Middle School Reads!

by Robin Brand Lexile: 700 Genre: Realistic Fiction Cat has decided on the subject of her science research project: herself. Can she use herself as a guinea pig and create an award winning project? Cat decides to remake her life - cut out junk food and eliminate electronics and modern conveniences. Her goal is to live as the first humans did. Will she succeed? Along the way, she learns a lot not only about herself, but others as well.

by Ginny Rorby Lexile: 720 Genre: Realisitc Fiction Hannah Gale is going through a rough time. Her father has returned from Iraq, minus a leg, but having gained memories that he can not escape. Hannah's stepmother moves out and leaves her alone with her dad. She doesn't know how to help him. The only thing they've ever had in common were horses. Will that be enough to save them both?

by Margaret Frith Lexile: 790 Genre: Biography Have you used a lightbulb today? If so, you need to thank Thomas Alva Edison, one of the greatest American inventors. Thomas was curious his entire life and that curiosity led him to invent many things that we continue to use every day. Read this book to find out more about the life of Thomas Edison.

by Earl Sewell Lexile: 750 Genre: Realistic Fiction Keysha has had a rough life. She's only 16, but has already had to deal with a lot of hardship. With her mother and grandmother in jail, she is forced to enter the foster care system. Through a chance encounter, she meets someone who thinks he might now who her biological father is. When Keysha learns the truth about who her father is, she has to make a choice between the only life she has known and an unknown future with her father.

by Gae Polister Lexile: 690 Genre: Realistic Fiction Nick Gardner's life seems to be falling apart. His dad has decided to leave the family and walk to New York, his best friend is dying, and he doesn't know what to make of a new friend, Jaycee. Is she a friend or a girlfriend? Is Scoot really going to die? Will his dad ever return to the family? Everything is going to be a bit crazy until it all gets sorted out.

by James Preller Lexile: 600 Genre: Realistic Fiction Eric is trying to find his place in his new school and he's not sure who he should be friends with. Griffin seems to be pretty cool and popular, but when Eric sees him pick on David, another student, he begins to wonder if there might be more to Griffin than he realizes. When Eric witnesses an extreme act of bullying, he stands by and does nothing. Does that make him a bully too?

by Dennis Brindell Fradin Lexile: 680 Genre: Biography Thomas Jefferson was one of the founders of the United States, perhaps best known as the author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was a self-taught man, with very little formal schooling, but had a curiosity for figuring things out. This curiosity led him into working with others to found the new government of the United States where he served in many key roles.

by Walter Dean Myers Lexile: 810 Genre: Realistic Fiction Zander, Kambui, LaShonda, and Bobbie are students at DaVinci Academy, a school for Gifted and Talented students in Harlem. The four of them launch an alternative newspaper, called The Cruiser , to serve as a way to communicate with others about what's happening in their school. During their study of the Civil War, things get heated, and they learn that words have a lot of power.