 2018 Newbery Honor Award* dangers of radiation poison, and the invention of the nuclear bomb during WWII. Black-and-white period photos, scientific asides and diagrams, and a time line enhance the well-cited text. A thorough and engaging study of two female scientists worth their weight in radium. Fifth to eighth grade Biography (available in paperback) Rain Reign by Ann M Martin Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh Rose, a fifth-grader who has been diagnosed with In her brilliantly crafted debut, Oh brings us to the Asperger syndrome, is often teased at school about year 2199. The planet’s East and West have been her obsession with homonyms and her steadfast consumed by war for the past 50 years, and the newly conviction that everyone should follow the rules at formed Neo Alliance (Korea, Japan, and China) are all times. Rose lives with her harsh, troubled father, ruthless in their ambition to control the world. Enter but it’s Uncle Weldon who cares for her in the ways Lee Jaewon, fresh off his military placement exam that matter most. Still, her father did give her Rain, from one of Neo Seoul’s elite military academies and a stray dog that comforts and protects Rose. After assigned to the Tower—home of the government’s Rain is lost in a storm and recovered, Rose learns most top-secret project. Here Jaewon meets Tera, that her dog has an identification microchip. Though a teenage girl who has undergone years of military she fully grasps what that means, Rose is driven by testing to turn her into a supersoldier with the ability the unwavering belief that she must follow the rules, to pilot one of Korea’s advanced God Machines, a find Rain’s former owners, and give the dog back to weapon capable of leveling a city block in one blow. them. Simplicity, clarity, and emotional resonance Abandoned by those who were meant to love him are hallmarks of Rose’s first-person narrative, which the most, Jaewon is committed to doing his part to offers an unflinching view of her world from her contribute to the war effort. But as he and Tera grow perspective. Her outlook may be unconventional, but closer, and the mystery of his father’s death comes her approach is matter-of-fact and her observations to light, Jaewon begins to question his loyalties. Will are insightful. Readers will be moved by the raw love for another open his eyes to the true nature of portrayal of Rose’s difficult home life, her separation war? Equal parts K-drama (Korean drama) and sci- from other kids at school, and her loss of the dog fi blockbuster, Oh blends futuristic tech, authentic that has loved her and provided a buffer from painful Korean culture, and romance in this complex, utterly experiences. A strong story told in a nuanced, highly engrossing, and wholly fresh story that is sure to accessible way. entice a wide array of readers. Realistic Fiction Science Fiction Fifth to eighth grade Young Adult (available in paperback) Rebound by Kwame Alexander Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley It’s the end of the school year in 1988, and Charlie Knisley, daughter of a chef mother and gourmand Bell is flattened by the death of his father. Charlie father, had the kind of upbringing that would make tries to hide in the pages of his comic book collection, any foodie salivate, and she’s happy to share. In much to his mother’s despair. Finally she ships him this collection of memories studded with recipes, off to stay with his grandparents for the summer. she explores how food shaped her family life, At first it’s just a fresh form of misery, as Charlie’s friendships, travel experiences, and early career as acidic grandfather goads him into physical activity a cartoonist. Loosely connected chapters chart a in the stifling heat. Then his cousin Roxie coaxes childhood and young adulthood surrounded by cooks him onto the basketball court. It’s the combination and bakers, bouncing between Manhattan kitchens of family, friends, and mad new skills that finally and upstate farmhouses, and through art school and help Charlie begin to rebound from his father’s the booming culinary scene in Chicago. Knisley’s death. Charlie Bell is the father of twins Jordan and artwork has a classic, Richard Scarry vibe, and her Josh Bell, stars of Alexander’s Newbery Medal– illustrated recipes—from a family-special leg of winning novel Crossover (2014). Fans of Crossover lamb and huevos rancheros to the trick for perfectly will remember that Chuck “Da Man” Bell played sautéed mushrooms—are particularly delightful and professional basketball, and they’ll be intrigued by inventive. Knisley tempers any navel-gazing impulses his initial resistance to learning the game. But this with humor, humility, and honesty, noting, for is an Alexander production, so the plot, as rich and example, that even someone who loves fine food can satisfying as it is, is outdazzled by the brilliance of still put away a truckload of McDonald’s fries from wordplay and syntax. There is a rhythm to each page, time to time. Just about everything in this rambling whether it’s the snappy give-and-take of dialogue, the memoir is handled with good cheer, which hints at the throbbing of Charlie’s bottomless melancholy, or the positive energy and personal fulfillment Knisley has rushing