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A Separate Peace John Knowles

Gene Forrester looks back fifteen

years to a World War II year in

which he and his best friend Phineas

were roommates in a New

Hampshire boarding school. Their

friendship is marred by Finny's

crippling fall, an event for which

Gene is responsible and one that

eventually leads to tragedy.

The Skin I’m In Sharon Flake

Thirteen-year-old Maleeka

Madison, insecure about her very

dark skin, rejects the support of a

new teacher, Miss Saunders, whose

skin looks blotched because of a

rare medical condition--but soon

Maleeka begins to see that Miss

Saunders could be a role model, and

that she must learn to love herself

and accept love from others.

Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dumphrey Margaret Peterson Haddix

In the journal she is keeping for

English class, sixteen-year-old

Tish chronicles the changes in

her life when her abusive father

abandons her and her brother,

and her mother follows him.

Little Women Louisa May Alcott

American author Louisa May

Alcott's 1869 novel about four

New England sisters who come of

age during the Civil War.

A young boy living in the Florida

backwoods is forced to decide the

fate of a fawn he has lovingly

raised as a pet.

Twisted Laurie Halse Anderson

After finally getting noticed by

someone other than school bullies and

his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-

old Tyler enjoys his tough new

reputation and the attentions of a

popular girl, but when life starts to go

bad again, he must choose between

transforming himself or giving in to

his destructive thoughts.

The Chocolate War Robert Cormier A high school freshman discovers

the devastating consequences of

refusing to join in the school's

annual fund raising drive and

arousing the wrath of the school

bullies.

The Yearling Marjorie Keenan Rawlings

R i s i n g 8 t h

G r a d e r s

Theme:

Decisions and Realizations

Berkeley County School District

Summer Reading

Fiction Texts

Good Enough Paula Yoo A Korean American teenager

tries to please her parents by

getting into an Ivy League

college, but a new guy in school

and her love of the violin tempt

her in new directions. Wonder R.J. Palacio

Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was

born with extreme facial abnormalities

and was not expected to survive, goes

from being home-schooled to entering

fifth grade at a private middle school in

Manhattan, which entails enduring the

taunting and fear of his classmates as he

struggles to be seen as just another

Student.

Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell

Records the courage and

self-reliance of an Indian girl who

lived alone for eighteen years on an

isolated island off the California

coast when her tribe emigrated and

she was left behind.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Jay Asher When Clay Jenkins receives a

box containing thirteen cassette

tapes recorded by his classmate

Hannah, who committed suicide,

he spends the night crisscrossing

their town, listening to Hannah's

voice recounting the events

leading up to her death.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret Brian Selznick

When Twelve year old Hugo, an

orphan living and repairing clocks

within the walls of a Paris train station

in 1931, meets a mysterious toy seller

and his Goddaughter, his undercover

life and his biggest secret are

jeopardized.

Out of My Mind Sharon M. Draper

Considered by many to be mentally

retarded, a brilliant, impatient

fifth-grader with cerebral palsy

discovers a technological device that

will allow her to speak for the first

time.

Skinny Donna Cooner

After undergoing gastric-bypass sur-

gery, a self-loathing, obese teenaged

girl loses weight and makes the brave

decision to start participating in high

school life, including pursuing her

dream of becoming a singer and find-

ing love.

The Aurora County All-Stars

Deborah Wiles Twelve-year-old House Jackson, team

captain and star pitcher of the Aurora

County All-Stars, is finally ready to play

again after being sidelined for a year with

a broken elbow, but a standoff ensues

when the team's big game is scheduled for

the same day as Aurora County's two-

hundredth anniversary pageant--an event

directed by the very girl who caused

Jackson's injury.

Gym Candy Carl Dueker

Mick Johnson works hard for a

placement on the varsity team

during his freshman year, and

decides to use steroids in order to

hold onto his edge, despite the

consequences to his health and

social life.

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Avi

Thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle, the

only passenger on a voyage from Eng-

land to America in 1832, must take

serious matters into her own hands

when she learns that the captain is

murderous

The Final Four Paul Volponi

Four players at the Final Four of the

NCAA basketball tournament

struggle with the pressures of

tournament play and the expectations

of society at large.

