Middle School Battle of the Books List
Battle of the Books began as a program for middle school students, grades 6-8. The program has expanded to include the elementary and high school levels. Students at participating schools read books from a list established by the state Battle of the Books committees and then compete in quiz-bowl-style tournaments to test their knowledge of these books.
Teaching Resources Center, Joyner Library A Selective Annotated Bibliography
Titles in the Teaching Resources Center are cataloged with Dewey call numbers and are preceded by Curric. Please ask someone at the Teaching Resources Service Desk if you need any assistance.
Lexile Title Information Call Score Number
2019-2020 School Year
850L Beatty, Robert. Serafina and the Black Cloak. Los Angeles: F Disney-Hyperion, 2015. B38098S01
In 1899, a twelve-year-old rat catcher on North Carolina's Biltmore estate teams up with the estate owner's young nephew to battle a great evil and, in the process, unlocks the puzzle of her past.
700L Bowling, Dusti. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. New York: *Currently not Sterling Children’s Books, 2017. in collection
New friends and a mystery help Aven, thirteen, adjust to middle school and life at a dying western theme park in a new state, where her being born armless presents many challenges.
1 580L Brubaker, Kimberly Bradley. The War That Saved My Life. New York: Dial F Books for Young Readers, 2015. B7286W
A young disabled girl and her brother are evacuated from London to the English countryside during World War II, where they find life to be much sweeter away from their abusive mother.
710L Deuker, Carl. Gym Candy. Boston, MA: Graphia/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, F 2007. D487GY
Groomed by his father to be a star player, football is the only thing that has ever really mattered to Mick Johnson, who works hard for a spot on the varsity team his freshman year, then tries to hold onto his edge by using steroids, despite the consequences to his health and social life.
920L Flanagan, John. The Ruins of Gorlan. New York: Philomel Books, 2005. F F6133RA01
When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battleschool, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.
970L Hoose, Phillip. The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the 940.53489 Churchill Club. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2015. H7691B
The true story of a group of boy resistance fighters in Denmark after the Nazi invasion.
610L Holt, K.A. House Arrest. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2015. F H74249H
Young Timothy is sentenced to house arrest after impulsively stealing a wallet, and he is forced to keep a journal into which he pours all his thoughts, fears, and frustrations.
730L Kadohata, Cynthia. Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam. New York: F Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. K116C
A young soldier in Vietnam bonds with his bomb-sniffing dog.
790L Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. F L5125T
The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice.
2 HL710L Lu, Marie. Legend. New York: Speak, 2013. F L9605L.A
In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen- year-old Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.
800L Milford, Kate. Greenglass House. Boston, MA: Clarion Books, 2014. F M5985G
At Greenglass House, a smuggler's inn, twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers' adopted son, plans to spend his winter holidays relaxing but soon guests are arriving with strange stories about the house sending Milo and Meddy, the cook's daughter, on an adventure.
730L Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011. F N373M
Thirteen-year-old Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill--an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.
810L Nielsen, Jennifer A. A Night Divided. New York: Scholastic Press, 2015. F N5544N
When the Berlin Wall went up, Gerta, her mother, and her brother Fritz are trapped on the eastern side where they were living, while her father, and her other brother Dominic are in the West--four years later, now twelve, Gerta sees her father on a viewing platform on the western side and realizes he wants her to risk her life trying to tunnel to freedom.
670L Pérez, Celia C. The First Rule of Punk. New York: Viking, 2017. F P4153F
Twelve-year-old María Luisa O'Neill-Morales (who really prefers to be called Malú) reluctantly moves with her Mexican-American mother to Chicago and starts seventh grade with a bang--violating the dress code with her punk rock aesthetic and spurning the middle school's most popular girl in favor of starting a band with a group of like-minded weirdos.
HL360L Rhodes, Jewell Parker. Ghost Boys. New York: Little, Brown and Company, F 2018. R3467G
After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes the aftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys including historical figure Emmett Till.
