River Dell Regional School District · thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone

River Dell Regional School District

Grades 7 and 8 Suggested Readings

MEMOIR Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

A memoir is a memory of a time, a place, a feeling. Told in verse, this powerful book recounts what it was like to grow up African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and the author’s growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both immediate and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world.

Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee

The first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, this is the memoir of a North Korean boy forced at age 12 to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his "brothers"; to be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.


The Closer – Young Reader Edition by Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera never dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. He didn't grow up collecting baseball cards, playing Little League, or cheering on his home team at the World Series. He had never heard of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, or Mickey Mantle. One day, that all changed. From a childhood playing pickup games in Panama to an epic career with the New York Yankees, Mariano's rise to greatness has been anything but ordinary. He's the guy on the mound who doesn't hear the crowd, just the sound of the ump calling, Strike! The teammate you can rely on, even when the bases are loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Whether you know him as Mo or as the Sandman, Mariano is The Closer, and this is his story. Full of tips for young athletes and tales from the Yankee clubhouse, The Closer: Young Readers Edition is an inspiring story of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication that have defined the life of a baseball legend.

I am Malala : How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai

I Am Malala. This is my story. Malala Yousafzai was only 10 years old when the Taliban took control. They said music was a crime. They said women weren't allowed to go to the market. They said girls couldn't go to school. Raised in a once-peaceful area of Pakistan transformed by terrorism, Malala was taught by her parents to stand up for what she believes. So she fought for her right to be educated. And on October 9, 2012, she nearly lost her life for the cause: She was shot point-blank while riding the bus on her way home from school. No one expected her to survive. Malala's powerful story will open your eyes to another world and will make you believe in hope, truth, miracles and the possibility that one person -- one young person -- can inspire change in her community and beyond.

March Trilogy by John Lewis

March is a vivid first-hand account of United States Congressman John Lewis' lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis' personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement. Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1958 comic book "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story." Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.


Being Jazz : My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings

Jazz Jennings is one of the youngest and most prominent voices in the national discussion about gender identity. At the age of five, Jazz transitioned to life as a girl, with the support of her parents. A year later, her parents allowed her to share her incredible journey in her first Barbara Walters interview, aired at a time when the public was much less knowledgeable or accepting of the transgender community. This groundbreaking interview was followed over the years by other high-profile interviews, a documentary, the launch of her YouTube channel, a picture book, and her own reality TV series--I Am Jazz--making her one of the most recognizable activists for transgender teens, children, and adults. In her remarkable memoir, Jazz reflects on these very public experiences and how they have helped shape the mainstream attitude toward the transgender community. But it hasn't all been easy. Jazz has faced many challenges, bullying, discrimination, and rejection, yet she perseveres as she educates others about her life as a transgender teen. Through it all, her family has been beside her on this journey, standing together against those who don't understand the true meaning of tolerance and unconditional love. Now Jazz must learn to navigate the physical, social, and emotional upheavals of adolescence--particularly high school--complicated by the unique challenges of being a transgender teen. Making the journey from girl to woman is never easy--especially when you began your life in a boy's body.

NON-FICTION – real stories

The Port Chicago 50 : Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. These were black servicemen who were charged with handling dangerous explosives that no white enlisted soldier or officer had to touch. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. Fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution. This is a fascinating story of the prejudice that faced black men and women in America's armed forces during World War II, and a look at those who gave their lives in service of a country where they lacked the most basic rights.

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose

The compelling story of the teenage boys who resisted the Nazis when the adults would not.

Overwhelmed by Nazi aggression at the outset of World War II, Denmark did not resist German occupation. Deeply ashamed of his nation's leaders, 15-year-old Knud Pedersen resolved with his brother and a handful of schoolmates to take action against the Nazis into their own hands. Naming their secret club after the fiery British leader, the young patriots in the Churchill Club committed countless acts of sabotage, infuriating the Germans, who eventually had the boys tracked down and arrested. But their efforts were not in vain: the boys' exploits and eventual imprisonment helped spark a full-blown Danish resistance.