Anne of Green Gables L.M. Montgomery

Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is

sent by mistake to live with a lonely,

middle-aged brother and sister on a

Prince Edward Island farm and

proceeds to make an indelible

impression on everyone around her.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

J.K. Rowling

Rescued from the neglect of his aunt

and uncle, a young boy proves his

worth while attending Hogwart’s

School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Stargirl Jerry Spinelli

Stargirl, a teen who animates

quiet Mica High with her

colorful personality, suddenly

finds herself shunned for her

refusal to conform.

That Was Then, This is Now S.E. Hinton

Sixteen-year-old Mark and

Bryon have been like brothers

since childhood, but now, as

their involvement with girls,

gangs, and drugs increases, their

relationship seems to gradually

disintegrate.

The Fighting Ground Avi

Thirteen-year-old Jonathan goes

off to fight in the Revolutionary

War and discovers the real war is

being fought within himself.

Cut Patricia McCormick

While confined to a mental hospital,

thirteen-year-old Callie slowly

comes to understand some of the

reasons behind her self-mutilation,

and gradually starts to get better.

Where the Red Fern Grows Wilson Rawls

Billy Coleman wanted nothing more in

the world than to own a pair of hounds

for hunting racoons. After two long

years of hard work and determination,

Billy earned enough money to become

the proud owner of the two most excep-

tional hunting dogs the Ozarks had ever

seen.

Informational Texts

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: Stories of Life, Love, and Learning Mark Canfield A collection of essays that offer

inspiration to teens, providing

lessons on relationships, friend-

ship, family, love and kindness,

learning, death, success, courage,

and determination.

Fast Food Nation

Eric Schlosser

Traces the history of the fast food

industry and discusses how it

arose in postwar America.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Teens

Richard Carlson

Presents one hundred tips for teens

to live more happy, healthy, and

ethical lives.

Boys Who Rocked the World

Michelle Roehm McCann

Girls Who Rocked the World Michelle Roehm McCann

Recounts the stories of forty-six

women throughout history who

impacted the world when they

were teenagers or younger, cover-

ing Harriet Tubman, Coco Chanel,

S.E. Hinton, Maya Lin, and others.

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story

Gregg Lewis

Captures the physician's fight to

beat the odds, the secret behind

his outstanding accomplishments,

and what drives him to take risks.

Recounts the stories of forty-six men

throughout history who impacted the

world when they were teenagers or

younger, covering Wolfgang Amadeus

Mozart, Steve Jobs, Crazy Horse, Ste-

phen King, and others.

Mistakes that Worked Charlotte Jones

Presents the stories behind forty

things that were invented or

named by accident, including

aspirin, X-rays, Frisbees, Silly

Putty, and Velcro.

Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Solved by Modern Science Susan Hughes

Examines how developments in

modern science, such as DNA

analysis and spectroscopy, have

helped to reopen archaeological

mysteries about ancient cities,

Egypt's first female pharaoh, a

missing expedition to find the

Northwest Passage, and more,

with illustrations, maps, and

photographs.

I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to the Blind Side and Beyond

Michael Oher

The football star made famous in

the hit film (and book) The Blind

Side reflects on how far he has

come from the circumstances of

his youth. Michael Oher shares his

personal account of his story in

this best seller.

I Did it Without Thinking: True Stories About Impulsive Decisions that Changed Lives Bob Hugel

Have you ever made an impulsive

decision without thinking of the

consequences? Before you find

yourself saying, "Oops, I did it

again," check out this book for

pointers to keep you headed in the

right direction.

Real Kids, Real Stories, Real Change: Courageous Actions Around

the World

Garth Sundem

As young readers meet these boys

and girls from around the world,

they may wonder, “What kind of

hero lives inside of me?”

Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell

The author explores why some

people are high achievers and

others are not, citing culture,

family, and upbringing as possi-

ble reasons some people are not

as successful as others.