Middle School Reads!

 by Suzanne Collins Genre:  Science Fiction/Dystopian The 10th annual Hunger Games is set to begin and Coriolanus Snow will be a first time mentor.  His mentee is Lucy Gray from District 12 and be isn't sure what to make of her, but he knows that if he wants to continue on at the Academy, he has to do everything in his power to make sure that she wins. Initially, it looks like the odds are against him, but after he first meets Lucy, he discovers that there is more to her than what others might see.  It will be up to him to work the system to get the end result he wants - Lucy stays alive and the Coriolanus Snow ends up at the top.

by Neal Shusterman Lexile:  850 Genre:  Science Fiction, Dystopian Endura is gone and Citra and Rowan have not been found.  Scythe Goddard has taken over the world and no one has heard from the Thunderhead so it seems as though Goddard is poised to take over the world and rule as he sees fit.  Except there is one person who can still communicate with the Thunderhead...the Toll.  Many are skeptical...does the Toll really exist?  Can anyone stop Goddard and his evil quest to glean whoever and whomever he sees fit?  So many questions will be answered in this final book of the Arc of the Scythe trilogy.

by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman Lexile:  790 Genre;  Science Fiction Alyssa and Garrett are enjoying life in sunny California and they, like everyone else, take a lot of things in their lives for granted.  One day they wake up and find that their taps have gone dry.  Suddenly there is not water for drinking, cooking, bathing or anything.  At first everyone thinks it will just last a few days, but as the days turn into weeks, Alyssa and Garrett realize that life before the Tap-Out is over.  When their parents go in search of water and don't return, Alyssa and Garrett are going to have to take charge of their survival in a world that is crumbling more and more each day.  Will they be able to survive?

by Lisa Bunker Lexile:  940 Genre: Science Fiction Felix is not your average middle schooler.  When he was 3, an accident happened that left him meshed together with an alien being.  Xyz lives inside of Felix and communicates with him through typing on the computer.  Felix doesn't remember life without xyz, but now doctors have determined that in order for one or both of them to survive, they will need to be separated.  Felix is getting nervous as the day for The Procedure approaches and if that wasn't enough, he is struggling with getting to know his mom's new boyfriend and figuring out new friendships at school.  What will life be like without xyz , if Felix survives?

by Neal Shusterman Lexile:  870 Genre:  Science Fiction The Thunderhead is the perfect ruler of a perfect world, but it is not allowed to interfere with the actions of the scythedom.  Book 2 picks up the story of Rowan and Citra, a year after Rowan has disappeared and Citra has become Scythe Anastasia.  Even though their lives seem to be going in vastly different directions, they are still more intertwined than they realize.  Someone is behind the scenes mastermining a deadly plot.  Are they out to get Citra? Rowan? Or both of them?  And the even bigger question is whether or not The Thunderhead will intervene...

by Aditi Khorana Lexile:  790 Genre:  Science Fiction Tara is about to begin her junior year at Brierly Prep School without her best friend Meg.  Tara is predicting that it will be a miserable year for her, but just as the year begins, everything changes.  NASA reports a startling discovery of possible life on another planet and some people are ready to change everything in their lives.  Tara's mother is one of those people as she prepares to move away from her family to California.  If that wasn't a big enough change, Tara is having to navigate new friendships after she attempts to rescue Halle's dog.  Suddenly Halle wants to be her friend and is offering her a chance to hang out with her popular group.  Tara's no longer sure who she can trust.  And then there is Nick who she has secretly always admired from afar.  When did life get so complicated?

by S.A. Bodeen Lexile:  570 Genre:  Science Fiction Eli and his family have lived underground for 6 years ever since a nuclear bomb threatened their survival.  Luckily for Eli, his father had anticipated that the war would begin and constructed an underground compound where the family could live safely for years.  After 6 years, Eli starts to wonder if he'd be better off taking his chances on life outside the compound.  He starts to ask his father questions...questions that his father doesn't want to answer. 

by Dianne K. Salerni Lexile:  730 Genre:  Science Fiction Jax Aubrey suddenly finds himself in a world without people.  Where did everyone go?  Everything looks the same and he feels the same, but everyone is gone.  When he wakes up the next morning, everyone is back and it is as if nothing ever happened. Jax thinks it should be Friday morning because Thursday happened yesterday, but everyone is acting as if today is Thursday.  Is Jax losing his mind or did he just somehow experience an "extra" day?  Jax wants some answers from the strange 18 year old who suddenly became Jax's guardian when his dad died last year.  Will the answers help Jax understand what is going on or will they make it worse?

by Roland Smith Lexile:  610 Genre:  Science Fiction Pat has always loved his brother Coop, even though he has never really understood the odd quirks and behaviors his brother has.  Pat willingly follows Coop everywhere, until one day when Coop disappears without saying goodbye.  Pat's parents aren't concerned, but Pat can't stop thinking about where Coop is and what he is doing.  Then one day, Pat receives a package and inside of it is a voice recorder.  Copp has left him a message and wants Pat to communicate with him through the voice recorder by mailing it to a PO box in New York City.  Pat does this for awhile, but the messages get stranger and then stop coming completely. Where is Coop?  Pat is determined to find out what his brother is up to.

