Middle School Reads!

 by Brian Young Genre:  Fantasy Nathan has no idea what is going to happen when he makes a quick decision to spend the summer with his grandmother on the Navajo Reservation.  He will be without electricity and cell service, but able to reconnect with his grandmother while working on a science project.  Things are going well until his Uncle Jet arrives.  It's clear that Uncle Jet is dealing with some serious stuff.  One night, Nathan gets lost in the desert and is visited by a Holy Being - a water monster - who needs his help if he is going to survive.  Does Nathan have the courage to help the water monster and his Uncle Jet?

 by Lisa Brown Genre:  Fantasy, Graphic Novel Iss and Jane have spent their whole lives on the road with as a carnival exhibit. They are the mysterious Siamese Twins that people pay money to gawk and stare at.  But one day a doctor comes to the show and tells them that he thinks he can safely separate them so that they can have their own separate lives.  Jane is all for it, but Iss is not so sure.  What if something goes wrong?  Is their current reality really that bad?  Once the operation is over, Iss realizes that her life will never be the same again.

by Jennifer A. Nielsen Lexile:  730 Genre:  Fantasy Kestra Dallistor doesn't know who to believe...she has spent the last three years living away from a father who doesn't love her.  But one day he mysteriously calls her home and while on her way, her carriage is attacked and she learns of her kidnappers plot to return her to her family so that she can help them find the legendary Olden Blade.  No one knows for sure if it exists, but if it does, the person who finds it will be the most powerful.  Simon and Trina, Kestra's kidnappers, seem to have the plan all figured out and they want Kestra on her side.  As she grows further apart from her father, she begins to consider whether or not their side makes more sense.  Kestra has a choice to make and that choice will affect the rest of her life.

by Jewell Parker Rhodes Lexile:  360 Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Fantasy Jerome was tired of being bullied so his friend Carlos brings a toy gun to school and scares them away.  Jerome is in awe of how powerful that toy gun made Carlos so when Carlos offers to loan it to him, Jerome accepts the offer.  Jerome decides to play with the toy gun in the vacant lot near his home.  He was just a boy, playing with a toy gun, until a police officer arrives on the scene and sees his interpretation of the scene - a young black man waving a real gun in the air.  In a matter of seconds, Jerome's life as he knew it is over because now he has become one of the ghost boys.

by Kenneth Oppel Lexile: 640 Genre:  Fantasy Steve has a new brother, but something isn't quite right with him.  He knows that his parents are very worried and there are lots of doctor appointments and visits to the hospital.  His parents don't want him to worry, but Steve wants to know what is going on.  He has been having strange dreams.  Dreams that involve talking wasps.  The queen wasp in his dream knows so much information about him that she seems real.  The queen is trying to talk him into agreeing to replace his sick brother with a healthy one that the wasps have secretly begun constructing in the nest attached to Steve's house.  Steve is struggling with figuring out what is real and what is fantasy.

by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne Lexile:  500 Genre:  Fantasy The story of Harry Potter continues...19 years after the last one ended.  In this play, Harry is the one sending his own children, James, Albus, and Lily off to Hogwarts where he hopes they will meet new friends and get a good education in the world of wizarding.  Harry has trouble understanding his middle son, Albus, and Albus has made it clear that he doesn't like having the famous Harry Potter as a dad.  Albus becomes best friends with Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius, which concerns Harry.  When Albus and Scorpius fail to arrive at Hogwarts, Harry knows something isn't right.  What is Albus up to?

by Kelly Jones Illustrated by Katie Kath Lexile:  880 Genre:  Realistic Fiction, Fantasy Sophie Brown has just moved to her great-uncle Jim's farm with her parents.  None of them have ever lived on a farm before, but when Jim died he left the farm to her parents so they have decided to give life a try there.  Apparently, her great-uncle Jim had some chickens, but these chickens were not your regular, ordinary kind of chickens.  No, these chickens are unusual chickens and now it is up to Sophie to find them and figure out how to take care of them.

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 Cassandra Clare Lexile:  840 Genre:  Fantasy Mortmain is threatening to destroy all of the Shadowhunters with his army of automatons.  They are nearly invincible, but he still needs Tessa Gray to complete his evil plan.  Jem and Will are both still battling to win her heart and save her from Mortmain.  The consul is trying to remove Charlotte Branwell from the London Institute so no one is listening to her cries for help with regards to just how dangerous Mortmain and his army have become.  If Tessa is to survive, it will be up to Charlotte to lead Jem and Will and the others at the Institute on a mission that will go against the Clave.  Will they find the courage to do what they know is right?