3 880L Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: A.A. F Levine Books, 1998. R797H1
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.
920L Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most 623.4 Dangerous Weapon. New York: Roaring Book Press, 2012. SH42B
Recounts the scientific discoveries that enabled atom splitting, the military intelligence operations that occurred in rival countries, and the work of brilliant scientists hidden at Los Alamos.
810L Sloan, Holly Goldberg. I’ll Be There. New York: Little, Brown, 2011. F SL523I
Raised by an unstable father who keeps constantly on the move, Sam Border has long been the voice of his younger brother, Riddle, but everything changes when Sam meets Emily Bell and, welcomed by her family, the brothers are faced with normalcy for the first time.
810L Sullivan, Tara. The Bitter Side of Sweet. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, F 2016. SU56B
Kept as forced labor on a chocolate plantation in the Ivory Coast, Amadou and his younger brother Seydou had given up hope, until a young girl arrives at the camp who rekindles the urge to escape.
HL650L Van Draanen, Wendelin. The Running Dream. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, F 2011. V2877R
When a school bus accident leaves sixteen-year-old Jessica an amputee, she returns to school with a prosthetic limb and her track team finds a wonderful way to help rekindle her dream of running again.
800L Wright, Barbara. Crow. New York: Random House, 2012. F W9304C
In 1898, Moses Thomas's summer vacation does not go exactly as planned as he contends with family problems and the ever-changing alliances among his friends at the same time as he is exposed to the escalating tension between the African-American and white communities of Wilmington, North Carolina.
830L Yousafzai, Malala and McCormick, Patricia. I am Malala: How One Girl B Stood Up for Education and Changed the World. New York: Little, Y887Y Brown and Company, 2014.
Malala Yousafzai was only ten years old when the Taliban took control of her
4 region. They said music was a crime. They said women weren't allowed to go to the market. They said girls couldn't go to school. Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan transformed by terrorism, Malala was taught to stand up for what she believes. So, she fought for her right to be educated. And on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause: She was shot point-blank while riding the bus on her way home from school. No one expected her to survive. Now Malala is an international symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
2018-2019 School Year
750L Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, F 2014. AL2715C
730L Bemis, John Claude. The Nine Pound Hammer. New York: Random House, F 2009. B424N
890L Carmichael, Clay. Wild Things. Honesdale, PA: Front Street, 2009. F C2122W
HL780L Carriger, Gail. Etiquette & Espionage. New York: Little, Brown and F Company, 2013. C2349E
750L Cooney, Caroline B. Diamonds in the Shadow. New York: Delacorte Press, F 2007. C783D
800L Dooley, Sarah. Ashes to Asheville. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2017. F D7207A
700L Draper, Sharon M. Out of My Mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young F Readers, 2010. D7918O
HL600L Fisher, Catherine. Incarceron. New York: Dial Books, 2010. F F5317I
520L Hunt, Lynda Mullaly. One for the Murphys. New York: Puffin, 2012. *Currently not in collection
830L Jacobson, Jennifer Richard. Paper Things. Somerville, MA: Candlewick F Press, 2015. J158P
GN440L Jamieson, Victoria. Roller Girl. New York: Dial Books, 2015. F J243R
1170L Kanefield, Teri. Alexander Hamilton: The Hero Who Helped Shape *Currently not America. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2017. in collection
5 940L Lane, Andrew. Death Cloud: Sherlock Holmes, The Legend Begins. New F York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. L24DE
890L London, Jack. White Fang. London, UK: Puffin, 2008. F L84661W
990L McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. Under the Mesquite. New York: Lee & Low F Books, 2011. M1243U
