What are your friends and classmates reading? When we put out the call for some favorites, here are some of the books they are recommending for you!
Grades 6-7
The Academy
by
T. Z. Layton
Born and raised in a small town, twelve-year-old Leo K. Doyle has never seen the ocean or stepped foot on a plane. But Leo is a star soccer player with big dreams in life. Rock-star, Olympic gold, dragon-slaying dreams.While Leo longs to make the pros one day, he has no idea how to achieve this goal-until a professional scout pays a chance visit to one of Leo's games and extends an invitation to try out for the London Dragons youth squad, known as The Academy.
Available on SORA
Counting By 7s
by
Holly Goldberg Sloan
Twelve-year-old genius and outsider Willow Chance must figure out how to connect with other people and find a surrogate family for herself after her parents are killed in a car accident
Framed!
by
James Ponti
A budding genius gets recruited by the FBI to find stolen art in this first book in the hilarious middle grade mystery series
Holes
by
Louis Sachar
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.
The Inheritance Games
by
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
When a Connecticut teenager inherits vast wealth and an eccentric estate from the richest man in Texas, she must also live with his surviving family and solve a series of puzzles to discover how she earned her inheritance.
Keeping Pace
by
Laurie Morrison
Determined to regain her sense of accomplishment after losing her top-class ranking to Jonah, Grace decides to compete against him in a Labor Day half-marathon, but as they train together, she learns valuable lessons about what truly matters.
The Lightning Thief
by
Rick Riordan
12-year-old Percy Jackson discovers he is the son of Poseidon in the opener to the hilarious, fast-paced adventure fantasy series
Masterminds
by
Gordon Korman
Eli Frieden has never left Serenity, New Mexico...why would he ever want to? Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything. Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity.
Available on SORA
A Split Second
by
Janae Marks
That clock can't be right. When Elise wakes up the morning after her birthday celebration, she's surprised to find herself in her bedroom. Last she can remember, she had fallen asleep next to her best friends at her slumber party in her basement, and it was October. But now she's alone, and her phone says it's April 8. Elise doesn't understand. How could she have woken up six months later? No one else is acting like anything strange has happened, yet Elise can't remember the last half year. To make matters worse, her friends refuse to talk to her and Elise doesn't know why.
Spy School
by
Stuart Gibbs
Ben Ripley may only be in middle school, but he's already pegged his dream job: CIA or bust. Unfortunately for him, his personality doesn't exactly scream "secret agent." In fact, Ben is so awkward, he can barely get to school and back without a mishap. Because of his innate nerdiness, Ben is not surprised when he is recruited for a magnet school with a focus on science--but he's entirely shocked to discover that the school is actually a front for a junior CIA academy. Could the CIA really want him?
The recommender added ""the whole series!
Thirteen Chairs
by
Dave Shelton
A spine-tingling collection of ghost stories.When a boy finds himself drawn into an empty house one cold night, he enters a room in which twelve unusual-looking people sit around a table. And the thirteenth chair is pulled out for him.One by one, each of those assembled tells their ownghost story: tales of doom and death; of ghostly creatures and malevolent spirits; of revenge and reward. It is only at the end of the night that the boy starts to understand what story he must tell . . .
The recommender adds: "slightly creepy by a spine-tingler!"
Publication Date: 2
Trapped!
by
James Ponti
Florian Bates--the only kid on the FBI Director's speed dial and several international criminals' most wanted lists--must save his friend from being framed for a crime he didn't commit in this hilarious third novel in the Framed! series.
Grades 8-10
The Bone Witch
by
Rin Chupeco
Tea can raise the dead, but resurrection comes at a price... When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother, Fox, from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she's a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.
Available on SORA
Cinder
by
Marissa Meyer
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.
Family of Liars
by
E. Lockhart
Carrie Sinclair tells the ghost of her son Johnny about the summer of 1987, when "the boys" arrive on Beechwood Island, setting off events that will haunt her for years to come.
Good Girl, Bad Blood
by
Holly Jackson
Pip is not a detective anymore. With the help of Ravi Singh, she released a true-crime podcast about the murder case they solved together last year. The podcast has gone viral, yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her. But she will have to break that promise when someone she knows goes missing. Jamie Reynolds has disappeared, on the very same night the town hosted a memorial for the sixth-year anniversary of the deaths of Andie Bell and Sal Singh. The police won't do anything about it. And if they won't look for Jamie then Pip will. But will she find him before it's too late?
Hearts Overboard
by
Becky Dean
Love is on the horizon... After a very public breakup, Savannah Moore decides her mum's company cruise to Alaska is the perfect opportunity to show people that she can be fun. One new thing a day should be enough to prove to others, and herself, that she isn't "Moore the Bore." Stepping out of her comfort zone isn't easy, especially since her long-time nemesis, Tanner Woods, is also on the ship
Available on SORA
The Hunger Games
by
Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
The Leaving
by
Tara Altebrando
Eleven years ago, six kindergartners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to. Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are . . . fine.
