Middle School Reads!

by Skila Brown Lexile:  860 Genre:  Historical Fiction, Novel in Verse Mary Ann Graves and her family are traveling from Illinois to California.  They have sold off all of their belongings and loaded up three wagons and are eager to start a new life.  It is a tough journey and along the way, accidents happen, people get sick, food and water become scare and life or death decisions have to be made.  When the family decides to split off from the group and take a short cut through the mountains, it is a decision that will prove deadly for some.  Will Mary Ann and her family ever make it to California?

by Matt Phelan Lexile:  220 Genre:  Historical Fiction, Graphic Novel It's 1928 and New York City is the place to be.  Samantha was living a charmed life until her father remarries and her new stepmother sends her away to school.  But then the market crashes and her father loses everything, including his life at the hands of her evil stepmother.  Now Samantha has reason to believe that her life is in danger. Will the seven little men who rescue her be able to save her from her evil stepmother?

by Peter Brown Lexile:  540 Genre:  Fantasy Is it possible for a robot to survive in the wild?  When Roz washes up on the shore of an island, no one is sure what to make of her.  The sea otters are the first to discover her and after some initial investigating they decide to leave it alone.  So Roz sets off to figure out where she is and what she will learn to need to survive.  Will the animals except someone who is different than anything they have ever seen before?

by Sara Pennypacker Illustrated by Jon Klassen Genre:  Realistic Fiction Lexile:  760 Peter rescued Pax when he was just a tiny kit and he has raised him as his pet ever since.  But now Pax is a full grown fox, and Peter's dad is forcing him to return Pax to the wild.  The two have shared a special bond since Peter's mother died.  Peter has tried everything to convince his dad to keep Pax. Peter's dad has enlisted in the army so Peter has to go and live with his grandfather.  But the moment that Peter says goodbye to Pax, he realizes that he has done the wrong thing.  He has to go back to the woods and find Pax, no matter what the consequences are.

by Jason Reynolds Lexile:  750 Genre:  Realistic Fiction Genie and Ernie have been left with their grandparents for a month.  They are used to the city life in Brooklyn, NY and their grandparents live out in the middle of nowhere in Virginia.  Genie isn't sure how he feels about staying with people he barely knows, especially when he finds out that his grandpa is blind and carries a shot gun.  There are some other unusual things going on and for some reason his grandpa and his father aren't speaking.  Genie and Ernie are going to learn a lot in the next month...about their family, the value of hard work, and how to stick together.