by Cassandra Clare Lexile:  790 Genre:  Fantasy Tessa Gray has found a new life at the Institute with the Shadowhunters now that her brother can no longer be trusted.  But she still doesn't know how she got her power and the other secrets that her parents kept hidden.  And then there is her relationship with Jem and Will.  Jem seems to be falling for her and Will seems to grow more distant.  If they are to protect Charlotte's hold on the Institute, they will have to work together to figure out who the spy is that is helping to keep the evil Magister hidden.

by Cassandra Clare Lexile:  780 Genre:  Fantasy Tessa Gray has grown up in an ordinary world with an ordinary life.  When her Aunt Harriet passed away, it was decided that Tessa would travel to England to live with her older brother, Nate.  But when she arrives, Nate has sent someone else in his place to meet her.  Tessa goes with the sisters thinking that they will take her to Nate.  However, she soon learns that the sisters are members of a secret society and that they have kidnapped her brother and now her.  They tell her that if she doesn't cooperate with their demands, her brother will be killed.  Tessa is about to learn that the normal life she thought she had was nothing more than a life filled with lies and half truths.  Tessa has no idea who she is or the power she now holds.

by Kierra Cass Lexile:  670 Genre:  Fantasy It has all come down to this final moment.  Eadlyn will have to make a choice.  Who from her remaining suitors is the best choice for a husband who will rule Illea with her in the future?  Her brother has gone, her mother is ill, her father is grief stricken, so all eyes are on Eadlyn.  Will she be able to convince the country that she is fit to rule?  Will her story have a happily ever after?

by Sabaa Tahir Lexile:  670 Genre:  Fantasy A Torch in the Night is the sequel to An Ember in the Ashes .  Elias and Laia are on the run, desperate to get to Kauf prison in time to save Laia's brother, Darin.  Helene, Marcus, and the Commandant will do everything in their power to stop them.  Elias and Laia will have to learn to work together if they are going to be able to defeat the evil forces at work that are threatening to destroy the Empire.

by Mary E. Pearson Lexile:  760 Genre:  Fantasy Lia and Rafe have barely escaped from Venda.  But now they disagree on what their next steps should.  Rafe wants to take Lia back to the safety of his kingdom and live happily ever after while Lia feels the need to warn the people of her kingdom about the attack that's sure to come, even though many in her home will see her as a traitor.  Will Lia and Rafe be able to compromise or will they go their separate ways?

by Marissa Meyer Lexile:  800 Genre:  Fantasy This is the 4th book in the Lunar Chronicles where we finally find out whether or not the long lost Princess Selene (Cinder) will defeat the evil Queen Levana for control of Luna.  In order for this to happen, Cinder is going to need the help of Scarlet and Wolf, Cress and Thorne, Winter and Jacin, and of course Kai, the emperor who is soon to be the husband of Levana.  Can this team of unlikely heroes, take down the most powerful ruler?

by Sabaa Tahir Lexile:  680 Genre:  Fantasy Laia has a great life.  She lives with her grandparents and her beloved older brother.  Her grandfather is training her to be a healer.  But one night, the Martial Empire comes, slaughters her grandparents and takes her brother hostage.  Laia escapes only to be captured by a resistance fighter.  They are willing to bargain with her.  If she spies at Blackcliff, where the Empire's soldiers are trained, they will help get her brother out of prison.  But, if she is discovered, the penalty is death.  Laia doesn't see any other way out.  When she goes under cover as a slave, she meets Elisas, who is a solider at Blackcliff.  Neither of them are truly free and they are going to need each other if they are both to survive.

by Sally Green Lexile:  680 Genre:  Fantasy Nathan is a half-code:  half White Witch, half Black Witch.  This means he is an embarrassment to his family and a puzzlement to the Council who is not sure what should be done with him.  As his seventeenth birthday approaches, they must decide who should give him his three gifts and they must decide on his classification.  His guardian, Celia, is training him for something, but it is unclear to him just what that something will be.  Nathan must discover for himself whether he is half-bad or half-good.

by Cassandra Clare Lexile:  740 Genre:  Fantasy The problems for the Shadowhunters will just not end.  Just when they thought their troubles were at an end, Jace disappears and Clary fears that Sebastian is behind his disappearance.  Clary loves Jace and would do anything for him, but when she learns that Sebastian has bound himself to Jace, figuring out a way to separate the two will take her on a completely new adventure.  With the help of Simon, Luke, Isabelle, Alec, and Magnus, Clary might have a chance to save Jace.  But will she be able to figure out Sebastian's evil plot in time?

by Cassandra Clare Lexile:  750 Genre:  Fantasy The war is over and Clary is back to living in New York, but her life is far from returning to normal. She has decided to train as a Shadowhunter and learn more about the unique power she possess.  Life seems to be settling into a routine with Jace, Simon, and Isabelle and even Clary's mom seems to be happy as wedding plans are in the works for Jocelyn and Luke.  But then Jace starts acting strangely, and Clary can't figure out why.  He says he loves her, but his actions don't live up to his words.