by Rachel Vincent Lexile:  830 Genre:  Science Fiction, Dystopian Dahlia 16 is exactly like 4999 other 16s.  Their faces and their genetics are all exactly the same. Dahlia has never thought to question why her society works the way it does until one day when she meets Trigger 17.  The two meet by accident when the power goes off in the elevator.  Trigger 17 is unlike anyone that Dahlia has ever met.  When Trigger 17 talks to her, Dahlia is shocked at how he so brazenly breaks a number of rules.  Dahlia knows that if she breaks the rules and gets caught, she will be labled as flawed which means that she and all 4999 identicals will be destroyed.  Will Dahlia take that chance to find out more about what Trigger 17 has to share with her?

by Kimberly Derting Genre:  Science Fiction "The Returned Must Die" is the phrase that is haunting Kyra.  What did Tyler mean when he said it?  And what force made him say it?  Kyra feels sure that a battle is coming. She can sense it as numbers flash into her mind.  But what are they counting down too?  She no longer knows who she can trust or where she can be safe.  All she can do is hope for the best as the countdown to something continues.

by Rick Yancey Lexile:  670 Genre:  Science Fiction, Dystopia Who is the real enemy?  Is it the others? Or is it us?  They want the Earth.  Or do they? They came to destroy.  Or did they come to save?  For those who are left, there are no easy answers and no clear path that will save them.  Cassie, Ringer, Zombie, and Nugget are all who are left. It will be up to them to figure out the truth if they are able to save themselves or saves what makes them all human.

by Rodman Philbrick Lexile: 780 Genre:  Science Fiction What would you do if suddenly your entire world went dark?  No electricity, no batteries, no phones...nothing.  Charlie Cobb and his family are living in a small town in New Hampshire when they find themselves without any power.  It is the middle of January so this means that finding away to stay warm is a necessity.  Not only is the survival of their family a challenge, but having to deal with how others in the town are responding to the situation, is making it tough.  Someone is going to have to stand up and take charge before someone gets hurt.

by John Marsden Lexile:  850 Genre:  Dystopia, Science Fiction Ellie and her friends have finally persuaded her parents to let them go camping alone.  They have a great time out in the Australian wilderness until they return and find that everyone is gone.  The electricity is off, the phones don't work, and there is no sign of life anywhere.  But then strange aircraft and helicopters are flying overhead.  After some investigating, they find out that the world as they know it has ended.  Their country has been invaded and their friends and family are all being held hostage.  They have two choices:  return to the wilderness and try to survive on their own or stay and try to figure out where everyone went.

by Rick Yancey Lexile: ??? Genre:  Science Fiction/Dystopian Cassie has lived through the destruction that eliminated most of the world's population.  She and a few of the survivors have a decision to make.  Do they find a location to curl up in and try to survive the winter, or do they venture out to find other groups of survivors?  The group has mixed feelings on what they should do.  Cassie wants to wait it out in hopes that Evan will find them.  Ben thinks that there is little to no chance that he survived the destruction of Camp Haven and wants to move.  The one thing that is certain is that their lives as humans will never be the same.

by Rick Yancey Lexile:  690 Genre:  Science Fiction Cassie and Sam are living happily with their parents.  And then the world ends and 7 billion people are dead.  Cassie thinks it is quite possible that she is the last human being on Earth.  She has survived the first four waves...but has no idea what the 5th wave will be and when it will happen.  All she knows is that she made a promise to her little brother that she would come and get him just as soon as she could.  Is Sam still alive?  And if so, can she find him before the 5th wave comes?

by Kimberly Derting Lexile:  ??? Genre:  Science Fiction Kyra has lost 5 years of her life.  And now she has lost her dad and her boyfriend and doesn't know if she will ever see them again.  She teams up with other Returned to try to find them, but it looks as though the Daylighters may have gotten to them first.  The more that Kyra learns about herself and the others who are helping her survive, the more she realizes that her life will never again be the same.

by Lois Lowry Lexile:  760 Genre:  Science Fiction Jonas lives in a perfect world where everything is carefully controlled. He is about to turn twelve which means that he will be entering adulthood and will be given an assigned role in the Community. The Elders plan very carefully for the Ceremony of the Twelves as each role given must be an exact fit.  Jonas is nervous...he is not sure that he’s ready to become an adult and isn’t sure exactly what role in the Community he wants.  When his moment at the ceremony comes, he is skipped.  No one knows what that means, until the very end when Jonas learns that he has been selected for the most important role in the Community.  Ready or not, Jonas’ life is about to change forever.

by Rachel Ward Lexile:  650 Genre:  Science Fiction Ever since her mother died, Jem has realized that she has a strange gift.  When she locks eyes with them, she sees a number.  That number represents their death.  At first Jem doesn't let it bother her as she has refused to get close to anyone since her other died.  But now she has met Spider...even though she knows that he has only a few months left to live, she decides to take a chance on building a friendship.  She has no idea how much befriending Spider will change her life.

by Iisa J. Bick Lexile:  770 Genre:  Science Fiction Alex, Tom, and Ellie found each other right after the world fell apart.  Now they have been frantically trying to stay alive and find a way to get back to each other.  The strange new world is continuing to evolve - the Changed are becoming more plentiful and more dangerous.  None of them know who they can really trust or how they will be able to survive, but they all have one thing in common - they refuse to give up.