790L Meyer, Marissa. Cinder. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2012. F M5757LU01
950L Pearsall, Shelley. All of the Above. New York: Little, Brown, 2006. F P3168A
730L Reynolds, Jason. Ghost. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, F 2016. R3352T01
990L Schmidt, Gary D. The Wednesday Wars. New York: Clarion Books, 2007. F SCH53W
HL490L Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. New York: Philomel Books, 2011. F SE61B
860L Shusterman, Neal. Everlost. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young F Readers, 2006. SH935EV
770L Sloan, Holly Goldberg. Counting By 7s. New York: Dial Books for Young F Readers, 2013. SL523C
990L White, Robb. Deathwatch. New York: Laurel-leaf Books, 1972. F W5855D
770L Wolk, Lauren. Beyond the Bright Sea. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, F 2017. W8347B
990L Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen B Books, 2014. W868W
860L Kamkwamba, William. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. New York: Dial 621.4 Books for Young Readers, 2015. K1289B.A
980L Sheinkin, Steve. Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School 796.33263 Football Team. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2017. SH42U
6 2017-2018 School Year
NP Applegate, Katherine. Home of the Brave. New York: Square Fish, 2008. F AP52H.A
640L Barnhill, Kelly. The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Chapel Hill, NC: Algonquin F Young Readers, 2016. B2659G
830L Black, Holly. The Iron Trial. New York: Scholastic Press, 2014. F B5614M01
680L Bloor, Edward. Tangerine. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, 1997. F B622T
810L Bertman, Jennifer Chambliss. Book Scavenger. New York: Square Fish, *Currently not 2016. in collection
910L Clayton, Emma. The Roar. New York: Chicken House, 2009. F C5796R
800L Colfer, Eoin. Airman. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2008. F C68AI
HL770L Dashner, James. The Maze Runner. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. F D2609M
630L Erskine, Kathryn. Mockingbird (Mok’ing-bûrd). New York: Philomel Books, F 2010. ER85M
HL500L Evans, Richard Paul. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. New York: F Mercury Ink/Simon Pulse, 2011. EV165M
660L Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. New York: Atheneum Books for F Young Readers, 2002. F22975H
790L Flores-Galbis, Enrique. 90 Miles to Havana. New York: Roaring Brook F Press, 2010. F66319N
750L Frazier, Sundee T. The Other Half of My Heart. New York: Delacorte Press, F 2010. F8699O
760L Gratz, Alan. Prisoner B-3087. New York: Scholastic Press, 2013. F G774P
760L Magorian, Michelle. Good Night, Mr. Tom. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. F M27588G.A
7 920L Park, Linda Sue. A Single Shard. New York: Clarion Books, 2011. F P21974SI
770L Qamar, Amjed. Beneath My Mother’s Feet. New York: Atheneum Books for F Young Readers, 2008. Q112B
810L Schiltz, Laura Amy. The Hired Girl. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, F 2015. SCH394H
HL600L Schmatz, Pat. Bluefish. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011. F SCH43B
890L Scott, Michael. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas F Flamel. New York: Delacorte Press, 2007. SCO852A
HL560L Sepetys, Ruta. Salt to the Sea. New York: Philomel Books, 2016. F SE61S
750L Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York: Amistad, 2010. F W67635O
750L Wolf, Allan. The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic. F Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011. W831W
800L Wolk, Lauren. Wolf Hollow. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, 2016. F W8347W
1010L Jarrow, Gail. Fatal Fever: Tracking Down Typhoid Mary. Honesdale, PA: 614.5 Calkins Creek, 2015. J296F
980L St. John, Warren. Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team that 796.334092 Changed a Town. New York: Delacorte Press, 2012. ST1052O
980L Swanson, James L. Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. New York: Scholastic Press, 973.7092 2009. SW247C
2016-2017 School Year
890L Alvarez, Julia. Return to Sender. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. F AL86R
