B.E.S.T. Academy Middle School 2014-2015 Summer Reading Books, Projects, and Rubric 6th Grade Trapped Between the Lash and the Gun by Arvella Whitmore (630L) Jordan is going to join a gang. But just as he's about to start his future with the Cobras, his past calls him back. Way back -- to the nineteenth-century, where he meets his ancestors and gets a bitter taste of what life was like for them as slaves. Jordan must live with the constant threat of the whip's lash. His journey back in time will strike a chord with any young person who has felt trapped by hard times and difficult choices. (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/trapped-between-lash-and-gun#cart/cleanup) Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by Chris Tebbetts and James Patterson (700L) Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix. Lucky for Rafe, he's got a foolproof plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off. With his best friend Leonardo the Silent awarding the points, Rafe tries to break every rule in his school's oppressive Code of Conduct. Chewing gum in class is worth 5,000 points. Running in the hallway is 10,000. Pulling the fire alarm, 50,000! But when Rafe's game starts to catch up with him, he'll have to decide if winning is all that matters, or if he's finally ready to face the truths he's been avoiding. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis(950L) It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the run, but he's on a mission. His momma never told him who his father was, but she left a clue: posters of Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression! Bud's got an idea that those posters will lead to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man, nothing can stop him. (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/bud-not-buddy#cart/cleanup) 7th Grade The Bully by Paul Langan (700L) A new life. An new school. A new bully. That's what Darrell Mercer faces when he and his mother move from Philadelphia to California. After spending months living in fear, Darrell is faced with a big decision: He can keep running from this bully, or find a way to fight back. (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/bully#cart/cleanup We Beat the Street: How a Friendship Pact Lead to Success by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, Rameck Hunt and Sharon Draper (860L) Growing up on the rough streets of Newark, New Jersey, Rameck, George,and Sampson could easily have followed their childhood friends into drug dealing, gangs, and prison. But when a presentation at their school made the three boys aware of the opportunities available to them in the medical and dental professions, they made a pact among themselves that they would become doctors. It took a lot of determination-and a lot of support from one another-but despite all the hardships along the way, the three succeeded. http://www.lexile.com/book/details/9780142406274/) The Qualities of a B.E.S.T Man I am well READ, well spoken, well mannered, well dressed, and I am my brother’s keeper. B.E.S.T. Academy Middle School 2014-2015 Summer Reading Books, Projects, and Rubric Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis (1070L) Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He's best known for having made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass, but that changes when a former slave steals money from Elijah's friend, who has been saving to buy his family out of captivity in the South. Elijah embarks on a dangerous journey to America in pursuit of the thief and discovers firsthand the unimaginable horrors of the life his parents fled--a life from which he'll always be free, if he can find the courage to get back home. (http://www.lexile.com/book/details/9780439023443/) 8th Grade The Maze Runner by James Dashner (770 L) When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Gladea large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they've closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent upthe first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind. (http://www.lexile.com/book/details/9780385737951/) Million Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica (960L) What would you do with a million dollars, if you were 13? Nate Brodie is nicknamed 'Brady" not only for his arm, but also because he's the biggest Tom Brady fan. He's even saved up to buy an autographed football. And when he does, he wins the chance for something he's never dreamed of: to throw a pass through a target at a Patriots game for one million dollars. Nate should be excited. But things have been tough lately. His dad lost his job and his family is losing their home. It's no secret that a million dollars would go a long way. So all Nate feels is pressure, and just when he needs it most, his golden arm begins to fail him. Even worse, his best friend Abby is going blind, slowly losing her ability to do the one thing she loves most: paint. Yet Abby never complains, and she is Nate's inspiration. He knows she'll be there when he makes the throw of a lifetime (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/million-dollar-throw#cart/cleanup) Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers (1050) Martyr. Prophet. Hustler. Dealer. Troublemaker. Revolutionary. As a fourteen-year-old he was Malcolm Little, the president of his class and a top student. At sixteen he was hustling tips at a Boston nightclub. In Harlem he was known as Detroit Red, a slick street operator. At nineteen he was back in Boston, leading a gang of burglars. At twenty he was in prison. It was in prison that Malcolm Little started the journey that would lead him to adopt the name Malcolm X, and there he developed his beliefs about what being black means in America. From streetwise teenager to the militant leader of hundreds of thousands in the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X was one of the most respected, and most feared, men in American history. Even today, years after his assassination, young people still listen to his speeches and read his autobiography. In this forthright and courageous account, Walter Dean Myers, two-time winner of the Newbery Honor and four-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, depicts a complex man whose life reflected the major issues of our times. (http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/malcolm-x-any-means-necessary#cart/cleanup) The Qualities of a B.E.S.T Man I am well READ, well spoken, well mannered, well dressed, and I am my brother’s keeper. B.E.S.T. Academy Middle School 2014-2015 Summer Reading Books, .