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Reading Rants Spring 2010
Introduction

Recommended books for 6th, 7th and 8th graders

from the Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills Public Libraries

After Ever After  - Jordan Sonnenblick (Realistic)
Call Number: YA Sonnenblick
Jeffrey isn't a little boy with cancer anymore--he's a teen in remission, but the after effects of treatment have left him somewhat disabled; his older brother, Steven, who had always been his support and someone he looked to for advice, took off for Africa to find himself--meanwhile, his best friend Tad is hatching a plan that involves a California girl who thinks he's cute….
Ashes - Kathryn Lasky (Historical)
Call Number: YA Lasky
In 1932 Berlin, thirteen-year-old Gaby Schramm witnesses the beginning of Hitler's rise to power, as soldiers become ubiquitous, her beloved literature teacher starts wearing a jewelled swastika pin, and the family's dear friend, Albert Einstein, leaves the country while Gaby's parents secretly bury his books and papers in their small yard.
Bystander - James Preller
Call Number: YA Preller

Seventh grader Eric discovers there are consequences to not standing by and watching as the bully at his new school hurts people, but although school officials are aware of the problem, Eric may be the one with a solution.

 

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin - Josh Berk (Mystery/Humor)
Call Number: YA Berk

Will Halpin is the new guy at Coaler High, but being a "round," deaf kid doesn't make him popular and when he starts hanging out with the only guy at Coaler less popular than he, forget about it!  Will can’t hear what’s going on, but he can read lips and is great at observing other people.  The "dork-namic duo" have the skills it takes to figure out who killed the most popular guy in school.  So, who "done it"? And why does that guy talk to his fingers? And will the most popular girl in school ever notice him? (So, maybe Will’s interests go beyond fighting crime. . .)

Discordia : The Eleventh Dimension - Dena K. Salmon (Science Fiction)
Call Number: YA Salmon

Will Halpin is the new guy at Coaler High, but being a "round," deaf kid doesn't make him popular and when he starts hanging out with the only guy at Coaler less popular than he, forget about it!  Will can’t hear what’s going on, but he can read lips and is great at observing other people.  The "dork-namic duo" have the skills it takes to figure out who killed the most popular guy in school.  So, who "done it"? And why does that guy talk to his fingers? And will the most popular girl in school ever notice him? (So, maybe Will’s interests go beyond fighting crime. . .)

The Doom Machine: A Novel - Mark Teague (Science Fiction)
Call Number: YA Teague
When a spaceship lands in the small town of Vern Hollow in 1956, juvenile delinquent Jack Creedle and prim, studious Isadora Shumway form an unexpected alliance as they try to keep a group of extraterrestrials from stealing eccentric Uncle Bud's space travel machine.
Double Eagle - Sneed B. Collard (Mystery)
Call Number: YA Collard
Thirteen-year old Mike and his new friend are searching for a lost treasure off the Alabama coast. As they work together to solve the mystery, they find themselves in danger not only from a hurricane threatening the island, but also from thieves who will stop at nothing to find the missing fortune!
Dragonfly - Julia Golding (Adventure/Fantasy)
Call Number: YA PB Golding
When Tashi, the rigidly formal Fourth Crown Princess, is reluctantly arranged to wed roguish Prince Ramil, their religious, cultural, and personal differences threaten to end their political alliance and put both countries at the mercy of a fearsome warlord.When Tashi, the rigidly formal sixteen-year-old Fourth Crown Princess of the Blue Crescent Islands, reluctantly weds roguish eighteen-year-old Prince Ramil of Gerfal, their religious, cultural, and personal differences threaten to end their political alliance and put both countries at the mercy of a fearsome warlord.
Dull Boy - Sarah Cross (Science Fiction)
Call Number: YA Cross
What do you do if you're so strong, you could snap people's bones without trying?  If you're fifteen-year-old Avery, you try to keep that information to yourself.  But when he makes some friends who are as extraordinary as he is, he realizes they're more than just freaks—together, maybe they have a chance to be heroes. When his newly discovered super powers make him feel like a freak and hinder his social life, lonely Avery is thrilled when he finally discovers others like him in the same predicament; making new friends who are just as eager to join forces and become the heroes they were destined to be.
Girl in the Arena: A Novel Containing Intense Prolonged Sequences of Disaster and Peril - Lise Haines (Science Fiction)
Call Number: YA Haines
Lyn has no desire to be a gladiator's wife like her mother, but her only way of avoiding marriage to the warrior who killed her stepfather may be to face him in the arena..
Graceling - Kristin Cashore (Fantasy)
Call Number: YA Cashore

Katsa's eyes show the world that she is a Graceling.  She struggles to control her Grace, the Grace of Killing, and teams up with another young fighter to save their land from a corrupt king.

The Great Death - John E. Smelcer (Historical)
Call Number: YA Smelcer

In the early twentieth century, an Alaskan village's only survivors of a sickness brought by white men, sisters Millie, aged thirteen, and Maura, ten, make their way south in hopes of finding someone else alive. 

Hush, Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick (Fantasy/Realistic)
Call Number: YA Fitzpatrick

Nora had always been so careful when it came to falling in love.  She didn't let herself.  Until she met Patch. She is mysteriously attracted to him although she senses that he has a dark side.  Is he just a bad boy or something more?

