Middle School Reads!

 by Gene Luen Yang Genre:  Sports, Graphic Novel Gene Luen Yang is trying to keep his life in balance...teaching high school math, being a super husband and dad, and expanding his work as a comic book artist.  He is searching for the next topic of his book when the high school basketball team is poised to have their best season ever.  Gene has never particularily liked sports so why would he want to write a graphic novel about basketball?  As he begins to explore the team's history, he discovers that perhaps there are many lessons people could learn if he is able to write their story.

 by Jennifer De Leon Genre:  Realistic Fiction Liliana Cruz has just been accepted into the METCO program which will allow her to leave her inner city school in Boston and attend Westburg High, the wealthier and whiter high school.  Liliana isn't prepared for the changes that she has to face, but she knows that her parents expect her to work hard and make choices that will help her future.  Liliana knows that her mother is hiding something about her father who has mysteriously disappeared, and when she learns the truth about what her parents have been hiding from her, it makes her all the more determined to get the best education she can.