excitement of a basketball game. In addition, wrought from her young life in food. comics-style illustrations by Emmy-winning­ artist Graphic Novel/Autobiography Anyabwile bring Charlie’s fantasies of basketball Young Adult glory to life. (available in paperback) Novel in Verse Fifth to eighth grade Robots and Drones: Past, Present and Future by *prequel to Crossover* Scott Mairghread (ebook) Taking a broad definition of robot—“a machine that senses something in its environment, makes a choice about what it senses, and performs an action in response”—Scott and Chabot’s lively, humorous panels offer up a surprising range of robots. Robots that walk, assemble cars, and perform surgery are all a given; but what about a coffee maker, thermostat, or touch lamp? They all fit the definition and are easy illustrations for concepts such as sensors, input, and output. In precise, colorful artwork, the pair cover the history of robots and automatons, programming languages, and some components of robot construction, among other topics. A section addressing robot ethics, concerns about advancements in artificial intelligence, and controversy over military drones will get readers thinking critically, too. It’s a dizzying array of thought-provoking facts, and the enthusiastic tone and obvious excitement about the field is infectious—luckily, there’s a section about building robots from kits and joining robotics clubs at school for readers who want to get more involved. Graphic Novel/Nonfiction Fifth to eighth grade (available in paperback) Side Tracked by Diana Harmon Asher Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth by Frank Cottrell It’s an all-too-familiar scenario for Joseph: Charlie, Boyce the maniacal class bully, thundering down the Prez keeps his bag packed, positive that his soccer field toward him. But just before impact, grandfather will pick him up from the Children’s Heather hip checks Charlie, sends him sprawling, Temporary Accommodation at any moment. But until steals the ball, and scores. The new girl in town, she Granddad gets out of jail, Prez will be spending the doesn’t seem to mind that Joseph has learning issues summer at the Blythe family farm. He has barely (attention deficit disorder) or that he’s no athlete. Her arrived when a peculiar individual sporting a kilt strength and her outsider perspective are valuable and flight goggles appears at the door: Sputnik to him as they navigate seventh grade as friends, Mellows. He, too, is welcomed by the Blythes, both in school and on the newly formed track team, who are somehow under the impression that he is where he unexpectedly finds that he belongs. An a dog—handshakes all around! Still more curious, entertaining mix of events, conversations, anxieties, Sputnik can read Prez’s thoughts, a useful skill and reflections, Joseph’s first-­person narrative when dealing with a voluntary mute like Prez. How engages readers on page one and never lets up. The is all this possible? Sputnik is an alien, and quite a combination of acute observation and wry humor is charming one at that, and he needs Prez’s help saving disarming, and Joseph isn’t one to shy away from Earth from destruction. If, by the end of summer, mulling over his own shortcomings. In the end, his the pair of them can come up with 10 things worth big heart outweighs any number of supposed defects seeing—for an interplanetary guidebook—the planet and enables him to help others in his family, on his will be saved. Boyce’s (Cosmic, 2008) newest is by team, and in his wider circle of friends. Justice is turns hilarious and earnest. Sputnik’s zany energy sweet when bullies get their comeuppance in this and role as clueless tourist produce laugh-out-loud rewarding first novel. scenarios and turn everyday objects into things of Realistic Fiction wonder—you’ll never look at a remote control the Fifth to seventh grade same way again. On the flip side, he helps Prez find *RI Children’s Book Award 2019 nominee* his voice and come to terms with hard truths about his (ebook) grandfather. A stellar exploration of the meaning of home and the earthly wonders all around us. Fantasy Fifth and sixth grades (ebook)

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon On a summer morning in New York City, Daniel and Natasha wake up as strangers. This is a day that could catapult their lives into entirely new directions that neither of them wants to take. Natasha has only hours left to prevent her family’s deportation to Jamaica, after a minor legal infraction jeopardizes their stay in the U.S. Daniel dreads sealing his fate with an alumni interview that will pave his way to a career in medicine, as his Korean family expects. Despite a day packed with Natasha’s desperate race against time and a tangled system, and Daniel’s difficult tug-of-war between familial pressures and autonomy, love finds a way in, takes hold, and changes them both forever. Realistic Fiction Young Adult *A favorite among Middle Schoolers* (available in paperback) The Time Museum by Matthew Loux Joe, one of the characters in The Misfits(2001), has Delia knows the kiwi bird she’s following doesn’t his say, in a voice uniquely his own. Twelve-year- belong in New England, but when it leads her to old Joe knows he is gay. He played with Barbies as a