Books for 7th & 8th Graders, Summer 2007 J/F/ACAMPORA Acampora, PaulDefining Dulcie When Dulcie’s father dies, her mother hurriedly moves the family to California. Dulcie makes a radical decision to steal her dad’s old truck and head back home to the life she is not ready to leave behind. 168 p. J/F/BARKLEY Barkley, BradScrambled Eggs at Midnight Calliope’s artist mom is off finding herself; Eliot’s dad has found God. All Cal and Eliot want to find is a normal life. Along the way they find themselves, each other, and a new view of love and family. 262 p. J/F/BERRYHILL Berryhill, ShaneChance Fortune and the Outlaws Josh’s life dream is to train at the Burlington Academy to become a superhero. The problem is Josh does not have superpowers, and the bullies at this school can literally crush you. 269 p. J/F/FISHER Fisher, CatherineDarkhenge Working on a secretive archeological dig, Rob finds himself drawn into a dark, mythical world led by an age-old Celtic druid who promises to help Rob release his sister Chloe from her injury-induced coma. 340 p. J/F/FLETCHER Fletcher, SusanAlphabet of Dreams Mitra and her little brother Babak are living a hand-to-mouth existence, hiding from the king’s men who are searching for them, when they join the westward-bound caravan of a great priest who is following the stars and heading towards Bethlehem. 294 p. J/F/FOGELIN Fogelin, AdrianThe Real Question Study, study, study is all Fisher Brown ever does, and he’s had enough. Deciding to live life, rather than merely prepare for it, Fish runs off with his slacker neighbor for a life-changing weekend. 234 p. J/F/GORMAN Gorman, CarolGames Mick and Boot are in trouble again for fighting. This time, instead of getting expelled, the principal has a different punishment. Mick and Boot must spend 1 1/2 hours a day in his office playing board games and trying to get along. Right. 279 p. J/F/GUTMAN Gutman, DanGetting Air While on an airplane on their way to a skateboarding vacation in California, Jimmy, Henry, and David are surprised when terrorists take over their plane—but the boys fight back. When the plane crashes in the wilderness, the boys hope their knowledge of roughing it (from reading the book Hatchet) will get them to safety. 232 p. J/F/HOFFMAN Hoffman, AliceIncantation In 1500, at the start of the Spanish Inquisition, Estrella’s family desperately tries to hide their Jewish heritage to avoid the horrific persecution of converted Jews by the Catholic inquisitors. 166 p. J/F/HOKENSON Hokenson, TerryThe Winter Road When Willa steals a single-engine plane, she never expects to crash it in the snowy Canadian wilderness. She struggles to survive every day, fashioning tools and shelter from the wreckage, and learns that she can depend on her own ingenuity and determination. 175 p. J/F/JANSEN Jansen, HannaOver a Thousand Hills I Walk with You Jeanne takes her comfortable, normal life for granted until the start of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Only her strong will to live carries her through the unimaginable horrors of watching her home destroyed and members of her family massacred. 342 p. J/F/Karasyov Karasyov, CarrieBittersweet Sixteen Designer labels, expensive trips, and the best of everything are the norm for Laura’s friends. But when their competition for the most posh 16th birthday bash gets out of control, Laura finds herself stuck in the middle of a battle between her two overly-indulged friends. 230 p. J/F/KOSS Koss, Amy GoldmanPoison Ivy Ivy has been bullied by three popular girls in her class, the Evil Three, since she was in fourth grade. When one of her teachers reads a depressing poem of Ivy’s, she decides to have the class conduct a mock trial, accusing the Evil Three with bullying “Poison” Ivy. Can justice prevail in high school? 166 p. J/F/LEVINE Levine, Gail CarsonFairest Orphaned Aza feels like an ugly outsider, but her saving grace is that her singing voice outshines all in a society where musical talent is revered. Aza is pressured to throw her voice to hide the new Queen’s lack of talent, and she is forced to flee the kingdom when the hoax is discovered. 326 p. J/F/MCCAUGHREAN McCaughrean, GeraldineCyrano Cyrano de Bergerac is one of the most famous men in all of Paris. His quick wit and brilliant swordplay are almost as renowned as his extremely large nose. He secretly loves Roxane, but her heart belongs to a more handsome soldier. 114 p. J/F/MARILLIER Marillier, JulietWildwood Dancing Every full moon for the last nine years, Jena and her four sisters enter a portal into another world for a night of dancing on the Wildwood. Jena, always the responsible one, must balance her love of the Wildwood and her responsibilities at home with the appearance of the Night People during the full moon. 407 p. J/F/MILLER Miller, KirstenKiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City Ananka Fishbein follows the mysterious Kiki Strike into a city built entirely underneath New York City. They two recruit more girls—each with special skills—to form the Irregulars and explore this city filled with riches, mystery, and a lot of rats. The Irregulars learn later than Kiki has other plans she isn’t telling them about. 387 p. J/F/PAUSEWANG Pausewang, GudrunDark Hours Gisel must flee her German village to escape air raids from both the Allies and the Russians near the end of WWII. Separated from her family in the crowds, she takes charge of her younger brothers when they become trapped in the wreckage during the bombing. 208 p. J/F/REES Rees, DouglasThe Janus Gate: An Encounter with John Singer Sargent As renowned artist John Singer Sargent works on his famous painting of four young sisters, he and the entire household are caught up by a sinister, mysterious force. What was he trying to tell us through his dramatic painting, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit? 165 p. J/F/RICHARDS Richards, JustinThe Death Collector Are dinosaurs roaming the shadowy streets of Victorian London? Three strangers: scrappy pickpocket Eddie, a curator from the British Museum, and a preacher’s daughter, match wits with a brilliant madman who is trying to reanimate the dead using human corpses and dinosaurs. 320 p. J/F/RITTER Ritter, John H.Under the Baseball Moon Trumpeter Andy Ramos is determined that this will be the summer that his jazz band finally manages to break into (and beyond) the Ocean Beach music scene, but when the wild-eyed softball player Glory Martinez crashes into town, his world suddenly gets turned upside-down. 283 p. J/F/SHULMAN Shulman, PollyEnthusiasm Shy Julie has fallen for the same boy as her exuberant best friend Ashleigh, and decides to keep her feelings secret. When all three end up in the same play, and mysterious poems start turning up at Julie’s door, she wonders is she’s made the right decision. 198 p. J/F/SMITH Smith, RolandPeak Peak was born to climb. When the NYPD bust him for climbing skyscrap-ers, Peak is sent to live with his father, a world-class climber. But Peak doesn’t know his dad is planning the ultimate climb: Everest. 246 p. Prepared by Sharon Hyrcewicz, Diane Jakosz, Colleen Morrison, May 2007