This document provides middle school summer reading recommendations and expectations. It suggests that students entering 6th, 7th and 8th grades read 4-8 books over the summer break. Specific titles are recommended for incoming 8th graders. Award-winning books, as well as popular titles by level and genre are listed. Teachers provide annotations about compelling reads. The goal is for students to engage with diverse texts over the summer months.

1. Middle School
Summer Reading
CNG 2017

2. Success Academies. (n.d.). Reading: A Critical
Part of Your Summer [Digital image]. Retrieved
May 5, 2017, from
http://successacademies.org/app/uploads/2015/
06/ES_SummerReading_Infographic_FNL1-
copy.jpg

3. What will your summer reading look like?
Some people maintain the same reading habits over the summer.
Others read more fun books to relax while on vacation.
Still others choose to read more challenging books or books that are unlike their
usual reading because they have more energy to devote to their reading.
Will you and a friend/family member read the same book?
Will you listen to an audiobook as you read along?

4. Incoming 6th Grade Expectations
Reading a book at your level, you should finish a book every 1-2 weeks.
There are more than 8 weeks of vacation.
Therefore, you should have time to read about 4-8+ books this summer. In fact,
with all the free time you’ll have not being at school, you could read many
more than that!

5. Incoming 7th Grade Expectations
Reading a book at your level, you should finish a book every 1-2 weeks.
There are more than 8 weeks of vacation.
Therefore, you should have time to read about 4-8+ books this summer. In fact,
with all the free time you’ll have not being at school, you could read many
more than that!

6. Incoming 8th Grade Expectations
ALL students going into pre-AP 8th grade should make sure they have read and
can discuss The Giver by Lois Lowry. Students going into regular 8th grade
need to choose to read either The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins, or Divergent by Veronica Roth.
If you read the book several years ago, consider rereading it this summer to
have it fresh in your mind. It’s short and amazing!
Reading a book at your level, you should finish a book every 1-2 weeks.
There are more than 8 weeks of vacation.
Therefore, you should have time to read about 4-8+ books this summer. In fact,

7. You’re going to 9th grade? How is that even
possible? Stay with us forever!
Good news!
Books are books, and these recommendations are great even for soon-to-be high
school students. You should definitely check out the Printz Award winners
especially.
Also:
Recommendations from friends
Search for popular books by your favorite author, genre, etc.
Use GoodReads!

8. Award Winners and Nominees
Michael L. Printz Award - Best books for young adults
2017 Winners and Nominees
Previous Winners (2000-2016)

9. Ms. Gretchen’s Recommendation
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory
Mackenson -- a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are
forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car
plunge into a lake -- and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-
to-face with a terrible, haunting vision of death. As Cory struggles to
understand his father's pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of
good and evil that surround him. From an ancient mystic who can hear the
dead and bewitch the living, to a violent clan of moonshiners, Cory must
confront the secrets that hide in the shadows of his hometown -- for his
father's sanity and his own life hang in the balance.
Miss Gretchen says: I love the mystery, setting, and unique characters of
this story. The protagonist has incredible adventures and experiences.
Don't be intimidated by the size of this book. It is such a fun and exciting
read.
Level: 780

10. Ms. Gerard’s Recommendation
August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from
going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher
Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The
thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince
his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?
Level: 790 or V

11. Mrs. Murphy’s Recommendation
When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no
child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with
unspeakable loss is as surprising as it is inspiring.
Written in free verse, this award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great
Depression. It chronicles Oklahoma's staggering dust storms, and the
environmental--and emotional--turmoil they leave in their path. An unforgettable
tribute to hope and inner strength.
Mrs. Murphy says: I love this book because it is written in poetry. Some of it
reads like a diary, and some of it will make you want to cry. The narrator, Billie
Jo, perseveres through some tragic situations, and her poetry will make you feel
her sadness, anger, and her dissatisfaction with life in Oklahoma during the
Great Depression. Most of all, you will be inspired by Billie Jo's ability to
overcome grief and repair relationships with those who she loves. This story will
leave you thinking about it long after you finish reading.
Level: X or 1040

12. Miss Garibotto’s Recommendation
Her story begins on a train.
The year is 1956, and the Axis powers of the Third Reich and Imperial Japan rule. To
commemorate their Great Victory, Hitler and Emperor Hirohito host the Axis Tour: an
annual motorcycle race across their conjoined continents. The victor is awarded an
audience with the highly reclusive Adolf Hitler at the Victor’s Ball in Tokyo.
Yael, a former death camp prisoner, has witnessed too much suffering, and the five
wolves tattooed on her arm are a constant reminder of the loved ones she lost. The
resistance has given Yael one goal: Win the race and kill Hitler. A survivor of painful
human experimentation, Yael has the power to skinshift and must complete her mission
by impersonating last year’s only female racer, Adele Wolfe. This deception becomes
more difficult when Felix, Adele twin’s brother, and Luka, her former love interest, enter
the race and watch Yael’s every move.
But as Yael grows closer to the other competitors, can she bring herself to be as ruthless
as she needs to be to avoid discovery and complete her mission?
Level: 670

13. Other Very Popular, Really
Excellent, Wicked Fantastic
Books

14. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s
Stone Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his
heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his
fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself:
he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him
to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a
normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the
boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted by
the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding world,
only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.
Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is
perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls, and
Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil hands. But
doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying than he ever
could have imagined.

15. Ender’s Game
Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games;
he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic
experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in
a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way
to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find
the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when
it begins. He will grow up fast.
But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers
has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general
has been underway almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and
Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While
Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability
for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military's purpose.
But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for
power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler.
Valentine's abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of
commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their
youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these
two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no
future at all if their brother Ender fails.
Level: 780 or Z

16. Ready, Player One
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts
really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the
OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this
world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession
with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and
fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue,
he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The
race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the
real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

17. Popular Books by Level (Letter)
Level S
Level T
Level U
Level V
Level W
Level X
Level Y
Level Z

18. Popular Books by Genre and Lexile
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Dystopian
Realistic Fiction
Historical Fiction

19. Happy reading!