The Naturals
by
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But, it's not a skill that she's ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they've begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie. What Cassie doesn't realize is that there's more at risk than a few unsolved homicides-especially when she's sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.
The Selection
by
Kiera Cass
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape a rigid caste system, live in a palace, and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and competing for a crown she doesn't want.
Shatter Me
by
Tahereh Mafi
One touch is all it takes. One touch, and Juliette Ferrars can leave a fully grown man gasping for air. One touch, and she can kill. No one knows why Juliette has such incredible power. It feels like a curse, a burden that one person alone could never bear. But The Reestablishment sees it as a gift, sees her as an opportunity. An opportunity for a deadly weapon.
Sunrise on the Reaping (a Hunger Games Novel)
by
Suzanne Collins
When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for? As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break
This Will Be Funny Someday
by
Katie Henry
Sixteen-year-old Izzy is used to keeping her thoughts to herself--in school, where her boyfriend does the talking for her, and at home, where it's impossible to compete with her older siblings and high-powered parents. When she mistakenly walks into a stand-up comedy club and performs, the experience is surprisingly cathartic. After the show, she meets Mo, an aspiring comic who's everything Izzy's not: bold, confident, comfortable in her skin. Mo invites Izzy to join her group of friends and introduces her to the Chicago open mic scene. The only problem? Her new friends are college students--and Izzy tells them she's one, too. Now Izzy, the dutiful daughter and model student, is sneaking out to perform stand-up with her comedy friends.
Grades 10+
The Ballerina of Auschwitz
by
Edith Eva Eger
Edie is a talented dancer and a skilled gymnast with hopes of making the Olympic team. Between her rigorous training and her struggle to find her place in a family where she's the daughter "with brains but no looks," Edie's too busy to dwell on the state of the world. But life in Hungary in 1943 is dangerous for a Jewish girl. Just as Edie falls in love for the first time, Europe collapses into war, and Edie's family is forced onto a train bound for the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Belladonna
by
Adalyn Grace
Nineteen-year-old orphan Signa Farrow confronts Death--and her own deathly powers--when she investigates the mysterious murder of a relative at the Thorn Grove estate
Better Than the Movies
by
Lynn Painter
Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he's back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar--and maybe snag him as a prom date--even befriend Wes Bennet
Caraval
by
Stephanie Garber
Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister Tella live with their powerful and cruel father. Now Scarlett's father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over. But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval's mastermind organizer
Little White Lies
by
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realises that immersing herself in her grandmother's 'society' might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life - her father's identity - she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart.
The Name of the Wind
by
Patrick Rothfuss
My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me.
Parachutes
by
Kelly Yang
A wealthy Chinese teen is sent to America on her own to attend private school. Claire is a rich 11th grader in Shanghai; Dani is a scholarship student at a private school in Southern California who helps her mother clean houses. When Claire is parachuted into America to finish high school and Dani's mother needs the income from a boarder, they become unlikely housemates.
Thieves' Gambit
by
Kayvion Lewis
The Inheritance Games meets Ocean's Eleven in this cinematic heist thriller where a cutthroat competition brings together the world's best thieves and one thief is playing for the highest stakes of all: her mother's life.
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 eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
by
Gabrielle Zevin
Sam and Sadie--two college friends, often in love, but never lovers--become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have read before.
We Used to Be Friends
by
Amy Spalding
Told in dual timelines-half of the chapters moving forward in time and half moving backward-We Used to Be Friends explores the most traumatic breakup of all: that of childhood besties.
The Women
by
Kristin Hannah
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war.
Non-Fiction
Atomic Habits: tiny changes, remarkable results : an easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones
by
James Clear
Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.
The Genius under the Table
by
Eugene Yelchin (Illustrator)
With a masterful mix of comic timing and disarming poignancy, Newbery Honoree Eugene Yelchin offers a memoir of growing up in Cold War Russia. Drama, family secrets, and a KGB spy in his own kitchen! How will Yevgeny ever fulfill his parents' dream that he become a national hero when he doesn't even have his own room?
The Glass Castle: a memoir
by
Jeannette Walls
In the tradition of Mary Karr's The Liars' Club and Rick Bragg's All Over But the Shouting, Walls has written a stunning and life-affirming memoir about surviving a willfully impoverished, eccentric, and severely misguided family.
Mindset
by
Carol S. Dweck
After more than 20 years of study on how an individual's mindset motivates success, Dweck shows how these mindsets profoundly shape achievements and relationships, and how a mindset can be applied to achieve success.