mysterious gate in the wilderness, suddenly the a young child, prefers cooking to sports, and has a bird isn’t the most unusual thing in her afternoon. crush on a male classmate. Written in the form of an Behind the gate is a miraculous museum that connects assignment--an “alphabiography”--the story takes researchers to every place and every time. Not only readers through the school year, one letter at a time: is Delia’s beloved uncle its director, but she’s been G is for the Gang of Five, Joe’s misfit friends, who picked to try out for their intern program. Loux’s are utterly loyal when he falls for Colin. But Colin is loopy, swooping full-color artwork adds a bold, less secure about his sexuality than Joe is, and when cartoonish flair to the time-travel tale, and as the the rumor goes around that the boys have been seen group of six kids, all aspiring interns, learn how kissing, he quashes the relationship. Joe survives the to work together on various missions to several crush, and the book has an upbeat ending. time periods, he throws in plenty of comical visual *Karla Harry Visiting Author 2015* references to bygone eras, such as the gym teacher Realistic Fiction who’s always dressed in a suit of armor. Charming Fifth to eighth grade Delia is a relatable protagonist with believable (available in paperback) Part of the Misfits Series (see sixth grade required triumphs and falters, and her ultimate transformation reading) into an able leader is cheer worthy. Comical antics, cinematic pacing, heartwarming friendship, and a Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom by Lynda fast-moving, wacky plot should make this a real hit Blackmon Lowery among middle-grade fans of adventure comics. Graphic Novel “By the time I was fifteen years old, I had been in jail Fifth to seventh grade nine times.” So opens Lowery’s account of growing *RI Children’s Book Award 2019 Nominee* up in Selma, Alabama, during the troubled 1960s, as the African American community struggled for voting Torpedoed! a World War II story of a sinking rights. At 13, Lynda and other students began slipping passenger ship and two children’s survival at sea by out of school to participate in marches. At 14, she was Cheryl Mullenback first arrested. After many peaceful protests, Lynda On September 2, 1939, hours after Prime Minister and others marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge Neville Chamberlain declared Great Britain was at into a violent attack by state troopers and sheriffs’ war with Germany, a German submarine torpedoed deputies on what became known as Bloody Sunday. and sank a British passenger ship bound for Canada. Though beaten on the head, she returned two weeks Among the many Americans on board were 11-year- later for the march from Selma to Montgomery—and old Russell Park and 13-year-old Florence Kelly, who the Voting Rights Act was passed later that year. The were traveling home with their parents after visiting plain-spoken language of this memoir makes it all the relatives. Writing in a clear, direct style, Mullenbach more moving, while Lowery’s detail-rich memories tells their stories before, during, and after the disaster of her community, their shared purpose, and her own and then explains why the ship was attacked, a piece experiences make it particularly accessible to young of the historical record that was revealed only after readers. Illustrations include archival photos and the war ended. This well-researched volume makes original artwork that uses line and color expressively. effective use of quotes, including many taken from A concluding page comments that the Supreme interviews and the passengers’ memoirs, and vividly Court recently struck down part of the Voting Rights describes their experiences on the damaged Athenia, Act, and notes that “who has the right to vote is still in the lifeboats, and aboard rescue ships. Archival being decided today.” This inspiring personal story photos illustrate the book, offering views of the illuminates pivotal events in America’s history. individuals profiled as well as the ships and other Nonfiction elements in the story. Titanic may be the most famous Young Adult *RI Middle School Book Award 2018 Nominee* shipwreck in history, but this account of the Athenia’s (available in paperback) last voyage makes its story just as memorable. Nonfiction Fifth to eighth grade The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts by Avi

Totally Joe by James Howe Wakening to a terrible storm, 12-year-old Oliver Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers Cromwell Pitts finds his English seaside house Vincent van Gogh is perhaps one of the best-known flooded and his lawyer father gone off to London, artists today, but it’s likely he wouldn’t be nearly leaving the child bereft, penniless, and facing the as famous had it not been for his brother Theo, an unsavory possibility of being remanded to the art dealer who supported his troubled brother and children’s poorhouse. Alas, that is exactly what championed his paintings until his own untimely happens. Happily, circumstances and quick wits allow death, only months after Vincent’s. While each him to flee the dreadful place, but, his life now in brother had a pivotal career in his own right, danger, he must escape to