Reading books is a great way to spend your free time. Reading can improve focus and enhance your vocabulary and reading comprehension. Don’t know any good books? Try some of these book recommendations!
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Fiction
⇨Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Esperanza had always thought she’d live with her family on their ranch in Mexico, with her beautiful dresses, a lovely home, and her own servants. But, an unexpected disaster turns Esperanza’s life around, and she and her Mama had no choice but to flee to California. Esperanza wasn’t prepared to do hard labor, or feel unaccepted in her new life. When her life in California was threatened, Esperanza had to find a way to come over her difficult situation. Will she ever find a way to make things right?
(Lexile Level: 750L; Grades 6-8)
⇨Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Auggie (August) Pullman is not your typical ten year-old kid. August was born with a craniofacial abnormality, a genetic flaw that made his facial features extremely misshapen. Because of that, Auggie’s life has never been ‘normal.’ Even with his differences, Auggie’s parents decided to send him to a private school, after being homeschooled. Will Auggie be able to deal with his first time in a school full of ‘normal’ kids?
This amazing story is also told through the perspective of Auggie’s older sister, his classmates, and other children he meets throughout the story.
(Lexile Level: 790L; Grades 6-8)
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Realistic Fiction
⇨Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Eleven year-old Melody has a photographic memory. It’s as if her head is a video camera that never stops recording. She’s the most intelligent kid in her entire school, but know one knows that. Melody can’t talk. Or walk. Or write. Not being able to communicate makes Melody out of her mind. Until, she discovers something that makes it capable for her to speak for the first time. Finally, Melody was able to talk! But, not everybody was prepared to hear it.
(Lexile Level: 700L; Grade 6)
⇨So B. It by Sarah Weeks
Despite the unconventional environment with her mentally disabled mother and compassionate neighbor, Bernadette, twelve year-old Heidi has a way of being lucky, which happens to show her in the right path. When a strange word her mother says starts to follow Heidi around, she decides to go on a cross country adventure to seek for the real truth behind her past.
(Lexile Level: 860L; Grades 6-8)
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Biography/Autobiography
⇨I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Patricia McCormick
Malala Yousafzai was ten years old when the Taliban brought her region under their control. They claimed that music was a crime. They said women aren't permitted to go to the market. They announced that girls couldn’t go to school. Growing up in a once peaceful place to a place of terrorism, Malala learned to stand up for what she thinks is right. She fought for her right to learn at school. She wanted to change the world, and she did. Now, as a symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala continues to inspire those who read her story.
(Lexile Level: 830L; Grades 6-8)
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Science Fiction
⇨The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Thomas wakes up alone and confused in an elevator. He can’t remember how he got there. He forgot everything about himself, except for his name. When he exits the elevator, he finds 60 other boys. Everyone is trapped in the Glade, a small patch of land surrounded by brick walls. The supplies that they were given were used well. But, why were they here? Will they ever find their way out of the maze that traps them in the Glade. Soon, a girl arrives with a strange message and everything begins to change. Thomas knows he could lead everyone out of the maze, but he must enter his dark memories. This mysterious and suspenseful story could get you so hooked in, you might not be able to get out!
(Lexile Level: HL770L; Grades 6-8)
⇨The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and unforgiving and keeps the districts in order by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Katniss, a sixteen year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, took the place of her sister when she was picked by lottery to be sent away for the game. Katniss became a contender of the ‘Hunger Games,’ which only has one rule: kill or be killed. But, if Katniss wins, she will have to start making decisions that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
(Lexile Level: 810L; Grades 6-8)
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Mystery
⇨Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
Twelve year-old Kyle Keeley is a big fan of all board games, word games, and particularly video games. Luigi Lemoncello, Kyle’s hero and the most creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the making of the new town library. Kyle wins a spot as one of twelve kids who were invited to sleep overnight in the library, host by Mr. Lemoncello and riddled with many games. But, as the morning came, the door remained locked. Kyle and the others have to uncover every clue and puzzle to find the hidden escape route. Will they ever make it out?
(Lexile Level: 720L; Grade 6)
⇨Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
Ever since she washed ashore as a baby during a hurricane, Mo LoBeau had settled in Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, with the Colonel, a café owner with a forgotten past of his own, and Miss Lana, the café’s beautiful hostess. Mo wishes to someday find her mother, but for now, she’s happy assisting the Colonel and Lana run the Tupelo Café, and going on journeys with her best friend, Dale. Then, a lawman comes to Tupelo Landing to investigate a murder. When Mo’s loved ones were suspected to be part of the crime, she and Dale decided to use their own detective skills to solve the case. Soon, the friends are looking into another murder, a bank robbery, a kidnapping, and the mystery of the night that Mo washed ashore. Can the detective friends uncover the truth, before someone else is injured?
(Lexile Level: 560L; Grades 6-7)
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-Kaylee Kim ‘23
