Middle School Reads!

 by Kwame Alexander Genre:  Historical Fiction, Novel in Verse Kofi is growing up with his family along the banks of the river Offin in Ghana.  He loves his family, swimming, and lately, a girl named Ama.  His cousin also loves Ama so Kofi challenges him to a swimming race.  He has been warned never to go to the river after dark, but no one will tell him why.  He wants people to see him as the young man that he is becoming, not as a little kid who needs to be protected from reality.  The one night that be and his brother stay at the rice later than they should is all it takes to change all of their lives forever.

 by Allan Wolf Genre:  Historical Fiction Hunger is following the Donner Party as they make their way through the Sierra Nevada mountain range during the winter of 1846-47.  The snow has come, the mountain passes are closed, and hunger is now their main enemy.  Parents are forced to make difficult choices.  Do they go with the rescue parties or stay where they are and try to survive the long winter?  No decision is easy and each will have life altering consequences.

 by Monica Hesse Genre:  Historical Fiction When Zofia Lederman was liberated from the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, she had one goal:  do whatever it took to find her younger brother Abek.  She hasn't seen him in over 3 years, but their plan was if they got separated they would find their way back to their home in Poland.  Zofia returns to her apartment to find it empty and most of her family's things are gone and there is no sign that Abek has returned.  Zofia is determined to write letters and visit as many of the displaced persons camps as she can.  She has to find Abek so that she can begin to live again.

by Cynthia Kadohata Lexile:  750 Genre:  Historical Fiction Sumiko's life changes drastically the day that Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.  Suddenly she and her family have to give up their flower farm and relocate to an internment camp with other Japanese families.  Sumiko doesn't understand how she can be unwanted in the country that she was born in.  She and her family are shipped to the middle of the Mohave Reservation in Arizona where she meets and befriends a young Mohave boy.  Theirs is an unusual friendship during an unusual time in history, but nevertheless, is a friendship that they both learn to cherish.

by Ruta Sepetys Genre:  Historical Fiction Spain is hiding many dark secrets under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco so when 18 year old Daniel Matheson form Dallas, Texas arrives, he has no idea what world he is stepping into.  The trip was his parents' idea to help his mother, who was born in Spain, reconnect with her birth country.  Daniel has brought along his camera and he prefers to see the world from behind the lens.  He starts taking pictures which lead to questions and along the way he meets some interesting people who will change how he sees the world and himself.  This will truly be a summer that Daniel will never forget.

by Monica Hesse Lexile:  710 Genre:  Historical Fiction It's 1944 and the United States is at war and US citizens of German or Japanese descent are now under suspicion.  Many of them have been rounded up and sent to internment camps which is how Margot and Haruko meet.  Both of their families have been sent to Crystal City, Texas for reasons they don't understand.  Friendships between Germans and Japanese are not encouraged, but Margot and Haruko decide they don't care.  As the girls get to know each other and share their secrets, the more improbable it becomes that they will be able to remain friends when the war finally ends. 

by Linda Williams Jackson Lexile:  870 Genre:  Historical Fiction Rosa Lee Carter is growing up in the 1950s in the small town of Stillwater, Mississippi.  Things in her life are changing rapidly.  Parts of her family have moved north for more freedom and a different way of life.  Parts of her family are staying in Stillwater and want life to continue as it always has.  And still other parts of her family are in Stillwater, speaking up for change against the unjust Jim Crow laws.  Rose has to figure out which group she belongs too and it is not an easy decision for her to make.  Which pathway will help her shine brightly?

by Alan Gratz Lexile:  800 Genre:  Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction Josef and his family are trying to escape the Nazis by traveling from Germany to Cuba in 1933.  Isabel and her family are trying to escape Castro by traveling from Cuba to the United States in 1994.  Mahmoud and his family are trying to escape the war in Syria and are traveling to Germany in 2105.  All 3 are refugees at different times in history and all 3 face overwhelming obstacles in their quests to find freedom.  From Germany in 1933 to Germany in 2015, this is the story of 3 families whose stories overlap and intersect in a surprising way.

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Lexile:  520 Genre:  Historical Fiction Ada was finally able to have the surgery to fix her clubfoot so she is now able to walk comfortably on her own.  She thought that fixing her damaged foot would solve all of her problems, but the damage her mother inflicted on her is proving to be harder to overcome.  Ada and Jamie have settled into a comfortable life with Susan who wants to become their legal guardian.  Ada is still hesitant to put her trust in one person, but Jamie has already started calling Susan, Mum.  World War II continues to change their lives as well when Lady Thorton moves in and then Lord Thorton brings a young Jewish German girl to live with them.  Ada is going to have to come to terms with the hurts from the past if she wants to be able to face a future of happiness. 