I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be your Class President - Josh Lieb (Realistic)
Call Number: YA Lieb

7th grader Oliver Watson has everyone convinced that he is extremely stupid and lazy, but he is actually a very wealthy, evil genius, and when he decides to run for class president, nothing will stand in his way.

Incarceron - Catherine Fisher (Fantasy)
Call Number: YA Fisher

Incarceron is a prison that is more than jail cells.  It is metal forests, cities, caves and wilderness.  It seems to have no beginning and no end. Finn has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from outside Incarceron, but most prisoners don't believe there is an "outside," which makes escape seem impossible. Then, Finn discovers a key that allows him to speak with a girl named Claudia. She says that she lives on the outside. Finn is resolved to escape the prison, and Claudia thinks she can help him.

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness (Science Fiction)
Call Number: YA Ness

Todd is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the men were infected with the Noise, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks.  Unfortunately, it is the same germ that has killed all the women in the town, including Todd's mom. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but something strange is happening in the town.  Something the men are trying to hide. Something so awful Todd has to flee. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, Todd comes across a person who has no noise, someone who is completely silent.  A girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the others?

Lola: A Ghost Story - J. Torres and Elbert Or (Graphic Novel)
Call Number: YA GN Torres

Jesse sees dead people, monsters, demons, and lots of other things. Nobody else can see these things, except his ailing grandmother. When his grandmother passes away, Jesse has to fly from Canada to the Philippines for her funeral and face his demons and whatever else might be waiting for him. 

Malice - Chris Wooding and Dan Chernett (Horror)
Call Number: YA Wooding
Everyone's heard the rumors.  Call on Tall Jake and he'll take you to Malice, a world that exists inside a horrifying comic book.  A place most kids never leave.  Seth and Kady think it's all a silly myth.  But then their friend disappears.
A Map of the Known World - Lisa Ann Sandell (Realistic)
Call Number: YA Sandell
Keeping herself isolated from everyone as a way to cope with the loss of her brother, Cora finds solace in drawing detailed maps of exotic places far away, but when she falls for her brother's friend Nate, she discovers a secret about her brother that finally allows her heart to begin to heal.
The Maze Runner - James Dashner (Science Fiction)
Call Number: YA Dashner
Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.
The Miles Between - Mary Pearson (Realistic)
Call Number: YA Pearson
Destiny's number one rule is don't get attached. But one day, she breaks that rule, and a lot of others, when she "borrows" a car and goes on a roadtrip with three of her classmates. This day has a destiny of its own and their trip turns into a journey that none of them could have imagined.
The Twilight Zone: The Monsters are Due on Maple Street - Rod Serling
Call Number: YA GN Twilight Zone

After seeing a meteor fall from the sky, citizens of a small town discover that they have no power or telephone service. They begin to panic and become increasingly violent as they await what they are sure is the arrival of monsters from outer space. 

Once Was Lost - Sara Zarr (Realistic)
Call Number: YA PB Zarr

Sam used to believe in miracles. She used to believe in a lot of things. When you're a pastor's kid, it's hard not to buy into the idea of the perfect family, a loving God, and good in the world. But lately, Sam has a lot of reason to doubt. Her mom is in rehab after a DUI and her dad is more interested in his congregation than his family. When a member of her congregation is kidnapped, the tragedy reflects Sam's personal one, and it makes her question her faith even more.

Prophecy of the Sisters - Michelle Zink (Supernatural)
Call Number: YA Zink

Lia and Alice are twins that have just become orphans and enemies. They have discovered their roles in a prophecy that has gone on for generations and the girls find themselves entrenched in a battle that could have consequences beyond their imaginations. Lia and Alice don't know who to trust.  All they know is that they cannot trust each other.

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater (Fantasy)
Call Number: YA Stiefvater
For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: in winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl; in summer, a few precious months of being human.
Smile - Raina Telgemeier (Graphic Novel)
Call Number: YA GN Telgemeier

Raina just wants to be a normal middle school kid. But one night while racing her friends, she trips and falls, seriously damaging her front teeth.  And what comes next is really tough - having braces put on and taken off, surgery, headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. PLUS there is her non-dental life to deal with: a major earthquake, boy confusion, and friends who are less than friendly. Can't wait to start reading?  The entire comic is available online: http://tinyurl.com/y7vfcq3

Soul Enchilada - David Macinnis Gill (Supernatural/Humor)
Call Number: YA Gill

Eunice "Bug" Smoot is on her own at eighteen after all her family members have died. She is broke, about to lose her apartment and her job delivering pizza.  That's nothing compared to what comes next.  When he was alive, her grandfather sold his soul for a car, but when he died he was able to escape collection. Now one of the Devil's servants, Beales, wants the car AND her grandfather's soul and expects Bug to collect them both.  If she can't deliver, he'll collect her soul instead.

Ten things I Hate About Me - Randa Abdel-Fattah (Realistic)
Call Number: YA Abdel-Fattah

At school, she's Jamie - blonde haired, blue contacts, fashionably dressed and one of the crowd.  At home, she's Jamilah - Lebanese, attending madrassa and dealing with a father who lives in the Stone Age. When her friends start to wonder about Jamie's life outside of school, she is worried that her secrets might be revealed. Can Jamie figure out a way to be both Jamie and Jamilah?

Woods Runner - Gary Paulsen (Historical Fiction)
Call Number: YA Paulsen

From his 1776 homestead, Thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Indians who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community. 

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