Samurai Rising : the Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune by Pamela S. Turner

Minamoto Yoshitsune should not have been a samurai. But his story is legend in this real-life saga. This epic warrior tale reads like a novel, but this is the true story of the greatest samurai in Japanese history. When Yoshitsune was just a baby, his father went to war with a rival samurai family – and lost. His father was killed, his mother captured, and his surviving half-brother banished. Yoshitsune was sent away to live in a monastery. Skinny, small, and unskilled in the warrior arts, he nevertheless escaped and learned the ways of the samurai. When the time came for the Minamoto clan to rise up against their enemies, Yoshitsune answered the call. His daring feats and impossible bravery earned him immortality.

FICTION

Guys Read: Heroes & Villains by Jon Scieszka

Caution: there is some non-fiction in here! The 7th volume in Jon Scieszka's Guys Read Library of Great Reading, is chock-full of adventure featuring an array of characters—with and without capes. Featuring 10 all-new, original stories that run the gamut from fantasy to comics to contemporary adventure to nonfiction, and featuring eleven of the most acclaimed, exciting writers for kids working today, this collection is the perfect book for you, whether you use your powers for good—or evil.

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don't need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week. So begins Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic--and sarcastic asides--to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who's who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. "If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that."

The Crossover and Booked by Kwame Alexander

THE CROSSOVER: "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander. Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.


BOOKED: Like lightning/you strike/fast and free/legs zoom/down field/eyes fixed/on the checkered ball/on the goal/ten yards to go/can't nobody stop you/can't nobody cop you… In this follow-up to the Newbery-winning novel THE CROSSOVER, soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read. This electric and heartfelt novel-in-verse by poet Kwame Alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a World Cup match!

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, many with something to hide. Among them are Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer to safety. Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival. This masterful work of historical fiction is inspired by the real-life tragedy that was the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff--the greatest maritime disaster in history.

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom – the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she's determined to let everyone know it...somehow. In this breakthrough story, readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability.

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

This blockbuster urban fantasy series has been made into a movie and remains at the top of teens’ must-read lists 10 years after it was published. In the six-book series, human-angel hybrids walk among us, unseen but ever-present, our invisible protectors. They call themselves Shadowhunters. Suddenly able to see demons and the Darkhunters who are dedicated to returning them to their own dimension, 15-year-old Clary Fray is drawn into this bizarre world when her mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a monster.


All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely

Rashad Butler is a quiet, artistic teen who hates ROTC but dutifully attends because father insists "there's no better opportunity for a black boy in this country than to join the army." Rashad heads to Jerry's corner store on a Friday night to buy chips, and ends up the victim of unwarranted arrest and police brutality: an event his white schoolmate Quinn Collins witnesses in terrified disbelief. Quinn is even more shocked because the cop is Paul Galluzzo, older brother of his best friend and Quinn's mentor since his father died in Afghanistan. Reynolds and Kiely's collaborative effort deftly explores the aftermath of police brutality, addressing the fear, confusion, and anger that affects entire communities. Diverse perspectives are presented in a manner that feels organic to the narrative, further emphasizing the tension created when privilege and racism cannot be ignored. Timely and powerful, this novel promises to have an impact long after the pages stop turning.

Grades 9-11 Suggested Readings

NONFICTION Boys in the Boat By Daniel James Brown

Traces the story of an American rowing team from the University of Washington that defeated elite rivals at Hitler's 1936 Berlin Olympics, sharing the experiences of their enigmatic coach, a visionary boat builder, and a homeless teen rower.

Unbroken** By Lauren Hillenbrand

Relates the story of a U.S. airman who survived when his bomber crashed into the sea during World War II, spent forty-seven days adrift in the ocean before being rescued by the Japanese Navy, and was held as a prisoner until the end of the war.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas By John Boyne

Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a place called "Out-With" in 1942, Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends a boy in striped pajamas who lives behind a wire fence.