830L Appelt, Kathi. The Underneath. New York: Atheneum Books for Young F Readers, 2008. AP488U
620L Avi. Iron Thunder: The Battle Between the Monitor & the Merrimac. New F
8 York: Disney/Hyperion Books, 2007. AV51IR
850L Beatty, Robert. Serafina and the Black Cloak. Los Angeles: F Disney-Hyperion, 2015. B38098S01
580L Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. The War That Saved My Life. New York: Dial F Books for Young Readers, 2015. B7286W
710L Deuker, Carl. Gym Candy. Boston: Graphia/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, F 2007. D487GY
780L Draper, Sharon M. Forged by Fire. New York: Scholastic, 1997. F D7918FO
920L Flanagan, John. The Ruins of Gorlan. New York: Philomel Books, 2005. F F6133RA01
840L Gratz, Alan. The Brooklyn Nine: A Novel in Nine Innings. New York: F Speak, 2010. G774B
730L Kadohata, Cynthia. Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam. New York: F Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. K116C
740L Korman, Gordon. Schooled. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2007. F K842SC
790L Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. F L5125T
HL710L Lu, Marie. Legend. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2011. F L9605L
800L Milford, Kate. Greenglass House. Boston: Clarion Books, 2014. F M5985G
730L Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011. F N373M
810L Nielsen, Jennifer A. A Night Divided. New York: Scholastic Press, 2015. F N5544N
790L Palacio, R.J. Wonder. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. F P171W
880L Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: A.A. F Levine Books, 1998. R797H1
9 720L Stephens, John. The Emerald Atlas. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. F ST444B01
760L Taylor, Mildred D. The Land. New York: Phyllis Fogelman Books, 2001. F T216LA
560L Turnage, Sheila. Three Times Lucky. New York: Dial Books for Young F Readers, 2012. T8491T
HL650L Van Draanen, Wendy. The Running Dream. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, F 2011. V2877R
800L Wright, Barbara. Crow. New York: Random House, 2012. F W9304C
920L Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s Most 623.4 Dangerous Weapon. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2012. SH42B
970L Hoose, Philip. The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the 940.53 Churchill Club. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2015. H7691B
780L Jiang, Ji-li. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution. New 951.056 York: HarperCollins, 1997. J56R
830L Yousafzai, Malala. I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and B Changed the World. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2014. Y887Y
2015-2016 School Year
750L Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, F 2014. AL2715C
730L Bemis, John Claude. The Nine Pound Hammer. New York: Random House, F 2009. B424N
910L Bruchac, Joseph. Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World F War Two. New York: Dial Books, 2005. B8309CO
890L Carmichael, Clay. Wild Things. Honesdale, PA: Front Street, 2009. F C2122W
HL780L Carriger, Gail. Etiquette & Espionage. New York: Little, Brown and F Company, 2013. C2349E
10 750L Cooney, Caroline B. Diamonds in the Shadow. New York: Delacorte Press, F 2007. C783D
700L Draper, Sharon M. Out of My Mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young F Readers, 2010. D7918O
HL600L Fisher, Catherine. Incarceron. New York: Dial Books, 2010. F F5317I
820L Gaiman, Neil. The Graveyard Book. New York: HarperCollins Pub., 2008. F G127GR
920L Gantos, Jack. Dead End in Norvelt. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. F G158D
520L Hunt, Lynda Mullaly. One for the Murphys. New York: Puffin, 2012. *Currently not in collection
660L Johnson, Varian. The Great Greene Heist. New York: Arthur A. Levine F Books, 2014. J638G
940L Lane, Andrew. Death Cloud: Sherlock Holmes, The Legend Begins. New F York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. L24DE
890L London, Jack. White Fang. London, UK: Puffin, 2008. F L84661W
990L McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. Under the Mesquite. New York: Lee & Low F Books, 2011. M1243U
