2013 7th Grade Book Recommendations

The last week of school, I had this year's 7th graders (now8th graders) compile lists of their favorite books.  Here they are in alphabetical particular order.

Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Alex Rider series

Among the Brave

Among the Captured

Among the Hidden

B.F.G. 

Bitter Melon

Black Hawk Down

Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bud, Not Buddy

Call of the WIld

Candy Shop War

Candymakers

Catching Fire

Charlotte’s Web

City of Bones

Clockwork Angel

Confectionately Yours

Crazy

Daniel X

Dead End in Norvelt

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series

Divergent

Dracula

Dragon’s Milk

Elephant Run

Eragon Series

Everlost

Extras

Fablehaven

Girl’s Best Friend

Gone WIth the Wind

Guardians of Ga’hoole

Hatchet

Holes

Hoot

Howl’s Moving Castle

Hunger Games

I Am Number Four

I Funny

In the Company of Heros

Incarceron

Insurgent

It

Jane Eyre

Kane Chronicles

Legend

Life of Pi

Lightning Thief

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Rings

Lost Hero series

Mark of Athena

Maximum Ride

Maze Runner

Middle School

Missing Series

Misty of Chintoge

Mockingjay

Mockingjay

Narnia Series

Of Mice and Men

Powerless

Pretties 

Pretty Little Liars

Rebecca

Red Pyramid

Red Umbrella

Safe Haven

Sarah’s Key

Search For the Moon King’s Daughter

Son of Neptune

Specials 

Summer of the Monkeys

Sunrise Over Fallujah 

The Art of Dancing in the Rain

The Big FIeld

The Cay

The Giver

The Help

The Hobbit

THe Limit

THe Lost Hero

The Lying Game

The Outsiders

The River

The Roar

The Unidentified

Twilight

Uglies

Uglies series

Under Wildwood

War and Peace

Warrior Heir

We Were Soldiers Once...and Young

Wildwood

Witch and Wizard

Because I'm a huge word nerd, I also put it into a Wordle.  The bigger the title, the more times it was suggested.  It's easy to see which books were the most popular this year.  To see the full version, click on the Wordle.

Books-- Glow and Spark, the Sky Chasers series

Hello readers!  I'm working on compiling the recommendation list put together by this year's 7th graders.  I should have it up this weekend.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a series of books I came across by accident.  I was reading an article for teachers and it mentioned a few different series of books.  I'd heard of all of them except Sky Chasers.  It was recommended for people who liked the Hunger Games.  I downloaded the first book, Glow, to my Kindle, and I couldn't put it down.  As soon as I finished it, I downloaded Spark and read it in one day!  The only thing that frustrated me was that it had a killer cliffhanger ending, but the next book doesn't come out until January 2014.

The books are about two ships that were sent into space from Earth.  At the time, Earth was in bad shape, so their mission was to spend decades (I can't remember exactly how long) in space, and then come back and repopulate Earth.  The story starts out following Waverly and Kieran, two teenagers on the first ship.  Then the second ship attacks the first, and steals all the girls, killing most of the adults on board.  The story then goes back and forth between Waverly's experience on the new ship and Kieran's experience trying to run the other ship without any adults.

I thought the books were excellent.  I will warn that there is some violence (not as explicit as the Hunger Games) and the kids have to deal with some adult situations on the new ship.  I would rate them a PG-13.  They reminded me a lot of Lord of the Flies, with the kids trying to govern themselves and the way they handle situations new to them.

Happy reading!

Esperanza Rising by Pat Munoz Ryan

I re-read the book Esperanza Rising this week.  I read it quite a few years ago, and wanted to read it again.  It is the story of Esperanza, who grew up the daughter of a wealthy land owner in Mexico.  When her father dies, she and her mother are forced to move to California and start their lives over.  The story is moving as you read about Esperanza's transformation as she deals with the challenges of her new life.  It also paints a vivid picture of what life was like for Mexican immigrants in the 1930's/1940's.  


Even though the book deals with heavier issues, it is enjoyable to read.  Esperanza's struggle to learn how to do the simplest things like taking care of babies and sweeping are giggle-worthy.  The family relationships are beautiful, and there is a lot of love in this book.  


I think this book is a nice companion to Out of the Dust, which we will read this year in 7th grade.  It's the other side of the story.  In Out of the Dust, the main character talks about everyone leaving the Midwest during the dust bowl.  In Esperanza Rising, one of the problems for the main character is the influx of American workers moving in and displacing the Mexican workers.  It's kind of interesting to see both sides of the story.  It also ties into what is happening here in this country today.  We are still having disagreements over Mexican immigration.  


Do you have a book you want to share?  Email me at mrs.schuette at gmail.com a short highlight of the novel, and I'll post it on here.  Happy reading :) 

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jaqueline Kelly

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jaqueline Kelly was a fun read.  It takes place in Texas in 1899.  The novel is told from the point of view of Callie Vee, a young girl who dreams of being a scientist.  She spends most of her time with her grandfather, who conducts a wide range of science experiments and investigations.  Together, they follow Darwin's work and study plants, animals, and insects.  They even discover a new species of plant.  Callie's mother, however, has other plans for her.  As the only daughter of seven children, her mother wants her to become a lady and marry well.   She prefers Callie spend her time learning the piano and how to cook.

This novel is a fun look at history and expectations.  It paints a wonderful picture of farm life in the 1800's.  It's full of humor and scientific facts as they were known at the time.  I love history and science, so I found it a wonderful read.

Do you have a book you want to share?  Email me at mrs.schuette at gmail.com a short highlight of the novel, and I'll post it on here.  Happy reading :) 

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Over the next few days, I will be highlighting some of the books I've read recently.  I just finished one of the most beautiful stories I've read in a while.  The novel was Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. The story is about Kek, a young refugee who moves from Africa to Minnesota.  I can't imagine that kind of change, and it's interesting to read about Kek having to learn to survive in a new culture.  He sees snow for the first time,  rides in an airplane (or flying boat), and misunderstands the term "washing machine" and tries to wash the dishes in it.

The book is written in poetry form, which reads beautifully.  It also makes it a quick read; I read it in one evening.  I love that the book balances the horror of his old life, which is revealed through his dreams, with the humorous and heartfelt stories of his new life.  I highly recommend this novel!

Do you have a book you want to share?  Email me at mrs.schuette at gmail.com a short highlight of the novel, and I'll post it on here.

What are you reading this summer?

I just finished the Uglies series (more on that at a later date).  On the last book order, I ordered a bunch of books for my classroom library.  These are the ones I brought home to read this summer:
Words in the Dust  by Trent Reedy
*When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Tracker by Gary Paulsen
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jaqueline Kelly
*Newberry book

Anyone reading anything that they think EVERYONE should read? 

Happy Reading!