Becoming Nicole By Amy Ellis Nutt

Presents the story of a politically conservative New England family whose son identified as a girl, Nicole, and how they overcame their confusion and fear to champion transgender rights and allow Nicole to be herself.

REALISTIC FICTION

Everything, Everything By Nicola Yoon

Confined to her home because she is allergic to the outside world, a teenage girl's life changes when she begins a romance with the new boy next door that challenges everything she's ever known.

The Hate U Give** By Angie Thomas

When Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer, what everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does-or does not-say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

I’ll Give you the Sun** By Jandy Nelson

"A story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal told from different points in time, and in separate voices, by artists Jude and her twin brother Noah"--Provided by publisher.

Eleanor and Park** By Rainbow Rowell

"Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try"--Provided by publisher.


Yaqui DelGado Wants to Kick Your Ass* By Meg Medina

Piddy Sanchez is targeted by a bully at her new school -- and must discover resources she never knew she had. This is a very powerful look at how bullying affects a person.

Looking for Alaska** By John Green

Sixteen-year-old Miles' first year at Culver Creek Preparatory School in Alabama includes good friends and great pranks, but is defined by the search for answers about life and death after a fatal car crash.

Hit Count By Chris Lynch

Arlo Brodie loves being at the heart of the action on the football field, and while his dad cheers him on, his mother quotes head injury statistics and refuses to watch, but Arlo's winning plays, the cheering crowds, and the adrenaline rush are enough to convince him that everything is OK, in spite of the pain, the pounding, the dizziness, and the confusion.

Sunrise over Fallujah By Walter Dean

Robin Perry, from Harlem, is sent to Iraq in 2003 as a member of the Civilian Affairs Battalion, and his time there profoundly changes him.

The Great American Whatever By Tim Federle

Struggling to move forward with his own life after his sister's death, sixteen-year-old Quinn, an aspiring screenwriter, attends his first college party, where he falls in love with a young man who inspires his healing.


SCIENCE FICTION

The Knife of Never Letting Go** By Patrick Ness

Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss and mad minister Aaron, young Todd and Viola set out across New World searching for answers about his colony's true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World.

Ender’s Game** By Orson Scott Card

Once again, the Earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a final assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens. But who? Ender Wiggin is a brilliant, ruthless, cunning, a tactical and strategic master, and a child. Recruited for military training by the world government, Ender's childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? After all, Battle School is just a game. Isn't it?

Little Brother** By Cory Doctorow

Interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus is released into what is now a police state, and decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy By Douglas Adams

Chronicles the journeys, notions, and acquaintances of reluctant galactic traveler Arthur Dent, accompanied by never-before-published material from the late author's archives as well as commentary by famous fans.

Steelheart By Brandon Sanderson

At age eight, David watched as his father was killed by an Epic, a human with superhuman powers, and now, ten years later, he joins the Reckoners--the only people who are trying to kill the Epics and end their tyranny.


FANTASY FICTION

Throne of Glass By Sarah J. Maas

After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

The Wizard of Earthsea By Ursula LeGuin

A boy grows to manhood while attempting to subdue the evil he unleashed on the world as an apprentice to the Master Wizard.

Heartless By Marissa Meyer

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

Finnikin of the Rock** By Melina Marchetta

Finnikin reluctantly joins forces against the imposter who has ruled Lumatere for years with an enigmatic young novice who claims that her dark dreams will lead them to a surviving royal child and a way to regain the throne.

HISTORICAL FICTION

Code Name Verity** By Elizabeth Wein

In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great courage as she relates what she must do to survive while keeping secret all that she can.


The Right Fight By Chris Lynch

When the draft board calls on the eve of World War II, Roman leaves behind a career in minor-league baseball to join the army, and finds himself driving a tank in the North African campaign.

The Book Thief** By Mark Zusak

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.



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River Dell Regional School District · thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone