Dear Martin by Nic Stone Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., seventeen-year-old college-bound Justyce McAllister struggles to face the reality of race relations today and how they are shaping him. Girl, Stolen by April Henry When an impulsive carjacking turns into a kidnapping, Griffin, a high school dropout, finds himself more in sympathy with his wealthy, blind victim, sixteen-year-old Cheyenne, than with his greedy father. House Arrest by K.A. Holt In this novel in verse, Timothy, who is sentenced to house arrest for stealing, keeps a journal in which he documents his fears and frustrations. Prince of Venice Beach by Blake Nelson Robert "Cali" Callahan, seventeen, gets swept up into the private-investigator business and must deal with the ramifications of looking for fellow runaways who may not want to be found, and with falling in love with one of them. You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner When Julia finds a slur about her best friend on the wall of the Kingston School for the Deaf, she covers it up with a beautiful graffiti mural. She is found out and expelled, and sent to a mainstream school in the suburbs where she is the only deaf student and treated as an outcast. The only thing she has left is her street art, but when she gets dragged into a full-blown graffiti war, even Julia’s not sure what will happen next.

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez Anita, a typically self-absorbed twelve-year-old living in the Dominican Republic in the early 1960s, is surprised to discover her family is involved in the underground movement to end the bloody rule of the dictator, General Trujillo. Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyne When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a new life with his aunt Beatrix, a servant at the Berghof, the home of Adolf Hitler. Pierrot is quickly taken under Hitler's wing and thrown into an increasingly dangerous new world of terror, secrets, and betrayal from which he may never be able to escape. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War. Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen Hannah resents the traditions of her Jewish heritage until time travel places her in the middle of a small Jewish village in Nazi-

occupied Poland. Emma by Jane Austen A novel of Regency England that centers upon a self-assured young lady who is determined to arrange her life and the lives of those around her into a pattern dictated by her romantic fancy.

This list is a collection of realistic, historical, graphic, action, adventure,

nonfiction, and much more!

Your Summer Reading Assignment is on the bottom of the next page.

Famous Last Words by Katie Alender High-schooler Willa has just moved to California with her mother and film director stepfather, and she will be attending a private school--but her real problem is that she keeps seeing things that are not really there, like a dead body in the swimming pool, and her visions may be connected to a serial killer that is stalking young girls in Hollywood.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta Abandoned by her drug-addicted mother at the age of eleven, high school student Taylor Markham struggles with her identity and family history at a boarding school in Australia.

OrchardsbyHollyThompsonSent to Japan for the summer after an eighth-grade classmate's suicide, half-Japanese, half-Jewish Kana Goldberg tries to fit in with relatives she barely knows and reflects on the guilt she feels over a bullying-related tragedy back home.

Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden & the Trial of the

Century by Sarah Miller Miller takes readers along as she investigates a brutal crime: the August 4, 1892, murders of wealthy and prominent Andrew and Abby Borden. The accused? Their daughter, mild-mannered and highly respected Lizzie Borden. This book sorts fact from fiction, and as a legal battle gets under way, a gripping portrait of a woman and a town emerges. Bad Girls of Fashion by Jennifer Croll Explores the lives of ten famous women who have used clothing to make a statement, change perceptions, break rules, attract power, or express their individuality. One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard The inspirational story of a coach, a baseball team, and the season they'll never forget. The book tells the story of a small-town baseball team from Illinois in 1971. Let Your Voice be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger by Anita Silvey Explores the span of American folk singer Pete Seeger's musical career and life, from his humble beginnings in New York to his social activism and crusade for causes in his music up until his death. 57 Bus by Dashka Slater If it weren't for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, one of the most diverse cities in the country, but they inhabited different worlds. Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes.

