7th & 8th Grade

Books for 7th and 8th Graders

Chains by Laurie Hall Anderson

After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

24408 The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

This gripping, action-packed novel tells the story of eighteen-year-old Daniel bar Jamin—a fierce, hotheaded young man bent on revenging his father’s death by forcing the Romans from his land of Israel. Daniel’s palpable hatred for Romans wanes only when he starts to hear the gentle lessons of the traveling carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth.

10365 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann—a boy and his two dogs...

A loving threesome, they ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee County. Old Dan had the brawn, Little Ann had the brains—and Billy had the will to train them to be the finest hunting team in the valley.

The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg

Four students, with their own individual stories, develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition.

113304 The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city of Venice. Befriended by a gang of street children and their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord, they shelter in an old, disused cinema. On their trail is a bungling detective, obsessed with disguises and the health of his pet tortoises. But a greater threat to the boys’ new-found freedom is something from a forgotten past – a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Budding cartoonist Junior leaves his troubled school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white farm town school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Animal Farm Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm is a devastating satire of the Soviet Union by the man V.S. Pritchett called “the conscience of his generation.” A fable about an uprising of farm animals against their human masters, it illustrates how new tyranny replaces old in the wake of revolutions and power corrupts even the noblest of causes.

Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins

Teenagers in a small town in the 1960s experience new thoughts and feelings, question their identities, connect, and disconnect as they search for the meaning of life and love.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The adventures of a young boy traveling down the Mississippi River with an escaped slave.

Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac

After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during World War II in their native tongue.

22232 Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli

A celebration of nonconformity; a tense, emotional tale about the fleeting, cruel nature of popularity–and the thrill and inspiration of first love.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfield

In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts.

 

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

A high school freshman discovers the devastating consequences of refusing to join in the school’s annual fund raising drive and arousing the wrath of the school bullies.

Bloody Jack: Under the Jolly Roger by L. A. Meyer

In 1804, fifteen-year-old Jacky Faber heads back to sea where she gains control of a British warship and eventually becomes a privateer.

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

A twelve-year-old boy named Moose moves to Alcatraz Island in 1935 when guards’ families were housed there, and has to contend with his extraordinary new environment in addition to life with his autistic sister.

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

A team of explorers makes an expedition into a crater in Iceland which leads to the center of the earth and to incredible and horrifying discoveries.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Though she is from a family of clairvoyants, Blue Sargent’s only gift seems to be that she makes other people’s talents stronger, and when she meets Gansey, one of the Raven Boys from the expensive Aglionby Academy, she discovers that he has talents of his own–and that together their talents are a dangerous mix.

Crash Cover Crash by Jerry Spinelli

“Crash” Coogan is a jock, not just any jock, he’s about to become the schools best football player. Crash Coogan is also a bully, ever since first grade he’s delighted in tormenting Penn Ward. Penn’s different from everyone else; he doesn’t eat meat, he wears second hand clothes, and he never wants to fight back. Life is simple for Crash, play hard, be the best and of course, pick on Penn. Everything changes when Crash’s grandfather becomes seriously ill, suddenly Penn is more than just the dweeby neighbor who joined the cheerleading squad – Crash is about to discover that friendship can be found in the most unexpected places.

Heat Cover Heat by Mike Lupica

Michael Arroyo has the ‘heat’. His pitches are fast and his teams fighting its way through to compete in the Little League World Series. Michael might just be too good, a rival team complains to the league that he’s older than his 13 years and demands that he’s benched until he produces a birth certificate. But Michael can’t do that, he’s keeping a secret – he and his 17 year old brother Carlos, are orphans. Refugees from Cuba life has always been tough, when their Papi died of a heart attack the boys decided to pretend he was visiting relatives to try and avoid the foster homes. All Michael wants to do is play baseball and take the South Bronx All-Stars into the playoffs.

Schooled Cover Schooled by Gordon Korman

Capricorn (Cap for short), doesn’t exactly fit in to the normal routines of Claverage Middle School. He’s got long, ungroomed hair, practices Tai Chi on the lawn, never tasted a pizza and worst of all, never been to an actual school in his life. Cap grew up on an old farm commune, home schooled by his caretaker Rain he’s led a sheltered life. Now Rain’s been injured Cap’s had to start at public school and nothing’s prepared him for life as the schools biggest ‘nerd’.

Bridge to Terabithia Cover Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Jess Aaron can’t wait to start 5th grade. All summer long he’s been practicing, ready to become the fastest runner at school. But when his big day arrives he finds himself being out run by his new next-door neighbor – a girl! Jess is determined not to like Leslie but soon finds out she’s not like other girls. The two become best friends and together they create the magical world of Terabithia in the woods by their homes.

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