London. But how? Because Heiligman (Charles and Emma, 2009) plumbs their of his flight and the fact that he has, er, borrowed correspondence, both to each other and beyond, and some money, he’s wanted by the authorities and must zeroes in on their relationship, which was fraught travel secretly, and the road to the capital is long with a brotherly combination of competition, and fraught with danger—there will be no relying frustration, and, ultimately, adoration. Structured as a on the kindness of strangers. Will he find his way sort of gallery of key moments in the brothers’ lives, to London? One hopes so, for our hero Oliver is an the book covers their childhood and the influence unusually appealing character, whom we applaud of their tight-knit family; Vincent’s peripatetic, while decrying his enemies, who are deliciously evil, sometimes scandalous pursuit of a vocation; Theo’s unctuous, and depraved. In using Oliver as his first- dogged commitment to not only his own career but person narrator, Avi does a superb job of suggesting cultivating Vincent’s; and their ultimate demises, the style and syntax of eighteenth-century speech, both of which are heartbreaking in their own ways. while telling an ingeniously plotted Dickensian In fittingly painterly language, Heiligman offers story filled with suspense, surprises, and ultimately vivid descriptions of Vincent’s artwork and life, satisfaction. It reminds us, who may have forgotten, which grow more detailed and colorful as Vincent’s why reading is such high entertainment and pleasure. own artistic style becomes richer and more refined, Please, sir, may we have some more? (Yes: a sequel is particularly during the intense, almost manic flurry promised.) of work he produced in his last few years. This Historical Fiction illuminating glimpse into the Van Goghs’ turbulent Fifth to eighth grades lives and historical period will add compelling depth (ebook) to readers’ understanding of the iconic painter. Art-­ loving teens will be captivated. Non-Fiction/Biography Young Adult

Warcross by Marie Lu Lu takes a sharp turn out of the dark fantasy universe of The Young Elites (2014) and into the glittery, high-tech sci-fi world of a futuristic Tokyo. Emika Chen, hacker extraordinaire, has been scraping together a living on the streets of New York, working as a bounty hunter who tracks down people betting illegally on Warcross, an insanely popular virtual reality game. But it’s not enough to get by, and a desperate Emi hacks into a Warcross tournament game to scavenge. But she gets more than she bargained for when she’s invited to Tokyo by Hideo Tanaka, Warcross’ creator. There’s something insidious going on behind the scenes of the game, and Hideo needs the help of a hacker-spy. But the world Emi has entered is one of twists and double-crosses, and even her skills might not be enough. Science Fiction Young Adult (available in paperback end of June) Wish by Barbara O’Connor With her father in jail and her unstable mother incapable of caring for her, 10-year-old Charlie is sent to live with an aunt and uncle she didn’t know she had. Defensive and pugnacious, she resists their efforts to make her feel at home, as she has no intention of staying in this small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The one thing she loves here is the stray dog she takes in and cares for. Gradually, though, she comes to value the steady support of a boy who befriends her, and the unconditional love that her relatives offer. Every day, she makes the same unspoken wish, revealed only on the last page. In this first-person narrative, Charlie’s emotions are as evident as the events she records and her occasional misreading of other people’s lives and intentions. At school, at home, and in the community, the characters and settings are well drawn, but it’s the narrator’s convincing, compelling voice that will draw readers into the novel and keep them there until her wish finally comes true. Fantasy Fifth and sixth grades Winner of the RI Children’s Book Award 2018 (available in paperback)

The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag The Witch Boy explores what it means to go against expectations and overcome gendered prejudice, in this case related to magic and witchcraft. In her middle- grade graphic-novel debut, Ostertag—perhaps best known for Shattered Warrior (2017) and her ongoing webcomic, Strong Female Protagonist—uses bold colors and diverse skin tones to beautifully illustrate a brief time in the life of Aster, a young man who is supposed to be a shape-shifter but is instead more inclined toward witchcraft. Unfortunately, witchcraft is seen as feminine in his community, and therefore not something boys are meant to dabble in. When several other boys go missing over the next few days, Aster and his community become alarmed, unsure of who or what is to blame. In an effort to help his family and friends and prove himself to his mother and father, Aster begins testing his magical abilities, much to their chagrin. Aster’s journey of self-discovery, particularly as he learns to take a stand against assumed gender roles, will resonate with many young readers working to assert themselves within their own communities. Graphic Novel Fifth to eighth grade (available as a paperback)