Churchville-Chili JHS

7th Grade

Suggested Summer Reading List

Abrahams, Peter Abrahams. -- Down the rabbit hole : an Echo Falls Mystery

Like her idol Sherlock Holmes, eighth-grader Ingrid Levin-Hill uses her intellect to solve the murder of an eccentric local woman in her hometown of Echo Falls.

Armstrong, Jennifer. – The Kindling

Fire-Us Trilogy Book 1 In 2007, a small band of children have joined together in a Florida town, trying to survive in a world where it seems that all the adults have been killed off by a catastrophic virus.

Avi. -- The Fighting Ground      

Thirteen-year-old Jonathan goes off to fight in the Revolutionary War and discovers the real war is being fought within himself.

Avi. -- Wolf Rider : A Tale of Terror      

After receiving an apparent crank call from a man claiming to have committed murder, fifteen-year-old Andy finds his close relationship with his father crumbling as he struggles to make everyone believe him.

Barron, T. A. -- The Lost Years of Merlin     

A young boy who has no identity or memory of his past washes ashore on the coast of Wales and finds his true name after a series of fantastic adventures.

Bloor, Edward. -- Tangerine     

Paul, who lives in the shadow of his football hero brother Erik, fights for the right to play soccer despite his near blindness and slowly begins to remember the incident that damaged his eyesight.

Chima, Cindy Williams. – The Warrior Heir

Sixteen-year-old Jack discovers that he is one of the last warriors of the Weirlind, an underground society of magical people, and must fight to determine which house—the White Rose of the Red Rose—will rule the Weir. Book 1 of the Heir series.

Colfer, Eoin – Artemis Fowl

When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll.

Cooney, Caroline B. -- The Face on the Milk Carton      

A photograph of a missing girl on a milk carton leads Janie on a search for her real identity.

Creech, Sharon. -- Walk Two Moons      

After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. -- Bud, Not Buddy      

Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

Deuker, Carl. -- Gym Candy

Freshman running back Mick Johnson works hard to make his dream of football stardom come true, finding the edge he needs to become bigger, stronger, and faster with the help of steroids—despite consequences to his health and social life.

Doyle, Marissa. -- Bewitching Season

It is time for Persephone and Penelope, age 17, to be presented at courts in London and to meet Princess Victoria, when they suddenly get catapulted into a romantic adventure involving their governess (a Magician tutor), and a sinister Irish magician.

Flanagan, John. -- The Ruins of Gorlan

When fifteen-year-old Will is rejected by battle school, he becomes the reluctant apprentice to the mysterious Ranger Halt, and winds up protecting the kingdom from danger.

Book 1 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series.

Gaiman, Neil. – The Graveyard Book

In this suspense filled novel, the orphan Bod, short for Nobody, is taken in and protected by the inhabitants of a graveyard as a child of eighteen months and raised lovingly and carefully to the age of eighteen years by the community of ghosts and otherworldly creatures.

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. -- Running Out of Time      

When a diphtheria epidemic hits her 1840 village, thirteen-year-old Jessie discovers it is actually a 1995 tourist site under unseen observation by heartless scientists, and it's up to Jessie to escape the village and save the lives of the dying children.

Hobbs, Will. -- River Thunder      

Despite some reservations, sixteen-year-old Jessie joins her companions from the previous year's adventure on the Colorado River for a legal rafting trip through the Grand Canyon.

Horowitz, Anthony. – Nightrise

After telepathic twins Jamie and Scott are attacked by the evil Nightrise Corporation, one of them is imprisoned while the other escapes, left to fight with the other three gatekeepers against the evil Old Ones in order to save his sibling and prevent the destruction of humanity.

Book 3 of the Gatekeeper series.

Hurwin, Davida. -- A Time for Dancing     

Seventeen-year-old best friends Samantha and Juliana tell their stories in alternating chapters after Juliana is diagnosed with cancer.

Kerr, P. B. – The Akhenaten Adventure

When twelve-year-old twins Philippa and John discover that they are descended from a long line of djinn, their mother sends them away to their Uncle Nimrod, who takes them to Cairo where he starts to teach them about their extraordinary powers.

Konigsburg, E. L. – Silent to the Bone      

When he is wrongly accused of gravely injuring his baby half-sister, thirteen-year-old Branwell loses his power of speech and only his friend Connor is able to reach him and uncover the truth about what really happened.

L'Engle, Madeleine. -- A Wrinkle in Time       

Three extra-terrestrial beings take Meg and her friends to another world.

Levine, Gail Carson. -- Ella Enchanted      

In this novel based on the story of Cinderella, Ella struggles against the childhood curse that forces her to obey any order given to her.

Lipsyte, Robert. -- One Fat Summer      

An overweight fourteen-year-old boy experiences a turning-point summer in which he learns to stand up for himself.

Lupica, Mike. – Heat

Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.

Lynch, Chris. -- Slot Machine      

When overweight Elvin Bishop is sent to camp at St. Paul's Seminary Retreat Center, he and his two best friends are forced to try out various sports in order to find out where they belong.

McKinley, Robin. -- Rose Daughter      

Beauty grows to love the Beast at whose castle she is compelled to stay, and through her love he is released from the curse that had turned him from man to beast.

McKinley, Robin. -- Spindle's End     

The infant princess Briar Rose is cursed on her name day by Pernicia, an evil fairy, and then whisked away by a young fairy to be raised in a remote part of a magical country, unaware of her real identity and hidden from Pernicia's vengeful powers.

Mikaelsen, Ben. -- Petey     

In 1922 Petey, who has cerebral palsy, is misdiagnosed as an idiot and institutionalized; sixty years later, still in the institution, he befriends a boy and shares with him the joy of life.

Mikaelsen, Ben. -- Stranded     

Koby, who has lost a foot in an accident, sees a chance to prove her self-reliance to her parents when she tries to rescue two stranded pilot whales near her home in the Florida Keys.

Myers, Walter Dean. -- Hoops      

A teenage basketball player from Harlem is befriended by a former professional player who, after being forced to quit because of a point shaving scandal, hopes to prevent other young athletes from repeating his mistake.

Myers, Walter Dean. -- Scorpions      

After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun--until a tragedy occurs.

Napoli, Donna Jo. -- Beast     

Elaborates on the tale of "Beauty and the Beast," told from the point of view of the beast and set in Persia.

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. -- Shiloh      

When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

O'Dell, Scott. -- Island of the Blue Dolphins

Left alone on a beautiful but isolated island off the coast of California, a young Indian girl spends eighteen years, not only merely surviving through her enormous courage and self-reliance, but also finding a measure of happiness in her solitary life.

Oppel, Kenneth. – Airborn

Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth’s surface.

Park, Linda Sue. -- Single Shard      

A timeless story of dedication to one's dreams and art. Tree-ear, an orphan who lives under a bridge with his wise friend Crane-man, becomes fascinated with a nearby community of potters. Drawn by their exquisite craftsmanship, the adolescent boy begins to assist the master potter Min.

Paulsen, Gary. -- Hatchet

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the wilderness, learning to survive initially with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.

Paulsen, Gary. -- Soldier's Heart : A Novel of the Civil War      

Eager to enlist, fifteen-year-old Charley has a change of heart after experiencing both the physical horrors and mental anguish of Civil War combat.

Rinaldi, Ann. -- The Last Silk Dress     

During the Civil War, Susan finds a way to help the Confederate Army and uncovers a series of mysterious family secrets.

Rodowsky, Colby F. -- Hannah in Between      

As she starts seventh grade, twelve-year-old Hannah can no longer ignore her mother's increasingly erratic behavior caused by drinking. (Reading Grade Level: 6)

Rowling, J. K. -- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone      

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.

Sachar, Louis. -- Holes      

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.

Shusterman, Neal. -- The Eyes of Kid Midas      

Kevin is entranced when he finds a pair of sunglasses that turn his desires into reality, but then things start to get out of control.

Sleator, William. -- The Boy Who Reversed Himself      

When Laura discovers that the unpopular boy living next door to her has the ability to go into the fourth dimension, she makes the dangerous decision to accompany him on his journeys there.

Snicket, Lemony. – A Series of Unfortunate Events     

After their parents’ unfortunate deaths, the Beaudelaire orphans must endure accidents, evil plots, and general misfortune in their continuing search for a home.

Spinelli, Jerry. -- Crash      

Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family.

Stroud, Jonathan. – Amulet of Samarkand

Nathaniel, a young magician’s apprentice, calls up the djinni Bartimaeus to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from another magician, and they both get caught up in a vast conspiracy of treason and murder.

Taylor, Theodore. -- The Weirdo       

Seventeen-year-old Chip Clewt fights to save the black bears in the Powhaten National Wildlife Refuge.

Vivian Vande Velde. -- Never Trust a Dead Man

Wrongly convicted of murder and punished by being sealed in the tomb with the dead man, seventeen-year-old Selwyn enlists the help of a witch and the resurrected victim to find the true killer.

Voigt, Cynthia. -- Izzy, Willy-Nilly      

A car accident causes fifteen-year-old Izzy to lose one leg and face the need to start building a new life as an amputee.

Voigt, Cynthia. -- The Runner     

As a dedicated runner, a teenage boy has always managed to distance himself from other people until the experience of coaching one of his teammates on the track team gradually helps him see the value of giving and receiving.

Westerfeld, Scott. -- Uglies

The sixteenth birthday means a body makeover in Tally’s world, but Tally begins to question this procedure when she is forced to spy on a friend who does not want to transform her own body.

Book 1 of the Uglies series.

Wrede, Patricia C. -- Dealing with Dragons     

Bored with traditional palace life, a princess goes off to live with a group of dragons and soon becomes involved with fighting against some disreputable wizards who want to steal away the dragons' kingdom.

Yancey, Richard. – The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

Orphaned and incurably-geeky teen Alfred Kropp is coerced by his unscrupulous uncle into stealing a valuable sword that turns out to be Excalibur, and he is drawn into a dangerous and violent misadventure.

Book 1 of the Alfred Kropp series.

Zindel, Paul. -- Loch : A Novel     

                       Fifteen-year-old Loch and his younger sister join their father on a

                       scientific expedition searching for enormous prehistoric creatures

                       sighted in a Vermont lake.

2009 Suggested Summer Reading List

7^th Grade

Marie Barron, Library Media Specialist

 Churchville-Chili Middle School 7/8 House and NGA Library

137 Fairbanks Road, Churchville, NY 14428
Phone: 716-293-1800 ext.1180  

District Home Page: http://www.cccsd.org
Churchville-Chili Central School District

 5/09