790L Meyer, Marissa. Cinder. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2012. F M5757LU01
630L Napoli, Donna Jo. Stones in Water. New York: Dutton Children’s Books, F 1997. N1628ST
740L O’Neill, Joe. Rebels of the Kasbah. Hood River, OR: Black Ship Publishing, *Currently not 2012. in collection
890L Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia, F PA: Quirk Books, 2011. R4489M
990L Schmidt, Gary D. The Wednesday Wars. New York: Clarion Books, 2007. F SCH53W
HL490L Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. New York: Philomel Books, 2011. F SE61B
11 860L Shusterman, Neal. Everlost. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young F Readers, 2006. SH935EV
770L Sloan, Holly Goldberg. Counting By 7s. New York: Dial Books for Young F Readers, 2013. SL523C
1130L Aronson, Marc. Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, 664 Slavery, Freedom, and Science. Boston: Clarion Books, 2010. AR675S
1030L Fleischman, John. Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain B Science. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. G1214F
990L Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen B Books, 2014. W868W
1260L Nelson, Peter. Left for Dead: A Young Man’s Search for Justice for the USS *Currently not Indianapolis. New York: Delacorte Press, 2002. in collection
2014-2015 School Year
NP Applegate, Katherine. Home of the Brave. New York: Feiwel and Friends, F 2007. AP52H
680L Bloor, Edward. Tangerine. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace, 1997. F B622T
660L Chadda, Sarwat. The Savage Fortress. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 2013. F C3447S01
910L Clayton, Emma. The Roar. New York: Chicken House, 2009. F C5796R
HL770L Dashner, James. The Maze Runner. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. F D2609M
520L DiCamillo, Kate. Flora and Ulysses. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, F 2013. D5471F
630L Erskine, Kathryn. Mockingbird (Mok’ing-bûrd). New York: Philomel Books, F 2010. ER85M
660L Farmer, Nancy. The House of the Scorpion. New York: Atheneum Books for F Young Readers, 2002. F22975H
12 790L Flores-Galbis, Enrique. 90 Miles to Havana. New York: Roaring Brook F Press, 2010. F66319N
750L Frazier, Sundee T. The Other Half of My Heart. New York: Delacorte Press, F 2010. F8699O
760L Gratz, Alan. Prisoner B-3087. New York: Scholastic Press, 2013. F G774P
780L Hemingway, Edith M. Road to Tater Hill. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. F H3735R
740L Hoobler, Dorothy and Thomas. The Ghost in Tokaido Inn. New York: F Philomel Books, 1999. H759G
730L Lupica, Mike. Hero. New York: Puffin Books, 2010. F L9738HER
760L Magorian, Michelle. Good Night, Mr. Tom. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. F M27588G.A
920L Park, Linda Sue. A Single Shard. New York: Clarion Books, 2011. F P21974SI
770L Qamar, Amjed. Beneath My Mother’s Feet. New York: Atheneum Books for F Young Readers, 2008. Q112B
650L Riordan, Rick. The Red Pyramid. New York: Disney/Hyperion, 2010. F R4792K1
HL600L Schmatz, Pat. Bluefish. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011. F SCH43B
890L Scott, Michael. The Alchemyst: The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas F Flamel. New York: Delacorte Press, 2007. SCO852A
850L Speare, Elizabeth George. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Boston, MA: F Sandpiper, [2011], 1986. SP31W.C
800L Vanderpool, Clare. Moon Over Manifest. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. F V28225M
750L Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer. New York: Amistad, 2010. F W67635O
980L St. John, Warren. Outcasts United: The Story of a Refugee Soccer Team 796.334092 That Changed a Town. New York: Delacorte Press, 2012. ST1052O
13 1040L Hopkinson, Deborah. Titanic: Voices from the Disaster. New York: 910.9163 Scholastic Press, 2012. H7773T
980L Swanson, James L. Chasing Lincoln’s Killer. New York: Scholastic Press, 973.7092 2009. SW247C
990L Sheinkin, Steve. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of B Adventure, Heroism, and Treachery. New York: Roaring Brook Press, AR641S 2010.
Last Updated Mar-19 ES
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