Assassin’s Heart by Sarah Ahiers Seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana, a trained assassin, falls in love with Val Da Via, a boy from a rival clan, until tragedy intervenes and sets her on a course of revenge against the Da Vias family. Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier Liv Silver has lived in six countries in eight years and she and her sister yearn for a real home and normalcy, but soon after moving in with her mother's boyfriend in London, Liv's dreams turn bizarre, filled with talking stone statues, mysterious corridors, and strange rituals conducted by four boys who happen to be her new classmates. The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke When Ellie Baum accidentally time-travels via red balloon to 1988 East Berlin, she's caught up in a conspiracy of history and magic. She finds an underground guild in East Berlin who use balloons and magic to help people escape over the Wall, but Ellie's time travel is a mystery. Someone is using dark magic to change history and Ellie must risk everything to stop the process.

Always Emily by Michaela Maccoll Young Emily and Charlotte Bronte investigate a possible connection between a series of local burglaries and rumors that a neighbor's death may not have been accidental. Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber Perry's parents insist that he take Gobi, their quiet, Lithuanian exchange student, to senior prom but after an incident at the dance he learns that Gobi is actually a trained assassin who needs him as a henchman, behind the wheel of his father's precious Jaguar, on a mission in Manhattan. Fallout by Gwenda Bond Lois Lane is the new girl at East Metropolis High, and her instinct to ask questions brings her and her online friend, Smallville Guy, into conflict with some bullying video gamers called the Warheads, who are being used in a dangerous virtual reality experiment.

The Arrival by Shaun Tan In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new country, where he must build a new life for himself and his family. Gunnerkrigg Court : Volume 1: Orientation by Thomas Siddell Antimony Carver is girl starting her first year of school at gloomy Gunnerkrigg Court, a very British boarding school. During her orientation year, Antimony experiences and causes strange things to happen as she and her new friend, Kat, unravel the mysteries of the Court and deal with the everyday adventures of growing up. Lily Renee by Trina Robbins & Anne Timmons A graphic novel biography of Lily Renee Wilheim, who, at fourteen years old, was forced to travel alone from Austria to England to escape the Nazis and faced servitude, hardship, and danger before becoming a pioneer of the comic book genre.

Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula by Andi Watson Princess Decomposia, overworked and underappreciated, runs the underworld for her layabout father, but when she hires Count Spatula, a vampire with a sweet tooth, as the new chef, he not only helps straighten out her life, he may become more than a friend. The Wendy Project by Melissa Jane Osborne Wendy Davies crashes her car into a lake with her two younger brothers in the backseat. With one of her brothers missing, Wendy struggles to negotiate fantasy and reality as people around her resemble characters from Neverland. Given a sketchbook, Wendy starts to draw “The Wendy Project.”

Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci In the 1980s, two teenaged ballet dancers—one American, one Russian—spend an unforgettable night in New York City, forming a lasting friendship despite their cultural and political differences.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by EK Johnson In alternative future Toronto where the British Empire never fell and chose to diversify instead, Helena, August, and Margaret are caught off-guard by the discovery of a love so intense they are willing to change the course of the monarchy to keep it.

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States. Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older When the murals painted on the walls of her Brooklyn neighborhood start to change and fade in front of her, Sierra Santiago realizes that something strange is going on--then she discovers her Puerto Rican family are shadowshapers and finds herself in a battle with an evil anthropologist for the lives of her family and friends.

I am Princess X by Cherie Priest Years after writing stories about a superheroine character she created with a best friend who died in a tragic car accident, 16-year-old May is shocked to see stickers, patches and graffiti images of the superheroine appearing all over town. Warcross by Marie Lu When teenage coder Emika Chen hacks her way into the opening tournament of the Warcross Championships, she glitches herself into the game as well as a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

• For summer reading, please read TWO books of your choice.

• Fill out the Grade 8 Summer Reading Assignment (on the next page) and bring it to school with you on the first day.

What was your favorite book this summer? : ____________________________________ Rate that book by coloring in 1 to 5 stars: 1= did not enjoy it and 5=loved it!

Why was this your favorite book? You might discuss character connections, the plot,

or the language.

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______________________________________________________________________________ Based on what you know about theme, what is the theme of your novel?

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Name:________________________Parentsignature:______________________SummerReadingGrade8

Whatotherbooksdidyoureadthissummer?Ratethemaswell.1.  ___________________________

2.  ___________________________

3.  ___________________________

Please print and attach a “selfie” of you and your book