by Firoozah Dumas Lexile:  730 Genre:  Realistic/Historical Fiction Zomorod Yousefzadeh has just moved to Newport Beach, CA and she desperately wants to fit in as an American girl.  She and her family have moved to CA from Iran and she has just a few weeks before junior high starts.  Her first decision is to change her name to Cindy so that teachers can pronounce her name.  Her parents don't speak much English and want her to hold on to her Iranian heritage, but "Cindy" knows that will only draw attention to herself.  Suddenly, Iran seems to be in the news headlines more and more and her teachers and the community respond in unexpected ways.  Cindy doesn't want to be the expert in U.S/Iranian politics.  She just wants to be an American 6th grader.  Is it possible for her to be both?

by Kimberely Brubaker Bradley Lexile:  580 Genre:  Historical Fiction Ada has never left the one bedroom apartment that she shares with her mother and brother Jamie. Her mother is humiliated by the fact that Ada was born with a club foot and believes that no one who is a cripple should be allowed in the outside world.  But Ada is determined to make a life for herself, no matter what the cost. When the threat of war comes to London, parents begin to send their children to the countryside where they think they will be safer.  Ada's mom decides to send Jamie away.  Ada can't imagine a life without taking care of her brother, so she teaches herself to walk and sneaks out with him and boards a train that will change her life forever.

by Sharon Draper Lexile:  740 Genre:  Historical Fiction Stella lives in Bumbebee, North Carolina in 1932 when the town was still segregated.  Some stores and people are pleasant, others are not.  One night when Stella and her brother Jojo are outside their house, they see a secret Ku Klux Klan meeting taking place.  Stella and Jojo immediately alert their parents who in turn alert others in their small town.  It has been a long time since the people of Bumblebee have been bothered by the Klan.  What are they up to now and what does this mean for Stella and her family?  Stella has more questions than answers and isn't sure how she and her family will deal with the unfair ways they are being treated.

by Laurie Halse Anderson Lexile:  820 Genre:  Historical Fiction Isabel and Curzon have been fighting for their dream for a long time.  The first step towards realizing their dream is to find Isabel's sister, Ruth, who was stolen away from her a long time ago.  They aren't sure if she is even still alive and in order to find out they have to travel through the forests that are filled with Patriots, British, and bounty hunters who would be willing to kidnap them and put them to work fighting for their respective causes.  Will Curzon and Isabel be able to navigate the dangerous pathway and find their freedom?

by Miriam Moss Lexile:  730 Genre: Historical Fiction It's the end of the summer and Anna is on her way back to boarding school in London.  But then her flight is hijacked by Palestinian guerrillas and is forced to land in the middle of the desert.  The hijackers have demands that if not met will cause them to blow up the plane.  As supplies of food and water run low, and the deadline for meeting the demands nears, Anna wonders if she will ever see her family again.

by Pam Munoz Ryan Lexile:  680 Genre:  Historical Fiction Friedrich, Micheal, and Ivy are all growing up in different times and in different places.  The one thing they have in common:  a harmonica.  This harmonica has a long life and story as it passes from one person to the next.  It's journey begins in Germany, then moves to Pennsylvania, and eventually ends up in California.  It changes the lives of many and eventually brings these three people together. This book is a most amazing way to tell a story.

by Dean Hughes Lexile:  820 Genre:  Historical Fiction Yuki Nakahara considers himself to be an American.  But then Pearl Harbor is bombed and suddenly anyone of Japanese descent is considered to be the enemy.  Yuki and his family are forced to leave behind all of their belongings and relocate to an internment camp where they can be watched and monitored for suspicious behavior.  Yuki and his best friend Shig decide that the only way to bring honor to their families and to prove that they are true Americans is to enlist in the army.  As they ship off to fight the Germans, they wonder if they will ever return to life as they knew it.

by Marianne Kaurin Lexile:  870 Genre:  Historical Fiction 15 year old Ilse is waiting to go on her first date to the movies.  Only Hermann never shows up.  He is too embarrassed to face her even though his explanation is a good one.  The trouble is, there is no way he can tell her where he was or what he was doing.  It is October of 1942 in Oslo, Norway and changes are happening.  Ilse and her family are Jewish and they are slowly watching their lives disappear.  First it's just that the orders stop coming into her father's tailor shop.  Then, they have to register and get their papers stamped with a "J".  And then, her father is arrested and taken away with no explanation.  It is a dangerous time to be Jewish in Oslo.

by Laura Amy Schlitz Lexile:  810 Genre:  Historical Fiction 14 year old Joan is determined.  Ever since her mother died she was been the main housekeeper and cook for her father and brothers.  She is no longer able to go to school and the one thing her mother wanted for her the most was to get an education.  Joan realizes that she is the only one who is going to make change happen in her life.  So in the summer of 1911, she runs away from home and finds work as a hired girl.  Working for the Rosenbach family is going to change her life in ways she never imagined.

by Jennifer L. Holm Lexile:  490 Genre:  Historical Fiction Beans and his pals have big plans.  The Great Depression has hit their town of Key West, Florida so times are tough.  No one has extra money and Beans and his pals are no exception.  Their quest is to figure out what people are willing to pay for so that they can make some money. No one seems to be hiring, so it will be up to Beans to come up with a plan.  But Beans is always up for a little adventure!

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?